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Flash has plenty of enemies and obstacles, but it also enjoys wide deployment and familiarity. Two areas where Flash can offer real value is in displaying and packaging video on the web, and in serving as a Java replacement for developing applets. Here's a look at how Adobe is working to defend its strengths in the face of competition, and how its efforts to open the Flash specification in the Open Screen Project play into these efforts. -- AppleInsider.
If you're browsing the web on a public computer, the last thing you want to do is leave personal information about yourself behind for others to discover. Of course, if you use Safari, you have a number of ways to safeguard your privacy while browsing publicly. -- Apple Pro Tip of the Week.
The new version of OpenOffice.org was a long time coming, but it brings a solid batch of new features and file compatibility. Ars Technica looks at some of the most significant enhancements to see if they stack up. -- Ars Technica.
I'm rereading Businessweek's excellent article, "The Mac in the Gray Flannel Suit," and it became very clear why Apple is succeeding in the enterprise despite not focusing on the enterprise. Apple has made computing pleasant. -- c|net.
For the past who knows how many years, Consumer Reports has dutifully provided its assessment of the best and worst in computers. And almost from the get-go, its overall assessment of the Mac has been negative. Over the past couple of years, however, the seemingly impossible has happened -- Consumer Reports' attitude has turned around. -- The Mac Observer.
This sounds too simple for a hint, but I haven't heard of it before, and couldn't find a reference for it on the web (and I discovered this completely by accident). By Pressing Option-Tab in the Finder (in List or Icon view windows), you can jump alphabetically through the files, regardless of the displayed sort order. -- Mac OS X Hints.
According to man cal, there's also an ncal command with extra options, such as displaying week numbers via the -w flag. But no ncal is installed in OS X. A little experiment reveals, however, that it's one and the same program -- it apparently behaves differently when named differently. -- Mac OS X Hints.
Adobe released Acrobat Professional 7.1.0 and Acrobat Standard 7.1.0 updates to address "a number of customer issues and security vulnerabilities." According to the security notes, the vulnerabilities "would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system."
Mophie on Wednesday announced it is shipping the Juice Pack -- an iPhone battery extender -- and that it is the first company to achieve certified "Works with iPhone" recognition for a battery extension product. The extender adds 250 hours of standby time, while also featuring eight hours talk time, 6 hours of internet usage, 7 hours of video playback, and 24 hours of iPod functionality. Mophie is currently shipping the Juice Pack for $100, and is available directly from Mophie, mStation, or select retailers.
Mac becoming PC of choice for workers infatuated with iPods, iPhones. -- BusinessWeek.
It seems that Macs and iPods are selling very well, far better than any variety of hot cake that I've come across. How's Apple managing to achieve this? -- IT Management.
One of the strengths of Macs is graphics. A wide range of programs is available for OS X installations over and above what users commonly consider. Many think that they cannot exist without Adobe Photoshop, but (like the full-featured Microsoft Office) this is overkill for most of us. -- eXtensions.
I know I'm reinventing a wheel here, but it took like five minutes, so who cares. Anyway, one thing that makes me bonkers about Apple Remote Desktop is that while I can run Unix commands on a remote machine with it, what I can't do is easily select a machine and just open an SSH session to it. -- bynkii.com.
When it comes to running Windows on a Mac, there are a variety of options that can be looked into and used, but Apple's official Boot Camp tool is obviously one of the top contenders since its functionality now comes bundled with OS X. This inclusion obviously makes using Boot Camp an easier and quicker option to explore since you don't have to go out and buy it, and once you have it running, you'll wonder how you ever computed without it. It may not run Windows and OS X at the same time, but for many people, this is no problem at all. In fact, some prefer that the two operating systems lead separate lives. -- OSWeekly.
Since most Mac models don't offer extra drive bays, external hard disks are the way to go for adding vast storage capacity to your computer. External HDs are great for storing large projects, moving huge amounts of data from place to place, or backing up via Time Machine.
Hard disks are a commodity product nowadays: the market is flooded with a cornucopia of options, most of them cheap and easy to install. So which is right for you?
The trick is this: find out who makes the actual hard drive inside the external enclosure (that is, inside the nicely-designed plastic or metal box that sits on or under your desk). -- The Unofficial Apple Weblog.
The world has a lot of unwritten rules: In social etiquette. In baseball. And in buying computers. For years, we have unquestioningly followed numerous unwritten rules when buying a Mac. Like many customs, these rules were once based on a foundation of facts and reason. But in the past few years, many longstanding Mac truths have been upended. -- Macworld.
