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Interarchy 6.0 Released

Interarchy is award-winning Internet file transfer software for the Macintosh. It enables a Macintosh user to access files on other computers over the Internet. Interarchy uses the standard Internet protocols FTP, SFTP and HTTP, so Interarchy can access files on virtually any type of computer or device.



Version 6.0 introduces several major new features:

• Engine Upgrade. Long files (up to 9 exabytes), long filenames (up to 255 chars) and long URLs (up to 2502 chars).
  
  
  
  
• SFTP. Comprehensive Secure File Transfer Protocol support in Mac OS X.
  
  
  
  
• Queues. Drag transfers and other actions into a queue and have them executed in order.
  
  
  
  
• Delayed Transfers. Set up actions to occur at a later time.
  
  
  
  
• Repeating Transfers. Set up actions to repeat at regular intervals.
  
  
  
  
• Column View and Hierarchical View in remote folder listings.
  
  
  
  
• Check Web Site Links. Automatically test and verify the links of a web site.
  
  
  
  
• Full Bookmark and URL management system.
  
  
  
  
• Mac OS X Net Menu. Due to popular demand, the net tools, including traffic watching, have been brought over to the Mac OS X version.
  
  

Interarchy 6.0 runs natively on Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, and Mac OS 8.5+.

This is a paid upgrade from 5.0 & earlier versions (upgrade pricing not specified). For more information, visit www.interarchy.com (site not updated yet).

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Freenet available for Mac OS X

Freenet is free software designed to ensure true freedom of communication over the Internet. It allows anybody to publish and read information with complete anonymity. Nobody controls Freenet, not even its creators, meaning that the system is not vulnerable to manipulation or shutdown.

"I worry about my child and the Internet all the time, even though she's too young to have logged on yet. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 years from now, she will come to me and say 'Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press away from the Internet?'"

--Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation

More information is available here.

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Cross-Platform Airport Networking

It's easy to use non-Apple 802.11b wireless devices with your Airport Base station. Here's what you need to know.

If you're not using WEP encryption, you don't need to do anything special to use non-Apple devices. However, Apple's software encrypts the WEP password differently than most other wireless products, so you need to figure out the right password to use to connect to your Airport Base Station.

I currently have a ThinkPad with a D-Link wireless card and a LinkSys WET11 being used to connect my old Blue & White G3 on my Airport network, along with my G4 and iBook using Apple Airport cards.

The WEP password you set for your base station won't work on any PC wireless card or non-Apple hardware such as the LinkSys bridge. Instead, you have to generate a hex key to enter. There are several ways to do it.

If you're using recent Airport Base Station software, the easiest way to do it is to simply use the password button in the configuration window to display the hex key.

Alternately, another useful utility is WEP Key Maker, which lets you enter a password or phrase & generate 64 or 128-bit keys.

Finally, most third-party devices provide some way to generate a hex key, such as the LinkSys setup screen

If you generate a hex key with non-Apple software, remember to enter it preceded by a dollar sign ($) in Apple's Airport software. You also need to do the same when connecting to a non-Apple 802.11b access point with Airport software.

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Another wireless option for older Macs

A few months ago, I added a Cisco Aironet 350 card to my Blue & White G3 to put it on my Airport network. I now found a better (and less expensive) way to network older Macs.

The LinkSys WET11 plugs into any ethernet port and connects it to a wireless network. I finally received it today and in less than 5 minutes I had my Blue & White G3 online.

Unlike the Aironet card, it doesn't require any software or drivers - all of the configuration is done through a web browser, although figuring out the IP adddress can be tricky.

I've posted a full review here.

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Dude, you're getting an iPod

Dell Computer has started selling Apple's iPod.

The Windows version of the iPod in 5G, 10G, and 20G models is available by phone order from Dell now and will be available on their web site later.

Apple says "Yep, Dell is reselling iPods. We are delighted to offer our 5GB, 10GB and 20GB iPods for Windows through Dell's direct retail channel. iPod has been a big success to date, and we would like to make it even bigger."

Target retail stores are also now selling the 10G iPod for both Mac and Windows. Target will also have a working iPod available for customers to try out before buying.

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LinkSys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge

The LinkSys WET11 is a tiny box that plugs into an ethernet port to provide wireless connectivity.





Setting it up can be a bit tricky if you don't have a PC to run their setup utility, but it is possible to do it entirely from a web browser on your Mac. The only difficult part is figuring out the WET11's IP address, which you can do with a port scan using Network Utility. I cheated and ran the setup utility on my ThinkPad, but as soon as I discovered the IP address, I disconnected the WET11 and plugged it into my Blue & White G3 to finish setting it up.





The IP address happens to be 192.168.1.225, to save you some trouble. Once you know the IP address, simply go to that address in your web browser - http://192.168.1.225. If you've used other LinkSys devices, the configuration screen will be very familiar. The first thing you need to do is change the password, which defaults to 'admin'.





On the wireless page, you can enter the name of your base station & the WEP key, if you're using one. Note that the Airport base station doesn't use the same formula to generate the key as most other access points, so you'll need to generate a hex key, which you can enter preceded by a '$' when connecting from a Mac.





It took about 5 minutes to set it up, and it works flawlessly. My Blue & White G3 is able to access my Airport network seamlessly. I prefer it to the Cisco Aironet 350 card I was previously using, since it doesn't require any drivers and doesn't ask for a WEP password on every reboot.

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RealNetworks releases open source media player

RealNetworks∆, Inc. today announced that Helix DNA Client source code is now available to developers in the Helix™ Community. The core engine powering the award-winning RealOne™ Player, the Helix DNA Client, is now available for software developers, consumer electronics companies and mobile phone manufacturers to use in building their own digital media applications and products.

For the first time ever, developers can easily access the code of a commercial grade media player, integrate support for the industry-leading audio and video formats, RealAudio and RealVideo, as well as other formats, and create a robust media player for their own specific needs. Key companies already supporting Helix DNA Client and RealAudio and RealVideo development include Acer, Hitachi, STMicroelectronics and Nokia.

Over 2,000 developers and companies have joined the newly created Helix Community since July to create digital media products and applications on a standardized platform. With server, player and encoder code, the Helix Platform will enable companies to create applications that interoperate and support a wide variety of media types. The Helix DNA Client being added to the community today includes Linux, Windows and Mac OS X-based clients that developers can use to support a wide variety of medial formats including RealAudio, RealVideo, MPEG-4, MP3, H.263 and 3GPP formats for PCs, mobile and consumer electronic devices. Available for both open source and community development projects, licensing terms for commercial use are more affordable than the announced MPEG-4 licensing. Server and encoder code will be added to the Community later this year.

“Today’s release of the Helix DNA Client is a watershed event for the digital media industry,” said Rob Glaser, founder and CEO, RealNetworks. “Three months ago, we announced the Helix platform in order to ignite the next wave of digital media delivery. Today’s release of the Helix DNA Client fulfills that promise. It will enable thousands of developers to standardize on a single open media player architecture and bring that architecture to millions of digital consumer appliances from dozens of different manufacturers around the world. We encourage all developers to freely register on the Helix Community website, download the source code and actively participate in driving the mass medium of Internet broadcasting to the next level.”

The Helix DNA Client is licensed through the Helix Community under two license options: the RealNetworks Public Source License (RPSL) or the RealNetworks Community Source License (RCSL). Both licenses are available at Helix Community — www.helixcommunity.org.

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PocketNotes 2.0 Released!

PocketNotes is an easy-to-use, flexible notepad application for outlining and planning.

PocketNotes has the following features:





• A simple but powerful outliner.


• Multiple skins or looks.


• Notes attach to each item in an outline and support multiple fonts, text colors and images.


• A links shelf to store web links, email addresses, files, etc.


• Unlimited undo support.


• Priority-setting by item.


• Multiple outlines in a single notepad using an intuitive tab based user interface.


• Multiple notepads.


• Search by tab, notepad, priority or text.


• Set reminders for any item.


• Make notepads read-only or password protected.


• Customizable toolbar (standard skin only).


• Customize priorities by tab, notepad and application.





PocketNotes 2.0 is a major update to PocketNotes. Virtually every aspect of the application has been updated. Specifically:





• Updated notes including, live links, notes toolbar, page numbering, and margin control.


• New outline display options featuring hiding of completed items and sorting alphabetically and by priority.


• Improved reminder system including repeating reminders set by day, week, month, quarter or year.


• Alias support allowing the creation of 'aliases' of items within a notepad.


• Improved printing.


• Enhanced searching including searches within individual notes.


• Contextual menu support.


• New default note preferences including the hiding of the link shelf and setting the default note font.


• Updated skin support.


• Eleven new skins.






A free demo can be downloaded at: http://www.pocketsw.com/PocketSoftware/pocket_notes.php

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Yet another x86 prediction

Another industry analyst is predicting Apple will move to x86 by the end of next year. What I wrote here in August still holds true. Also, the announcement of IBM's 970 makes it even less likely Apple will move to Intel.

The Giga Information Group has released a report called IT Trends 2003: Desktop and Mobile PCs by Rob Enderle. Here's what he says about Apple:

Apple is being driven out of every segment but consumer: Companies are driving out non-standard hardware and both increasingly view Linux as a better alternative platform and UNIX as a platform they don't want to resurge on the desktop. The lack of management tools, pull back of key vendors like Quark and an anticipated drop in market share below 2 percent in 2003 are obsolescing this platform. Apple's continued technical disadvantage against Intel is expected to force them to adopt x86 technology by the end of 2003.

Mac OS X is becoming the leading desktop Unix, and as SlashDot readers know, many Linux users are now switching to iBooks & TiBooks as their portable Unix system.

