ForgetMeNot performs BTR: browser tab resuscitation
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 10:20 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software
Tabbed browsing is one of my very favoritest additions to the world of web browsing. It lets me manage mounds of websites in very little screen real estate, which is at a demand on a 13” screen. But, alas, in my browser of choice, Safari, I find myself too often accidentally closing a window that had a number of open tabs in it. When I used to work on a Windows PC, I used Firefox’s SessionSaver plug-in, which could also restore open tabs after a crash, but Safari didn’t have this feature. At best, I used Safari stand to create a “shelf” of open tabs in situations where I didn’t want to lose them, but this had to be done manually, and I often forgot.
Once again, it’s our buddy Dan Frakes to the rescue. In his latest Mac Gems blog, Dan points us towards ForgetMeNot, a fantastic little piece of software that helps you save those valuable tabs. Whenever you quit Safari, ForgetMeNot remembers your open tabs, then restores them when you relaunch the program. In addition to that, if you happen to close a window with a bunch of tabs in it, ForgetMeNot adds an “Unclose Window” option to the file menu that lets you retrieve them (who hasn’t tried instinctively hitting command-Z when that’s happened?). Unfortunately, it doesn’t retrieve tabs after a crash, but it ought to return you to the last state it can remember—better than nothing, I’d think.
Dan points out a couple of downsides: for instance, ForgetMeNot is installed in your system-level Library folder as opposed to your user-level Library folder, which can make troubleshooting more difficult, but he’s got instructions for working around that. I for one hope that Apple takes a hint from this and the state-saving features of NetNewsWire, and implements something similar in the next version of Safari.
Setup AirPort to join preferred networks
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 9:48 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Tips
I’ve already braced myself for the hordes of people saying “You call that a tip? Everybody knows that.” Yes, they come in hordes.
Wireless was the feature that really made laptops take off. I work in a variety of places, including my home, the public library, coffee shops, friends’ houses, etc. Each place has its own wireless network, though most of them have more than one to choose from. By default, AirPort looks for previous networks; if it can’t find one, AirPort asks you if you want to join an open network.
However, if you’d like a little more control over this (say there are two networks in an area that you use frequently…or, much more likely, you use a network called “linksys” at your local coffee shop, but you don’t want to use “linksys” at home), well, AirPort is more than happy to oblige.
Fire up System Preferences and go to the Network pane. Choose AirPort from the “Show:” drop down list and make sure you have the AirPort tab selected. The first drop down reads “By default, join” and the value is probably set to automatic. Switch that to “Preferred networks” and an ordered list of networks you’ve joined will appear. You can add, remove, and edit existing networks, plus reorder them by drag and drop. Set up correctly, you can make sure you’re always on the right network—not only convenient, but better for security too.
Foxconn reduces damages in defamation suit. Like, a lot.
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 9:12 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Legal
Will we ever know if Steve Jobs leant a helping hand on Foxconn’s defamation suit? Probably not until the extensive biography comes out in fifty years. Still, it’s good to see that the Hongfujin unit of the company decided not only to ask the court to unfreeze the assets of the two journalists it accused of defamation, but also reduced the damages.
The original suit had called for a 30 million yuan settlement (approximately $3.7 million), but today came news that that number had been slashed to 1 yuan. That’s not a typo. For those of you counting at home, that’s about 12 cents. Hongfujin has not dropped the suit, though, saying that it reduced the damages to “avoid blurring the issue because of the great public attention on the target of the injunction.” In addition, the publisher of the piece, China Business News, has been added as a defendant in the case.
Though there was no response from Steve Jobs, who had been petitioned by Reporters Without Borders, an Apple spokesperson confirmed yesterday that Apple was working “behind the scenes” to help resolve the dispute.
Wal-Mart throwing its weight around on movie downloads?
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 8:53 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Video
Let me get this straight: you’re one of the most profitable companies in America, and yet you’re traveling all around movie studios whining about Apple stealing your lunch money? I don’t know what to tell you, Wal-Mart, except this: welcome to capitalism.
Despite the dropped hints, we still have no official confirmation of downloadable movies from the iTunes Music Store, so the details are, as always, subject to change. But the article from today’s Business Week Online tells the story of David Porter, Wal-Mart’s go-to guy for Hollywood. He’s been visiting studio heads to tell them that Wal-Mart’s unhappy with Apple encroaching on their business—kind of like Darth Vader showing up to tell the Death Star guy that the Emperor is displeased.
The article also claims that Disney is the only studio to sign on, but that Fox and Lion’s Gate are in talks should other studios join the party. Wal-Mart’s biggest concern seems to be that they’re planning on launching their own video download service, and they want help promoting it when it comes out.
Don’t worry, Wal-Mart; I’m sure you can manage to screw it up all by yourself.
[via digg]
Mac Pro compatible Parallels “very soon”
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 8:03 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Windows
The fine folks at Parallels have finally addressed Mac Pro compatibility. Not only have they outright said it’s incompatible, but they’ve hinted at the timeframe for an update.
1) Is Parallels Desktop compatible with the new Mac Pro tower?
Not yet. The new Mac Pros have a different CPU model, and work with a specifically optimized OS X kernel. It is not difficult to make Parallels compatible with either of these, but it does take a bit of time. We should have a compatible build very soon.2) “Very soon” sounds like marketing-ese for “we’ll have something someday.”
When I say very soon, I mean very soon. Like within the next few days.
It’s good to see that the wait won’t be long. It’s even better that their employees are willing to cut through corporate chatter and give a straight answer.