Mail's junk mail filters work pretty well for my use, but sometimes I need to open a message in the junk mail folder to determine if it is really spam or if it is coming from a new contact. -- Macworld.
When it comes to customizing your desktop, OS X seemingly provides anything you could want--there are a number of Apple--provided images, there are connections to your user's Pictures folder and iPhoto library, or you can use any of 10 provided solid colors for your desktop background. But if you're a fan of solid colors, you may not agree with the 10 that Apple has provided. Thankfully, there are two relatively easy ways to get additional color choices. -- Macworld.
While widely deployed as a web plugin and among the few web technologies that have become a household word, Adobe's Flash has more than a few substantial enemies that would like to see it replaced, cloned, or erased. -- AppleInsider.
A great way to text, set up video conferences with multiple parties, or host remote Keynote presentations, iChat also offers a fast and simple way to exchange large files with clients or colleagues. -- Apple Quick Tip of the Week.
If you are having problems opening documents with certain applications -- particularly after an iterative Mac OS X update -- make sure that permissions are correct for the user=specific temp directory.
Launch the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities) and enter the following command:
sudo chmod 775 $TMPDIR
then press return. You will be prompted to enter your administrator password. Try logging out then back in and check for resolution of the issue.
Apple patent is for multi-language document search, retrieval system
An Apple patent (number 7369987) for a multi-language document search and retrieval system has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The invention is directed to the indexing and searching of text in documents for information retrieval purposes, and more particularly to an indexing and searching system that is capable of handling text in any of a plurality of languages.
Apple patent involves restoring color, enhancing electronic images
An Apple patent (number 7369999) for methods and apparatuses for restoring color and enhancing electronic images has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to color correction, and more particular to color restoration and enhancement for electronic color images.
Apple patent involves energy conservation and processors
An Apple patent (number 7370216) for conserving power by reducing voltage supplied to an instruction-processing portion of a processor has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. It relates to techniques for conserving power usage in computer systems.
Apple patents are for iPod technologies
Apple has been granted three patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office involving the iPod. Patent number is for the ornamental design for a media device (shown above).
In this first installment of Mind Your Business On a Mac (MYBOAM) we take a look at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions. Great businesses are obsessed with their customers and CRM software is your way of keeping everything straight. CRM has evolved to become more than just a glorified address book and calendaring program. CRM now can manage your marketing campaigns, keep track of finances and produce detailed and customizable reporting. I'm going to highlight some of the best CRM solutions for the Mac. I won't insult your intelligence and spit back what's on the fact sheets. I'd rather tell you what I like about the offering and what could be better.
In the second edition of MYBOAM we're going to continue outlining some CRM options for your business on a Mac.
In the first article, Devanshu Mehta at AppleMatters describes SSH, tunnels and why you would want to use them.
In the second part, I show you how to configure actual tunnels to get some real (encrypted) work done.
Personally, I think we are some way away from the day when Apple truly enters the mental "options available" list of the average CIO, but I don't think there is much question that the company is making inroads into corporate America's IT toolbox. Spurred on largely by the iPhone and sleek, status-symbol devices such as the Macbook Air, Apple is pushing into the awareness of corporate IT via a wave of demands from the executive suite and individual users who have seen A Better Way and want to bring it to work. -- The CIO Weblog.
Finally, eight months after the aluminum iMac made its debut, Apple has released an update to its flagship consumer desktop model. Under the hood, the new iMacs differ significantly from the original aluminum iMac, and those differences result in speed increases. -- Macworld.
Late Tuesday night, Apple released the fifth major public build of the iPhone software development kit. The build, a one gigabyte download, requires registered developers to sign into the iPhone Dev Center web site. According to Macworld UK, the new version includes bug fixes, adds support for the latest iPhone OS and includes the latest release notes.
If Google software for the Mac like AppMenuBoy, Statz, MacFUSE, and Visigami don't ring bell, keep reading. Todd Ogasawara will show you where to find some of Google's lesser know Mac applications. -- O'Reilly Digital Media.
Aperture 2.1 includes a more versatile book-making tool than we saw in earlier versions. So powerful in fact, that calling it a book making tool is really selling it short. It's actually a flexible layout application with some very useful output options. In this podcast, Derrick Story talks with Joe Schorr and tries to uncover all the hidden gems buried in Aperture 2.1. -- O'Reilly Digital Media.
