Apple the Magician: Mini disk becomes Big disk!

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 3:29 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Hardware

Ever tried sticking one of those crazy Mini CD/DVD disks into your Mac’s slot-loading drive? I know people who have and, uh, it ain’t no fun. Especially the whole getting-it-out part. (Or maybe that was the fun part). With the slot-loading drives, you’re limited to only using full sized disks — mini CDs get jammed, and the drive can’t read them. Which is kind of a bummer, really, because from time to time you will run into a mini disk you want to use, and the growing use of slot-loading drives is preventing companies from taking advantage of the tinier technology.

Apple may be a huge proponent of slot-loading drives, which eliminates their ability to use mini-media — but, of course, they want it both ways. Via MacRumors:

Apple points out that the use of reduced-size media when possible would reduce shipping, manufacturing, and packaging costs. However, such media cannot be played in slot-loading drives that are designed to only accept standard-sized 12 cm media.

So what are they gonna do about it? The filed a patent for a “Mini CD/DVD-Rom Adapter,” that will let users stick one of those tiny disks into a full-sized-CD-like adapter so it’ll work in slot-loading drives.

Obviously, Apple patents a lot of stuff, and very little of it actually makes it to production. But with Apple constantly pushing small — smaller iLife/iWork/OS X boxes, etc. — it doesn’t seem far-fetched for them to start pushing reduced-size disks for cheaper costs (and make a little extra selling the consumers the adapter in the process).

Check AppleInsider’s analysis and the raw patent data (#20070271577) for more info.

Gollum lovesss his iPod touch

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 10:49 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » People

Well, not so much Gollum as the man behind Gollum, British actor Andy Serkis. In an interview with the Guardian, Serkis describes his new iPod touch as his “favourite” piece of technology. He talks a bit about what he loves about it (“Because it’s widescreen, it’s perfect for filmmaking.”), and a few improvements that could be made (“At the moment – and maybe this is because I’ve only just started using it – I’m struggling to download QuickTime movies onto it.”).

But lest you think Andy’s some kind of Johnny-come-lately to the Apple scene, think again:

Mac or PC? Mac. I’m a Mac user. I think it depends on how you were brought up and I was introduced to Apple quite early. They’re certainly the best for visual stuff and film-directing.

Apple, this is a gold mine: why pay both John Hodgman and Justin Long to be Mac and PC when you could simply have a Gollum vs. Smeagol spot? Come on. “We lovesss the Mac; we hatesss the PC.” One iPod to rule them all, right? Right? This isn’t the worst idea ever, right? Right? Guys?

Anyway, hit up the interview above to find out what Andy thinks of the touch’s chances in the next decade, what piece of technology he’d most like, and whether or not robots rule the world.

TimeMachineScheduler frees you from time’s linear constraints

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 9:21 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Time Machine may be the biggest advancement in backups since sliced bread (you didn’t know you could back up your data in carbohydrates? It works great—just don’t toast them), but it has some shortcomings. For one thing, for a mechanism that purpots to allow you to control the very space/time continuum, you’re pretty limited in how often you can tell it to backup your files. If you go by the usual schedule, Time Machine backs up once per hour; you can force a backup, as we’ve pointed out, but only if you want to keep Time Machine in your Dock.

If, however, you simply seek a longer interval between backups, Stefan Klieme’s got you covered with his TimeMachineScheduler. Using TMS, as I’ll call it, you can set an interval between 1 and 12 hours, and set it to run at startup and/or login. It works by installing its own launchd daemon and disabling Time Machine’s built in scheduler, but you can always uninstall it if it’s a problem. And it provides a handy button for backing up immediately, too. You don’t have to run the app constantly, either; just launch it when you want to make an adjustment.

This might actually be handy for me; since I’m running off a MacBook, primarily, I don’t spend most of my time plugged into my backup drive, so there’s no point in it trying to backup every hour anyway.

[via Infinite Loop]

Leopard’s no Palm reader/writer

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 8:01 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

Synchronization is one of the great double-edged weapons in technology. When it works like it’s supposed to, it’s a godsend. But more often than not, getting synchronization to that point is like casting some sort of arcane mystical spell: expecto synchronicitum!

In Leopard, many users appear to be having issues getting their Palm OS devices to sync using iSync. Reader Kevin pointed us to one Apple discussion thread about the issues, but there are a number of other similar threads in the iSync forum.

The problem may be related to the fact that both Address Book and iCal had changes to their formats implemented in 10.5; Palm is supposedly working on a new version of Hot Sync, which may help fix the problem, but it’s unknown if the problem resides in that or in the iSync conduit.

I haven’t tried to sync a Palm device with OS X since I gave up using my old Handspring Visor Pro (whew, that was a while ago). Any of you other readers experiencing problems with syncing Palm OS devices via iSync? Sound off below.

Keeping up to date with WoW add-ons

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 7:12 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Games

Right now, my second passion is World of Warcraft. I justify it by telling myself that I’m really just supporting them for their simultaneous Mac and PC game releases. If only more companies were like them. I digress. As I’ve gotten into the latter stages of the game, I’ve become reliant upon add-ons. They help you play the game better with different interfaces and other assisting services.

Keeping on top of these, particularly around the time of a new patch release is hard. The APIs supplied change and a handy dandy software update isn’t provided. One patch repository centered around a special repackaging of Blizzard’s API is Ace. They’ve always supplied a Windows auto-updater, but not a Mac one. Then, one brave individual developed one. Unfortunately, it was never updated for Leopard and crashes upon updating add-ons. Then someone created another one. It doesn’t crash! Huzzah.

For all you WoW fanatics, this is now the way to install and maintain add-ons.

PC Magazine returns to its roots with inane Leopard bashing

Posted on Nov. 30, ’07, 5:44 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » Huh?

With John Dvorak finally throwing in the towel on Mac bashing and Jim Louderback moving on from PC Magazine, there’s a void. It’s been a few months now, enough for that void to turn into a full-on blackhole, sucking in and destroying all reason, leaving nothing but vapid criticism. Oliver Rist has filled that void, filling the hearts of PC Mag diehards.

I’m not sure what ticks me off more about Leoptard (I can’t take credit for that nickname—some Brit coined it): the fact that so many of the semi-important changes don’t work, the fact that Apple turned a stable OS into a crash-happy glitz fest, or that the annoying, scruffy Live Free or Die Hard actor infecting my TV (and our Web site, by the way) is pretending that Leopard is better than Vista.

Everyone can see where this is going. Before I knock down a few of his “points”, take a moment to read the quoted section. It’s one sentence. Think about that, and then let’s continue.

