New & Noteworthy: Mac cruise; FireWire everywhere; High-bandwidth Internet faltering?; more

Mac cruise to merge glaciers with G4s From CNet: "Once word got out last week that Bauman was considering planning a Mac cruise, he said, he was immediately deluged with e-mails from would-be passengers. In response, Bauman said Monday that he has scheduled MacMania, a seven-day cruise that will set sail in May, merging Alaska's Inside Passage and the iMac." More. For a look at what attending one of these cruises is like, see Scripting on the Lido Deck, which appeared in Wired Magazine last year.

FireWire poised to become ubiquitous This CNet article covers the FireWire vs. USB debate, notes the revenue Apple receives from FireWire devices and takes a look at the future FireWire revision. An excerpt: "While Apple Computer was happy to take home an Emmy for its FireWire technology, the company must be even more pleased that the high-speed connection is moving closer to a bigger goal--becoming standard on the majority of PCs." More.

DSL Behind in Broadband Race FromReuters: "High-speed Internet access over ordinary telephone lines is a technology that was to pave the promised information superhighway -- but for most consumers it's become a road to nowhere." More. See also this related article.

Chorus of Gator critics grows Also from CNet: "An influential advertising trade group is publicly criticizing software company Gator for tampering with the already troubled online ad market." More.

QuickTime movie on mall opening Check this page for a cool QuickTime video of the opening of the new Apple Store at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg.

Explorer 6.0 protests Windows users are not applauding the release of Internet Explorer 6.0. According to this cnet.com article, it is "drawing protests because it doesn't support two rival products commonly used on Web sites. Internet Explorer 6.0 will not automatically support the embattled Java programming language or Netscape-style 'plug-ins,' though users and developers will have tools to make the browser compatible with those products." The latter refers to the problem, previously cited on MacFixIt, that prevented QuickTime from working until Apple came out with an ActiveX version.