Inbox: the future of GTD?
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 6:50 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Geekery
I’ll sheepishly admit I haven’t actually read the book Getting Things Done (it’s still waiting in my book bag for my eyes). I am hooked on Kinkless GTD though. It seems like every day I have more to do and less time to do it in. GTD is supposed to help with that.
While I love kGTD, Inbox is written from the ground up to be a Getting Things Done facilitator. It looks really great, but I feel pretty lost in it (and as a beta, it’s still very buggy). Can any of you GTD ninjas tell me if Inbox will make more sense after I read the book?
ATI X1900XT preemptive pricedrop
Posted on Aug. 31, ’06, 5:39 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Hardware
The one option I kinda wish I’d gotten with my Mac Pro is the upgrade from the Nvidia 7300GT to the ATI Radeon X1900 XT. If you take a look at Apple’s comparison, it becomes very clear why. It’s not that I feel hampered by the stock card, it’s just that the Radeon is just so much better.
At $350 for the upgrade (or $499 if you want to buy it separately), it was a bit pricey initially. Apple has dropped the price by $100 for both the BTO option and the aftermarket upgrade. $250 as an option is mighty fine. Delivery is still a few weeks out right now, but if you’re willing to wait and want to make your Mac Pro really shine, the X1900 XT is definitely an affordable option.
iPod factory working condition reporters sued; Jobs asked to step in
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 1:15 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Legal
It would have been nice if Apple’s investigation of the allegations of labor conditions at the Foxconn iPod assembly Plant in China had been the end of the matter, but I suppose that’s wishful thinking. A new drama has unfolded after two Chinese reporters penned a piece saying that iPod assembly line workers were inadequately paid for overtime. Foxconn subsidiary Hongfujin retaliated by suing the reporters for defamation, demanding €3 million in damages, and having a court freeze their assets. Nice.
In response to that action, journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders published an open letter to Steve Jobs, asking him to step in:
We know that Apple is already aware of this case. After the London-based Daily Mail newspaper ran a story about it on 11 June, your company reacted by investigating conditions at Foxconn’s plants and discovered that your supplier had indeed violated several aspects of your code of conduct, including those concerning the length of the working week and days off.Cases like these are very tricky in China, where the state exerts a strong control media outlets and “freedom of the press” is just an expression. But the response of freezing all of the reporters’ assets (including their apartments and cars) seems disproportionate, even should the charges of defamation be upheld. Regardless, the ball is now in Steve Jobs’s court.
We believe than all Wang and Weng did was report the facts and we condemn Foxconn’s reaction. We therefore ask you to intercede on behalf of these two journalists so that their assets are unfrozen and the lawsuit is dropped.
Will Apple update the iSight?
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 12:46 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Video
A post at Infinite Loop seems to suggest that Apple’s external iSight may be due for a revamp. This supposition is based on the fact that Apple’s store page for the camera now lists October for availability, and other vendors like Amazon list the item as currently unavailable.
It’s an interesting question, to be sure. Apple has begun to standardize features across it’s product line, with a built-in iSight camera now included in the MacBook, MacBook Pro, and iMac and software to take advantage of it, like PhotoBooth (which will be included in Leopard) and iChat. This leaves Mac Pro and Mac mini users out in the cold, however, unless they’re willing to shell out an additional $149 for the external iSight (which, admittedly, is a nicer camera in many ways).
One commenter on Infinite Loop made the suggestion that Apple might decide to integrate the iSight into their external displays, which seems a good possibility, though, as a solution, it’s not as flexible as the external camera. Could we see a new version of the external iSight? The device is over three years old and it hasn’t seen a substantial revision in its lifetime—plus, it’s one of the items that Apple had to stop selling in Europe due to environmental concerns.
Japan asks Apple to investigate after iBook battery catches fire
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 12:23 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Hardware
I guess Dell’s not the only company to have its laptops spontaneously combust. A report out of Japan says a Sony battery in an iBook G4 caught fire, inflicting minor burns on its user; the report was latter confirmed by an Apple Japan spokesperson. Just last week, Apple initiated the recall of 1.8 million Sony batteries. There was no official word on whether or not the battery that caught fire was one of the recalled units, though I presume that’s the case.
Japan has asked Apple Japan to investigate and present its findings and suggestions for dealing with this problem by September 5th, or else face a ¥300,000 fine—which, as many have pointed out, is a not very overwhelming fee of around $2,500.
All of this only underscores, to me, the importance of coming up with a new power solution. I’m convinced that the next major revolution in computing will be a change to the traditional battery. Whether that’s via fuel cells or some other method, I can’t say, but it can’t come too soon for me.
[Thanks, Dan]
Native OpenOffice.org hot on the tails of NeoOffice
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 9:30 AM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Software
Only a few days ago the Aqua version of NeoOffice, the native OS X version of OpenOffice.org, was released for free to the public. Well, now it seems that OpenOffice.org itself will be releasing their own OS X native version of the software that runs without X11. According to OpenOffice.org developer ericb, the OS X native version of OpenOffice is set to ship in September, and will be unveiled at the Apple Expo in Paris next month. Well, I’d prefer to have Steve Jobs at the Apple Expo instead of native OpenOffice, but hey, life just ain’t fair.
It’s alive, DMA lives!
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 7:33 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Windows
I reported yesterday about a fix to a lack of DMA support in Boot Camp. The instructions were so popular that the user’s bandwidth went over the limit. Luckily someone in the MacRumors forums had a copy.
