A MacAddict's Page

Is Apple Frances Scapegoat?

2006-03-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

Is France trying new laws and using Apple to test the waters?

It sure seem like they are to me.
Scapegoat-The word also refers, in modern parlance, to one who is blamed for misfortunes, often as a way of distracting attention from the real causes.

This French bill, which would be the implementation of a European Union directive, calls for digital songs to be playable on all devices. As part of the law proposal, companies that use copyright protection measures (like Apple’s DRM) would have to supply the information essential to interoperability to those interested at no other charge than the cost of delivering the data.

But why? Like I said before, Is France not wanting iTunes in France? or is there a different agenda we don't know about?? Because forcing this opens up a lot things to consider. Does Microsoft and Sony fall under this law also? Will Halo be forced to come to the Playstation and vise versa with Playstation and NES games? Why go after just music? Why not also software just written for just windows? In each format there is a form of protection management being done. If this goes through what’s next?

Apple does have the most to lose because of its large portion of the digital music market. France lawmakers has a lot to gain if this law passes with it attacking the big boys of digital music market. But what about French consumers? What will they gain? They have more to lose.

For days Apple said nothing, But, late Tuesday Apple said such a law would "result in state-sponsored piracy."
"If this happens, legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers," Apple said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. "iPod sales will likely increase as users freely load their iPods with 'interoperable' music which cannot be adequately protected. Free movies for iPods should not be far behind in what will rapidly become a state-sponsored culture of piracy."

But is piracy the only part of this equation? Who else may gain from this?
Well the new interoperability rules were welcomed “in principle” by recording companies.
John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Recording Industry has said:

"It is important to consumers to have the ability to move songs between their various listening devices."

Is he not part of the same group of people who want various prices for different albums or songs? Of coarse the interoperability rules are welcomed in principle by them, These guys have often complained that the iTMS has deprived them of any control over music pricing. Oh how they forget how much Apple and the iTMS has helped the music industry, and how little Apple makes from selling the music. In the long run they don’t see the large loss as well.

Jim Prendergast, of the public policy group American For Technology Leadership, derided the French decision, calling it a

"direct attack" on Apple's intellectual property, and saying that one of the ramifications could be Apple pulling its iTunes store out of the French market.
"Once governments force companies to give away their innovations, their intellectual property rights there will no longer be an incentive to create new products that will benefit consumers," Prendergast said.

Analysts have said that Apple would have to choose between sharing their secrets of the exclusive online music technology or stop selling music downloads in France. According ARS Technica

Analysts estimate that France is responsible for around 5 percent of Apple's global music sales, so the financial blow from exiting the country would not be severe. However, if the French legislation is adopted across all of the European Union—which is the stated goal of France's Cultural Minister—the company would find itself in a much tougher situation.

But what I want to know is with this new legislation how will they find the hackers and pirates across all of the Europe? O.K., so those caught pirating music or movies or who disable copy protection systems are going to be fined to a sum over $350,000. So what? How well has that worked in the US so far?

There are far too many questions not answered, and much loss to the French consumer.

The new Macmini

2006-03-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

O.K., Steve came on stage today talked about some iPod leather cases for $99...

Then he finally shows something cool, the new iPod Hi-Fi

Which according to Apple:

*Compatible with all iPod models with a dock connector through the integrated Universal Dock (dock adapters included)
*Compatible with iPod shuffle and iPod models without a dock connector through the audio input port (audio cable sold separately)
*Charges iPod via dock connector
*Tone Control in speakers menu provides additional EQ settings specifically for iPod Hi-Fi
*Input port accepts analog 3.5 mm stereo minijack or S/PDIF optical digital miniplug
and can also run on six D-cell batteries.
All for just $349 and is availible today.

Now we get to my headline.... the Mac Mini. Now I don't have my hands on one, but reading the spec's I was smiling for a while:

*1.5GHz Intel Core Solo($599) or 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor ($799)
*60GB hard drive(1.5GHz)--80GB hard drive(1.66GHz)
*Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive(1.5GHz)--8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)(1.66GHz)
*2MB on-chip L2 cache
*667MHz frontside bus
*512MB of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two DIMMs; supports up to 2GB
*A new infrared port designed to work with the Apple Remote and support for a enhanced version of Front Row. The new version of Front Row (Front row with Bonjour) allows customers to access shared iTunes and iPhoto libraries and video throughout their home via Bonjour.

Then I got to the specs on the graphics card. Hold on, there is none, well not one you want anyway. It has a Intel integrated graphics processor. A GMA950 graphics processor to be exact, with 64MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory. Ya shared. According to Apple's website, Memory available to Mac OS X may vary depending on graphics needs. Minimum graphics memory usage is 80MB, resulting in 432MB of system memory available.

Meaning when you buy this Mac, you better max it out with memory (not from Apple unless you want to pay $300) because working with iMove or iDVD will bring up that beach ball we all hate if you don't.

But, lets look deeper into the GMA950 chip.

I thought about this computer possible for my kid till I read Extreme Tech's review of this chip. They did a test on a PC, but you get the point. This chip could only run Doom 3 at 16.20FPS in (640X480) and got worse at 1024X768 when it dropped to 10.4 FPS. Unreal Tournament 2004 was not much better barely making 30FPS at 640X480 and only 18.2FPS at 1024X768. Toms Hardware has Mark Rein, vice president for Epic Games, the developer of the Unreal graphics engine and game series is qouted as saying "What is the point of shipping multi-core CPUs, if they are only going to have integrated graphics?" I guess that line itself makes my point.

Bottom Line

If all your gonna do is surf the web or watch and share pictures, movies and music, this mini's for you. If you want a intel based Mac that can play games also, get a iMac.

Newest AppleXnet Writer

2006-02-27T12:15:00.000-08:00

I have bee given a great opportunity to write the news for AppleXnet.com. So to Read any further news about Apple or anything Mac related, hop on over to AppleXnet.com to get the rest of a MacAddict's flava!

Smile

2006-02-25T03:00:00.000-08:00

It's Saturday.... Smile :D

It's Friday Baby!!

2006-02-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

You know what that means! It's time to Frag everybody in sight!! But before we go there, here's the news.....

Happy 51st Birthday Steve!
Found this pick of the old Apple logo cake which brought back memorys of the old Apple logo.

I always saw it as showing how bright the future can be when you work on a Apple computer.

Looking at it in the twenty first century,
one might think somebody was showing gay pride.

but I'll leave that for another article.

Searching the net I even found one of a Mac 128k cake showing off it's 20th birthday.

The Web is a wounderful thing, and with Apple and Steve's help it has been a joy. With the new intel Macs out even a hardcore-PC user is willing to say:

"Once you've driven a Ferrari, it's hard to go back to your Toyota Corolla.

Not that I've ever driven a Ferrari, nor do I own a Corolla. But I imagine that's what it feels like now that I'm back on my crappy HP laptop after a few weeks of test-driving Apple's new iMac.[...]Over all, the iMac is something you may not want to try because if you do, you may never want to go back to your crappy old Toyota. "

But now some have begun to ask for all Web companies, such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., to help pay for the billions of dollars required to build and maintain high-speed Internet infrastructure.

According to MacWorld:

“Customers should not be the only ones to pay for this new world,” CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke (Deutsche Telekom AG) said in an interview published Thursday in the German weekly business magazine WirtschaftsWoche. “Web companies that use this infrastructure for their business should also make a contribution.”

the article continues on saying:

"The German CEO’s remarks echo those made earlier this month by John Thorne, senior vice president and deputy general counsel at Verizon Communications Inc.

Speaking at a conference marking the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996, Thorne said telcos are spending “a fortune” to build and maintain high-speed data highways that Google and other Web companies intend “to ride on with nothing but cheap servers.” The executive demanded an end to what he called a “free lunch.”

Well they do have a point, now I may not know all of what companys do pay, but if I pay just to look on the net, billion dollar companys need to step up as well.

With that said, I also see this may increase the cost of music downloads, or future movie downloads as I am sure online companys will pass on the cost back to consumers. It's just a vicious circle.

but put away that thought, and look foward to the good things that will come on the 28th of this month. I mean stuff like this so called leaked picture of what Apple's new "true" video iPod will look like.

This picture is making it's rounds around the net. People are even looking at the model number for some sort of verification. Is the part number "M8719Z/A" the same part number as Mac OS X 10.2 Server? Or is that really a "B" and not an "8"?. You be the judge. Some like the Apple Insider think it will be the first Intel-based Mac mini desktop computer that will be unvailed.

Of coarse the Apple Insider also talks about a 13-inch widescreen Intel iBook consumer laptop and an iPod Boombox audio system. We will all have to wait and see.

Gaming News
It seems Blizzard Entertainment has released some new information about World of Warcraft.
According to IGN:

"The Priest class talents are scheduled to be updated in version 1.10 and Blizzard is offering an interactive preview of the planned changes. The company also unveiled a new Calendar which will allow players to keep track of all the upcoming in-game events. Finally, for those who just can't get enough of the misunderstood Murlocs, Blizzard is offering a new lore section focusing on the antisocial fish-men."

I'm sure my son, and the {RA} clan with the rest of you WoW feaks out there (you know who you are) will be happy to lose more sleep over this. ;)

For those not addicted to World or Warcrack, Hop on the Darkside Server for some CTF Fun!!

Say It Together, 1 Billion!

2006-02-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

So here it is, the Big land mark, the Billonth song downloaded from the iTMS. The user? Alex Ostrovsky from West Bloomfield, Michigan. As the grand prize winner he will recieve a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store. Plus Apple will establish a scholarship to the world-renowned Juilliard School of Music in his name to commemorate this milestone.

10.4.6
Well while we deal with all the hoopla and rumors of what may come on the 28th of this month, Apple it seems has began providing to its developers the first external pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.4.6. The first seeds of Mac OS X 10.4.6 are builds Intel (build 8I1102) and PowerPC (build 8I109).

According to The Apple Insider:

"While the Intel build places emphasis on the ongoing improvements to the company's Rosetta emulation environment for Mac OS X for Intel, the remainder of the enhancements are common amongst both builds.

Specifically, Mac OS X 10.4.6 is said to focus on Automator, Bluetooth, Cocoa, Carbon, Core Graphics, graphics drivers, hard and optical disc management, .Mac, Printing and Safari.

The builds, which weigh in at approximately 131MB and 166MB in Combo Updater form, already include over four dozen enhancements and bug fixes over Mac OS X 10.4.5, which Apple released just last week."

We shall see if this update plugs the safari hole. But for now you can uncheck download "safe" files or/and install Safe Terminal. After Safe Terminal is installed, the Terminal utility will not execute any file, even if "Open safe files after download" option in Safari is enabled. However, the usage of the Terminal to type and run commands is not effected in any way.

While Apple closes this hole, Microsoft is ready to charge PC users to plug theres. Microsoft is a software company, and Bill gates is beginning to see another way to get money instead of giving it away to Norton or any other ani-virus, spam blocking, trojan /worm killing company.

According to C|net:

"not everyone is keen on the idea of paying Microsoft to help secure the products it created. Businesses, in particular, are questioning the move, Gartner analyst John Pescatore said."

"'Wait a minute--Microsoft's software is causing the problem, and now they want me to pay extra to fix the problem?'" Pescatore said, summing up the reaction of some corporations to Microsoft's move toward selling security software."

I can't help but giggle to myself when I think of 2 trojans/worms that need user interaction on the Mac OS and the mountain of viruses and other problem that the Microsoft's own OS is the cause of. But of coarse MS has already had to patch its' flagship upgrade Vista which addresses the same vulnerability that led to the WMF (Windows Metafile) malware attacks in January (a remote code execution flaw in the Graphics Rendering Engine).

Well I think the only thing Bill gates see's is the $15 billion in possible revenue he can gain. But I think he better try plugging the many holes in his OS new and old before trying to sell this to business and home consumers.

Oprah Says Use a PC !!

I was surprised, yes surprised when I saw this when I wanted to donate to Oprah's Katrina Homes online.
Hold on, one of the richest women in the world can't find web builders and programmers that can make a program to be able to collect money from mac users?? I don't want to mail money, that's why I have a computer! This is outright insane!

