There's A Guy...

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The Push To Discredit Leopard
I'm sure you've seen them lately. It started at PCMagazine with a short pro/con review of Leopard but has been picked up by a gaggle of Windows/Microsoft loving bloggers who are now claiming "Apple's Leopard is the New Vista". Their game is to discredit Leopard and Apple, to insinuate Leopard is as poorly developed as Vista. That's total hogwash, of course, but there are those computer users looking at Macs as an alternative and believing the crap posted by PCMagazine and their blog lovers.

The facts: Leopard is the best OS on the market today. There is no OS better and it is so feature rich, fast, stable and amazing that it has become the OS of choice among Mac users. If there are glitches they are not with the OS but with the user.

Vista, otoh, is the worst OS Microsoft has ever released and the Microsoft community admits that - even the sales figures for Vista prove that. Microsoft has, thus far, spent millions of dollars promoting Vista to no avail. Few want it.

I'm running Leopard (10.5.1) on three machines: BlackBook, iMac and a Mac Pro - and it is incredibly amazing. I've never had a problem and don't anticipate having any problems. But you won't read that in PCMagazine and the reason for that - PCMagazine can't afford to lose the advertising dollars Microsoft throws at them. Take that away and PCMagazine would die a very quick death. As it is now, few believe anything PCMagazine says or reports because of their Microsoft leanings.

iPhone Mini?
There's a guy claiming to have the first unlocked pre-released iPhone mini and has put it up for sale at $1200 over on Craigslist (posting ID: 494000196)

Says it has a 4 megapixel camera, enhanced Wifi capabilities and 16GB hard drive and hints at a "Spring" release. Is that all?

iPhone Credit - Last Day Today!
Haven't submitted your request for the $100 Apple credit yet? Better do it by COB today. This is the last day Apple will accept the requests.

Office for the Mac on January 15
Microsoft will release the Mac version of Office on or by January 15th so say the insiders. The suite includes 2008 versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage (a contact scheduling app). There will also be a feature that will allow you to export PowerPoint presentations to your iPod or iPhone. Cost? $399 for the full version and $240 for the upgrade. Oh year, there is a "Media" version that will go for $500. Whew!

New Mac Pros This February?
TeknoJunkie is predicting the sale of new updated Mac Pros probably in February '08 along about the time Apple lets the iPhone SKD kit lose. Start squirreling away your pennies, dimes and nickles. You'll want the new Mac Pro. It should run 20% faster then Apple's top-of-line Mac Pro and it will run cooler! Power! Yeah!

Whiner's Hypocrisy

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Today's Rant

There are a small group of website owners publicly gloating over the fact that Apple is being forced to sell the iPhone unlocked in France and Germany and then complaining and condemning Apple on their websites because Apple has hiked the fee for the unlocked iPhone to the $1,500 level. HEY! It is Apple's product! They can sell if for whatever price they want. If you don't like it then don't buy it!

Now the hypocrisy of it all: When you visit these websites condemning Apple you are bombarded by pop-up and onscreen ads galore demanding your personal attention. These irritations are put there by the website owner to make money, to make your visit an unpleasant one. Answer: don't visit these websites in the future and you won't be harassed by the unsolicited advertisements. It is called Tit-For-Tat!

A Helpful Mac Tuesday

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Malcor A Fake - All Publicity Stunt
If you've been stressed lately by a number of pretty-well known web sites that have claimed to be hacked by this guy who calls himself "Malcor" you can now rest easy. "The Mac community gets so wrapped up in itself that a little humor here and there seemed harmless. The idea of an anti-mac person attacking sites seemed like a fun practical joke. I had no idea it would get so much coverage..." admits the owner/website manager of Apple Matters | Spin Matters | iPhone Matters | Macitt

Cold, huh? Like the Mac community needs some nutcase faking hack attacks just to gain some publcity. Sad SAd SAD!

