[6/30] Will the Sales of Macs Decline Until MacIntels Debut? The answer is yes according to a number of reader polls posted on various Mac Web sites and comments from so-called analysts quoted here and there. In fact, no one knows how sales of Macs based on Freescale’s G4 and IBM’s G5 CPUs will fair until the Macs with an Intel CPU inside begin to flow a year from now.  

Our guess is that sales will not dip during the transition, at least not as a result of people waiting for the MacIntels. And why should they? Mac users benefit from Apple’s innovation but as a whole they tend not to be early adopters. So why would one expect that if they needed a new computer now or in six months that they would wait to buy the initial MacIntels in one to two and a half years hence?

Over the years people have written us many times wondering whether or not they should buy a new Mac right then because Apple may just be ready to release an updated version. Our answer has always been the same: if you really need a new computer get one. This is because if one waits for the next update one will wait forever since Macs get updated continuously just like every other personal computer. Besides, the market for slightly-used Macs thrives in case a new Mac comes out with a must-have feature. Why is now any different?

But Apple will be changing CPUs. What if you buy a Mac with a G4 or G5 in the interim, will Apple support it for at least 5 years? Of course, Apple will but the best predictor is history. Our main day job Mac is a Power Mac G4 Cube purchased in August, 2000, within five weeks of 5 years ago. It runs Mac OS X 10.4.1 Tiger just fine and all of the current versions of applications that we used in 2000. Less than three years after we bought the Cube (and 2 others) Apple switched to a totally different CPU, the IBM G5. Going back even further, our new Power Mac 7100 ran Mac OS 7.1 through 9.1 and all of the Classic OS applications for more than 5 years. Yes, it had a PowerPC CPU but the radically different PowerPC G3 and G4s came out during that period and Apple didn’t obsolete the 7100. In fact, it still runs great today with a G3 upgrade CPU.

Our only concern for a sales dip is if Apple’s offerings stagnate between now and when they are replaced by their MacIntel version. With today’s rapid evolution of graphics, wireless networking and storage technologies we don’t think that stagnation is in the cards. Hey, IBM may even hit 3GHz in the G5 in the next six months and Freescale’s low power G4s may hit 2GHz.

So what’s the big worry? If you need a new Mac today or next year, get one. You won’t regret it even if it doesn’t have an Intel inside.

what you think. [Bill Fox]

[6/30] Apple Dropped Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL and Added ATI Radeon X850 XT Graphics for Power Mac G5s--Why? One can no longer order a Power Mac G5 with the top of the Mac line Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL graphics card (Nv6800UL). The Nv6800UL was the first card that Apple produced to drive its 30" Cinema Display. In fact, the Nv6800UL can drive two of them at the same time but uses the space of two slots. In its place, Apple has resurrected the slower and cheaper Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT DDR that was itself once dropped from the available cards. While slower, the Nv6800GT still drives two 30" Cinema Displays and takes up two slots like the Nv6800UL. The Nv6800GT costs $350-400 as a CTO option or $499 as an aftermarket kit. Shipping time on the latter is a long 3-4 weeks.

Apple finally added the best of ATI for the Mac, a Radeon X850 XT, as a CTO option for the same $350-400 as the Nv6800GT. The X850 XT is a slightly faster model of the X800 XT that has been shipping in quantity since April. It can drive only one 30" Cinema Display but it has an ADC port for legacy Cinema Displays and takes up the space of only the graphics card slot. Unfortunately, it's not yet offered as an aftermarket kit.

In our top of the line graphics card comparo, we recommended the now discontinued Nv6800UL over the ATI X800 XT for use with a 30" Cinema Display because it was generally a bit faster overall in our tests and far less problematic. The small speed margin of Nvidia over ATI is surely lost between the slower Nv6800GL and the faster X850 XT that are now available.

Why did Apple do this? Perhaps the sales of the Nv6800UL at $599 tanked after the introduction of the X800 XT at $499 but with discounts. Or perhaps, it's in anticipation of Apple shipping an OEM version the new, faster, better Nvidia GeForce 7800. We think this is more likely since the Nv6800GT is showing a long wait time. In any case, right now the ATI Radeon X850 XT is king of the hill. [Bill Fox]

[6/30] Black Cat Systems Released Health Tracker 3.0: Health Tracker is a simple yet powerful program which helps you keep track of and graph any health related measurement. For example, if you are diabetic you could track your blood glucose levels. For weight loss, you could track your weight, measurements for various body parts, or your % body fat. Or, if you keep track of your blood pressure, you could use Health Tracker for that. Health Tracker also keeps track of your rate of losses or gains for each measurement, and evaluates your time to goal (if a goal is entered) based on that rate, which is valuable if you are using it to track weight losses or gains. The more information entered, the more accurate the program becomes in it's estimates. A copy may be downloaded from the Black Cat Systems Web site. Registration is $19.99. [Bill Fox]

[6/30] Apple Reported on the National Educational Computing Conference--With Photos: The NECC began Monday and ends today in Philadelphia. Apple's booth features the iPod, iTunes 4.9, podcasting, digital authoring, PowerSchool software and a 4-hr iBook Loaner Program. There will be over 12,000 attendees. More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/30] Nvu 1.0--FREE Open Source Web Publishing Tool Released: Nvu 1.0, the latest version of the free, easy-to-use Web authoring system for desktop Linux, Macintosh and Microsoft Windows users, was released today. Nvu (pronounced "n-view") is the open-source equivalent to programs such as Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver. Nvu gives non-technical computer users the power to create, edit and publish professional, attractive Web sites without requiring programming or HTML coding skills. It is available for download at www.nvu.com.

Nvu 1.0 has several new features and improvements, including better performance and stability, a default in-line spell checker, a new user guide, and an expanded help section. In addition, Nvu 1.0 now complies with strict HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 standards, producing even cleaner code than before and ensuring that Web sites developed with Nvu function across a wide number of browsers.

Nvu is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editor, meaning users can create Web pages as easily as they would create a word processing document. Instead of typing in HTML code and guessing what the published Web site may look like, Nvu allows users to constantly see how their site will look even before it is posted online. While the user works in a friendly, visual environment much like a word processor, Nvu creates the HTML code in the background - code that can also be easily previewed and directly edited.

For more advanced users or those wishing to learn HTML programming, Nvu makes it easy to toggle between the WYSIWYG editing view and the HTML code view. This way, these users can easily observe the interaction between the HTML code and what will actually appear in the Web browser. Nvu also includes one of the best cascading style sheet (CSS) editors available, giving users a powerful tool for transforming and controlling the look and feel of their Web sites. To see more features of Nvu, visit the Nvu Web page. [Dana Baggett]

[6/29] The Apple Developer Connection Published Ready for the Future: Chronos Switches to Cocoa. Chronos rewrote their award-winning notes application StickyBrain in Cocoa and using the Xcode Tools, in order to take full advantage of the features available on Mac OS X Tiger. In the bargain, when Apple announced the transition to the Intel processor, Chronos found they were able to quickly recompile StickyBrain in the new universal binary format--meaning they are already prepared for the transition. For complete details, visit this Web page. [Bill Fox]

[6/29] Hands-On Report--Apple's New iTunes 4.9 & Podcasts: iTunes 4.9 was released by Apple and it is available for download from the Mac OS X System Preferences Software update pane or as a standalone file from this Apple Web page. According to Apple,

With iTunes 4.9, you can now browse and subscribe to podcasts from within the iTunes Music Store. Podcasts are frequently updated radio-style shows downloadable over the Internet. You can also transfer podcasts to iPod, for listening on the go.