A separate report from Dataquest says that Apple is now the number 5 server vendor in the US:

The United States server market continued to show signs of recovery with a 12.2 percent increase in the third quarter of 2002, with shipments of 488,858 units, up from 435,620 in the third quarter of 2001 (see Table 2). Dell regained the No.1 position in the U.S server market garnering 26.3 percent of the market. HP fell to second place with 25.9 percent market share, followed by IBM, Sun Microsystems and Apple, respectively

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Porsche Design competes against the Titanium PowerBook

Best Buy is currently selling a new laptop produced by Porsche Design (a company created by the grandson of the owner of Porsche, but nothing to do with cars) which looks a lot like our own laptop we have come to know as the TiBook....

Even though it may look very similar, its 1.2" thick instead of 1" and weighs around 6.4 pounds, instead of 5.3 like the Titanium PowerBook G4. It features 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4-M processor with 512 MB RAM, the same 15.2" 1280x854 widescreen display, and apparently an ear-opening sound system.

It's on sale for $2,399 at your local Best Buy, and pictures of the VPR Matrix 200A5 can be found at the CNET story here.

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gBrowser 1.5b22 Released

gBrowser, by Andreas Schwarz, is a Cocoa-based image browser with which you can view and browse through large collections of images as thumbnails.

Its layout is based on your file system; what you see in the Finder is what you see in gBrowser (in a much more convenient way, of course). It also features slideshow capability and the "Image Viewer," useful on multi-monitor setups, which can be used as a non-linear slideshow or just to more easily view pictures as you browse your collection. It also includes features to help you create your own slideshow screensavers.

Version 1.5b22 adds the following:

• Added new commands to the slideshow, Image Viewer, and image windows: "Move image to trash", "Remove image from slideshow" (slideshow only obviously), and the "Open With..." and "Move to..." submenus.
  
  
• Added more options to the slideshow display preferences to control what type of information is to be displayed with the slideshow.
  
  
• Added a "Used metal-textured window for slideshow controls" option (on by default) in the slideshow controls prefs. This only works on OS X 10.2 and above.
  
  
• Added a "Navigation" submenu to the Previews menu, with some useful commands (these were actually available before, but since they were undocumented and not in any menus, not everyone knew about it). Also altered the command keys for a couple menu items in the Paths menu to fit the new setup.
  
  
• File selection behavior in the file list view now more closely mimics the behavior of the Finder.
  
  
• Drag and drop in the file list has been improved (although there may yet be a few odd bugs to work out in the new code).
  
  
• Expanded the options for rename behavior in the file list and the preview pane. You can now specify whether you want single or double clicks to start file renaming.
  
  
• gBrowser now does a better job naming duplicated files and newly created symlinks.
  
  
• Filename editing now no longer starts until mouseup.
  
  
• Some bugs worked out of the new grab-to-scroll code.
  
  
• Quicktime movies previewed in the preview pane are now displayed at the corret size (I wasn't taking into account the size of the controller so movies were getting a bit squished). Please, please, please, Apple, add some decent Quicktime support to Cocoa.
  
  
• Fixed some occasional problems with display of symlinks and aliases.
  
  
• Fixed an issue that could cause files to show up twice in folders containing files with slashes in their filenames.
  
  
• Fixed a few little crashers.
  
  
• You can no longer resize images to smaller than 1 percent or larger than 5000 percent of their original size.
  
  
• Fixed a minor drag and drop bug in the preview pane.
  
  
• Fixed a bug that might cause incorrect information to be displayed in the preview pane when viewing certain types of information.
  
  
• The autohide slideshow controls feature now works again in the slideshow (and the mouse disappears properly too).
  
  
• Display of the file list has been sped up a bit if you have "don't show file/folder count" selected in the file list setup prefs (it doesn't bother to count if it isn't necessary now).
  
  
• The preview pane no longer briefly displays a gray window background when gBrowser is initially launched.
  
  

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Tell Your DMCA Horror Stories!

EFF and the U.S. Copyright Office would like to hear from people who

are unable to use their digital media because of the Digital

Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).



Section 1201(a)(1)(A) of the DMCA provides that "No person shall

circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access

to a work protected under this title." Subparagraph (B) limits this

prohibition. It provides that anticircumvention "shall not apply to

persons who are users of a copyrighted work which is in a particular

class of works, if such persons are, or are likely to be in the

succeeding 3-year period, adversely affected by virtue of such

prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that

particular class of works under this title." The Copyright Office is

tasked with determining which classes of works should be exempted

from the anticircumvention provisions.

From now until December 18, 2002, the Copyright Office is accepting

comments on the effects of the DMCA on access to specific types of

digital media. If you have difficulty making lawful use of your

digital media because of technological access controls, it is very

important to let the Copyright Office know by sending it comments

that specifically explain these problems. Also, please contact EFF

and let us know about your difficulties and we will try to

incorporate your concerns into the comments EFF is submitting to the

Copyright Office. It is vital that we provide the Copyright Office

with numerous concrete examples of individuals whose lawful use of

copyrighted works is impaired by access controls. Without concrete

examples, it will be very dfficult to craft these provisions in a

less restrictive way. For more information on the Copyright Office

Rulemaking proceeding under the DMCA, please see:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/1201/

Contact Robin Gross with your stories:

robin@eff.org.

To Join EFF online, go to:

http://www.eff.org/support/.

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A Shipping Nightmare

Last week, I ordered a LinkSys WET-11 wireless ethernet bridge, and thanks to a series of screw-ups by FedEx Ground, it never arrived and is now on its way back to the shipper.

Every day I tracked the package at Fedex, and when I saw it was on the truck for delivery Monday, I made sure I was available all day. No delivery attempt was made. The same thing happened on Tuesday, and a delivery attempt was supposedly made. No truck was here, and no note was left on my door.

The same thing happened Wednesday, and I was definitely home at 2:00 when they supposedly attempted to deliver. I called FedEx and they confirmed that they did indeed have the correct adddress. I asked them to hold the package so I could pick it up Thursday.

They didn't hold the package, and once again attempted delivery yesterday, and once again no truck was here and no note was left on my door. I was definitely home at the time they claimed they tried to deliver (9:31 AM). I called yesterday afternoon and asked them to hold the package so I could pick it up today.

When I called this morning to see if I could pick up the package, they told me it was returned to the shipper.

I've asked them to re-ship it by any method other than FedEx ground. I've never had any problems receiving a shipment by FedEx Air, UPS, or Airborne.

This tracking report tells the whole story:

Scan Activity	Date/Time
Customer not available or business closed/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/24/2002 09:31
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/24/2002 02:08
Customer not available or business closed/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/23/2002 14:02
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/23/2002 02:28
Customer not available or business closed/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/22/2002 08:42
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/22/2002 04:06
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/21/2002 01:56
Arrived at FedEx sort facility/FORT LAUDERDALE FL	10/19/2002 04:54
Departed FedEx sort facility/ORLANDO FL	10/19/2002 00:46
Scanned at FedEx sort facility/ORLANDO FL	10/18/2002 21:03
Package information transmitted to FedEx	10/17/2002 12:21
Customer-Loaded Trailer Picked Up/MEMPHIS TN	10/17/2002 00:00

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Aizai broadcaster & tuner

Aizai is the first technology to allow individuals and groups to view, create and distribute digital photos, movies, music, web pages, documents and folders via virtual television channels.



Aizai consists of three parts:

Aizai Global Broadcaster uses the power of Mac OS X to allow individuals to easily broadcast their creative work worldwide, to audiences public or private. It provides everyone the tools to do so in a more simple, powerful and compelling way. With Aizai Global Broadcaster you can create channels about anything you feel needs air-time on net television.

Aizai

The Aizai Global Tuner is the world's first Internet channel browser. It allows individuals to navigate the new world of channel service networks in style. Featuring advanced channel blocking, filtering and fullscreen viewing capabilitites, Aizai Global Tuner is the new way to channel surf.

The Aizai Channel Service Network is the first to support this innovative technology. Powered by Apple's Xserve and WebObjects, it provides a fast, simple and secure home for all your channels. Integrated seamlessly with the Aizai Global Tuner and Aizai Global Broadcaster, registered users get 5 channels free.

For more information, visit http://www.rainjul.com/aizai/.

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Tiger Launch 1.0 Released

Ranchero Software has released Tiger Launch 1.0, an open source application launcher for Mac OS X.

What it is

TigerLaunch is an easy-to-use and easy-to-configure application launcher for OS X.

It displays an Apps menu at the top of your screen listing all your applications in alphabetical order—no matter what folder they appear in.

You can easily configure it to exclude applications you rarely or never launch.

This allows you to be more selective about what apps are dock-worthy, so your dock doesn’t get so cluttered. It also makes it easier to launch apps that are buried in sub-folders, such as in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.

How to install

If an earlier version of TigerLaunch is running, quit TigerLaunch.

After unstuffing the download, open the folder and copy TigerLaunch into your Applications folder.

How to use

Launch TigerLaunch. An Apps menu will appear at the upper right of your screen.

Choose the Configure command to open a window that allows you to exclude apps from being listed in the Apps menu.

You can also choose an icon for the Apps menu.

Easter egg feature for developers

If you have a Projects folder in your home folder, a Projects menu will appear next to the Apps menu. It will list Project Builder, CodeWarrior, and REALbasic project files, making them easy to find and launch.

For more information or to download a copy, visit http://ranchero.com/software/tigerlaunch/.

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MacHack Call for Papers

Programming is the ultimate "look what I did!" experience. Writing a paper for MacHack, the annual conference for developers, by developers, can be the, "and this is how I did it!" follow-up! MacHack invites developers from all areas of Macintosh and UNIX development to come and share their experiences, insights, and even interesting failures with their colleagues.



