MacWorld Vendor Notes ===================== This is not an all inclusive list. These are just the notes I made on the vendors who gave me some literature. Instead of storing all that literature I created this document. 3ware (http://www.3ware.com) ---------------------------- These guys are like the sancube people but use gigabit instead. The gigabit interface being used for the connection to the storage can't be used for anything else unfortunately. There pricing is like so: Single Multihost 240g $15000 $19000 640g $26000 $32000 The multihost model has two interfaces so to connect more hosts requires an additional purchase of a gigabit ethernet switch. It communicates tcp/ip over the gigabit ethernet. It can do raid 1+0. Aladdin (http://www.aladdinsys.com) ----------------------------------- They had new versions of their ubiquitous SW. Stuffit is up to version 6.0 for he mac and 5.5 for Windows. They have a new automagic file transfer SW called transporter and a product for Palms which is suppose to make navigation easier. It is called GoBar. Anthro (http://www.anthro.com) ------------------------------ This company says they make Technology Furniture. Some of their products are especially made for Macs. The equipment look and solid. There are pricey, but if style is important then this is a good solution. Arco Computer Products, Inc (http://www.arcoide.com) ---------------------------------------------------- They introduced DupliDiskII (Macintosh Edition) as the convention. It is a hardware based IDE Raid I solution. It looks like it is their first Mac product. Until this product they supported they supported just about everything but Mac (Windows 3.x/95/98/00/NT, DOS, UNIX, LINUX, OS-2, Novell) Their solutions can either take up one or two drive bays, or a PCI slot or be completely external. Bay Area Alternative Press (1847 Alcatraz Ave, Berkeley, Ca 94703, 510 652-8828) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volunteer organization that publishes its own independent magazine (Pressing Time) and help other independent publications get published. BopJet (http://www.bopjet.com) ------------------------------ These guys can be your temporary or permanent streaming quicktime server. Buffalo Technology (http://www.buffalotech.com) ----------------------------------------------- The product these guys were showing off at the expo was called the AirStation. It is competition for AirPort bases. It is a wireless entrance point. They have four models: Standard $275: connects to a ethernet hub and serves wireless devices. Router $275: same as standard but will do IP masquerading; capable of connecting to dsl isp. Modem $295: same as standard but connects to upstream via modem; has 10/100 baseT interface for either an optional upstream connection or to allow downstream access to modem interface. Local Router $335: same router but down stream is a hub so additional hardware is not needed. CD Cyclone (http://www.cdcyclone.com) ------------------------------------- These guys sell a $299 CD-RW that comes is or firewire flavors. They make a big deal out of being stackable also. They are supposed to have implemented some sort of burnproof technology. Cnet Radio (http://www.radio.com) --------------------------------- 910 Am in the Bay Area or listen live on the web. It is a radio station devoted to tech news. For an Oakland-ite like myself it is nice to hear the traffic reports through realplayer while I am traveling out of state. It makes me feel at home. Anyway, this is sort of old news but Cnet has Alex Bennet hosting the midday show. Since I started listening to him 10 years ago and he was fired from Live105 about 2 years ago, it is nice to hear him on the air again. Creative (http://americas.creative.com/mac) ------------------------------------------- These guys diversified a bit. They pushing their new mp3 portable big time. The device is called nomad. They have made a partnership with apple because iTunes comes with support for nomad already. Nomad comes in two configurations: JukeBox (6g hd) is portable and is the size of a cd player. NomadII (64/128mb smartMedia) is pager size. They still make sound blaster and they have some deal with Cambridge Soundworks because they sell their speakers also. DealMac (http://www.dealmac.com) -------------------------------- Dealmac like some other retailers were onsite for the lame vendors who weren't selling their wares. Dealmac is primarily a web/catalog retailer but show up at MacWorld every year. Their contest made you got to their site to plug in a code. Everyone is supposed to win something but I haven't heard anything yet. FileMaker Pro Advisor (http://www.advisor.com) ---------------------------------------------- Wow, Filemaker has its own magazine. GCC Printers (http://www.gccprinters.com) ----------------------------------------- If I were into printers I would probably be aware of these guys but I am not. I asked the sales person if she ever have customers who were confused that their name was the same as the compiler but she had no idea what I was talking about. Apparently they used to do more then just printers because GCC stands for General Computer Components. Their printers looked pretty good and their prices are lower then the big boys. They only make the heavy duty printers you won't find a deskjet equivalent here. Granite Digital (http://www.scsipro.com) ---------------------------------------- They do all thing scsi except the drives themselves. They