We downloaded and installed iTunes 4.9 both ways on Macs running 10.4.1 and 10.3.9 with no problems. When iTunes 4.9 is launched, a new Source called "Podcasts" appears in the left section under "Library." It holds podcasts subscribed to from the iTunes Music Store (iTMS) and is not a playlist. Podcasts obtained the old fashioned way, i.e. downloading, dragging and dropping an MP3 file onto the music "Library" window, do not appear in the "Podcasts" window.

Near the lower left center of the Podcasts window is a link to the podcast directory in the iTMS and a link for reporting concerns. To the right are buttons that allow one to unsubscribe from a podcast and to enter podcast preference settings. Clicking the directory link accesses the iTMS and brings up its podcasts section.

All podcasts are currently free and none are hosted on Apple's servers. The podcasts are simply linked from their RSS feed and download from their "home" server. They are classified into 21 categories so whoever predicted 8 was wrong. There is also a listing of the top 100 podcasts and a search engine.

When we first intalled iTunes 4.9 yesterday morning, there were only 18 podcasts listed in the top 100, now there are 100 thanks to the iTMS feature that allows one to publish one's own podcast. Clicking on the "Publish a Podcast" link provides a simple step by step process for proposing a podcast for publication. It's listed on iTMS after Apple approves the proposal (see the "Learn more" FAQ for details).

Clicking on a particular podcast, e.g. #2 Inside Mac Radio, takes one to a listing of the RSS feed episodes for that podcast. Inside Mac Radio had 13 as of publiction time. There is a button to subscribe, a button to get a single episode and a link to the originating web site. There is also a link to report a concern. We subscribed to Inside Mac Radio (#2) and Engaget Podcasts (#3) to test iTunes 4.9's new feature. [Bill Fox & Dana Baggett]

[6/29] Hands-On Report--Apple's iPod Updater 2005-06-26: The update is available from Mac OS X's System Preferences Software Update pane or as a standalone updater from this Apple Web page. iPod software update 2005-06-26 delivers iPod Software 1.2 for iPod with color display, iPod mini Software 1.4 for iPod mini and iPod Software 3.1 for iPod with Click Wheel which provide integration with iTunes 4.9 for downloading and listening to podcasts. The updater contains the same software versions as iPod Updater 2005-03-23 for all other iPod models.

We updated our iPod mini with no problem. Podcasts subscribed to via iTunes 4.9 show up as a sub-entry under the "Music" menu. We had to change our existing "Podcasts" playlist to "More Podcasts" to avoid having two entries with the same name. [Bill Fox]

[6/29] Apple Offers FREE 4GB iPod mini with Back to School Mac Purchase: In a promotion entitled "Student union." Apple is offering a free 4GB iPod mini with each Mac purchased through September 24th. One can also appply the cost of the iPod mini as a discount for a higher priced iPod. More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/29] Apple Trimmed iPod Lines to Three Models, All with Color Screens--$299-399: Apple combined the iPod and iPod photo lines into one line with three models: a $299 20GB iPod, a $329 U2 Special Edition iPod and a $399 60GB iPod. All three have color screens and are essentially iPod photos but are just called iPods now. Their battery is rated at 15 hours for music alone. In addition to the pricing changes for iPods, Apple also reduced the price of the 1GB iPod shuffle to $129. More... [Bill Fox]

[6/29] Hands-On Report--Microsoft Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0.2 Update: It is available for download from this Microsoft Web page. According to Microsoft,

This update is recommended for all users who are using Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0 or 7.0.1. This update improves overall stability of Virtual PC and allows Virtual PC to run on Mac OS X Version 10.4.1.

We had no problems running VPC v7.0.1 with Mac OS X 10.4.1 on our PowerBook G4. On our Power Mac G5, however, launching VPC v7.0.1 launched the VPC installer which required a restart. Launching VPC 7.0.1 again just brought up the installer again in an endless cycle. After installing the VPC 7.0.2 Update, VPC again runs fine on our Power Mac G5. We notice no difference on our PowerBook G4. [Bill Fox]

[6/29] Hands-On Report--Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Standard/Professional Updater to v7.0.2: If you are running v7.0 or 7.0.1 of either application, the updater to v7.0.2 can be downloaded via the application's update feature under the "Help" menu. Otherwise, a standalone v7.0.2 updater is available for Reader and the Standard/Professional editions.

We note that if you have v7.0.0 of Acrobat Reader installed, it must first be updated to v7.0.1 before applying the v7.0.2 updater. We had no problem updating either application from within the application or from the standalone updater on several Macs. [Dana Baggett]

[6/28] Follow Up on Macs Only!’s Podcast Proposal: The replies to last week's proposal to start up a MO!-Take Out podcast were mixed. The majority, but not a vast one, of the replies encouraged us to give it a shot. However, a surprising number said to forget it because most podcasts are "junk." We tend to agree but there are some that are quite good and they will only get better with time, especially when someone figures out how to make real money with them.

There are three types of good podcasts: those that are informative, those that are entertaining and those that are both. In the Mac world, we like the podcasts of Scott Sheppard’s Inside Mac Radio (IMR) and Shawn King’s occasional Your Mac Life (YML) podcast. They are both DJ-like, entertaining and informative. Dave Hamilton and John Braun’s initial TMO-To-Go podcast is one of the best of those that are simply informative—two experts talking Mac. As an aside, we especially enjoy Gene Steinberg’s informative The Tech Night Owl LIVE. Unfortunately, while Gene’s weekly webcasts are available as a stream from an online archive, he has yet to issue any as a podcast.

The best thing about podcasts is that you can listen to them with your iPod at any time you like. We loaded our iPod mini with 10 hours of the recent IMR, YML and TMO podcasts before our recent trip which involved some 30 hours in the air roundtrip. We listened to them interspersed between 12 hours of movies and the remaining hours of our music. We like being able to do our own audio programming. Of course, there are podcasts on subjects other than Mac. Just use iPodder X or any other podcast aggregator to keep up on them.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently announced that Apple will be providing access to podcasts with iTunes 4.9. No one outside Apple’s inner circle knows exactly what that means just yet but we will find out real soon. Apple also announced that it has entered into a deal with Sundance to provide podcasts via iTunes Music Store. Sundance is known for video syndication rather than audio so it’s hard to guess how that deal will shape podcasting. But one of the big questions is how money will be made from podcasting and maybe the Apple-Sundance deal will provide an answer.

