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Issue #16      January 26, 2001      Made in the U.S.A. What's New Some think Gobe Software is out of their minds, but they're having a sweet sale right now. Productive is a mere $49.95 ($30 off!), or you can get Productive and BeOS R5 Pro bundled for $59.95, which is totally cheap -- over $85 off their regular price. This is a limited time offer, so if you've been chewing your nails trying to decide whether to get BeOS R5 Pro, now's the time to do it. The Hidden Question The last hidden question was, "This person recently resigned as prime minister of Israel, thus throwing the Israeli political landscape into (even more) turmoil." The answer is Ehud Barak, that wascally wabbit. About 35 people answered correctly (don't forget to include your address!), and here are the fabulous five who won Be CD cases: Daniel Usmar -- United Kingdom Noel Abela -- Malta Brian Chaney -- Maryland Ignasio Torres Masdeu -- Spain Tipton Cherico -- Texas The Hidden Question Rules: Somewhere in the newsletter there will be a hidden trivia question. If you've registered your copy of BeOS 5, send an e-mail to hidden@be.com with the correct answer (and your name and address, please) and you will be entered into a drawing to win some nifty BeOS swag. PLUS your name will be announced in the next newsletter as one of the Big Winners. That is all. Arranging Title Tabs By default, the title tabs on all BeOS windows appear flush left. But what you may not have known is that you can move those suckers around. All you have to do is press Shift and then with your mouse scoot the title tab left and right as you please. Arrange a bunch of windows on your desktop like manila folders and toggle quickly between them. Go you! Check it Out On BeNews you can find a myriad of BeOS backgrounds for your computer, made by fans and employees of Be. What is the name of the dinosaur that was recently found in Madagascar (hint: the dinosaur was named after a Dire Straits band member)? As I told you how to change your backgrounds in BUN 13, you're all set to pick a nifty BeOS background for yourself. Now git. Movie Review "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Directed by Ang Lee, Starring Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziy This movie KICKED ASS. I had heard such good things about it, and I like the martial arts thing well enough, that I went to see it with a group of friends Saturday night. We got lost on the way to the theater and then Mark HAD to get popcorn and a soda before we went in, so I did miss the first few minutes, which really got me peeved. I REALLY hate missing the beginning of a movie. But luckily I was able to catch up with the plot so I didn't have to stay mad -- only irritated at the rustling of hands in popcorn. The plot is that there's this sword, called the Green Destiny, that this guy Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat), a famous swordsman, wants to give away. He's all bummed on the whole lifestyle of the warrior and medidating was taking him to bad places and well, he just wants to give old Green Destiny to someone who'd appreciate it. He decides to give it to a respected leader, Sir Te. He asks his old pal Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), a fellow warrior and the gal he's been crushing on for years, to take it to Sir Te. She accepts. When Shu Lien gets to Sir Te's she delivers the Green Destiny and meets the young Jen (Zhang Ziyi), the cute and saucy daughter of a local official governor-type guy. We know she's saucy because she can't stop talking about how cool it would be to be a warrior like Shu Lien, and how it'd be so much cooler than getting married and being a wife. Shu Lien smiles politely and tries to steer her back to the idea that marrying some prominent dude's son is a really good thing and that being a warrior isn't all that. Jen is unconvinced. That night the Green Destiny is stolen by a slim figure dressed in black with a black cloth over the bottom of their face, but the eyes look very much like Jen's, and you can tell Shu Lien is thinking the same thing as she battles the thief for the return of the sword. The fight scene is totally amazing, and what makes it unlike any former fencing scene is that the warriors fly -- yes, fly -- as they chase each other over rooftops and scale building walls. Shu Lien, who is no spring chicken in the woman warrior department, is an amazing fencer, and she holds her own with the clearly expertly trained mystery thief. Anyhoo, the thief gets away and the next day Li Mu Bai shows up to help find his old sword. He's thinking the notorious thief and killer Jade Fox (another chick) is behind the theft and since she also killed his master years ago, he's hot to catch her and get some justice. So then it gets a little confusing because who the hell is Jade Fox, and how did this little Jen girl learn these crafty moves well enough that she could steal the Green Destiny under the eyes of security men and a great warrior like Shu? You find all that out soon enough, but you also get the flashbacks into Jen's life that explain a bit more about who she is and where she's coming from: Jen is traveling through the desert with her mum in a carriage surrounded by their servants and whatnot when Lo (Chang Chen), a bad-ass hottie, and his gang come along and rob them. During the robbery Lo winks at Jen and yoinks an ivory comb out of her hand. She immediately gets mad and hops on a horse after him. Unrelenting, she chases him, throwing stuff at him on his horse, insisting he give her back her comb. He gets away and she continues after him until she catches up with the whole gang who is rifling through her belongings. Just as they're about to attack her, Lo shows up and says, "She's mine!" and takes off again with Jen in pursuit. She ends up totally lost in the desert, of course, and they end up back at Lo's place in some cave. It takes days of Lo being nice to Jen before she kind of starts to trust him. But she's still mad about the comb and during another romp trying to get it back -- you guessed it -- they start smooching. And thus a romance begins. Eventually Jen's father sends out guys looking for her in the desert and she tells Lo to hold on to her ivory comb, keep it safe, and come get her when she can. He promises he will. Zhang Ziy, who plays Jen, is just so adorable and likeable, especially considering what she's supposed to be in her society, and how she totally bucks it and does her own thing, like chasing a thief far into the desert for an ivory comb her mother gave her. Her chutzpah is comical, but also very endearing. You can understand why a guy like Lo would fall for her. Unfortunately when Lo comes to get her she's all mired in this Green Destiny business (there's a search on for the thief, while Shu is gently prodding Jen in a non-direct manner to give back the sword and not disgrace her family). Jen sends him off in tears. They get to the Jade Fox business and of course there are fight scenes aplenty, with a surprising number of them involving really good fighting women. They are beautifully choreographed and because I am a weenie I sincerely cringed through them. One amazing scene takes place in the trees, and it is so beautiful it feels like you are dreaming as you watch it. Jen is going back and forth with the Green Destiny, giving it back and taking it again, angry at the world and torn between two people who want to be her masters. Meanwhile, you are rooting for Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai to get it together and admit they've had the hots for each other for years and get it on, but it doesn't seem likely that it's going to happen. I won't ruin the ending telling you either way, but I will say that I wish there had been a bit more focus on the tale these two had to tell. Sure, Jen and Lo were a good love story, too, but I think they could have fit a more satisfying story of Shu and Li in there as well. Oh, well, you can't have it all. The ending is left up to interpretation, but I probably picked the simplest explanation and was happy enough with it. Mostly, the ending was really beautiful and touching and well, that's pretty much how I feel about the whole movie. Credits & Legal Stuff Editor, Writer, Going eCrazy: Wendy Hall Copyeditor, Mildly Amused: Mike Popovic To answer that hidden question, send e-mail to hidden@be.com To write to Wendy, send e-mail to wendy@be.com Read past issues of The BUN here. The BeOS User Newsletter Copyright (c) 2000 by Be, Inc. All rights reserved. Be, Inc. 800 El Camino Real, Suite 400 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Tel: (650) 462-4100 Fax: (650) 462-4129 Web: http://www.be.com/ Be, BeOS and BeIA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Be Incorporated in the United States and other countries. Other brand product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. All rights reserved. Except for yours, sucka! Where's the rest of that dress, young lady?

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