Thursday, May 31, 2007
Xserve Lights-Out Management firmware update
Apple today issued an update to its Xserve Lights-Out Management Firmware that offers functionality improvements alongside a security fix. Xserve Lights-Out Management Firmware 1.0 remedies a security issue affecting Intel-based Xserve systems that could enable a remote user to gain admin privileges on the Xserve with IPMI configured in a particula... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Facebook and MySpace square off in this Mac ad spoof
Video: Facebook and MySpace square off in this Mac ad spoof. Facebook and MySpace do some serious trash talking in this spot spoofing a Mac advertisement.
[ Full story from CNET News.com ]
Verizon, gearing for iPhone fight, offers free Prince tune
Wireless carrier is giving away digital copies of musician's latest single as it sets the stage for a mobile-music battle with Apple. [ Full story from ZDNet News - Front Door ]
Parallels 3.0 RC announced
If Windows is the new Classic, then Parallels Desktop for Mac is the Classic Enabler of the new millennium; there's no easier way to get XP running on your Intel Mac, should you wish to do something as antithetical to the Macintosh way as that. Virtualization heavyweight VMware has been sneaking up, though, releasing early betas including preliminary 3D support. Now Team Orange is leaping back to the front of the pack with a release candidate announcement for version 3.0 and upgrade pricing ($40 before June 7, $50 after that).New features in v3 of PD include:
- SmartSelect -- set your preferred application handlers cross-platform. Want to open URLs in IE7, mailto: links in Mail.app, or .xls files in Excel 2007? You can now.
- 3D acceleration -- DirectX and OpenGL support will allow 3D gamers to play Windows games at some modicum of acceptable speed
- Snapshot -- back up or roll back your virtual machine
- Parallels Explorer -- copy files into or out of your virtual disk images or your Boot Camp partition
- Enhanced Boot Camp support, better USB, better printer sharing, shiny Coherence 2.0
Thanks to everyone who sent this inRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Firefox 2.0.0.4 update Includes Security Fixes, More
Mozilla.org updated Firefox to version 2.0.0.4 Thursday, a minor update whose most important features are some security fixes (listed below). For those running Windows on their Intel Macs, Vista support is also included in the release (the Mac and Windows versions are in sync)
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
Review: MacBook Core 2 Duo/2GHz and 2.16GHz
Apple's MacBook line, already a hit with consumers and students, is even more appealing with faster CPUs, bigger hard drives, and more memory in the base model.
MacBook Core 2 Duo/2GHz (4.5 Mice) Best Current Price: $1075.00 (via ProductFinder)
MacBook Core 2 Duo/2.16GHz (black) (4.5 Mice) Best Current Price: $1475.00 (via ProductFinder)
[ Full story from Macworld ]
MacBook Core 2 Duo/2GHz (4.5 Mice) Best Current Price: $1075.00 (via ProductFinder)
MacBook Core 2 Duo/2.16GHz (black) (4.5 Mice) Best Current Price: $1475.00 (via ProductFinder)
Verizon, gearing for iPhone fight, offers free Prince tune
Wireless carrier is giving away digital copies of musician's latest single as it sets the stage for a mobile-music battle with Apple. [ Full story from CNET News.com ]
iPodObserver - Apple's YouTube Announcement Has Leverage
Apple's YouTube Announcement, while modest, has a great deal more leverage than some would believe, according to MultiChannel News on Thursday
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
Apple releases Security Update 2007-005 v1.1
Apple has released Security Update 2007-005 v1.1 which is recommended for all users... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Somebody, please get Eric Schmidt an iPhone
P.S. -Walt asked about the Google phone, which Eric non-denial denied exists. Instead Eric just talked about phones, platforms, application layers, partnerships with KDDI, LG, Samsung, etc.
[ Full story from Engadget Mobile ]
News: Parallels 3.0 supports 3D games, 'SmartSelect'
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac adds SmartSelect, Snapshots and 3D gaming capabilities -- it's expected to be released in the next several weeks. 
