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- Mac OS X apps ranked by category - Politics - Using Graphic Converter for image management
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2002
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MNJ Politics RSS Here is a collection of link to sites maintained by people who have mentioned that they read MNJ:
- Dan Hon - An imaginary place in a reactionary time 
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iRecordNow makes your iSight a video recorder iSighting - From Boinx Software (great name!), iRecordNow is a handy little tool for the iSight camera. For $15, it records desktop movies. [Mark Bernstein]
Eudora update fixes Panther issues and more Eudora X 6.0.1 offers a number of bug fixes, including disabling the MX records under Panther to deal with an instability issue that has plagued some users. The free update also makes ESP Panther-compatible and offers a host of other bug fixes, noted in the release notes.
Mac OS X Innovators honored Mac OS X Innovators Contest - Congratulations to the winners of the third round of the OS X Innovators contest! Winners are OmniOutliner, iBlog, iStopMotion, ACSLogo, and F-Script. [ranchero.com]
An application switching tip for Panther users I hadn't read about this anywhere, but today while switching between applications with the new Command-Tab application switching in Panther I found that using the right or left arrow key while holding down Command-Tab will move the application selection to the left or right. Maybe this is widely known, but I find it works much better than repeatedly hitting the Tab key while holding down Command to move to the right or the ~ key to move left...
Apple will fix Jaguar flaws Apple will fix security flaws in Jaguar - Apple Computer Inc. said in a statement given to MacCentral on Friday that the company would be fixing security flaws uncovered in Mac OS X Jaguar by Cambridge, MA-based security research firm @Stake earlier this week. Some have speculated that Apple would not update the older Jaguar operating system since the release of Mac OS X Panther on October 24, 2003, but Apple has put that speculation to rest. [MacCentral]
The first frost of the season We had our first frost of the season here in my part of Puget Sound Country this morning, following a crisp and clear night that allowed Natalie and I to see the faint Aurora Borealis last night hovering over the northern and eastern horizon. The Northern Lights shown as an aqua and green haze in the sky that shifted subtly now and then, but I would have missed it completely if I hadn't been looking closely when I went out to walk our two dogs around 10 p.m. Meanwhile, during the daylight hours this morning, the White-throated Sparrow I first noted on Tuesday is back for a fourth day in our yard!
Konfabulator 1.5.2 released Konfabulator 1.5.2 released; ready for Mac OS X 10.3 Panther - Konfabulator 1.5.2 is update to the system utility for Mac OS X. With version 1.5, Widgets were enabled to support drag and drop, direct text input, track of mouse events, keyboard events, and can be integrated with the desktop: behind or floating. [Studio Log]
FireWire drive firmware updates should fix conflict FireWire 800 firmware updates released - Several companies have now released firmware updaters for their FireWire 800 products designed to resolve compatibility issues discovered with Apple's recently released Mac OS X 10.3 Panther... [MacMinute.com]
It's a night to watch the skies! SpaceWeather.com: Sky watchers at all latitudes should be alert for auroras after local nightfall
AirPort Software updated to version 3.2 Apple Adds WPA Security - It's been a long-awaited moment, but Apple has finally shipped the AirPort 3.2 upgrade which includes Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) support to the AirPort Extreme Base Station and AirPort Extreme Card. That's right folks, if you've got plain old AirPort cards and AirPort Base Stations, you're out of luck. I'll... [Apple AirPort Weblog]
Apple acknowledges Panther FireWire problem Apple to address Panther, external FireWire drive issues - Apple Computer Inc. has responded to concerns from its users that Mac OS X Panther disables or corrupts files on external FireWire 800 hard disks. Users began reporting the issues to Apple shortly after the release of the operating system on October 24, 2003. [MacCentral]
A Panther conflict with CopyPaste X CopyPaste-X, the clipboard utility I rely on in some of my writing work, has a conflict with Panther. The program's creator Julian Miller posts the following on the Script Software message forums:
A user of the forum offers one workaround for the problem, and hopefully a new release of CopyPaste-X will arrive soon with the fix...
A new, higher-powered Pismo battery OWC-Newer Tech offer new PB G3 battery - Newer Technology Inc. and Other World Computing on Thursday introduced a NuPower replacement battery that's compatible with the PowerBook G3 FireWire (2000/Pismo) and PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999/Bronze Keyboard) models. [MacCentral]
Sync your Mac without .Mac Synchronize your address book without .Mac - Address-O-Sync is a new freeware utility ($5 donation suggested) which lets you synchronize your addressbooks via Rendezvous without using iSync or .Mac. [MacMegasite]
OmniOutliner update for Panther users OmniOutliner update addresses issues with Panther - The Omni Group has released OmniOutliner 2.2.6, an update to the company's outlining and organizational tool that addresses recently discovered issues with the application when running under Mac OS X 10.3 Panther... [MacMinute.com]
A workaround for Eudora problems with Panther I haven't seen any problems with Eudora 6 under Panther, but Macintouch offers the following tip for those having problems sending email with Eudora:
If Eudora is giving you grief, it's worth a try...
Security problems for Jaguar users @Stake issues security advisories for OS X Jaguar - Security consulting firm, @Stake issued three security advisories for Apple's Mac OS X operating system late last night. The advisories affect Mac OS X 10.2.8 and lower and do not appear to affect the company's recently released Panther operating system. In fact, @Stake is recommending users upgrade to Panther as a fix for the problems. [MacCentral]
Subtle new features in Mail under Panther Apple's Ken Bereskin writes about some of the subtle new features in the latest version of Mail, the default email program included in Mac OS X 10.3:
Wind and the White-throated Sparrow 
I should have been more busy writing chapters for Birding Washington earlier today, but my first-ever sighting of a White-throated Sparrow - a hard-to-find bird in Washington that just happened to show up in our yard off-and-on all day - led me to distraction. Finally, about an hour before the daylight faded away, I was able to snap the photo above of the sparrow just a few feet outside our livingroom window. It isn't often I get to see a life bird in my yard! I write more about the encounter, along with a near-miss from a Sharp-shinned Hawk, on The Equinox Project... Meanwhile, winds up to 38 mph blew all day long, leading up to an awesome sunset tonight as I was out running. Nature put on a show today.
Apple releases Panther security update Security Update 2003-10-28 v. 1.0 is a 592k update for Panther users:
You will be required to restart your machine following installation of the security update...
Dan Gillmor: Another Apple Copy/Paste? Not really Dan Gillmor: While Apple did clearly use something already in the market, so, in a sense, did Proteron. (The Watson-Sherlock situation is not so easy for Apple to justify, however...)