In our own case, we didn’t get many suggestions on content or format. But we believe we have developed an interesting formula, not another DJ-style mixture of jokes and interviews or just two guys just talking Mac. The remaining issue for us, and a big one for most podcasters for that matter, is securing the bandwidth required for a reasonable download speed and cost. Podcast files easily run 10’s of MB in size. We are looking into several options but will probably wait until Apple releases iTunes 4.9 to see if Apple provides a feasible option. [Bill Fox]

[6/25] Apple Won Three IDEAs for Best Product Design in 2005: With three IDEAs, Apple tied for fourth in the list of corporations winning the 2005 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEAs). Apple received gold awards for the Mac mini in the computer equipment category and iPod Shuffle in the consumer products category and a silver award for AirPort Express in the computer equipment category. Surprisingly, HP was the top corporation winner in 2005 with 5 IDEAs. Over the past five years, Apple's 17 IDEAs ranks second only to Samsung with 19 and just ahead of IBM with 15. More... [Bill Fox]

[6/24] Apple Released WebObjects 5.3 Update for Mac OS X Server 10.4: The update is available for download from this Apple Web page. It updates the Application Server components in Mac OS X Server 10.4 to WebObjects 5.3. Learn more about WebObjects at: WebObjects. [Bill Fox]

[6/24] Apple Revised the Offerings of One Hot Deals Retailer:

B&H Photo and Video has fantastic prices of superb products for your Mac, including Canon PowerShot S2-IS 5MP Digital Camera, Nkon D70s 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-70mm DX Zoom Lens, Samsung SC-D6550 MiniDV Camcorder with 5MP CCD, DLO Jam Jacket for iPod Shuffle (3-pack), Epson Stylus Photo R2 400 Photo Quality Inkjet Printer, and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[6/24] Aspyr Media Game Report: The Sims 2 is now on store shelves, and Aspyr hopes you are enjoying the result of all their hard work for the last 8 months. In early June, they released a free utility, The Sims Body Shop, which lets you create and share Sims with your friends. One of the nice Mac touches added to Body Shop was the ability to upload your Sims directly to your .Mac iDisk, to share. The .Mac SDK from Apple made this process very easy, and Aspyr loves being able to implement Mac specific features into their games.

The development effort internally at Aspyr is shifting to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005 and Stubbs the Zombie. Tiger 2005 is coming to the end of its beta cycle, and they think they will set the bar for Mac golf games higher than ever before with this installment. Besides the dazzling course graphics, the game has an almost endless amount of customizations for creating your golfer. Stubbs the Zombie continues to move along, Aspyr has been working on technology that allows the Xbox graphics code to run on Mac OS X through a common OpenGL implementation. This will provide a very good framework to build the rest of the game on, and should also help Aspyr in future projects.

Aspyr Game Agent is undergoing some major renovations, and Aspyr plans to release a new version in the summer that has an updated user interface and some great new features. If you haven't tried out Game Agent, download it free from Aspyr.com. [Bill Fox]

[6/24] Review--Logitech Wireless iPod Headphones: CNet posted a review of Logitech's new Bluetooth wireless iPod headphones. They gave them an 8.0 rating out of 10. The review calls them well-designed, light and comfortable. The sound is very good though not as loud as the stock earbuds. CNet got about 9 hours out of the headset's rechargeable batteries. [Dana Baggett]

[6/24] Eggplant 2.2 is Out with Mac OS X 10.4 Compatibility: Eggplant is the automated test tool for Mac OS X. Designed specifically for GUI-level testing, Eggplant combines image-capture-and-compare technology with a powerful scripting language that allows QA teams to automate tests and other repetitive tasks. Although Eggplant resides on the Mac OS X platform it is capable of testing a second computer running almost any operating system. Current customers use Eggplant to test Windows, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, and Linux.

This release is available for free download to all existing customers with a current maintenance agreement. Free trial licenses are available through a request form on the company's Web site for anyone wishing to learn firsthand about the benefits of true user-level automation. [Bill Fox]

[6/24] Peer-to-Peer File Swapping May Become Legitimate: According to an AP report, major recording studios are entering into contracts with file-swapping services to legitimize the business. The classic "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" response by the recording industry seems to be taking hold on their thinking. More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/23] Hands-On Confirmation of Browser Dialog Origin Vulnerability in Safari 2.0, Firefox 1.0.4, Opera 8.0.1 and Internet Explorer 5.2.3: Secunia posted a new security vulnerabilty for multiple web browsers:

Secunia Research has discovered a vulnerability in various browsers, which can be exploited by malicious web sites to spoof dialog boxes.

The problem is that JavaScript dialog boxes do not display or include their origin, which allows a new window to open e.g. a prompt dialog box, which appears to be from a trusted site.

Secunia posted a test to demonstrate the vulnerability. We ran the test with Safari 2.0, Firefox 1.0.4, Opera 8.0.1 and Internet Explorer 5.2.3. All four displayed the "malicious" javascript data entry window "Test security survey from Google. Please enter a test "password" string:" without stating that it is actually from Secunia. At least Opera displayed "www.google.com.secunia.com" in the window which provides a hint that the window is not from Google.

Secunia's Web page provides suggestions on how to deal with the vulnerability until the web browsers are updated. [Bill Fox]

[6/23] The Osborne Effect and Steve Jobs--Urban Myth RIP: References have resurfaced on the web to the so-called Osborne Effect when supposedly in 1983, Adam Osborne announced a better computer before it was available, thereby undercutting sales of the existing computer model and bankrupting his company. We have been told in the past that Steve Jobs' insistence on Apple not commenting on models before they are released stems from Osborne's mistake. 

Some fear Steve Jobs' announcement this month of Apple's shift to Intel chips in 2006 will recreate the Osborne Effect for Apple.

All of which prompted us to look more closely at what has been said about the Osborne Effect in the past and currently. Is the story true?

Our first recollection of the story was in Owen Linzmayer's book "Apple Confidential." Linzmayer says he has covered Apple as a journalist since the early 1980's. My edition is a paperback published in 1999. The story is told in two sentences as a side bar on page 64. No source given.

Robert Cringly recently interviewed an ex-Osborne employee who said that it was competition from Kaypro, which marketed a computer with a bigger screen for less money, that really caused Osborne Computer Corp.'s demise. More.

On June 20 The Register published a piece including interviews with contemporaries of Osborne who cite different reasons--bad business decisions--for Osborne Computer going belly-up. Bottom line: "There never was an 'Osborne Effect,' and the fate of Osborne Computer wasn't sealed by pre-announcing hardware that didn't exist."

Finally, Andy Hertzfeld's new book "Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac was Made" recounts an interesting story of an encounter with Adam Osborne on pp. 39-40. But no mention of the Osborne Effect story.

Osborne Effect story: RIP. [Dana Baggett]

[6/23] Smart Scroll X 1.3 is Out: Smart Scroll X brings new scrolling options and enhancements to Mac OS X:

• Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" Compatibility
• Scroll Wheel support and Live Scrolling for FileMaker Pro 6 and 7.
  
• Grab Scroll lets you scroll by clicking and dragging anywhere in a window. Currently for Cocoa applications.
  
• A "High Gear" for your scroll wheel, so you can have super-fast scrolling when you need it.
  
• Universal Scroll Keys to scroll without having to reach for the mouse. Scroll keys are the same in every application, giving you fast & dependable scrolling right from the keyboard.
  
• Live Scrolling and proportional thumbs for AppleWorks 6.
  

Smart Scroll X is $15 for a single user license--free trial available. For more info and to download Smart Scroll X, visit Marc Moini's Web page. [Bill Fox]

[6/23] Tonight on The Tech Night Owl LIVE--Casanova, Dalrymple Van Buskirk and Rizzo: This week co-hosts Gene and Grayson Steinberg will talk about QuickTime with Apple's resident expert, Frank Casanova. We'll also be joined by MacCentral's Jim Dalrymple, and mp3.com's digital music expert, Eliot Van Buskirk. Special added attraction: John Rizzo, author of "Mac Annoyances." Tune in the broadcast Thursday night from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern. [Bill Fox]

[6/23] Apple Revised the Offerings from Four Hot Deals Retailers:

CDW|MacWarehouse has great deals on cool Mac products, including Canon Pixma iP 1500 Color Photo Printer, LaCie 500GB Big Disk/Extensis Portfolio 7 Bundle, Corel Painter IX with FREE Wacom Graphire 3 Graphics Tablet, Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium/Apple Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 Bundle, Nikon CoolPix 5900 Digital Camera with FREE Corel Painter Essentials, and much more.

