Top Links: November 2004

Mac News Today

Link Archive: November 2004

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Opinion: Lost iTunes library, found iPod, Christopher Breen, MacCentral, 11.29. "The issue is what one should do when an iTunes music library has been vaporized due to a hard drive crash and a copy of that library exists on an iPod."
Advice: OS X: Free up hard disk space, iVan, CreativeBits, 11.26. A half-dozen ways to free up some extra space on your Mac's hard drive.
Dark Side: DWP kills 60k+ PCs in Windows XP upgrade lash-up, John Lettice, The Register, 11.26. "Most of the desktop computers in the UK's Department for Work and Pensions were paralysed for four days on Monday, when a failed [WinXP] upgrade took them offline."
Advice: Ten Christmas gift suggestions under $30 for iPod and Apple laptop users on your list, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 11.26. Several low-cost ways to protect you 'Pod or 'Book from wear and tear.
News: Apple to press play on iTunes in Canada, Richard Blackwell, Globe and Mail, 11.26. Apple's "hugely successful iTunes music downloading system is about to launch in Canada, establishing a powerful competitor to . . . music services already in place in this country."
Advice: Charles Moore's Christmas gift bookshelf 2004, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 11.26. A dozen books to consider for the Mac user on your holiday shopping list.
Advocacy: Band-Aid: Some suggestions for Apple's damage-control, Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu, 11.26. "...Apple should negotiate with Universal Music to sell the tune at 79p on the iTunes Music Store. And Apple should match the remaining 70p per song as a charity donation."
Apple: Apple iTunes don't know it's Christmas-time at all, London Times, 11.25. iTunes Music Store has refused to sell the charity Band Aid song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" because the track sells for £1.49, not the usual 79p price.
Apple: No holiday cheer for Band Aid and iTunes, Misha Sakellaropoulo, Mac Observer, 11.25. Apple's iTunes Music Store is causing a bit of a stir by refusing to sell the charity Band Aid song "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Advice: Modifying Stickies, Erica Sadun, O'Reilly Network, 11.23. How to add scrollbars, a ruler, and a drawer to Stickes with Apple's free Xcode Tools.
News: Survey: Some iPod fans dump PCs for Macs, Jo Best, Cnet, 11.24. "The research found that 6 percent of iPod users have made the switch. An additional 7 percent said they are planning to dump their old PC for an Apple machine, according to the survey."
Opinion: Columnist or Olympian juggler?, David Pogue, New York Times, 11.23. "...I do most of my work in Mac OS X. I therefore spend zero time on viruses, spyware, maintenance and all those other typical computer time drains."
Opinion: Power(Booking) through blackouts, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, Mac Opinion, 11.23. "Laptops have a very big advantage over desktop computers in power blackouts."
News: Watson available for free, The Karelia Weblog, Karelia Software, 11.23. How to register the latest version of Watson for OS X for free.
Rights: Verizon seeks to nix fee-based municipal wireless grids, Slashdot, 11.23. "Since Verizon is looking to broadband service to fuel its growth, it calls municipal WiFi 'unfair competition.'"
Advice: Software to put under the tree, part II, Nancy Carroll Gravley, Computing with Bifocals, Mac Observer, 11.23. Software from $29 to $99 for the Mac lover on your holiday gift list.
Dark Side: Mac crowd bashes Windows for security problems, Ian Katz, Sun Sentinel, 11.22. "...the reason behind the growing support for Macs has less to do with Apple than with the failure of Microsoft's Windows operating system and Internet Explorer browser."
Tech: Death of video recorder in sight, BBC News, 11.22. "The death of the video cassette recorder appears to be in sight after the UK's largest electrical chain said it is to stop selling them."
News: Apple confirms plans for first Canadian retail store, Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral, 11.19. "Apple Computer Inc. on Friday confirmed for MacCentral plans to open the company's first retail store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada."