Turn your Mac into an Internet Radio with Nicecast Rogue Amoeba's Nicecast turns Mac into Internet radio - Audio Hijack developer Rogue Amoeba LLC is using this week's O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference in Santa Clara, Calif. to debut Nicecast, a new Mac OS X application that enables users of Mac OS X-based audio players to "broadcast" their own Internet radio station. [MacCentral]
QuickTime render plug-in released Apple releases Final Cut Pro QuickTime Render Plug-in for Mac OS X - Apple has released Final Cut Pro QuickTime Render Plug-in for Mac OS X that addresses a compatibility issue between Final Cut Pro 4 and QuickTime 6.4 that occurs when rendering non-DV clips in DV sequences. It is strongly recommended for all Final Cut Pro 4 users. More info and download link here. [MacDailyNews]
Correction: Apparently Panther and Now-Up-To-Date play together Two folks have written me tonight to say they have Now-Up-To-Date & Contact running fine under Panther, so apparently the reports I have read elsewhere were overstated. It works for at least some MNJ readers...
Sports photographers sound off on Panther If you are interested in how professional photographers are viewing Panther, check out this discussion from the SportsShooter.com site...
My first post-Panther software buy...Nisus Writer Express Although I lauded the capabilities of TextEdit in Panther over the weekend, the lack of pagination and other issues led me to take advantage of a $10 discount to buy Nisus Writer Express. I plan to use Writer Express to compose Word-compatible .doc files and for simple editing, and I will continue to use OpenOffice.org to work with more complex Word documents and other kinds of Office files.... A little more background on Nisus Writer Express: The program sells for $60 (it was offered for a limited time over the weekend for $50), and besides working with .doc files it can open and save documents in Unicode, RTF, RTFD, and plain text. It also offers scripting support, excellent find and replace, the use of GREP expressions, multiple editable clipboards, and more. The program also offers a document manager that I have yet to play with very much. While Nisus Writer Express is not as full-featured as the venerable Nisus Writer, which I used under Mac OS 9.x many years ago, it is a good start on a new word processor from a company that understands word processors. If Writer Express would add compatibility and support for editing marks and tracking changes between versions of a document - something that writers who work with editors on books and magazine articles rely on - then it would become an even more useful replacement for Word.
An exhaustive Panther reader report on Macintouch Macintouch offers a long reader report from those who are having issues with Panther. It is worth a read whether you are having problems right now or not...
Issues with installing Virtual PC on Panther? I have read reports of problems trying to install Virtual PC 6.0 on Panther, caused by the new disk format used in Panther. The workaround appears to be to disable journaling on your Panther disk by selecting Disable Journaling from the File menu in Disk Utility, then install VPC, and the turn journaling back on after installing VPC...
Did Apple engineers rip off a third party, again? Apple rips off Proteron? - Proteron has posted the following open memo to Apple, in response to a particluar Panther feature. [MacMegasite] The question is whether Apple engineers simply copied Proteron's Liteswitch X look and functionality without as little as acknowledging that they were copying from a third party. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it could also be a shortcut to bankruptcy for third party developers like Proteron. I should mention that I don't really see the point of the new application switching scheme. Yes, it superimposes your list of running apps in the middle of the screen, but it still forces me to use the awkward keyboard combination to move to the left in the list and it really does little more than magnify the view that could already be seen in the Dock...
My first Panther problem - printing The first Panther problem I have encountered since installing the upgrade to Mac OS X last night came this afternoon, when I couldn't print an OmniOutliner document to my Canon S900 inkjet printer. It wasn't a big deal. I reinstalled the latest printer driver and I was back in business...
Brent Simmons is psyched about Xcode One of the new offerings in Panther is Xcode, which promises to make life easier for Mac OS X programmers. Brent Simmons, the creator of NetNewsWire and other Mac apps, is pumped about the opportunity offered by Xcode:
TextEdit rocks under Panther A lot of people are going to be lauding the new Exposé feature in Panther, but my nomination for the most useful feature in the upgrade is the new version of TextEdit that can open and save .doc files without any muss or fuss. TextEdit simply works - it opens Word files with no problem, and you can now save a file as a Word .doc or as RTF. I will have to use this for a while as I work to wrap up the last few chapters in our Birding Washington book, but the new abilities of TextEdit could mean that the only time I will need to open OpenOffice.org is when I need to create a complex Word document or I need to work with a complex Word document sent to me from someone else. Of course, OpenOffice.org remains the only program other than Word itself that can work with the Track Changes features that are widely used in book and article editing... Discuss
Don't forget to repair permissions Once you have installed Panther, be sure to open the new Disk Utility to check out the new options rolled into that application, which can be found in the Utilities folder within your Applications folder. While you're there, select your hard disk on the left side of the window and choose to Repair Permissions, which will fix any permissions problems on your new Panther installation...
Simple upgrades to Panther and disk journaling An MNJ reader asked a good question this morning: If you choose to do a simple upgrade from Jaguar to Panther rather than an Archive and Install will your hard disk format be updated to enable journaling, which is the new default under Panther? Here was my reply:
Thought I would pass this along, since I have yet to see it mentioned anywhere else... Discuss
Problems with FireWire drives and Panther Macintouch has reader notes this morning that offer details about the first major snafu with Mac OS X 10.3, or Panther. The problem appears to be that people connecting external FireWire drives are having the contents of those drives mangled. In some cases it appears to be as simple as Panther not recognizing the external FireWire drive, but it sounds like some people are experiencing data loss, which could be disaster if you use a FireWire drive as your backup drive. Check through Macintouch's Panther reader report for more clues about the problem. I should note that I haven't noticed this problem yet. I do back up to an external FireWire drive, but I do my backups over my wireless network to the drive, which is actually connected to my digital hub machine - an older Pismo PowerBook. If it were me and I needed to have reliable access to a FireWire drive connected directly to my machine, I would watch and wait for more news about this potential bug before upgrading to Panther. Discuss
Back up and running after installing Panther OK, so I didn't follow my own advice. After writing last weekend about the additional safety offered by doing an Archive and Install installation of Panther, when I read through the installation instructions provided with the upgrade to Mac OS X 10.3 I noticed that Apple was explicitely instructing folks to simply choose the upgrade option rather than Archive and Install. So, like a good software tester, I followed the instructions. It still took about an hour to do the installation, but my 12-inch PowerBook G4 is now running Panther and my normal suite of apps is up and running and I am back to working for the rest of the evening. Much more to come tomorrow. But here are just a couple of quick words of advice. Other than the obvious - BACK UP YOUR MACHINE before you install Panther. Then, when you start the installation, choose the Customize option during installation if you want to avoid installing unneeded fonts or if you want to make sure that X11 is installed with the rest of the OS. More to come tomorrow. It's Northern Lights time now...