Apple's Clearance Section of Hot Deals dedicated entirely to end-of-life and clearance Mac OS X products from all of your favorite retailers, boasts some newly added offers, including Comnet FastDraw, Smart Media 128MB Secure Digital Card, Dr. Bott ExtendAir Direct WiFi Wireless Antenna, Epson L-410 Digital Camera, Microsoft Optical USB Mouse by Starck, and much more.

ClubMac has great deals on essential Mac products, including inMotion IM3 Portable iPod Audio System, Portable Sales oPod WaterProof iPod Case, Speck iPod Accessory Kit, Avid Xpress Pro with Avid Mojo Bundle, Allume Poser 6.0, Macromedia Studio MX 2004 with Flash Pro Upgrade Version, and much more.

J&R has great prices on top quality Mac products, including Aspyr Media Doom 3, Audiotrak PCI Multimedia Digital Audio Interface with Breakout Box, Brother MFC-8220 Laser Multi-Function Center, Canon ZR300 MiniDV Digital Camcorder, Destineer Close Combat: First to Fight, DVForge GarageKey MIDI Keyboard for GarageBand, and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[6/22] Apple Dropped the Single-CPU Model from the Power Mac G5 Line but Why? Last week the single-CPU 1.8GHz Power Mac G5 model was dropped from the online Apple Store in the U.S. without an announcement. The least expensive Power Mac G5 retailed for $1,499, some $500 less than the next level model with dual 2GHz G5 CPUs. The capability of the single G5 model was limited in ways other than the single CPU--it had a slower front-side bus, slower PCI slots and could hold only 4GB RAM. However, it was expandable so that one could add a top-of-the-line graphics card, up to 4GB RAM, more and larger internal hard drives and PCI cards for controlling more drives or other peripheral devices.

Apple's official word is:

"The 1.8 GHz Power Mac G5 is no longer available at the online Apple Store but is available in other channels while supplies last. The Power Mac G5 line is now all dual processor and delivers the ultimate in performance for our most advanced customers."

If one is looking for a single-chip machine, Apple stated that "...the new iMac G5 is a very popular solution."

This is a statement of fact that does not supply a reason, so why did Apple do it?

Money, of course. Making more money is why corporations do anything. There's nothing evil about it, that's just their nature. It's hard to believe that there's more profit in other Apple products like the 17" or 20" iMac G5 with a 2GHz G5 CPU or a dual 2GHz Power Mac G5. But there may be since they are the alternative products. Perhaps sales of the single-CPU Power Mac G5 were so low so as to make the model unprofitable in its own right. The latter is possible since the introduction of the Mac mini and the recent refresh of the eMac and iMac lines which provide far more value, except for expandability, than the former low end Power Mac G5. [Bill Fox]

[6/22] Apple Released Xsan Update 1.1 for Mac OS X 10.4.x and 10.3.9: The updates may be downloaded from this Web page for 10.4.x and for 10.3.9.

For 10.4.x it includes fixes for:

• using Xsan on computers running Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server version 10.4
  
• providing metadata controller services to 10.3.9 and 10.4 systems running Xsan 1.1
  
• accessing Xsan volumes larger than 16 terabyte in size
  
• greater server stability when resharing Xsan volumes via NFS
  
• handling quotas with no associated user or group name
  
• maintaining access to Xsan volumes when metadata controller failovers occur
  
• operating Xsan in environments with a mix of 10.3.9 and 10.4 systems

For 10.3.9 it includes fixes for:

• greater server stability when resharing Xsan volumes via NFS
  
• handling quotas with no associated user or group name
  
• maintaining access to Xsan volumes when metadata controller failovers occur
  
• operating Xsan in environments with a mix of 10.3.9 and 10.4 systems

[Bill Fox]

[6/22] Apple Released Xsan Admin 1.1 Update for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.3.9: The update is available for download from this Apple Web page.

It includes fixes for:

• labeling Fibre Channel LUNs and creating new Xsan volumes
  
• displaying progress messages while performing lengthy operations
  
• preventing manually modified configuration settings from being overwritten during a save
  
• accurately reporting Fibre Channel multipathing errors

[Bill Fox]

[6/22] O'Reilly Published Learning Unix for Mac OS X Tiger: For Dave Taylor, author of Learning Unix for Mac OS X Tiger (O'Reilly, US $19.95), the upshot of the upgrade from OS 9 is, in a word, power. The Unix system underpinning OS X is "ready to leap into action at a moment's notice," Taylor says. "All you have to do is command Unix to take action."

Command is the operative word here, since understanding the command line is fundamental to using any Unix system. But why would a contented Mac user want to type in a string of Unix commands instead of just clicking the mouse? Simple, Taylor says: because the mouse gives you access to only a fraction of Mac OS X's functionality. "To really know what your Mac's doing" and to "make it match what you want and need your Mac to do," Taylor believes you have to get acquainted with the Unix side of OS X. [Bill Fox]

[6/22] Mozilla's Firefox 1.0.5 and Thunderbird 1.0.5 Due Out Soon: Nightly builds of the next releases of the Firefox Web browser and Thunderbird email client are appearing on Mozilla's servers. The next release will provide some security updates. More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/22] FREE Envision Web Show of the Week--Summer: Summer begins this week in the northern hemisphere. This week's Envision Web Show of the Week is a collection of beach photographs. The Envision Web Show of the Week can be downloaded from the Show of the Week Web site. Previous Shows of the Week are available in the Show of the Week archive. [Bill Fox]

[6/21] Apple Sued by David Contois over Alleged Patent Infringement by iTunes' Design: According to AppleInsider, Apple has been sued by Mr. David C. Contois of Vermont who owns U.S. Patent 5,864,868 issued January 26, 1999, "Computer control system and user interface for media playing devices." His patent application is dated February 13, 1996.

Here is the abstracted description of Mr. Contois' patent:

Abstract

A computer system and method for controlling a media playing device. The system provides a user interface for allowing a user access to media pieces stored in a media database. The interface is also for controlling a media playing device, like a player piano or movie playing video device, that is coupled to the computer to play the accessed or selected piece of media. In one embodiment there is a computer interface that allows a user to display only music that relates to a selected category, like jazz or classical music. Another embodiment allows the user to direct the media playing device to automatically play selected music pieces that are related to a selected music category. Another embodiment allows a user to direct the media playing device to automatically play selected music pieces that are related to the selected music composer or artist.

Here is one of eight drawings showing his interface concept:

Here is another of eight drawings showing his process for selecting a song:

Well, what do you think? Is it really an invention or not? Does iTunes infringe or not? This will be an interesting case to follow. [Bill Fox]

[6/21] Apple Getting "Short Stick" on iPod Battery Settlement? When the news first broke on the settlement between Apple and several individuals, i.e. the named plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, we noted that we would have to decide whether or not to stick Apple for $50 each on the iPods we've purchased over the years. Our iPods' batteries have behaved more or less like lithium ion batteries are supposed to behave in losing their charge over the years down to 3-5 hours today. We are sure that some batteries have completely given up the ghost but certainly not all. If ours had, $50 would not be enough. The plaintiffs' lawyers, of course, are not getting the short end of the stick with a $2.8 million fee and neither are the named-plaintiffs as we noted previously, i.e. at $1,500 each.