MacWorld 2008 Thoughts
What can we count on? New Apple displays, a new iPhone v2.0, a near completed Office 2008 and a NanoBook (a thinner Pro notebook). And maybe, just maybe - Blu-ray Disk drives - but that's real iffy.

iPhoto's Ability To Rename Groups of Photos
Here's how: Open iPhoto and select the photos you want to rename.

1. Go to “Photos” and Select “Batch Change”
2. Select the dialog box to allow the change of Title, Date, And Description.
3. Select “Title” and put in new name (i.e. Birthday for Sam)
4. Add or modify the description or date if you want.
5. Title of the File has now been changed.

How easy is that?

Links In Mail's Subject Lines
Simply place a link in the subject line. It will be clickable to the reader.

How easy is that?

Oh Happy Day!
Digital Lifestyle launched a 24-hour online network dedicated to all things Apple! The site offers original programs, podcasts and YouTube material as well as daily news and live coverage of breaking tech news events. All using live fideo technology from Mogulus. This is a "must have" website.

Another Mac Monday!

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CheckUp Is Coming!
A lot of my friends ask me how I get software so cheaply - oftentimes free. Much of the time it is because I jump on opportunities such as this announcement about a new product called CheckUp.

CheckUp is a new way to monitor the activity of your computer. It's like the dashboard of your car.

CheckUp is optimized for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. It has a powerful option that allows you to monitor your computer from a remote computer. On December 10 th 2007, app4mac will release the first beta version of this new application designed for Mac OS X. The download link will be sent per email with a special introductory price.

What is CheckUp? CheckUp allows you to understand the behavior of your Mac machine in real time and to manage alerts to prevent problems. On December 10 th 2007, we will release the first beta version of this new application. A beta version is a preview version. It contains the basic features of the product. Check out the screenshots and sign up to check it out.

Turkey Day

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey Eve

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T-Mobile To Sell German iPhone For $1,500.00
Vodaphone, peeved that T-Mobile got the exclusive carrier contract for Apple's iPhone went to German court to complain about it. To counter T-Mobile has announced they will be happy to sell Apple's iPhone unlocked without a service contract for a mere $1,500.00. Ouch! You want an iPhone THAT bad?

iPhone Creaming Cell Phone Marketplace
Steve Jobs wanted to see the iPhone in use by 10% of the cell phone market in 2008 and he's going to get that and more. The iPhone has slaughtered the cell phone industry with a whopping 27% and we haven't even hit Christmas 2007 yet! Go iPhone!

Microsoft Hates The iPhone and iPod
So badly that 2 out of 3 postings made by Microsoft within the public forums are anti-Apple, anti-iPhone and anti-iPod. Of course that kind of public hatred only solidifies Apple's hold on the iPhone and iPod market making Microsoft look even worse while Apple thanks them continuously for all the free publicity.

News You Can Use

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Leopard Certified As True Unix
The Open Group, a vendor and technology neutral consortium that focuses on open standards, has announced Apple's OS X 10.5 [Leopard] is true Unix and confirms Apple's system as meeting the requirements of the latest Unix standard, Unix Specification version 3. That makes Mac OSX the first major operating system derived from the open source BSD base of historical Unix products to meet the official certification requirements.

If you're running Leopard then you're running Unix.

Second Display
I bought my second 30" Apple Cinema display and it arrived yesterday. With the two displays side by side I now have a screen width of 60" - you can't imagine how big that is for a computer screen. How easy was it to set-up with Leopard? So easy all I had to do was plug it in and restart the system. Presto! One 60" screen! It can't be any easier then that!

New MTRipper Is Lose!

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New Mac The Ripper vr14i Released: ClickMe

New Apple Store for "The City"
A new Apple store will open in San Francisco this coming Friday. Located in the Marina District at 2125 Chestnut Street, it will be Apple's third retail store within San Francisco joining the flagship location on Stockton Street and the the other Apple store out at Stonestown Mall.

Friday is a great day to open an Apple store. It is "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) and the traditional day in which hundreds of items will be reduced below their suggested retail price. Should be a frenzy of shoppers!