I first got note of this when a fellow mac user brought it up in a Mac forum. I thought to myself, this can't be true..... not Oprah!!

One mac user very upset, wrote a letter to Oprah's staff ( I don't think she reads them herself):

"Wow. That's absolutely malicious.

- It's downright discriminatory, since HTML is HTML whether it's on a Mac or on a PC. They actually had to code their website to detect the OS and then write an extra page to tell you that you can't donate.
- It's counterproductive, since it's stopping you from using the easy method of donating.

If I were you I would not only find some other organization to send my money to to assist, I would send a pissed-off letter to Oprah to protest her biased, discriminatory exclusion of the Mac communtiy's charitable contributions for a cause as important as helping the victims of Katrina. I'd also question her choice of web administrator and whether she knows that through her choice to employ someone who choses to code like that she's helping to oppress a minority - the Mac community.

I had absolutely no opinion of her website or of her charities before I heard of this. Now I'm not only determined to never donate a cent to anything she's involved in, I'm going to spread this to as many Mac users as I can."

Hmm, sounds like Oprah "oppresses a minority". So the minority (in this case Mac users) who fact has proven Mac users make more money and are smarter are left to mailing (snail mail) because of some laziness. I know money can't be the reason. Because we all know she has buckets full.

When my son and I where on the show a few years ago ( my son saved my life), I thought I saw a woman with compassion for all, to make things eaiser for all. But trying to search on Oprah.com I could not type anything in the first time, I had to use Firefox just to be able to type in for a search (re-loading the page in Safari 2 times for me finally did the trick).

So I guess Oprah, when people are not looking and there's no TV show ratings to worry about you have to be the majority to get access.

How Sad, But she has a partner... well sort of (google atleast lets you run theirs in Firefox). Google's Web Page Creator has been launched without Apple Safari support. It seems when you launch the web page creater you get this error

Well Google I found a comic from Wulffmorgenthaler that made me laugh after seeing that error.

I'm Maxxuss I'm a Theif! Let Me Prove It To You
I'll just post a qoute from his site that says it all:

"Mirror Sites are up!
February 22nd, 2006
For a start, I’ve set up some mirrors of the original contents as of Feb, 21st. The mirrors will have the contents and links as usual. Do not bookmark the mirrors, as they are also temporary (since not ad-free). If you have any safe webspace, just PM at forum.osx86project.org.

However, I will not link patches etc in this blog, just textual announcements and general information. So hopefully, it would be easier to hotlink it. I have also put a safety-net in-place: maxxuss.tk will be a pointer to this blog, no matter if it will move again."

Sounds like a thief on the run to me.

I Don't Know How to Review
Some people want to run and be the first to review. They knew from MacWorld in January that programs like Microsoft Office and Adobe and even Apple's own Pro Apps would be working under Rosetta. So why PC Review would post a lower review on the Intel-baced iMac vs the G5 Based iMac and blame that lower score was because of Rosetta?

How the hell do all these people get hired and payed to do these piss poor reports and reviews? You can't rate a computer you know (at this time) is not running this software natively. The computer is not slower, the software is not ready. It's not the computers fault? So why not rate it with the software it can run natively?

I just wonder, when they do finally run natively will you boost the score? This review was a waste of time. A 76... pfft.

**Rumors**
With the 28th just around the corner you know somebody had to post a so-called new product Apple will unvail.

This is a Nokia N80i with iTunes. Ya, we shall see, I'm guessing.. not!

But you do get to see a lot of Photoshop users at work!

Good News On The Horizon

2006-02-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

With all the so called "reporters" out there just reporting news without looking to see if it's correct, and anti virus companys like Sophos jumping to post worm reports but calling them "viruses" in there report:

"A report issued by Sophos yesterday revealed that 79% of people believed that Apple Macintoshes would be targeted more in future, following the discovery of the first Mac OS X worm.

"This means two real viruses have emerged for the Mac OS X platform in less than a week," continued Cluley(Graham Cluley). "The question on everyone's lips is - when will we see the next one, and will it have a more malicious payload? "

Then to find out their own software is generating false positives, and wreaking system havoc just puts up a red flag saying "why should I trust anti-virus companys?!" According to MacFixiT:

"In yet another case of AntiVirus software causing serious issues while purporting to be identifying infected files, it appears that Sophos' AntiVirus software is generating false positives for the "OSX/Inqtana.B worm", invoking users to delete critical application and system files and causing serious issues."

Well Sophos put out this statement:

"SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, issued an update at 14:43 GMT on Tuesday 21 February to detect the OSX/Inqtana-B worm for Mac OS X.

Unfortunately, this update was flawed, and Mac OS X users may have been mistakenly warned by Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X that some files on their computers were infected with the worm.

SophosLabs quickly discovered the problem, and issued a revised update less than two hours later at 16:40 GMT, Tuesday 21 February. Customers who take advantage of Sophos's automated updating facility will have been automatically updated from this time, and will no longer experience the false positive.

Additionally, an email was sent to customers who are subscribed to Sophos's email notification list informing them that the IDE had been updated to correct the detection issue.

Sophos apologizes for any inconvenience that this problem has caused. Measures have been put in place to ensure that the problem does not occur again. Any customers who require further guidance are recommended to contact Sophos Technical Support."

"Sophos apologizes for any inconvenience that this problem has caused?" Hmm, I feel better now. That helps me feel better, now that your software had me dump vital parts of the OS to the trash and made it unusable.

(I take a deep breath) But then again, I'm hearing more and more about flaws in OSX. From Safari to Apples mail program. Every anti-virus software company or PC writer has something to say, and some rightly so, but I have a problem when they headline one thing and say another, or anti-virus company's who speak like they are the super hero's here to stop all Tojans, worms and viruses.

So it brightened my day to see this picture taken in New Yorks Times Square

Knowing that Microsoft goes out of it's way to prove they are the king of error's. The person who took the picture said it best, "the world's largest Windows error message - on a two-story high e-billboard ". Bill Gates would be proud.
*thanks IGM

What even made my day brighter was to see a editor write a level headed article.
I love this part:

"I'm not going to be running any anti-virus software anytime soon, just as I haven't run it for many years.

Also, I'm not going to turn off any preferences that make my daily computing habits any less convenient (the browser takeover is protected against by disabling the "Open safe files after downloading" preference in Safari).

The smuggest of smug Mac users is right: the platform is more secure, and these new security threats are no more threatening that a paraplegic kitten.

The Leap-A malware was a poorly-programmed Trojan horse that relied on "social engineering," or trickery to perform its nasty function. There's a simple way to protect against this kind of threat -- common sense -- and in testament to this, a lot of people didn't fall for it.

I'm not going to catch a virus this way any more than I'm going to send money to the honorable Dr. Mobuntu, head of the Central Bank of Nigeria."

That's right people use common sense, that's all it takes. Sounds too good, it's not true.

So you say, where's the good news?
Right here! Apple is hosting a media event on February 28th at Cupertino, CA. The invitation sent out to the media simply says join Apple as they introduce "fun new products." Now you know, that's a casting call for rumors.

So here's a couple:

The Apple Insider has overheard American Technology Research Analysts saying:

"We believe Apple will take the opportunity to round out its Intel Mac portfolio 6 - 9 months ahead of plan with a new widescreen consumer notebook (likely called "MacBook") and entry-level Mac mini, both of which will include a remote control and Front Row software," analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a research note released to clients early Wednesday morning.

Wu believes some of the strong selling points of the new consumer notebook will be its unique design, small size and widescreen display. He believes pricing should fall in the $1299-$1499 range.

The analyst also sees the possibility that Apple will announce that its Pro software applications like Aperture, Final Cut Pro, and Motion are now Intel native and may be ready as early as March. "We believe this is a good time to let its professional customers know," Wu wrote.

Rounding out his predictions, the analyst also thinks there is a "greater than 50 percent chance" that Apple will roll-out the first full-length feature films that will be available for download from the company's iTunes Music Store. He also sees Apple reaching the 1 billion iTunes downloads milestone by the time the Feb. 28th event rolls around. "

Go ahead grab you napkins and wipe that drool, because while Apple will has discontinued making the 12-inch and 17-inch PowerBook G4, according to reports, Apple also plans to replace the 17-inch PowerBook G4 model with a 17-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro by June.

But those who already ordered their MacbookPro, thay are smiling as they open there boxes. Of coarse some can't wait to take them apart. OWC has some pictures of a 15" 2.0ghz taken apart!

You can see more pictures here.

YML Time!
It's wednesday, Time for Your Mac Life. Today's topic? what else "Speeding Up Your Mac and Virus? What Virus?"
Guests tonigt are:
Joe Kissell who has 34 software speedups that can help you get the most out of the Mac you have.

Rob Griffiths who has been digging deep into the Leap-A malware to get to the bottom of how serious a threat it is. He's discovered that while tricky, it's not nearly as malicious as it could have been.

And of coarse Your Mac Life's Graphics Guru, Lesa Snider of GraphicReporter.com will be on to talk about her Graphics Tip of the Week

Also Peter Cohen of MacCentral.com and Macworld magazine will be on to talk about all the latest Mac Gaming News.

You can watch the streaming video, or just listen to the audio. It all starts this and every Wednesday evening from 5:30pm to 8pm PT or from 8:30pm to 11pm ET!

Oh, By the way for those who went crazy reading those iPods causing ear damage report, here's a joke from PC Weenies

Enough With The "First Mac Virus"!!

2006-02-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

It's all ready a fact that this is not a virus. Want more information? read here. But that does not stop guys like Gerard Hickey who writes for ManineToday to have a headline that reads "Virus " hits Mac OSX. What this dumb ass is doing is just trying to get hits to the web site. Now you ask, I how can I say that?? here's a quote from his article:

"Strictly speaking, Oompa Loompa is not a virus but rather a trojan or a worm. Quite a bit of difference in how both operate."

Wait I thought when I clicked the site I was gonna read about a Mac OSX "virus"?. What a rip off, but he got you to come to his page anyway. He knew from the start there are no Mac OSX viruses so far. If your woundering why no link to the site? I not going to give him more people for more hits on that site.

But of coarse he's not alone The News Tribune has dumb asses who don't investigate more into the story eaither. With lines like:

"Worms, viruses finally find their way into Apple computer systems

News Tribune staff and Newsday
Published: February 21st, 2006 02:30 AM

Apple Macintosh computers – long viewed as more secure than PCs running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows – are finally facing virus problems."

As there headline was "Wake-up Call for mac Users". Now that headline I understand. The rest of their story just proves they just don't know what a virus, worm, or a tojan are. A wake-up call for Mac users? yes. But tojans attack all users, Mac and PC . We all must use common sense, Do not install and run applications from untrusted sources and if you on a Mac Do not run Mac OS X as "root."

It's not just PC users who can be victims of their own stupidity when it comes to Internet security. Mac users are not immune from malware that requires user interaction. Malware has always been out there. Someone can write a simple script to dump all your music to the trash and empty it. If you have a lot music, that could be costly.

arsTechnica put it best:

"Mac OS X has a solid record so far when it comes to viruses and other malware, and many Mac users don't bother with antivirus software. However, as sales of Macintosh computers continue to increase, the platform may become more attractive to malware writers."

Now a virus that a whole nother story.

Safari can get you in Trouble
Now, they have found a problem with update 10.4.5 and Safari. It seems after the update the option "Open safe files after downloading" in Apple's Safari web browser is activated by default.
What's this function, and how do I turn it off?

*Its function is to automatically display images and movies after they are transmitted to the user's computer, using the application assigned to that particular document format. Safari will also unpack ZIP archives and display the documents within if they are considered "safe."

"Safe" being the operative word. The thing to do to stop this is to launch Safari, go to Safari's preference's, click general, then uncheck "open safe files after opening".

This was a bad mistake by Apple by making this on by defualt. This needs correction!

ProCare
Yesterday Apple revised its ProCare program, which offers special perks to users who pay an annual fee. The cost is $99 a year for the premium program. The ProCare now adds a Yearly Tune-up and they have changed the name of the priority service, it is now called Fast Track.

