MacInTouch: timely news and tips about Apple Macintosh, iTunes, iPhone and more...
Saturday, October 11, 2008 11:31 EDT
Reports
Today's reader report updates touch on the following topics (among others):
Backup - Retrospect experiences and other notes
Hard Drives - bad Mac can fry FireWire devices
iPhone - flaky Bluetooth
iPhone/iTouch Platform - to-do apps
iTunes 8 - Coverflow quirks, AirTunes management
Leopard - more Time Machine, scanning notes
MobileMe - Outlook/Exchange issues (Windows)
Photography - color calibration and books; Nikon issues
Printing - Laser Printers
Security - Apple Security Updates
Quality, high-capacity battery for PowerBooks & iBooks under $100!
Amazon Updates
Save $10 on Apple's new iPod Classic 120 and rainbow of new Nanos. Save $10-20 on the new new iPod Touch, too, and the previous iPod Classic 160 is on close-out sale, while it lasts, with full compatibility for existing chargers and accessories.Save up to $241 on a MacBook Pro or save $300 on the SSD MacBook Air (save $95 on a standard MacBook Air). Save on AppleCare, too, and get $90-$106 off other MacBooks. Save $55-$105 on new iMacs: 20-inch/2.4GHz, the 20-inch/2.66GHz or 24-inch/2.8GHz. Save up to $254 on the latest Mac Pro Quad-Core models, or get discounts on the 1.83GHz Mini or 2.0GHz Mini.Pre-order Adobe Creative Suite 4 upgrades with Amazon's guarantee you'll pay its lowest price between now and its ship date.Digital cameras and HDTV televisions are discounted, too, while Amazon's MP3 Specials include free songs, plus albums from $5 (256-Kbps quality, no DRM, plus music from Warner and Sony/BMG that's missing from iTunes). And, while you're saving money, all purchases through any of our Amazon links also provide critical support to the MacInTouch web site, which is what keeps it going!Popular Products VMware Fusion Adobe CS3 Adobe CS4 Photoshop Elements 6 Lightroom 2 Upgrade Office 2008 Home UpgradeApple hardware 1TB Time Capsule 500GB Time Capsule AirPort Express AirPort Extreme 802.11nApple software Leopard 10.5.4 Leopard Family Pack MobileMe MobileMe Family Pack iWork 08 iWork Family Pack Aperture 2.1.1 Aperture Upgrade Specials/Interesting Amazon Kindle Canon 50D Quickbooks Pro 2009 Zoom H2 [50% off]Amazon for iPhone/iTouch Amazon Mac Page - latest Mac deals and productsAmazon Home Page - all other purchases...(Replace the Amazon link in your browser favorites with this one to support MacInTouch!)
Notebook/portable drive specials: e.g. 320GB, 5400RPM $79.99 w/ rebate
Friday, October 10, 2008
Apple
Apple plans to introduce new laptop models next Tuesday, though pricing and design details are officially secret for now:
Apple Laptop Refresh Could Include $800 Model
Apple's reported plans to introduce new laptops next week are seasoned with a particularly titillating rumor that the company will unveil an $800 laptop that would close much of the price gap with low-cost PC laptops.
On Thursday, Apple sent out an announcement stating, "The spotlight turns to notebooks," and inviting recipients to a launch event on Oct. 14.
An $800 laptop -- allegedly crafted from single pieces of aluminum using a laser and water jet process known by the code-name "brick" -- would be a dramatic price drop from Apple's current lowest-price standard laptop, which carries a $1,099 retail price point. That's a $300 price cut and, while still substantially higher than low-cost PCs, would bring a Mac machine into the affordability price range of a whole new wave of users.
Apple has now documented defective video hardware in certain MacBook Pro models.
(See our MacBook Pro reader report for related discussion).
MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues
In July 2008, NVIDIA publicly acknowledged a higher than normal failure rate for some of their graphics processors due to a packaging defect. At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within two years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
What to look for:
* Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
* No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on
Specific products affected:
* MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors
MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
MacBook Pro (Early 2008)
* These computers were manufactured between approximately May 2007 and September 2008
...If your MacBook Pro is exhibiting any of the symptoms listed above, please take it to an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) for evaluation, or call your local Apple Contact Center. Before visiting the Genius Bar at the Apple Retail Store, please make a reservation.