"Apple's put a load of work into Leopard Server, and it shows," reports Oliver Rist. Awarding Mac OS X Leopard Server a four-star Editor's rating, Rist notes that "after exploring this OS for a while, I've concluded that Leopard is definitely a competitive all-purpose small-business server." In fact, Rist believes that "for small businesses making their first server-buying decision, Leopard is a viable option--no matter what their clients are running." -- PC Magazine.
The iPod has probably done more to resurrect Apple than any one product. What lies ahead for the ubiquitous digital music player? -- c|net.
VMWare, the virtualization powerhouse that brought its Fusion software to Mac in late 2006, is now just about ready to roll its second major version of the program for OS X. -- Cult of Mac.
A recent post got me thinking. Apple's star is rising, and they absolutely are eroding the market-share of Windows. Every quarter this thing of ours becomes more and more mainstream, and it's not impossible to imagine a time when the Mac will at least have a significant degree of parity with Windows. This raises a bigger question: would we ever want Apple to eclipse Microsoft? -- Cult of Mac.
A lot of us carry a little bit of Steve Jobs around in our pocket, in the form of iPods and iPhones. Now, Apple is after the remaining bit of life-share that it doesn't already own, the home front. -- New York Times.
MacPractice announced the immediate availability on Monday of their all Mac interface to PLANMECA Panoramic and Cephalometric digital X-ray equipment and PLANMECA digital sensors via Ethernet. -- The Mac Observer.
TVBEurope quotes Richard Townhill, Apple's director of marketing for professional video applications, regarding some recent rumors that Apple might be trying to sell off its "Pro Apps" (Final Cut Pro and associated applications) to another company.
Townhill strongly denied the rumors and said "I can categorically state, on the record, that is not the case".
Whispers of rumors that Apple was shopping around its Pro Apps, such as Final Cut Pro, had circulated over the past few months. The speculation may have been further fueled by Apple's decision to not exhibit at NAB this year. This uncharacteristic comment by Apple, however, should put these rumors to rest.
Apple is among the finalists for the 2008 Life Science Industry Awards, which recognize life science suppliers that are best-in-class in both product categories and customer communications and support categories. The 45 finalists represent the five companies receiving the highest overall scores in each of 20 award categories. The finalists were selected from the more than 500 companies nominated.
Before selling your iPhone on eBay, sending it to Apple, or otherwise sharing it, note the following: performing a "Restore" operation on the iPhone does not delete personal data from the device. In fact, mail, contacts, and various other data remain intact on the device after a restore, making the process unsuitable as a preparatory measure for iPhone resale or service. -- iPhone Atlas.
On Monday, wireless carrier Vodafone announced that it had signed a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone in 10 markets. According to Engadget, the carrier will sell the handset in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Italy, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey. The iPhone can be expected in these countries later this year and additional details have yet to be released.
Sometimes, new phenomena show up in Internetland that, at first sight, make you wonder about who would really need this. But keep an eye on them for a while, and you may notice a few things about them that make it well worthwhile to try them out yourself, after all. Twitter is one such phenomenon, and now that I'm finally ready to give it a try, I could use some help. -- O'Reilly Digital Media.
A few months ago, I decided to resurrect one of my first Macs ever, the very computer that once held my life, to go. Unfortunately, not being invested with divine powers, I ran into a bit of odd trouble in the process. With the help of a friend, the solution soon became clear: here is to hoping it can help... -- O'Reilly Digital Media.
The new technique (out of Princeton), is termed Self-Perfection by Liquefaction (SPEL), was published in the May 4 issue of Nature Nanotechnology. Researchers have traditionally approached chip defects by trying to improve the microchip fabrication process, but this eventually reaches fundamental physical limits to do with random behavior of electrons and photons. By focusing on fixing defects, the new method enables more precise shaping of microchip components, the engineers expect to dramatically improve chip quality without increasing fabrication cost.
This is the second part of a three-part series describing how one developer became disillusioned with the Windows platform and was reinvigorated by the bright lights of Mac OS X. -- Ars Technica.
Apple is reportedly paying more for its same-day-as-DVD iTunes movie releases than it charges customers. Apple likely isn't worried though, as it believes that a loss on each movie downloaded will translate to increased sales of Apple TVs and other hardware. -- Ars Technica.
Apple's corporate image is one of the creative iconoclast; their motto, "Think Different." Their products look great. Artsy people like graphic designers, photographers, and film directors choose Apples.