After further review, it turns out that they aren’t so hard. Further, they look far less intimidating when you take out all the stuff that isn’t actually necessary (like all the stuff to ahem avoid Windows Genuine Advantage).
I didn’t have much to save from my current Windows installation, so I went ahead and gave it a shot. The first time out, I installed just the SATA drivers. I didn’t follow the instructions very well and included both the 32 bit and 64 bit drivers. It didn’t take. The second time, I included the chipset drivers and only the 32 bit SATA drivers.
Eureka! It worked. I went from 3.7 MB/s in PIO mode to 62.3 MB/s in DMA mode. The extra bonus is that sustained disk activity doesn’t soak up 50% of the processor power. Very cool. At any rate, if you’re interested in using a Mac Pro with Boot Camp for anything intensive, check out the link above. Another forum member has edited down the instructions to the essentials.
Google CEO now on Apple’s board of directors
Posted on Aug. 30, ’06, 5:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple
You read that right. Dr. Eric Schmidt, the Chief Executive Officer for Google, has joined Apple’s board of directors. I want to start hearing conspiracy theories… now. Will the two companies merge to become Gaggle? Goopple? Aggle? Here are the quotes from the newlyweds.
“Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple’s board of directors,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric’s insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead.”
“Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire,” said Eric Schmidt. “I’m really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple’s board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing.”
I did enjoy the irony in the fact that Eric used to work at Xerox PARC.
[via MacCentral]
Windows Vista pricing leaked…by Microsoft
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 12:29 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Windows
Companies often have to contend with leaks of information from journalists, bloggers, insiders, enemies, etc., but it’s harder to get all worked up about it when they manage to leak information on themselves. Who can forget, for example, Apple accidentally leaking the Power Mac G5’s specs just days before its launch?
This time, it’s Microsoft who’s joined the Whoopsie Daisie club, after unintentionally posting pricing information about the forthcoming Windows Vista on their Canadian website. The prices were cleverly encoded in Canadian dollars, but it wasn’t long before intrepid investigators broke the cipher for all to see. The bottom line? Vista’s going to be expensive, no matter which of the many versions you buy.
According to Neowin.net, list quoted the price for Windows Vista Ultimate as C$499 (US$450.18), while Home Premium will be C$299 (US$269.71). An upgrade to Vista Ultimate will cost C$299 (US$269.71), while an upgrade to Home Premium will cost C$199 (US$179.51), according to the blog.A lot of people have criticized Apple for charging $129 per yearly upgrade. For me, OS X is the one absolutely essential piece of software on my Mac; without it, it’s a big paperweight. Granted, not all of the bells and whistles are necessary for my everyday activities. But a pricetag between $179 and $450 is going to make me think long and hard about what exactly I’m getting for my money on an OS that I consider, at best, a necessary evil.
A trick for dealing with same name wireless networks
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 11:24 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Tips
You’ve probably joined a wireless network or two in your day, so I’m sure you’ve noticed that many people don’t bother changing the name of their wireless access points (also known as an SSID). My AirPort menu is littered with networks named “default,” “wireless,” “NETGEAR,” and the ever popular “linksys.” Given this, a friend asked me if OS X’s AirPort menu displayed multiple wireless access points that use the same SSID.
The answer, as far as I can tell, is no, but here’s a little trick. If this is the kind of scenario where you’re trying to join a nearby base station, but keep getting bumped to another with the same name, hold down the “option” key when you click the AirPort menu. This orders the available networks by strength, instead of alphabetically, and you should get the stronger of the access points with the same name. Of course, if you’re trying to join the weaker, you may be out of luck.
The best fix to this is to remember to change your SSID, and pretty much all access points let you pick your own network game. This is good not only for solving the duplicate SSID problem, but also for security. At the same time, the hardware is certainly capable of detecting multiple networks with the same name, so this seems to me to be a quirk of OS X’s AirPort menu. Software like iStumbler can show you all the networks that might share the same name—one would hope Apple might come up with a solution that allows a little more flexibility.
Universal joins “free” music initiative
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 10:21 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Music
It’s my firm belief that the human race simply doesn’t want to pay for things. We will, understand, but if given the option to get something for free, well, half the time it doesn’t even matter what it is. Walk the exhibit hall at any convention, as I did this past weekend, and you’ll end up with posters, mousepads, and t-shirts that you wouldn’t dare spend money on…but if they’re free, well, it’s a different story.
Still, money has to be made somewhere, which is where my curiosity is piqued by this morning’s announcement that Universal’s music catalog will be available for free via a company called SpiralFrog. If you’re wondering what the heck SpiralFrog is, well, I can’t blame you—this is the first I’ve heard of them. Here’s what they have to say for themselves:
SpiralFrog (www.spiralfrog.com) is the new online music destination offering advertising-supported legal downloads of audio and video content licensed from the catalogs of the world’s leading record labels and from independents. SpiralFrog offers music-lovers a compelling alternative to illegal file-sharing and pirate sites, with a secure environment for them to satisfy their unyielding passion and thirst for music, entertainment, information and brands at no cost except for their time and attention.I like that they borrow Apple’s old “competing with piracy” idea; it’s a smart one. Advertising-supported download seems to suggest web ads, but I have a hard time believing that it’s the extent of their business model. Doesn’t seem like Universal, who is making their entire catalog available, would reap enough return from that. And of course, the part that screams “catch” to me is that the music, though free, will still be DRM-laden. To my mind, that suggests Windows Media, which will prohibit the silver bullet of iPod compatibility—details on the arrangement are scarce at present, however. We’ll be watching SpiralFrog’s career with great interest.
