FunkDaddy writes "The MathWorks today announced its intention to make MATLAB, the industry's leading technical computing software, available on Mac OS X, with the next release of the MathWorks product line. With MATLAB on Mac OS X, users will be able to use powerful, sophisticated technical computing tools in a graphical and intuitive environment. You hear that mac-geek-scientist-guys? Rejoice!" It looks like perhaps that survey did some good.

Eugenia Loli writes "MacCentral has the up-to-the-minute updates on the Apple WorldWide Developer Conference. The first big news is that Apple drops Mac OS 9. 'It's time to drop OS 9,' Steve Jobs said. 'We can do things in X that we just can't do in 9... a hundred percent of what we're doing is X only. [...] Mac OS 9 isn't dead for our customers, but it is for developers. Today we say goodbye to Mac OS 9 for all future development,' said Jobs." We all expected this to happen sooner or later, more sooner than later. There's been no new Apple development for Mac OS 9 in some time; only maintenance updates. But I won't stop Mac OS 9 development. You can't stop me! Muahahahaha! Update: 05/06 18:31 GMT by P : More news from WWDC continues to roll in.

ZigMonty writes "Apple has updated their Kernel Programming docs (May 1st). They are a lot more substantial now (read: they say something other than 'don't')."

A user writes, "I help moderate a forum dealing with Mac OS X, and I'm having an awful time convincing a fair portion of our readers that logging in as root all the time is a Really Bad Idea. Worse, though, are the ones who try to convince others to log in as root all the time, claiming it's 'more Mac-OS-9-like,' or saying 'it's not really more insecure,' or even that 'a firewall should deter hackers pretty well.' I know all the standard arguments, but they're not working out. Does anyone here have some real-world anecdotes that I can point to?"

bootc writes "Last week we heard the news that Jordan Hubbard was leaving the FreeBSD Core Team. I received an email about the new OpenDarwin.org web site and had a look around, just to find that our friend Jordan was member of the OpenDarwin Core Team!" Apple has consolidated its Open Source web site, including Darwin, under its developer site, while the Internet Software Consortium is hosting the independent OpenDarwin.org, which will develop OpenDarwin with the developer community and collaborate with Apple to merge OpenDarwin technologies into Darwin and Mac OS X.

Rura Penthe writes "NothingReal, developer of Shake (a high-end video compositing application), was purchased by Apple in February. Until now the fate of Shake on Windows, Irix, and Linux was uncertain at best, but in an email sent out to Shake users, Apple has declared that Irix and Linux versions will be developed at least through 2003. However, the upcoming Windows version will be the last for that platform. Good news for Shake users with Linux render farms like Weta Digital, which used Shake for Lord of the Rings." (Reminder to Apple users: visit Slashdot's Apple section for more Apple-related news.)

NunDLess asks: "G4 PowerBooks have absolutely dreadful wireless range due, I've been told, to the fact that the internal antennas are underneath that slick Titanium case. Has anyone heard about a way to set up an external wireless antenna on a PowerBook? I've been looking for supported PCMCIA wireless cards, but haven't found one with Mac OS X drivers."

KeelSpawn writes in that Yahoo! has a story about the upcoming WWDC in San Jose, May 6-10. Apple will offer attendees the chance to "be the first to explore the powerful new capabilities of the next major release of Mac OS X," with over 100 technical sessions, including those on Darwin, changes in Carbon and Cocoa, and more than 25 sessions on Java and WebObjects. The WWDC Steve Jobs keynote begins May 6 at 1 p.m. Eastern, while the Mac OS X keynote begins at 5 p.m. Eastern.

ScooterComputer writes "According to Bloomberg and a bunch of others, Apple is suing Sorenson over their licensing a codec to Macromedia for Flash MX, for 'developing, marketing, or licensing any version of the compression software used in QuickTime to competitors.' For years we have seen finger pointing going on between Apple and Sorenson as to WHY the Sorenson codec can't make it to the Linux platform... and things usually end with Apple saying it is Sorenson's fault. Well, I'd say Apple lied. So, can we all just start putting big pressure on Apple again to release QuickTime for Linux?" (Reminder to Apple users to visit Slashdot's Apple section for more Apple-related news.)

destructo666 writes "April 2002 Developer Tools now available to ADC online members. Membership is required, but it is free. This release includes a GM AppleScript Studio 1.1, plus beta versions of Project Builder 2.0 and gcc-3 Compiler." Must. Go. Play.

If you didn't see it on the Slashdot home page, be sure to check out the book review of Macintosh... The Naked Truth. Barrels of fun for the whole family!

From the opening pages of Scott Kelby's Macintosh... The Naked Truth, I was literally laughing out loud. I am a generally jovial character, so this is not the finest endorsement available, but it is typical of the experience the rest of the book offered me.

Fubar writes "Longtime TidBITS publisher Adam C. Engst recently wrote a book about Apple's iPhoto software. Faced with the standard publishing-to-market delays that would only leave a month or so before the next version of iPhoto is released, Engst worked out a deal with Amazon that folks can download the book for $13 now, and receive a free dead-tree version once the book is updated to reflect the changes in the new version of iPhoto. This is the first 'book upgrade' I've ever heard of."

Martin Kallisti writes "Apple has released new PowerBook models whose improvements include faster processors (up to 800MHz), better resolution, 1MB of L3 cache and 32MB of video memory. Also, a new computer looking much like the old iMacs, called the eMac, has seen the light of day. It's primarily targeted at the education market, and boasts a 700MHz G4 processor and a flat 17" monitor. " As Troc pointed out in another submission, the eMac will be available only to profs/teachers, students and higher education institutions.

gsfprez writes "It's fairly simple: MATLAB wants to know if a Mac OS X port would be worth their while or not. I tell you what, I know a few engineering R&D organizations who'd have to reverse their anti-Mac IT decisions solely based on the idea that MATLAB would be available for Mac OS X because there could finally be high power, yet affordable, Unix machines running it."

foghorn666 writes "Still have an old all-in-one Mac buried in your basement somewhere? Wired reports that Japanese collectors are paying a premium for the 'toasters,' including $500 for a HD-less Mac SE and $1000 for a used Newton."

paradesign writes "Citing both Apple and Sony's intentions to become the hub of the digital lifestyle, Popular Science has pitted an $1,800 800MHz flat-panel iMac up against a $3,400 1.7GHz Sony Vaio PCV-MXS10 to see which really comes out on top. The bottom line is that the Sony PC -- almost twice as expensive as the iMac -- just narrowly edged out the iMac, with an overall score of 42 to 40."

ulbador writes "From the Linux Mandrake PPC site: Mandrake Linux 8.2 PPC is now available for Macintosh users. This newest release offers G3 optimization, user-friendly configuration tools, and the most up-to-date software. Visit your local mirror."

rschroeder writes "I keep thinking that this article can't be real, but it looks like it. Among the juicier bits: 'The real operating system hiding under the newest version of the Macintosh operating system (Mac OS X) is called... Darwin! That's right, new Macs are based on Darwinism! While they currently don't advertise this fact to consumers, it is well known among the computer elite, who are mostly Atheists and Pagans. Furthermore, the Darwin OS is released under an 'Open Source' license, which is just another name for Communism.'" Yes, of course. And I am still waiting for Jesux to be released.

snyperm writes "stepwise.com indicates that the April 2002 Developer Tools have been seeded to developers and is scheduled for release sometime in the coming weeks. The improvement of gcc 3.1 alone is noteworthy as arstechnica indicates there should be somewhat substantial increases in speed ahead for Mac OS X. One step closer to 10.2!" Also included, according to the story, is a ProjectBuilder 2.0 beta.