Masochism: Run Internet Explorer for Windows on your Mac

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 3:27 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Software

There’s this weird obsession with running Windows apps on Macs. Virtualization, dual-booting, API-simulating, etc., etc., etc. Sure, some people need to run Windows apps and there are some apps for Windows that you just can’t find for the Mac…but c’mon. It’s just creepy. And, frankly, a little gross.

But hey, whatever floats your boat. Who am I to judge, right? And while this latest run-a-Windows-app-on-your-Mac thing gives me the shivers, I can understand how it may be useful for some — especially web-devs looking for an easy way to test their sites on a variety of browsers.

ies4osx is a project that lets your run various versions of Internet Explorer for Windows (from 5.0 to 7.0 BETA) on your Mac, using X11 and the Darwine back-bone. Download Darwine, drag it to your Applications folder, then run ies4osx. Select which browsers you want installed and blammo…IE on your Mac.

Creepy. Yucky. And spooky. But it works.

[via LifeHacker]

Reminder: Office for Mac 2008 is still coming

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 2:25 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Software

Almost every major OS X app is now Universal — meaning it can run natively on Intel Macs, without the use of Apple’s Rosetta software. (Isn’t it funny how it’s been so long since Apple adopted Intel processors that I feel I have to explain what a Universal app is?)

Almost every app: Microsoft Office ‘04 is still very much Rosetta-y, built specifically for PowerPC-based Macs. That means it’s slow, slow, slow, unless you’ve got a crap-load of RAM. And, c’mon — Office 2004? It’s 2007, man, get with it. Windows has Office 2007 with that contentious ribbon thing, and we’re stuck in past.

Well, not for long. The folks at the Mac BU have been slowly disseminating info on Office for Mac ‘08 with their once-baren sneak-preview site, hoping to constantly remind us that yes, there is a new version coming, and yes, it will be worth the wait.

Some new details to come from the site, for PowerPoint:

• iPhoto Library integration: Their new Object Palette will let you add photos directly from your iPhoto Library to PowerPoint, similar to the Media Browser in many Apple apps.
• Export to iPhoto: Export your slides directly to iPhoto — each slide will be an individual photo. You’ll also be able to export them to your Mac’s Pictures folder.
• iPhone/iPod sync: Export PowerPoint presentations to video-capable iPods, then use them to do your presentation (similar to Keynote iPod/iPhone exporting).

There’s also been some info on the new Word. From Infinite Loop:

The Word feature on display this week is the Notebook layout, which has received a number of additions in Office 2008. The background and look of the notebook page can be customized and tabs can be color-coded. Word will also let you sync audio notes to a Word notebook page, which should be handy for taped meetings with transcripts. Finally, flags can be added to notes for easy access later, and the flags can also be turned into Entourage to-dos.

Yummy. Check out the Office preview site for more details (preview videos, photo galleries, etc.) on the rest of the Office apps. And circle January 15th, 2008, on your calendar: Office ‘08’s release date.

[via Infinite Loop and MacDailyNews]

UK Apple Stores get one-day discounts tomorrow

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 9:32 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Stores

We in the US had our chance at the not-particularly-substantial discounts from Apple last week on the horrific Black Friday, but what of Apple fans overseas? Well, at least one country will get their own shot at some cheaper Apple gear. Tomorrow, the UK is getting a one-day sale on the Apple Store online and in Apple Retail Stores.

Come back to the Apple Online Store this Friday for a special one-day-only holiday shopping event. You’ll find dozens of great iPod, iPhone, and Mac gift ideas.

Mark your calendars now. And until then, start your research by visiting our Holiday Gift Guide to find iPod, iPhone, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

What can you expect? Well, if the US sale was any indication, you’ll probably save the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars off some Macs, and a handful off iPods. Sounds as though the iPhone and iPod touch, however, will not be encheapened. Alas.

And, hey, if you missed the US sale, you’ve still got time to fly the UK and partake in their shopping frenzy.

[via Shiny Shiny]

QuickTime: the holey of holies

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 8:45 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Security

And in the category of Most Vulnerable Apple Software Package, the winner is…QuickTime. It was a mere two days ago that a hole in QuickTime’s RTSP headers was announced, and now we have more detail on the problem. It is now confirmed, however, that the vulnerability seems to affect both Windows and OS X (that’s Tiger and Leopard, PowerPC and Intel). Oh, joy.

The exploit is laid out in staggering detail in a two-part blog post on Subreption, along with a list of factors that could help mitigate this vulnerability were they deployed in OS X. The upshot, though, is that a maliciously-crafted QuickTime movie could execute arbitrary code, due to a stack-based buffer overflow. That’s computerspeak for “whoopsie.”

Seems likely Apple is working on a patch, so don’t be surprised if a Security Update appears in your Software Update window sometime in the next few days.

[via The Register]

MacBook Wi-Fi issues are on and off

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 8:06 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

Most of the time my MacBook is pretty well-behaved; I like to think that’s because I’ve enforced a careful system of reward. If it performs as expected, it gets more RAM, software upgrades, and I’ll even clean off the hard drive off once in a while. If not, well, it gets sent to its room without dessert.

But this Wi-Fi flakiness that’s being reported has been troubling me for some time. Like many of the other sufferers I’ve been experiencing it since around 10.4.10 (see: I told you no good could come from those two digit upgrades). Even when connected to a perfectly stable access point that I can see clearly, the signal will fluctuate wildly. But until reading the second thread above, I didn’t notice that it seems largely tied to whether the MacBook is running off AC power or battery power. Interesting. I have no idea what it means, but, hey, one step closer to solving it, right?

I’ve heard tell of others with the same problem. How about you, readers? Any of you having trouble with your MacBook’s Wi-Fi signals?

[via Infinite Loop]

More Lights-Out excitement ready for download

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 7:10 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software » Updates

I’m starting to get really interested in an Xserve. It’s not because I need a server (I don’t), or because of the possibility of virtualizing Mac OS X (which i have no reason to do). It’s all about the Xserve Lights-Out Firmware Update 1.1. The name by itself gives me countless minutes of amusement. Lights-Out? So many puns, so little time. The latest in this distinguished line of updates actually describes what it fixes.

It addresses the intermittent issue that causes the LOM port to be unresponsive. This update is strongly recommended for all Intel-based Xserve systems.

Does that mean I can’t write a haiku? No, you are not saved.

