[2/28] Parallels Desktop for Mac 2.5 is Out in Final

Parallels released the final build (3186) of Desktop for Mac v2.5 after a lengthy public beta program. It is available from this Parallels Web page. Desktop for Mac allows one to run Windows, including the latest Vista, on an Intel-based Mac without shutting down the Mac and restarting in Windows like Apple's Boot Camp beta requires.

The major new features in version 2.5 are:

• Parallels Installation Assistant making installing Parallels Desktop for Mac easier than before
  
• Parallels Coherence providing seamless integration and allowing you to maintain a single, integrated environment for running all of your applications
  
• Parallels Transporter allowing you to easily migrate your existing system to any Parallels enabled computer.
  
• Full USB 2.0 support allowing you to connect all of your favorite devices to your operating system of choice
  
• Full support for OS X and Windows Vista
  
• Automatic network configuration seamlessly connecting your new virtual system to the Internet without any manual network reconfiguration
  

We tried to download a copy but all attempts (more than 20) ended prematurely, the largest file being 32MB out of 57.4MB before the download ended abruptly. It reminded us of the good old days of dial-up trying to get the latest Mac OS update. We have provided a brief hands-on report after each public beta of v2.5 was released but we will have to wait until we can get a copy. [Bill Fox]

[2/28] Apple released WWDC07 Session Tracks--Focus is on Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard'

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2007 will have over 100 sessions in six session tracks. The session tracks are:

• Mac OS X Essentials -- Learn about the core ingredients needed to build innovative products for Mac OS X. Perfect if you're new to the Mac.
• Graphics and Imaging -- Add advanced audio, video, imaging, graphics, and animation capabilities to your applications.
• Information Technologies -- Discover how to use, integrate, manage, and deploy Mac OS X Leopard and Leopard Server.
• Leopard Innovations -- Get an in-depth look at how to energize your apps with powerful new Mac OS X technologies.
• Developer Tools -- Reach new levels of productivity using groundbreaking development tools.
• Content and Media -- Learn best practices for production and development of rich media for the desktop, devices, and the web.

WWDC07 will be held June 11-15 in San Francisco's Moscone West Conference Center. Here is Apple's WWDC07 FAQ. [Bill Fox]

[2/28] New Apple Gear Arrival, One Slips and One's on Target

Apple TV, the set-top box for playing the media contents of your Mac on your HDTV, was originally announced at Macworld to ship in February. Now, the Apple Store is showing a shipping date of mid-March. Those who ordered an Apple TV are receiving a note from Apple announcing the delay.

iPhone is still on target for shipping in June according to Apple COO Tim Cook at the Goldman Sachs 2007 Technology Investment Symposium. More...

[Bill Fox]

[2/28] Very Brief Hands-On Report--SuperDuper! 2.1.4 Update is Out

SuperDuper! 2.1.4 Update is available from Shirt-Pocket within the application or as a stand-alone file via MacUpdate.com. SuperDuper is the excellent application that makes recovery painless, because it makes creating a fully bootable backup painless. Its incredibly clear, friendly interface is understandable, easy to use, and SuperDuper's built-in scheduler makes it trivial to back up automatically. And it runs beautifully on both Intel and Power PC Macs!

What's new in version 2.1.4:

• Allows display to sleep during copy
  
• Scheduled copies work for Japanese locale/language settings
  
• Preliminary compatibility support for Leopard
  
• Improved scheduling for all users
  

The improvements include:

• The ability to easily schedule backups
  
• Additional imaging options
  
• More control over shutdown
  
• Better AppleScript support
  
• Hundreds of UI improvements
  
• Growl support
  
• A completely rewritten, task-based User's Guide.

We updated our copy of SuperDuper! within the application with no difficulty. [Dana Baggett]

[2/27] Brief Hands-On Report--Mozilla's Camino Browser goes Beta with v1.1b

Camino 1.1b is the latest version of Mozilla's Web browser that runs natively on Mac OS X 10.3 and later. It is available for download via MacUpdate.com. The current release is v1.0.3.

There are lots of updates in v1.1b including enhanced tabbed browsing ("single window mode"), integration with the Mac OS X spell-checking system, detection of RSS/Atom feeds, an improved design for the "blocked pop-up" notification, enhanced options for cookies and downloads, and a resizable search field in the toolbar. This release also includes enhancements in speed, security, and rendering accuracy brought by version 1.8.1 of the Gecko rendering engine.