The yearly tune-up is where Apple will run system diagnostics, update your Apple software, and clean your Mac's monitor and keyboard. The service also includes hour-long one-on-one training sessions, priority service at the Genius bar, and Worldwide support.

It also includes Complete Setup for transferring files/folders to a new Mac computer, advance reservations at Apple's Genius Bar up to seven days in advance.

Doom goes Binary
Aspyr Media has released a Universal Binary version of Doom 3.

According to MacWorld:

"The 1.3 Rev A patch enables Doom 3 to run natively on Apple’s new Intel-based Macs. The update results in greatly improved performance and much higher frame rates on those machines. The patch has been available as a private beta for several weeks, but now it’s in general circulation and available to the public.

Other changes have been made as well. Aspyr claims improved performance on some PowerPC-based Macs equipped with ATI graphics hardware. The minimum supported operating system for this release is Mac OS X v10.3.9."

You can get the patch here

*from heise online

Mix Feeling on President's Day

2006-02-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

While I set here on President's day, I read about the dumb ass site forums that are back up.
So my first feeling is pissed off that this crap site's forums are back up.
I'll just quote a post I made in the MacObserver:

"OSx86project's site is the slime that grows on the shit stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

Their poem back to Apple and posted for the world to read tells all. They can play blind and dumb if they want to. But we all know all they deal and promote with is a bunch of haxors who want a Intel version-OS they (when all this started) that they did not pay for to run on a dumb PC box.

All they did is play innocent when they saw Apple lawyers coming. The site is a just a "watercooler for hackers" as CNet posited. As they said "We welcome everyone. Hackers came (as we knew they would) but as long as they accepted the rules" Ya, the rules... just don't post the link here to the hack. But you can post a link to the Hackers site.

So I'm the get-away driver to a theft, but as long as I didn't go inside the store and take anything I'm innocent?. Try that with a judge."

I would post a link to their site and what they wrote, but I don't post crap here. :)

Tojan aimed at Mac Users
By the way, you want some real information about the tojan/malware called "the first Mac virus" in the media check out this article from MacWorld. My feeling? Helpful.

**Rumor**
Think Secret is posting that

"Apple will roll out ProCare 2.0 at its retail stores this Tuesday[...]The collection of services, which costs $99 a year, includes Personal Training, Fast Track, Advanced Reservations, Yearly Tune-Up, and Complete Set Up.

Personal Training allows ProCare members to schedule free one-hour training sessions up to once per week. The training covers Apple hardware and software, although Pro Apps training will not be supported at all locations. Fast Track gives ProCare members priority repairs and access to the Genius Bar. Fast Track repairs are moved to top of the repair queue, and while this frequently will mean same-day or next-day repair, Apple is guaranteeing neither.

ProCare members will also be able to book reservations for the Genius Bar or Studio up to one week in advance online through the Concierge Web interface for their store. A new Yearly Tune-Up will also be offered to ProCare members once per year. The Tune-Up, which normally costs almost as much as the ProCare membership itself, involves a Mac Genius running anti-virus and disk repair utilities on the system, as well as other maintenance tasks.

Lastly, Complete Setup gives ProCare members the opportunity to have a Mac Genius transfer data from their old computer to their new Mac free of charge. The older system must be running Windows 98 or Mac OS 8.5 or later and have an Ethernet port.

Apple is setting attach rate goals of 20 percent for the new ProCare; that is, a store is expected to sell ProCare for at least 20 percent of customers who buy Macs.

My feelings? Meh, neutral.. we will see.

Severe Delusions and Intense Psychosis!
On Febuary 16, 2006 I posted about John C. Dvorak who thinks Apple will ditch Mac OS X for Microsoft's Windows. Well The Joy of Tech is also having some fun with that story. I leave you with my last feeling... Laughter and joy! :D

A Happy MacAddict!!

2006-02-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hello readers, if you can't see it, I'm smiling from ear to ear. Why do you ask?? {Fire Marshal Bill Voice} WELL LET ME SHOW YA SOMETHING!!

Seeing that makes my heart go pitter-patter.... the Joy (one single tear slowly comes over my cheak). It seems Apple has served DMCA notice to OSx86 project. Oh Happy joy. According to Mac News network(MacNN):

"Apple is moving to prevent further discussion of running its Mac OS X operating system on generic Intel-based machines. Apple's legal team has notified OSx86 Project--a site dedicated to getting Mac OS X running on machines not non-Apple-branded machines--that it is in violation of the US DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), forcing the site to close down its user forms and post notice[...]Apple has gone through extensive efforts to develop and install technology to prevent users from running Mac OS X on computers other than Macs; however, hackers have been able to successfully work around many of the security mechanisms in the operating system and recently posted instructions and discussion of how to alter Mac OS X 10.4.4 to run on generic Intel's"

Sadly, although the site remains online, its forums have been taken offline. If you don't know the DMCA is a United States copyright law that criminalizes the release of technology developed to circumvent copyright protection.

The OSx86 Project’s coordinators have claimed their site “is fully compliant with the DMCA,” and “intends only to provide a forum for those interested in running OS X on Intel hardware.”

Ya right, try to sound innocent now. What happened to the praise of hacker God Maxxuss?
What, no poems today???

All in all they are not the ony dumb asses out there, The iPod Observer has posted that the "RIAA is once again trying to assert that ripping a CD and space-shifting it to your iPod is not a noninfringing use (fair use) of the music you have bought."
Bottom line of what they are saying is putting music from a CD you paid for to your computer is fine, but putting that music on a iPod after putting it on your computer is illegal.

So you wanna play a disk on you home system and also your iPod? They want you to buy 2 CD's. This helps stop the illegal downloads how?? This makes people want to download music because nobody is gonna buy 2 copy's of the same CD.

Damn, more people that get paid for dumb ass idea's.

Well it's Frag Friday!!
SO COME ON OVER TO THE DARKSIDE SERVER FOR SOME CTF FUN!!!

MAC VIRUS RUUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!

2006-02-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

Well if these two pieces of junk, what some people get paid for, and call reporting, these two sites should get pulitzer's for the worst ever in reporting.

It's bad enough we have crack pots like John C. Dvorak who think Apple will ditch Mac OS X for Microsoft's Windows! In which this dumb asses "evidence" is mostly based on claims that no one's switching over to the Mac. Hmmm, where does this crack pot get his info?? Apparently, he didn't see that Apple has doubled its U.S. market share last year, and is trying hard to keep up on all it's Mac orders. I mean if nobody is switching, then why are Mac unit sales and market share rising?

Also why would Apple want to trash OSX to go to a OS that the government can't even use and keep secure?

"The US government alleges that between February 2001 and March 2002, the 40-year-old computer enthusiast from North London hacked into dozens of US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense computers, as well as 16 Nasa computers," Boyd reports. "It says his hacking caused some $700,000 dollars worth of damage to government systems. What's more, they allege that Mr McKinnon altered and deleted files at a US Naval Air Station not long after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and that the attack rendered critical systems inoperable. The US government also says Mr McKinnon once took down an entire network of 2,000 US Army computers. His goal, they claim, was to access classified information."

McKinnon admits "that he hacked into dozens of US government computer systems. In fact, he calmly detailed just how easy it was to access extremely sensitive information in those systems. 'I found out that the US military use Windows,' said Mr McKinnon in that BBC interview. 'And having realised this, I assumed it would probably be an easy hack if they hadn't secured it properly.' Using commercially available software, Mr McKinnon probed dozens of US military and government networks. He found many machines without adequate password or firewall protection. So, he simply hacked into them," Boyd reports."

Doesn't that story want you to run out and get windows XP? There are a lot of columnist's who sound like they know what's best for Apple or any other large corporation, but while they sit there with there $40,000 a year jobs, and hand out 2¢ opinions like this, and Steve has a major multi-milion dollar corparation to run, and is doing it successfully I might add. I'll go with Steve, till he proves other wise.

But lets get back to the headline, which first started in the MacRumors forums.

"On the evening of the 13th, an unknown user posted an external link to a file on MacRumors Forums claiming to be the latest Leopard Mac OS X 10.5 screenshots. The file was named "latestpics.tgz"

The resultant file decompresses into what appears to be a standard JPEG icon in Mac OS X but is actually a compiled Unix executable in disguise. An initial disassembly (from original discussion thread) reveals evidence that the application is virus-like or was designed to give that impression. Routines listed include:

_infect:
_infectApps:
_installHooks:
_copySelf:

The exact consequences of the application are unclear, but according to the users that originally executed the application have noted that it appeared to self propogate:
If anyone remembers last night, when lasthope spread that picture that opened in terminal. I just turned on my other computer and it said it had an incoming file, from my computer, which was the latest pics file. Any help. I have already secure deleted it off of my harddrive, but how do i know that it will not come back.

Andrew Welch who had done some of the initial disassembly is posting updates to this thread.

According to the initial investigation, the application uses Spotlight to find the other applications on the infected machine and subsequently inserts a stub of code into each application executable.

Update: It appears that there is some debate about the classification of this application, and as it does require user activation, it appears to fall into the Trojan classification, rather than self-propogating through any particular vulnerability in OS X.

Update #2: The most recent updates show that the file does send itself to other users in your AIM/iChat buddy list."

This really was just a terminal executable disguised with a different icon. It seems it just types "suspicious words"
_infect:
_infectApps:
_installHooks:
_copySelf:

but I think Andrew from the Ambrosia explains it best here. I think MDN says it best "This is what it's come to: making up a Mac OS X "virus" where none exists".

But that doesn't stop knuckle heads like John Leyden from The Register UK from writing junk like this:

"Antivirus researchers have discovered what's claimed to be the first computer Trojan to infect Apple Mac OS X computers. The malware, dubbed Leap-A, spreads via the iChat instant messaging system as a file called latestpics.tgz that infected machines send to contacts on an infected user's buddy list.

The malicious file, which poses as a set of pictures, is a compressed Unix shell program. The user is prompted for admin credentials to launch the malicious code, which is better described as a Trojan than a virus. Mac OS X users who do this will find their machines infected.

Mac viruses were relatively common at the dawn of personal computing, but these days the overwhelming majority of viruses are Windows specific. Leap-A shows other platforms are also vulnerable."

Mac viruses were common? what the hell is this guy smoking??

You want the short version of what Andrew wrote?

You cannot be infected by this unless you do all of the following:
1) Are somehow sent (via email, iChat, etc.) or download the "latestpics.tgz" file
2) Double-click on the file to decompress it
3) Double-click on the resulting file to "open" it
...and then for most users, you must also enter your Admin password.

It does not exploit any security holes; rather it uses "social engineering" to get the user to launch it on their system. It requires the admin password if you're not running as an admin user. It doesn't actually do anything other than attempt to propagate itself via iChat. It has a bug in the code that prevents it from working as intended, which has the side-effect of preventing infected applications from launching. It's not particularly sophisticated.

Remember You cannot simply catch a trojan as you would a virus. This is not the first Mac OS X trojan and I'm certain it won't be the last. Use common sense, Do not install and run applications from untrusted sources and Do not run Mac OS X as "root."

Sophos, Symantec, McAfee and Intego have all added the code’s description to their Mac anti-virus software files.

There are always malicious people out there looking to harm or misguide people, weather it be a PC or Mac user. Look at the Fake invite sent out by a user in Germany to Mac News reports.

Macnn reports:

"A fake invite today was sent out by a user in Germany. The hoax invite, which read and looked like a real Apple-sanctioned event, was sent to several Mac websites and touted a 'special event' with U2 lead Bono. The fake red invitation said "Please join Steve and Bono" for an "invitation-only event" at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco on March 1st at 10 am. The invite also offered the words "Together we can fight it." Several reports had speculated on a special red iPod from Apple to help Bono's fight against AIDS. "U2's Bono may partner with Apple on a new red iPod in the near future to help promote a new project to battle AIDS. The charity is designed to raise money to help finance the fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in Africa, and hopes to convince the world's largest companies to release special red-branded products while offering a portion of the profits to the fund." [updated]

The invite came with the following headers:

Received-SPF: neutral (216.22.45.54 is neither permitted nor denied by best guess record for domain of webmaster@felixbruns.de)
Received: (qmail 63576 invoked by uid 89); 15 Feb 2006 16:53:36 -0000
Delivered-To: xxxxxx@macnn.com
Received: (qmail 63346 invoked from network); 15 Feb 2006 16:53:13 -0000
Received: from s169.evanzo-server.de (62.67.235.169)
by macnn.com with SMTP; 15 Feb 2006 16:53:13 -0000
Received: (from wwwrun@localhost)
by s169.evanzo-server.de (8.11.3/8.11.3/SuSE Linux 8.11.1-0.5) id k1FGrDl09934;
Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:53:13 +0100
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:53:13 +0100"

This is the pic of the fake invite

As quoted form Macnn "Many websites that initially reported the event have since pulled their stories without any correction, retraction, or other note." LoopRumors was one of them.
I give praise for a reporter to "man up" to any mistakes that may come from bad information.