We think that reader Bill Teawell summed up our view very well with his note,

I think Apple has gotten the "short-stick" on this issue. I received paperwork because I had purchased a 3rdG iPod without dock (in November 2003) and nowhere does it say what constitutes a fully charged battery. When I first got mine I put in on the charger and four or five hours later the "lightning bolt" had stopped moving indicating the battery was "fully" charged. But when I looked at the battery charge indicator in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, it was only about a quarter of the way. So, I put it on the AC charger again and four or five hours later the "bolt" stopped moving. I looked at the battery charge indicator again and now it was about half-way across. So I repeated the process several times more. Finally it looked like it was fully charged.

Like all new batteries, it immediately started losing its charge. ( I have a battery powered edger that the instructions say should be left on the charging stand whenever not in use to maintain a full charge.) If my iPod sat on the shelf (or dresser) for a few days it usually lost half its charge. I called Apple support on this and was told (and I believe rightly) that this is normal behavior due to the new battery standards and design. They ask if I would fully charge the battery and let it play for however long it would. I did and it went past eight hours. Spend a day recharging the battery and again ran the test. Again, the battery played for eight hours. So, before I used my iPod I made sure it was charged.

When I got the settlement papers I tried the test again. After making sure it was fully charged, I let it play. Again it played for the minimum eight hours. I don't believe that Apple fraudulently claimed that the iPod would play for eight hours. I do think that Apple can be faulted for not creating better battery management software. When it takes several attempts to fully charge the battery, users that are inattentive may not realize that the battery is not fully charged when the moving "lightning bolt" stops moving. I always charged mine in the "Off" state with the AC adaptor.

How do you feel about this? [Bill Fox]

[6/21] Gefen Released 1x4 DVI Monitor Switcher: Gefen’s new 1x4 DVI Monitor Switcher works in reverse from its traditional switchers, supporting the connection of up to four displays to one high definition video source. It is designed to switch the video between several monitors for applications commonly used in broadcast, post-production, entertainment, retail, security and educational industries. Users select which monitor will display the video with an IR remote control. Switching is performed with no down time and high resolutions up to 1080p and 1920x1200 are supported. Gefen’s 1x4 DVI Monitor Switcher is also HDCP (high bandwidth digital content protection) compliant and will pass through high definition video intact. Gefen's 1x4 DVI Monitor Switcher (MSRP $399) comes equipped with one DVI input, four DVI outputs and one 5v power supply. It is available to order online at www.gefen.com or through an authorized Gefen reseller. [Bill Fox]

[6/20] FREE Apple Live Webcast This Week--Cost-effective Storage Deployments for Research Computing: This free Apple webcast is for general audiences. It will be webcast live on Thursday, June 23, at 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM PT. Learn how to achieve better data accessibility and faster storage retrieval in a more cost-effective way with industry-leading solutions. Pre-Registration is required. [Bill Fox]

[6/20] To Podcast or Not--What do You Think? Over the weekend we have been toying with the idea of producing a Macs Only! podcast, spiced with California slang and a great Maine accent. What is a podcast, you ask? Well, it's an audio recording, like a radio broadcast, that is encoded in MP3 or AAC, downloaded, imported into iTunes and then transferred to one's iPod to be listened to whenever one wants. We find them to be a convenient source of entertainment and education when we travel. We listen to the few that we can find as an alternative and useful diversion in between stretches of our music.

So why do one? Partly because there are so few that cover the Mac (see iPodder.org) and partly because podcasting is slated to be the next big thing with Apple's iTunes v4.9 and the iTunes Music Store so we interested in learning the technology.

There are at least two good internet radio shows (webcasts) that cover all things Mac that we listen to from time to time, Your Mac Life with Shawn King on Wednesdays and The Tech Night Owl LIVE with Gene and Grayson Steinberg on Thursdays. They both produce an archive of their shows that can be listened to at any time but they are streamed so one must be hooked up to the internet to listen. We'd like to be able to download and import them into our iPod and listen when we had the chance. For example, Inside Mac Radio makes podcasts of their shows and The Mac Observer just issued their first last week. That's what we are thinking about doing but shorter--maybe 15 minutes.

Fortunately, it does not appear to be particularly difficult nor expensive to produce a podcast. Glenn Fleishman's article entitled How to Record a Podcast provides a great starting point. All it takes is time. But since time is scarce commodity for us we are still just toying with the idea.

what you think about the possibility of a Macs Only! podcast and what you would like to hear in it. [Bill Fox, Dana Baggett & Brian Nakamoto]

[6/20] TechRestore Announced iPod Battery Freedom Service--Lifetime iPod Battery Replacement: TechRestore, Inc. announced today that they have begun offering a new lifetime iPod battery replacement service. The iPod Battery Freedom service offers owners of the worlds most popular audio player a way to eliminate the headaches and high costs associated with replacing their iPod battery, for as long as they own their iPod. The iPod Battery Freedom service is available starting today at a cost of just $99.99. All full-sized iPod models are eligible for the service, including the original 1st generation iPod, 2nd generation, 3rd generation, 4th generation, iPod photo and iPod mini series. The service includes installation of a replacement high capacity iPod battery with at least 30% more capacity than the original iPod battery and return overnight shipping for the first battery replacement. The users old iPod battery is then recycled in conjunction with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. [Bill Fox]

[6/18] [Updated] Quantum Published A Definitive Guide to Backup, Recovery and Archive of Data--FREE eBook: With Quantum's eBook, you can flip through 24 pages packed with everything you need to know to improve the backing up, recovery, and archiving of your critical data. Here are some sections:

• Simplify your Backup
  We simplify the concepts of backup and recovery and offer tips for easily protecting your critical data.
  
• Choosing a Solution
  How to calculate the cost of tape and disk solutions and decide which configuration is right for you.
  
• Creating Value through Compliance
  How compliance with legislation will drive best practices in backup, recovery and archive.
  
• Why Upgrade your Tape
  Are you falling behind the technology curve? We highlight improvements in tape performance, reliability and compatibility.
  
• Benefits of Disk-Based Backup
  Are you under pressure to meet your backup and restore windows? Read independent research from 235 organizations like yours.

Download it from this Quantum Web page (registration required). [Update: Sorry but the file is an .exe file and is unusable by Mac OS directly. However, it works fine in VirtualPC 7 running Windows XP.] [Bill Fox]

[6/18] O'Reilly Published Web Mapping Illustrated: Mapping technology will bring additional dimensions into the information/knowledge management world. Maps are powerful; having the tools and the ability to map the world you live in is even more powerful. In his book, Web Mapping Illustrated (O'Reilly, US $39.95), Tyler Mitchell shows readers how to create maps, including interactive maps, using free tools such as MapServer, OpenEV, GDAL/OGR, and PostGIS. He also explains how to find, collect, understand, use, and share mapping data over the Web and through other services. [Bill Fox]

[6/18] Feral Interactive's Weekend Game Report--Flashtastic Commandos Battle Pack: In Feral's ongoing campaign to deliver a more rewarding website, they have revamped their Commandos minisite making it full of flashtastic elements. Feral encourages you to scuttle over to find movies, character profiles, desktops and screenshots. Best of all, it includes a screen-by-screen walkthrough of how to complete the very first mission in Commandos 2 without losing your head and several commandos to the enemy. [Bill Fox]

[6/18] No Deal on Next Gen HD Video Standard: Apple has supported Blu-Ray as the next generation High Definition video standard. The competing format is HD-DVD. Sony has called off negotiations and declared that its Playstation3 game machine will use Blu-Ray. Sony needs to go into production and can no longer wait so it looks like there will be at least two standards. More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/18] Apple Revised the Offerings from Five Hot Deals Retailers:

Publishing Perfection has great deals on a variety of design and print products for your Mac, including AutoFX Photo/Graphic Edges Volume 6, Allume Systems Creative Essentials, Comnet LogoSpruce, Curious Labs Shade 7 Designer LE, Epson Stylus R800 Photo Printer, Sony DSC-P150 7.2MP Digital Camera, Stock Layouts for Adobe InDesign, and much more.