Camino 1.1b now shares the same code base as Firefox 2.0.x, i.e. the Gecko v1.8.1 rendering engine, so also shares many of the security fixes that are in that version of Firefox.

We downloaded and installed v1.1b over v1.0.3 with no problems. We also used v1.1b for several hours of Web browsing and encountered no issues. This beta version appears to be very stable but remember, if you decide to use it, that it is a beta and subject to issues. [Bill Fox]

[2/27] Former Apple CEO Sculley states "I'm a terrible manager"

Former Apple CEO John Sculley addressed a group of 250 students at Brown University's Annual Entrepreneurship Forum. He claimed to be a "half-decent idea person" while admitting he is a "terrible manager." Sculley joined Apple as CEO after he was recruited from PepsiCo in 1983 by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, then Chairman of Apple. Sculley eventually ousted Jobs from Apple in 1985.

He praised Steve Jobs for being the real visionary and gave him full credit for Apple's successful direction. Sculley's claimed success was in building Apple into a major company while his biggest goof was missing the manufacturing and marketing model introduced by Michael Dell. He also championed cool projects at Apple like the Newton. Sculley said he was ousted due to his refusal to license the Mac OS. More... [Dana Baggett]

[2/27] Apple posted iPhone Ad that ran during Oscars

Apple ran an iPhone ad during the Oscar presentations on Sunday evening. The ad, named "Hello" featured a sequence of a number of celebrities answering a phone saying "hello" which was followed by a rotating-in iPhone and a note stating "Hello, Coming in June." The ad closed with Apple's logo. It is now available online on the Apple Web site front page and on this Apple Web page. It is available to see in several sizes including HD. [Bill Fox via Joe Sacco]

[2/27] Trans International offers $16-40 Savings on miniG FW400 Dual Drive

With the MiniG, TransIntl states that you can achieve high-level, industrial/corporate-grade performance for digital video/audio editing and storage with the streamlined, Cool & Quiet miniG Firewire F400 Drive external enclosure. Simply add your choice of low-cost, high-performance, high-capacity ATA drive or select from their preconfigured options.

• miniG Firewire 400 Enclosure (no drive) $59.00 Save $16.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 80GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $ 89.00 Save $30.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 160GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $109.00 Save $40.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 250GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $129.00 Save $30.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 320GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $159.00 Save $30.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 400GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $189.00 Save $40.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 500GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $229.00 Save $40.00
  
• miniG Firewire 400 750GB [7200RPM,16MB Cache] Drive: $399.00 Save $30.00
  

The Firewire 400 interface supports external transfers up to 38MB/second to satisfy video projects, DVD authoring, audio, animation, modeling, music/image libraries, and conventional storage. [Bill Fox]

[2/26] Apple Top-Ranked Computer Company in Customer Service Due to Genius Bar

BusinessWeek Magazine's cover story for March 5 is "Customer Service Champs." It provides BusinessWeek's list of the top 25 U.S. companies in customer service. Apple is the top-rated computer company and no others made the top 25. Despite being top-rated, Apple only garnered position 18, being beaten by such companies as Cadillac (#3), Nordstrom (#4), UPS (#8), Starbucks (#10) and Cabelas (#15). Apple was boosted into the top 25 with bonus points for being the industry leader.

BusinessWeek's comments about Apple are:

"While Apple's customer service shows its bruises--device problems frequently erupt just after warranties expire--the in-person support offered at the 'Genius Bars' in the electronics maker's more than 170 stores sets it apart from its peers."

The insurance firm, USAA, is first on the list. More...[Bill Fox]

[2/24] Washington Apple Pi AMUG General Meeting Today--Focus on Google

The Pi General Meeting will be a full event today. The doors open at 9:00 am and Lawrence Charters will be there at the start to answer any question our first arrivals might have. The main event, Everything Google, starts at 9:50 and features demonstrations on several aspects of Google.

Also, there will be three mini-training sessions. One tutorial will focus on how to enhance your photos to prepare you for the Pi Photo Contest, another will expand on Google Earth and SketchUp and the last session will be Mac Fundamentals. We will start the meeting by kicking off the first ever Pi Photo Contest and end with our Pi Dollars auctions of some more great prizes.