Does the ad campaign work? Does the average person-in-the-street think of Apple computers as being more creative? A recent study done at Duke University's Fuqua school of business provides some evidence that it does. -- Keith Sawyer.
There was a game we used to play in the office, years ago, casting a movie of our own lives. What well-known actor or actress would play you? Who would play your friends? The game eventually faded, as games always do, but at the time it was great fun. So let's try it again: who would you cast to play Steve Jobs of Apple? Certainly not Noah Wyle, the only actor to actually play the Apple CEO. I've always thought there were elements of Jack Nicholson in Jobs, but Nicholson is too old for the role. But now it is clear the role should go to Robert Downey Jr. based on his turn this week as the sardonic reformed arms merchant turned Iron Man. -- I, Cringely.
Safari's private browsing feature causes the application to not store information about your browsing history. When private browsing is turned on, Safari stops tracking history, downloads, Forms AutoFill information, and searches. It's generally used on public or shared computers.
Apple's documentation on the feature states: "You can make sure you don't leave your private information behind, without deleting other users' personal settings. Then when you turn off the private browsing feature, Safari resumes remembering your browsing history and other information."
However, private browsing does not preclude plug-ins from storing historical information. For instance, even with private browsing on, the domain names of visited, Flash-enabled sites will be recorded to ~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player/#SharedObjects/.
To be fair, this issue also affects other browsers. Using the "Clear Private Data" feature in Firefox, for example, will not delete the aforementioned historical information.
As such, if you'd like your browsing to be even "more" private, turn off plug-ins. In Safari, this can be accomplished by going to Safari > Preferences > Security and deselecting "Enable plug-ins."
A beta version of a McAfee virus scanner for the iPhone and iPod touch has appeared online, according to reports. The application is named iVirusScan, and has allegedly been installed and uninstalled by a number of users. Users can analyze the contents of their handheld for malware, update their definitions, and adjust a variety of settings. The version number is listed as 1.0a07. -- MacNN.
Bridger Maxwell, a 17-year old from Orem, Utah, is currently developing a home-built multi-touch surface for Mac OS X, using a Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (FTIR) imaging method for a high school science project. Already creating a second incarnation, Maxwell improves on his previous design by using brighter LEDs mounted in a wooden frame. He uses an infrared camera to capture finger input, which appears to light up fingertips, when observed.
Cisco subsidiary Linksys has released four new Wi-Fi routers, using designs which mark a significant departure from previous products. Whereas the company had typically used a signature box shape, often in blue or silver colors, the new routers are thin and curved, and almost exclusively shelled in glossy black material. Common features are said to include firewalls and 256-bit encryption, automatic push-button configuration, and MIMO antennas that improve reception and minimize dead spots. -- MacNN.
Apple is much better than other computer makers at solving customers' technical problems, Consumer Reports found in a subscriber survey. -- InformationWeek.
After finally upgrading both the Tiger iMacs in our house to Leopard last week, I can now see what I'm getting for my AUD $250. I'll start with initial impressions of the new Mac OS X, then move onto specific apps and features in later parts.
Saturday at the US progressive website Daily Kos, the writer who goes by Scout Finch* tells "the tale of one tough little Iphone." -- The Inquirer.
Most review sites have already lamented about the insufficient USB ports (currently 5) on the top-of-the-line pro systems. Certainly one was not expecting underpowered ports too. Well, apparently it happens only when one uses all the 5 ports and especially true when the ports are connected to another hub (e.g. a Dell display with a built-in USB hub etc). -- HardMac.
Rob Griffiths covers a pair of tips for OS X's built-in browser and shows you how to run a newer version of Safari by updating to the last version of WebKit, which is Safari's rendering engine. -- Macworld.
Roxio has released Toast 9 Titanium, the latest version of its flagship authoring software for creating just about any kind of optical media you can imagine. I have been using Toast since somewhere in the neighborhood of version 4 and it is on my short list of must-have software items. If all you want to do is burn playlists from iTunes and make DVD's of your home movies, then you can probably get by with Apple's built-in software. However, if you do any authoring or media work beyond the basics, Toast is a highly recommended tool for your authoring arsenal. -- O'Grady's PowerPage.
If you've got a problem to solve, nothing beats seeing how others have tackled it for themselves. My question is how do I best configure a home office to accommodate multiple, large displays? The answer, it turns out, is found by peeking into the private workspaces of others. -- O'Reilly Digital Media.