History: Gil Amelio's reign at Apple, and his eventual ouster, Thomas Hormby, OSNews, 11.17. "Gil Amelio was perhaps one of the most technically savvy of Apple chairmen."
Review: Eudora 6.2 alternates between silly and serious, Adam C. Engst, TidBITS, 11.17. "I left the emoticon display on for a while to determine that I really did hate it as much as I thought I would, then I shut it off...."
Analysis: HP's Fiorina: iPod sales 'going extremely well'; 'excited' about accessories, Brad Gibson, Mac Observer, 11.17. HP-branded iPod #2 hard drive portable music player, behind Apple's iPod, and selling very well for HP.
Opinion: My three 'Books revisited, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, Mac Opinion, 11.16. iBook, WallStreet, and Pismo - "If asked which is my favorite, I couldn't really choose."
Advice: Google Gmail POP3 support how-to, Charles W. Moore, Applelinks, 11.16. "I configured my Gmail account to receive and send POP 3 email using Eudora over the weekend, and so far it works really well."
Opinion: Safari --> Firefox, Damien Barrett, mrbarrett.com, 11.15. "Safari is quite a good browser and I'll keep it in my dock. But Firefox is faster, cleaner, more extensible, and user-friendly...."
Advocacy: Handtops: A market Apple should investigate, Dennis Sellers, Macsimum Perspective, 11.15. "...if Apple decides to expand its repertoire of digital lifestyle devices, it might consider a 'handtop' device as opposed to one that fits in your palm."
Macinschool: Mac fans attack schools' PC plan, Laura Green, Herald Tribune, 11.13. "Superintendent Gary Norris was warned there'd be trouble if he ordered schools to switch from Macintosh computers to PCs."
Opinion: Bargain Barrell: The best of low end Mac Apps, Tera Patricks, Mac360, 11.12. "In this quick review of the 'low end' applications on my Mac, they're low end only because they're free or don't cost much."
Dark Side: As expected, Novell sues Microsoft over WordPerfect, Eric Bangeman, ars technica, 11.12. "The suit alleges Microsoft illegally engaged in anticompetitive business practices against WordPefect and Quattro Pro between 1994 and 1996, when Novell sold the two applications to Corel."
History: The true story of Audion, Cabel Sasser, Panic, 11.11. The history of Audion, and why Panic is now making it available for free.
Tech: Malware: What it is and how to prevent it, A Baratz, C McLaughlin, ars technica, 11.11. What malware is and how it messes up Windows computers. Let's hope it never comes to the Mac.
Rights: ICANN rule change prompts domain hijacking scare, Fred "zAmboni" Locklear, ars technica, 11.11. "Domain owners would still be protected from hijacking since many of the reputable registrars offer domain locking features for free."
Advocacy: Creating websites by hand, Christian Paratschek, OSNews, 11.10. With over 95% of browsers in use fully supporting CSS, it's time to dump WYSIWYG HTML editors and run with CSS.
Rights: New rules make domain hijacking easier, Slashdot, 11.10. "Essentially, if someone tries to take your domain, and you don't answer within 5 days, they now assume you are okay with the transfer."
Advice: Software to put under the tree, part I, Nancy Carroll Gravley, Computing with Bifocals, Mac Observer, 11.10. Four software items you might want to give for the holidays, from $49.95 to $109.
Web: Google to give Gmail POP3 support, plans antivirus, Juan Carlos Perez, MacCentral, 11.10. A gig of online storage plus the ability to download your Gmail - and addition of antivirus capability for those on the Dark Side.
Review: Singing with the Sonnet Encore/ST G4 Duet, Geoff Duncan, TidBITS, 11.09. Not only is this upgrade fast, but it also solved the author's long-term problems with OS X.
Analysis: The upgrading game: To buy or not to buy, Hector, Gear Live, 11.08. When it makes sense to upgrade rather than replace your old computer. PC oriented, but still helpful.