More Apple FUD Being Spread Around
Several web sites that have an axe to grind with Apple (Gizmodo, iPhoneclub, hackint0sh) are posting messages in various Mac forums claiming the Stock and Weather widgets on the iPhone contain hidden coding that sends your private iPhone information and activities to Apple. Don't believe any of this. It is hooey being spread to scare Mac users.

Sunday Musings

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iPhone Hackers Are Losing
Despite all of their public outcrys and continual Apple touting those seeking to hack the iPhone are now on the outside and dwindling day after day. The reason is Apple's determination to remove the hacking ability of the iPhone and turning those iPhone's that are hacked into limited products. And those hackers are realizing their iPhones aren't going any further, they are becoming second class citizens and their iPhones lose all warranty. OTOH, legal iPhones are continuing to see improvements and expected new features for free and they know their investments have a future.

The majority of iPhone users want Apple to go even further and protect their iPhone investments by taking legal action against hackers. Apple receives requests and demands every day from iPhone owners who want their iPhone products protected.

Backing Up Data On Your iPhone
By syncing your iPhone to your computer you automatically backup most of the information in iTunes. The iTunes backup does not backup pictures, or audio and video content but that information is usually on the computer.

Saturday Fog

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MacBook TrackPad - Right Mouse Button
People will ask me "How do you use the right mouse button on the TrackPad?" The answer is this: Go into System Preferences, select the Keyboard/Mouse icon then TrackPad. Check all the boxes except for the Drag Lock. Once checked close System Preferences.

The TrackPad is a left and right finger feature. Meaning you should use both hands, the left finger on the bottom bar and the right index finger on the TrackPad itself. To open a folder, drag the cursor to the folder so the folder has the focus. Double click the bottom bar with your left finger. That's the quickest way to open a folder.

To use a right mouse function you have two options. First: place the cursor on on the desktop itself (so the desktop has the focus). Use the first two fingers on your right hand to lightly tap TrackPad. That should open a right mouse menu (new folder, etc.). The second way, which can be a bit cumbersome, is to hold down the Control button with your left index finger and press the bottom TrackPad bar with your right hand thumb. You'll get the same right mouse menu (new folder, etc.).

Do either of these functions often enough and it will become second nature.

Leopard - Forward Delete (How To)
People will ask me "How come I can only delete backwards, like backspace?" You don't have to delete backwards at all. Hold down the "fn" key in the lower left hand corner of your keyboard and hit the delete key. Give it a try. It is very easy

Friday Wrap-Up

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ATi X1900 and Leopard - How To Fix
The first time I installed Leopard on my Mac Pro I was disappointed because I had screen distortions, system glitches and God-awful freezes. I went to the Mac Forums and listened to other Mac Pro-ATi owners and they confirmed I wasn't alone. Since my office is just a block away from the downtown Apple store I went in to talk with a Genius. He confirmed other Mac Pro-ATi owners had complained and Apple had an explanation and a cure. The reason for the problems have to do with the ATi cards over-heating from the new core-animation Leopard requirements. The fan on the ATi card is defaulted to spin at 500 RPMs which is simply too slow to keep the card from over-heating. Add to this blocked air-vents, dust and other debri and you can count on a hot graphics card.

And the cure? First buy a can of compressed air, usually about $3, and open your Mac Pro case and blow out all the dust and debri from your air vents and fans, taking particular care with the ATi X1900 graphics card. Then close up the case. Second, download smcFanControl v2.1.2
and install it. Go to the smcFanControl preferences and slide the dial from 500 to 1500 on the PCIe/HDD item. Save and restart your system.

Your screen distortions and system glitches and freezes should now be gone. This "fix" has worked again and again.

Leopard's New Update
Very pleased with the first update of Leopard. The download was a mere 31megs from Apple's auto-service (don't know what all these whiners are talking about when they claim "100 megs... yada yada yada"). I can say from personal experience the whole installation was quick and the results are obvious to me. A faster more stable system. Leopard has been stellar for me so far but then, I'm running it on a top-o-line Mac Pro loaded with RAM (8GB) and hard disk space (4TB internal and 2TB externals now). I'm backing up to a 1TB LaCie external and using the other 1TB LaCie external for additional space. BTW, on a 30" HD Apple Cinema my Leopard is a blaze or glory. I highly recommend Leopard and the latest update.