Panther vs. the Aurora Borealis I have to admit that if the Aurora Borealis makes an appearance in the skies over the Pacific Northwest tonight, Panther will just have to stay in its cage until the morning. I can install and test Apple's software any day, but seeing the Northern Lights is something really special. After all, appreciating the Northern Lights is even geekier than standing in line and waiting for a new operating system release. For more on the current space strom en route to Earth from our sun, check out SpaceWeather.com. Translation: I still plan to buy and install Panther tonight, but my testing could be on a hold for a while if the skies stay clear over Tacoma. It's a case of simple priorities. Nature wins!
Apple updates software for older iPods Apple offers software update for Panther, older iPods - Apple on Friday released an update to its iPod Software, to bring it to version 1.3.1. The software is intended only for iPods without a dock connector (older, first and second-generation iPods). It's available for download through the Software Update system preferences pane. [MacCentral]
Panther news coming soon I plan to head to the local CompUSA store here in Tacoma, Washington around 8 p.m. tonight to pick up my copy of Panther, and I will start installing the update tonight. Look for notes on my experience, notes about incompatibilities I discover along the way, and whatever other adventures await throughout this weekend. Meanwhile, if you are already running Panther and you have notes you want to share about the installation experience or keys to getting your peripherals working with this major update to Mac OS X, let's talk about it! Discuss
iSync updated Apple offers iSync 1.3 update - Apple on Friday released a new update to iSync, is data synchronization software for Mac OS X. The new version of iSync, v1.3, is ready for download from Apple's Web site and also through the Software Update system preferences pane. It measures 6.4MB. [MacCentral]
E-book offers Panther upgrade tips E-book offers Panther upgrading advice - TidBITS Electronic Publishing has announced Take Control of Upgrading to Panther, a US$5 electronic book by Joe Kissell. The 51-page PDF publication will be available for download starting at 8 p.m. (Eastern) Friday. [MacCentral]
Apple updates Keynote Apple releases Keynote update - Apple has released Keynote 1.1.1, the latest version of its popular presentation software... [MacMinute.com]
Early Panther reports Panther, Panther, Panther - Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) is out. I took a few screenshots and wrote up a few thoughts. OK, I took 100 screenshots and wrote up 11 pages. [dive into mark]
New driver lets Macs get on CDMA networks Stretched Out lets PowerBooks go wireless via CDMA - Stretched Out Software Inc. has released a Mac-compatible data driver for the Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 -- a PC card that enables laptop computers to communicate through cellular telephone networks. The software works on both Jaguar and Panther, and is available for online purchase for US$29.95. [MacCentral]
New Office feature could shut out Macs New Office Feature Could Shut Out Macs - A feature in the new version of Microsoft Office for Windows could prevent Mac users from being able to view some Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, as well as Outlook emails and Web content created using the Office suite. (PC Pro via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
New G4-based iBooks Apple releases G4 iBooks - At long last, Apple has excised the G3 processor from its consumer laptop line. On Wednesday the company announced its revamped line of G4 iBooks, featuring the same type of central processing unit (CPU) that's found in its iMac and eMac systems. [MacCentral] The new iBooks range in speed from the 800 MHz G4 processor in the 12-inch iBook up to a 1GHz G4 processor in the top-of-the-line 14-inch iBook. Prices range from $1,099 for the 12-inch machine, $1,299 for the 933 MHz 14-inch machine, and $1,499 for the 1 GHz 14-inch machine. With this pricing and feature set, both the middle of the line and top line iBooks have better features than my eight-month old 12-inch PowerBook G4. In other words, these machines offer some great value!
eMac prices lowered Apple Lowers eMac Price - Apple on Wednesday announced they will reduce the price of its eMac line of personal computers. By Jim Darlymple (MacCentral via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu] The eMac now starts at $799, with Panther pre-installed.
Robb Beal: Panther the first recommendable version of OS X Panther: First Recommendable Version of OS X - Panther is the first version of OS X that I feel comfortable recommending to Windows users. The performance of previous versions wasn't compelling enough to justify the recommendation. [Robb Beal's Radio Weblog]
Discussion: Will you install Panther this weekend? The countdown to the release of Panther, aka Mac OS X 10.3, is down to less than three days. Are you going to install Panther this weekend? Discuss
Kernel panic problems with 12-inch PowerBooks Macintouch has a few reader notes about problems people are seeing with kernel panics occurring if they pick up their 12-inch PowerBook G4 machines in just the wrong way. It must be a truly hit-and-miss bug since I haven't seen it in eight months using my Little AlBook...
SourceForge wireless drivers will work with Panther O'Grady's PowerPage notes that the SourceForge wireless drivers appear to work with Panther. This could be good news for those using older PowerBooks with wireless PCMCIA cards...
Wow...the wettest day on record I continue to be impressed by the rain totals here at my home in Tacoma, where the total is 4.5 inches and still rising, but just about 25 miles west of here in Bremerton they have had 12.28 inches of rain so far today. Unbelievable! And yes, this rain has made for a fun day for me. I have been out in it from time to time, including taking the wettest jog of my life tonight just before dark. Local streets in Tacoma are flooding, but those in lowlands around rivers are in much worse shape. Hopefully people are staying safe tonight... Update: Our grand total of rain for the day was 4.80 inches - nearly two inches more than I have ever seen in a single-day rain total since I started my record keeping at home about eight years ago. Meanwhile, it looks like Bremerton actually had about 6.20 inches or rain, not the amazing 12-plus inch total.
AppleScript for Absolute Beginners AppleScript for Absolute Starters - Several books on AppleScript exist, but they generally give a cursory introduction only, before they dig into the juicy stuff that makes AppleScript shine: communication between different applications. That is where AppleScript can save you a lot of time and give you most of the fun. AppleScript for Absolute Starters is a free, slow-paced booklet that will give you the foundation to enjoy these books and actually put AppleScript to use. [Studio Log]
Rev up your trackpad with Sidetrack Sidetrack: a replacement driver for your laptop tr... - Sidetrack: a replacement driver for your laptop trackpad that provides pseudo-scrollwheel support. Pretty cool! [Forwarding Address: OS X]
Problems with my RSS feed I am working with my Web host to figure out a puzzling problem with the RSS feed for Mac Net Journal today. Hang in there...