MacMall has fantastic prices on essential Mac products, including ATI Radeon 9200 Mac Edition 128MB Video Card, Microsoft Virtual PC 7.0, Macromedia, Studio MX 2004, Roxio Toast with Jam 6, Riverdeep Printshop for Mac, Klipsch Promedia GMX-A 2.1 Speaker system, Altec Lansing inMotion IM3 Portable iPod Audio System, and much more.

Ramjet has super low prices on RAM upgrades for your Mac, including 2GB DDR Kit for Power Mac G5, 512MB DDR DIMM for Power Mac G4, 512MB PC-2700 Module for Aluminum PowerBook G4, 1GB Module for Aluminum PowerBook G4, and much more.

MacZone has fantastic prices on essential Mac products, including Adobe Acrobat 7 Pro with FREE 128MB Flash Drive, Triton Sound Bite USB Portable Speaker System, MacAlly Professional Noise Cancelling Headset for iPod, Belkin TuneDok Car Holder for iPod, Kensington USB Digital PocketSpeakers, Belkin Leather iPod Cases, and much more.

Small Dog Electronics has great prices on top quality Mac products, including Eskie 512MB USB Flash Drive, Canon Elura 80 MiniDV Camcorder with Canon Pixma P4000 Color Photo Printer, M-Audio Radium 61-Key USB MIDI Keyboard, Shure E2C Sound Isolating Earphones, Circus Ponies Notebook, Brother HL-2070N Networkable Laser Printer, and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[6/17] Cool Mac Software--Alarm Clock Pro 7.1.3 is Out: Alarm Clock Pro from Koingo Software is a modern replacement for your old alarm clock. One can easily glide through the creation process by specifying what type of alert you wish to set and what happens when it executes. Select audio files, movies, Internet radio stations, iTunes play lists and even CD audio tracks! Here is a list of new features:

• Adjust the play rate of movies all the way up to 16x.
  
• View alarm events on the Calendar by clicking the day.
  
• Days with alarm items on them now appear with a red underline on the calendar.
  
• Today appears as a red number on the calendar.
  
• New alarm creation wizard.
  
• System alert text now shows in the main list if some is specified.
  
• Download latest version option added to Software Update.
  

Alarm Clock Pro retails for US$15.95 and has a 15-day free trial version. [Billl Fox]

[6/16] Apple's Loyalty Base Building, Planning to Buy More: The Wise Marketer cites a MetaFacts.com statement by principal analyst Dan Ness,

"The Apple-faithful make up more than half of Apple's customers for the first time in more than a decade, and are up slightly from last year. Even better news for Apple is that the percentage of Apple households planning to buy another Apple home computer has also increased."

More... [Dana Baggett]

[6/16] Apple Revised the Offerings from Five Hot Deals Retailers:

The Apple Store has updated it's selection of special deal products, and it's a huge iPod extravaganza. You'll find Apple Certified Refurbished non-click wheel iPods starting at only $179, click-wheel iPods starting at only $249, iPod minis for $149, and more. There are also great prices on Refurbished Power Mac G5s, iMac G5s, Cinema Displays, and much more.  But, hurry as supplies are limited and products are removed from the Apple Store when supplies are sold out. All details available under the "Special Deals" tile.

J&R has great prices on top quality Mac products, including Aspyr Media's Doom 3, Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Upgrade, Addlogix FirePod iPod Car Charger, American Covers iSnug iPod Case, Brother MFC-210C Color Flatbed Multi-Function Machine, DLO iBoom Boom Box for iPod, Griffin RoadTrip All-in-One Car Solution for iPod and iPod mini, and much more.

Publishing Perfection has great deals on a variety of design and print products for your Mac, including AutoFX Photo/Graphic Edges Volume 6, Stock Layouts for Adobe InDesign Volume 1, Dedicated Digital akHD Reptiles, MagicFrames 2, Gluon JobCapture 5.0, ColorBlind Prove It, Jenka Dielines, and much more.

CompUSA has money saving deals on a bevy of Mac products, including Roxio Toast 6 Titanium with $20 mail-in rebate, Microsoft VirtualPC with $30 mail-in rebate, Symantec Norton SystemWorks with $50 mail-in rebate, Nikon CoolPix 8800 Digital Camera with $100 mail-in rebate, QuickBooks Pro 2005 for Mac with $100 mail-in rebate, and much more.

Mac Game Store has great deals on the hottest games for the Mac, including MacSoft Tropico 2: Pirate Cove, Virtual Programming X2: The Threat, Aspyr Media Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, THQ The Incredibles, Feral Interactive Commandos Battle Pack, MacSoft Unreal Tournament 2004, MacSoft Halo, and more.

[Bill Fox]

[6/16] Tonight on The Tech Night Owl LIVE--Andy Ihnatko, Jason Snell, Pieter Paulson and Centurion Technologies: This week co-hosts Gene and Grayson Steinberg will continue coverage of the deal between Apple and Intel to put Intel Inside future Macs. Long-time Mac columnist Andy Ihnatko, author of "The Mac OS X Tiger Book," will be on hand to offer his unique insights. We'll also be joined by Jason Snell, Editorial Director of Mac Publishing, the company behind Macworld. Noted computer guru Pieter Paulson will put the whole affair into perspective from the IT person's standpoint. You'll also hear from the folks at Centurion Technologies, publishers of MacShield and MacShield Enhanced Edition. Tune in the internet radio broadcast tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern. [Bill Fox]

[6/16] FREE Envision Web Show of the Week--NPPA Photos: This week's Envision Web Show of the Week is from the National Press Photographers Association Web site. The show includes thousands of gripping images from the association's many competitions. The Envision Web Show of the Week can be downloaded from the Show of the Week Web site. Previous Shows of the Week are available in the Show of the Week archive. [Bill Fox]

[6/15] Sign Up Today for Tomorrow's LIVE Webcast Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server for High Performance Computing For General Audiences: It's tomorrow at 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM. Learn about the technical underpinnings of Apple's latest OS, and how new features and updates will benefit users of Mac OS X-based clusters and grids. Sign up today. [Bill Fox]

[6/15] MacIntel? Come to ADHOC the Conference Formerly Known as MacHack: Held in Dearborn, Michigan from July 27th through 31st (a little over a month after WWDC), ADHOC has always been focused on giving developers the edge when it comes to using the latest & greatest technologies to navigate your code from start to finish. Now that Mac OS developers have yet another transition to deal with, the conference also known as MacHack is here as always to help the navigation go smoothly.