Apple Updates 10.4 Plus More!

2006-02-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Apple released 10.4.5 for the Power PC(PPC) and Intel-based Macs. The update is a small one, weighing in at 6.4MB. The PPC version comes as a small standalone updater and a as a combo updater that allows you to completely update from any version of 10.4

Improvements

This update offers many improvements, including:

Internet, iDisk, and networking

Safari no longer quits unexpectedly when deleting AOL mail messages via AOL webmail.

Apple's IPSec VPN client now works with Cisco servers whether or not NAT is used.

Addresses an issue in which you could not sync with an iDisk larger than 4 GB.

Files copied across a network via Portable Home Directories are now copied as temporary files until the transfer is complete, in case the network connection is interrupted before the transfer finished.

Addresses an issue in which some Epson printers could not successfully print via AirPort Extreme.

Other

Allows the rotating cube effect to appear as expected on both a primary and a mirrored display, when switching users via Fast User switching.

Addresses an issue for Mac OS X 10.4.4 in which background columns of text within the RSS Visualizer screen saver are sometimes superimposed over one another.

Dragging a widget out of the widget bar while the desktop picture is changing (automatically, for example) no longer stops the animation on an Intel-based Mac.

On an Intel-based Mac, Telestream Flip4Mac now installs correctly.

Prevents the Setup Assistant from unexpectedly quitting if Kotoeri is selected as the keyboard type following an English language installation of Mac OS X.

Allows applications that run using Rosetta on an Intel-based Mac to successfully open files that are located via an Open window's "search" field.

Addresses an issue in which Rosetta-translated applications running on Intel-based Macs would not correctly receive Keychain notifications.

Console no longer reports a series of "Quartz Composer QuickTime Component" messages for iMovie '06 when applying a Ken Burns clip or image.

Addresses an issue for iMovie HD and Mac OS X 10.4.4 in which iMovie could unexpectedly quit when switching themes.

Updated the rules for time zones and Daylight Savings Time to conform to changes in the law for the United States, Australia, and other locations, for 2006 and later.

Addresses a potential issue that could cause the system process "configd" to unexpectedly stall.

Addresses an issue when viewing streaming media behind a firewall on Intel Macs.

Eliminates some potential video redraw issues when using Front Row on Intel-based Macs.

Apple also released a PPC standalone server updater.

As always I say before updating

1)Boot your computer from the 10.4 DVD (holding down the "C" while computer boots up)

2)Go to Utilities and do Repairs on the Hard drive and repairs on permissions

3) restart your computer

4) install update and restart

5) Open Disk Utilities from your Hard drive (not the DVD) and Repair permissions.

6) Restart computer

Apple Special Event March 1st?

Loop Rumors is quoted as saying

"Apple announced a special event today with 'house band' U2 lead singer Bono. "Please join Steve and Bono" for an invitation-only event at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on March 1st at 10 am. The event also offers the words "Together we can fight it." On January 30th LoopRumors told you of a special red iPod that was set to be announced for charity"

I will look further into this....
*update*
loop rumors has deleted the post. Guess ther ws no truth to it

More Speed For PowerBooks!
Well if you have a G4 PowerBook, Daystar Technology announced the availability of 1.92GHz and 2.0GHz processor upgrades for the Aluminum PowerBook G4. The XLR8 MAChSpeed G4 Aluminum upgrade service includes a box for shipping, factory installation and testing, and return shipping of your PowerBook. The service is available for 15 and 17-inch PowerBooks with original processor speeds ranging from 1.0GHz up to 1.5GHz, and is priced starting at US$499.

But now you ask, why should I upgrade my Aluminum PowerBook G4 and not just get a new MacBook Pro? Well maybe because

1) The software you need is not native yet
2)You have everything just like you like it on your Powerbook
3) Or maybe it's because the MacBook Pro has not been tested to -50C (-58F) like this one.

The photo shows Nicolas Vanier testing the limits of his PowerBook in a industrial fridge in order to validate his notebook before bringing it with him towards Siberia and its polar temperatures. This is of course way below the official certifications provided by Apple (from 10°C/50F).

Thiefs At It Again
Of coarse they are some that just don't get it when it comes to OSX and owning a Mac. Those of you who read this blog know how I feel about the osx86project. Bunch of asswipe thiefs trying to get OSX to run on a PC (windows) box. So now hacking guru Maxxuss has announced preliminary patches for Apple's latest release of OS X for Intel, version 10.4.4.

From Maxxuss's site:

"This is a preliminary release of my Patch Solution for the official Mac OS X on the Intel platform. Consider it a work-in-progess for now. Ultimately, it would allow you to run this Mac OS X release on a generic x86 computer (SSE2 required).
There's still a lot of work to do, like support for SSE2-only CPUs, a proper installation procedure and a PPF patch. However, if you like to play around, this will get you started."

Of coarse the guys at the osx86project where eating this up:

"What this means is that Apple’s best attempts to secure their OS have, ultimately, failed. For its best efforts, the company is unable to lock OS X to their hardware. Without doubt, this will have profound impacts on the company’s future as running OSx86 on a PC becomes less a hacker’s trick and more mainstream. When all it requires is the downloading of a DVD, that’s certainly the future we’re looking at.

This also opens a host of new questions for Apple, OS X, and the PC users who love it. Will this mark the beginning of Apple’s legal endeavors to keep OS X locked down? Will it persuade Steve Jobs that releasing his OS is an insanely great idea?"

For years I have heard the sound of some PC users always saying how Mac's suck, now all of a sudden we have "PC users who love it"? Where all this love come from?

First, let me tell ya, most users are not willing to go through all the hassle, plus with also no support from Apple there is a great possibility of crashes and data loss. And to top it off, a patch slash hack, that is made from a hacker that could have a it's own type of rootkit able to steal your credit card numbers. If I was a PC user I would be super suspicious and leave this alone. Just buy a Mac!

But I also find it funny how the same guy also says:

a few pieces of OS X look for a secret message in “commpage” that gets decrypted via the TPM… basically a decoder ring for geeks. It seems that Apple wasn’t just content with sending an obvious message – they wanted one that sounded pretty too.

Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
his existing OS was so blind,
he'd do better to pirate
an OS that ran great
but found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS!
Really, that's way uncool.
(C) Apple Computer, Inc."

But then again the guys at the osx86project prove how all they are, are thiefs & hacks who praise themselves with thier poem,

"Rime of the Ancient Hacker
There once was a hacker named Maxxuss
who Steve did not think was a genius.
But Steve pondered awhile,
grabbed the phone with a smile,
and said “Bill, there’s a thing to discuss…”

How sad.

YML
It's wednesday, time for Your Mac Life! Today
iStockphoto.com, Blackberrys & an iPod nano Prize!
iStockphoto was recently purchased, lock, stock and photo frames by Getty Images of Seattle. Kelly Thompson, iStockphoto's VP of Marketing, will join Your Mac Life to talk about the takeover and what it means for their users.

Jim Dalrymple is the head honcho at MacCentral.com and a fellow Gadget Geek. His latest toy is the Blackberry and he'll be on Your Mac Life to compare and contrast his new Blackberry with is old Treo 650.

Your Mac Life's Graphics Guru, Lesa Snider of GraphicReporter.com will be on to talk about her Graphics Tip of the Week.

Your Mac Life's favorite "Anonymous Donor" has appeared again. This time, he or she wants to give away a brand new 1 gig iPOd nano to a lucky listener. Tune in tonight to find out how you can win!

You can watch the video or just the plan audio feed.

YML starts at 5:30pm to 8pm PT or from 8:30pm to 11pm ET. See you guys in the IRC Server at irc.netmug.org in the #yourmaclife Channel.

MacBook Pros on the Way!!

2006-02-14T12:05:00.000-08:00

Apple today announced they will be shipping Macbok pro's next week! But as a added bonus they will get a speed bump at no extra cost. The specs on the MacBook Pros go from 1.67GHz and 1.83GHz to 1.83GHz for the low-end and 2.0GHz for the high-end model. You can also have a build-to-order MacBook pro with a processor as fast as 2.16 GHz .

So that means that everybody's orders will automatically be upgraded to the higher specs.

In addition to being able to upgrade the processor as a build-to-order option, customers can also upgrade to several other components including a 120GB (5400 rpm) or a 100GB (7200 rpm) hard drive. the can also get up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, and a Apple USB modem. Also if you buying a MacBook Pro, make sure to get the AppleCare Protection Plan, it's worth the money.

Some think they can resist from buying a Mac. But in the end you know you want one. Shoot advertisers like Macs so much they are willing to pay someone to show a powerbook with a windows OS on it.

Or just plan altering the computer itself, like this iBook with only one USB connection on the left side

*pics from jackwhispers.blogspot.com

But with the possibilty of seeing a quad-core chip, (codenamed Tigerton) in a Intel-based Mac Tower would make anybody drool. So far Intel CTO Justin Rattner told reporters on Friday that Intel will release a quad-core chip (codenamed Clovertown) which will also be manufacturered on a 65-nanometer processes, in early 2007 -- possibly starting revenue shipments as early as late 2006.

Things like this can make windows user do a double take and consider more towards buying a Mac. I mean you already love your iPod, This New York Times writer was willing to take his chances with death to get his iPod back. Some people are willing to go this far. Guys will go further if they have Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue on their video abled iPod. You will be able to get any of the eight specially produced videos from the iTunes music store for $1.99 each. Or even download content to a cellphone.

Since I mentioned phones, let me mention the release I'm sure you all have seen the ad on TV about, the new Motorola SLVR L7.
You can get your hands on the latest motorola phone with iTunes for the price of $200 plus a two-year contract. Jim Puls of The Tartan online (carnegie Mellon's student newspaper) says:

"For an incredibly slick gadget, though, there are some shortcomings. First and foremost is the ridiculously slow speed of music transfers. The phone uses USB 1.1, a standard at least five years out of date, and it’s limited to 12 megabits per second. Transferring 100 songs — an already small number by most standards — takes nearly an hour, compared to two to three minutes on a real iPod... A second shortcoming is the lack of integration between the iTunes player on the phone and the rest of the phone’s software. iTunes is, very literally, an add-on program to this phone."

"People who want a nice phone that can secondly play small amounts of music, however, will find it hard to go wrong with the SLVR L7. This phone, despite its shortcomings, adds very nice functionality to an almost unbeatable physical form,"

Too bad the SLVR costs as much as a 30 gig iPod (without a contract) and gets you a rather lackluster iTunes experience. Even iLounge gives the SLVR a B-, saying:

"Pros: An aesthetically sleek and thin combination of wireless phone and 512MB iTunes music player that boasts better-than-average battery life, and in-call performance. Like its predecessor ROKR E1, plays back MP3 or AAC tracks without complaint, offers partial Bluetooth compatibility, an integrated camera and limited data features. Played music for more than 20 continuous hours in our testing.

Cons: Other than phone’s much-improved body, there’s nothing new here: its software looks and feels almost identical to what came with Motorola’s phones two years ago. iTunes experience continues to suffer by comparison with all screened iPods (including $149 models) on many levels, including slow/poor features, interface, file transfer speeds and equalization. Storage is artificially capped at 100 songs regardless of their actual size - fewer than any iPod, including shuffle - though the phone costs as much as a 30GB iPod unless you simultaneously commit to a phone contract. "

You see everybody wants a piece of Apple's music program( music store, mp3 players, etc..). Everybody knows the iTunes with it's Music Store is a awesome app. They like it so much some will even copy it, add a little here and there and call it Songbird.