Lights-Out ignores LOM
Management needs this to work
Hooray for Apple

Intel shows continued Apple love with updated tools

Posted on Nov. 29, ’07, 5:40 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

For a while, you could count me among those that thought Intel was on the wrong track. They were all about the Gigahertz without addressing real concerns like real performance or energy consumption. Steve was on to something when he moved Macs over to the new platform and it wasn’t just for virtualization adding sales. Intel believes in and wants to promote its platform.

As a part of its strategy, they release development tools that aid software engineers in the task of producing quality, high performance software for that platform. Yesterday, they released a Leopard compatible update for those tools. That’s continued commitment that really shows me that Intel is proud to have Apple as a customer and wants to preserve that relationship.

So boogie on down to Intel’s product page if you write C++ or (gasp) Fortran code.

iDisk sync file is insanely ginormous

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 2:58 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Troubleshooting

Do us a favor: If you use .Mac iDisk syncing, go to your ~/Library/FileSync folder. In the numbery sub-folder, check the size of that “Sparse Disk Image Bundle” file. Is it…insanely ginormous? Because mine is. So is Dan #1’s and Derik’s. And it’s made us a little curious.

My iDisk itself is about 330MB. That image file? 59.03GB. I’m pretty lousy at math, but that number seems quite a bit larger. And we’re not the only people with this problem.

Turns out the image file isn’t really an image file per se, but rather a package (Ctrl-Click > Show Package Contents) with lots (thousands) of smaller files inside. But why’s it so large? We don’t know. The words “screwy,” “buggy,” and “messed up” come to mind.

So what’s the magic fix? That’s a lot of space to be gobbling up on your drive. Here’s what Apple says you need to do, in a Knowledge Base article on their support site:

If the amount of space being used by iDisk Syncing is much larger than expected, or if the amount of reported free space on your iDisk is inaccurate, you may need to disable iDisk Syncing.

Helpful, no? “If it hurts when you lift your arm…don’t lift your arm! Hahahaha!” One possible, simple workaround solution was offered in the Ars Technica thread, and seemed to sorta work for me (file went from 59GB to just a few gigabytes): just turn off syncing and turn it back on. But there’s no guarantee it’s a long-term fix — it may grow as time goes on, with each sync.

Apple does offer a glimmer of hope on the KB page:

This document will be updated as more information becomes available.

See? No worries. They got our backs. Tell us, dear readers: Do you have the same problem with iDisk syncing? Did the workaround work for you? Comments below. And check out the Ars Technica thread, Apple’s discussion thread, and their Knowledge Base article for more info.

XtremeMac takes your iPod to Verona

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 12:45 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | iPod » iPod Accessories

You know it’s a slow news day when I’m writing about the introduction of iPod cases. That’s like CNN reporting on missing dogs. Or a celebrity’s latest demonstration of poor parenting. It’s just so frequent and common it could hardly be described as “news”…more like “expecteds.”

Desperation onward: XtremeMac today kindly informed me of their new line of Verona cases for the iPod touch, classic, and the new nano. From their graphically-crafted email:

These hand-crated genuine leather cases effortlessly belnd fashion and function to create a stylish, protective case. With more than twenty cases to choose from, you are sure to find one that matches your style!

Cool! I’m sure to find one that matches my style! I bet you’ll find one too! And we can all be stylish with our new leather iPod cases! Woo! Exclamation point!

Joking aside, check out their website for the full details on the admittedly sweet-looking and reasonably-priced (unless you like pointlessly-expensive leather cases) Verona cases, including the Verona Flip, Verona Holster, and Verona Sleeve — with prices ranging from $25 to $30.

They’re only available for pre-order at the moment, and I can’t find an actual ship date. So…yeah. Trust ‘em, patience is a virtue and whatnot.

Google Gadgets getting Macified

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 11:31 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

As if you didn’t have enough widgets floating around in your Dashboard, you’re about to get a potential influx of thousands more. Google announced that they’d be making their Gadgets available to Mac users starting tomorrow. Gadgets are basically equivalent to widgets (I’m just going to start calling them “*dgets”—pronounced “star-jets” if you must know).

From what Google is saying, it sounds as though the Gadgets can be run on Dashboard right next to Apple’s own widgets, thanks to a new API: so in case you want a Google Gadget and a Dashboard Widget counting down to the new Star Trek movie, well, you can make it so.

I guess that’s good news, but it just sounds like a whole lot more clutter to me.

Apple looking to a green Christmas

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 9:30 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Stores

The holiday shopping season is well under way by this point, seeing as it’s almost a whole week after Thanksgiving (what, you’re not done yet?). Holiday quarters are traditionally pretty profitable for Apple and the rest of the consumer electronics section of the market, and this year doesn’t look like it’ll be any different.

Over at Wired’s Cult of Mac blog, Leander Kahney lists a rote of reasons that Apple’s looking to have a a very merry Chrismukkah indeed.

Apple can sell boatloads of goods without holding sales. In fact, Apple discounts its goods only one day a year: Black Friday. The policy makes Apple one of only a few manufacturers on the planet that doesn’t routinely roll out price-slashing deals. Other goods that are never discounted include high-end Denon audio gear, certain pricey TVs from Sony, and Hewlett-Packard ink cartridges. These products tend to be high-end, in-demand items — like hot videogame consoles — or are sold by companies that own their own stores, like Apple, Bose and Coach.

Personally, I don’t have anything Apple-related on my list, unless I decide to treat myself. My cousin’s five year old daughter recently informed him that she wanted a computer, a cell phone, and an iPod for Christmas. When asked why she wanted an iPod, she fixed him with one of those disparaging looks only a five year-old child can summon and pointed out, as though it were the most logical conclusion in the world, “Well, I’m going to have to start jogging.”

What about it readers? Are Apple goods tops on your holiday shopping list? Giving? Receiving? Giving to yourself?

Apple investigating hard drive issues

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 8:49 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

There’s been some buzz on the Interwebs about problems with certain batches of hard drives in MacBooks failing. Failing badly. Affected drives, which appear to be Seagate brand with a firmware version of 7.1 7.01, have mechanical failures in their read/write heads, causing them to gouge the hard drive platters, likely irreparably.

Says Apple:

“[We have] received a few reports that some MacBook consumer notebooks may have hard drive issues, and we’re looking into it.”

Trying to figure out if you’re at risk? You can find out about your hard drive in the System Profiler application, which resides in the Applications/Utilities folder. If you click on the Serial-ATA section under hardware, you should see information on your internal drive. Of course, I’m not sure exactly what you should do if you find out you have a potentially affected drive that hasn’t yet gone bad. Except back up now and regularly (which you should be doing anyway, of course).

Hey, I’ve got a Toshiba. Phew.