Previous conferences have featured papers with topics ranging from concurrency management, cross-platform messaging, programmer psychology, AltiVec, object frameworks, and virtual reality, just to name a few. Your last project could be your next paper. Share it at MacHack!

Paper authors do not pay the conference registration fee (US$550). You must give a brief presentation of your paper during the conference, which enables everyone to realize just how cool your topic really is. Copies of the papers will be included in the printed conference proceedings and on the conference CD.

Papers usually range from 2000 to 4000 words or 8-15 pages in length. Once your abstract is accepted, we will provide you with a document template for formatting your paper. Since the MacHack audience is almost entirely technically oriented, pure marketing topics or content, are unlikely to be well received. Paper acceptance is at the sole discretion of the papers committee, not all submissions of acceptable topics will be accepted for publication and presentation at the conference. Contact the committee via the conference website for more details.

If you haven't already, start thinking about the paper you would like to write. Let us know what you're planning via the link on the conference website. Abstracts are due by January 31, 2003.

We look forward to seeing your paper at MacHack 18! The conference will take place June 19-21, 2003, in Dearborn, Michigan. More information is available on the Web from http://www.machack.com/.

For attendees, discounted registration is available for early action. Full attendees can register for $450 online (before 02/28/03), a savings of $100 off the regular registration rate. Students can register for $50 which includes access to the entire conference as well as a special meal package. Total attendance is limited to 400. Student attendance is limited to 50. More details are available on the conference website.

MacHack is a registered trademark of Expotech, Inc. MacHack is not affiliated with The MacHax Group, although we've all been enjoying the Hack Contest together each year! Apple and MacOS are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective holders.

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Gridz 1.5 has now been released!

Gridz, an award-winning game, combines strategy and action in an intense, 3-D, fast-paced world filled with an army of zany, animated ToolBots which you lead on a quest to take over NetSpace.



Gridz 1.5 is finally here. It runs native on OS X (as well as still running

on OS 8.6 and 9.x) and has some network tweaks in it to make netplay more

reliable. We also lowered the price to $20 and If you own any older version

of Gridz, the upgrade to Gridz 1.5 is only $10.

Also, anyone who bought Gridz during 2002 can upgrade to Gridz 1.5 for free!

For more information, visit www.gridz.com.

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News Aggregators

If you have a lot of web sites that you visit regularly, a news aggregator can save you time and bring you the latest news instantly.



Many web sites that are updated frequently, including MacMegasite, provide a RSS feed with the latest headlines. A news aggregator checks RSS feeds regularly and informs you when any new stories are available. In this article I will cover three popular news aggregators for Mac OS X.

SlashDock is a lightweight aggregator that notifies you in the dock when any site is updated, and lists the latest headlines from each site in a dock menu. If you want something small, fast, and efficient, you'll like SlashDock.

NetNewsWire Lite is probably the most popular and will appeal to most users. It presents a familiar 3-pane interface with a list of your subscribed sites on the left, the headlines from the selected site on the top, and a summary of the selected story (if available) at the bottom. It also shows the number of new stories in the dock icon.

Radio Userland is a lot more than a news aggregator. It's also a publishing tool for writing your own weblog and a scripting platform with an integrated database for developing web-based services and applications. You connect to it with your web browser to view the news aggregator and publish your weblog. Clicking the post button next to any item in the news aggregator will add it to your weblog.

MacMegasite staff member Adam Atlas is also planning a public release of News Tracker, which he demonstrated at MacHack 17, winning first place in the Yoot division and second place overall in the hack contest.

You can find news feeds to subscribe to at syndic8.com. MacMegasite's RSS feed is available at http://www.macmegasite.com/backend.php.

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OpenLink Software and Sybase deliver ODBC for Mac OS X

New Single-Tier Sybase Driver for ODBC provides transparent access to

Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise from Mac OS X applications.



Burlington, Mass. - October 23, 2002 - OpenLink Software, Inc., industry

and technology leader in the development and deployment of secure,

high-performance database connectivity drivers for ODBC™ and JDBC™,

announced today the incorporation of OpenLink's industry-acclaimed,

high-performance Single-Tier Driver for ODBC, for Sybase∆ into its Adaptive

Server∆ Enterprise (ASE) for Mac OS X.

"The combined efforts of these two technology leaders have resulted in the

delivery of a critical and powerful piece of enterprise application

development infrastructure for the Mac OS X platform," said Andrew Hill,

director of technology evangelism at OpenLink Software. "ODBC connectivity

for Sybase ASE ensures that Mac OS X developers have a standards-compliant

mechanism for connecting to any Sybase database engine regardless of host

operating system," he added.

The new Single-Tier Sybase Driver for ODBC provides connectivity to Sybase

ASE 12.5.x from ODBC compliant Cocoa-, Carbon- and Darwin-based

applications, running on Mac OS X 10.1.x or 10.2.x (Jaguar). It enables Mac

application vendors and developers to easily migrate to Sybase ASE, without

having to re-write the applications that use ODBC connectivity. In

addition, other application vendors and developers whose applications use

ODBC and run on NT or Unix will find a high degree of ODBC compatibility

using ASE on Mac OS X. The Single-Tier Sybase Driver for ODBC installs with

OpenLink's Aqua-based ODBC Administrator - which has built-in server

discovery, enabled by Rendezvous technology, that simplifies the task of

locating and connecting to Rendezvous-enabled instances of Adaptive Server

Enterprise - and other ODBC infrastructure components.

"Sybase is excited to be working with OpenLink to deliver a robust

developer solution for Mac OS X," said Steve Olson, technical director of

engineering at Sybase. "Sybase is committed to providing an open

architecture that bridges all technology platforms and allows everything to

work together, preserving existing infrastructure investments and improving

efficiency. Our newest release on Mac OS X speaks directly to that

commitment."

About OpenLink Software

OpenLink Software is a privately held software company with offices in the

U.S.A., United Kingdom, France, Malaysia, Nigeria and Bulgaria. It has been

the leading provider and technology innovator in the database connectivity

driver market since 1993. Its products are currently used by over 10,000

companies world-wide for post-pilot and post-evaluation ODBC and JDBC based

solutions.

Additional information on OpenLink Software can be obtained from the Web

site, http://www.openlinksw.com.

About Sybase, Inc.

Sybase is the enterprise infrastructure company that bridges heterogeneous

technologies. With industry-leading Enterprise Portal (EP), mobile and

wireless solutions, essential integration products, and high performance

database management systems, Sybase is one of the largest independent

software companies in the world. For more information, visit the Sybase Web

site: http://www.sybase.com.

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NetNewsWire Lite 1.0.2b2

Ranchero Software has released an upgrade to their RSS news reader, NetNewsWire Lite, which enhances its efficiency and reduces the load it puts on the sites it reads.

NetNewsWire is an easy-to-use RSS news reader for web sites. It uses a familiar three-paned interface -- like that of Outlook Express or Mailsmith -- to display websites and their news. Made with Cocoa! More news, less junk. Faster.

What's New:

Version 1.0.2b2 adds the following:

• Reduces bandwidth consumption by supporting ETag and Last-Modified headers as detailed here.
  
  
• When you do a manual refresh all, the automatic refresh clock is now reset, which also helps reduce bandwidth consumption.
  
  
• Changed the default subscriptions to include only large sites—no weblogs—so as not to cause extra bandwidth charges to people paying for their sites out of their own pocket.
  
  
• Fixed a mysterious crash-in-background bug. (There may be more of these, or there may not be.)
  
  
• Added some feeds to the Sites Drawer.
  
  

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SilverCreator v1.0.2: Free game development system

SilverNetworks today released a

notable update to its free game development system, SilverCreator, now at

version 1.0.2.



SilverCreator v1.0.2 enables anyone with Mac OS 7.5.5 to Mac OS X to create

and develop your very own games for the Macintosh at a price that can't be

beat. Creating a game is as simple as drawing some graphics, typing some

text, clicking some buttons, and compiling your masterpiece to a standalone

Macintosh application.

Advanced developers can take advantage of the powerful event-based

scripting language to create advanced and engaging games. Full QuickTime

support is included (including Flash and QuickTime VR support) as well as a

fast sprite system with full transparency support. You can even create

online games where 2 players can play over the internet, with the built-in

and easy to use socket support.

One you've made your game, you can compile it for Classic PPC, Mac OS X

(Carbon), and even for 68K machines. Unlike other game creators, there are

no royalty fees on games you create - you are free to give them away or

charge any price you see fit.

You can download SilverCreator v1.0.2 now for Mac OS 7.5.5 - 9.2.2 and Mac

OS X by going to http://www.silvercreator.net/. Everything you need to

start creating your own Macintosh games is included.

SilverNetworks creates, publishes, and distributes freeware and shareware

software including games, development tools, internet/intranet programs,

and utilities. You can access all of SilverNetworks' products at

http://www.silvernetwork.net/.

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Mitch Kapor's Open Source Killer App

Mitch Kapor & Andy Herzfeld are working on a powerful new open source personal information manager that will run on OS X as well as Windows & Linux.

In his weblog, Mitch writes:

The product, which is central to the whole undertaking, is a new take on the Personal Information Manager. It will handle email, appointments, contacts and tasks, as well as be used to exchange information with other people, and do it all in the spirit of Lotus Agenda. Agenda, for those who aren't familiar with it, was a DOS product I designed (along with Jerry Kaplan) in the late 1980's which introduced a new kind of database optimized for entering small items of information in a free-form manner, and then adding organizational categories on-the-fly. It was much beloved by a few, despite (or perhaps because) being abandoned by Lotus.