Dylan is knock knock knockin’ on iTunes’s door
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 9:42 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Advertising
Bleary-eyed and barely able to form coherent sentences, I’m back from Seattle. I considered going straight to sleep for about two days, but our readers will have their news from me, one way or another, so I decided to make it easy on them, and myself. Even though as I stare at these lines, they all seem to be coalescing into one.
Dogging the track of the other day’s release of new Get a Mac commercials comes a brand new iTunes commercial starring Steve Jobs hero Bob Dylan. The spot pimps his new album, Modern Times, available for pre-order on iTunes. Or, at least, it was available for pre-order, up until today, but now it’s actually on sale.
The Dylan ad is a bit of a departure from previous iPod + iTunes spots: instead of a colorful background with dancing silhouettes, it features Dylan, seated on a stool, playing guitar and singing against a stark white background, intercut with footage of a young woman dancing with an iPod. Besides the fact that Dylan’s sequined cowboy shirt is exquisite, there’s something strange about the whole spot. In a way, it’s as if Apple is trying to merge the sensibilities of its iPod + iTunes ads with those of its “Get a Mac” (and through it, its older campaigns, like Switch). The use of famous musicians in iPod + iTunes ads is nothing new: in the past, they’ve had Bono and U2 as well as Wynton Marsalis (and Dylan himself appeared in one of the Think Different ads), but it is the first time, in my recollection, that you’ve been able to distinguish the features on the dancer. I wonder if this was a choice specifically for the Dylan ad, or if we’ll be seeing more ads like this for the music side of Apple’s business.
[via Infinite Loop]
Quinn is a clone of shhhh
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 7:22 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Games
Quinn, a game by Simon Haertel, disappeared for a short period after receiving a nastygram from the Tetris Company. How dare he make no money developing a game for a platform they’d never seriously develop for anyway? After conferring with the EFF, the game is back for download with the following preamble.
Quinn is an implementation of a popular falling-blocks game, which, according to the Tetris Company, must not be named here.
Ah, very clever. Surely we can’t figure out what he’s talking about. wink wink. The game is networkable, even over a Bon Jour network. Imagine the crazy dorm competitions that could be going on at this very moment, or this moment next week. Scott, I’m looking at you to spread the word.
It’s free. Download now.
Getting proper SATA performance with WinXP and a Mac Pro
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 6:39 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Windows
One of the sad things about the current version of Boot Camp is that SATA hard drive performance under it is abysmal. The drivers lack DMA support, meaning processor usage and very poor performance. It’s a little basic, so it’s disheartening to see such a great machine hamstrung by it.
Just as people scrambled to find drivers before the release of Boot Camp 1.1, people have been trying to find a solution of this in lieu of an Apple supported fix. One set of instructions surfaced (thanks Philbert). Alas, those instructions are now banished as the user’s bandwidth has been exceeded for the month. I’m not too sad as I got a look prior to that and the fix was… painful, to say the least. It entailed making a new Windows install CD (because apparently the drivers necessary can only be installed during Windows installation).
Could Boot Camp 1.1.1 or 1.2 be right around the corner? I’m sure more than a couple people hope so.
NeoOffice Aqua is here
Posted on Aug. 29, ’06, 5:45 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software
In the never ending quest for a cheaper office suite (hell, we’ll settle for a Universal Binary), NeoOffice seeks to fill the void. They’ve taken the open source underpinnings of OpenOffice and made it much more palatable using Java.
The latest version (now freely available) integrates all kinds of Cocoa goodness. Honestly, I’m not sure what that means technically, but it does mean that NeoOffice feels much more at home than OpenOffice ever did. It’s even a Universal Binary. Considering most people’s needs are not particularly intense and don’t need half the features that Microsoft builds into its Office software, this may be a great fit for many of you (especially those of you missing AppleWorks or using an ICBM).
Get a Mac sha na na na, sha na na na na
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 12:50 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Advertising
Apple’s added a third round of “Get a Mac” spots to its advertising campaign, featuring John Hodgman as the PC and Justin Long as the Mac. This time around, the spots tout Mac’s immunity from spyware, the MagSafe power adapter, and the ease of making iPhoto books.
Of the three, the spyware one will probably be the most contentious, following as it does the earlier ads which emphasized the Mac’s security from viruses. Spyware is nowhere near as much of a problem on OS X as it is on Windows, which is a valid point, but a lot of the backlash I’ve seen already resents Apple for ragging on its opposition instead of emphasizing its own features.
It’s marketing plain and simple though, and the lack of spyware, viruses, and adware is one of the most compelling reasons for using a Mac right now. NY Times Tech columnist David Pogue’s most recent blog post was all about busting the myth that the Mac platform’s lack of viruses stems from the company’s small market share.
Personally, I enjoyed the MagSafe ad. I know Derik’s covets one to help protect him from his cat’s antics, and I’ve run into more than a few incidents in which my MacBook has been saved by its intelligent design. For many of us Mac users, the attention to detail that Apple gives its products is what we really appreciate about the whole computing experience.
Penny Arcade stands On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 11:57 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Games
This Seattle trip is seriously messing with my internal clock. Right now it’s 3PM in my traditional East Coast digs, but here I am, mired in the past, unaware of what’s happening in the future/present. And somehow—somehow—Peter Cohen over at Macworld managed to post on the Penny Arcade game before I did, despite the fact that I was at the event where they announced it. Man. He’s good.