make external and internal scsi drive enclosures, cables, testers, adapters and terminators. Heck, they even make repeaters. Half Keyboard (http://www.halfkeyboard.com) ------------------------------------------- This is the latest effort to allow you to type and mouse at the same time. This one has the left side of a full size keyboard. A modifier key lets you get the right hand keys. It works with all kinds of computers and PDAs. Helix Technologies (http://www.helixtech.com) --------------------------------------------- Helix is a easy-to-use relational database program or so their ads read. I know that Sun actually uses their database in house for some of their HR needs. Anyway, they gave me some CD which probably has a demo of their product on it and I will probably never install it. Intego (http://www.intego.com) ------------------------------ They have four products: Net barrier Virus barrier Content barrier Internet Security barrier Net barrier is a personal firewall. It can block all attempts to connect to your mac and informs you when someone tries to get in. Virus barrier and Content barrier are pretty much self explanatory. Internet Security barrier is a all three bundled together. None of their software blocks whole networks or provides routing capability. They are there to protect your system when connected to the internet. Pathetically, there web site is down right now. LinuxPPC (http://www.linuxppc.com) ---------------------------------- Are these guys still around? They were giving away their software and have just announced themselves to be a non-profit organization. I stopped trying to get it too work a while ago, but I will check it out again. Mac Design Magazine (http://www.macdesignonline.com) ------------------------------------------- The Graphics Magazine for Macintosh users. That's about all I know about it since I haven't read their sample copy yet. MacAddict (http://www.macaddict.com) ------------------------------------ A better machine. A better magazine. I haven't read this edition yet but I know from past experience I will like it. If it weren't for the outrageous price tag I would subscribe. The magazine is integrated with the monthly CD and their web site flawlessly. The mac loyalty is on overdrive and just makes you feel good to read. MacHome (http://www.machome.com) -------------------------------- I am not too interested in their magazine because if they hit their target audience they will miss me, but I do enjoy the yearly MacHome MacWorld Vendor Scavenger Hunt. They have like 26 companies at the expo that advertise in their magazine so they give stamps or stickers to each of them and you have. A hunter has to visit 12 of them and get stamped or stuck in order to be entered in their daily giveaway. Since it isn't easy to enter less people participate so your odds are good. There are lots of prizes donated from each of their advertisers so your odds are increased again. I won a T-shirt but most of the prizes are hardware or software. MacSense (http://www.macsense.com) ---------------------------------- Originally these guys just did random accessories, but now their big push are these little routers. For $149 dollars you can share one dsl connection (or up to two modem connections) with an entire class C network. MacWorld (http://www.macworld.com) ---------------------------------- I haven't read their sample magazine yet. In the past I was disturbed by the amount of ads. I just looked at it briefly and it didn't seem too bad. Marathon Computer (http://www.marathoncomputer.com) --------------------------------------------------- This company makes rack solutions for Macintoshes. Their iRack solution is the most intriguing. To rack mount an iMac only takes 1 3/4 inches vertically. It fits into the 17 inch racks they sell. They accomplish this feat by only mounting the iMacs system board. The power supply is provided by the rack and the monitor is external. Speaking of the monitor... They top each rack with a 15 inch studio display that folds down. When in use you pull it into a vertical position. They have a slick solution for mounting the g4 tower on its side as well. Their giveaway is a ruler that demonstrates how little room a mounted iMac takes. Money Dance (http://www.moneydance.com) --------------------------------------- This is Java based financial software which is, for now, free. Later they will even integrate with online banking. They gave away a copy of their software and a candy bar. Mushkin Computer Memory (http://www.mushkin.com) ------------------------------------------------ They sell memory. If you go to their site and search for "EXPO" you can get a 10% discount. Neato (http://www.neato.com) ---------------------------- They are into media labels. They both label media (CD, DVD, VHS) and sell a kit for do-it-yourselfer. They make CD business cards also. Netopia (http://www.netopia.com) -------------------------------- These guys have good stuff. Wireless solutions are reasonable and their routers are rock solid. I have been using their r9100 for over two years. They actually still sell it they just update the firmware every so often. These routers are a lot like macsense's but are more flexible. New Motion (http://www.newmotiontech.com) ----------------------------------------- These guys have some cool and unique products: Cube stand: The G4 cube sits on these to avoid clutter and cool the cube. Raid System: scsi raid (0, 1, 3, 5, 0+1) made up of ide drives