What a difference six years makes

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 8:02 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Stores

Thanks to the Internet, we can now afford to keep records of each and every careless or incorrect statement ever made by anyone anywhere. Truly one of the great technological innovations of our time, it’s also a double-edged sword, to be sure (your late 1990’s enthusiasm about The Backstreet Boys, for example, will be preserved for all time).

But, if nothing else, it certainly provides an interesting perspective on what people were thinking at the time. Currently making the rounds is a BusinessWeek article from May 2001 about the imminent launch of Apple’s retail stores. As you’ll see, things didn’t turn out exactly the way this one writer predicted.

The way Jobs sees it, the stores look to be a sure thing. But even if they attain a measure of success, few outsiders think new stores, no matter how well-conceived, will get Apple back on the hot-growth path. Jobs’s focus on selling just a few consumer Macs has helped boost profits, but it is keeping Apple from exploring potential new markets. And his perfectionist attention to aesthetics has resulted in beautiful but pricey products with limited appeal outside the faithful: Apple’s market share is a measly 2.8%. “Apple’s problem is it still believes the way to grow is serving caviar in a world that seems pretty content with cheese and crackers,” gripes former Chief Financial Officer Joseph Graziano.

That may have been the case six years ago, but today it’s an approach that’s working like gangbusters. Turns out while many people may be satisfied with their cheese and crackers, they turn out to prefer caviar when they actually try it.

I’d argue that the retail stores have been a major part of Apple’s renaissance; Steve Jobs is a control freak with good reason; unlike many other CEOs, he’s passionate about the products he sells, and conveying that passion to end users is what has made Apple such a force to be reckoned with.

Java 6 for Leopard

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 7:01 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Geekery

When Leopard was released sans Java 6, Java developers were perturbed because it speaks to the viability of applications on the Mac platform using the language. Landon Fuller, whom you may remember as our caped defender during the MoAB, is working on a Mac port of the BSD port of Java 6, whose source is released under the Java Research License.

I’m pleased to announce the first Developer Preview Release of the open-source port of Java 6 to Mac OS X. This release includes support for 32-bit and 64-bit Intel machines running Mac OS X Leopard (10.5).

As Fuller’s work continues and matures, his changes will be rolled back into the BSD port. That will then be rolled into the OpenJDK project. While I think a few people will continue to be frustrated by Apple waving off Sun from working on OS X’s Java, it’s good to see a familiar, friendly face working to fix the problem and helping to ensure long term Mac OS X support.

[via Slashdot]

Malcor is just a publicity stunt

Posted on Nov. 28, ’07, 5:53 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

You may have heard about the Mac fanboi hater, Malcor. The lore behind the site was that he was a hacker sick of Mac fanboi websites and that he would be hacking and defacing them. He had two under his belt. People began to wonder what site was next.

It turned out to be two sites. Oh noes! Apple Matters and iPhone Matters looked hacked. Here’s the thing. They’re hosted by a company called EllisLab, with a service called EngineHosting using ExpressionEngine. Like many companies, they rely on their reputation for continued business. In fact, as a hosting service, they also count on their reputation for security. As such, they didn’t appreciate the hoax. Let’s dive into what really happened.

I want candy!

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 1:10 PM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

Irritated with Leopard’s initial icons? Disappointed with the default Dock? Then you, my friend, are a prime candidate for Panic’s delicious CandyBar 3 (now with 120% more purple-filling goodness). The icon-swapping application has finally been updated for Leopard, but the Panic team hasn’t been resting on their laurels: the new version is chockfull of all kinds of nifty improvements.

We’ve got a brand new interface, integration with Quick Look, support for 512x512 icons, a Quick Drop feature that makes swapping out icons even easier, smart collections, and so on. They’ve even integrated system-icon-management program Pixadex making Candy Bar a one-stop shop for icon fun. Having only played around with it for a few minutes, I have to say it looks pretty sharp, and even I can figure out how to switch my icons. So that’s a testament to something, right?

Personally, when it comes to system icons, I’m kind of a stick-with-the-basics guy myself, for most things. Sure, my startup volume has to have an icon; I mean, I don’t want to be bland, but for most everything else I stick with the defaults because I’m lazy, and don’t spend a lot of time looking at icons (despite the sweet ones on display over at The Iconfactory). But for those of you concerned primarily with aesthetics—and I know you’re out there—CandyBar 3 is certainly the easiest and classiest way to handle all your icon needs.

Fast Company says that Apple’s rise is unsustainable

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 12:00 PM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Apple

So Adam Penenberg over at Fast Company says that Apple needs to open up or shut up.

But in an age of convergence and simplification, customers are ever more insistent that computers, phones, TV, and music systems work together. For them, being “open” isn’t about sharing patent information or computer code but about compatibility and seamlessness, from the phones in their pockets to the movies playing on their flat screens. Now that the race for an end-to-end system has begun in earnest (significantly, it doesn’t look all that different from the race to own the desktop years ago), Apple needs either to win that race outright, or to get comfortable with being simply part of the solution. Winning outright is a very tall order, of course. It means coming up with a self-contained system so beautifully functional that a critical mass of consumers are willing to enter that world and never leave. But the viability of AppleTV is an open question, and the iPhone may never be the $10 billion market Jobs anticipates.

Ok, while Penenberg may have a point that everyone would like it if Apple would open up its ecosystem, the fact of the matter is that it ain’t gonna happen. Period.

The one time Apple did open itself up back in the day — during the age of Mac clones — the company nearly went bust, and the clone licensing was withdrawn.

The fact of the matter is that Apple is a hardware company and since its founding, always has been. That’s how the company makes money. Yes, everyone would love to run Mac OS X on generic PC hardware, but Apple’s never going to allow that. Just like Apple’s never going to let people play their music bought on iTunes on any other device. The idea is to sucker you in with some beautiful interface (OS X, iTunes, iPhone) and make their killing on the hardware at a premium. That’s their business model, and frankly, it works pretty freakin’ well.

And you know what? I’m happy to be a sucker.

Universal Music really doesn’t know anything. (Seriously.)

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 10:43 AM PT by Cyrus Farivar

Category | Music

New York magazine has a startlingly funny (and scary) blog post about Wired’s recent interview with “Universal Music Group CEO/supervillain Doug Morris.”

I haven’t read the full interview yet, but this part definitely has me interested:

In a way, he almost comes off as cute, like if your grandfather were accidentally hired to run Google (at one point, Morris hilariously compares his embattled industry to a character in “Li’l Abner,” a comic strip that stopped running in 1977).