The Beatles and iTunes
The Beatles Catalog of wonderful songs are coming to iTunes. Sir Paul McCartnery is quoted as saying "It's down to fine-tuning, but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008. "You've got to get these things right. You don't want to do something that's as cool as that and in three years time you think, 'Oh God, why did we do that?' There's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long."

Thursday & Leopard Update!

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OS X v1.5.1 Now Available!
The Mac OS X 10.5.1 Update updates Mac OS X Leopard version 10.5 to version 10.5.1

The 10.5.1 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.

For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website.

Important: Read before installing

• You may experience unexpected results if you have third-party system software modifications installed, or if you've modified the operating system through other means. (This does not apply to normal application software installation.)
• The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone installer (see below) from Apple Support Downloads to update.
• It is recommended that you backup your system prior to installing any updates.
• If issues occur during installation--for example, Software Update quits unexpectedly--please see this article.

Installation

To update to Mac OS X 10.5.1, use Software Update or the standalone installer. You only need to use one of these methods to update your computer.

Software Update

Software Update, located in the Apple menu, will automatically check for the latest Apple software using the Internet. (Software Update might have linked you to this article to learn more about the update.) If your computer is not up to date, software updates for your computer will appear that you can install. Note that an update's size may vary from computer to computer when installed using Software Update. Also, some updates must be installed prior to others, so you should run Software Update more than once to make sure you have all available updates.

Standalone installer

Download the update installer and run it manually. This is a useful option when you need to update multiple computers but only want to download the update once. These versions of the standalone installer are available from Apple Support Downloads.

• Mac OS X 10.5.1 Update updates Mac OS X 10.5 to 10.5.1.

What's included?

The following improvements for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs are included in this update

AirPort

• Allows password-protected accounts on AirPort Disks to show up on in the Finder's Shared Sidebar.
• Resolves an issue with saved passwords for wireless networks.

Back to My Mac

• Improves the reliability of Back to My Mac-enabled Macs appearing in the Finder's Shared Sidebar.
• Improves compatibility with D-Link NAT gateways.

Disk utilities

• Restores the functionality of the progress bar during permission repairs in Disk Utility.
• Addresses an issue that could produce an alert when creating disk images using Disk Utility or Terminal.
• Improves disk partitioning when multiple RAID sets are created on the same disk.

iCal

• iCal alarms are now more reliably delivered via email.
• Resolves an issue when inviting attendees via a CalDAV account.

Mail

• Improves stability when resizing columns in the message viewer or switching between Stationery templates in email messages.
• Addresses an issue in which attachments enclosed inside an HTML link may not be clickable in email messages.
• Fixes an issue with email accounts added using the "Simple Setup" feature in which messages cannot be sent due to an SMTP connection failure.
• Improves Smart Mailboxes compatibility with .Mac Sync, and addresses an issue with To Do's disappearing when using Smart Mailboxes.
• Resolves an issue with syncing Mail accounts with .Mac in which multiple On My Mac folders appear in the Mailbox pane.

Networking

• Addresses an issue in which Microsoft Windows shared folders may be read-only when connected via SMB.

Printing

• Resolves an issue in which user-selected values on Paper Feed PDE are reset to default while saving a custom preset.

Security, Firewall

• Addresses a code signing issue; third-party applications can now run when included in the Application Firewall or when whitelisted in Parental Controls.
• In Security preferences' Firewall tab, the "Block All" option is now called "Allow Only essential services"
• Includes recent Apple security updates.

System and Finder

• Addresses a potential data loss issue when moving files across partitions in the Finder.
• Resolves an issue with login after turning off FileVault for a specific user account.
• Improves compatibility with Adobe Flash-based uploaders used by .Mac Web Gallery and certain other websites and applications.
• Resolves a potential text drawing issue with certain Adobe Flash-based websites and applications.