Sorry just looks like a iTunes wanna be. If it's something fresh & new, use your own ideas. Copying stuff like Microsoft does shows how un-imaginative you are. Open source or not.

Microsoft wants to follow now a days, not lead. Look how they now will have Motorola use Windows Media technology from Microsoft in a new range of music phones that would sell alongside its iTunes phone developed with Apple.

Microsoft is now trying to break into the digital media market with their Windows Media software which is incompatible with Apple's. So far the other music stores are failing, and doing this now just looks like a very steep uphill battle for Microsoft. Microsoft does have deals with both Nokia and Motorola, and they will need them both to compete with Apple in the moble music market.

It's Frag Friday!!

2006-02-10T11:12:00.000-08:00

My headline reminds me of the Unreal Tournament 99(UT 99) days when the writers of MacAddict magazine would play UT 99 with their readers. MacAddict had it's own clan [MA], and the server was packed everyday with good players like HellSpawn, Caveman, MoofMeal, Candyman, NoX, and even my son Driven. It was a blast! A time when there was no aimbots (atleast not on that server), guys where civil, and it was all about having fun.

It's sad to see now how the aimbotting, bad additudes and fowl mouths has grown. Some players want servers and admins to be like burger king and "have it my way". All they wanna do is bitch about the server or admins when they (the player) do dumb shit like camp, use aliases, stand around and bitch about other players instead of playing the game.

Some players now a days wanna stand in a corner and bitch while taking a spot that a player wanting to play could be using. There are some "good" players out there that wanna whine when told to use a nick. I ask you why not use your real nick you would use on TeamWarfare League™ (TWL)?, I only see one reason, so they wanna alias, do B.S. stuff on servers, say it was not them because most players don't wanna stop, type "mutate antitcc whois (persons nick) " during a match to find out who the player is. So when they get kicked, (because I do take the time) they bitch.

They want to be able to camp spawning spots or weapon spots near where a person spawns so they can get a easy kill then bitch when they get told to stop or get kicked. Then try and rally people behind there bullshit cause who most likely did not see what happend or where kicked themselfs for pulling the same crap.

There are some players who have made botting a art by being able to turn it on or off at will. So because nobody likes multiple checks during the game because it can delay you from preventing a cap in capture the flag (CTF), the checks are only in the beginning and in the end of the game leaving a match open for presistant haxor botter.

Me for the most part am a thick skin and forgiving person, most people first get kicked or get banned for a day. but I can also be the biggest hard ass if pushed too far. So it's always in a players best intrest not to mouth off to any admin on any server if you want to continue playing on that server. And to talk about hacking a server:

Pipo:Heres the to do list:
hax darkside killing it for a week
have everyone go play on aua
bann all the trash that should've stayed on darkside
win.

just because you don't like the rules just proves how childish some players have become. So far there are only 3 people banned from the Darkside server I admin on, and one of those may be a mistake and may be unbanned soon. So the player who's nick is "Cafe'" needs to stop with the lies:

Quote from: emc.johnnie on Feb 09, 2006, 05:23 pm
who got banned that a thread was made?

cafe':Well obviously I did, as well as 6 other people in one fucking day. Hes a bad admin and seems to have total confidence in his playing ability, because to him everyone is a cheater.

I have seen a lot of very good players (Esco, Zipknob, Candyman, RIP, etc) I have speced them and played against them as well, they make some eye opening shots and moves, but I never called them cheaters. So all the BS talk "because to him everyone is a cheater" is the bullshit you talk to get people to back up your lies. I hear some people say "I know that player does not cheat". Well I say half you guys don't know whether you best friend eats pussy or sucks dick! So if you don't know what's in a players .ini file... shut the fuck up!!

I'm sorry the AUA server is not full a lot, but I would guess when and if it does on a constant basis your admin zach will find out how much of a problem some players who don't even pay for the server can be.

I remember guys bitching about paragon's server when he had his rules, calling him "hitler". Some people like I said wanna be childish and have things "there way". Sorry life is just not that way and if you don't pay for the server, your Shit Out of Luck(SOL). But sorry, when a player comes in gets over 200 kills, a plus net of 75, in less than 20 minutes match, on a non-spammy map I get suspicious. Sorry I'm from N.Y.C. that's just how I am.

I also always find it intresting when I see such good players unwilling to mix teams up to make a match more enjoyable. That's one of the points of trying to get players to use their real nicks, and players using good sportsmenship in the match willing to change teams to make a match more enjoyable. Reather then having one sided beat downs.

The game was made to have fun, not to boost you personal ego, and give other players a hard time. That's why I miss the MacAddict [MA] and Cains Lair {CLR}UT servers. Good players with the attidude the game was ment to be played in.

Me, I'm just a admin trying to make the game fun for everyone.

This Rant was brought to you by {RA}CG5Addict which got it's start from Cafe's post found here. Ah, the internet, the place some guys like (Pipo, Cafe', and VipaDawg) can talk shit and not worry about a 6'3" 245 pound Puerto Ricen knocking at there door.

/end rant

Anyway, for those good players who want to play on a good server...
Come to The Darkside. (69.93.100.55:7777)
Frag on Baby!!

Rumors, News, & Updates

2006-02-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

I'm diiffernt, so i'll start with the updates.

Apple yesterday released the latest version of its backup software for .Mac users, Backup 3.1 through Software Update. You can also get it here from Version Tracker. According to the release notes, the update delivers added support for some backup destinations and addresses file restoration and other issues. Backup 3.1, which is now a universal application, is recommended for all users of Backup 3.0.

Significant areas addressed in the release include: improved support for iDisk, local hard drives, and some network destinations (Mac OS X Tiger only); new iWeb QuickPick and updated iLife plan; and fixes to issues with restoring files.

Adobe updated Acrobat 7.07 and Acrobat Reader 7.07. The Acrobat 7.07 update is available for both Professional,Standard editions, and also for it's free Reader, bringing new functionality, bug fixes, and security updates. You can Update through Acrobat's internal updater or here for the free version, or here for the Pro & Standard versions of Acrobat 7.07.

Postal 2

Ryan Gordon has updated Postal 2, it's also been patched to support Apple's new line of iMacs. The patch fixes a number of other Mac-specific issues with the game and adds support for the Apocalypse Weekend expansion pack.

Postal 2 is a crazy game, or as MacWorld has put it

"The game has been widely reviled — even banned in some countries — for its ribald, irreverent sense of humor and its lampooning of everything from anti-video game violence groups to racial minorities. But it’s also rich with tongue-in-cheek satire and pop culture references. (Former child star Gary Coleman even makes an appearance.)"

Here's a breakdown of the changes:

• Postal 2 is now a "Universal" (PowerPC and Intel) binary.
• Stencil buffer support added (fixes mirrors not reflecting).
• Other rendering fixes and enhancements from UT2004.
• Fixed some memory corruption crashes.
• Updated OpenAL (again) with several (more) fixes.
• Disabled mmap() for file i/o (fixes out of memory issues).
• Fixed karma crashes, usually seen in Apocalypse Weekend.
• Updated OpenAL with several fixes.
• Launching a dedicated server from the game now works.
• Apocalypse Weekend support (expansion pack sold seperately!)

You can get it here.

Apple has posted the video trailer (Quicktime 7 required) of Blizzards upcoming expansion to it's massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. With more then 5.5 million players the expansion called Burning Crusade is sure to please it's users. It has a lot of extra's it's bringing to the game.

Here is just a partial list of what you can expect from the World of Warcraft expansion:
•An increase in the level cap to 70
•Two new playable races, including the magical Blood Elves
•New starting zones in Quel'Thalas and beyond
•The entire new continent of Outland, reachable through the Dark Portal
•Many new high-level dungeons to explore in Azeroth, Outland, and elsewhere
•New flying mounts in Outland
•Many new and dangerous monsters, including epic world bosses
•Hundreds of new quests
•Hundreds of new items
•A new profession: Jewelcrafting
•Socketed items
And much, much more...

O.K. time for....
Rumors!
Think Secret has posted that Apple is nearing completion of a completely revamped video iPod that will shed the ubiquitous mechanical click wheel for a touch screen and will sport a 3.5-inch diagonal display.

"This video iPod, which has been in development and on the table since before Apple released the 5G iPod last year with video playback, will feature a display that will occupy the entire front face of the device. Sources who have seen the device report that it features a digital click wheel, one that overlays the touch-sensitive display and appears when a finger touches it and disappears when the finger is removed."

People like Charles Wolf of Needham & Co. seem to think that Apple may be planning a birthday bash (April 1, Apple's 30th birthday) as a time and place to release exciting new products, like an Intel-based iBook as well as the "real" video iPod.

To support his predictions, Wolf said his conviction that a Video iPod will be introduced stems from two events. The first is that the company is rapidly increasing the video content available at the iTunes Music Store. And reports coming out of Asia that Apple has materially reduced its orders of the iPod with video viewing capabilities that it introduced last October.

Wolf also noted that products Apple might introduce at its April event could extend beyond the Intel iBook and video iPod. The analyst noted that an Intel-based Mac mini destine for the living room may also be in the cards.

Think Secret is also saying that "Apple's upcoming midtown Manhattan retail store will mark a first for the company as sources report the location will be open 24 hours a day. The store, located in the underground retail plaza of the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue between 58th and 59th Street will also be among the first stores to offer customers an iPod Bar.

The 25,000-square-foot store will dwarf Apple's SoHo location and will be capped by a 32-foot glass cube that will stand in front of the building and house the stairs and elevators that will take customers underground to the Apple retail store."

By the way, if you are looking into getting a Intel-based Mac, Ted Landau has wriiten a article on MacFixit.com on software side of using a Intel-based Mac, not like most out there based on hardware.

Lastly more talk about Apple possibly buying palm from ARSTechnica. "Further driving the rumors of an Apple-Palm buyout are the recent spate of patents that Apple has been furiously acquiring in recent years. From failed attempts to patent the iPod interface, to integrated cameras in laptop latches, as well as a mysterious application last year for an

"electronic device" that looks suspiciously like a Tablet PC, Apple has been busy thinking about the next generation of its consumer devices. A few years back, Apple stirred the rumors of a reintroduction of the Newton by including an updated version of its handwriting technology, now called Inkwell, in OSX."

Also for those of you who can't get enough of vaporware, wired.com has given Duke Nukem Forever the No1 spot...again! From their page:

It's back! By popular demand, the winner of the 2005 Vaporware Awards is 3D Realms' Duke Nukem Forever, the loooooooooooooong-awaited sequel to its popular Duke Nukem game.

What else could we do? Readers overwhelmingly voted the MIA title the vaporware champion.

The game came second in the 2000 Vaporware Awards, and won in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 we gave it a Lifetime Achievement Award, just to get it off the list.

But incredibly, the company says it's still in development -- nearly nine years after it was first announced. The official release date is "when it's done," according to the company's website.

I just love some of the comments from readers on the wired.com webpage about Duke Nukem Forever!

"Reader Greg Gemignani wrote: "Announced in 1997 and promised every year since, this game takes vaporware to new heights. Think about it, in just 13 months this game will have been in one form of development or another for a decade. This project started with a game based on the Quake 2 engine, then in 1999 it moved to the Unreal engine and has been stalled ever since. The 3D Realms site still lists it as the first game on its products page, the site still claims it will be released, and the FAQ on the game was updated early this year. Shouldn't Duke Nukem Forever get some place of honor for maintaining vaporware status for nearly a decade, particularly in the fast-paced market of FPS video games?"

Reader Tomas Björklund asked: "What other product can really compete with a product that was supposed to come out last millennium?!"

And reader Robert Danzinger said: "It's been in development for almost a fucking decade now. Give 3D Realms a medal or something."

*thanks Peek for the heads up

Did I miss the News part? naw it's mixed in there ;)

Things To Look For

2006-02-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well today I was surfing and found a few things to look out for. As you all know there have been rumors about Apple possibly making a tablet. Well this video shows several images showing some of the touch screen patents that Apple owns.It contains some interesting footage on just how these patents could be used and also shows what you could possible do with it.