A very wet day in Puget Sound Country It is only 2 p.m. and nearly two inches of rain have fallen already today here in Tacoma, according to the reading on my Davis Instruments weather station. After one of the driest summers in record, it looks like it is catch-up time... Update: An hour and a half later the rain guage reads 2.35 inches, and rising. Where did I put that boat? Make that 3.17 inches and still falling at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time. A radio reporter just mentioned this being the 15th wettest day on record in Seattle. Given Seattle's soggy reputation, that's saying something... And now, at 8 p.m., we have a daily rain total of 4.07 inches and rising...
A new beta version of Mouseworks A new beta version of Kensington Mouseworks giveth and it taketh away... Giveth:
Taketh:
So, although the update appears to be needed for those upgrading to Panther later this week, there will be a functionality cost in the short term. Kensington says it plans to update the software with some of those missing features in the future...
Macs in high powered visual design Apple offers an interesting profile today of Paula Scher in a piece called A Conversation About Design...
NetNewsWire and migrating to Panther Brent Simmons offers guidance for what parts of your NetNewsWire installation you need to copy and where to put it when you migrate from Jaguar to Panther...
Decisions in the week before Panther The Mac Night Owl offers some good, common sense tips for those preparing to install Panther, or Mac OS X 10.3, when it becomes available on Friday night: The Panther Report: Is it dangerous to become an early adopter. Gene Steinberg offers some good advice, urging folks to consider the Archive and Install method to do what used to be called a clean install of the system, rather than doing a simple install that just overwrites old sections of your current OS and leaves the rest, including all of your settings, intact. The convenience of the simple installation are quickly wiped out if you start having problems with the new OS, so it is always safer to do an Archive and Install. There are a few things you can do in this week leading up to the release of Panther to protect your documents and make the transition easier. First of all, back up your machine. At the very least back up your Documents folder to CD or DVD. But if, like me, you have tons of data, photos, and music on your machine, it makes more sense to get a FireWire drive and back up your entire User folder, or even your entire machine using something like the inexpensive Carbon Copy Cloner program. As a last step before you put in the first Panther installation CD, back up your current installation and you will start doing the upgrade with the secure feeling that if all else goes wrong, all of your information is intact and safe. One other thing that I like to do before installing something as major as a new OS upgrade is to dig through my machine and remove out-of-date programs, documents, and even settings files from programs that I no longer use. If you don't do this kind of hard disk cleaning every now and then, you're disk will fill with ancient and now useless information that will follow you around until the day you ditch your current Mac. It feels better to tidy things up now and then. Another step you can take before installing Panther is to make sure you have your disk tools and system recovery resources in order before you do the upgrade. Do you own DiskWarrior? If so, have it on hand and ready to bail you out if something goes awry. The same goes for other disk utilities. The biggest decision surrounding the installation of the Panther upgrade is when to make the leap. Will you be the first on the block using the new system? Or should you take a cautious, wait-and-see approach to the installation, and wait a few days in order to see what kinds of problems people experience after upgrading? No one can make this decision for you. In my case, I will install Panther shortly after I run out to a local store and buy a copy next weekend, probably sometime on Saturday. But if you don't want to live with the possibility of something going wrong, it may pay to wait a week and see what the fall out of the new OS will be with some of your favorite peripherals and programs. Next weekend should be interesting, and you can check Mac Net Journal for continuing updates throughout the weekend as I juggle installing Panther and working on my current book project, which, to be honest may force me to wait until the end of the month when the book is finished to install Panther for sanity's sake. We'll see how the weekend unveils itself. But either way, I will be covering the Panther developments throughout the weekend! Discuss
Wings2003 updated Wings2003, the excellent freeware bird watching database that I plan to start using extensively once I am finished writing Birding Washington, was updated on Oct. 11 with some major enhancements. Among them, the program has a bettter Aqua look and feel and it runs significants faster, and there are also new AOU, Sibley, and Monroe bird checklists available to work with the program. It also offers alternate code schemes for bird species and new reporting tools. This program is a gem for birders who use Macs... Speaking of birding, although I am home writing today, I was surprised a few minutes ago to have a single Turkey Vulture circling at a height of about 30 feet over our front yard, with a trio of crows hassling it that helped call my attention to the huge raptor. TVs, as birders call them, are normally far south of here by this time of the year, so this was an interesting sighting.
An interesting weblog read on the iTMS for Windows The weblog entry of The weblog entry of Brian Chin, from the Seattle P-I, offers some great reader comments regarding the arrival of the iTunes Music Store and iTunes on Windows, and Microsoft's silly criticisms of the program. Here is one great comment...Brian Chin, from the Seattle P-I, offers some great reader comments regarding the arrival of the iTunes Music Store and iTunes on Windows, and Microsoft's silly criticisms of the program. Here is one great comment:
I am still not sold on the idea that Apple is making a good move creating software for Windows, but it is clear that iTunes offers new options for Windows users that didn't exist before, and maybe people will figure out that if a company can create something like iTunes then its other products may be worth considering, including Mac OS X and Mac hardware...
Mark Bernstein on writing and technology Writing and Technology - Making writing concrete -- working in small, movable chunks rather than a long, tangled scroll -- is sometimes the most liberating aspect of Storyspace, of Tinderbox, and of weblogs. [Mark Bernstein]
RSS weather reports for your zip code Someone mentioned the rssWeather feed on the NetNewsWire mailing list a couple of days ago and I have been digging it ever since. If you want to stay in touch with your local weather, just visit the site, type in your zipe code, and copy the RSS feed URL into your favorite newsreader.
A quick thanks to Dave Winer A quick note of thanks to Dave Winer for pointing out an excellent weblog that wasn't on my radar before now: Dave Pollard's How to Save the World.
Fire 0.32.g fixes connection problems with MSN Fire, the all-in-one chat program that works with AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, and IRC, has been updated to once again work with MSN chat. Fire 0.32.g is available now and it remains a free chat program, the best of the bunch in my opinion...
Want a good laugh? Listen to MS on the iTMS for Windows Someone named Uncle Fester from Microsoft (OK, his real name is Dave, but he may very well be an uncle...) rips apart iTunes and the iTunes Music Store for Windows in comments posted on the Web last night. The most laughable part of the comments is that this guy doesn't understand that iTunes and iTMS are just more choices for Windows users. MacCentral breaks the story down. Meanwhile, I think columnist David Coursey is more on the mark with his concerns that Apple just gave away one of the more compelling reasons that people may have switched to Macs. If you take your best iApp and start giving it away on Windows, why would the Windows user switch to the Mac? Of course, Macs suck less. And there is that little problem with Windows security issues...
The lack of updates to MNJ this week Apologies to MNJ readers for the lack of posting this week. I am in the midst of finishing writing a book that needs to be done by the end of the month, working 20 hours a week on one project and working 20-30 hours per week on covering financial earnings calls. Needless to say, things are a bit crazy right now. I appreciate your patience with the relative lack of posts...