Time Machine

• Addresses formatting issues with certain drives used with Time Machine (specifically, single-partition MBR drives greater than 512 GB in size as well as NTFS drives of any size and partition scheme).
• Resolves an issue in which files restored in Time Machine may be restored to the backup hierarchy rather than the folders to which they belong.

Wednesday's Items

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10.5.1 About To Be Released

The folks over at ThinkSecret are saying Apple is about ready to release the first update to Mac OS X [Leopard]. Even prior to its public release, Apple engineers were prepping 10.5.1 and issued betas to developers quickly. ThinkSecret says build 9B18 has been finalized, was released last week, and that no known issues have been reported. Leopard owners should see an update that offers more stability, compatibility as well as security improvements for their new operating system.

Leopard Big In Japan!

If you haven't heard already then listen up: Mac machines now outnumber Windows machines in Japan by a margin of 53.9%. WaaHOO!

Sailing Along

Isn't this beautiful?
Free Mac Wallpaper.

Click to download.
(1600 x 1200 HD )


Custom Ringtones For Your iPhone

1) Open the song in quicktime pro and crop the song down to less then 40 seconds.

2) Save song to desktop as AIF.

3) Open AIF in itunes, convert AIF to AAC (m4a) 128kpbs. (Note: If you already have itunes set to rip to 128kbps AACs then just right click and select convert to AAC, if not then go into your Preferences and change the importing settings to 128kbps AAC.

4) Once the song is converted to AAC, select it in iTunes and hit command+r to show where it is on your computer. Drag that to your desktop and delete the listing for it in iTunes.

5) Now download this: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/25788/makeiphoneringtone
MakeiPhoneRingtone is free and automates the process of changing the extension and placing it in the ringtones folder and adding it to itunes. You will want Version 1.3 which now works with iTunes v7.5 and iPhone OS v1.1.2.

6) Open up MakeiPhoneRingtone, drag the AAC that is on your desktop into the MakeiPhoneRingtone window.

7) Connect iPhone, select the iPhone in iTunes and check the ringtones sync window, the song should now be listed. If not, but the song is listed under ringtones in your itunes library, then the song may have been too long and you will have to shorten it and go back through the process.

Using Mac Mail Without A Mac Account

Want to use Mac Mail program and don't have a Mac Mail account? No problem, use Gmail!

Just go to Mail's Preferences and select the Accounts tab. Click the + button on the bottom left to add new account. Enter your username and password for Gmail, and check the box to "setup automatically".

For outgoing mail use the free Gmail IMAP setup on there email servers. You would use the IMAP if it is showing itself as available inside your Gmail settings (online). If its there then the following pae will show you have to setup Gmail IMAP for your outgoing mail.

https://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77663&topic=12761

Monday Holiday!

Hello Dave... (very funny)

Free Mac Desktop Wallpaper (click pix to download)

v1.1.2 for iPhone Now Available via iTunes

The recent upgrade to v1.1.2 announced with the release of the iPhones in Britain has now been released in the U.S. through iTunes. Connect your iPhone and let iTunes start. It should prompt you for an update. If not, hit the "Check for Updates" button and you should get it that way. When completed it has to reactivate itself and you'll find a tiny new battery icon in the iTunes iPhone listing. Under Settings/General you should be at Version 1.1.2 (3B48b).

iPhone To Get New Features
There is a report over at McNN that says Apple's first feature update to the iPhone will consist of two new programs: recording video, which will include video functionality to upload that video directly to YouTube, and streaming data and music via Bluetooth 2.0 which will allow iPhone users to listen to music and handle telephone calls wirelessly. Will that be firmware release v1.3?

Sunday Slumming

Leopard is BACK!