Now, Universal, as you may recall, is attempting to take on iTunes via its “Total Music.”

If there was ever a reason to believe that this venture will almost certainly fail, Morris explains why the music industry has been so slow to react to legal digital distribution.

“There’s no one in the record industry that’s a technologist,” Morris explains. “That’s a misconception writers make all the time, that the record industry missed this. They didn’t. They just didn’t know what to do. It’s like if you were suddenly asked to operate on your dog to remove his kidney. What would you do?”

Personally, I would hire a vet. But to Morris, even that wasn’t an option. “We didn’t know who to hire,” he says, becoming more agitated. “I wouldn’t be able to recognize a good technology person — anyone with a good bullshit story would have gotten past me.”

Um, what?

SyncMate lets it all sync in

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 9:41 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

If you’re still stuck using your Windows Mobile phone or—god forbid, you actually like it—you’re probably using Mark/Space’s venerable Missing Sync to keep your handset and your Mac on speaking terms. But if that’s just not doing it for you, there’s a new app that’s looking to cash in on Windows Mobile syncing—just without the cash part.

SyncMate, from Eltima Software, is still in beta, but it’s intended to be a free program for talking to your Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device, allowing you to synchronize your contacts, calendars, bookmarks, and notes with your Mac’s. In addition, you’ll be able to install applications, get info about your phone, manage your SMS, and there’s even a built-in converter for compressing videos to watch on your device.

The beta’s available for download now. The post above says the program is freeware, but I’m not 100% certain that’s referring to the final shipping version; I’d hope so. However, I don’t have a Windows Mobile phone, so I have no clue how well it works; that I leave to you folks.

[via Lifehacker]

Holiday software deals are coming to town

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 9:04 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Software

As the holiday season approaches, we rejoice in our family, friends, and, of course, Mac software discounts. Yes, ‘tis the season for selling things for prices so low, they make used car salesmen look sane (except for that one guy who, in his commercial, smashed a window with a crowbar and then set the hood of a car on fire—I would buy a car from that guy any, or perhaps every day of the week). Anyway, on to the deals!

A bunch of European software developers have banded together to form a kitchen-themed bundle entitled Give Good Food to Your Mac (sorry, there’s no actual food involved). The way it works is this: pick however many apps you want to buy; the more you pick, the bigger your discount. Three programs will net you a 30% discount; 4 will bump it to 40%; 7 will get you 50%; and if you can find 10 apps that you want, you’ll grab a crazylicious 70% off. The selection includes the likes of Tables, Pixelmator, CSSEdit, and more. Of course, what fun would a bundle be without an arbitrary time limit imposed on it: if you want to take advantage of the deal, you’ll need to do so before the 8th of December.

If it’s straight up deals you’re looking for, with none of this bundle nonsense, then you might also be interested in MacSanta. While this year’s setup isn’t up and running yet, man-behind-the-scenes (and Friend of the Blog) Paul Kafasis—we hear he’s even dreamier in person—is looking for software developers who are interested in participating. The promo will run from December 1st to 24th and feature different software deals everyday, for as many as ten companies (smaller discounts will also continue until the end of the month). We hear MacSanta is a jolly, user-friendly fellow too. As long as you don’t make him angry; you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

Fortune: Steve Jobs has the power!

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 8:20 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Steve Jobs

I’m starting to wonder if there’s a list that Steve Jobs isn’t on—aside from my list of celebrity crushes…oh, who I’m kidding? He’s number three. But Fortune’s even sweeter on the Apple CEO; they’ve put him at the top of their Power 25, the 25 most influential people in the world (of business). What do they say about our fearless leader?

That’s five industries that Jobs has upended - computers, Hollywood, music, retailing, and wireless phones. At this moment, no one has more influence over a broader swath of business than Jobs.

Damn skippy. Jobs beats out crypt keeper Rupert Murdoch at number two, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein in the three spot (seriously: would anybody ever read a blog called “Fake Lloyd Blankfein”?). The Google boys (Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, and Sergei Brin) ring in at four and Bill Gates, his influence apparently dwindled since his retirement from Microsoft, is down to number seven.

Frankly, I was surprised to see Cisco CEO John “Johnny boy” Chambers make the list at #11, but I’ll attribute it to the iPhone halo effect. And Jobs’s Mouse House ally Bob Iger just barely sneaks on at 24, thanks in no small part to a little rat and his friends.

The secret to Jobs’s success? We’ll let the man say it in his own words:

“We don’t think in terms of power,” says Jobs. “We think about creating new innovative products that will surprise and delight our customers. Happy and loyal customers are what give Apple its ‘power.’ At the heart of it, though, we simply try to make great products that we want for ourselves, and hope that customers will love them as much as we do. And I think after all these years we’ve gotten pretty decent at it.”

Can I get an “amen”?

The ultimate do it yourself gift

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 7:34 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | iPod

It’s that time of year that you need to buy things for other people they’ll be indifferent about so that they’ll in turn buy things for you that you’ll be indifferent about. Change the paradigm. Revolutionize the season. Make a great gift that anybody could love.

Make an MP3 playing pillow that, get this, looks like an iPod. You touch the surface of the pillow and it actually responds. How cool is that? It takes a little determination and willingness to fiddle with electronics in completely unsupported ways, but the result is completely worth it. I’m thinking about doing one myself, if I can motivate myself enough.

See inside Zip files and EPS files

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 6:25 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Yesterday, I sang the praises of the folder Quick Look plugin. Today, I return with praise for a Zip file Quick Look plugin. And before you all start mocking me in the comments, it’s by the same guy I linked yesterday. He’s fast becoming one of my favorite developers, even if I can’t understand his web pages. I wasn’t very enthralled by the idea of Quick Look until he helped show how useful and extensible it really is.

On a related note, Eternal Storms Software has whipped up an EPS Quick Look plugin. I’ll be honest that I have no EPS files to test or use this with, but for those of you that do, I bet it will be a godsend.

More Quick Look plugins! I command it!

Quicktime has a security flaw… again

Posted on Nov. 27, ’07, 5:15 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Security

Before you get concerned, the buffer overflow exploitation is currently only confirmed on Windows. A malformed Content-type header in RTSP media could trigger a buffer overflow that could lead to arbitrary code execution. To make matters worse, Apple doesn’t take advantage of the ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) so exploiting this is even worse.

It’s currently unknown if the problem is also present in the Mac version of Quicktime, or if it is, it’s exploitable. Even if it’s not, I’m just not happy with Apple about this. Quicktime has become the recurring joke of Apple’s security record. As a media playing framework, it should be safe to be installed and used.