The Power6
IBM it seems is kicking speed bumps high, like up to 6GHz in their labs. IBM thinks that some process technology breakthroughs have allowed them to kick the frequency higher while still keeping heat and power consumption issues under control. All told, IBM claims that Power6 will be twice as fast as competing server processors from Intel, AMD and Sun Microsystems.

IBM claims to have made major performance gains by stretching and squeezing silicon and using insulation techniques.Internal IBM roadmaps once showed that the chip might arrive in 2006, But a mid 2007 delivery date looks most likely.

Oxford Analytica:Apple Broadcasts Into The Future
Apple has been doing great with getting the iPod & iTunes to help get new users to the Mac platform. Yesterday Apple said its iTunes Music Store had sold 12 million videos. Recently networks even began crediting iTunes with increasing viewership.

Now Oxford Analytica has some opinions to express:

"Over the past 18 months, Apple Computer has introduced the concept of podcasting on an enormous scale. While in itself this was not a new method for delivering digital content over the Internet, when combined with growth in the popularity of Apple hardware and the success of its iTunes software, it may signal a shift in the market for digital entertainment and home computing.

The iPod has helped Apple recover from a battle it largely lost with Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ) and the PC industry. While it accounts for only around 5% of desktop and laptop users, the popularity of the iPod may fuel rising demand for its other systems. Podcasting is possible with both PCs and Apple computers. However, Apple systems are likely to become increasing popular for home users for various of reasons:

-- Security issues that have plagued Microsoft in recent years tend not to affect Apple software.

-- Apple has always led the way in the design of computer hardware and software.

-- Apple's design approach ensures ease of use and hardware/software compatibility for consumers.

Competition for the iPod may come from a number of quarters:

-- Sellers of competing MP3 players have caught on to the design appeal Apple offers and have redesigned their products, with varying degrees of success.

-- More serious competition comes from mobile-phone manufacturers, who already offer music and limited video content to users.

Competition is likely to intensify in this market, and Apple's continued success and growth will depend on its ability to access the home-entertainment market.

Technological changes, sophisticated timing and branding, and increased consumer receptiveness to high-quality designs of hardware and software have fueled Apple's resurgence. Continued innovation is likely. The interest in podcasting will only increase Apple's market share in the coming years."

Apple also helps out while bring new things to your living room, Apple's iTunes is offering a new exclusive single to raise money for victicms of hurricane Katrina. On Tuesday, Apple began promoting a new Exclusive Charity EP by members of REM (Michael Stipe) and Coldplay.

"Michael Stipe and special guests including Chris Martin of Coldplay and Justin Timberlake have re-recorded Joseph Arthur's song "In the Sun," and the only place you'll find it is on iTunes. All the proceeds from sales of this exclusive EP will be donated to the In The Sun Foundation, which was established by Stipe for the purpose of helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina."

Of coarse some always look for flaws in Apple or OSX. I'm skeptical when I see people say something and are unwilling to give there names.

Board Games
For those who like to play board games on your computer, Freeverse updated Big Bang Board Games to version 2.2.3 as a Universal Binary. This updates Big Bang Checkers, Big Bang Chess, Big Bang Backgammon and Big Bang Mancala so that they can be run on Intel Macs.

Big Bang Board Games are recipients of an Apple Design Award, and integrate fully with GameSmith, iTunes, Mail & Address Book, iChat and your iSight camera.
You can download them here.

Lastly
It's Wednesday! Time to tune into You Mac Life! This week on Your Mac Life,Etymotics, "Where is Ben?" & an iPod nano Prize!"

Dr Mead Killion is the Founder of Etymotics Research. Etymotics has developed and patented some of the most innovative hearing technology available today. Their products are used worldwide by scientists, hearing practitioners, hearing-impaired consumers, professional and amateur musicians, and others who insist on superior sound quality. Dr Killion will talk about how their products work and Your Mac Life will have a set of Etymotics' earphones to give away to a lucky listener!

Ben Willmore describes himself as a "traveling Photoshop hack". He is so much more than that. Instructor, author, trainer and Inductee into the Photoshop Hall of Fame, Ben will be on Your Mac Life to talk about his latest adventure - selling everything he owns and traveling the US by motor coach for the next 2 years. Tune in tonight to hear how and why.

Your Mac Life's Graphics Guru, Lesa Snider of GraphicReporter.com will be on to talk about her Graphics Tip of the Week.

You can watch the video feed or just listen to the audio feed.
You can listen in this and every Wednesday evening from 5:30pm to 8pm PT or from 8:30pm to 11pm ET. You can also listen to past shows here.
Also if you don't know they also have a YML widget!
******************************* Click the picture*************************

Apple Billion in Music

2006-02-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

Say that with me "Bil--lion" !
Apple has launched their iTunes Music Store Billion Songs Coundown!
As Apple gets to one billion, the person who downloads every 100,000th song will receive a black 4GB iPod nano and a $100 iTunes Music Card.

"If you're the lucky grand-prize winner who downloads the billionth song from the iTunes Music Store, you'll receive a 20-inch iMac, 10 60GB iPods, and a $10,000 iTunes Music Card to jumpstart your digital music collection. In addition, Apple will create a full-ride scholarship in your name to a world-renowned music school."

So get to buying!! :)

Also Apple has unveiled it's new 1GB iPod nano for just $149, offering the same features as the 2GB and 4GB iPod nano models and holding up to 240 songs or 15,000 photos.

The pricing for the iPod shuffle drops to $69 for 512MB & $99 for the 1GB.

It's all good now especially now that Corporation’s Showtime Networks (CBS) and Apple today announced that premium cable programming from SHOWTIME, including recent Golden Globe nominees “Sleeper Cell” and “Weeds," is now available on the iTunes Music Store.

Rosetta Compatibility listings & Speed issues
MacFixit has posted their latest update on Intel-based Macs running Rosetta "(#5)Latest application compatibility listings; Speed issues"

VLC Media Player -- compatible
Splinter Cell -- compatible
Adobe GoLive -- compatible, but slow
Change Desktop -- incompatible
iTerm -- compatible with cavea
Office applications slow to quit
Marine Aquarium -- incompatible
Adobe InDesign -- display bu
Azureus -- Universal release now available
MT Newswatcher 3.4 -- compatible but unstable
RCDefault -- incompatible

They also note that extra RAM is crucial to performance when running under Rosetta to get acceptable performance. Sayin that "1 GB of RAM seems to be the sweet spot for most Rosetta-reliant applications."

Also World of Warcraft has gone Intel-native!
Blizzard has today released the eagerly anticipated version 1.9.3 of World of Warcraft. The new version is a Universal Binary capable of running natively on PowerPC or Intel-based Macs.

According to MacWorld:

"Other changes in the 1.9.3 release include improvements to individual character classes including the Paladin, Rogue and Warrior; changes to Items, Professions, Quests and Reputation; improvements to Battlegrounds, Raid and Dungeons; and changes to the World Environment itself.

Blizzard cautions Mac users that World of Warcraft v1.9.3 requires Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later; the game will not launch on older versions of Mac OS X. World of Warcraft users will automatically be updated to the 1.9.3 version the next time they log on to the World of Warcraft servers."

Lastly
Intel unwrapped details of their next server chip at the International Solid State Circuits Conference taking place this week. The new chip called "Tulsa", is a dual-core Xeon server chip coming in the second half of the year.

They say the chip is all about performance. The chip will run at 3.4GHz, faster than the 3GHz Xeon chip (formerly code-named Paxville) on the market today. Tulsa also comes with a 16MB unified cache, a large reservoir of memory on the chip for rapid data access. This means that each of the cores can access data from the entire cache. Presently, Intel and AMD dual-core chips sport segregated caches; dual-core chips from IBM come with a unified cache.
(Homer Voice) Hmmm, Quad-core 3.4GHz Tower......

I'm Back!!

2006-02-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

O.K. After a small hiatus, not a fun one to say the least (moving). I'm back! Changed from Verizon DSL who said after over 4 years with their DSL service said they had no space for me in a home only 3.2 miles away. To Adelphia Cable internet. So I want from 1.5mbps(megabits per second) download/348kbps(kilobit per second) upload (on a good day), to 6mbps download/ 768kbps upload.

*Note:Many people confuse mbps with megabytes per second. A megabyte is just over one million bytes of data (1,048,576) and is abbreviated as MB/sec. It takes eight megabits to equal one megabyte. So 8 mbps (megabits per second) = 1 MB/sec (megabytes per second). So now I'm getting a lttle over 1/2MB/second.

Plan english, it's way faster!!

Well while I was offline I have seen a couple of things have happened, let's get to it.

MacSoft on Friday announced the release of an update to its first person shooter Unreal Tournament 2004. It provides a Universal Binary which runs natively on Macs equipped with Intel CPUs.

The patch was developed by Epic Games programmer Ryan Gordon, who handled Unreal Tournament 2004’s Mac conversion. The 199mb update (version 3369.2)can be downloaded here.

From the Read Me:
"NOTABLE CHANGES OVER 3369 PATCH:
MacOS-specific:
• 3369.2: UT2004 is now a "Universal" (PowerPC and Intel) binary.
• 3369.2: Closed a dedicated server exploit.
• 3369.2: Added UT2004 Mega Pack.
• 3369.2: Fixed UseStencil.

So there is something there for PowerPC users.

In Apple news

Apple's online store as of Friday no longer lists the 17-inch 1.9GHz iMac G5 for sale.
Apple also cut the price of the 20-inch 2.1GHz iMac G5 by $200.

10.4.5 news?
Well it seems that Apple is now distributing to developers both Intel- and PowerPC-native versions of its upcoming Mac OS X 10.4.5 Update. It appears that builds in the "8Hx" are PowerPC-native and those in the "8Gx" are Intel-native.

The most recent known builds according to the Apple Insider are of build 8H12 for the PowerPC and build 8G1445 for Intel.

The potential for hearing loss lawsuit against Apple is getting more press then it deserves. Useless lawsuit like this just wastes taxpayer money. Plus this lawsuit is so dumb and is just a guy wanting to get money from a large company he see's has deep pockets. Plus many think something smells foul here. According to iPodding.com the attorney hired for this lawsuit is Steve W. Berman, who is on retainer at Microsoft.

But then again, there is always somebody doing something or just spreading bullshit about Apple just to get attention.
I read a couple of pages from consumeraffairs.com readers, they make it sound like Apple computers and service is crap. Of coarse they start off with saying

"The earnest entreaties of Apple adorers have been overwhelmed by the ripened stench emitted by the more than a few bad Apples we've been hearing about. As a consequence, we've hurled Apple out of the Good Guys paradise and into the Dellish Rogues Gallery."

A complete 360 to what is said by Consumer Reports, a place I trust more. In the December issue Consumer Reports had once again looked at the computer industry and rated hardware companies on their products. Apple Computer Inc. topped the charts in a couple of categories, including repair history and tech support.

Consumer Reports notes that satisfaction with tech support in the desktop computer market is one of the lowest rated services they measure. Since 2001 consumer satisfaction has continued to dwindle, but the report singles out Apple as providing its customer with above average support.

"In this atmosphere of low expectations, Apple Computer has actually raised its support satisfaction for the desktop computers over the past three years to levels well above all competitors, while offering the most reliable desktop hardware," the report says.

With so many of the other companies falling in tech support satisfaction, Consumer Reports concludes, "companies aren't investing enough in their support operations."

In contrast, for Apple the organizations says, "Apple's superiority in all aspects of support, including waiting on the phone and Web support, suggests that it invests its support resources wisely."

Overall, Apple scored 76/100 in tech support with Dell and Gateway tied for second with 57/100 -- HP and Compaq pulled up the rear with scores of 52/100 and 47/100 respectively.

For repairs and serious problems reported by consumers, Apple again had the best score with just over 10 percent of respondents reporting serious issues. Gateway had the worst record with slightly over 20 percent. Sony, Dell, IBM, HP and Compaq fell in between.
*sections of consumer reports article from Macworld.com

In any case we all know those guys are all dweebs because you gotta be hip to own a Mac!
Because this is the only way I will ever see a blue screen of Death

Who's Right?