Tech: Pioneer ultraviolet laser promises 500 GB disks, The Inquirer, 11.08. Ultraviolet has a shorter wavelength than blue. Pioneer is predicting up to 20x the capacity of blue laser disks.
OS X: OS 10.3.6 Update up and running, Charles W. Moore, OS X Odyssey, Applelinks, 11.08. "Throwing my customary caution about early adoption to the winds, I downloaded the OS 10.3.6 update in the wee hours of Saturday morning, and installed it Sunday."
Opinion: Cell phones: Mac vs. PC. Who's really connected?, Tera Patricks, Mac360, 11.08. "Synchronizing your Contacts (Address Book) should be a breeze on both Mac and PC. Is it?"
OS X: 10.3.6 Update breaks some FireWire hard drives, MacSlash, 11.08. "Apparently, affected drives have the Initio 1430 Firewire Bridge/Chipset. Users have noted that the drives were working normally in the previous Mac OS X version...."
Opinion: The best low end mac graphics program ever, Alex Kayhill, Mac 360, 11.04. "For $30 (less than 10-cents per day for a year), there's not much to not like about GraphicConverter. It's not perfect, though."
Tech: File-sharing network thrives beneath the radar, Adam Pasick, Yahoo!, 11.04. "A file-sharing program called BitTorrent has become a behemoth, devouring more than a third of the Internet's bandwidth, and Hollywood's copyright cops are taking notice."
Tech: 'Brain' in a dish flies flight simulator, CNN.com, 11.04. "Gradually the brain learnt to control the flight of the plane based on the information it received about flight conditions."
Opinion: Firefox, bah humbug, John Carroll, ZDNet, 11.04. Nice as it is, Firefox doesn't fully support Internet standards. Neither do Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, or any other browswers.
Advice: Build a working computer from a bare logic board, Antoine B, HardMac, 11.04. One user's guide to building a whole computer around an iMac logic board.
Opinion: Consumer Reports: '59,940 reasons to reconsider Macs', MacNN, 11.04. "Symantec, maker of Norton AntiVirus, says approximately 60,000 viruses aim at Windows-based PCs, but about 60 target Macs."
Web: Internet killed the radio star, Hannibal, ars technica, 11.04. One of the greatest promises of online digital media distribution was that the back catalogs of record and movie companies would be made available. Back catalog items now outsell new material.
Software: Screenshot Helper 1.0 clears screen for taking clean screenshots, Charles W. Moore, OS X Odyssey, Applelinks, 11.04. "Screenshot Helper is a little freeware hack that shows a clean full screen window with a solid color or a desktop picture."
OS X: NSA releases guide for securing and configuring Mac OS X, Mac Observer, 11.04. "The 109-page unclassified document is available as a free download and covers such topics as installing and configuring the initial OS...."
Opinion: Cell Signaling Technology: Switching an entire company to Macs, Barbara Gibson, Apple, 11.04. "No one worries about the system anymore. They're concentrating on their work, using the Mac as a tool rather than as a computer."
Opinion: The OS X/Classic debate continues, Charles W. Moore, OS X Odyssey, Applelinks, 11.03. "...I wouldn't want to go back to Classic as my main OS, but I don't find it any hardship to use OS 9.2.2 on my old 233 MHz WallStreet PowerBook...."
Opinion: Reader letters: Help, arrogance, & weirdness, Nancy Carroll Gravley, Computing with Bifocals, Mac Observer, 11.03. How to listen to the radio on your Mac, crossword software for OS X, and the "it's all you fault" letter.
News: Apple trims music purchases to iTunes 4.5 or higher, Jim Dalrymple, MacCentral, 11.03. "As of today users of iTunes 4.2 or lower will not be able to purchase or download songs from the iTunes Music Store."
Low End: The old new thing, Rob Walker, New York Times, 11.03. "The Newton was killed off by Apple in 1998; yet consumer loyalty has outlived production itself."