In addition to talking about the move to Intel, developers will also be networking and talking about their experiences using open source code (where to find it and how to use it), developing for a multi-platform world, getting tasks programmed easily and quickly using RealBasic and Cocoa, how to take advantage of the latest enhancements to Mac OS 10.4.

Here is just a sampling of the sessions already on the schedule:

• Supporting Intel Macs: The Easy Stuff
  
• Supporting Intel Macs: The Nitty Gritty
  
• Cross-Platform Approaches from a Macintosh Perspective
  
• Inside Dashboard Widgets
  
• Techniques for Using Network or Local Resources under Carbon
  
• Hacking the Press (getting your software noticed by the media, so it gets noticed by your potential customers!)
  
• How to Write Windows Mobile Plugins & Palm Conduits
  
• Successful Project Management
  

Take a look at the list on this ADHOC Web page. More sessions to be scheduled soon!

Because ADHOC is a conference organized by developers for developers, if you have talents & techniques & tips you'd like to share with your peers, please consider presenting your own session as well. Speakers who contribute to the content of ADHOC get an additional discount on registration, and the last day for early registration is June 30th, so register today! [Bill Fox]

[6/15] Free AirPort Radar Dashboard Widget from MacWireless: AirPort Radar is a free and convenient tool for quickly scanning the area for AirPort and other wireless networks. It will work with AirPort cards, MacWireless 11g PC Cards, and 11g PCI cards. Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is required. Here are the features:

Signal Strength at a Glance - Visual signal meters tell you the strength of the AirPort signal for an easy-to-read radar screen.

Sortable Network List - Click on a category to sort the list of networks by that category. Click on the radio waves symbol to sort by signal strength.

Connect to Open Networks - By simply clicking on the name you can connect to any network that is not password protected.

Remember Lost Networks - When a network falls "below radar" it won't disappear from your radar screen right away. This is particularly useful when a network is right on the threshold - with AirPort Radar it won't jump on and off the radar screen, it will just turn grey temporarily while it is too weak to connect to. You can choose how many scans a lost network stays on-screen with the "Scan Memory" setting on the back side of the widget.

Auto-Resizing for Various List Lengths - The AirPort Radar widget will automatically resize itself to accomodate longer or shorter lists of wireless networks.

AirPort Radar is available for download from this MacWireless Web page. [Bill Fox]

[6/14] ATI Released Firmware Update v109 (June 2005) for Radeon X800 XT Graphics Card--Fixes 3D Game Full Screen Issue: Later the same day that we posted our shootout between ATI's Radeon X800 XT and Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL (see below), ATI released a new version of its firmware for the Radeon X800 XT. The ROM file updater can be downloaded from this ATI Web page. Here are the Release Notes.

We do not know all of what firmware v109 fixed but it fixed the problem we had getting 3D games to play full screen at resolutions less than the native resolution of the monitor. We noted that problem with firmware v108 in yesterday's shootout (posted below) between ATI's best and Nvidia's best.

We re-ran the DOOM 3 and Halo benchmarks and got exactly the same framerates. So our advice is unalterred. Except, of course, the issue with getting full screen play on th eATI card no longer exists. [Bill Fox]

[6/14] Absoft, Maker of a Mac FORTRAN Compiler, Pledges Mac Support on Intel and IBM CPU's: Apple's Science and Technology list that we belong to received the following note (edited slightly) from Jeff Livesay, COO of Absoft:

Dear Fortran Community,

Apple's announcement at WWDC to migrate to Intel-based hardware over the next 24 months has given rise to much speculation regarding continued support for and availability of Fortran software development and migration tools on Apple platforms, especially on the heels of IBM's recent web site announcement that 64-bit Tiger support is currently unavailable for their popular XL compilers.

Absoft would like to briefly present its official position on Apple's announcement to the readers of this list.

Officially speaking:

1. Absoft is committed to continue developing and supporting software tools for Apple OS X computers based on both IBM and Intel processors. Absoft has supported Apple computers for more than two decades and we have made previous similar transitions with our friends at Apple (i.e. from the Motorola 68000 to the PowerPC).

2. Absoft has many years experience supporting software development tools for Intel-based hardware (both 32-bit and 64-bit) and has been marketing Fortran compilers and debugging solutions for Intel-based systems for over 15 years.

3. Absoft remains committed to providing the best tools available to help our customers migrate code from OS X based on IBM processors to OS X based on Intel processors. Absoft compilers are already source compatible between IBM POWER-based systems and Intel-based systems. No other compiler manufacturer offers this level of compatibility and platform independence. Further, Absoft compilers contain features such as big-endian, little-endian conversion to ease application migration between platforms.

4. Beyond the two new product announcements we made last week at WWDC, Absoft has many more exciting product announcements in store for Apple customers, to be made public at the right time; we will preserve the nature of this forum by reserving those announcements for our normal marketing channels.

A more detailed position statement is posted on Absoft's web site.

For additional information on Absoft products available on processors from both Intel and IBM, please visit our site. You may also sign up for our mailing list to receive news announcements from Absoft as soon as they are available.

Thank you for your longstanding loyalty to Absoft, Apple, and for the many recent kind words about Absoft and its products.

Jeff Livesay
Chief Operating Officer

We used Absoft's product when we used to develop extensive software for the Mac.

[Bill Fox]

[6/14] Apple Revised the Offerings from Three Hot Deals Retailers:

Sweetwater has fantastic deals on a wide range of audio products for your Mac, including Audio Technica's AT2020 Studio Cardioid Condenser Mic, M-Audio FastTrack USB Audio Interface, M-Audio Keystation 49e MIDI Controller, Edirol MA-15D Desktop Monitors, Mackie Tracktion 2, Pro Tools Clinic, and much more.

AudioMIDI has fantastic deals on a wide range of audio products for your Mac, including Edirol R1 Portable Recording Device, PSP Nitro, Native Instruments Reaktor 5 Upgrade, Blue Sky 2.1 Monitor Speakers, Korg EM 16-Pad Sequencer with 144 Drum Waves, G-Drive 160GB External FireWire 400/800 Hard Drive, and much more.

CDW|MacWarehouse has great deals on cool Mac products, including Epson Stylus Photo R2400, Logitech MX1000 Cordless Laser Mouse, Minolta DiMAGE 25 Digital Camera with FREE Corel Painter Essentials 2, El Gato EyeTV 200, Canon Elura 90 Digital Camcorder, Extensis Photo Imaging Suite, Adobe Acrobat Pro and Enfocus Pitstop 6.5 Bundle, and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[6/11] Apple Posted The 2005 Design Award Winners: Each year at the Worldwide developers Conference, Apple announces their Design Awards from nominations made before the WWDC. The 2005 Apple Design Award winners are:

Best Mac OS X Tiger Technology Adoption
Winner: Transmit 3.2, Panic, Inc.
Runner Up: iSale 1.7, equinux USA, Inc.
Special Mention: OmniOutliner 3.0.3, The Omni Group

Best Mac OS X User Experience
Winner: Delicious Library 1.5, Delicious Monster Software
Runner Up: 3D Weather Globe & Atlas Mac OS X Edition, The Software MacKiev Company

Best Product New to Mac OS X
Winner: ComicLife 1.1, plasq
Runner Up: Delicious Library 1.5, Delicious Monster Software
Special Mention: eDrawings for Mac 2006, SolidWorks

Best Mac OS X Entertainment Product
Winner: World of Warcraft 1.3.1, Blizzard Entertainment
Runner Up: Jammin' Racer 1.01, DanLabGames

Best Use of Open Source
Winner: OsiriX 1.6.4, Antoine Rosset, Osman Ratib, Lance Pysher, David Davies-Payne, Luca Spadola, Bruce Rakes
Runner Up: Blender 2.36, Blender Foundation
Special Mention: AdiumX, Evan Schoenberg, Adam Iser

Best Mac OS X Scientific Computing Solution
Winner: DataTank 2005-5, Visual Data Tools, Inc.
Runner Up: OsiriX 1.6.4, Antoine Rosset, Osman Ratib, Lance Pysher, David Davies-Payne, Luca Spadola, Bruce Rakes
Special Mention: Mathematica, Wolfram Research Inc.