An excellent Game 7! OK, so the Yankees won and move on to the World Series...again. I wasn't rooting for the Yanks, but it was still a great game with a dramatic ending that you just knew had to be right around the corner with each at bat. The unfortunate thing...with both of the underdogs out of the World Series, I am not very excited about a Yankees vs. Marlins series. Not after the high drama of watching and hoping that the perennial losers would overcome history. We got our answer...no...
An iPod as an audio organizer? Now that the iPod can be fitted with add ons for audio recording and for loading digital photos, and presumably any other kind of file you can fit on a digital media card, I wonder how useful an iPod would be as a replacement for a Palm or other PDA simply on the strength of using voice notes? The iPod can already hold contact and calendar information from iCal and Address Book, and the shortcoming of an iPod as an organizer before now was that there was no way to input new information while you were on the road. Now with audio input, that is possible. All we would need is on-the-fly speech to text translation that would work on the computing power provided by the iPod, or even that would take the audio from a note recorded on an iPod and convert it to text when you get back home, using the computing power in your desktop or PowerBook, and the iPod is transformed from a cool MP3 player into a truly utilitarian device. Interesting... Discuss
Apple updates QuickTime, iTunes In addition to rolling out a Windows version of iTunes today, Apple has updated iTunes for the Mac and QuickTime. QuickTime 6.4 is available through the Software Update panel in System Preferences and it "includes a number of audio and performance enhancements," according to the release notes. The 19.8MB update requires restarting your Mac after you download it. iTunes 4.1 is a 6.2MB download that "lets you share music between Mac and Windows computers, buy Audible spoken word content from the iTunes Music Store using your Apple Account, synchronize On-The-Go playlists and voice notes created on your iPod, burn large playlists on multiple discs without interruption, and drag URLs from the Music Store to an email or other program. Music sharing requires Mac OS X version 10.2.4 or later, and AAC encoding requires QuickTime 6.2 or later." I have not updated these yet...
iPod software update makes the machine more useful Dockable iPods now offer voice recording, photo storage - Apple today announced a free software update for iPod, which adds support for new Belkin voice recording and photo storage accessories for dockable iPods, allowing users to record hundreds of hours of audio and store thousands of digital photos on their iPod... [MacMinute.com] Now if it just offered a full color screen to view photos on screen then the iPod would make an even bigger leap toward usability for someone like me...as it stands now, this could be a great solution for storing photos while out in the woods somewhere, far from a laptop, and then to carry them back to the laptop for easy downloading and reviewing. It also could simply be a good way to back up digital photos until you have a chance to burn a CD or DVD to back them up...
Windows flaws a plenty That's right...throw that big ugly Windows computer on the bonfire. Dance around the flaming remains and go buy a Mac. That is the only way you will ever get through another month without some worthless lump of skin writing a virus that threatens to nuke your email, scare your dog, and generally make you feel like a shmuck for ever buying a Windows piece of shit. Oh, and the real news:
Oh yeah...you could also run Linux on that Windows box and regain some credibility and lose many of those pesky virus concerns. But if you insist on sticking with the dreck produced by thousands of people in Redmond, one thing that might make your life a little less miserable is checking out the version of the iTunes Music Store for Windows, which will be unveiled later today. That way you can listen to tunes between crashes... Discuss
A Bluetooth update from Apple Bluetooth Firmware Updater 1.0.2 - Apple has released a firmware updater for D-Link USB Adapters and internal Bluetooth modules on PowerBooks and PowerMacs to improve connectivity between the computer and the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse. [MacMegasite]
Apple fourth quarter earnings conference notes Here are some highlights from Apple's 4Q03 earnings report, updated live: As a warm up, here is MacCentral's pre-call write up -
Fred Anderson's comments: Overall - The $44 million Apple's highest quarterly revenue in three years. - 787,000 CPU units sold, up 7% from last year. - Strong sales of iPods, iSights, and displays. - PowerMac sales rebounded to 221,000 units with the introduction of the G5. - PowerBooks at 176,000 units, a new high. - iTunes Music Store gaining momentum, and Apple will announce more music news tomorrow. - 336,000 iPods sold. - First profitable quarter for the Apple Stores. Education - Unit shipments down 15% from 4Q02. - Stongest quarter in seven years in higher education. Balance sheet $4.566 billion in cash. Outlook Expect revenues to increase to $1.9 billion. Stronger Mac OS X sales expected. Notes from the question and answer section: Q: iTunes comments? A: Anderson: We are pleased by the iPod sales in the quarter. Apple has clearly established itself as the number one MP3 player in the marketplace. iTunes statistics will be updated by Steve Jobs tomorrow...
Mozilla, Firebird, and Thunderbird updated Mozilla, Firebird, Thunderbird get updates - The Mozilla Foundation has updated their Mozilla, Firebird and Thunderbird Internet tools. Mozilla 1.5 is the latest version of the open-source Web browser that's Mac OS X compatible. The update boasts improvements to MailNews and Composer and improved tabbed browsing. [MacCentral]
Overview, a new task manager for Mac OS X Beta of Overview task manager available - Realmac Software has released a public beta release of Overview, a new task manager for Mac OS X. It requires Mac OS X (10.2 or greater) and will cost US$9.95. Overview is designed to handle multiple item lists. You can create categories to handle such things as, agendas, tasks, meeting notes, shopping lists and more. Each item in your list can be given a status (Urgent, Normal, Low or Done) and you can export an entire task list to a Rich Text File for printing. [MacCentral]
On chosing a word processor Brent Simmons asks: If you use a word processor on OS X, which one do you use and why? Great question. I use a host of them - OpenOffice.org, AppleWorks, I recently tested Nisus Writer Express, and I look at others from time to time...
Apple wireless keyboard and mouse tips An article on the MacDevCenter site offers tips for using the new Apple wireless keyboard and mouse...
NetNewsWire and NetNewsWire Lite updated NetNewsWire and NetNewsWire Lite 1.0.6fc1 - The point behind 1.0.6 is to fix a performance bug where sometimes HTML descriptions would be slow to appear while a refresh is going on. We're looking for deal-stopper bugs. [ranchero.com]
Apple to webcast its quarterly results tomorrow MacCentral notes that Apple will hold a 2:30 p.m. Pacific (5:30 p.m. Eastern) webcast tomorrow with details about its third-quarter earnings. Here is a link to the live webcast. I may decide to do live notes from the webcast on Mac Net Journal, depending on how burned out I am on earnings reports after covering another earnings webcast in the morning as part of my quarterly work...