Analysis: Low End Shootout: Apple Mac vs. Dell Dimension, Jack D. Miller, Mac360, 11.02. By the time you add software, a Combo drive, speakers, Microsoft Works, and the like, the Dell costs nearly as much as the eMac.
Benchmarks: iBook, Power Mac 1.8 GHz benchmarks, James Galbraith, Macworld, 11.02. How the slower memory bus on the new single CPU Power Mac G5/1.8 GHz impacts performance.
Opinion: Resellers: Market share down because 'Apple eats its children', Dennis Sellers, Macsimum Perspective, 11.02. Part of the reason Apple's market share is down is that resellers are often unable to get the product they need from Apple.
Dark Side: IE exploits top web security threat list, John Leyden, The Register, 11.02. "Internet Explorer exploits posed the fastest growing web security threat to enterprises in the last quarter..." Please, use anything but IE.
Advice: How-To: Get music off your iPod, Phillip Torrone, Engadget, 11.02. "...once you put your tunes on an iPod unfortunately it's a one-way sync unless you know the tricks for getting them off." Solutions for Mac and Windows users.
OS X: Study: OS X world's safest OS from security attacks, Mac Observer, 11.02. "A 12 month study by the security firm mi2g concludes that Mac OS X and Open Source BSD are the 'world's safest and most secure 24/7 online computing environments.'"
Opinion: Let there be light - on your 'Book's keyboard, Charles W. Moore, Road Warrior, Mac Opinion, 11.02. Two USB lights for you 'Book - and one tiny light you can wear.
Review: Last Look: iPod photo packs a few surprises, Tera Patricks, Mac360, 11.02. Yes, you can download images from your digicam's memory card to the iPod photo, but you can't view them yet.
Tech: Phishing for dummies: Hook, line and sinker, Scott Granneman, SecurityFocus, The Register, 11.02. How fraudsters are taking advantage of tabbed browsing to trick Web users into sharing their IDs and passwords.
Software: iPod.iTunes 2.7 adds iTunes 4.7 compatibility, more, MacCentral, 11.01. "...CrispSofties has released iPod.iTunes 2.7..., its utility for synchronizing music and playlists between a library to a Mac...."
Tech: Safari connectivity and Security Updates; potential causes, fixes, and more, MacFixIt, 11.01. Why Safari sometimes doesn't connect to a website on the first try - and some things you can do to improve that behavior.
Tech: iMac G5 unlocked for dual head video, PPCnux, 11.01. "Now it's possible to extend the iMac G5 with another 15 or 17" TFT and you'll have enough real screen to do your work."
Benchmarks: 'Solo' G5/1.8 Power Mac versus Dual G5/1.8 Power Mac versus iMac G5/1.8, Bare Feats, 11.01. Four 1.8 GHz Power Mac G4 models (two single CPU, two dual) and the 1.8 GHz iMac G5 compared.
Tech: Epson uses inkjet technology to create world's first 20-layer, ultra-thin circuit board, Clint Ecker, ars technica, 11.01. "In their printing process, Epson uses two types of ink to produce circuit boards. The first is a conductive ink and the second is an insulator ink that is used to separate each layer...."
OS X: Strange Mail.app bug caused full processor usage in the last hour of October, MacFixIt, 11.01. "Apparently, Mail.app became a bit confused with the change back to standard time (setting clocks back one hour), and began ramping up processor usage in the last hour of October."
Dark Side: Internet Explorer takes another market-share hit, Matt Hicks, eWeek, 11.01. "WebSideStory broke out Firefox's share for the first time, and the alternative browser comprised 3 percent of the market." IE down to 92.9%.
Software: iPod.iTunes 2.7 adds iTunes 4.7 compatibility, more, MacCentral, 11.01. "...CrispSofties has released iPod.iTunes 2.7..., its utility for synchronizing music and playlists between a library to a Mac...."
Advice: Protect your PowerBook from scuffs and wear, Bob Levitus, Dr. Mac, Houston Chronicle, 11.01. How to keep your PowerBook looking nearly new over years of use.


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