We are trying to make a PIM which is substantive enough and enticing enough to make people want to move to it from whatever they are currently using, which statistically is probably Microsoft Outlook. I'm not going to bash Outlook here. Suffice it to say that while feature-rich, it is highly very complex, which renders most of its functionality moot. Its information sharing features require use of Microsoft Exchange, a server-based product, which is both expensive and complex to administer. Exchange is overkill for small-to-medium organizations, which we think creates on opportunity we intend to pursue (as well of course as serving individual users)

Have I mentioned it's going to run on Macintosh, Linux, and Windows and will not require a server? This is an ambitious goal, but we are convinced is possible to achieve using a cross-platform tool kit. (We are working with wxWindows/wxPython).

Also, everything is going to be fully open sourced.

• Email:
  
  
  
  
  
  • POP/IMAP retrieval
    
    
  • HTML viewing and composition
    
    
  • auto-completion of addressees
    
    
  • stationery
    
    
  • signatures
    
    
  • multiple profiles/personalities/identities
    
    
  • spelling checker
    
    
  • auto-archiving of old mail
    
    
  • fast searching via full-text indexing
    
    
  • importing existing data and settings
    
    
  • in-line viewing of attachments
    
    
  • user-defined views, rules, and filters
    
    
  • user-scripting capabilities
    
    
  • "active" mail - mail with buttons for actions
    
    
  • transparent encryption and authentication of mail
    
    
  • automatic Spam filtering
    
    
  • filing of messages in multiple folders
    
    
  
  
  
• Information Sharing & Exchange
  
  
  
  
  
  • integrated Instant Messaging and presence management (Jabber)
    
    
  • sending contacts and appointments via mail (iCal, vCard support)
    
    
  • remote peer-to-peer browsing of others' data
    
    
  • flexible security model to control access
    
    
  • file and document sharing
    
    
  • remote queries, e.g., look up address in another person's contact list
    
    
  • automatic updating of information from remote sources: receive new contacts, changes to existing contacts automatically (publish-subscribe)
    
    
  
  
  
• Access
  
  
  
  
  
  • home and work PC's with complete automatic replication of data
    
    
  • online or offline use with access to all data
    
    
  • synchronize with popular PDA's
    
    
  
  
  
• Calendar
  
  
  
  
  
  • day/week/month views
    
    
  • recurring appointments
    
    
  • see another person's free/busy blocks for scheduling
    
    
  • see another person's calendars as overlays
    
    
  
  
  
• Other
  
  
  
  
  
  • simple Web-style navigation (back, forward, and home buttons, single click on a link to navigate, bookmarks, URL references to user data)
    
    
  • easily customizable user-defined categories
    
    
  • structure data how you like it, view it that way, change your mind at any time
    
    
  • automatic recognition of names, places, dates, and etc.; automatic categorization of items
    
    
  • developer extensibility architecture
    
    
  
  
  

[] permanent link

Find Ink for your Printer... Cheap

Need to find ink for your ink jet or laser printer for cheap (and not using those non-recommended refill kits)? Head over to Ink Finder and do a search for your printer. I found a black cartidge for my Epson Stylus c80 for $7.95, with each color tank for only $1 more.

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Quick Google Search in Chimera

You can easily add a Google search popup to Chimera with a 'bookmarklet'.

Add a bookmark for any page, or if you have the toolbar displayed, simply drag the page icon to the toolbar to bookmark it.

Next, edit your bookmarks or control-click on the item you added to the toolbar and choose Get Info.

Replace the URL in the location field with the following:

javascript:q=document.getSelection();for(i=0;i<frames.length;i++){q=frames[i].document.getSelection();if(q)break;}if(!q)void(q=prompt('Keywords:',''));if(q)location.href='http://www.google.com/search?client=googlet&q='+escape(q)

Thanks to Kees from the Chimera mailing list for this tip.

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Apple Special Report at InfoWorld

InfoWorld, which usually ignores Apple, has published a special report: Apple Unpeeled.

The report seems very positive towards Apple, leading with the quote "Beneath Apple's soft consumer exterior lie the seeds for distributed enterprise computing."

It looks like the rest of the industry is finally starting to take Apple seriously, with Mac OS X and the XServe.

[] permanent link

Spam via Windows Messenger

Spammers have started using a Windows administrative tool to put ads on your screen. Thankfully, Mac users aren't affected by it.

The feature, known as the messenger service, typically lets a network administrator send warnings to users when, for example, a server is scheduled to go down for maintenance. Now some advertisers are using it to send bulk messages to anyone connected to the Internet with an accessible address.

"Spammers are blindly sending their advertisements by randomly picking a series of Internet addresses," said Charmaine Gravning, product manager for Windows at Microsoft. "On computers without a firewall, a little messenger window pops up."

The messenger feature, not to be confused with Microsoft's instant messaging applications, can use many different protocols to send a single message, according to Microsoft. The intrusive messages only appear on computers running Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000 and XP and that are directly connected to the Internet via a valid address; Windows systems behind a firewall or attached to a router that links multiple computers to a single Internet address will be unaffected.

Free utilities that enable people to exchange messages with each other using the messenger service have been available on the Internet for a while, but one enterprising company has recently started selling such software.

DirectAdvertiser, a U.S.-based firm registered in Romania, has created an application that lets users send advertisements via the messenger channel to anyone whose computer is set up to receive messenger-service notes. The program costs US$700 and has, in two months, already sold more than 200 copies, company founder Zoltan Kovacs said in an interview.

"You always get some people who don't like the product," Kovacs said, referring to the moderate amount of critical mail he has received. "But many more are interested in the product."

What he has produced is essentially a NetBIOS attack tool. It's capable of attacking entire IP ranges, but will not (the company says) get past a firewall or provide a hyperlink in the alert to the attacker's commercial Web site. The latter shortcoming is currently being addressed, the company says.

If you happen to be running Windows, the quickest way to defeat it is simply to shut off Windows Messenger service (not the MSN Messenger IM client), so long as it's not needed by other applications. If you're using a hardware or software firewall, you should block incoming UDP and TCP connections on port 135.

For more information, visit securityfocus.com.

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Microsoft taking action against fake switch ad

Microsoft may consider sanctions against a public relations consultant who tried to pass herself off as someone who had switched from the Apple Mac to Windows XP in a high-profile US advertising campaign, chief executive Steve Ballmer said yesterday.

The software company was forced to pull the advertising, which mimics rival Apple's Switch campaign from Windows XP to the Mac, after keen-eyed regulars to the Slashdot tech news and discussion Web site noticed irregularities in the case study of an anonymous woman that was presented on the Microsoft Web site.

Microsoft pulled the case study from its Web site after Valerie G. Mallinson, a public relations consultant for US firm Wes Rataushk and Assoc Inc, was forced to admit she was the person depicted.

The indiscretion strikes to the heart of Microsoft's attempts to turn around its unscrupulous image, while it tries to build support for its technical initiative chief software architect and founder Bill Gates dubbed last year, "Trustworthy Computing".

"I got a piece of mail that was vague that the assertion is some marketing person did something that was not entirely straightforward," Ballmer said.

"If that's right, I will certainly castigate the offender."

Although not referring specifically to the Mallinson case, he added it may be necessary to "weed out" employees who did not live up to Microsoft's code of behaviour.

Trustworthy Computing was something Microsoft had to live up to every day to convince customers it had improved, he said.

"On the technical front we acknowledged that nine months ago, and I wouldn't say we've done a bad job, but customer expectations for what they expect for reliability, for security, customer expectations were beyond our performance.

"I think we are progressing well in terms of executing on the principle but the proof will be in the pudding - I don't anybody to expect it until they see it.

"We will never get rid of security patches; it's not something that gets to be 100 per cent. I realise this is a multi-year endeavour."

Predictability was another aspect of being trustworthy, he said, an area where Microsoft has fallen down over licensing but which it hopes to address by recent changes to support policies that spell out when products will expire.

Changes aimed to simplify licensing - which left many customers paying considerably more - left Microsoft looking unpredictable and didn't give customers enough implementation time, he said.

"If you are going to change direction on something you give them a lot of lead time.

"In a perception sense this hasn't been a very good four to five months, I'll be blunt. On the other hand we now understand another important lesson in terms of what it means to be a trustworthy partner."

Read more at The Age.

[] permanent link

Griffin releases PowerMate 1.5.1 software

Griffin Technology, Inc. today announced

the release of PowerMate Software Version 1.5.1 for Mac OS X for their

PowerMate USB Multimedia Controller. Version 1.5.1 includes minor bug fixes

and improves upon several features including a new Special Key command and

other usability enhancements.

PowerMate Software Version 1.5.1 further refines the newest PowerMate

Software release of 1.5 that included several major enhancements such as

Long-Click, Global Mode and Eject Key functionality. Version 1.5.1 builds

upon another new feature called 'Special Keys', allowing PowerMate to

produce the visual onscreen feedback associated with such commands as Volume

Up, Volume Down and Eject commands. Now you can also assign the "Mute"

Special Key and receive the same helpful visual feedback commonly associated

with activating the keyboard command.

This new Special Key 'Mute' capability works around an existing bug in the

Mac OS that caused the iSub subwoofer to act erratically when the system

volume is changed or muted. Other bug fixes include the Pulse Rate staying

stable when the Long Click Length is adjusted, Apply Button improvements and

enhanced user interface.

owerMate Software version 1.5.1 for OS X is

available now for free download at www.griffintechnology.com.

[] permanent link

QuickTime 6.0.2 Released

Apple has released a minor upgrade to QuickTime, bringing it to version 6.0.2.