It’s time to shape up. It’s just embarrassing.

“X Pack” game collection released by Pangea

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 5:34 PM PT by Aaron Freedman

Category | Games

Sure, Macs and games usually don’t go together, and that may be the case with high-end titles like Halo and Gears of War. But Pangea Software has been releasing fun, 3D Mac games for a while now. You have remembered playing some old classics like Otto Matic and Nanosaur on older Macs many years ago, but Pangea is still making some really hot games. So, to celebrate their 20th anniversary, the company is releasing a collection of every single one of their OS X games, dubbed “The X Pack.”

The X Pack, which includes $214 worth of games (including titles such as Enigmo 2, Bugdom 2, and Pangea Arcade), is available for download from Pangea’s website for only $79.95. All of the games run fine on Intel Macs, and only three older titles aren’t Universal Binary.

Overall, this seems like a great deal to me. I already own a few Pangea games, so I can assure you that they’re worth the price. And, with the package only available through December, I’d take this opportunity while I’ve still got it.

10.4.11 could be killing Boot Camp

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 2:45 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Troubleshooting

I don’t use Boot Camp (the name frightens me), so I wouldn’t know: but the chaps at Macworld UK are reporting a possible issue with the relatively-new 10.4.11 update, which seems to be corrupting some users’ Boot Camp installs of Windows, and taking OS X down in the process. From across the pond:

The problem appears to affect older Macs set-up with a Boot Camp partition for running Windows. When running Software Update on some Macs,reports indicate users encounter an error message telling them: “Software Update has encountered an unexpected issue, you must restart.”

When restarting, users find their Mac partition hangs on the blue screen and they are unable to restart their Macs from either the OS X partition, or the Windows partition. Sources claim that Apple support staff suggest the only solution is to erase the entire drive and all data in order to resolve the problem.

The UK lads point to an Apple discussion thread that dives into the issue, but say they don’t know the extent of the trouble, or its consistency.

Normally I wouldn’t warn about anything that could destroy a Windows partition — for obvious reasons — but when it’s so bad you have to “erase the entire drive and all data”…well, I think that deserves a heads-up.

Anyone out there experience this? Anyone on an older Mac who hasn’t done so already now afraid to upgrade to 10.4.11? Comment it up, people.

Fortune interviews Joswiak on everything but his name

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 2:16 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Business

Greg Joswiak is Apple’s iPod and iPhone marketing guy (and probably some mutant spawn of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak), and has been an undeniable contributor to Apple’s current product success — on both the Mac and iPod fronts. And Fortune recently had an opportunity to speak with the coincidentally-named Apple exec to pick his brain about the many Questions of Life, like: how is selling Macs different from selling iPods and iPhones?; how do you feel about the future of the tech industry?; whatchya gonna do with that iPhone SDK?; how does the Asian market look?; and seriously, dude, what’s up with that wicked name?

OK, they didn’t ask that last one. But they did get in a lot of good questions, and, surprisingly for a marketing guy, Joswiak gave some pretty interesting answers. Example: he discussed the “speeds and feeds” vs. “feels and sounds” marketing approach with iPods; Apple’s growing Asian and European presence; and Apple’s plenty-of-room-to-grow iPod market share around the world.

(Not surprisingly, he also dodged some questions, like the ‘is Apple losing focus on the music with the iPod touch and iPhone?’ thing that I tend wonder about too.)

All in all, great interview that I couldn’t in any way reproduce here without losing something in the process (like Joswiak’s obvious hidden-agenda to push focus to the iPhone SDK as much as he can). Check out the full interview for all the marketing munchies.*

(*Yeah, I know: doesn’t make sense. I can only do so much with alliteration.)

Duh, man: Apple Stores have “gravitational pull”

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 1:15 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Apple » Stores

I want a job at Piper Jaffray: All I’d have to do is sit around for hours watching people buy stuff, then draw some relatively un-shocking conclusions — while raking in what I assume is a…shall we say, decent salary.

Case in point: Munster & Team’s latest report to stockholders. Via AppleInsider:

Analysts for investment bank Piper Jaffray spent six hours this past weekend monitoring traffic at mall-based Apple retail stores and found that the shops exerted a gravitational pull on shoppers who came within 25 feet of the entranceways.

See, everyone thought I was crazy when I said I could feel an Apple Store a mile away. And my friends groan when I insist we go in every time we’re at the mall, but clearly it’s just a futile attempt to cover their inability to resist the glowy-logo goodness. It’s fairly obvious that if Steve Jobs has the power to manipulate minds with his Reality Distortion Field, clearly he has the ability to install artificial-gravity devices in his stores.

Munster goes on to describe why this lil’ “you don’t say?” observation is important to the shareholders (as opposed to scientists, who I’m sure are curious as well):

“The important point is this gravitational pull highlights that consumers’ future buying intentions could be shifting to Apple from PCs,” he explained. “If materialized, this shift should benefit Apple in 2008 and 2009.”

According to AppleInsider, the Jaffrays “observed the stores selling an average 5.3 Macs and 1 iPhone each hour, compared to 4.3 Macs and 1.3 iPhones during a similar round of checks back in August.” (Seriously, one day I’m going into an Apple Store and asking for .3 Macs.)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d headed to the local McDonalds: I’m gonna sit outside with one of those clicker-counter things and see how many people go in and buy a Big Mac, then expect people to give me lots of money to attain those numbers…numbers that are going to wind up on the internet anyway, for everyone to read, whether they paid for them or not. What a job.

Cyber Monday saved me from Black Friday

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 12:39 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Money

On Friday, I engaged with millions of others in a national tradition that in many minds marks the official start of the Christmas season: I slept in and avoided leaving the house at all costs.

No way in hell was I ready to battle those insane and inevitably violent crowds just to get 10% off a DVD that I could purchase cheaper from this guy down the street any day I want. Sure, for some reason his DVD covers have different pictures than those at the Big Box stores and the picture quality is often a little blurry and shaky, but c’mon: it’s cheap. Yeah, I probably missed out on some deals a cheap-ass like me would jump all over. But the difficulty in acquiring such deals is just too much.

Besides, people scare me. I’m more of a stay-at-home, my-only-form-of-human-interaction-is-through-IM kinda guy, you know? And I’m sure many of you are the same way, and because of that probably missed out on some of those juicy price-cuts and two-for-one specials, too.

Fear not, my people-frightened friends: Black Friday isn’t the only post-Thanksigiving Super Sale Special. A new trend, Cyber Monday, is taking hold for people like us. And Apple’s jumping on the bandwagon with some Cyber Monday sales of their own for the U.S. and Canadian online Apple Stores.