Anyway, yes, that most popular of webcomics has decided to leap, gazelle-like, into the world of game creation. The Penny Arcade Adventures series is billed as a comic adventure with RPG elements and an extensive vocabulary; the first episode is titled (in true Tycho fashion) On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. It’s being developed by the company Hothead Games, which, although this is their first titles, boasts industry veterans with experience with property tie-ins. And, best of all, it’ll be coming out first for Windows, Linux, and OS X.
On a related note, I got a chance to ask Penny Arcade’s creators Jerry “Tycho” Holkins and Mike “Gabe” Krahulik about their experiences with the Mac; in the past, they’ve been—how shall we say?—hostile to the platform, though they’ve warmed up to it in recent months.
Jerry, who owns an Intel iMac, says that while he uses the computer for many of his daily tasks, he spends most of his time booted into Windows XP. He did, however, also mention that he likes the flexibility of having the option to boot into any OS he wants on his computer. Perhaps not the answer I had hoped and dreamed for, but I suppose I’ll take it.
Otherwise, the Mac platform was not really represented at the Penny Arcade Expo, other than the occasional MacBook-using lounger. This event’s attendees are primarily hardcore gamers, so it’s not terribly unexpected—I was standing next to one fellow who I overheard saying that he hated Macs and had loathed Steve Jobs since birth. I was reading my latest copy of Macworld at the time, and was particularly engrossed in one of the articles, so I restrained myself to an eye-roll.
The State of the MacUser
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 11:33 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | MacUser
Though the weekend saw us bid a fond adieu to our colleague Cyrus (we wish him the best of luck in his new position), I’m here to tell you that MacUser will continue to provide the same top notch, incisive blogging that you’ve come to expect from us. We will be bound to nothing but the highest of standards. Unless of course you have a dump truck full of money, in which case, let’s talk.
Derik and I have assumed the co-editor mantle (it’s a very nice mantle, too—fur-lined), which has in turn rendered us drunk with power. So we, along with Aaron and Scott, are going nowhere. Alongside our typical blog coverage, we’ll also be producing more episodes of the MacUser Podcast, and maybe a couple of other sneaky things as well. As always, if you have comments or suggestions for us here, you can reply in the comments, or shoot us an email at macuser at macuser dot com. We love to hear from our readers.
In short, MacUser is just getting started, so don’t go anywhere.
Universal Binary patch for Jedi Academy is here
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 7:48 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Games
Jedi Academy was one of my favorite games. Not only was the game play great, but it ran spectacularly even on my old MDD. I mentioned a while back that a patch had been developed. It finally completed its run through QA and was bestowed upon us.
Once installed, I just had to try it out. One level turned into two levels, which turned into three…. You can see where that led. I was up until 4 AM playing an old game. Now if only the patch for Knights of the Old Republic (yes, another Star Wars game) would arrive, I’d be all set. Truth be told, it ran so horribly on the old Power Mac that I never got beyond the first level.
Testing for the random MacBook shutdown
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 6:33 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Troubleshooting
Dan won’t be able to confirm this anymore because his MacBook is fixed, but the Apple Files claims to have a way to test for sudden MacBook shutdowns. It basically consists of revving your MacBook’s two cores into high gear to get them hot and the fan blowing, then waiting to see what happens.
It’s an interesting way to check for the problem, but it’s unlikely to convince anyone (least of all Apple). It might be good for those that haven’t had the issue and want to see if they can force it, but is it worth putting your machine through all that strain? Well, I guess if you expect it to show up later.
New Logitech mice make scrolling easier
Posted on Aug. 28, ’06, 5:49 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Hardware
When I read about Logitech’s latest mice with the fancy new scroll wheel, I could feel the credit cards in my pocket heating up. I use the scroll wheel constantly. In fact, it’s the reason I originally left Apple’s mouse behind. The extra buttons were a nice bonus, but it was that wheel.
Despite Apple’s best efforts, the Mighty Mouse just isn’t for me. Dave Shea really says it all. The nub is cute, but not great for repeated use. Logitech’s new innovation is that wheel will keep spinning even after you stop rubbing it. Think like a bicycle wheel that’s up in the air.
My Logitech MX1000 is pretty evenly matched with the new MX Revolution other than that, but I can’t help myself when it comes to input devices. Besides, the peer pressure is hard to resist.
Thoth is back… kinda
Posted on Aug. 27, ’06, 8:44 PM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software » Updates
Usenet isn’t very heavily used anymore. I actually use it quite a bit with Unison, but back in the day, we didn’t have Panic. Instead we used NewsWatcher or MT-Newswatcher. Some of us even used Thoth. It’s last update was November 23rd of 2003, a little while ago.
The PowerPC only 1.8.0 was released. Interested? Think you might want to try it out? Too bad. It’s for users that have already registered. You can’t register now either. Further because the developer couldn’t drum up enough interest (and money for the 1.8 upgrade) that he won’t be making 2.0.
Glad I went with Unison after all.
A teen’s look at teen hot spots
Posted on Aug. 27, ’06, 5:12 AM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Internet
A couple of days ago, Macworld published a list of “teen hot spots” on the web where teenagers like to go, without making their parents go crazy. Well, as the resident teen here at MacUser, I’d like to provide my opinion on the list of sites:
Addicting Games
While I’m not a major fan of online games, I do play them sometimes. My personal favorites: Bubble Trouble, Bowman 2, and Helicopter Game.