[ Full story from Macworld ]
OpenGL, DirectX support coming to Parallels
Parallels today announced that it is entering the final stages of testing for the next major release of Parallels Desktop for Mac by launching release candidate 3.0 to the private beta community. The new test version contains more than 50 new features, including a cross-platform file and application integration feature called SmartSelect. The lates... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Update: DivX Pro for Mac 6.7
The DivX codec and player package adds a Universal Binary version of DivX Player, Video On Demand capability, an update to DivX Codec 6.6, and other changes. [ Full story from MacInTouch ]
iTunes Plus review reveals "growing pains"
A review of Apple's newly unveiled iTunes Plus service, which offers higher quality DRM-free audio t... [ Full story from iPodNN | The iPod News Network ]
Apple continues to mostly ignore the enterprise
For consumers, the Macintosh's hip quotient is being hammered home... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Update: ScreenTime for Flash 3.5
The Flash screensaver building tool now "builds lighter, more full-featured screen saver installers, includes better Mac OS integration and improves support for Intel Macs." [ Full story from MacInTouch ]
Security: Security Update 2007-005 v1.1
Apple re-released this update to correct an installation problem on some systems. No security content has been changed. [ Full story from MacInTouch ]
Security: Personal Info in iTunes
Apple apparently encodes your name and email/account information in iTunes you purchase - both DRM-locked and DRM-free. [ Full story from MacInTouch ]
Fabrix offers two new Delux laptop cases
Fabrix today added two new designs to its Delux Laptop Case collection, providing decorative protection for Apple's MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks. The new designs, titled Floral Explosion and Black Beauty, are available in sizes that fit both of Apple's current-generation notebooks as well as custom sizing for owners of non-Mac laptops. The cas... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
MailTags 2.0 Adds IMAP Support, Improves iCal Support
Indev Software announced the immediate availability of MailTags 2.0 on Thursday. MailTags is an email organization plug-in for Apple's Mail application
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
News: DivX 6.7 Bundle for Mac supports protected files
DivX 6.7 for Mac bundles new versions of the DivX Plaer, DivX Codec, DivX Converter, DivX Web Plaer and DivX Content Updater for Mac. 
[ Full story from Macworld ]
Adobe shares Acrobat 3D 8 PRC specs
Adobe has unveiled the specifications for the PRC file format supported by Acrobat 8. PRC is used to create 3D models that users can import into PDF documents using custom tools; it is also said to retain accuracy while producing dramtically smaller file sizes, by a factor of 100 to 300. The release of PRC's internal workings means that Mac develop... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
First Look at Windows Live Mail--Replaces Outlook Express
PC World -The Writer release updates the first program beta from last August, and includes some minor feature and interface changes. For more information see the ...<br><img src="/images/chart_7777cc3.gif" class="ticker-icon" width="14" height="12"><a href="http://finance.google.com/finance?q=MSFT&client=news" class="rich">MSFT</a> <a href="http://mac.blorge.com/2007/05/30/steve-jobs-talks-iphone-battery-leopard-wifi-keyboard/" id=r-9i_0><img src=http://200.202.249.85/news?imgefp=IRJQrHBNZHMJ&imgurl=mac.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/iphone%20and%20jobs.jpg width=80 height=58 alt="" border=1></a><a href="http://mac.blorge.com/2007/05/30/steve-jobs-talks-iphone-battery-leopard-wifi-keyboard/" id=r-9_0>Steve Jobs talks iPhone; battery, Leopard, WiFi, keyboard</a><br>TECH.BLORGE.com, Australia - 19 minutes ago<br>As the iPhone could be the hottest cell phone release of all time, the latest batch of information coming from todayA s interview with Steve Jobs might be ...
:: [ Full story from technology News feed ]
:: [ Full story from technology News feed ]
Review: Apple’s iTunes Plus
Apple and EMI recently announced that EMI would offer its entire... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Video highlights of the Steve and Bill show
Filed under: Other Events, Steve Jobs
In case you missed the Engadget li veblog of last night's lovefest between Big Mac and El PC, the folks at the D conference have posted complete video coverage and a highlight reel (above) of Steve and Bill's excellent adventure. Enjoy the show, and please open any hard candies in advance of the feature.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Apple CEO Steve Jobs hints that .Mac is about to undergo big overhaul
In a highly anticipated meeting of the two computer industry titans... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Swift Share helps manage shared content
Koingo Software has released Swift Share 1.0, its share point and file server management utility for Mac OS X. Swift Share enables users to choose only specific folders to share with others, and offers control over who has access to those shares. The software also supports managing users and groups on Mac systems, and allows customization of almost... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Photos: Gates, Jobs share the stage
"We've kept our marriage secret for over a decade," Apple's CEO says of his relationship with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. [ Full story from CNET News.com ]
Music industry, Microsoft once again being herded into the direction of Apple’s choosing
Apple has plunged into uncharted waters by stripping security software off... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Apple patent keeps iPhone signals clean
Apple has developed a way to keep the iPhone and any other future wireless handhelds free of interference, according to a newly granted US patent. The filing, originally made just weeks before the iPhone's announcement at Macworld San Francisco, is meant to address the potentially dangerous problem of interference from peripherals brought near or ... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
U.S. mortgage rates edge higher for third straight week
PHILADELPHIA (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates edged higher for a third straight week, Freddie Mac said Thursday, with the national average on the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate loan hitting 6.42%, up from 6.37% a week earlier. The rate remains below its year-ago level of 6.67%. [ Full story from MarketWatch.com - Top Stories ]
DivX 6.7 offers faster decoding, bug fixes
DivX for Mac 6.7 has been released. With this release, Mac users can playback protected, DivX-formatted, VOD content for the first time. The full version of DivX for Mac 6.7 is available for download on DivX.com for $20. There is also a free version available that includes a 15-day trial of the DivX Converter and a 6-month trial of DivX Codec for M... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Will music industry dance again to Apple's tune?
Apple's bold gamble could push the rest of the music industry into offering DRM-free music. [ Full story from CNET News.com ]
Will music industry dance again to Apple's tune?
