Year: 2002

eWeek‘s Matthew Rothenberg tackles the merits and shortcomings of Apple’s vertical integration in his latest column. When it works, Apple’s self-sufficiency has proven beneficial, but when it doesn’t — as with the current shortage of iMacs — being the only player in a small market can significantly hamper that market.

VersionTracker notes the release of several Mac OS X software updates. Available for download now are Virex 7 Virus Definitions for March, Kensington MouseWorks 1.1r4, WarBirds III 031302, and Rumpus 2.1. Further details are available from the links indicated.

America Online is considering switching the Web browser provided with its AOL service from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to one based on the Netscape Gecko engine. Reuters reports that the change, if completed, could reignite the browser wars as the majority of America Online’s 34 million customers would presumably upgrade to the Netscape-based browser. Neither company would officially comment on the speculation.

Apple’s iMac is the focus of tonight’s “Fresh Gear” segment on TechTV (channel 354 on DirectTV), which airs at 20:30 ET. The segment re-airs at various times on Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday. The review, which is available online, praises the iMac’s display and design but faults the “weak” NVIDIA GeForce2MX graphics chip.

FireWireDirect.com has introduced its UltraBURNFireWire DVD-R, an external drive capable of writing DVD-R (2x), DVD-RW(1x), CD-R (8x), and CD-RW (4x) media. The drive is not compatible withapplications that rely on Apple’s “Disc Burner Extension,” such as iDVD andiTunes, but is compatible with Toast and DVD Studio Pro. The externalFireWire configuration costs US$549.95; an internal version sells for$399.95.