Check out the Pi web site page for more details on the meeting. [Bill Fox]

[2/24] Brief Hands-On Report--Mozilla released Firefox 2.0.0.2, a Security Update

Firefox 2.0.0.2 is available via 'Check for updates' under the Help menu or via this MacUpdate.com Web page. The security fixes according to Mozilla are:

• MFSA 2007-07 Embedded nulls in location.hostname confuse same-domain checks
  
• MFSA 2007-06 Mozilla Network Security Services (NSS) SSLv2 buffer overflow
  
• MFSA 2007-05 XSS and local file access by opening blocked popups
  
• MFSA 2007-04 Spoofing using custom cursor and CSS3 hotspot
  
• MFSA 2007-03 Information disclosure through cache collisions
  
• MFSA 2007-02 Improvements to help protect against Cross-Site Scripting attacks
  
• MFSA 2007-01 Crashes with evidence of memory corruption (rv:1.8.0.10/1.8.1.2)

We downloaded and installed Firefox 2.0.0.2 with no problems. There is an update (v1.7.0.7) for our favorite theme Nautipolis so we downloaded and installed it too. After several hours of Web browsing we noted no new issues. [Bill Fox & Dana Baggett]

[2/23] Samsung speeds up Fastest Graphics RAM by Two-Thirds--Faster Macs?

Samsung produces the world's fastest graphics RAM called GDDR4 (Graphics Double Data Rate, v4). They announced yesterday that they have increased its speed even further, by two-thirds!

"Our new GDDR4 memory will add even more zip in video applications, making gaming, computer-aided design and video editing faster than ever before," said Mueez Deen, marketing director, graphics memory, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "This will enable ultra-smooth movements in animation and make games incredibly realistic, resulting in a truly immersive user experience," he added.

Using 80-nanometer production technology, the 4Gb/s (2.0GHz) is 66 percent faster than today’s fastest commercially available memory--the 2.4Gb/s GDDR4. The new 4Gb/s graphics memory, offered in 512Mb density, has a 32-bit data bus configuration. GDDR4 uses JEDEC-approved standards for signal noise reduction to help attain the highest possible speed.

The new RAM is available for customer sampling and it should be appearing in products over the next 12-18 months, according to Samsung. [Bill Fox]

[2/23] Transintl.com reduced price $10-40 on miniXpress 825 Portable Hard Drives

Trans International's miniXpress 825 portable hard drives have a rugged and stylish case made from aluminum. This assures durability and excellent heat dissipation. Equipped with an anti-shock mechanism and a triple interface (F800/F400/USB), the award winning miniXpress is an ideal and versatile answer for portable external storage.

Here are the new prices:

200GB 5400RPM w/8MB Cache NOW $349.00 Saving $20.00
160GB 5400RPM w/8MB Cache NOW $229.00 Saving $20.00
120GB 5400RPM w/8MB Cache NOW $179.00 Saving $10.00
100GB 7200RPM w/8MB Cache NOW $229.00 Saving $40.00
100GB 5400RPM w/8MB Cache NOW $139.00 NEW

We use a 160Gb miniXpress and have favorably reviewed it. [Bill Fox]

[2/23] From the Dark Side--M$ loses Another Copying Lawsuit; Copies Mac OS X Exposé

A federal jury in San Diego found that Microsoft infringed on MP3 audio patents held by Alcatel-Lucent. They awarded $1.52 billion in damages. Microsoft plans to appeal the decisions as unsupported by the facts or laws.

Microsoft copies technology owned by others? Nahhhh! Who could think such a thing? Let's see, yesterday we saw a Microsoftian demonstrate a "new and exciting" feature in Widows Vista he called Exposé, a feature that shows all open windows on the desktop by moving the cursor to a corner. Geez, Microsoft not only copied the function from Mac OS X but shamelessly even copied the name!

[Update: The Microsoftian simply may have misspoken, as noted by several readers, perhaps he's a closet Mac user. We can not find a reference to Exposé in any online Vista documentation. The Exposé feature demonstrated at the Vista launch event last week may be a function in Windows Flip that requires Vista's Aero graphics capability but we couldn't find it explicitly stated.] [Bill Fox]

[2/22] Apple and Cisco move on by settling iPhone Lawsuit

Late yesterday, Apple and Cisco jointly announced that they have resolved their dispute involving the "iPhone" trademark. The dispute arose when Cisco filed suit following Steve Jobs' keynote address at Macworld that announced and described Apple's new cell phone named "iPhone" that is scheduled to ship in June.