Gracefully retiring an old Mac Low End Mac takes a look at What parts to keep when your Mac dies. This kind of story hits home for me, as a small business owner who buys and holds onto Macs as long as they are useful, and sometimes even longer. A couple of weeks ago I had to start considering what to do with a PowerComputing PowerWave 604/120, one of the old Mac clones that I have been using over the last couple of years solely as a scanning center where I scan photos and line art using our old Umax Astra 600S and integrate slides into our digital workflow using a borrowed Nikon LS-1000 slide scanner. The machine was working fine one day, but the next the hard drive would not boot up and all, forcing me to reformat the drive. I reinstalled Mac OS 8.5 (yes, that ancient OS...), but I am leary of putting more time and effort into the machine, at least until the end of the month when we should be done writing our book, Birding Washington. I have kept the ancient PowerComputing machine around because it is so expandable and with a little effort it could even run Mac OS X, but it may make as much sense to stop using the machine as to pour money into it at this point. Besides, it takes up a ton of desk space. So goes life with the small decisions that crop up for small businesses... Discuss
A tip for printing to a Mac OS X printer from OS 9.x MacOSXHints.com offers a tip that could be useful for those working in small offices where some computers are still running on Mac OS 9.x: Print from OS 9 to an OS X network printer using AppleScript.
PowerPage on new PowerBook LCD flaws O'Grady's PowerPage offers details and points to some of the outrage over a new problem cropping up with some LCDs on the 15-inch PowerBook G4 - White marks on new PowerBook displays. Macintouch has notes about this rising problem today as well...
Mac OS X 10.2.8 causing reduced processor speed? 10.2.8 Reducing Processor Speed? - I recently noticed that Xbench as well as a piece of code I'm working on was reporting my 12" PowerBook G4's processor speed as 533 Mhz instead of the expected 866 MHz even though I had full speed selected in Energy Saver. This thread in Apple's discussion forum indicates that it seems to be a widespread problem with 10.2.8. Resetting the PRAM seems to cure it. [MacMegasite] I ran Xbench on my 12-inch PowerBook G4 and didn't find it running at a reduced processor speed, but this may be because I reset all of the NVRAM settings after installing the second version of Mac OS X 10.2.8...
Apple to support DVD+RW in Panther Apple Moves To Support DVD+RW Format - After years of backing only one format in the recordable DVD format war, Apple Computer is adding limited support of a rival format into its operating system. By Ina Fried (CNET News.com via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
A Mac OS X 10.2.8 troubleshooting tip An MNJ reader offered details about the problems that the powermanagement.bundle in Mac OS X 10.2.8 was causing with his Pismo PowerBook, and how he solved the problem without stepping back to a previous version of the OS. He posted his tips on Apple's support forum. His take on the problem is that Apple didn't do much testing with legacy PowerBooks that can run with two batteries, such as the Pismo.
The 15-inch PB G4 and RAM sensitivity Macintouch offers more notes today about owners of the new 15-inch PowerBook G4 who are suffering from problems caused by the RAM they installed. It sounds like the machine is sensitive to RAM issues and some users have also reported AirPort problems with the new PowerBook...
Biferno, a Web development tool Biferno: Web Scripting Environment - Tabasoft announces the availability for free download of Biferno, a new object-oriented, HTML embedded, scripting language for web development. The high-level built-in classes, with their methods and properties, make the code very clean and easy to mantain. [MacMegasite]
Notable software updates Here are a few of the more notable software releases and updates:
Palm acknowledges problems with Palm Desktop 4.1 Palm Desktop Problem - Palm acknowledges problems with Palm Desktop 4.1 and Mac OS X. [MacInTouch]
A lone Mac in a large IT company Kevin Ledgister writes an interesting piece about moving to a PowerBook and getting everything up and running and productive as the lone Mac user in a large IT company: A Mac in an enterprise.
An in-depth review of the Dual 2.0Ghz PowerMac G5 Writing on his MacOSXHints.com site, Rob Griffiths offers an in-depth review of a the Dual 2.0 Ghz PowerMac G5. As with many other reviewers, he likes the machine:
Tinkertool 3.0 released One of the best freeware tools for changing the way you work with your Mac has been updated with the release of TinkerTool 3.0. The new version makes TinkerTool compatible with Panther, and it still offers a host of ways to change the behavior of your Dock, the Finder, system fonts, keyboard shortcuts, Safari settings, and more. The program remains free.
Eudora Internet Mail Server X updated Eudora Internet Mail Server X 3.2.3b1 - Internet email server software. [Macupdate]
11 things to dig about Panther James Duncan Davidson offers his take on the Ten things I dig about Panther on the MacDevCenter...
Notes on MacWireless.com's 802.11g cards MacWireless.com's 802.11g - MacWireless.com has introduced its PC and PCI-based 802.11g cards. These card required Mac OS X 10.2.4, and are almost certainly generic versions of the Broadcom firmware and hardware that drives Apple's own Extreme cards. However, these cards will work (as will those from Linksys and Buffalo) in any machine that... [Apple AirPort Weblog]
Work arounds for iCal publishing troubles Macintouch offers tips for resurrecting the publishing capabilities of iCal after updating to the new version killed those capabilities for some users...
Alternatives to .Mac online backup and file storage One of the main features of .Mac service that I will miss is the ability to easily back up and store files on an online server, accessible any time I could get on the Net. I was never satisfied with Apple's offerings, either for the cost or the reliability, especially since Apple's Backup application was not reliable enough. Well, there are other cheaper and possibly better alternatives. One attractive possibility, just looking on the surface is iBackup. 50MB of storage costs just $30 for a full year or $3 per month on a monthly basis, while 100MB of storage is just $54 for a year or $5 on a month-to-month basis. Interesting... Discuss
Apple gives away more to lure folks to .Mac Apple continues to roll out giveaways for .Mac members:
An overview of using an Xserve in a small business Apple has posted a developer note about the benefits of using an Xserve in a small business environment...
A script for easily emailing a NetNewsWire item NetNewsWire Script for Emailing Item - Robert Daeley posted an AppleScript script for emailing the selected item in NetNewsWire. It works with Mail, but could probably be adapted for use with Mailsmith and Eudora and other mail programs. [ranchero.com] Speaking of NetNewsWire, the latest beta version (link to the beta from Macupdate) offers some great improvements running on my PowerBook. It seems to be much more CPU friendly when downloading my RSS feeds every hour...
