User group Newsletter Editors: Utilize this content in your newsletter -- PLEASE ... reference The User Group Network _ / _ UG Network Channel _ / _ NEWS_/ _ Rumor Manager The Rumor Manager is looking for your rumors and tidbits... give him a post! ...or subscribe... see subscription notes below 9911.22 i-Opener; Savings Bonds; MSNBC; Ambrosia; Messenger; iMac Purchasing; MacOS X DPR2 **** i-Opener The New York Times reported on 11/11, that i-Opener Personal Access Device or IPAD will go on sale the week of 11/15. IPAD is an Internet appliance from a new company called NetPliance.com. It has is a home computer that handles e-mail, web-browsing and other tasks and does not use a bit of Microsoft code. It uses Linux as its OS. It will sell for $199 plus the Internet access fee. **** www.savingsbonds.gov Yes, the US Government is selling savings bonds over the Internet. Just charge them to your Visa or MasterCard. You will be mailed the bond itself. The charge is 50% of the face value. They also have amaturity data with calculations. That way you can see if any of the bonds you already own have quit paying interest. **** MSNBC In an article entitled: "MSNBC blunders over poll position", the Register discusses the possiblity that MSNBC was or was not aware that the poll made it impossible for Netscape users to vote. After being made aware of the problem, that part was fixed. BUT - no matter what browser used, Macintosh users could not participate. The poll was on views of the recent ruling that Microsoft is a monoploy. Of course maybe that was just an effort to keep out the EvangeListas who could have swayed the out come. Follow-up Information (May require a no charge registration). **** Ambrosia My most favorite shareware company has made an interesting announcement. In light of the fact that After Dark is not OS9 compatible and Berkley has said they would NOT update the software, Ambrosia is making an upgrade offer. You can upgrade to Eclipse for $10 instead of its normal $15 registration fee. I haven't used After Dark in a while as it has always had problems with any OS upgrade. Eclipse is actually an application that runs in the background, not a Control Panel device as After Dark is. To get the upgrade, download the shareware program from www.ambrosiasw.com. Then when registering: go to the web site and whey filling out the form, enter into the comments field: "I want Eclipse 3 for $10; my version of After Dark is ____". This offer expires on December 31, 1999. **** Yahoo Messenger for Win CE, Macs Yahoo Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., announced new versions of its Messenger instant messaging service for Palm Computing Inc. and Apple Computer Inc. Macintosh-based devices as well as palm-top devices running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows CE. Messenger is now available for Palm Computing's Palm III, IIIx and V operating systems; Compaq Computer Corp.'s Aero; Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Jornada; and Casio Computer Co.'s Cassiopeia, according to Yahoo. The new versions can be downloaded from http:// mobile.yahoo.com. **** On iMac, get your money's worth. The Sun Sentinal has a great article on finding the correct iMac for you. You can pay from $799 to $1499 for an iMac. Potentially $700 more than you need to spend for your needs. (Almost double). If interested you can read the full article. Of course if you are a guru, you may not need it. But I bet there are a lot of people that do. Print it out and give it to your friends that are planning on getting an iMac. Save them some money or make sure they get the features they need. **** Mac OS X Developer Preview Release 2 If you want more information including screen shots of Apples soon to be new OS, check out this web site: http://www.xappeal.org/archive/dp2.html (Remember, that things are still subject to change as it isn't shipping yet. However reports are, that it is very fast and is very stable. Looks like we are on track for mid 2000 release. **** I will be taking Turkey Day off to spend with my family. Have a great and don't eat too much. Will be back in December. **** What are you missing? Are you missing the list? Speaking of slow week.... not so with the UGNN discussion lists. There has been a lot of talk concerning the Microsoft "Finding of Fact" results, and other issues. REMEMBER: what I put in this column is NOT necessarily what's discussed or posted to both Rumors and TALK. Subscribe and get involved! Don't forget Any suggestions for topics and reports of rumors are always welcome. Please me know at the address below. Thanks ... the Rumor Manager invites you to use all or part of his column in your user group newsletter. Please let him know at rumormangr@aol.com and if possible send an electronic copy for the old scrapbook. pau Subscribe to Rumors@lists.user-groups.net DIGEST VERSION: rumors-digest@lists.user-groups.net (recommended) rumors-on@lists.user-groups.net for more information go to: http://www.user-groups.net/ugcommunity/subscribe.html The Rumor Manager is a veteran of the UGN (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He's been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long time user group member, he's served as volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and many points in between. Currently working with the Apple Corp of Dallas, the Dallas Mac Pack, Cowtown MUG of Ft. 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