Waahooo! There has been ongoing conversation in the Mac Pro Forums regarding the problems with Leopard involving the odd display lines and the random freezes for those Mac Pro users with the high end ATI X1900 video cards. And an answer was posted. It has to do with the fact that Leopard requires the video card to run at a faster rate and if the fan on that video card is turning at less than 500RPMs it gets too warm. The bad display lines are the first sign that the card is running too warmly. When the system freezes the card has become too warm and shuts itself off freezing the system. The answer? A little free program that allows you to control the speed of the video fan called smcFanControl.

It takes a second to install. To to smcFanControl Preferences and move the PCIe/HDD slide bar from 500 up to 1500 and save. That's it! Another bit of advice is to shut your Mac Pro down, unplug it, open the case and use a can of compressed air to clean out all of the fans on your system. That will ensure an even flow of air throughout your system and will prevent any problems.

The Leopard is back on my system and it is very nice to have all the new features. Here's a snap of my desktop as it appears today (click on it for the full high resolution graphic):

Setting Up The New Airport Extreme
Hackers Are Stifling iPhone Development...

There are two important reasons why hackers want their programs on the iPhone. The first is ego. They want to be able to toot their horn that their "baby" sits on your iPhone. Second is money. They want money they would not make from third party sales if Apple introduced their own program on the iPhone. That's primarily why they hack iPhones; greed, money, and a need to smile before the camera.

And what this does is stifle the iPhone's development because Apple engineers aren't spending their time creating new or updated programs for the iPhone. They are constantly working to block the hackers whether it be through the software/firmware updates or through non-cash sales.

Who are the hackers really hurting? You the iPhone consumer because you won't see new programs until Apple feels assured they can protect you,the iPhone and their authorized programs.

If you use programs that are not authorized then you are helping to destroy your own iPhone's development.

Demonoid - Down But Not Out

On November 08, 2007, the CRIA (aka The Canadian Recording Industry Association) forced the closing of Demonoid by threatening the company from whom they are renting their servers. The site was left as a blank page with a short statement written on it:

"The CRIA threatened the company renting the servers to us, and because of this it is not possible to keep the site online. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your understanding."

Demonoid has faced this type of censorship before and will rise again. My guess is that it will move outside of Canada. Will keep you posted.

Mac Desktop Wallpaper Pack Gifts

There are two "CoXtreme Wallpaper Packs" to select and download. Each row of three represents one pack. Packs contain many backgrounds not shown but just as inspiring. Download, unrar, and select a picture for your new desktop background. You'll be pleased.

Saturday's English Aftermath

The "queue" at the Regency Street Apple Store
Things you learn along the way...

Regarding version numbers such as the newly released v1.1.2 update for the iPhone. The third number (v1.1.X) denotes a fix issue. Thus, if Apple releases a v1.1.1 then the update is designed to fix an issue. The second number denotes the addition of features. When the iPhone went from 1.0.1 to 1.1.1 it was to add the iTunes WiFi Store and international keyboard support features.

Apply this to the OSX operating system. The recently released Tiger version of OSX known as10.4.10 was a release to fix issues. The release of OSX 10.5 was a release of over 300 new features.

So it can be surmised that the new iPhone update of v1.1.2 is to fix the issue with the tiff overflow security hole which allowed hackers to break into the OSX iPhone system to add their own applications and features. This release will close that Tiff hole and brick those iPhones that were hacked to run unauthorized programs.

Once Apple is assured the iPhone is secure enough they will start issuing a "features" release to add their own authorized new features and programs to the iPhone. That version should be v1.3.

Legal Ringtones - Here's How To Add Them To Your iPhone

Here's a little trick that Apple has somehow let slip through their grasp: Ringtone support with Firmware update v1.1.2. You can now add your own (30 second or less) ringtones for free! Here's how you do it.

Save your ringtone as an MP3 file and import it into iTunes. Convert it to AAC then rename the extension to .m4r. Drag-n-drop to iTunes-Ringtone folder. Selected "All Ringtones" in iTunes-iPhone-Ringtones Tab. Now you can have free custom ringtones on your iPhone!

That's it! Check back soon for more updates!