A true all-in-one, standards-based, cross-platform media tool, QuickTime 6 delivers a host of new features that include:

• MPEG-4 ISO compliant file creation
  
  
• MPEG-4 video codec
  
  
• AAC audio codec
  
  
• Instant-On streaming
  
  
• Macromedia Flash 5
  
  
• An enhanced QuickTime Player interface
  
  
• QuickTime Picks, bringing you the best, up-to-date QuickTime content
  
  
• JPEG 2000 (Mac OS X Only)
  
  
• Enhanced AppleScript support (Macintosh Only)
  
  

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Scrollbar Tip

In Mac OS X's general system preference, you can select whether clicking in the scroll bar will jump to the next page or scroll to that point. You can temporarily select the opposite behavior by holding down the Option key while clicking the scrollbar.

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MacWorld Expo returning to Boston

After six years in New York, world's largest Mac tradeshow returns to Boston in 2004;

will be inaugural event at new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center



BOSTON, October 17, 2002 - IDG World Expo, the leading producer of

world-class tradeshows, conferences and events for IT markets around the

globe, today announced that the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

(BCEC) will be home to Macworld Conference & Expo July 12-15, 2004. The

tradeshow, which drew more than 58,000 attendees in July 2002 and is the

world's most comprehensive Mac OS event, will remain at New York City's

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in July 2003 before becoming the first

event in Boston's newest convention center the following year.

Macworld Conference & Expo spent 13 of its 18 years in Boston, before

outgrowing available space distributed among three convention facilities.

In 1998, Macworld was moved to New York City and, over the next few years,

grew to become that city's largest technology tradeshow.

The tradeshow's homecoming was coordinated by IDG World Expo, the Office of

the Mayor of Boston, the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the

Massachusetts Convention Center Authority and a concerted effort by the

city's hospitality community. With the completion of the new BCEC in 2004,

Boston will again have the necessary space to accommodate the event this

time under one roof.

"I am proud to announce that Macworld is coming back to Boston, where it

was born, and where it belongs," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "I want to

thank and congratulate all the parties that worked diligently to negotiate

this milestone agreement, particularly North End native Charlie Greco. I

look forward with great anticipation to July 12, 2004, when Macworld will

christen the new Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. I cannot think of a

more appropriate catalyst to propel our convention and hospitality industry

into the new millennium."

"IDG World Expo is excited to bring Macworld back home to Boston in 2004

for its 20th anniversary," said IDG World Expo President and CEO Charlie

Greco. "We have had a number of successful years in New York, but we're

also eager to return to the loyal audience that's based in Boston. With the

support of so many exhibitors and attendees, we are confident that Macworld

will bring upwards of $40 million in revenues to the city. Mayor Menino,

the Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Massachusetts Convention Center

Authority deserve much credit for their hard work, which ultimately paved

the way for Macworld's return."

The agreement to bring Macworld back to Boston, negotiated over the course

of this summer, was designed specifically to provide tangible benefits to

regionally-based businesses, Macworld exhibitors and Macworld attendees.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• Three years of secured dates in the new convention center initially, with
  
  two additional years of secured dates optional
  
  

  
  
  

• Significant exhibitor discounts on exhibitor-related services, such as
  
  electrical, telephone and catering services
  
  

  
  
  

• Reduced rates at a number of quality Boston hotels, with most priced at
  
  $150 per night with price caps to ensure continued savings for upcoming
  
  Macworld events
  
  

  
  
  

• Specially arranged transportation services and discounts for exhibitors
  
  and attendees, consisting of local shuttles, bus transport, trains and air
  
  travel
  
  

  
  
  

• A variety of promotions to generate excitement about and participation in
  
  Macworld, ranging from indoor and outdoor banner and billboard signage to
  
  hospitality support
  
  

  
  
  

• Use of the city's Parkman House in the week leading up to and including
  
  Macworld
  
  

  
  
  

• Use of the courtyard at the Boston Public Library for special Macworld
  
  functions
  
  

  
  
  

• Special discount cards for exhibitors and attendees to be used at
  
  Boston-based dining and entertainment venues
  
  

"This news is fabulous, and it's so fitting that a world class event like

Macworld will be the first event at our brand new, world class convention

center," said Gloria Larson, chairman of the Massachusetts Convention

Center Authority. "In the years to come, Boston will realize a huge

economic return on its investment in the convention center, and I can't

think of a better way to kick that off than by bringing Macworld back to

Boston in July of 2004."

"Sonnet has been a Macworld exhibitor for over 12 years, and our first

Boston show was in 1991," recalls Sonnet Technologies President and CEO

Robert Farnsworth. "We still have fond memories of Boston and the

excitement and energy that those early Macworld shows generated. We look

forward to returning to one of the Mac community's most nostalgic locales,

and to enjoying the new conference facilities and the wonderful historical

charm of the city of Boston."

Macworld Conference & Expo attracts Mac enthusiasts from around the globe

who want to network with their peers, check out the latest products and

services for the Mac and learn valuable skills from industry experts.

Macworld has long been the largest technology tradeshow in San Francisco,

which remains its home on the West Coast.

The next Macworld Conference & Expo will be held at San Francisco's Moscone

Center, January 6-10, 2003. For more information on the upcoming event,

please visit www.macworldexpo.com.

[] permanent link

Should you develop for the Mac?

Duncan Wilcox wrote an interesting piece on the economics of Mac software development.

In response to Joel Spolsky's piece saying that Mac development is a waste of effort, Duncan writes:

I haven't done any extensive research, but I'd bet that like Windows vs. Mac users are in the 20:1 range, software package availability in most software categories has a similar wide gap. While for Mac users that means there's less choice, for Mac developers that means a lot more opportunity, particularly for MacOS X enhanced applications.

On Windows you have 20 times as many users, but you probably have at least 5-10 times as many competitors. And for some reason, many Windows users appear to put up with the mostly crappy GUIs of free software, so you also have to compete against $0. Plus you have the Borg of all competitors, or don't you expect Microsoft Word to become a blogging tool soon? Or undercut you out of your niche if it's interesting enough?

Mac users are still an elite, they don't go the default route, they don't buy a beige box, they pay a premium for a slick design and the promise (or the illusion) of a system that works better, and they know they're spending a little more to get more, it's a conscious, explicit decision. It's no chance that there's a very active community of Mac shareware developers (compared to the userbase, of course). Again, no extensive research, but I'd bet that the percentage of Mac users willing to compensate you for a brilliant, slick application is much higher than their Windows counterpart.

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Huevos 1.1b1

Huevos is a free and Open Source (BSD license) Cocoa desktop search tool.

Huevos provides a window where you can type a search string and choose a search engine. A search is then run in your default Web browser. It’s customizable via the Preferences window: you can add, edit, and delete search engines. The source code can also be downloaded.

For more information visit http://ranchero.com/software/huevos/. The beta version is available from http://ranchero.com/software/huevos/beta.php.

Change Notes:

• The window is smaller so it takes up less screen real estate.
  
  
• The window can be floated—choose Float Search Window from the Window menu.
  
  
• On Jaguar the window is metallic. This is not just for cosmetic reasons, but because a utility like Huevos should be easy to move around, and with metal windows you can click anywhere in the window to move it.
  
  
• New application icon by Kristopher Couch.
  
  

[] permanent link

Free Jaguar for teachers

Apple has been committed to education and educators for 25 years. Continuing their commitment, Apple is giving a free copy of Mac OS X v10.2 “Jaguar” to every K-12 teacher in the United States.

Qualifying teachers can order their free copy here

Terms and Conditions

Key Program Details

• You must be a K-12 teacher currently employed in a public, private, or charter school to qualify for participation in this program.
  
  
• This offer is limited to eligible K-12 teachers and is not available to resellers, institutions, home schools, non-teacher K-12 school employees, preservice/student teachers, or higher education faculty (including college of education faculty).
  
  
• This offer is limited to one “Mac OS X v10.2 Jaguar X for Teachers Kit” per qualifying K-12 teacher.
  
  
• This offer is valid only in the United States (50 states and District of Columbia). The product must ship to a K-12 public, private, or charter school address in the United States.
  
  
• Qualifying orders must be received between October 17, 2002, and December 31, 2002.
  
  

• Only qualifying web orders transacted via the X for Teachers program URL at www.apple.com/education/macosxforteachers/ will be accepted. Phone, mail, or fax orders will not be accepted.
  
  
• The software contained in this offer is not for resale and cannot be resold or redistributed.
  
  
• Incomplete orders or submissions will not be considered.
  
  
• On receipt of your order, the product will be shipped via first-class mail to your school address. U.S. postal delivery typically takes 7 to 10 working days. Expedited delivery or alternative methods of shipment are not available.
  
  
• Apple reserves the right to change the terms of this offer at any time without notice.
  
  
• This offer is void where prohibited or restricted by law.
  
  
• This offer is not valid in conjunction with any other Apple offer or promotion.
  
  
• Apple is not responsible for typographical errors.
  
  
• Keep a copy of your order confirmation for your records.
  
  
• For questions about your order, please send an email to: Xforteachers@corporatesvcs.net. Be sure to include your order number, name, address, phone number, and email address with your request.
  
  

[] permanent link

New MS Office X Security Update

Microsoft has released a new security update for MS Office X.

This update addresses a security vulnerability that can enable an attacker who had a valid security certificate to issue an invalid subordinate certificate that would appear to be valid. This update also addresses a vulnerability in Word's field codes that could allow an attacker to maliciously use field codes and external updates to steal information from your computer without your knowledge. For more information about this these vulnerabilities, see Microsoft Security Bulletins MS02-050
and MS02-059
.

This update also addresses several stability issues that may be caused by running Office v. X using Mac OS 10.2.

Note Before you can install Microsoft Office v. X 10.1.1 Update, Microsoft Office v. X, Service Release 1, must be installed on your computer.

Applies to: The English version of Office v. X, Word X, Excel X, PowerPoint∆ X, Entourage™ X. Microsoft is currently developing a version of the Microsoft Office v. X 10.1.1 Update that applies to the French, German, Spanish, Japanese or Swedish versions of these programs.