2006-01-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well we have all seen and read about Macworld review (first look) at the iMac cure duo's. But Mac Speed Zone has a couple of questions about MacWorlds tests.

"In the first test, where there was just one file being encoded, the Intel iMac, on average, was using 87% of its processing capacity ... 13% was sitting around with nothing to do

On the other hand the Quad G5 Power Mac was using less than half its capacity, 42%. A full 58% was waiting for its dance card to be filled.

When we ran the two QuickTime encodes at the same time, processor usage moved to 87% for the Power Mac, and 100% for the Intel iMac. In other words the iMac was maxed out, and the Power Mac had 13% capacity left before it would really start to sweat.

This is where the Macworld "First Lab Tests" article falls a little flat ... obscuring the processor capacity vs processor usage problem inherent with mutiprocessor machines (or multi-core ... same difference). Using Macworld's logic we could argue, given the data above, the Quad G5 Power Mac is only 14% faster when running some of Apple's own applications. We think that this is misleading, as we pointed out."

The differance between a 1.8% faster and 194% in certain tests

"Below you will find our results of a comparison between an iMac G5/1.8GHz and the iMac Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz. Times are in seconds (except where noted), and the processor usage of each machine, for each test, is also given. Scores in dark orange are from applications that run natively on both Intel Macs and G5 Macs. The processor clock-speed difference between these two machines is 11%. The processor capacity difference is 122%."

WoW
All you World of Warcaft fan can read a article by New York times Seth Schiesel about Blizzards upcoming level called Naxxramas. Before the release of the expansion pack.

"Q. What can you tell me about Naxxramas?

A. Naxxramas is going to be the most difficult thing in the game until the expansion pack comes out. It will be the pinnacle, and it's absolutely massive. You'll see this big necropolis floating above Eastern Plaguelands. It's a 40-man raid zone, and it's bigger than the Undercity [one of the main cities in the game]. Things could change, but we're up to something like 18 bosses in there, and they are really cool, too. But it's going to be hard. Really hard. We're hoping to release it in the spring."

More Sports On iTunes!
There isnew programming from ESPN and ABC Sports. The new additions featured include Best of the X Games, featuring highlights from Winter X Games 9 in Aspen, Sports Century Shorts, featuring short clips about Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Jeff Gordon and Dan Marino, some of the commercials from ESPN’s “This Is SportsCenter” campaign, and five episodes of Street Ball. This also gives a new home for the four BCS bowl game highlight videos that were added earlier this month.

Moving
I won't be online to post any updates for atleast 4-5 days, I'm moving (new home). So next monday I should be back with all your Mac news to give, with a little attitude!! See You Soon!!! Dont forget to Vote for my blog!! look to right top of the page and click that button!!

It's Friday Baby!!!!

2006-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

O.K. I was looking for new news in the Mac world when I came accross this by eweek called "Apple's Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits News Analysis". A news analysis?? Does this guy have a combination of "Stockholm Syndrome" and "cognitive dissonance? I was just ready to dig deep into Paul F. Roberts a-hole because even windows users know how Macs can save your ass when your in a pinch. But then I came across Tera Patricks (from mac360) article called Oprah winfrey needs to challenge eweek it spared me the ulser. Read it ya'll, good article!

O.K. like I said in the title, it's Friday baby, lets get on with some gaming news!
With "The average "gamer parent" spend(ing) 19 hours a month playing video games, and spend(ing) roughly half that time playing alongside kids," Macs taking 9 of the 10 spots on Amazon's Top Sellers list, (looked at 8am and 10am 1/27/06) UK's biggest retailer setting aside an area of its superstores for selling Macs, iPods and accessories. It's Nice to see software game makers making a grand move on making universal binaries of their games.

Also if your a Unreal Tournament 2004 player like myself, but have just brought a Intel based iMac, a universal binary version of ut2004 is on the way.
From Ryan Gordon website:

"Stop emailing me for a Universal Binary version of ut2004...my iMac will be
arriving soon, and I'll be finishing up the Intel version from there. So
if everything goes smoothly, you'll have it in a few days.

I love your enthusiasm, but please, stop emailing to ask for preview builds.
The answer is no.

But when it's available, this will be the first place I post news. Soon,
honest.

--ryan."

Sorry for a lot of link reading today, but it's Friday! So don't forget to join me on The Darkside Server! Frag On Baby!

Who The Hell Are You??

2006-01-26T00:23:00.000-08:00

That's what I kept saying out load everytime I read the commentary by Wired's Leander Kahney in their Cult of Mac section. Let me start by saying
1) I hate the word cult used for everybody who uses a Mac, and
2) I for am not a I bow down before you kind of guy. So if your sons not named Jesus Christ, it ain't... sorry Donna (my wife the professor) "is not" happening.

So forget the "Steve Jobs is my god" view you think you see because I love Apple products. But this "commentary" had me a little pissed with someone telling another how they should live their life and spend their money. I think that anyone who holds some lucritive job has the right to run his business and his personal life the way he sees fit. If they want to keep all their wealth, pour honey all over their body and jump into a pool full of $100 dollar bills that's just fine. They made it, "who the hell are you" to say what he should do with it??

But then again your "commentary" doesn't know which way to go does it?

"Of course, Jobs and his wife may be giving enormous sums of money to charity anonymously. If they are funneling cash to various causes in private, their names wouldn't show up on any lists, regardless of the size of their gifts.

For a person as private as Jobs, who shuns any publicity about his family life, this seems credible. If so, however, this would make Jobs virtually unique among moguls. Richard Jolly, chairman of Giving USA Foundation, said not all billionaires give their money away, but a lot do, and most do not do it quietly."

Hmm, is the thought of one billionaire who does not need to show off to the world how rich he is that hard to believe? Or that he may give enormous sums of money to charity anonymously. For you even say yourself that he "shuns any publicity about his family life". But your commentary is like every other gossip tabloid writer who wants to poke and prod into people's personal business and tell them what you think they should do with their life and money.

You say Steve "skates away away from the responsibilities that come with great wealth and power." But I ask you Mr.Kahney, where were you this past Christmas? Were you helping feed the needy? Did you give up a week from Starbucks and donate that money to a needy charity?? Most likly not. So get off your humanitarian high horse.

Oh and by the way, you say "On the evidence, he's nothing more than a greedy capitalist who's amassed an obscene fortune. It's shameful. In almost every way, Gates is much more deserving of Jobs' rock star exaltation."

Gates is much more deserving? Sure, Bill Gates gives a lot of money away, and that's a good thing, but that doesn't change his "bad guy" tag because he is only known throughout the world for selling bad buggy software in a new box year after year, robbing the public blind. But it's all o.k. because he gave away some of that money he stole from you and gave it to a charity. Sounds like a person covering all his bad deeds by doing a few good ones. Is that money to help the needy or to help wash away the guilt?

Gates and Jobs are the same in the way that they are both just capitalist's, don't let the fact that Gates gives you roses with one hand and robs you blind with the other fool you.

Update
just wanted to post a link to a more balanced view of the subject by a non MacAddict, ARSTechnica.

New TV shows on iTunes!
Apple and MTV Networks on Thursday announced the availability of television programming from MTV, MTV2, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and The N are now available for purchase and download from the iTunes Music Store.

New video content available for download includes shows like “Punk’d,” “South Park,” “Dora the Explorer,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “Laguna Beach.” Stand up comedy performances are available for purchase and download, as are episodes of Comedy Central’s animated series “Drawn Together.” Man, Drawn Together on a iPod, that show is so funny, can't wait to download it.

And talk about iPod's, MacOSX hints has a tip to help police get your iPod back. Since they will ask for the serial number. Wanna know where to find it even if you don't have your iPod? Find out here.

10.4.5
Both The Apple Insider and Think Secret say that Apple has began distributing the first external builds of Mac OS X 10.4.5 Update. While the Apple insider says "the specific fixes and enhancements planned for the update are unknown, Apple is reportedly asking that its developers and partners put weight on Safari, Core Graphics intensive applications, Quartz Composer, and the Mac OS X Dock."

They also say "(Apple) reportedly asked that developers test networking, the Mac OS X crash report, File Sync, Software Update and the MSDOS File System." And the size of the file so far? 15mb.

But Think Secret thinks big, real big. They say

Build 8H5 delivers more than a dozen documented improvements for Mac OS X 10.4, including improvements to the Crash Reporter and XInstall Framework, and fixes for issues with CoreGraphics and Widgets, RSS Visualizer and background columns, WebCore, Quartz composer, and FileSync and PHD. The update also improved iDisk synchronization and corrects a problem where Mac OS X would fail to connect to a Cisco server if NAT was not used."

The also say it's currently only available as a combo update, and get this, it's 120.2MB! You pick on who wanna believe.

While I'm on rumor patrol, LoopRumors says Apple maybe planning a special media event. They say they have

"Sources close to Apple have informed LoopRumors that Apple is planning a Special Media Event in the next few weeks. It is unknown at this time what will be unveiled, but there was speculation that a last minute change was made to the keynote address given by Steve Jobs on January 10th. Rumors of newere iPods, a boombox, an in-home media center have all been candidates for this upcoming announcement."

We shall see.

Other News
Only a month into the core duo, Intel has announced it has become the first company to reach an important milestone in the development of 45 nanometer (nm) logic technology. Intel has produced what are believed to be the first fully functional SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) chips using 45nm process technology, its next– generation, high–volume semiconductor manufacturing process.

Intel’s 45nm process technology will allow chips with more than five times less leakage power than those made today. This will improve battery life for mobile devices and increase opportunities for building smaller, more powerful platforms.
The 45nm SRAM chip is said to have more than 1 billion transistors.

If your one of the critics that just don't get what Apple's Aperture is all about. Then you may want to read this article.

Scott Bourne says " Right on the heels of its release, nearly a dozen reviewers gave Apple a pretty good thrashing over Aperture, Apple's new professional photography software. Not all of the reviews are bad. Some offer very positive insights. But many focus on perceived problems. After delving into Aperture, I've come to some conclusions about where many of the critics went wrong."

Happy 22nd Birthday Macintosh!!!

2006-01-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

Well Today's the 22nd anniversary that Apple Computer unveiled its much-anticipated Macintosh computer. That January 24, 1984 was the day Apple introduced the computer that changed everything forever. A ad that played during the 3rd quarter of the 1984 super bowl. A ad that in 1999 TV Guide ran a cover story on the "50 Greatest Commercials of All Time." Apple's "1984" ad was #1 on the list. I mean even someone PC users know had something positive to say about Apple in 1984.

At launch the suggested retail price for this Mac was $2,495. I'm also sure there was a grand sales pitch.

But lets advance to the year 2006. The news media sometimes seems to use words to make things worse then they actually are, and look to use your own words to bring you down.

Example: Steve said at Macworld that the new iMacs where 2x faster. I'm sure some reporters filed those words in the "we will see" file. Some filed them in the "ya right" file and others in the "I'm gonna make you eat those words" file.

Well if you look at this review you will see that it's not 2x faster. Really 1.1-1.3 times faster. O.K. so Steve exaggerated, what sales person doesn't? Shoot Bill Gates says Vista will be a more secure OS. We know that's a lie. Remember this quote I posted here on the 17th?

"A Microsoft spokesperson told eWEEK that the Vista patches address the same vulnerability that led to the WMF (Windows Metafile) malware attacks earlier this month," Naraine reports. "Microsoft's out-of-cycle security update for the WMF vulnerability makes no mention of Windows Vista being vulnerable, but with the release of this weekend's patches it is clear that the poorly designed "SetAbortProc," the function that allows printing jobs to be cancelled, was ported over to Vista."

What about the Toyata TV ad where a giant meteor falls from the sky hitting the ground with earth shattering force lands on the truck and the truck comes out without a scratch?, the announcer says "Toyota Tundra, Meteor proof"!. Ya right, where are the reporters bashing Toyota? I don't even wanna get into all the slicing and dicing does it all products that say they do it all 10 times faster.

I mean as a Mac user I knew Steve might make it sound faster then it is, He's a salesmen, he will do that. He's there to "sell" the product. but performance benchmarks can be tricky anyway, many times companies use programs that are designed to test chip throughput using approximations of how applications behave rather than using benchmarks from running the actual software. They will display what looks best for the company. They are true benchmarks, just not benchmarks that really show how that computer will work for you, with the software you have and use everday.