Cisco claimed to own the trademark "iPhone" and that negotiations with Apple over use of the trademark had not been completed as expected before Apple's announcement. Apple retorted that the lawsuit was "silly" and that Cisco's trademark claim was not valid for two main reasons. First, the products using the name "iPhone" are inherently different (cell phone vs VoIP handset) and will not confuse the public. And second, Cisco had not adequately defended its trademark and, therefore, gave it up even if it applied to Apple's iPhone.

Under the agreement, both companies are free to use the "iPhone" trademark on their products throughout the world. Both companies acknowledge the trademark ownership rights that have been granted, and each side will dismiss any pending actions regarding the trademark. In addition, Apple and Cisco will explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications.

Other terms of the agreement are confidential. [Bill Fox]

[2/22] Apple's ADC Developer Pavilion at Macworld a Success--Nine Stories Posted as Podcasts

[2/22] Tonight on The Tech Night Owl LIVE--Hints from MacOSXHints.com, Mac OS X Security and running Non-Mac Software on a Mac

On tonight's all-star episode, host Gene Steinberg presents a collection of powerful hints and tips from Macworld's Rob Griffiths, also of macosxhints.com. Rob will also give you an advanced look into an forthcoming feature story he's writing covering four ways to run Windows on a Mac.

You'll also hear a realistic discussion on Mac OS X security with Alan Oppenheimer, of Open Door Networks. In addition, Doug Nassaur, President and CEO of Truth North Technology will deliver an update on a way to run software from other operating systems on your Mac without installing another operating system or even the applications themselves.

You can tune into the Web broadcast tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 to 11:00 PM Eastern. [Bill Fox]

[2/21] Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to 'Duke It Out' at D5 in May, Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher to Moderate

Wow! Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, the seminal figures in the development of the personal computer and its software, will make a rare joint appearance at The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference this year. The two men will jointly discuss the history and future of the digital revolution in an unrehearsed, unscripted, on-stage conversation on May 30 with D coproducers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. Get it on!

Both executives have made multiple individual appearances at the conference, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year, and is known as D5. But this will be their first joint session at D, and a highly unusual event.

In addition to participating in the joint session, Steve Jobs will appear on his own in a separate segment at D5 to discuss the latest developments at Apple, including new ventures such as the iPhone and Apple TV.

The D5 conference will also feature an impressive roster of other leaders in technology and media. Confirmed speakers include Google CEO Eric Schmidt; CBS President Les Moonves; Cisco CEO John Chambers; film director George Lucas; online pioneer Steve Case; Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore; News Corp. President Peter Chernin; Palm founder Jeff Hawkins; Steve Chen and Chad Hurley of YouTube; and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

D5 will be an all-interview event, i.e. without canned speeches. The conference, which is already sold out at $3,995 a seat plus hotel, will take place May 29-31, 2007, at the Four Seasons Resort Aviary in Carlsbad, California, near San Diego. [Bill Fox]

[2/21] Macs in Science--iMacs feature Kinetic City at AAAS Science Show

CNET has a gallery of eleven photos from the Family Science Days show at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) just held February 15-19 in San Francisco. Photo number 4 shows two kids playing science games on iMacs at the Kinetic City adventure booth.

According to AAAS,

"Kinetic City is an amazing collection of science experiments, games and projects for everyone to enjoy both online and away from the computer."

Kinetic City's Mission to Vearth was produced by the AAAS with funding from the National Science Foundation to excite kids about science. It is pretty cool--check it out. [Bill Fox]

[2/21] From the Dark Side--Gates contradicts Ballmer on Vista Sales; Ballmer threatens Linux so will Gates...?

The Frick and Frack of the technology world are at it again. After all of the Microsoft Windows Vista hype, last week CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts that their forecasts of Vista sales are "overly aggressive" and to expect more moderate sales. Then this week, when asked if Microsoft should be cautious about Vista sales, Cofounder Bill Gates replied, "I don't know what you mean. Vista's had an incredible reception." Apparently, Frick and Frack don't talk much anymore.