Speaking of iTunes...SmartPlaylists.com Share iTunes Smart Playlist tips - Spencer sez, "In light of the recent post about Smart Playlists in iTunes, I thought this was timely: 'Announcing the launch of SmartPlaylists.com! This new website is a resource for creating, sharing, and chatting about iTunes' Smart Playlists. Why? Because they're cool and there are many ingenious ways to use them to keep your music fresh.'" Link(Thanks, Spencer!) [Boing Boing Blog]
iTunes Music Store coming to Windows soon Apple to launch iTunes for Windows - The Mac maker is expected to unveil the long-awaited Windows version of the iTunes Music Store at an event next week. [CNET News.com] If this proves to be true, it should be interesting to see how Windows users take to the iTMS. I know in my case that I now look to the iTMS first before I buy any new music, and I have been loving the ability to pick up new music on the day it is released because it appears on the iTMS almost instantaneously. Will it be similar for Windows users? I'm not so sure, but it should be interesting to watch...
Author updates guide for Mac OS X Server 10.2 Soren Theilgaard has updated his $20 PDF guide called "Mac OS X Server - The additional guide for some of the UNIX stuff!"
The first three chapters of the guide can be viewed and the entire guide can be purchased here.
Feedback on the new iCal and iSync For those using the new versions of iCal and iSync, what is the verdict? Talk about it here...
Dan Gillmor on Apple's greedy side Columnist and Mac user Dan Gillmor offers his take on upgrade policies for Panther, and getting stiffed for $129 because he didn't time his new Mac purchase to Apple's announcement:
While Gillmor's article sounds like he is whining, he does raise a valid point. I know of at least one person who has been waiting on the Panther announcement before he would spend the money on a 15-inch PowerBook G4. It is more than a little annoying to pay $3,000 for a new computer and then face another $129 charge a couple of weeks later for an OS upgrade. Apple really needs to offer a longer free or discounted upgrade period...
Web designing around new IE limitations Web site designer and Mac user Jeffrey Zeldman takes a look at the impact of the Eolas settlement and the changes it is forcing on Internet Explorer, from the perspective of Web design:
Living life .Mac free Today marks the end of the .Mac accounts we used to have on our PowerBooks here in the Mac Net Journal offices. I may reconsider the option of joining again at $100 per year, per computer, if Apple adds something to the service that it just seems I couldn't live without. But for now, the $200 I am saving will pay for a family license to Panther... Discuss
Panther will be let loose on Oct. 24 Apple has announced that its upgrade to Mac OS X 10.3, better known as Panther, will be released on Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. Special events are planned in Apple Stores around the evening release. Panther will cost $129 for single copies and $199 for a five-license family pack...
iSync 1.2.1 adds support for new devices Support for the latest phones including the Sony Ericsson T616, Z600, and P800, as well as contact and calendar syncing on Nokia's Series 60 phones are rolled into the update to iSync 1.2.1. If you have a .Mac account you can also sync your Safari bookmarks and access them from any Web browser at bookmarks.mac.com.
iCal 1.5.1 looks like an improvement iCal 1.5.1 enhances the design of the simple scheduling app, adding the ability to see details about appointments and events in an Info Drawer on the same screen as your schedule. Apple also enhanced alarms in iCal and added keyboard shortcuts. The free organizer application requires Mac OS X 10.2.3 or greater...
Top 10 good things about Arnie being Calif. governor 10. There's proof...money can buy everything 9. Ah...back to political gridlock and budget deficits 8. Months of great comic material ahead 7. In the words of Pink Floyd, "We don't need no education..." 6. Now National Public Radio can start paying attention to national issues instead of Gollywood 5. Arnie is no more a Republican than Gen. Wesley Clark is a Democrat 4. This is just the break those Enron scalliwags needed 3. People can stop poking fun of Florida...until the next election fiasco 2. No more Terminators 1. Although I was born in Monterey, Calif., I don't live there now!
Tips for doing fast photo previews Derrick Story writes another interesting piece with tips for digital photographers on the MacDevCenter site:
Aladdin updates StuffIt Engine, fixes .sit problem StuffIt Engine 8.0.1 fixes the problem where unstuffed files included improperly set UNIX permissions that would make the file non-functional.
Palm networking via IrDA Mac OS X Hints offers a cool tip for sharing a network connection with a Palm...
Here comes the rain again...finally 
Western Washington is about to get the first in a series of fall rain storms to hit after the driest summer on record. I'm ready!
Microsoft offers patch for IE patch that failed Here is a new slogan for the Microsofties in Redmond: What do you want to patch today?
Again, this patch is not needed if you are still using Internet Explorer on the Mac...
A quick note of thanks A quick note of thanks to the MNJ readers who sent in donations to support the site late last week! Since I added the Google Adsense ads to the MNJ Web site in July the number of people donating to support the site has dropped off significantly, likely because people think I am making a ton of money on advertising. I cannot comment much on Adsense due to severe contract limitations with the service, which others have written about, but I do want MNJ readers to understand that this site is still supported primarily by those willing to donate a few bucks here and there to help defray the costs of running the site. Thanks!
Motorola to spin off chip building unit You have to wonder if Apple's supply of PowerPC chips from Motorola will be in jeopardy following this announcement:
iChat AV a communication delight for deaf users Apple's iChat AV is a communications delight for deaf users - "For Melvin Patterson, who has been completely deaf since he was a toddler, communication is a visual experience," reports Benny Evangelista for The San Francisco Chronicle. "In the past, conducting a conversation using traditional nonvisual telecommunications tools like telephones and pagers was frustrating. Text messages or sign language conversations on jittery Web video screens were a pale substitute for a face-to-face exchange.""But that changed... [MacDailyNews]
Mixed experiences with Mac OS X 10.2.8, the sequel I am playing catch up this morning after being away for part of the weekend, and I was surprised to read the reports on Macintouch of a number of issues with the second update to Mac OS X 10.2.8. My surprise comes because I have not found any problems after hastily doing the update before I left town on Friday - it fixed my battery run time issues that were caused by the first edition of Mac OS X 10.2.8, which was the most pressing problem I had with the first edition. Maybe the reason I haven't experienced problems has something to do with the way I installed Mac OS X 10.2.8, the sequel. I installed the 580k patch using Software Update, then after installing I restarted and ran Disk Utility to repair permissions before I did anything else, then I rebooted again and started up from my Disk Warrior CD to run through its disk routines and rebuild the directories before I started using the system. After taking this time-killing step, which takes quite a while on my 60GB hard drive, I rebooted and reset the NVRAM on my machine by booting into Open Firmware (holding down Cmd-Opt-O-F on start up and then typing "reset-nvram" and then "reset-all" leaving out the quotation marks). [NOTE: Messing around in Open Firmware may not be a good idea for all PowerBook users. If you decide to do so, it is at your own risk...] After taking these steps I rebooted one last time and unplugged my power to check the battery status. At first the battery run time estimate jumped all around, starting at 5:40 and then falling to 1:30 a few seconds later, and this jumping around continued for a while. Eventually the battery run time shown in the menu bar status menu reflected reality and the time estimate stopped jumping around. My battery life has returned to the 2.5-3 hour range that I had under Mac OS X 10.2.6... Discuss
Companies squelching their employees weblogs USA Today has a short story about the way that companies are dealing with employees who have weblogs. Among the examples cited is a paragraph about former Apple worker Kevin Marks, who says Apple discouraged him from mentioning anything about the company on his blog before he left the company in August...