Released: 10/16/2002

The patch can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/OFFICEX/OfficeX_1011.asp.

[] permanent link

Apple Reports Fourth Quarter Results

Apple∆ today announced financial results for its fiscal 2002 fourth quarter ended September 28, 2002. For the quarter, the Company posted a net loss of $45 million, or $.13 per share. These results compare to a net profit of $66 million, or $.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $1.44 billion, flat with the year ago quarter, and gross margins were 26.4 percent, down from 30.1 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 35 percent of the quarter’s revenues.

The quarter’s results included several non-recurring items: the write-down of certain equity investments totaling $49 million net of tax; a restructuring charge of $4 million net of tax; an in-process R&D charge of $1 million net of tax; and the reversal of a portion of a previous executive compensation expense resulting in a favorable impact of $2 million. Excluding these non-recurring items, the Company’s net profit for the quarter would have been $7 million, or $.02 per share.

Apple shipped 734 thousand Macintosh∆ units during the quarter, down 14 percent from the year-ago quarter.

“Though our industry continues to struggle, we had some bright spots this quarter—Mac OS X v10.2 Jaguar is a big hit and on track to have 5 million users by the end of this year, our ‘Switchers’ campaign is very well received and is attracting a lot of new customers, and our retail stores sold over $100 million and hosted 2.25 million visitors this quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Looking forward, we do not expect our industry to pick up anytime soon, though we’re hoping to help put a lot of iPods, iMacs and iBooks under trees this holiday season. With the stability of our rock-solid balance sheet, Apple will continue to invest through this downturn to create the industry’s most innovative products and best buying experience.”

“We were extremely pleased with our ability to achieve our revenue target for the fourth quarter while reducing channel inventory to a normal level,” said Fred Anderson, Apple’s CFO. “Continued strong asset management enabled us to maintain a solid balance sheet with over $4.3 billion in cash. Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2003, we expect revenue to be up slightly from the September quarter, and expect a slight profit for the quarter before non-recurring items.”

For the year, the Company reported net earnings of $65 million on revenues of $5.74 billion, compared to a net loss of $25 million on revenues of $5.36 billion in 2001.

[] permanent link

Apple Security Advisory: StuffIt Expander

From Apple:

StuffIt Expander version 7 is now available via Apple Software Update

for systems running Mac OS X 10.2 or later. As a convenience to our

customers we are providing an alternative means to obtain the update, as

it has been available via the Aladdin web site since the announcement of

this vulnerability on October 2.

ZIP archives containing files with large filenames can cause a buffer

overflow when expanded. Versions 6.5.2 and earlier of the Stuffit

Expander utility contain this vulnerability.

CVE ID: CAN-2002-0370

Affected systems: Systems that contain Stuffit Expander version 6.5.2

or earlier

Recommendation

Install version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander available from:

* Software Update in System Preferences (for Mac OS X 10.2 or later)

* Aladdin Systems web site (free download):

http://www.stuffit.com/expander/cert.html

Customers should download version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander, and remove

any earlier versions of the Stuffit Expander application from their

system.

p>

Details

Researchers at Rapid7, Inc. have discovered that multiple file

decompression utilities are susceptible to buffer overflows as a result

of large filenames embedded in crafted ZIP archive files. When affected

users attempt to decompress these ZIP files, the buffer overflow may

result in execution of arbitrary code.

Apple packages a number of expansion utilities in shipping versions of

Mac OS X. Stuffit Expander is provided by Aladdin Systems and is

packaged with Mac OS X. We have determined that Stuffit Expander

versions 6.5.2 and earlier contain this vulnerability. We have not

found this vulnerability to be present in any other expansion utilities

shipped with Mac OS X.

Version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander does not contain this vulnerability, and

is available as a free download from the Aladdin Systems web site at:

http://www.stuffit.com/expander/cert.html

Customers should download version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander, and remove

any earlier versions of the Stuffit Expander application from their

system. The Aladdin web site also provides additional information for

customers of their other products.

CERT has released vulnerability note VU#383779 with further information:

http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/383779

Note: This isn't necessary if you already own Stuffit Deluxe 7.0.

[] permanent link

14K4 .mac buddy central

14K4 is a new site that serves as a directory of .Mac users. You can create a profile to list your .Mac home page, iChat screen name and email address, or find other .Mac users by searching their directory.

[] permanent link

Big Nerd Ranch Announces Discount

Atlanta, GA - October 15, 2002 - The Big Nerd Ranch Offers a $1000 discount

to attendees of both November 2002 training classes. Cocoa I, offered

November 4-8, and Core Mac OS X and Unix Programming, offered November

11-15, will both be all-inclusive five-day classes at the Big Nerd Ranch in

Asheville, NC. Each class is normally priced at $3500, but students signing

up for both classes will pay a total of $6000.



Core Mac OS X and Unix Programming is the Big Nerd Ranch's newest class.

Programmers will learn how to take advantage of Mac OS X's Unix foundation.

Instructors Mark Dalrymple and Aaron Hillegass will team-teach this class,

including topics such as: multi-threading, rendezvous, distributed objects,

network programming, performance tuning, exception handling, and advanced

debugging techniques.

Cocoa I is based on the Addison-Wesley book, Cocoa Programming for Mac OS

X, and is taught by author Aaron Hillegass. Topics added to the course

since book publication include Screen Savers, View Swapping, and OpenGL and

Cocoa.

"For people who want real mastery of Mac OS X, this is the absolute fastest

way to get there."

- Aaron Hillegass

The Big Nerd Ranch offers intensive programmer training in two flavors:

• At our place: A mountain lodge outside Asheville, NC. Class fee includes
  
  room, all meals, transportation to and from the local airport, 5 days of
  
  training, and original class materials.
  
  
  
  
• At your place: The Big Nerd Ranch
  
  can come to your company site, providing our Extreme Mentoring Program for
  
  your development team.
  
  

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Journaled file system coming soon

Mac OS X 10.2.2, a free upgrade to be released in a few weeks, will feature a journaled file system for greater reliability.

The journaling technology, code-named "Elvis," runs on top of the Mac's traditional HFS file system. It will be turned off by default and can be enabled from the command line. According to reports, enabling the journaled file system will slow current system performance by 10 percent to 15 percent.

The addition of a full-fledged journaled file system signals Apple's latest effort to provide enterprise customers with enhanced administration capabilities. In a journaled file system, the file system keeps a log of the hard disk's main data activity. In case of a crash or other system failure, the file system can retrieve lost data by consulting the "journal" log, restoring the system to its previous state instead of having to go through the lengthy process of rebuilding it via Unix's file system consistency check or similar disk-check utilities.

This puts Apple ahead of Microsoft, since NTFS still doesn't handle full-fledged journaling. Microsoft won't have a full journaling system until the next major version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn (which is expected in 2005).

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SlashDock 2.3

SlashDock is a lightweight news aggregator that displays headlines from RSS feeds (including MacMegasite) in your dock.

SlashDock lets you customize it and subscribe to your favorite sites with a simple preferences window. To subscribe to MacMegasite, you can enter the URL http://www.macmegasite.com/backend.php, for example.

Updates are obtained automatically, if new articles are available, the dock icon will flash with an image representing the article 'topic'. Selecting an article from the dock menu will take you directly to that article in your preferred web browser. SlashDock also features a unique Digest view, which displays a web page with links to all of the currently available articles.

SlashDock can be download from http://homepage.mac.com/stas/slashdock.html.

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Online Documentation

Mac OS X, like most Unix systems, has extensive online documentation available from the terminal. Using it can save you time.

The man command provides manual pages for most terminal commands, as well as standard Unix functions. It's also a lot faster than the help viewer.

Suppose you're working in CodeWarrior or Project Builder and need to look up the syntax of the fopen function. Instead of bringing up the help viewer, you can simply switch to the terminal window and type: man fopen to read the full information. Note that you can select & copy text from the terminal and paste it into your editor window.

The info command is also available, which opens a full-screen editor for viewing manual pages. Typing info info will give you the full documentation for that command. Use the arrow keys to move to any topic and hit return to enter that topic. To quit from the editor, type control-x control-c (this is emacs).

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Server Problems

All of BounceWeb's servers were down for over 6 hours starting at around 3PM today. I've found another host I can move this site to if the problems continue.

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Reverse Switch

Microsoft, Apple's friend & partner, has posted a reverse switch story on their website.



This anonymous person writes:

Yes, it's true. I like the Microsoft∆ Windows∆ XP operating system enough to change my whole computing world around. Here's the bottom line: Windows XP gives me more choices and flexibility, and better compatibility with the rest of the technology world.

Windows XP relieved my fears about switching. I can read my files, import e-mail addresses from my Palm* to the Microsoft Outlook∆ messaging and collaboration client, and keep my Web favorites. All the Mac hardware—including my printer, broadband cable, Zip drive, and Palm handheld—works perfectly with my Windows-based PC.

To my surprise, the process of switching was as easy as the marketing hype had promised. I was up and running in less than one day.

UPDATE: Although the photo is from a stock collection, the actual person works for Microsft's PR firm.

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IBM Announces PowerPC 970

ARMONK, N.Y. - International Business Machines Corp. Monday announced a microchip for personal computers that will crunch data in chunks twice as big as the current standard and is expected by industry watchers to be used by Apple Computer Inc.



Apple was not available to comment, and IBM declined to comment on which PC makers would use the chip, but its plans would mark a change for the industry, which has emphasized the importance of the speed of a chip rather than its ability to handle heavy workloads.

IBM said its new PowerPC chip would go into production late next year and process 64 bits of data at a time at 1.8 Gigahertz.