IEEE-1394 Multi-iBay 5.25": firewire enclosure for atapi drives IEEE-1394 Firewire PCI Card: nuf said Display Switch Box: they handle the new digital apple displays DVI-ADC Adapter: used to connect powerMac to the new digital apple displays iCue: adds power on key to new keyboards 4-port Hub: is not only a hub but can provide power on capabilities 2.5"USB Bridge Enclosure: connect a apple HDD through a port FireWire Repeaters: nuf said Nova Development (http://www.novadevelopment.com) ------------------------------------------------- Their products are all art related kids stuff Art Explosion is their big product. O'Reilly (http://www.oreilly.com) -------------------------------- Sat in on two talks. The one hosted by Rael Dornfest was informative. He spoke of web development on the MacOSX platform. The technical content of his talk can be found at these web sites: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/12/15/osx_dev.html http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2000/11/10/osx_webdav/osx_webdav.html He was described as "a maven at the O'Reilly Network and the developer of Meerkat: An Open Wire Service." Meercat is explained at this web site: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/rss/2000/03/17/about_meerkat.html The next one was hosted by Adam Engst. He is a personal hero so I sat in although his talk was very basic. He spoke about tips for mac users that occasionally have to use windows. His latest book is a "Crossing Platforms: A Macintosh/Windows Phrasebook." Interestingly, the book is laid out like a traditional language phrase book. That is, the mac section describes mac concepts in windows terms and the windows section describes windows concepts in mac terms. All of the Mac books published by O'Reilly can be found at: http://mac.oreilly.com Presently, there is no book on MacOSX UNIX administration. The freebie O'Reilly was giving out was a handout describing "Seven Mac Hacks": 1) Use a RAM disk to speed web browser caching. 2) A method for nuking web site banner ads within Netscape 6. 3) Using the IE favorites tab for organizing your bookmarks. 4) A practical joke using cascading style sheets in Netscape 6. 5) Suggestion to label initial install files blue to separate it from SW installed later. 6) A method for using the Network Browser to ftp files up and down 7) The final hack describes how some macs notebooks can use IR to hot sync to a palm. Open (http://www.osdn.com) -------------------------- Open is a new magazine from OSDN (Open Source Development Network). They gave away their volume 2 edition 1 of the magazine. Although the focus of the magazine is "Linux and Open Source for E-Business" this edition had one article focusing on MacOSX and another that mentioned it. I found this small magazine (72 pages) filled with brief easily readable articles. Palm (http://www.palm.com) -------------------------- They are really pushing all the products that run the PalmOS. They don't really care if you buy your handheld from them since they get a piece of the pie. The GPS was cool. The cell phones and digital cameras running PalmOS were equally cool. I got a free T-shirt. Power On Software (http://www.poweronsoftware.com) -------------------------------------------------- Their Rewind software won Best Of Show for MacWorld 2000 NY. It does look really good. It is no brainer backup software. It just keeps snap shot diff images of everything you do so you can go back to point before you had trouble. Unfortunately, their very slick presenter was annoying as heck. They have many other titles also: Now Planner, DiskLock, ACTION Utilities. Their most famous product is Now Up-to-Date which is now bundled with Contact. PowerFile Digital Storage Solutions (http://www.dvdchanger.com) --------------------------------------------------------------- As their web site indicates their product in a dvd/cdrom jukebox. It holds 200 dvd/cdroms in a box the same size as a desktop machine. Interestingly, marathon computers has a solution to rack mount it. It costs $1799 and works with PC or Macs through its firewire interface. It comes with client/server software that lets clients mount the media remotely. RATOC Systems, International (http://www.ratocsystems.com) ---------------------------------------------------------- They were pushing their ultra scsi to firewire converter, FR1SX. It has one ultra scsi port and two firewire ports. They have lots of pcmcia and pci cards for adding firewire,, and scsi ports to your desktop and laptop computers. They have two CD-RWs coming out soon. One is designed for portables. RES (http://www.res.com) ------------------------ The Magazine of Digital Filmmaking. I haven't read their magazine yet. RedLightRunner (http://www.redlightrunner.com) ---------------------------------------------- This is an Apple-centric collectibles outfit. They sell a kit to convert Classic style Macs into aquariums. Roxio (http://www.roxio.com) ---------------------------- The Digital Media Company from Adaptec. They make software that make digital media. Their Mac products are: Toast 4 Deluxe (CD burner) Jam (audio CD maker) I guess they are the SW arm of adaptec complimenting their primarily HW solutions. The exhibit personnel were handing out order forms for their products as well as adaptecs disks, raids, and cd burners. S.A. Technology, Inc. (http://www.satech.com) --------------------------------------------- I have dealt with these guys a lot when I used to do a