Nothing new, But some go too far on how they bash Apple and what they call a review, and what they tell consumers. That's when I get pissed, when I see guys like this corn-hole editor who says things like this:

"We won't be able to recommend the iMac for general use until apps such as Photoshop are released for the new design. For workstation-class performance today, check out the Power Mac G5 Quad, but know the architecture will soon be obsolete. "

Hold on how the hell do you use "general use" and "workstaion-class performance" in the same sentence? One is personal computer I would use to surf the web, check e-mail, save and edit my digetal pictures and home movies. The other I would use at a place like " UK’s largest advertising agency" or for some professional who needs top of the line power for video, music, and photo editing. None of which would be even looking at a iMac.

Also what are you talking about when you use the word "obsolete"? He makes it sound like that chip is dead and you will have no future software to look forward to which is all not true.
By the time you don't PowerPC software, you will need a new Mac. I'm sure My Duel 1.8ghz G5 tower has many years to look forward to.

but reports like his may be what also contribute to sluggish sales. Not to say Intel and Apple don't have there problems. They do, (like these 34 known problems) But not to the point that some "reporters" make it sound.

But I'm sure Apple has plenty of new products and updates up their sleeves. One of which I hope is the availabilty of video cards like this ATI Radeon X1900XT hopefully getting made for a Intel based Mac Tower.

Apple is aways working on things to make life easier. They already have given college students a podcast lecture option. Apple has expanded its iTunes U program, which allows colleges and universities to post audio and video educational content online using a content management system based on iTunes. So all college professors across New York City have to do is ask students to turn on their iPods, tune in to Internet "podcasts" and take notes.

Other News
Apple's iWork is now the No. 1 competitor to Microsoft Office after grabbing a "2.7 percent unit share, while Corel took only 1.6 percent share with its WordPerfect Office suite"

Lastly, it seems the bounty has gone up! As of 12:17pm (PST) the person who gives the instructions on how to Dual boot 10.4 & XP now gets $4357.

Major C|Net Writer lies to Readers!!!

2006-01-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

My Headline true??... I think so. You know, I don't get paid for what I do. But there are some out there with better grammer then I posting articles like shit and getting paid well to do it.

Case in point, this review by Rich Brown. It seems like he takes off many points off his review because of multimedia software that runs slowly which is non-native to sart with. What kind of dumb ass is this guy? Of course a non-native software of any type is gonna run slower. Are you that dense??

The iMac, whether it be G5 or Intel based was not made for Photoshop professionals. so why review it using this software?

Then you write:

"But if you want to run Photoshop or a nonnative video-editing program such as Sorenson Squeeze, we highly recommend you wait until the software catches up before purchasing a new iMac Core Duo."

Are you really that dumb?? You run a Professional App on a non pro computer, knowing it's not running natively then deduct points because of it?? They pay you to be this dumb?? Shoot, I need to get a job at C|Netso i can get paid to write crap like this and get paid for it.

You want to test the video editing ability of this iMac of it's target user?, test it with with it's native iMovie HD, which is already Intel ready. Why would you test this computer with a non-native, pro app and then base your score so heavily on it? Why would you not test these computers with the same amout of memory? Even with the Intel mac haveing the most, what type of nim-rod does a test like that?? I mean users using the software he's testing here are using PowerMacs Towers, not iMacs.

This just seems like a review looking to make the iMac look bad from the starting gate.
"Don't edit video on a Intel based iMac it sucks" is what you are telling your readers and that's just a lie.

Your giving a unfair review that gives far too much weight to the performance of Rosetta.
7 out of 10.? You rating Rosetta or the iMac? You can't be rating the iMac if deduction of your score is based on pro apps that are running on Rosetta. Bottom line, Rich Brown is lying to you. And C|Net is also for posting this article.

Want XP on Your Mac?
Well a guy by the name of Colin is willing to pay you to give him instructions on how to Dual boot these two operating systems(OSX & XP). So far it's up to $878 (as of 3:04pm pst).

The Rules
1. Instructions must boot Windows XP (at least), not Vista or any other version of Windows.
2. Windows must be able to coexist with Mac OS X and each system may not interfere with the operation of the other (basically a traditional dual boot system where one OS is running at a time)
3. Your method, upon starting the computer, must offer the user to boot either OS X or Windows XP (hint: GRUB)
4. The first person to email complete instructions, including pictures of the boot process to contest@pintmaster.com will be the winner. Instructions will be peer reviewed once they are received and once the solution is guaranteed working, the prize money will be transferred via paypal
5. You give this website the rights to post your solution
6. If it is determined impossible to boot Windows on the Mac by March 23, 2006, all donations will be donated to a charitable cause (please send suggestions to charity@pintmaster.com). If you donated prior to 2006/06/23 2:10pm CST, and you do not wish to donate to charity, I will return your money minus the paypal fee.

No More OS9!
Don't need OS9 for anything? or need the hard drive space? or both? MacFixit has posted a article on how to remove Classic from your computer for good. Get it here

Fridays News

2006-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Today there is The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Good? Apple- Both Time Magazine and PC Magazine gave praises to Apple's new iMac Core Duo. Time names it "gadget of the week" and PC magazine a 4.5 out of 5 stars saying "Thanks to the Core Duo processor, the new iMac is much peppier."

The Bad? The alternative rock band The Postal Service- They posted on there web page this note:

A Note from Ben
It has recently come to our attention that Apple Computers' new television commercial for the Intel chip features a shot-for-shot recreation of our video for 'Such Great Heights' made by the same filmmakers responsible for the original. We did not approve this commercialization and are extremely disappointed with both parties that this was executed without our consultation or consent. -Ben Gibbard, The Postal Service

Now I spoke on this before, Apple did use the same director. But let me tell you, I have never heard of this band until all this controversy came up, and with looking on the web very few other have also.

Plus video concepts are rarely created by the band. They are mostly made from the directors vision, with the band really only seeing the video when it's done. Plus the band should be happy with all the exposure they are getting from the online press and the fact that their song and video of Such Great Heights is also on the iTunes Music store.

Bottom line is they need to stop complaining and be happy about all the exposure they are getting!

The Ugly! AOL- "Time Warner's AOL unit is planning to launch a pay-for-download video service by the end of the year, as people grow more accustomed to watching content on the Web." AOL will allow downloads to personal computers and would like to enable people to use its service to interact with Apple Computer's popular iTunes site if Apple will permit it, Kevin Conroy said."

Bottom line, AOL sucks, they are going down the tubes. They are only good for re-supplying me with new coasters for my desk from the CD's they send out. Why the hell would I pay for broadband, then pay them also to get on the net? Screw that!

Other News
Apple Matters has a intresting article on what Apple should do with that $7 Billiion they have.

It's Frag Friday Time! Time to boot up Unreal Tournament!!!

So Get your CTF frag fest going on The Darkside Server! 69.93.100.55:7777

What's In A Mac??

2006-01-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask what's so special about a Mac that I should switch? Now my normal answer could go with no spyware, viruses and easier to use etc... But there are some that spend their whole time just looking for something negative to troll about. Some that no matter what you tell them, they don't get it.

It seems I've seen this one writer (John C. Dvorak) once to many times doing childish things like trolling. His article for PCMag.com shows the bias on how he sees things. Now let me start by saying that yes, I do like the Mac OS better. But I have used a Windows OS also (95 and XP). My preferance is for the Mac OS, but that's not what (now) he's trolling about.

Now he wants to call Jobs a lair about what he told Mac users about hardware. Like I said, trolling looking for something. A quote from the article:

" I couldn't resist going to the MacWorld Expo especially after Jobs finally roiled out a couple of the Intel-based Macs. The two most talked about aspects of these new machines were their blazing speed and the fact that some of the top apps still need to be ported over. This includes Photoshop.

The speed of the systems begs the question as to the apparent BS that the Mac community was fed for years regarding the natural superiority of the PowerPC chip. As far as I'm concerned Apple's credibility is now suspect on all levels. More interesting were the rather insulting ads Apple showed regarding these chips indicating that any use before Apple was essentially a crummy loser. This, of course referred to Windows I guess. Apparently Apple is unaware of the fact that Linux runs at blazing speed on these chips too."

O.K., lets get this straight, PowerPC chips "were" faster then Intel when it first came out, You can't accuse Apple of lying back when they were comparing G4 and G5 chips to Pentiums. Over the years, Intel like any other company has made improvements. Just like the new core duo iMacs are faster then the G5 iMacs, why? for one, they are duel core.

The fact that your saying "Apple's credibility is now suspect on all levels" just shows your lack of logical thought. Apple has now chosen to use a brand new Intel chip that didn't even exist a month ago.

PowerPC was the best option and faster at some tasks than anything from Intel back when Apple was selling PowerPC. The fastest Mac is still PowerPC-based, Apple's Power Mac G5 Quad has four processors, and for video and photos you can't beat it.

You see, Apple puts a lot of effort into their computers and software:

In an exclusive interview this afternoon with TG Daily, Apple Computer's senior director for desktops, Tom Boger, dispelled rumors that its new hardware partner, Intel, manufactured more components for the company than just the CPU and on-board chipset for his company's new iMacs and MacBook Pro models. Saying Apple is responsible for the architecture and assembly of the Macs' new hardware, as it has been for all prior models, Boger stated that the three factors that distinguish Apple's new systems from Core Duo-based PCs designed to run Windows, are form factor, operating system, and applications.

"We build the whole widget," Boger told us. "We don't take off-the-shelf parts, [and add to them] huge, major components from other companies, then throw our operating system on it. We build the whole widget from the ground up. We start with the industrial design, we do all the electrical engineering, every single aspect about a Mac has been designed by Apple."

You see Apple is making a lot of chages to make things easier and faster and you Mac experiance better. Look at the The X1600, a the mid-level entry in ATI's new X1000-series of graphics processors that utilize the company's AVIVO technology. This is easily the most powerful graphics chipset that the iMac or any Apple laptop has ever seen. Lots of 3D horsepower for games and OS X's Quartz Extreme user interface and high bandwidth for video playback.

So Mr. John C. Dvorak what you need to do is open your eyes and "C" the bias crap flowing from out your pie hole then read it. Find out if your facts are true or if the facts your using is your bias. If you can't see how bias you sound you really need to find a new job. I think a poster in your reply section put it best "sorry...the only credibility to be questioned here is your own. "

"For some reason people need to attack Apple, which offers premium quality and user experience, for not being the cheapest. These same people will not hesitate to pay thousands more for a car that they see as better than the cheapest Hyundai, or jeans that are cooler than the cheapest at Walmart, or Nike sneakers over an unknown brand. Why Apple is always attacked for being what it is, a premium quality company that offers a better experience, better design, freedom from viruses, free creative software that is unparalled anywhere else, and so, is beyond me."

Other News
Apple has confirmed that Final Cut Pro and other applications within the Final Cut Studio will no longer be available individually. A note from there websie: "After January 10, 2006, the individual applications in Final Cut Studio will only be available as part of the suite.[...]"To make it easy for our customers to make the move to Final Cut Studio, we're offering amazing deals to current owners of Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro 4, Motion 2, Soundtrack Pro, and Production Suite. When you take advantage of this offer, you'll get the Universal version of Final Cut Studio when it becomes available."

The Universal version (a version that runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel processors) will ship by March 31. Also if you want to know which software will run on both platforms, Apple introducing a new logo that developers can add to their programs. The logo can be used on product packaging, advertising, Web sites, and marketing materials.

Think Secret is reporting that "Apple has delayed the roll-out of ProCare 2.0, its premium retail store support service, due to unknown reasons. Sources report that ProCare 2.0 was originally scheduled to the launch around the beginning of the year.

At present, Apple's ProCare service allows computer purchasers to reserve time with a Mac Genius up to seven days in advance, score a one-hour training session, get priority repairs, and free transferring of files from an old Mac to a new one.

Among the new features in ProCare 2.0 are support for multiple Macs per account and a free annual system "tune-up". ProCare 2.0 will cost $99, the same as the current service."

And lastly, something for a laugh from Mother Goose & Grimm