Best Mac OS X Server Solution
Winner: Quicksilver InfiniBand Software for Mac OS X, SilverStorm Technologies, Small Tree Communications
Runner Up: Elektron 1.0.1, Corriente Networks LLC

Best Mac OS X Student Product
Winner: GraphClick, Simon Bovet
Runner Up: iMap 3.1, Peter Schols
Special Mention: Sonic Birth, Antoine Missout

[Bill Fox]

[6/10] Apple Released Mail Server Update 1.0 for Mac OS X Server 10.3.9: The Server Update is available via the System Preferences Software Update pane if one is running Mac OS X Server v10.3.9 or as a standalone download from this Apple Web page. According to the Readme file,

The Mail Server Update delivers overall improved reliability and is recommended for all systems running mail services on Mac OS X Server version 10.3.9. It includes improvements for:

- more accurate reconstruction of mail database files

Apple further noted that the cyrus mail database may need to be reconstructed:

This update addresses an issue in which cyrus mail services on Mac OS X Server 10.3.9 may eventually stop working, leaving the mail database in an unsettled state after the cyrus mailbox database has been reconstructed.

If you have already encountered mail server issues, you should reconstruct the cyrus mailbox database using these steps:

1. Stop the cyrus (IMAP/POP) server.
2. Execute the following command in Terminal:

sudo -u cyrus /usr/bin/cyrus/bin/reconstruct -i

3. Restart the cyrus (IMAP/POP) server, and verify that mail is working.

We installed the update on our Mac OS X Server v10.3.9 without issue but we do not use mail services so we can not confirm any problems or fixes. [Bill Fox]

[6/10] Apple Released Desktop Video Update v1.2.1 for Final Cut Pro and Express HD: The update is available for download from this Apple Web page. Acccording to the ReadMe file,

Desktop Video Out Update addresses an issue with Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 and Final Cut Express HD 3.0 when using Digital Cinema Desktop Preview (Main).

This update is recommended for Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 and Final Cut Express HD 3.0 customers.

[Bill Fox]

[6/10] Aspyr Media's Aspyrations Contest Ends Today: Friday is the last day to submit entries for a chance to win one of the many great prizes: iPod (1), iPod Shuffle (1), Sims 2 (5) or an Aspyr t-shirt (15). Aspyr is kicking off the launch of their new logo, with a fabulous contest. They're going bigger and bolder with their new logo, and they're looking to project an attitude that expresses that. They've tossed around a few ideas. For example, "We 'Aspyr' to entertain the world... to set a good example... to create products that rule... to say please and thank you... to make Mom proud... to Wang Chung tonight... etc." Get the idea? Now they're asking for your help. To enter the contest, simply fill out the form on this Apsyr Web page. The deadline for all entries is Friday, June 10th--today!

The only skill needed to win is good luck. Winners will be drawn randomly and announced in Aspyr's June newsletter, the week of June 20th. If you aren't registered for Aspyr's monthly newsletter, you can sign up on this Web page. [Bill Fox]

[6/10] O'Reilly Published Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration: If you're a systems or network administrator plying your craft in a Macintosh or mixed-platform environment, that means, Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration (Bartosh and Faas, O'Reilly, US $49.95) may be for you. Michael Bartosh and Ryan Faas say they wrote Mac OS X Panther Server Administration after discovering that current Mac OS X Server and Mac OS X systems administration reference guides were insufficient. "We realized you simply couldn't fill all the holes in the available knowledge with web-based discussion forums or articles," says Faas. [Bill Fox]

[6/9] Details on Apple's Security Update 2005-006 for Mac OS X 10.4.1 and 10.3.9 Client and Server: Security Update 2005-006 is available via the System Preferences Software Update pane for Mac oS X 10.4.1 and 10.3.9, client and server versions, or from the Apple Support Downloads Web page. According to the 10.4.1 ReadMe file,

Security Update 2005-006 [for Mac OS X 10.4.1] delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. This update includes the following components:

AFP Server
Bluetooth
CoreGraphics
Folder Permissions
launchd
LaunchServices
NFS
PHP
VPN

Here are the details on the security aspects of each component update:

AFP Server
CVE-ID: CAN-2005-1721
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.1, Mac OS X Server v10.4.1
Impact: A buffer overflow in support for legacy clients could permit
the running of arbitrary code
Description: The Mac OS X AFP Server supports a number of legacy
clients. A buffer overflow in the support for one of these clients
could permit the running of arbitrary code. This update modifies the
AFP Server to correct this buffer overflow. This issue does not
affect systems prior to Mac OS X 10.4.

AFP Server
CVE-ID: CAN-2005-1720
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.1, Mac OS X Server v10.4.1
Impact: On an AFP server using an ACL enabled volume for storage,
the copying of a file with POSIX-only permissions can leave an ACL
attached
Description: When copying a local file to an AFP Server that is
using an ACL enabled volume for storage, a temporary ACL is attached
to the remote object during the copy process. This ACL can be left
behind if the file copy was into a directory that was not using ACLs.
The ACL that is left behind could cause confusion as it will
override the POSIX file permissions for the file owner. The ACL does
not permit other users to access the file. This update modifies the
AFP Server so that it correctly removes the ACL that is used for
copying the file. This issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS
X 10.4.

Bluetooth
CVE-ID: CAN-2005-1333
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.1, Mac OS X Server v10.4.1, Mac OS X
v10.3.9, Mac OS X Server v10.3.9
Impact: Directory traversal via Bluetooth object exchange
Description: Due to insufficient input checking, the Bluetooth
object exchange services could be used to access files outside of the
default file exchange directory. This update provides an additional
security improvement over the previous release by adding enhanced
filtering for path-delimiting characters. Credit to
kf_lists[at]digitalmunition[dot]com for reporting this issue.

CoreGraphics
CVE-ID: CAN-2005-1722
Available for: Mac OS X v10.4.1, Mac OS X Server v10.4.1
Impact: Applications using either PDFKit or CoreGraphics to render
poorly formed PDF documents could abort due to a NULL pointer
dereference.
Description: If a poorly-formed PDF document is passed to PDFKit or
CoreGraphics for rendering, the rending engine will detect an error
and stop processing. As part of the cleanup process, a check for a
NULL pointer was omitted. This omission can cause an application
that handles PDF documents to abort - requiring that the application
be restarted. CoreGraphics is updated to correctly handle the
cleanup of poorly-formed PDF documents. This issue does not affect
systems prior to Mac OS X 10.4. Credit to Chris Evans for reporting
this issue.

CoreGr