Also this week, Ballmer again threatened to sue Linux sellers by stating to analysts that open source "is not free." So, if asked about Linux threats next week, we wonder if Gates will say, "I don't know what you mean. Linux is great. Didn't we just enter into a partnership with Novell to distribute it?" More and more...[Dana Baggett]

[2/19] Adobe's Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 and Camera Raw 3.7 are Out

Today Adobe begins shipping Photoshop Lightroom 1.0. It enables professional photographers to import, manage and present large volumes of digital photographs. Photoshop Lightroom now includes a wealth of innovative features that streamline digital photography workflows and help photographers spend more time behind the lens and less time at the computer.

The tools and features in Photoshop Lightroom help photographers tailor their digital photography workflows. The Library and Develop modules have the organizing and editing features for image management and non-destructive editing, and Photoshop Lightroom makes it easy to send images to and from Photoshop for pixel editing. Once editing is complete, users can showcase their images in Photoshop Lightroom with the Slideshow, Print and Web modules.

In appreciation of loyal Photoshop users, early supporters of Photoshop Lightroom and the over 500,000 beta participants, Adobe is offering Photoshop Lightroom to all new customers at a special introductory price of US $199 through April 30, 2007. Photoshop Lightroom will later sell for an estimated street price of US $299. Users of Photoshop Lightroom beta will have access to the program until its expiration on February 28, 2007.

The announcement of Photoshop Lightroom coincides with the immediate availability of Camera Raw 3.7, which now supports over 150 cameras, including: the Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D. Lightroom and Photoshop Camera Raw share the same image processing technology to ensure consistent and compatible results across applications that support raw processing. These applications include Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements 4.0, Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Premiere Elements 3.0 and must be updated to Camera Raw 3.7 in order to provide compatibility with the new Photoshop Lightroom.

With this update to Camera Raw it is now possible to apply default image settings specific to a camera serial number and apply default image settings specific to a camera ISO setting. The additional criteria are located in the Camera Raw preferences. Also, the default settings, including the global auto preference, are now shared with the DNG Converter.

Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 is available as a free download from Adobe. [Bill Fox]

[2/19] Fly Volaris in Mexico and rent an iPod with Video

Volaris, a low-cost Mexican airline, is now renting a 30GB iPod with video for 10 pesos (about $5) on its flights. While other airlines have been talking about integrating iPod connections in seats, Volaris is the first airline to make iPods available to passengers. The iPods come loaded with music and Mexican TV shows but Volaris has plans to load US TV shows and music as well.

Volaris is a privately-own airline. The owner, Carlos Slim, plans to expand service significantly. More...[Dana Baggett]

[2/16] Brief Hands-On Report--Apple released Java for Mac OS X 10.4.x or 10.3.x, Release 5

It is available via Software Update or from these Apple Web pages:

• For Mac OS X 10.4.x.
• For Mac OS X 10.3.x.

According to Apple,

Java for Mac OS X 10.4 [or 10.3], Release 5 adds support for the latest Daylight Saving Time (DST) and time zone information as of January 8, 2007, and delivers improved reliability and compatibility for Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 and Java 1.4 on Mac OS X 10.4.8 and later. This release updates J2SE 5.0 to version 1.5.0_07, Java 1.4 to version 1.4.2_12.

This release improves reliability of the SWT_AWT bridge implementation first released in the SWT Compatibility Libraries for Release 4, and is now installed as a standard part of J2SE 5.0.

We downloaded and installed this update with no problems on a MacBook Pro C2D and an iMac Core Duo running Mac OS X 10.4.8. In several hours subsequent use, we encountered no issues. [Bill Fox & Dana Baggett]

[2/16] Brief Hands-On Report--Apple posted Daylight Savings Time Update for Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server 10.4.x and 10.3.x

This update is available via Software Update or from these Apple Web pages:

For Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger)
For Mac OS X 10.3.x (Panther)

According to Apple,

The Daylight Saving Time Update for Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server addresses recent changes in the way Daylight Saving Time will be observed in the U.S. and Canada beginning in March 2007 and includes the latest time zone information for the rest of the world.

For more details on this update, see this Apple Web page.

