As a matter of fact, it is odd to think that Apple might want you to upgrade your computer.
While they did sell upgrades in the early days (including DOS cards that had an Intel processor and PPC upgrades for older Macs), they stopped doing this later on. A different attitude arrived along with Steve Jobs. Upgrades were frowned upon, to say the least. The iMac, for example, is designed so that it's almost impossible to upgrade.
This attitude reached its height when Apple released a G3 ROM firmware upgrade that deliberately made it impossible to upgrade your G3 to a G4. The official word from Apple was that they were, "worried about stability issues if users carried out the upgrades themselves, since G3 computers were never meant to be fitted with G4 processors."
While it's nice to think that Apple was concerned about the poor users and wanted to prevent their systems from becoming unstable, I think it's much more likely that Apple realized that they didn't make any money from upgrades. If you're Apple, would you rather have someone upgrade their current iMac with a card (from you or another manufacturer) or buy a completely new iMac? I think the answer is obvious.
It's hard to argue with Apple's corporate strategy here though. It's changes like this that have brought them back from the brink of bankruptcy and turned them into a profitable company.
The current situation seems to be that Apple tolerates upgrades but isn't about to go out of their way to help the upgrade companies.
There is an error in the article. The author states:
(Unfortunately the client cards, only US$99, are not usable except in iBooks and bronze-keyboard Powerbooks, which have an antenna integrated into the chassis.)
Actually, all currently shipping Macs support the AirPort card, including the iMac (Slot Loading) and Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) models.
Apple has a Tech Info Library Article on using third-party wireless cards (such as the Lucent WaveLAN or Farallon SkyLINE) with older Macs on the AirPort system. This article also clarifies which Macs work with the AirPort card and what third-party wireless cards will be compatible with the AirPort system on Macs and PCs.
The "Infocom game 'databases'" are actually called z-code files. They are platform-independent files that run under a virtual machine called the "Z-Machine". Z-Machines have been created for a number of platforms including Linux, Java, PalmPilot, and even Gameboy! Once you have a Z-Machine for your platform, all you need is the data files for the game you want to play.
On the Macintosh Z-Machine I used, it could look at a DOS.EXE file and pull the z-code data from the.EXE file and save it separately. I am not sure if all Z-Machines can do this or not.
The "Infocom Masterpieces" CD that you link to actually includes five Zorks, not three. (You are probably forgetting Beyond Zork and Zork Zero.)
The only Infocom text adventures not included on the Masterpieces CD were Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Shogun. Both of these were based off of novels and the rights had reverted to the novels' authors by the time Masterpieces was published.
The CD is a dual-format CD that works under Mac and DOS/Win. Since the same PDF files are accessible in both modes (they take up almost 600 Mb by themselves!), it should be accessible under ISO-9660.
People besides Infocom have written games that are compatible with the Z-Machine. In fact, several contest-winning games appear on the Masterpieces CD. There's a wide range of quality out there. This is pointed out perfectly with mst3k1_2.z5. It takes one of the poorest text adventures I've ever seen and MST3Ks it within the text adventure engine itself. The final product is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It must be played to be believed.
If you want more information about interactive fiction (text adventures), a good place to start is the Unofficial Infocom Homepage
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While they did sell upgrades in the early days (including DOS cards that had an Intel processor and PPC upgrades for older Macs), they stopped doing this later on. A different attitude arrived along with Steve Jobs. Upgrades were frowned upon, to say the least. The iMac, for example, is designed so that it's almost impossible to upgrade.
This attitude reached its height when Apple released a G3 ROM firmware upgrade that deliberately made it impossible to upgrade your G3 to a G4. The official word from Apple was that they were, "worried about stability issues if users carried out the upgrades themselves, since G3 computers were never meant to be fitted with G4 processors."
http://www.macnn.com/features/g4 blockupgrrep.shtml
While it's nice to think that Apple was concerned about the poor users and wanted to prevent their systems from becoming unstable, I think it's much more likely that Apple realized that they didn't make any money from upgrades. If you're Apple, would you rather have someone upgrade their current iMac with a card (from you or another manufacturer) or buy a completely new iMac? I think the answer is obvious.
It's hard to argue with Apple's corporate strategy here though. It's changes like this that have brought them back from the brink of bankruptcy and turned them into a profitable company.
The current situation seems to be that Apple tolerates upgrades but isn't about to go out of their way to help the upgrade companies.
(Unfortunately the client cards, only US$99, are not usable except in iBooks and bronze-keyboard Powerbooks, which have an antenna integrated into the chassis.)
Actually, all currently shipping Macs support the AirPort card, including the iMac (Slot Loading) and Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) models.
Apple has a Tech Info Library Article on using third-party wireless cards (such as the Lucent WaveLAN or Farallon SkyLINE) with older Macs on the AirPort system. This article also clarifies which Macs work with the AirPort card and what third-party wireless cards will be compatible with the AirPort system on Macs and PCs.
For more info about AirPort, check out Apple's AirPort Site or go to their Tech Info Library and search on "AirPort".
On the Macintosh Z-Machine I used, it could look at a DOS .EXE file and pull the z-code data from the .EXE file and save it separately. I am not sure if all Z-Machines can do this or not.
The "Infocom Masterpieces" CD that you link to actually includes five Zorks, not three. (You are probably forgetting Beyond Zork and Zork Zero.)
The only Infocom text adventures not included on the Masterpieces CD were Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Shogun. Both of these were based off of novels and the rights had reverted to the novels' authors by the time Masterpieces was published.
The CD is a dual-format CD that works under Mac and DOS/Win. Since the same PDF files are accessible in both modes (they take up almost 600 Mb by themselves!), it should be accessible under ISO-9660.
People besides Infocom have written games that are compatible with the Z-Machine. In fact, several contest-winning games appear on the Masterpieces CD. There's a wide range of quality out there. This is pointed out perfectly with mst3k1_2.z5. It takes one of the poorest text adventures I've ever seen and MST3Ks it within the text adventure engine itself. The final product is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It must be played to be believed.
If you want more information about interactive fiction (text adventures), a good place to start is the Unofficial Infocom Homepage