Del.icio.us
While I don’t know that many teens who use del.icio.us, I’m a big fan of it myself. It’s great for sharing bookmarks with friends, and you can also make bookmarks private, so only you can see them.
Facebook
Facebook is one of the biggest things in colleges right now, but it’s still only starting to build up a following in high schools. I just created a Facebook account, so I haven’t done much with it yet, though I do like the clean, polished look and feel. Facebook also recently added a blog feature, called Notes. The one thing I don’t like about Facebook, though, is you can’t customize its HTML, like I can with my blog. I don’t know that many teens with Facebook, as most use its more risqué, ad-ridden, and popular cousin, MySpace.
HowStuffWorks
This site is great for school projects, especially in Science. I even used this site to help do my science fair paper (which was on hurricanes! - see Macworld’s description of HowStuffWorks) Most of my classmates have used this site at least once for a school project, and I even use it sometimes if I’m just curious on how something works.
Pandora
Man, I love this site! Who needs iTunes when you’ve got Pandora! Pandora is an AJAX site which plays songs that it thinks you may like based on the songs and artists you put in one of your “stations.” After Pandora plays a song, you can rate it as either you liked it or not, which helps further refine Pandora’s recommendations. You can only listen to each song once, but if you bookmark it, Pandora provides a link to buy that song in Amazon and the iTMS. Pandora’s recommendations are based on the Music Genome Project, which finds “genes,” or qualities, in a song, and tries to find other songs that exhibit those genes. I only know one other teen who uses Pandora, my best friend, and he also really likes it. Oh, and did I mention that Pandora’s free?
Web Sudoku
This site is just pure fun. If I’m bored and want to do something that helps my brain. I print out a puzzle (I’m still only doing the easy ones) and go ahead and take a stab at it. You can also do the puzzles online, and even time yourself and track you pace.
Late to the party: VirtueDesktops
Posted on Aug. 26, ’06, 8:46 PM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software
A long time ago, I played with Codetek’s VirtualDesktop and DesktopManager. To be fair, it must emphasized that it was a long time and they may have matured since then. At the time though, they weren’t very smooth. They felt like a kludge, a hack.
When Apple announced Spaces, the chorus response seemed to always mention VirtueDesktops, a piece of freeware. Cyrus even wrote about it. I was skepticle, but I use virtual desktops constantly on HP’s CDE and wanted something similar for my Powerbook 12”. VirtueDesktops really rocks. It does everything I want, features Growl support and some terrific transitions between desktops (I like the slide).
While I can’t test it, the motion and light sensors in some Powerbooks and the MacBook line can also be used as triggers. What really put me over the edge on loving it though was the fact that when you use Witch at the same time, only the windows on the current desktop show up in the list. That is really cool.
VirtueDesktops may be very young, but it’s been stable, feels right, and looks beautiful, just like it belongs.
Parallels for free (just don’t use it on a Mac Pro)
Posted on Aug. 26, ’06, 1:29 PM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Windows
While reading my email today, I noticed that MacMall was offering Parallels Desktop for free with any Mac purchase. Sure, it’s only $80, but that’s still a chunk of change you could put towards RAM, a hard drive, or that copy of Windows you want to use with it.
There is one odd thing about the promotion. It includes the Mac Pro. Why is that odd? Well, it doesn’t work on it and will kernel panic it if you try. That might be a nasty little surprise for MacMall customers who assume it’ll work. I hope they include a warning because to date, even Parallels website doesn’t (unless you visit their forums). You’ll have to sit on that copy until it gets updated.
Goodbye, MacUser
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | MacUser
Well, guys, it’s time for me to pass the baton onto these other four capable men. That’s right, I bid you all adieu. I’m seeking greener pastures elsewhere — follow along with my adventures at cyrusfarivar.com. But don’t change the channel, these guys are going to be stepping up their blogging coverage in my absence, I’m sure. It’s been lots of fun since I was one of the early bloggers last December.
Fare well, friends, and keep on Mac’in.
How-To: Export an iWeb project file
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 10:45 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Tips
So with my pending departure from Macworld and MacUser, I bring you my final piece of wisdom.
One of my other projects besides this blog is the Virtual CD, which you can find teased on the cover of every issue. My good buddy Curt Poff is going to be taking it over in the short term, and we needed to figure out how to get my iWeb project over to his computer. The problem is that Apple doesn’t make it easy to export all of the files and modified templates.
But after some sleuthing, we figured out how.
Apple v. Apple “expert” goes to Hollywood
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 9:07 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Huh?
This news comes from the Stories Too Weird To Pass Up department. Remember Guy Goma? He was the Congolese gentleman who came in to interview for a job in the BBC’s IT department, only to find himself being questioned, on air, about the recent dispute between Apple and Apple Computer.
Well, the fellow in question, Guy Goma, is now headed to—of all places—Hollywood, where he’s reputedly been signed to a six figure movie deal, backed by producer Alison Rosenzweig, who produced the John Woo/Nicolas Cage film Windtalkers (ah, if that doesn’t say success, what does?).
Since his accidental appearance on the BBC, Goma’s achieved cult status in the UK, appearing in subsequent TV interviews. Just goes to show you, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can sometimes have its benefits, I guess. You can follow the story of this unlikely celebrity at The Wrong Guy.
Printing to shared Windows printers? No problem.