MacDailyNews dishes the wallet-worthy deets:

In the U.S., get free shipping on everything in the Apple Store - even those items under $50 and those not in the Gift Guide. This is only available today; Monday, November 26th.

In Canada, add free gift wrap to any iPod order (normally a $5 purchase). Offer ends today; Monday, November 26th.

OK, not exactly drool-worthy deals there. But hey: no human interaction required. So get out those credit cards and start boosting our economy. The fate of the world depends on it.

iPod ads brings the hot, hot sales

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 9:45 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Advertising

It shouldn’t really seem like a surprise, but if you want your band to get noticed nowadays, appearing in an iPod commercial’s a pretty darn good way to do it. The San Francisco Chronicle has a story that focuses on the effects to two of the bands from Apple’s most recent spots: Feist, whose “1234” appears in the spot for the 3G nano, and CSS whose “Music is my Hot, Hot Sex” is used as the background for the iPod touch ad.

Both groups saw huge sales boosts as a result of appearing in the ads; CSS went from selling 340 copies a week to 2,000 in the two weeks following the release of the iPod touch ad. Feist likewise saw a boost in sales after the ad’s release.

Again, as I said up top, this hardly surprises me. I find most of my new music comes from hearing a song on a commercial, or in a movie or TV show, and I suspect I’m hardly alone in that. And it’s impossible to deny that Apple picks catchy tunes for its ads; makes sense given that the device is so intrinsically related to music.

Out of curiosity, how many of you have bought songs because you’ve heard them in an iPod commercial? I think I own at least two or three songs from them. Let’s wait a few weeks and see how Mary J. Blige’s latest is doing, shall we?

[via Gizmodo]

Under the gavel: Apple’s bubble Burst

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 9:11 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Legal

Thanks to the attack of turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and spring rolls (what, you don’t have spring rolls at your Thanksgiving?), we missed some late-breaking news from last week: namely that Apple has settled a lawsuit with Burst.com for $10 million. The dispute centered around intellectual property: Burst alleged that Apple was infringing upon several of its patents having to do with technologies that are involved with the iPod, as well as video compression and transmission.

We’ve covered the Burst dispute before, most recently on November 15th when it was announced that a judge had dismissed fourteen of Burst’s claims, with another 22 still pending. Apple apparently decided that it would be better to pay the piper and move on to other matters. The deal gives Apple access to all but four of Burst’s patents (most of which are pending). Microsoft had previously also been a target of Burst’s litigation, and Redmond ended up settling with them in 2006 for $60 million.

Well, that’s one legal problem down and approximately eleventy billion to go. And hey, maybe Burst could put some of that $10 million into making a decent website.

iPod + Mary J. Blige

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 8:21 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Apple » Advertising

What with all the iPhone and iPod touch attention, it’s been a while since we had a good old dancing silhouette iPod ad, right? Apple feels your pain, though, so they’ve released a new spot featuring noted musical artist Mary J. Blige who’s promoting her new album, Growing Pains (I’ve got my fingers crossed for a duet with Alan Thicke). The song in the ad is a track from the album, “Work That,” and you can pre-order the album on iTunes, naturally.

This isn’t the first time that a musician has appeared in an iPod ad: previous ads have featured Bob Dylan, Wynton Marsalis, and—of course—Bono. If nothing else, I guess I should consider us lucky that we haven’t had to sit through an ad featuring Britney Spears. Yet.

[via Infinite Loop]

Donate to the Camino project

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 7:37 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Prior to the Leopard upgrade, I had switched my main browser to OmniWeb, and then later Camino. I decided I’d return to Safari to see how I like it after all this time. So far, so good, but I’m still concerned about sluggishness. I never worried about that with Camino, no matter how many tabs I had open. It remained lightning fast on all my Macs.

It remains to be the Mac focused jewel of Mozilla’s product offerings. I know a few readers and even a few writers for the site love Firefox. As far as I’m concerned, it’s oogly. It neither looks or feels like a Mac application. For some, that’s acceptable, but I’m a purist of sorts. Camino has the same rendering engine in Firefox in a sleek, fast package.

If you’ve used Camino, I’m sure you have a special place in your heart for it even if you don’t use it. If you haven’t, you should. You should also donate to the project. For a limited time, the Mozilla Foundation will match every one dollar you donate with two more. By donating $10, you’re really donating $30. And it’s tax deductible.

I highly recommend donating by the end of the year when this matching ends. It’s really important because Mozilla has recently shown its intent to discard anything not a cash cow Firefox by dumping Thunderbird into a separate company (which was quickly followed by the departure of the two full time devs assigned to the project). I don’t want Camino to be next on the chopping block.

Don’t save yourself for the iPhone ballerina

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 6:30 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Apple » People

From the moment I saw the ballerina iPhone commercial, I knew she was a prime candidate to be the official Mac fan crush. She’s attractive and uses an iPhone to blog. I bet a few of you are ready to marry her without exchanging even a couple words (ok, at least “I do”).

Before you get your hopes up and start planning an iPhone and blog themed wedding and reception, I need to inform you of a sad fact. She has a boyfriend. The New York Observer reports:

A few months before launching The Winger, she had begun dating Doug Jaeger, a self-employed design type (“call me a creative entrepreneur,” he said later on the phone), whom she met through Dodgeball, a cellphone networking service. The couple, who ride motorcycles around town and currently share a one-bedroom in Alphabet City (and “many Macs”), salivated last winter when Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone, but made a pact not to buy it until the early bugs had been fixed. Then Mr. Jaeger caved, as men will.

“I felt so betrayed and jealous and upset,” said Ms. Sloan, recalling how her boyfriend revealed his purchase at a party the very day the iPhone was released last June. “He took it out on the couch and said, ‘Play with it,’ and I said, ‘No.’”

Dude. Harsh. She won’t play with it.

Quick Look for folders!

Posted on Nov. 26, ’07, 5:22 AM PT by Derik DeLong

Category | Software

Since I started using Leopard and playing with Quick Look, I was struck by one really weird limitation. Quick Look did basically nothing with folders. It showed the icon and a couple stats, but not the contents. It may just be me, but isn’t the first, most obvious thing someone might want to do with Quick Look is to preview the contents of a folder before opening it?

Well, I wasn’t the only one to think so and someone has come up with a Quick Look plugin to rectify it. The plugin shows the contents and stats about each item. Very nice. It makes me wish for more plugins, especially for my OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner documents. What Quick Look plugins are you looking for?