Apple is issuing refunds to customers who may have paid for repairs related to this issue. Please contact Apple for details on the refund process.
Find out how easy it is to make your Mac go faster
Reports
Our latest reader reports talk about the following topics (among others):
Backup - Retrospect restore test critical, other options
Hard Drives - MacBook motherboard fries FireWire drives
Help Please - teacher needs help
iPhone/iTouch Platform - Palm ToDo replacement, app download glitch
iTunes 8 - wrong Sarah, communal AirTunes
Leopard - Time Machine tips, scanner experiences
Mac Marginalization - school I.T. issues
Photography - another Apple book experience
Printing - Brother firmware and software
Security - Safari PDF problem after Apple Security Update
Virtualization - Parallels/Boot Camp issue with SP3 upgrade
Need more memory? Think RAMjet.
Security
[9 Oct.]
Apple's Security Update 2008-007
patches another big pile of security problems in Tiger and Leopard (standard and/or server versions):
Apache
Multiple vulnerabilities in Apache 2.2.8
Certificates
Root certificates have been updated
ClamAV
Multiple vulnerabilities in ClamAV 0.93.3
ColorSync
Viewing a maliciously crafted image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
CUPS
A remote attacker may be able to cause arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the 'lp' user
Finder
A file on the Desktop may lead to a denial of service
launchd
Applications may fail to enter a sandbox when requested
libxslt
Processing an XML document may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
MySQL Server
Multiple vulnerabilities in MySQL 5.0.45
Networking
A local user may obtain system privileges
PHP
Multiple vulnerabilities in PHP 4.4.8
Postfix
A remote attacker may be able to send mail directly to local users
PSNormalizer
Viewing a maliciously crafted PostScript file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
QuickLook
Downloading or viewing a maliciously crafted Microsoft Excel file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution
rlogin
Systems that have been manually configured to use rlogin and host.equiv may unexpectedly permit root login
Script Editor
A local user may gain the privileges of another user that is using Script Editor
Single Sign-On
The sso_util command now accepts passwords from a file
Tomcat
Multiple vulnerabilities in Tomcat 6.0.14
vim
Multiple vulnerabilities in vim 7.0
Weblog
Access control on weblog postings may not be enforced
Get MacBook memory and great prices at RAMjet.
Updated Products
Collaba 7.2 is a web-based collaboration and communication system that offers online forums, multimedia chat, secure email boxes, personal address book and agenda, news boards, weblogs, built-in support for many education-related services, RSS feeds, Google Maps integration, and other features. This release brings a full CAS 2.0 server built in, a Projects module, customizable calendar week views, a To Do feature, import/export of bookmarks, new high-performance server options, and more. Collaba is available for Mac OS X, Linux/Unix, and Windows, with prices ranging from free on up.
ExpanDrive 1.3 makes it possible to access remote files over SSH/SFTP from directly within Finder and other programs, as if the files were on a drive directly connected to your computer. This release adds support for FTP/FTPS drives, improves reconnect ability (detection of changes in network state, sleep, wake, etc.), and adds more localizations. ExpanDrive is $29 for Mac OS X 10.4.1 and up (Universal Binary).
OpenProj 1.4 is a free, open source, and multi-platform project management application designed as an alternative to Microsoft Project. It provides Gantt charts, network diagrams (PERT charts), WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing, the ability to open existing Microsoft Project or Primavera files, and other features. OpenProj is available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.
Troi Activator Plug-in 2.7 enables FileMaker Pro to trigger scripts across a network. From within FileMaker, it can trigger a FileMaker script on a different client computer, trigger a FileMaker script over the Internet, run a script and send data to a different FileMaker application, and more. This release is compatible with FileMaker 9, but all function calls remain the same, so no scripts need to be rewritten. It also adds two new switches for the Actr_GetEventInfo function, a Actr_VersionAutoUpdate function, and some bug fixes. Troi Activator Plug-in is $89 for Mac OS X 10.4.5 and up (Universal Binary) and Windows XP/Vista with FileMaker Pro 7 and up.