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 8:20 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Tips
I’m here in Seattle, preparing for a weekend of fun and frenzy at the Penny Arcade Expo, and I’m staying (along with three friends) at our buddy’s house. Upon arrival, all four of us (with our respective Mac laptops) set up on his network. But a couple of them needed to print things out, and the only printer was shared out from a Windows machine.
It’s not only possible to print to a Windows printer, it’s actually pretty easy (on a Mac? Surprise, I know). Not quite as easy as Apple says it should be (the printer I was trying to hook up to wasn’t displayed in the printer browser). Anyway, I thought I’d share the process for those who are interested, so hit the jump for the full skinny (the following instructions are for Tiger; Panther may be similar, but I don’t have a machine handy to test them).
More on the battery recall
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 7:59 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Hardware
Apple announced its battery recall yesterday, but it seems like they weren’t quite prepared. For one thing, there are three distinct sets of serial numbers (thanks for the tip Jeff).
Apple’s Battery Exchange Program - iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 form
- 12-inch iBook G4, battery model number A1061, and serial number ranges of ZZ338-ZZ427, 3K429-3K611, and 6C519-6C552 (the latter differs from the CPSC).
- 12-inch PowerBook G4, battery model number A1079, and serial number ranges of ZZ411-ZZ427 and 3K428-3K611.
- 15-inch PowerBook G4, battery model numbers A1078 and A1148, and serial number ranges of 3K425-3K601, 6N530-6N551, and 6N601.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Press Release
- 12-inch iBook G4, battery model number A1061, and serial number ranges of ZZ338-ZZ427, 3K429-3K611, and 6C510-6C626.
- 12-inch PowerBook G4, battery model number A1079, and serial number ranges of ZZ411-ZZ427 and 3K428-3K611.
- 15-inch PowerBook G4, battery model numbers A1078 and A1148, and serial number ranges of 3K425-3K601, 6N530-6N551, and 6N601.
Apple’s iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 Battery Exchange Program FAQ
- 12-inch iBook G4, battery model number A1061, and serial number range of HQ441-HQ507.
- 12-inch PowerBook G4, battery model number A1079, and serial number range of 3X446-3X510.
- 15-inch PowerBook G4, battery model number A1078, and a serial number range of 3X446-3X509.
To make matters worse, I’ve read more than a dozen reports that despite matching the serial number ranges on Apple’s website, the form rejects many people’s claims. They try to call but get disconnected. Luckily my battery doesn’t need to be replaced. Then again, a fresh battery wouldn’t be a bad deal.
Chocolate sticky mess
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 6:23 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | iPod
Scott may be interested in chocolate (I’m more partial to the natural chocolate), but it looks like it won’t live up to the hype (surprise!). Instead, usability problems plague it, to the point of being unusable. Considering some of the phones I’ve seen, it takes quite a bit to get ruled out as a usability nightmare. David Pogue says:
It’s a bad sign that two pages of the manual are dedicated to listing warnings about these touch buttons. “Remove moisture from the surface of your hands,” goes one. “Don’t use the touch buttons in a humid environment.” (OK, so what are we supposed to do when we’re in Miami? Use a pay phone?)
“If you touch [a button] off-center, it may activate the nearby function instead.”
And so on.
Listen up, LG dudes: I’m sorry, but if your primary control system requires seven warnings in your manual, maybe you should reconsider your system.
Add that the wheel looking control isn’t actually like the iPod scroll wheel and you have a recipe for frustration. Maybe next time it will actually be a blank blank (you can fill that in, I refuse to write it).
I know something you don’t know
Posted on Aug. 25, ’06, 5:32 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Security
It’s a daily soap opera and I’m sure you’re all very, very tired of hearing about it. I thought the Daring Fireball piece from two days ago would shut people up until Maynor and Ellch actually came forward and said something definitively (other than fantasize about inflicting bodily harm on people because of Apple advertising).
Instead, we get an outright personal attack on Gruber by George Ou (you might remember that I’ve already found his writing lacking in insight). He doesn’t go it alone, invoking “a very smart legal professional”. Scary. Then he drops his all-knowing bomb:
While I know for a fact that Gruber is wrong and doesn’t know what he is talking about since I’m sitting on sensitive information at this point, I’m amazed that you can take Gruber’s own analysis and take it apart and get eerily close to what the truth is.
Don’t tell us George. You’re obviously having too much fun attacking Gruber. I’m really glad you took the high road. I’ll save you inane quotes and instead point you at the Crazy Apple Rumors Site response and this quote:
At the end of the day, SecureWorks may be able to demonstrate a hack of Airport. I suspect there’s smoke coming out of that super-secret treefort right now and it’s not from the vigorous self-gratification to the Farah Fawcett poster. But until someone puts up or shuts up, a responsible journalist would not make ham-handed efforts to brow-beat others into silence with vague threats of lightning bolts from Mt. Olympus.
Getting your Gmail to do IMAP
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 12:39 PM PT by Aaron Freedman
Category | Internet
I love Apple’s Mail.app, which is why I’ve been using for over a year to access my Gmail account via POP. The one problem is, when I get my new high school laptop in two weeks, I’ll want to check me email on that to, but POP only works well with one computer. I need a way to keep my email in sync across multiple computers; I needed IMAP. IMAP is an email protocol which allows email to stay in sync across multiple readers, synchronizing read/unraed status, folders, etc.. POP, on the other hand, can only download mail, and does so only once for each message, making it very difficult to use with multiple email clients. Not only that, but POP also has no concept of read/unread, only downloaded/not downloaded. I had looked into IMAP for Gmail before, but to no avail. I signed the IMAP for Gmail petition, tried out Gmailproxy and gavamail, and even tried the new Perl script for Gmail and IMAP, but none of them worked for me. Finally, I decided to settle on a simpler, but just as effective solution. this required me to forward all of my incoming mail at Gmail to an IMAP email account, and then use Gmail’s SMTP servers to send mail. It was a little difficult, but here’s how I got it to work:
Another interview with His Wozness
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 11:30 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Apple » People
As we’ve mentioned on more than one occasion, Steve Wozniak’s new autobiography is coming out soon, appropriately known as iWoz.