Thanksgiving is here again

Posted on Nov. 22, ’07, 6:31 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | MacUser

What are you doing here? Go get some turkey and stuffing and pie! It’s Thanksgiving in the US, and in honor of the holiday, MacUser HQ is closed up. To those of you outside the country, or those in the country who don’t celebrate the holiday, we hope you won’t mind giving up your daily Mac news so that the team can take a well-deserved day off.

Since it’s Thanksgiving, I feel it only appropriate to take a moment to share our gratefulness. Derik and I have a great team of writers, which we are immensely thankful for. But we are also most thankful for you, our readers, who keep coming back day after day, despite our sometimes inane attempts at information and entertainment. Thanks for that.

And now, it’s off to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner, which means I ought to probably go do some sit-ups or something.

“Purple Violets” bloom on iTunes

Posted on Nov. 21, ’07, 9:37 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Video

Last month, we noted that Purple Violets, an indie film by director Ed Burns, would be making its debut on the iTunes Store, making it the first feature-length film to be launched exclusively in the online store. The official release happened yesterday, and the film will cost you $12.99 to download (iTunes link). It’s a romantic comedy starring Burns, Patrick Wilson, Selma Blair, and Debra Messing, and if that’s not enough to get you queuing up, well, I don’t really have anything else for you.

More to the point, this is a significant move for the film industry, which has been fighting tooth-and-nail to hold onto their conventional model of business. Have they learned nothing from the music industry? Just last week, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman admitted that the record labels were misguided in their attempts to fight the future. While I don’t think that digital downloads will do away with going to the movie theaters, it is a significant challenge in the realm of home rentals and purchasing. Rumors of iTunes rentals have been swirling for some time; I’d be unsurprised to see those popping up in the next year, and I doubt that this is the last premiere iTunes will be seeing.

iTunes apparently thinks I’m a drag

Posted on Nov. 21, ’07, 8:33 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Troubleshooting

I come to you, my dear readers, for confirmation. Mainly, that I’m not going crazy. You see, iTunes has behaving strangely—almost furtively. I often minimize iTunes’s player window (using the green zoom button) while I’m working so I can control it without having to switch applications, but lately I’ve been having a host of bizarre problems.

For one thing, when the player’s in the background and I try to pause the current song, it seems as though it’s reacting to a double-click instead; it’ll pause but then immediately start playing again. The previous and next buttons have the same problem, with the end result that it skips forward (or back) two tracks (maybe it’s just making a judgment call based on the music I’m listening to). If I bring the player window to the foreground, the controls work as expected.

Now, even weirder, if I try to re-expand the window to its full size (and sometimes when I minimize the window), it’ll think that I’m dragging the window around, even when my cursor isn’t anywhere near it (like it’s again registering some sort of multiple-click instance); the result being that, as I move the cursor around, the window moves around in a corresponding fashion, but you can never put the cursor over the window because they move at a constant rate. It’s among the weirder bugs I’ve seen in OS X. I’m going to try and get a movie of this up at some point, but right now you’ll just have to take my word for it.

My question to you is simply this: is anybody else running into this problem, or is the result of something bizarre and voodoo-like on my MacBook? Sound off below.

Patched Tiger vulnerability appears in Leopard Mail

Posted on Nov. 21, ’07, 7:35 AM PT by Dan Moren

Category | Security

Oh, it’s the old one step forward, two steps back routine (wait, isn’t that a waltz?). German firm Heise Security is reporting this morning that a flaw in Apple’s Mail.app which was patched in Tiger is apparently wide open again in Leopard.

The vulnerability involves using a maliciously crafted JPG attachment. If you open the attachment, it can be used to invoke arbitrary code execution. Heise even has a demo available; you can sign up to get an email and see if you’re vulnerable (the demo just opens a Terminal window and displays the contents). I’ve confirmed that it works, and it gave me one of those nasty little chills.

Of course, you’re only at risk if you regularly open mysterious attachments from people you don’t know; I’d hope we all know by now that that’s kind of like opening your door to a stranger offering you candy. It’s weird that this was patched in Tiger but not in Leopard, but perhaps they branched Mail development for Leopard before the patch came out? Either way, I’d expect to see this fixed in the near future.

[via The Mac Observer]

Bring on the Mac pr0n

Posted on Nov. 20, ’07, 1:07 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Geekery

Slow news day. Very, very slow news day.

What happens to us Mac people when there’s nothing going on in the Mac World? Do we go out and be productive? Plant trees? Pay the bills? …Take showers? Not me, no sir. No idea what you folks do, but I engage in the Mac User National Pastime: stare glossy-eyed at pictures of Apple products.

And, fortunately, PC Mag anticipated today’s newslessness and created a whole slideshow of past-and-present Apple gear for me to enjoy in all their gadgety glory. They’ve got everything from the Cube to the Newton to…Steve Jobs. Guess it wouldn’t be an Apple slideshow without him.

Anyway, if you’re bored, check out PC Mag’s article, their slideshow, or their full gallery of Apple images. Not like there’s anything better to do.

[via MacDailyNews]

Leopard doesn’t trust me

Posted on Nov. 20, ’07, 12:38 PM PT by Dan Pourhadi

Category | Troubleshooting

Trust is the foundation of any strong, healthy relationship. Without it, the relationship breaks down, and resentment builds up.

I discovered this fact of life yesterday with my iMac, when it unilaterally decided to remove administrative privileges from my main user account. I couldn’t install applications, I couldn’t change my boot up disk — I couldn’t change the status of my account back to Administrator because you need administrative access to do so.

That’s when tensions rose. “What, iMac? You don’t trust me? Is that it? Think I’m gonna mess around with your files? Huh? What’s wrong iMac? It’s the MacBook Pro, isn’t it? You’re jealous. It’s just my portable, alright? What, I can’t use laptops anymore? Huh, iMac? Why don’t you trust me?!” Needless to say, there were tears, frantic reboots, slamming of doors…other generic signs of grief. Etc.

Turns out, though, it wasn’t the iMac’s fault: it seems to be a not-so-uncommon bug in Leopard. Apple’s support site has the deets. Apparently, after some users upgrade to Leopard, their Administrator account may automatically change to a standard one, leaving them stranded, powerless, and emotionally traumatized.

Fortunately, getting your Mac to trust you again is a relatively simple process: Boot up from your Mac OS X install disk and use the Reset Password utility to enable the Root user. Reboot, log in as root, and re-enable administrative access to your user account.

Now, my iMac and me are as happy as can be (yuck). If you’re having personal issues with your Mac, be sure to check Apple’s couple-therapy support site to restore trust back into your computer relationship.