Apple's bold gamble could push the rest of the music industry into offering DRM-free music. [ Full story from ZDNet News - Front Door ]
Will music industry dance again to Apple's tune
Apple's bold gamble could push the rest of the music industry into offering DRM-free music. [ Full story from ZDNet News - Front Door ]
Jobs: Windows is hell
A question lobbed by a writer covering this week's D: All Things Digital conference drew a comparison from Steve Jobs between Windows and hell. As for Apple's role as a significant developer in that diorama, ice cubes are involved. 
[ Full story from Computerworld Macintosh News ]
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates chat at All Things Digital 2007
Filed under: Other Events, Steve Jobs
This is the last All Things Digital post for today, promise (well, as long as nothing cool happens). Engadget is live on the scene where Steve Jobs (Apple's CEO) and Bill Gates (he works for some small tech company in Redmond) will share the stage with Walt Mossberg. What will they talk about? I have no idea, but you can read it as they say it over at Engadget.Read& nbsp;| Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
iPhone to get third party apps
Filed under: Cellphones
Just in case you missed Walt Mossberg's sitdown with Steve Jobs earlier today, but in the open Q&A his Jobsness was asked point blank about the openness of the iPhone, and whether users can expect their $600 cellphone to be able to add on third party apps. His reply?"This is an important tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. ... we'll find a way to let 3rd parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can't compromise the security of the phone. ... I've used 3rd party apps... the more you add, the more your phone crashes. No one's perfect, and we'd sure like our phone not to crash once a day. If you can just be a little more patient with us I think everyone can get what they want."
You heard it folks, Apple's working on allowing third party devs into the hallowed ground of the iPhone. One big issue (kind of) down, now we've just got to work on getting that thing a real keyboard and some 3G.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from Engadget ]
iPhone to get third party apps
Just in case you missed Walt Mossberg's sitdown with Steve Jobs earlier today, but in the open Q&A his Jobsness was asked point blank about the openness of the iPhone, and whether users can expect their $600 cellphone to be able to add on third party apps. His reply?"This is an importa nt tradeoff between security and openness. We want both. ... we'll find a way to let 3rd parties write apps and still preserve security on the iPhone. But until we find that way we can't compromise the security of the phone. ... I've used 3rd party apps... the more you add, the more your phone crashes. No one's perfect, and we'd sure like our phone not to crash once a day. If you can just be a little more patient with us I think everyone can get what they want."
You heard it folks, Apple's working on allowing third party devs into the hallowed ground of the iPhone. One big issue (kind of) down, now we've just got to work on getting that thing a real keyboard and some 3G.
[ Full story from Engadget Mobile ]
Joystiq reports GameTap to support Mac
Filed under: Gaming
OK, it's been a busy day in Macville, what with the D Conference doing its best impression of Comdex and inspiring scores of product announcements. Still worthy of mention from earlier today: our sister site Joystiq posted an interview with two GameTap VPs on the upcoming changes to the GameTap offering. Th e most notable change for our people won't be along until late summer: a Mac implementation of GameTap.com will be released. This tidbit was so surprising to blogger Alexander Silwinski that he responded "Late summer you'll have a what?" Classic.For those not familiar, GameTap is a gaming subscription service; imagine NetFlix but without actually mailing DVDs, and, like, for PC games. Check out details here.
Thanks Chris & Uros.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Found Footage: Steve Jobs at All Things Digital 2007
Filed under: Other Events, Steve Jobs, Apple, Found Footage
We've been blogging about Steve Job's appearance at All Things Digital a lot today, and now you can watch it for yourself. A ten minute highlight reel has been posted on the All Things Digital website. I recommend you watch the whole video for a classic Jobs quote.
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
First DRM-free "Free song of the week"
Apple is already offering its first DRM-free "Free song of the week" on its iTunes Store via the new... [ Full story from iPodNN | The iPod News Network ]
Apple TV gains YouTube support, 160GB option
Apple CEO Steve Jobs took to the D: All Things Digital conference stage with surprise news that his company's media hub would soon grab YouTube clips -- and unveiled a hard drive upgrade behind the scenes. During his interview with the Wall Street... [ Full story from AppleInsider ]
Feature: First Look: iTunes Plus
Apple made good on its pledge to deliver DRM-free music through the iTunes Store by the end of May. The result is iTunes Plus, and Christopher Breen explores what to expect from these unprotected tracks encoded at a higher bit rate.
[ Full story from Macworld ]
MacMania: Cruising with Leopard
MacMania VI gets ever closer to Juneau, Alaska, as Rob Griffiths struggles with how to teach a class on an operating system that isn't shipping yet. 
[ Full story from Macworld ]
New Office revisions challenge Mac users
Microsoft's introduction of its Office 2008 -- due to ship later this year -- signals the end of VBA script and macro support, effectively axing the transparent cross-platform compatibility of Windows and Mac clients that rely on Visual Basic for applications, scripts, and macros. Additionally, Microsoft's recently released Office 2007 for Windows ... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]