News You Can Count On

Are these people crazy or what?

Everything is iPhone, iPhone and more iPhone today as the little bugger arrives in Europe. Scotland Yard cautions new iPhone owners to be aware of theives and con artists who will attempt to relieve them of the little cellular jewel. Many camped out or stood in the rain for hours to get their very own Apple gadget.

T-Mobile, the cell phone services arm of Deutsche Telekom AG, said it has sold more than 10,000 iPhones on the first day of sale in Germany. Customers found that T-Mobile couldn't handle the deluge resulting in the network going down several times. And in England their largest cell phone retailer, Carphone Warehouse, has a stock of 10,000 iPhones on hand and expects to sell out before the close of this business today.

OS/2 whiners are still grumbling in the OS/2 newsgroups. Well, calling them "OS/2" anything is somewhat silly because the majority of them have dumped OS/2 and kissed the butt of Microsoft but it doesn't matter, they are still grumbling about the sad state of eComstation and its lack of a future. eCS v2.0 will be the last and only release of the reanimated cold dead body of OS/2 and that leaves those who ran around proclaiming eComstation as the coming of Christ looking like dimwits with their pants around their ankles. It wasn't as if they weren't warned well in advance. "Whine, whine and more whine" is all you hear from them today.

That's it for now. Come back soon!

This and That, Then and Now...

Word Up, Dudes! Looks like the tiny world of OS/2 users are never going to see anything beyond a version two of eComstation. Word coming down the pike is that eCS has but one last hurrah which is already as old as hard dried raisins when it is released as version 2. How behind are these eCS lusers? Well, today they were whining about being forced to move up to DSL from dialup, how they were going to adjust their pensions to pay for it, how they were going to connect to it (if they can with eCS) and how destructive the move to a faster bandwidth is going to be on eCS and their lives. Can you imagine living or even thinking like that?

Apple has sent out the first 'Service Pack' to developers, which at this moment is a hefty 270 megs in size! I guess we're gonna do some fixin' of the feline, huh? AppleInsider notes that Apple has zeroed in on problems reported with "Time Machine, Mail, iCal, Back To My Mac, Bonjour, AirPort, gaming graphics, networking and the Finder" as things to look at and fix. This update is reported to contain patches for Leopard's Firewall and problems with Spotlight indexing, iCal syncing and Keychain login.

Microsoft lackeys (those poor things) whining in the public forums against the Mac should take note that, unlike Microsoft, Apple has quickly stepped to the forefront to alleviate reported problems with their newest pet faster then they did with Cheetah, Puma and Jaguar, predecessors to Leopard. Geez, Leopard is beautiful. Although I'm not running it on my Mac Pro because of the ATI Graphics Card problems (hopefully the 10.5.1 release will address that issue), I do have it on my BlackBook and 24" iMac and it purrs beautifully.

On a related issue, Apple released an ATI driver update for the iMac line to address random freezes which also plagued me on the Mac Pro when I did have Leopard installed there. I will wait for the 10.5.1 upgrade before looking at Leopard again on the Mac Pro.

Another study being reported over at MacNN proves Macs are cheaper than PCs because of their higher resale value. Toss in the additional cost savings of not having to buy an anti-virus software package and monthy subscription fees to keep the bugs away and you'll see a much fatter wallet owning a Mac then you will a PC.

Big day this coming Friday in England. People are standing "in the queue" hoping to grab the first iPhones designed for the European Market. Their selected provider is O2. Queues have already been spotted forming outside of Apple's Regent Street Store. Scotland Yard has issued a warning to new iPhone owners to keep the iPhone close to their chests as robbers see a new and lucrative product to steal. What is just as exciting is the new firmware upgrade for the iPhone to be released this Friday in the U.S. Version 1.1.2 will brick hacked iPhones so be prepared for all the jailbreakers to scream "lawsuit" once again.

Free Mac Software and tons of it over at "The Free Mac Software Classroom" That's one thing I really love about using OSX, there are tons of free worthwhile and very good softwares. Thank you Mac community!

