Mac Net Journal

This has been a tough month for posting on Mac Net Journal due to a number of reasons. First, I turned 40 on March 9, and I took last weekend off from everything other than eating, drinking and squeezing in runs to keep on track with my marathon training.

The other big happening this month has been my ongoing marathon training. Last weekend I felt like there was no way I could run a marathon, after doing a grueling 15-mile run on Whidbey Island in the northern reaches of Puget Sound. But today I managed to finish a 16-mile run covering a lot of the course for the Tacoma Marathon without much trouble at all. Back on track!

I have still been using my Mac and contemplating some things that I will write about in the coming weeks - how to clean up the mess of hopping from one contact management solution to another during years of testing different Mac tools, weighing whether to switch from iView MediaPro to a new tool such as Adobe Lightroom - which I have been testing for almost a month - or Apple's Aperture, and trying to decide a project management tool that will work for me, such as OmniPlan or Merlin 2. Hopefully I will carve out time for some meaningful content here on Mac Net Journal in the near future.

Apple releases Mac OS X 10.4.9 update
Tuesday, March 13, 2007, 2:06 PM

Check Software Update on your Mac for the latest system software update from Apple, which bumps Mac OS X to version 10.4.9.

Apple has also rolled out updates for iPhoto and AirPort Extreme, as well as a security update for clients and servers using Mac OS X 10.3.9.

Apple offers the following release notes for the update to Mac OS X 10.4.9:

The 10.4.9 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.8 and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

RAW camera support

Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes

Image capture performance

Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts

Font handling

Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player

USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat

Bluetooth devices

Browsing AFP servers

Apple USB Modem

Windows-created digital certificates

Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs

Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007

Security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website.

For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website.

John Welch on the Top 22 Mac OS X Products
Sunday, March 11, 2007, 11:13 PM

This two-part series from John Welch looks interesting - Top 22 Mac OS X Products. Ironically, I don't use many of the products he mentions. I would add some others - QuickSilver, NeoOffice, OmniOutliner, Tinderbox - a lot of core productivity applications that I use nearly every day.

Are you ready to spring ahead tonight?
Saturday, March 10, 2007, 10:47 AM

Ars technica has a guide for preparing your Mac for the change to Daylight Savings Time tonight. At issue is the fact that those of us in the U.S. who observe DST are seeing the switch happen three weeks earlier than normal, due to an act of Congress in 2005.

The comprehensive Daylight Savings Time guide for your Mac.