Ah... the millennium. The real one, not the one that was touted last year at this time. Just as the odometer on our cars turns over when we reach a number ending in 0's, the calendar turns over when we reached the year 2000. The first mile is the beginning of that journey, and the first year we celebrate the turnover will be 2001. Or is it? What was it that Arthur Clark said in his pivotal novel 2001? I guess it doesn't really matter as I've never read the book, but wanted to quote it here like everyone else is in print during this time period.

What does the new century mean for Mac users? Seeing how the computer has only been around for the last half of this century, it means that we've turned the corner. We have the formation of the brains for the robots we read and dreamed about as children. These machines are the start of a way to achieve immortality by virtue of continuing to expand our knowledge. But how do we use that power? Some may see this as a way to experience more realistic games that involve us in worlds that could never exist in reality. With all that processing power at our disposal the blocky images of yesteryear have given way to fluid curves and environments that transport us to places where we can explore the landscape and inhabitants we encounter. The best of these simulations can also make us think and reflect on the beauty that unfolds before us. One such world was created a half decade ago by two brothers. Using Macintosh computers Rand and Robyn Miller created the still-popular CDROM game Myst. Like a handful of brother teams of the past; think Wright, Kennedy and Smothers, they changed the way we perceive our world. In this instance they demonstrated computer games need not involve shoot-em-ups and mass destruction, but rather could be gentle exercises in visual and mental stimulation. The popularity of the program led to a sequel, Riven, that expanded the story with a five CD set with still greater effects, but maintained the overall heart and feel of the original.

Aside from the gaming experience, Macs have some amazing capabilities that many users may not be aware of. Here are a couple of fun things that make our platform the best for the upcoming century:

In several word processing programs as well as other applications, the words you type can be read back to you. To quickly try this, open SimpleText, a program you probably have several copies of on your hard drive. Type in a sentence. Go to the "Sound" menu item and "Speak All". Your Mac will read back what you've written. It only speaks the words phonetically, but it's a hoot to hear a robotic voice speaking your text. To change the voice, go to the control panel and open up Speech.

Once you're in the Speech Control Panel you may find that there's another way to make your Apple more like the computer Hal in some movie about the turning of the real century. Without going through the details, as I've already rambled on too much, you can control many functions of your computer by just talking to it and giving commands. Very Jetson...Star Trek... Captain Video (Whoops, I've just given a signal that I'm not exactly a young man with that last show). Speaking of video, if you're using iMovie 2, don't miss the free extras available from Apple.

This brings us up to today. As I've written this column, it's been several weeks since the November election and we still don't know who the President-elect is. Seems that Americans wanted to have a photo finish for the last election in the Twentieth Century. There's a site that takes the two contenders for the highest office in the land and has a little fun at their expense. If you go to the site mentioned at the end of this column, you'll be able to mold the future leader. The site uses a Goo-like interface to let visitors smear and sculpt the faces of the two men however they please.

Now that's really shaping our leaders into what we want them to be.

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