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ATPM 6.04
April 2000

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Hi-Tech Theme

Well first, congratulations for the awesome magazine. It’s really nice, simple, correct, informative.

I have a simple question: I don’t normally use desktop themes, mainly because I don’t know where to find the theme I like, which is Hi-Tech (or Vader). I met that theme many years ago, but I was disappointed when I got Mac OS 8.6 (because I jumped from an LC 475 with System 7.5.5 to a PowerBook G3/333 with Mac OS 8.6) and it didn’t have the theme.

So, if you could give me an indication where can I find the theme, it would be really appreciated. In the last issue I saw a picture of your desktop with that theme. If is hard to find on the Net, could you send it to me please?

Luis Flores

The Appearance theme ‘hi-tech’ (as well as ‘Gizmo’ and ‘Drawing Board’) was only available as part of pre-release developer versions of the Mac OS before Apple pulled it from the public release. It can still be found around the net, but Apple does not sanction its use, and its distribution is illegal. So you may have a hard time finding it.

If you want to use the Appearance theme feature of your computer, you can get some other themes legally from the Mac Themes Project. (Click on ’Themes on the very right and then ‘Theme Archive’ on the top.) None of them are exactly like hi-tech, but you might find something similar.

But there is another possibility, one that is used by many Mac users: Kaleidoscope. There is a nearly endless variety of Kaleidoscope schemes available. Here is a selection of the most popular.

—Daniel Chvatik

• • •

Jobs’s Compensation—Bad

I tire of reading about how Steve Jobs selflessly led Apple for the past two years for just $1 a year in salary and no bonuses or stock options. Has everyone forgotten just how Steve Jobs came back to Apple? They bought his NeXT Software company for $430,000,000 in 1997. That is far more than the company was worth, since the only products useful to Apple were WebObjects, OpenStep, and the pieces of NeXT’s operating system that could be applied to Rhapsody (now Mac OS X).

Later, in a PR move to express displeasure with how CEO Gil Amelio was running Apple, Steve Jobs sold all but one of the Apple stock shares he received for NeXT Software. If he had held on to those shares, they would have quadrupled in value, and Steve Jobs would have added another billion or two to his net worth.

The current Apple board of directors grossly overcompensated Steve Jobs for his two years as interim CEO. The personal jet alone is said to be worth 60 to 90 million dollars. Jobs also received the phenomenal offer of options on ten million shares of Apple stock at less than $88 per share. If he exercised his options today (AAPL closed at $128 per share), Jobs would net over $400,000,000! Not bad for a couple of years of part-time (Jobs also heads Pixar) work.

Apple’s board of directors should be sued by shareholders for gross malfeasance for giving Jobs a compensation package better than that of any corporate executive in history. If Jobs had kept his Apple shares, their rise in value would have handsomely compensated him for his successful efforts as iCEO. Essentially, the board allowed Jobs to recover from his personal financial blunder (selling Apple shares before he became iCEO) and added a hefty profit besides.

Gregory Tetrault

• • •

Jobs’s Compensation—Good

I think that the man who “saved” Apple almost single handily deserves a one-time big reward, just for that historical fact alone.

For the future, however, I think it should not become the rule. I think that in general a lot of bigheaded Bobo’s get a lot more than their fair share of the money. One should and could give the other workers of a successful company a fair bonus as well.

But history learns us that people who are sitting closer to the money usually end up with more than their fair share.

E. Geers

• • •

We’d love to hear your thoughts about our publication. We always welcome your comments, criticisms, suggestions, and praise at editor@atpm.com. Or, if you have an opinion or announcement about the Macintosh platform in general, that’s OK too.

Send your e-mail to editor@atpm.com. All mail becomes the property of ATPM.apple

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Reader Comments (1)

anonymous · November 8, 2005 - 17:35 EST #1
bull
ok i agree with you on the price
but he has lead apple out of the dark
still it is a start

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