We downloaded and installed this update on a MacBook Pro C2D and an iMac Core Duo running Mac OS X 10.4.8 with no problems. In several hours subsequent use, we encountered no issues. [Bill Fox & Dana Baggett]

[2/16] Apple released Final Cut Pro 5.1.3 Update

Apple released Final Cut Pro 5.1.3 Update and it may be available via Software Update but it is available as a stand-alone updater from this Apple Web page. According to Apple it has these fixes:

• Final Cut Pro 5.1.3 is a maintenance release that resolves performance and other issues.
  
• Render File Compatibility--Render files created on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macintosh computers now work properly on either type of computer.
• Keyboard Layout Issues Resolved--Final Cut Pro 5.1.3 adds several commands to the default keyboard layout that were missing in the previous version.
• Issues with Cross Dissolves in Nested Sequences Resolved--Final Cut Pro 5.1.3 resolves cases in which cross dissolves did not work as expected.

[Bill Fox]

[2/16] Apple released Web Objects 5.3.3 Update

Apple released Web Objects 5.3.3 Update and it is available as a stand-alone updater from this Apple Web page. According to Apple,

This installer updates WebObjects 5.3 systems to observe the Daylight Saving Time (DST) and 2007 time zone changes as of January 8, 2007. This update is recommended for all WebObjects users.

[Bill Fox]

[2/16] Hands-On Report--Parallels released Desktop for Mac v2.5 Build 3170 RC3

Parallels released the third release candidate for v2.5 of Desktop for Mac (Build 3170). It is available via MacUpdate.com. Desktop for Mac allows an Intel-based Mac to run various Windows operating systems in a window on Mac os X 10.4.x (Tiger).

We downloaded Build 3170, uninstalled Build 3150 and installed Build 3170. Then, we downloaded and installed all of the accrued updates for our Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista RC1 virtual machines. No problems were encountered during the process nor during brief use of both virtual machines. [Bill Fox]

[2/16] Apple Revised the Offerings from Two Hot Deals Retailers

J&R Computerworld has deals on a variety of Mac compatible hardware and software products including: ARXP62 Bookshelf speakers from Acoustic Research reduced to only $99.99!; Sims 2 Pets Expansion Pack from Aspyr for only $34.99!; Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark from MacSoft for only $19.99!; Sid Meier's Civilization IV: Warlords Expansion Pack from Aspyr for only $27.99!; Eye-One Display 2 professional monitor calibration tool from Gretagmacbeth for only $199.99!; 1GB Lexar JumpDrive Secure II flash drive for only $29.99!; HL-2040 compact personal laser printer from Brother for only $99.99 after mail-in rebate!; CanoScan LiDE 70 USB 2.0 color image scanner from Canon for only $79.99!; and much more.

O'Reilly Media, Inc. has Hot Deals exclusive prices on a variety of Mac related publications including: Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition for only $20.97!; Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition for only $17.47; Dreamweaver MX 2004: The Missing Manual for only $24.47; iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual for only $24.50!; iPhoto 6: The Missing Manual for only $20.99!; iPod: The Missing Manual for only $13.99!; Photoshop Photo Effects Cookbook for only $20.96!; Photoshop Fine Arts Effects Cookbook for only $20.99!; Photoshop CS2 RAW for only $24.50!; and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[2/15] Mac Sales Not Hurt by Windows Vista and May Even be Increased, Analyst States

Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere yesterday, the research report by analyst Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray resulting from his survey of 50 Best Buy stores concludes that sales of Windows Vista will not negatively affect Mac sales. While Windows Vista sales have been less than expected so far, as noted in Munster's report, delayed purchases of Windows PCs waiting for Vista could result in a second quarter spurt of Windows PC sales that would affect Apple's market share in the short term but not Mac sales. In fact, Mac sales could increase.

"We also believe that widespread computer upgrades could lead consumers to evaluate their options, which may allow Apple to sway buyers toward the Mac platform," Munster wrote.

[Bill Fox]

[2/15] New AirPort Extreme "N" Base Station--Status Light Flashing Amber, Why?

So you've set up and configured your new AirPort Extreme 802.11n Base Station but you don't get a steady green status light. You get a flashing amber light instead. What does this mean? Macs Only! reader Gerald Millward shared his experience in response to Monday's review to save others a bit of consternation and time. Gerald did everything "right" in settting up his new Extreme N Base Station but the status light kept flashing amber instead of giving him a steady green. That was perplexing because it worked fine despite the flashing amber light. He worked on it for awhile and then called Apple. According to Gerald, Apple Support told him that,

"... if you don't opt to select one of the options for securing Airport Extreme it will remind you that you didn't by flashing the amber light."