lot of buying for the comp any I was working for. They are mainly into PC memory, but know the Mac specs cold. They can also get just about anything PC cheap as well. They give corporate discounts of 2%. SMART Technologies Inc. (http://www.smarttech.com) -------------------------------------------------- They make Tools for Teaching. The push at the expo was for their digital white boards. These were the same size as normal white boards and you wrote on them like normal white boards but the smart pens output to a connected computer. Furthermore, the white board had a calculator accessory. Another product they make is a rear projection boards that work like the smart board but the computer screen is projected onto the board. SanCube (http://www.sancube.com) -------------------------------- There gimmick is a firewire san solution. They stress that there solution is 10 times faster then 100baseT solutions. Firewire cabling is limited to 14 feet though third party repeaters exist. The cube ships with raid software so the cube can do raid0 or raid1 but not raid0+1 or raid1+0. The 450gb model goes for $6399 at MacWarehouse. MicroNet is a reseller authorize to give volume discounts. Scalar Scopes (http://www.scalarscopes.com) ------------------------------------------- A guy here was demonstrating a microscope which displayed to your screen. He let Julie and I pay with it quite a bit. I went to the Scalar Scope web site and apparently they make lots of scope solutions. SmithMicro Software: Web Catalog (http://www.smithmicro.com/webcatalog) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Didn't get much info from these guys. The eCommerce WebCatalog integrates with most web servers and it modified through normal web browsers. The WebCatalog can create multiple store fronts on a single server. Sonnet Technologies, Inc. (http://www.sonnettech.com) ----------------------------------------------------- These guys are most famous for their cpu upgrades but they make a few PCI cards too. They make Firewire/USB, Raid, UltraSCSI cards. The Raid card with control up to 4 internal ide drives and let you boot off these stripped disks. TeraGlobal Communications (http://www.teraglobal.com) ----------------------------------------------------- Voice, video, and data conferencing over broadband. Supposedly the communication is really good. I got a mouse pad for listening to them for a minute. The Access 2 Technology Project (http://www.a2t.org) ---------------------------------------------------- These guys give donated computers to schools and the needy. They teach the recipients how to get it up and running again. The Omni Group (http://www.omnigroup.com) ----------------------------------------- They make a web browser that works on MacOSX. $29.95 or annoying ads. Think Free (http://www.thinkfree.com) ------------------------------------- Java Office Suite that works through a web browser. It is free for 30 days. $29.95 a year subscription after that. Microsoft Office compatible. Files can reside on ThinkFree's free web-based file storage. Thursby Software (http://www.thursby.com) ----------------------------------------- Dave is their big product. Dave can be installed on a Mac so it can participate in a PC network. Dave uses TCP/IP and WINS. It is also capable to print to PC printers. MacSOHO is their newest product which could be described as Dave Lite. It can't print to PC printers but uses NetBIOS in order to do dynamic name resolution. MacSOHO is supposed to be easier to use then Dave. The same CD can be used to install it on a PC and presumably the PC would be able to see appletalk shares. Their give away was a demo version of MacSOHO. Other products they sell is MacNFS and TSStalk. MacNFS is just a NFS client and TSStalk is the opposite of Dave and for the PC. Thursby's exhibit had the thickest carpet at the expo. Uni Software Plus (http://www.unisoftwareplus.com) -------------------------------------------------- Version control the Macintosh way. There new product is Voodoo Server ($79). It works as a plug-in for CodeWarrior to sync up with other developers. The personal edition works on all types of file. It stores compressed data on the difference between versions. The company also makes easybeat and popchar. Easybeat is a music creation software and popchar aids in typing special keys. The voodoo author was there giving away demos of the company's software. Unibrain, Inc. (http://www.unibrain.com) ---------------------------------------- These guys have a product called FireNet that lets you tcp/ip or appletalk over firewire. Easy way to add a second interface to a machine. It is $49 for two nodes. Univenture (http://www.univenture.com) -------------------------------------- This company develops disk packaging systems. Their freebie was a Unikeep. This is a very cheap case with 10 CD holding leaves. They stress their inexpensive solutions. They also gave me a sample of each of the packaging solutions. Its amazing the myriad of inexpensive CD holders. Yellow Dog Linux (http://www.yellowdoglinux.com) ------------------------------------------------ They were selling the OS for $10 at the show. I a cool hat also. It normally goes $25. It runs on a wide varieties of macs. Their 2.0 version is due out in March and is supposed to be pretty good. The 2.0 installer is supposed to be a real no brainer. Their claim to fame is a MacOS emulator which comes bundled with their version of linux so you don't have to dual boot it.