Quietly, in the dead of night, Apple released Hard Drive Update 1.0 last night and so far no one has figured out exactly what it does or is supposed to do. Apple says it is for Core 2 Duo iMacs and Mac Pros running either Tiger or Leopard.

In a nutshell it installs an application (known as Hard Drive Update 1.0.app) into your /Applications/Utilities/ folder and it will launch automatically once the installer closes. The fix will show up in your Software Update screen if you have a hard drive that needs updating!

Those people at Apple never sleep!

Have you seen all the iPhones showing up in the new television shows? Journeyman uses an iPhone and the bad guy on last night's "Bionic Woman" was using an iPhone but he wasn't the brightest bad guy because he was holding it upside down!

That's it for now. Check back again for more tidbits!

Leopard Not for Mac Pro Now...

I couldn't wait to get Leopard on my Mac Pro system (8G RAM, 3TBhd, 2SuperDrives, 1TB external hd, 30" Apple HD Cinema display) it didn't take long before problems began to plague me. First off was the display distortion lines that ran through everything. It was as though someone had scratched the backside of a mirror leaving a line gash across your screen. Didn't matter what program you were running the gashes didn't go away. Scroll upward and they went with you. In the Mac Forums most Mac Pro users with high-end display cards and displays were crying foul. Why hadn't Apple made sure this bug was corrected before releasing Leopard - especially for their professional OSX users?

Next came the system freezes. In the beginning it was random, sort of hit and miss every now and then, but by the end of the week I couldn't stop from restarting the system at least once every two hours. It would just freeze for no reason whatsoever. I pulled out TechTool and examined every piece of hardware from RAM to hard disks. All in perfect condition. Were other high-end Mac Pro users experiencing the same problem? Yes. Could it be a problem with Leopard? The answer was yes.

The freezes became so disruptive that I couldn't get all of my extraneous data copied over for backup before I said "Arrrrrrghhhh" and literally wiped it out. I went back to Tiger v10.4.10 and what a relief it is to have my system back to peak performance!

So until Apple corrects the problems in Leopard for high-end systems, this Mac user is going to stick with Tiger.

Downtown SF Apple Store Worst Service Ever!

With the announcement of the new "Santa Rosa" MacBooks this morning we went straight to the downtown San Francisco Apple store and stood in line with the rest of the buyers. 10:am came and we waited for the doors to open but they didn't. We figured they were prepping the new MacBooks but they weren't. The sales staff were standing around like a bunch of turtles.

When the doors did open several of us made a beeline to the front counter and still the sales people stood in a group behind the counter chatting, giggling, laughing with each other. "Can we get some service here?" several of us asked. Finally a young lady came over. We asked to purchase the new MacBook. "MacBook?" she questioned back as though she had never heard of the item. "Yes, the new MacBook. Annnounced this morning on the Apple web site which claims "now available". She stared with a glazed looked and walked back to the group. Several minutes later we asked for assistance again and a young bubba came forth. He was just as perplexed as the young lady was. "Let me get a manager..." and he walked off.

Finally a red-headed dude came forth, said he was a manager and that they did have the new MacBooks but they were still crated and downstairs. "They should be available tomorrow," was his answer. That was an insufficient answer for many of us who had driven a long way to pick up the new MacBook. Could he possibly go down and and get a couple of them and prep them for sale? "Maybe this afternoon..." was his reply. "What's the point of having an Apple store if you can't buy the latest Apple products?"

We left in disgust so we can't tell you if the new MacBooks are worth the time and effort to wade through the silliness and lackluster sales approach of the downtown San Francisco Apple store sales staff.

UPDATE (2:15pm) I went back alone, was standing in line when the same red-headed dude walked by. I looked familiar to him. He nodded, stopped, pointed a finger at me and said, "OS/2 Guy, right?" and I said yes. "We have your MacBook ready for you, won't you follow me?" Within a few minutes I walked out with the new black MacBook with the 160Gig hard drive and the "Santa Rosa" chip. Oh happy day!