To stop it, one has to either re-configure and select a security option or

"...go into Utilities, Airport Utility, Summary, and click on the Base Station Status light. That takes you to a screen that tells you why the amber light is blinking--and provides an option for deactivating the light and turning it to green."

[Bill Fox]

[2/15] Apple posted Two new Developer Articles: Widgets & Kerberos

Enhance Your Dashboard Widgets with Quartz Composer Compositions--With Quartz Composer you can produce rich animations for your Dashboard widget. This article shows you how to create a composition, and embed it easily in your widgets.

Kerberos: Highly Secure Single Sign On Authentication in Mac OS X--Mac OS X uses Kerberos to provide single sign on authentication for a wide range of technologies. Read how you can take advantage of Kerberos in your application.

[Bill Fox]

[2/15] RailsConf Europe 2007--Call for Participation Issued

To meet the increasing demand for skill building and to spread the joy of Rails, Ruby Central and O'Reilly Media are teaming up to produce RailsConf Europe 2007, an entire conference dedicated to Ruby on Rails. Happening September 17-19 in Berlin, Germany, RailsConf Europe will offer keynotes, sessions, and tutorials from the most innovative and successful Rails experts and organizations. O'Reilly Media and Ruby Central are seeking leaders to present sessions and tutorials at the conference. Qualified practitioners with insights and anecdotes to share with IT professionals and the Rails community are invited to submit a proposal by April 12, 2007.

The Ruby on Rails development framework turns three years old this summer, and in that short time, it has gone from cult favorite to major player in the web development world. By every measure--feature richness, adoption, publications, developer reception--Rails is a phenomenon, and one that's here to stay according to the organizers. [Bill Fox]

[2/15] From the Dark Side--Rats! Microsoft Settled Juicy Iowa Anti-Trust Suit

One of the last state lawsuits following Microsoft's federal conviction as an illegal monopolist was settled after seven years of litigation. Iowa wanted up to $330 million for consumers ripped off by Microsoft's corporate behavior.

The suit resulted in the public disclosure of a number of embarrassing internal Microsoft emails, the most infamous of which was one composed by Windows Vista chief Jim Alchin to founder Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer stating that if he didn't work for Microsoft, he'd buy a Mac. Since Mr. Alchin has retired from Microsoft, we hope that he has now fulfilled his wishes.

The terms of the settlement will be heard by the court on April 20th. Only the lawsuit by Mississippi remains. [Dana Baggett]

[2/14] Brief Hands-On Report--Microsoft released Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.4 Update

Microsoft released Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.4 Update. According to Microsoft,

This update contains several improvements to enhance security and stability, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code.

Applies to: Office 2004 Standard Edition, Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition, Office 2004 Professional Edition, Word 2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004, Entourage 2004.

Since the 11.3.4 Update is not a combo updater, Microsoft warns that before installing this update, one should make sure that the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.3 Update has been installed on your computer. To verify that this update has been installed, select the Microsoft Component Plugin file in the Microsoft Office 2004/Office folder on your hard disk and then in the File menu, click Get Info to check the version number.

The improvements for all Office 2004 applications are:

Security is improved--This update fixes vulnerabilities in Office 2004 that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code.

The improvements for Entourage 2004 are:

Junk e-mail filter list is updated--This update provides the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Entourage 2004 for Mac with a more current definition of which e-mail messages are considered junk e-mail.

The updated files are:

Junk E-mail Protection to 11.3.4
Microsoft Component Plugin to 11.3.4
Microsoft Word to 11.3.4

We downloaded the 11.3.4 updater and installed it over the copy of Office 2004 on our MacBook Pro C2D with no problems. We briefly tried launching each application and opening and modifying several files each for Word, Excel and PowerPoint without encountering a problem. We launched Entourage but did not use it for email. No major problems popped up for us. [Bill Fox]

[2/14] Apple released Fibre Channel Utility 2.1.4 for Mac OS X 10.4.8

Apple released Fibre Channel Utility 2.1.4 for Mac OS X 10.4.8. It provides the ability to configure the Apple Fibre Channel PCI Cards including the Apple Dual- and Quad-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel Card when running Mac OS X 10.4.8.