Chekib Akrout, vice president of IBM microprocessor development, said big databases and the Internet challenged PCs: "This is the time to introduce a 64-bit machine capable of being used on a desktop," he said in a telephone interview.

An industry source said Apple would use the chip in its Macintosh computers.

IBM said the new PowerPC 970 microchip is a "lite" version of its Power4 chip, which it launched last fall in its sophisticated computer server, code-named "Regatta."

The PowerPC has the same energy-saving attributes as the Power4 but uses only one central processing unit, not two.

The chip will be available in the second half of 2003 and be built in IBM's East Fishkill, New York, chip plant, a new facility that is currently doing test-runs and aims to ramp up into production on other chips later this year.

One analyst said the chip's attributes mean it would work well in the professional publishing sector, for high-end graphics and other media-intense tasks.

"This processor would be a great processor for a Macintosh," said Tom Halfhill, an analyst with San Jose, California-based In-Stat/MDR.

The full story is available from Forbes.

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Write Cocoa applications in Python

The Python<->Objective-C bridge (pyobjc) lets you write real Cocoa applications in 100% pure Python. Your Python code can access all ObjectiveC objects, and there are no additional libraries to install.



The project page for PyObjC is at http://pyobjc.sourceforge.net/. An installer package which adds ProjectBuilder templates is also available.

Python is an interpreted object-oriented language often used to develop web-based applications. For more information about Python, visit www.python.org.

Mac OS X 10.2 includes Python with the developer tools. To run it interactively from the terminal and read the online documentation, simply type 'python'.

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Terminal Tip: Open a folder from the terminal

You're probably aware that you can drag any item from the finder to copy the full path to the terminal, but you can also easily open any folder from the terminal.

To open a new finder window with the current directory from the terminal, simply type:

open .

You can also open a URL in your default web browser with the open command, for example:

open "http://www.macmegasite.com/"

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More EFF News Items

Robbing the Future

Dan Bricklin, co-inventor of Visicalc, discusses how DRM will "break

the chain" of archival techniques that has existed for thousands of

years.

Tuning Out the Customer

Fortune.com's David Kirkpatrick on how the media industry's defensive

posture on digital piracy is damaging their long-term interests.

You've Got Dissent!

Chinese dissident use of the Internet and Beijing's counter-

strategies.

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Congratulations to EFF Board Member Lawrence Lessig

EFF congratulates its Board Member, Stanford Law School Professor

Lawrence Lessig, on his argument Wednesday before the Supreme Court

in the closely-watched Eldred v. Ashcroft case. Prof. Lessig is

arguing that the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act, which extended

the term of copyright by 20 years, is unconstitutional. EFF supports

his efforts and hopes that he is successful in his effort to preserve

the public domain.



Links:

To monitor the latest developments, visit the Eldred v Ashcroft web

site:

http://eldred.cc

For the latest coverage of the argument, try Google News

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EFF Alert: Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act!

Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle recently introduced

the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 5544), which

would introduce labelling requirements for usage-impaired "copy-

protected" compact discs, as well as several amendments to 1998's

infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).



The DMCRA would:

• Require clear, visible labels for "copy-protected" audio compact
  
  discs that identify their limitations and applicable return
  
  policies.
  
  
• Restore consumers' fair use rights by amending Section 1201 of the
  
  DMCA to allow circumvention of copy protection for non-infringing
  
  uses of the material. For example, it would allow someone to bypass
  
  the copy protection on a lawfully purchased DVD in order to view it
  
  on a computer running Linux.
  
  
• Protect innovative, multi-purpose technologies. The DMCRA codifies
  
  a doctrine, outlined by the Supreme Court in its 1984 "Betamax"
  
  decision, which states that technologies with "substantial non-
  
  infringing uses" cannot be stifled by copyright holders.
  
  

Take action here:

http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2224

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PGP 8.0 Public Beta

The first public beta of PGP 8.0 for Mac OS X is now available from PGP Corporation.

Building on top of the solid PGP technology base, PGP 8.0 for Mac OS X features a completely new Cocoa-based user interface to take maximum advantage of Apple's new operating system. PGP 8.0 for Mac OS X offers numerous evolutionary improvements as well as the following new features:

• Full support for Mac OS X 10.2 (If you have Mac OS X 10.0 or 10.1, you need to upgrade to 10.2.1 or later.)
  
  
• Full PGP Disk interoperability with PGP Disks created by all prior PGP Disk products for Mac OS, as well as with PGP Disks created with PGP Disk for Windows 7.0 and later
  
  
• AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) support in PGP Disk
  
  
• Significantly expanded Unicode support
  
  
• Built-in support for Apple Mail and Microsoft Entourage X
  
  
• PGP encryption and digital signature features are accessible as a Mac OS X service from Cocoa applications and Carbon applications that support services
  
  
• PGP features are also accessible from the PGP's Dock menu, providing a second ubiquitous method for accessing PGP
  
  

• Power Mac G3, G4, G4 Cube; iMac; PowerBook G3, G4; iBook; or eMac
  
  
• Mac OS X 10.2.1 or greater
  
  
• 128 MB of RAM (required for Mac OS X)
  
  
• 15 MB of available hard disk space
  
  

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DigiChat v4.0.3 improves Jaguar compatibility

DigiChat v4.0.3 improves Jaguar compatibility









DigiChat announces v4.0.3, specifically designed to introduce performance improvements and enhancements associated with Mac OS 10.2.1. The award-winning Java chat software has taken another step in an effort to integrate flawlessly with the latest Mac OS.



Enhancements include:









- Increased compatibility and performance with Mac OS 10.2.1




- Private Messages for ChatMaster Application / Applet enhancement




- “Host Tab” restrictions now apply to the ChatMaster Applet enhancement




- Issues with increased CPU usage of DigiChat Server resolved




- Existing themes will automatically transfer




- Commander broadcast functionality enhancement




- Spontaneous closing of chat window immediately after logging in has been fixed




- Corrected incompatibilities with Java v1.4.x with the Chat Master and Lite applets









This newest version of DigiChat also addresses performance and other issues submitted via customer feedback. You may obtain this latest release by visiting http://www.digichat.com/downloads.html

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Terminal tip - just redo it

Have you ever typed a command in the terminal only to have it fail because it needed to run as root? Here's a simple alias that will make it easy to rerun a command without having to retype or edit it.

Add the following alias to your .cshrc or .tcshrc file:

alias redo 'sudo !-1'

When a command fails, you can simply type 'redo' to rerun it as root. If you have command line editing enabled, you could also just hit up-arrow to display the command, move to the beginning of the line and add 'sudo', but I think simply typing 'redo' is easier & faster.

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Cocoa Gestures

Cocoa Gestures adds mouse gestures to any Cocoa program such as Mail, Address Book, iCal, TextEdit, Chimera, Omniweb and many others.

A Mouse Gesture is a combination of up, down, left, and right mouse motions used to perform some command. There are several pre-defined gestures, plus you can define your own. You can also choose which button & modifier key combination activates gestures.

To install CocoaGestures, simply drop it into the InputManagers folder in your Library folder (you can create that folder if it doesn't exist). After installing it, when you start a Cocoa application there will be a Cocoa Gestures menu item in the application menu above the Services item.

Cocoa Gestures is available free from http://www.bitart.com/CocoaGestures.html.

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SnipSnap - free weblog software for MacOS X

SnipSnap is a free and easy to install Weblog and Wiki software package written in Java. SnipSnap requires Java 1.3 and runs under Windows 2000/XP, Linux, and Macos X 10.2.

The latest version, 0.2.7a adds RSS 2.0 feeds. For more information, visit http://snipsnap.org/.

The latest version can be downloaded from http://snipsnap.org/space/snipsnap-download. Installation instructions are available here.

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Updated AOL client for Jaguar 10.2.1

With AOL's support for Mac OS X out of no where recently, they have released another version of their AOL client (after a few public betas). The current version is 10.2.1, which fixes problems with Mac OS X 10.2.1. You can get it here.

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Ch SDK for Mac OS X

DAVIS, Calif., October 8, 2002 - SoftIntegration, Inc., the leader of scripting technology for ubiquitous computing, today announced the release of Ch SDK for Mac OS X. Ch is a superset of C/C++ interpreter for scripting, plotting and and numeric computing. Ch SDK allows Ch scripts to interface C/C++ binary modules.



Ch SDK for Mac OS X allows cross platform C/C++ libraries accessed via C compatible scripts. Ch scripts can access compiled C/C++ libraries such as static library, shared library or Dynamically Linked Library (DLL). All C/C++ library functions can run in Ch without modifications. There is no distinction between the interpreted and compiled code.

"Ch is ideal for scripting for C/C++ programmers. It minimizes the number of programming languages that software developers have to learn and program," said Dr. Dawn Cheng, General Manager at SoftIntegration. "Ch SDK for Mac OS X allows speedy cross-platform application development and deployment."

Ch supports ISO C standard, C++ class, POSIX, GTK+, Win32, OpenGL, X/Motif and socket/WinSock with over 8,000 functions. It is an interpretive implementation of C as Unix/Windows command shell. Ch bridges the gap between C and Unix shell. Unix shell commands such as grep, awk, and sed can run inside Ch shell in the same manner as in BASH and csh shells. Ch is a C-compatible shell whereas csh is a C-like shell. Ch can be used in either command shell or program mode interpretively.

Ch also supports computational arrays and C LAPACK for linear algebra and matrix computations, 2D/3D plotting and scientific numerical computing with advanced high-level numerical functions for linear systems, differential equation solving, integration, non-linear equations, curve fitting, fast Fourier analysis, etc. For example, linear equation b = A*x can be written verbatim in Ch.