Retrospect 5.1 now supports the Power Mac G5 MacNN notes that Retrospect 5.1 now supports the Power Mac G5...
PowerMail updated to 4.2.1 The update to PowerMail 4.2.1 adjusts the way that the number of read and unread messages in each folder are shown in the user interface and adds a few other bugs fixes.
Kudos to Apple on the re-release I haven't had time to do any real testing, but from the outset it looks like the re-release of Mac OS X 10.2.8 has fixed the battery run time issues I was seeing under the previous version of Mac OS X 10.2.8. And just in time for the weekend!
Apple offers Mac OS X Update to 10.2.8 I just checked my Software Update panel and found that Apple has rolled out an update to Mac OS X 10.2.8. Here are the release notes I find:
The download is just 580k and it will require a restart following the installation. Given the battery problems I have been seeing with my 12-inch PowerBook G4, I am trying the update once I post this story... Discuss
A bill of rights for a new generation Howard Dean's Bill of Rights for a New Generation is worth reading and considering no matter where you find yourself on the political spectrum.
An excellent look at outliner features About This Particular Macintosh writer Ted Goranson has written a great piece on outliner features as the first part of a series of articles about outliners. A nod to Brent Simmons for mentioning the article on his site...
HyperCard, the Web, and missed opportunities Dan Shafer offers some great notes on today's much-linked interview with former Apple CEO John Sculley on CNET and some of the missed opportunities that Sculley owns up to during the interview:
Donate to support Mac Net Journal Mac Net Journal is a publication supported by readers through direct donations and advertising clicks. If you find MNJ a useful site, please visit the Web page and click to send a donation using either PayPal, Amazon, or by finding out how to send a check to support the site. Every little bit helps!
Will Apple roll out a fix today? I am among thousands of PowerBook users living with crippled batteries in the wake of the Mac OS X 10.2.8 update wondering if today will be the day Apple acknowledges, addresses, and fixes the problems caused by their hasty software update. I am particularly hoping that Apple rolls out another system update to fix the problems today because I will be away on a one-day trip to Oregon starting tonight and it would be nice to have my 12-inch PowerBook G4 battery run for 2.5 hours again rather than the 1.5 hours it gets now, after installing Mac OS X 10.2.8 before Apple pulled it from Software Update... Discuss
Macworld takes a look at Adobe updates Adobe changes everything is an application-by-application breakdown of what will change in the version upgrades of the apps in the soon-to-be-released Adobe Creative Suite...
DVD Studio Pro 2.0.2 Apple releases DVD Studio Pro 2.0.2 Combined Update - Apple yesterday evening released DVD Studio Pro 2.0.2 Combined Update: "The combined update includes DVD Studio Pro 2.0.1 and DVD Studio Pro 2.0.2 and is strongly recommended for all users of DVD Studio Pro 2. This update includes French, German and Japanese localizations as well as providing a number of other improvements. The DVD Studio Pro 2.0.2 update is the only update available for DVD Studio Pro 2." [MacDailyNews]
More trouble in the Windows world Information Week offers details about a series of hacker exploits affecting users of the Windows versions of Internet Explorer - attacks that are happening even to those who have patched their versions of IE with the latest patches available from MS...
The beginning of the end for .sit compression? It looks like the makers of Stuffit have a serious problem on their hands, as many users of Stuffit Expander 8 are starting to see. The problem, which sets unstuffed files as non-executable and is explained in detail on an FAQ page on the Aladdin site, has already prompted the following response from Brent Simmons, the creator of NetNewsWire:
Meanwhile, I would strongly suggest that users stay away from any updates to Stuffit Expander to avoid this serious bug that will make your Mac OS X user experience more of a pain in the butt than it was with older versions of Stuffit Expander... Update: Macintouch also has a reader report with information about the new Stuffit Expander problem. It appears that once you install Stuffit Expander 8.0 it can be hard to backtrack to an older version to fix the problems...
Poll finds most gung-ho for OS X updates Macworld UK reports the results of a poll today that shows that as few as 29% of Mac OS X users take a wait-and-see approach to installing Mac OS X upgrades, while 67% said they install the updates without even thinking that something could be wrong with the system update. I wonder how many PowerBook users bit by the documented but yet-to-be-well-publicized battery and power management bugs caused by Mac OS X 10.2.8 would say they will continue to install updates as soon as they are available?
A satellite Internet service for Macs DIRECWAY satellite Internet service available for Mac - Hughes Network Systems (HNS), the leading provider of broadband satellite solutions, has introduced a new Macintosh-compatible DIRECWAY broadband terminal, the DW6000... [MacMinute.com]
NetNewsWire Lite 1.0.5b1 NetNewsWire Lite 1.0.5b1 - We're bringing NetNewsWire Lite up-to-date with changes in the full version. Highlights: it now uses Web Kit for HTML rendering, supports custom style sheets, and supports gzip compression. See the change notes for more details. [ranchero.com]
Users report battery issues with 15-inch PowerBooks O'Grady's PowerPage has a report about battery run time issues with the new 15-inch PowerBook G4. Most users say that instead of getting the advertised 4.5 hours of run time off the battery they are seeing as little as 86 minutes of run time:
Security concerns with iBlog Murray Williams looks at some security shortcomings in iBlog, one of the latest freebies Apple is offering for .Mac members...
More on RSS as a replacement for email A Step on the RSS Replacement for Email Trail - Jon Udell reports today on the unveiling of an email-to-RSS gateway called MailBucket. This is a very cool-looking service and it's simplicity itself to use.
Columnist touts Microsoft mouse for Macs Microsoft Mouse Is Great For Your Mac - I've found a mouse that puts Apple's efforts to shame. It's made by Microsoft, which does a much better job making hardware than software. By Al Fasoldt (Syracuse Post-Standard via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
Nikon Capture 3.5.2 released Nikon Capture 3.5.2 - Updater for the Nikon Capture app. The update fixes problems with the previous version... [Macupdate] |
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