For Mac OS X 10.4 to 10.4.7 users, you will need Fibre Channel Utility 2.0 but it will not configure the Apple Dual- and Quad-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel Card.

For Mac OS X 10.3 users, you will need Fibre Channel Utility 1.0.3 but it will not configure the Apple Dual- and Quad-Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel Card. [Bill Fox]

[2/14] docXConverter 1.1 Update--Convert Word 2007 Files for the Mac

Panergy's docXConverter 1.1 is out and available for download via MacUpdate.com. docXConverter is a Macintosh program for opening and using files saved in the new Word 2007 default format, docx.

docXConverter allows you to open docx files with a program currently installed on your computer, even if none of your programs are capable of doing so on their own. docXConverter converts the docx file to an RTF file, and then instructs one of the programs on your computer to open that file. docXConverter makes sure that the contents, the graphics and the layout of the original docx document are kept in utmost fidelity.

As we have noted previously, the Microsoft Mac Business Unit has promised to release Office 2007 converters for Office 2004 in the spring. But Office 2007 is already in use by the Windows crowd so docXConverter may be needed by many Mac users right now. docXConverter 1.1 is $19.95 shareware. [Bill Fox]

[2/14] Enemy Territories: QUAKE Wars--Will this 3D Game come to the Mac?

The war between the Global Defense Force (GDF) and the Strogg will soon be igniting on next-generation consoles as id Software and Activision, Inc. confirmed that Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars, the team-based first person action title, and already one of the most anticipated new properties of 2007 is coming to next-gen platforms. In this epic multiplayer-focused game, players can choose to defend humanity as a part of the GDF or destroy it as a merciless Strogg alien invader.

Winner of more than 15 awards in 2006 and already selected as one of the most anticipated new titles in 2007 by more than eight publications, Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars is being developed for the Windows PC by Splash Damage. Players choose to battle as one of five unique classes in either the conventionally armed GDF army or the futuristic Strogg invasion force, each outfitted with specialist weapons and combat hardware. In this adrenaline pumping fight for survival, warring forces utilize a variety of different vehicles, deployable structures, and defense systems including quad-bikes, tanks, and alien walkers for epic ground assaults; or helicopters and anti-gravity ships to unleash airborne attacks. Throughout each battle, teams establish bases, deploy defense structures, artillery, radar, and advanced forward-command systems into enemy territory while constructing and demolishing obstacles to speed progress and gain a tactical advantage over the opponent.

The big question for Mac users is will this latest game in the Quake series come to the Mac. The last in the series, Quake 4, did come out on the Mac last year. [Bill Fox]

[2/14] Apple revised the Offerings from Two Hot Deals Retailers

Apple Store Special Deals has exclusive deals on a variety of Apple Certified Refurbished products including: Apple Certified Refurbished 4GB iPod Nano for only $149!; Apple Certified Refurbished 1GB iPod shuffle for only $49; Apple Certified Refurbished 1GB iPod nano for only $79!; Apple Certified Refurbished 17-inch PowerBook 1.67GHz PowerPC w/SuperDrive for only $1,699!; and much more.

MacConnection has Hot Deals on a variety of Mac compatible hardware and software products including: Sony CyberShot DSC-W100 8.1-megapixel compact digital camera for only $249.95!; Olympus FE-230 7.1-megapixel compact digital camera for only $199.99!; Photoshop Lightroom from Adobe for only $199.95; Corel Painter X upgrade from Corel for only $219.95!; Dreamweaver 8 limited time upgrade for Microsoft FrontPage owners for only $399.95!; Canon Pixma MP830 All-In-One multifunction printer for only $249.99!; Olympus Evolt-500 digital SLR two lens kit for only $679.99!; and much more.

[Bill Fox]

[2/13] Software Special of the Day: Macintosh Explorer 4.5 (Universal) for 44% Off--$8.95 Today Only

The all purpose file browser and file management tool, Macintosh Explorer brings the hierarchal navigation system of Windows Explorer to the Mac. The first ever Macintosh File browser to offer tabbed file browsing, Thumbnail previews of pictures files and filter based file browser, Macintosh Explorer offers a totally new and unique file browsing experience.

Normally $15.95, Macintosh Explorer 4.5 (Universal) is offered for $8.95--that's 44% off as