Ch is an ideal solution for automating repetitive tasks, hardware testing, rapid application development, and interactive teaching and student learning.

Ch Standard Edition is free for academic and non-profit organizations. In addition to Mac OS X, Ch supports Windows, Solaris, HP-UX, and Linux.

About SoftIntegration, Inc.

SoftIntegration, Inc., founded in 1999, is the leader of scripting technology for ubiquitous computing. SoftIntegration provides infrastructure software and services for rapid application development and deployment, scientific numerical computing, embedded scripting, and Web-based software integration. Our flagship product -- Ch is an embeddable C/C++ interpreter. It is the solution for engineers and scientists, Web programmers, software developers, C/C++ beginners and experts, system administrators, real-time programmers, quality analysts, and instructors and professors.

Contact:

SoftIntegration, Inc. tel (530) 297-7398 fax (530) 297-7392


email: info@softintegration.com


web: http://www.softintegration.com/

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DVD Capture 1.5

DVD Capture is a helper application for the Apple DVD Player. It enables the user to take screen captures of the DVD Player Viewer in window and full screen mode. The captures can be saved to a file or placed on the clipboard.



The captures can be saved to a file or placed on the clipboard. An AppleScript is provided for the DVD Player script menu that launches DVD Capture. Select "Full Screen" or "Window" to control the size of the capture. If "Window" is selected, the capture is done in interactive window mode. Select "File" or "Clipboard" to assign a location for the capture.

For more information, visit http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/software.php3. Click here to download a copy.

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iBook to the rescue

I just got back from a weekend trip. I'm still catching up on work and will resume normal posting later today. I had my iBook with me, and a few hard-core PC users were quite impressed by it.

One of my friends installed Linux on his PC and was no longer able to burn CDs or download pictures from his camera.

He gave me his USB SmartMedia drive, with no drivers (I use CompactFlash in my Canon S100). I was able to plug it in and immediately download his pictures to iPhoto. After downloading a few months worth of pictures, I was able to burn a CD from the finder, which he was able to read with his PC.

My iBook may be slow, with only a 500 MHz G3, but the combo drive makes it a great machine to travel with.

(oops - still recovering from the trip :)

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Electronic Frontier Foundation Supports Digital Media Bills

Legislation Balances Copyright Owner and Consumer Rights

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) supports new

legislation from Rep. Rick Boucher and Rep. Zoe Lofgren regarding

copyright issues in the digital realm.



Here are specific statements from EFF related to the newly proposed

legislation:

On Boucher's bill:


EFF strongly supports Rep. Boucher's Digital Media Consumers' Rights

Act of 2002.

The bill's CD labeling provisions will make certain that consumers

know what they are getting when they buy music CDs. If record labels

choose to sell "copy protected" CDs that offer consumers less for

their money than the CDs they are accustomed to, these dysfunctional

CDs should, at a minimum, be prominently labeled.

The bill also amends the DMCA to make it clear that technological

protections should not trump the public's traditional fair use rights

under copyright law. Since the DMCA's passage in 1998, it has been

used not against copyright pirates, but instead to chill the

legitimate activities of scientists, journalists, and computer

programmers. Rep. Boucher's bill will go a long way toward restoring

in the digital world the traditional balance between the rights of

the public and those of copyright owners.

EFF strongly supports the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act of 2002

and will encourage its 7,000+ members, as well as the 27,000

supporters who receive its weekly newsletter, to support it as well.

On Lofgren's bill:

"EFF welcomes Rep. Lofgren's bill as an important step toward

creating a fair and balanced copyright law for the digital age."

Links:

For this release:

http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/20021003_eff_pr.html

For more information on the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act:

http://www.house.gov/boucher/internet.htm

Press release from Rep. Lofgren on "Digital Choice and Freedom Act of

2002" (H.R. 5522):

http://www.house.gov/lofgren/press/107press/021002_release.htm

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Hollywood Slams Electronic Frontier Foundation

Tries to Limit Legal Representation in ReplayTV Case

Los Angeles - Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) attorneys

yesterday rejected an attempt by Hollywood entertainment companies to

prevent access to critical court documents in a case involving the

rights of five ReplayTV owners.



Craig Newmark of craigslist.org, and four other ReplayTV customers,

are suing the companies to clarify their rights to record television

programs and to skip commercials using digital video recorders

(DVRs). Hollywood representatives have publicly stated that skipping

commercials is "stealing."

The current dispute arises from the entertainment companies' attempt

to deny the ReplayTV owners effective representation from EFF, their

chosen counsel.

The entertainment companies are seeking a broad court order

prohibiting EFF attorneys from reviewing -- or using in any way

during the case -- the vast majority of the documents the court has

ordered the companies to provide as part of the usual legal discovery

process. The companies claim that EFF is a "competitor" with

Hollywood because of public statements about copyright law policy and

advocacy to Congress on pending and current technology legislation,

including the proposed Consumer Broadband Digital Television

Promotion Act.

"If EFF's advocacy on behalf of consumers hurts Hollywood, it's only

because it convinces Congress and the public not to pass laws that

Hollywood favors," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "This is about

the marketplace of ideas, not commercial competition."

"Apart from the obvious harm this ruling would have on the five

ReplayTV owners in this case, a rash decision here could have much

broader consequences," noted EFF Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze. "If the

court restricts EFF's representation in this case on the basis of its

other speech activities, the court will set a disturbing precedent

that could apply to other public interest law organizations and even

to commercial attorneys who speak to the press and Congress about the

issues involved in their cases."

The court hearing on the request is scheduled for 9:00am PDT on

October 15, 2002, before Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eick in the

Central District of California, Court Room 20, 3rd Floor, 312 N.

Spring Street, Los Angeles.

Links:

For this release:

http://www.eff.org/Cases/Newmark_v_Turner/20021003_eff_pr.html

Most recent court filing in Newmark v. Turner case:

http://www.eff.org/Cases/Newmark_v_Turner/

20021002_joint_stipulation_documents.html

Other documents related to Newmark v. Turner case:

http://www.eff.org/Cases/Newmark_v_Turner/

Location of Newmark v. Turner court hearing:

http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/cacd/CourtInfo.nsf/

c755da45cb6a17bc882567d10055026e/

fb17db7d346de192882567d100550d07?OpenDocument

For more information on the entertainment industry's suit:

http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/Paramount_v_ReplayTV/

EFF Fair Use FAQ:

http://www.eff.org/IP/eff_fair_use_faq.html

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dotmac.info -- New .Mac Website

Hello!





I thought you and your readers might want to know about a website I've recently launched.



Called dotmac.info, it aims to be THE source for all things .Mac! One thing Apple does not provide with their .Mac service is the ability to easily share your .Mac resources. With dotmac.info, users can share and showcase Calendars, Slide Shows, Photo Albums, Movies, and anything else on their .Mac accounts.





www.dotmac.info





Stop in, look around, and share your cool .Mac stuff!





August Trometer


dotmac.info

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Apple posts new Switch ads

Apple has posted new switch commercials, featuring Tony Hawk, professional surfer Kelly Slater, and DJ Qbert, plus two others.

The Tony Hawk commercial is the same one he posted on his site a few days ago, which Apple seems to have forced him to remove.

All of the ads can be seen at www.apple.com/switch.

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Apple Security Advisory - Stuffit Expander

Apple Security Advisory APPLE-SA-2002-10-02 Stuffit Expander

ZIP archives containing files with large filenames can cause a

buffer overflow when expanded. Versions 6.5.2 and earlier of the

Stuffit Expander utility contain this vulnerability.

Affected systems: Systems that contain Stuffit Expander version 6.5.2

or earlier



Recommendation

Version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander does not contain this vulnerability,

and is available as a free download from the Aladdin Systems web site:

http://www.stuffit.com/expander/cert.html

Customers should download version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander, and remove

any earlier versions of the Stuffit Expander application from their

system.

Details

Researchers at Rapid7, Inc. have discovered that multiple file

decompression utilities are susceptible to buffer overflows as a result

of large filenames embedded in crafted ZIP archive files. When affected

users attempt to decompress these ZIP files, the buffer overflow may

result in execution of arbitrary code.

Apple packages a number of expansion utilities in shipping versions of

Mac OS X. Stuffit Expander is provided by Aladdin Systems and is

packaged with Mac OS X. We have determined that Stuffit Expander

versions 6.5.2 and earlier contain this vulnerability. We have not

found this vulnerability to be present in any other expansion utilities

shipped with Mac OS X.

Version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander does not contain this vulnerability, and

is available as a free download from the Aladdin Systems web site at:

http://www.stuffit.com/expander/cert.html

Customers should download version 7.0 of Stuffit Expander, and remove

any earlier versions of the Stuffit Expander application from their

system. The Aladdin web site also provides additional information for

customers of their other products.

CERT has released vulnerability note VU#383779 with further information:

http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/383779

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Fire update fixes AIM problem

Fire, a Mac OS X native multi-protocol chat client, has been updated to 0.31.d to fix a problem with AIM servers.

A recent change to AOL's server has caused problems for third-party clients such as Fire and Adium. Since yesterday, Fire would frequently drop AIM connections, although iChat continued to work.

New in this version:

• The Buddy Controls toolbar updates properly when using Metal (bug 611461)
  
  
• The chat window will wrap text properly when in Metal mode (bug 611729)
  
  
• Toggle Buddy Window Transparency works on 10.1
  
  
• Text only toolbar mode works with the buddies window
  
  
• Buddies window and chat windows now can be made transparent (feature 546322) (gb)
  
  
• Fixed it so that if you change the content of an away message and not the title, it sticks.
  
  
• The text area should become key when bringing forward a chat window now (bug 526752)
  
  
• You can disable sending the away message autoresponse with the N