Flux 1.4.7 is a drag-and-drop XHTML/CSS web design program designed for creating sites without code editing. It includes point-and-click styling, image filters, drag-and-drop JavaScripts, a WYSIWYG editor, optional code-level XHTML and CSS editing, iPhoto support, Ruby on Rails support, and other features. Highlights of this release are Quick Look support in the Site Manager and improved support for iPhone web site development, including support for different media when referencing CSS files. Flux is £40 for Mac OS X 10.4.9 and up (Universal Binary).
SQLite Diff 1.18 is designed to compare SQLite database schema and data, displaying schema changes with colorized SQL code and highlighted text for modified records. The data comparison feature optionally compares each record within the two files using the ROWID as the primary key. SQLite Diff is $25 for Mac OS X 10.3 and up and Windows NT/XP/Vista.
Adium 1.3.2 is an open source, multi-protocol, instant messaging application that includes tabbed messaging, Off The Record encryption, file transfers, HTML display using WebKit, Growl support, searchable message history, simultaneous connections on multiple services, and other features. The highlight of this release is an update to MSNp15 via libpurple (from MSNp12 via msn-pecan) which brings restoration of picture display on MSN along with full offline messaging support and iTunes "now playing" support. Adium is free for Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary).
Synium Software's Screenium 1.0.1 captures movies of all actions on the screen, at any resolution supported by the Mac it's running on. It includes timed capture, single-window and arbitrary size capture, multi-channel audio (including external sources), custom captions, a library for managing and post-processing of movies, complete control from the keyboard, control of compression and quality, iSight Picture-in-Picture, and other features. This release adds contrast preview for selection overlays, improved Single Window selection, more information in the Media Library, and some bug fixes. Screenium is $20 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and up (Universal Binary).
Weird Kid Software's Emailchemy 9.8.2 converts email from most popular email applications to standard, portable formats, including RFC-822 mailboxes, comma-separated value files, and Apple's Mail.app format. This release includes an improved Entourage database converter that now extracts sent attachments and message status flags (read, priority, replied, forwarded, flagged), an embedded IMAP server compatible with latest Thunderbird, and improved handling of corrupt PST files. Emailchemy is priced starting at $29.50 for Mac OS X 10.2.6 and up (Universal Binary), Unix/Linux, Solaris, and Windows.
Hyperbolic Software's Tidy Up 1.4.6 locates duplicate folders, files, and packages. It can search by a variety of criteria and search the content of the iTunes and iPod databases. This release adds the ability to search for missing song tags, a fix for a bug that in certain cases crashed the application when a search used the Type criterion, and other changes. Tidy Up is $30 for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up (Universal Binary).
Delicious Library 2.0.4 is a book and media cataloging program that offers barcode scanning using iSight or a USB or Bluetooth scanner, item checkout functions, "smart" recommendations, iPod synchronization, voice search, and other features. This release improves the barcode scanner responsiveness for embedded iSights, shows your own ratings for your published collections, fixes a crasher introduced in Version 2.0.3, and makes other changes. Delicious Library is $40 for Mac OS X (Universal Binary).
Announcements and Previews
GeoEdu.info introduced GeoEdu, a world atlas and educational game based on world geography. The atlas part of the program will always be free, according to the developer. The game has a trial mode that covers North, Central and South America, with a price of $10 for access to the whole world. The game include 93,566 questions in eight categories, one of which, called Voyage, "allows you to visually go from one country to the next by crossing the borders or even transplane to another continent via the dependencies or divisions of these countries." GeoEdu is available for Mac OS X and Windows.
Notebook/portable drive specials: e.g. 320GB, 5400RPM $79.99 w/ rebate
Thursday, October 9, 2008
New Products
Netgear introduced the ProSafe Wireless-N VPN Firewall (SRXN3205), which combines dual-band Wireless-N with SSL and IPsec VPN plus five gigabit Ethernet ports (1 WAN, 4 LAN). It provides 802.11n access on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands, with 802.11g compatibility at 2.4 GHz. It also supports up to five SSL VPN tunnels and five IPsec VPN tunnels simultaneously, allowing secure remote access without the need for client software and with features such as automatic cache cleanup after session termination to ensure protection and privacy. The firewall provides denial-of-service (DoS) attack protection, stateful packet inspection (SPI), URL keyword filtering, SYSLOG support, and e-mail reporting. The SRXN3205 is $485 and is compatible with Mac OS X, Linux/Unix, and Windows.