Wired News has an interview with His Wozness about the book.
Wired News: You’re releasing your long-awaited autobiography this fall. Why are you doing it now?
Steve Wozniak: In the past I had offers to do autobiographies, even 10, 15 years ago, and I would take advances of money, big amounts of money — sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars — and then I would sit around and not have the time to dig out all the papers and some of the little mementos that would remind me of things so I could write it. I had too many other interesting things going on in life and I’d return the money.
Apple recalls Sony-made PowerBook, iBook batteries
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 11:29 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Business
Holy crap, Apple’s involved in this exploding battery thing that Dell’s been facing lately.
Apple and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Thursday announced a recall of 1.1 million battery packs made for Apple’s PowerBook and iBook battery packs. Information on the recall has been posted to the CPSC’s Web site. Users who have batteries affected by this recall are entitled to a replacement battery, free of charge. Instructions are supposed to be available on Apple’s Web site (the URL was not working as Macworld posted this article).
Apple follows Dell in recalling the laptop computer batteries, which were manufactured using battery cells made by Sony Energy Devices of Japan. “These lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers,” said the CPSC in a statement. Dell has recalled more than 4 million Sony-made battery packs.
Ding dong, the DJ Ditty is dead!
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 10:16 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar
Category | Apple » Rivals
That’s right, the DJ Ditty is gone forever. I’m really, really sad inside. Aren’t you?
When DJ Ditty was first announced last September, Dell had hoped that the player’s monochrome display and support of Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio format would give it a leg up on the iPod Shuffle.
Dell claimed that with the Windows media format, the player could hold nearly twice as many songs as a comparable iPod Shuffle.
Game over, fellas.
MacBook Saga hits a curve?
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 9:09 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Apple » Huh?
Another boring edition of Dan’s MacBook Saga. As you probably remember, I received my MacBook back from Apple last week, after a three week repair. The good news: as of yet, I’ve still not experienced a spontaneous shutdown. The less-than-good news: I think they put the computer back together slightly wrong.
The first thing I noticed was that the trackpad was somewhat wobbly. As in you could wobble it both left to right and front to back. I resolved to go in and check a MacBook in the store to see if it exhibited the same behavior, but I haven’t been able to do that yet. Then, just the other day, I was about to start up Front Row when I noticed that it appeared as though the keyboard keys on the top left and right of the case looked…curved. I thought it was a trick of the light, so I turned on my overhead lamp and checked again. Sure enough, they right and left sides of the keyboard are subtly higher than the middle, which is flat as it should be.
I confirmed it by taking a look from the front of the MacBook, which shows a distinctive wave pattern (you may have trouble seeing it from the picture above, but it’s there). Unfortunately, I’m off to Seattle for five days, so I won’t be able to deal with it until I get back. Here’s hoping it’s just a matter of taking it apart, realigning it, and putting it back together. Not sure I can be without my computer for another three weeks.
Apple and Dell join Justice League of Battery Standardization
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 8:07 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Hardware
Apple and Dell have both had bad experiences with batteries lately. Apple recalled a number of MacBook Pro batteries because they did “not meet [Apple’s] high standards for battery performance.” Dell, on the other hand, recalled over 4 million batteries for spectacular failures, i.e. exploding and/or catching on fire.
But that’s a mere stopgap solution, so Apple, Dell, and fellow computer manufacturers Lenovo and HP have teamed up to create a new standard for Li-ion batteries.
By July 2007, the group intends to have completed a Lithium-ion battery standard for laptops and handheld devices, including safety specifications that would prevent any further issues like the recent Sony and Dell troubles with overheating batteries.Well, hurrah. Not only that, but a standardized specification would hopefully make it a lot easier to find batteries for your laptop or handheld device; no more paying outrageous prices for a proprietary interface. Now, everybody’s batteries will explode or not explode together.
Even the Associated Press wants to price compare
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 7:59 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple
Sure, Dan Frakes may have done a couple comparisons, but he hasn’t cornered the market. It seems that even the Associated Press wants to reproduce the comparison from the keynote. Naturally, he gets the same results. What I found even more interesting is what Dell had to say.
Dell spokesman Marco Pena suggested that the numbers might be closer after configuring the Mac to include a three-year warranty similar to the Dell offering. “But I think we’re still going to end up a little higher than the Mac,” he said.
“The results were a bit surprising to me too,” he said. “But it is what it is.”
[via Macsimum News]
PC Magazine readers love Apple
Posted on Aug. 24, ’06, 6:36 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Apple
PC Magazine has compiled their 19th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey results. At the top of the list for both the desktop and laptop categories. Apple was ahead in every category with their desktops.
It looks even better when it comes to laptops, scoring 9.1 with the nearest competitor scoring 8.4. Sales are increasing and so is satisfaction. This is even despite recent MacBook and MacBook Pro issues. As Larry David might say, pretty, pretty, pretty good.