National Instruments introduced the NI GPIB-USB-HS, its first Mac-compatible USB-based GPIB controller, and the NI PCIe-GPIB/LP, a low-profile PCI Express GPIB controller. The $549 GPIB-USB-HS provides IEEE 488.1 transfer rates up to 1.8 MB/s (standard) and 7.2 MB/s (HS488) and does not require a GPIB cable for instrument connection. The PCIe-GPIB/LP, also $549, offers the same high-performance specifications as its PCI Express predecessor but in a smaller form that uses 75 percent less operating power and is manufactured with 63 percent less PCB material, with transfer rates of >1.5 MB/s (IEEE 488.1) and >7.9 MB/s (HS488).
Derman Enterprises' Sync'Em 1.0 can sync Microsoft Exchange, Google, and Address Book contacts and can also sync Exchange and Google contacts across multiple accounts. (Future plans include syncing of calendar events/tasks for all three.) Sync'Em is available for Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary). See web site for pricing.
The Dream Apps released TaskMagic 1.0, a task manager that features grouping by topic, difficulty, or timeframe. It also offers notes, live search, search by fields, a system-wide panel for adding tasks, and other features. TaskMagic is $19.95 for Mac OS X.
Updated Products
MATLAB 7.7 is a technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numerical computation. This release adds a function browser, function hints (reminders of arguments), an updated Current Directory browser (enhanced navigation, filtering, and file previews), an enhanced doc command, a new containers.Map data structure (enabling implementation of look-up tables and similar constructs, such as a fast string-to-value index), enhanced random number generation, support for new file formats, including NetCDF (reading and writing) and JPEG2000 (reading), and more. MATLAB is available for Mac OS X 10.4.8 and up, Linux, Solaris, and Windows.
FileWave 3.6 is a cross-platform automated software distribution and management system for enterprise network environments. This release adds performance enhancements, an All Users folder that enables a system administrator to deliver files to every user account on each computer, a Reactivate Filesets feature "to re-install Filesets, Patch Installers or Executables," and other improvements. FileWave is available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up, Linux, and Windows.
Opera Software released Opera 9.60, a new version of its free, multi-platform web browser, mail client, IRC client, and newsreader. This release brings support for custom search engines and typed history in Opera Link, feed previews, improved speed, a low bandwidth mode for Opera Mail, follow and ignore options for threads and contacts, and more. Opera is available for Mac OS X (Universal Binary), Linux, Windows, and other platforms.
Hamrick Software's VueScan 8.4.90 supports many flatbed and film scanners and includes advanced options such as restoring faded colors and batch scanning. Recent changes include fixes for problems with older HP ScanJet USB scanners and with the Acer SnapScan 310U, support for mouse wheel image zooming, support for the HP PhotoSmart C4500 series, improved responsiveness while scanning, and improvements to the Guide Me mode. Available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up, Linux, and Windows, VueScan is a Universal Binary priced at $39.95 for the Standard Edition and $79.95 for the Professional Edition.
1Password 2.9 is a password manager that works with the Mac OS X keychain and includes browser extensions, automatic form filling, secure notes, Palm support, and other features. This release introduces a new Agile Keychain data format to allow syncing without requiring MobileMe, support for Safari 4.0 Developer Preview #2, AppleScript support for showing preference panels, support for use without browser extensions, improved startup time for Safari when 1Password extension is installed, and other changes. 1Password is $39.95 for Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary).
SofaControl 2.8 enables you to control any application using the Apple Remote or Keyspan RF Remote. The software uses application scripting to control applications and can be extended by users with more scripts. This release adds support for controlling XBMC, improved support for SlingPlayer, and a bug fix. Sofa Control is $15 for Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary).
HistoryHound 1.9.5 can do text searches (including Boolean searches) of all web pages you've visited recently (your history list) plus your bookmarked pages in most browsers and programs such as NetNewsWire, PulpFiction, and URL Manager Pro. This release improves search speed (by a factor of 10, according to the developer), supports date restrictions on queries, adds contextual menu items, and includes support for the latest Mac browsers. HistoryHound is $19.95 for Mac OS X 10.4 and up (Universal Binary).
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