March 2004 Archives

Don't you just love it when these huge conglomerate roving band of fucking THIEVES called "companies" cry foul and push the blame onto the "internet and illegal downloading" as the cause of their failure? Lets get it straight Warner....you are laying those people off and cutting acts because you are a bunch of greedy fucks and the executives don't want to slash their paychecks. Instead, they lay off those poor souls that they have been exploiting, that are actually doing the real work.

To those artists being cut...thank your lucky stars. Now click on over to the iTunes Music Store and get yourself listed there and cut out the middle man. More power to the people!

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More music job cuts [The Register]

I kid you not...it seems that Canada, for as small a country as it is, has a pretty damn good thing going. Great scenery, a decent justice system, and free healthcare. Maybe the canooks to the north could show the US a thing or two 'eh?

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Offering files is not the same as distributing them [The Register]

Glaser is so pathetic he makes me ill. Somebody shove a ham sandwich in his mouth and shut him the fuck up. Real Media SUX ASS and the iPod will not disgrace itself by allowing such an inferior codec to be played on itself....

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"It sounds like Rob Glaser is itching for an invite to Apple Computer's digital music party. Glaser, chief executive of multimedia software giant RealNetworks, derided the way Apple's top-selling iPod music player works only with Apple's own top-selling iTunes Music Store -- and doesn't work with rival download stores like the RealPlayer Music Store. Glaser, whose Seattle company develops RealPlayer and owns the online music site Rhapsody, shared a panel at PC Forum in Scottsdale,... [MacDailyNews]

Techtree.com reports on a forthcoming wireless (Bluetooth) adapter and headset for the iPod from Imp... [MacNN]

"AMD owns 64-bit desktop computing at this time.” WTF? What crack pipe are you smokin over there @ Lockergnome Pirillo? Last I checked IBM is rockin the 64 bit world thanks to the Apple G5. I have yet to see an AMD 64 bit processor do jack shit due in part to the lack of operating systems in the Wintel world that can handle 64 bit!!!

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Jeff Partridge writes: “This item will disappoint the Intel fans who were looking for some solid technology to oppose the AMD lock on the 64-bit consumer desktop arena. It leaves the door open for Intel to offer a “64-bit P4.” Personally, if I was a true-blue Intel fan reading that article, I’d be… well… mildly hopeful of some good news sometime down the road. In concrete terms, though, AMD owns 64-bit desktop computing at this time.”

[Full article here] [Lockergnome’s Technology News]

Yeah, great. Now throw in Broadband at that price and you got my attention there skippy...

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“AT&T has begun selling unlimited local and long distance Internet phone service for $40 a month, a move that’s expected to roil the telephone industry. The former Bell operating company is making CallVantage available to any broadband subscriber, regardless of where they are located. But its only giving out New Jersey and Texas telephone numbers for now, which is expected to limit sales to those two states.” Primus has been selling a similar service in Canada for over two months. [Lockergnome’s Technology News]

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit is nearing the date at which Office 2004 for Mac will be released to manufacturing, sources said. One informant close to the MacBU told Think Secret that the company has set the date at April 15. [Think Secret]

Wow, corporate bullshit-speak has sunken to an all-time low. So let me get this straight. This so called accounting rule prevents companies from including additional features in their products and not charging for them. Hmmmm.....yeah. Sure. I got some cheap land to sell you out here in the Everglades too. Give me a fucking break Macromedia. That statement is an insult to our intelligence. Just admit it.....you put out a piece of shit with DW MX 2004 and had to fix it before you got sued. But God forbid you include any additional features and not charge us for it right? I wish to God someone made an open source version of Dreamweaver and Flash so you could see how quick I would dump your greedy corporate asses...

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Macromedia: We wanted to offer the updater to our users for free and, to comply with US accounting rules, we couldn't include any additional functionality and not charge for it. [myapplemenu]

QuickerTek has introduced a new antenna for 15- and 17-inch aluminum PowerBook G4 owners that boosts... [MacNN]

This company sucks the big one to say the least. I will NEVER subscribe to a Verizon plan for ANYTHING due to other bad experiences with this horrible company. Their attitude towards the Apple user base is enough reason to again justify my ban on Verizon products...

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Here's Verizon's official response: no Mac support - plus reader responses to *that*. [MacInTouch]

"Your neighbor drives home with his new BMW and the first thing you say to him is a wisecrack about his car's low market share," Al Fasoldt reports for The Post-Standard. "You'd never do it. Nobody would. Most people drive Toyotas or Hondas or Fords, but that means nothing to the people who own BMWs. Right?""Then why are we constantly hearing about the Mac's low market share from people who ought to know better? I spent an evening checking out the actual... [MacDailyNews]

I was having a problem with the spinning beach ball and slow page loads in Safari, and after searching a bunch of forums, found two things that seemed to help:Delete all your autofill entries from time to time. do this by go... [Mac OS X Hints]

Read my lips: This is the beginning of the END of the RIAA and the record labels. When you give artists the power to publish and distribute their own music, who needs a major record label? All the label does is front money for marketing and distribution. Welcome to the internet revolution baby! Pretty soon, those execs will see their acts start going the road of the indie and stop giving the label their hard earned cash. Only the record label execs get fat, while the people doing the real work see a fraction of what they deserve. Time for a change and the iTMS could be the beginning....

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Higgs Communications has published a detailed guide to selling your music on the iTunes Music Store. Written primarily for existing (and fledgling) independant record labels, this guide will also be useful for producers, engineers, artists, managers, and attorneys who are handling band and label affairs. Covering the entire process from initially approaching Apple to encoding and submitting your music to the iTunes Music Store, it illustrates the major requirements for getting your music... [MacDailyNews]

iPodMods has recently gone public and offers a wide variety of repair services and upgrade options. Their competitive pricing puts them above the rest with a staff of professional installers, and technical savvy support specialists. iPodMods.com is not a 24 hour service, but it offers the same professional support at almost half the price of all the iPod repair centers on the internet.
[MacMegasite]

Apple's iPod has confirmed its mass market appeal with the news that Myer, Megamart, Target and Domayne stores are to stock the top performing music player. By Sarah Stokely, ARN (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

A research initiative of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School, the "Digital Media Project," has been posted online:

In recent months, iTunes, Apple's Online Music Store, has become the pacesetter in the digital media marketplace.  Its business model responds to many of the current legal and technological challenges in online media distribution.  The Digital Media Project's Green Paper, iTunes: How Copyright, Contract, and Technology Shape the... [MacDailyNews]

Kaidan Incorporated, a leading provider of Photographic VR solutions for the Internet, is pleased to announce their support of a new virtual reality website, FULLSCREENQTVR.COM, which launched last week. This QuickTime VR (QTVR) website will serve as a directory of high-quality, full-screen QTVRs on the Internet. QuickTime VR is an award-winning photorealistic cross-platform virtual reality technology from Apple Computer, Inc., that makes it possible to explore places as if you were... [MacDailyNews]

This study outa rip a new hole in the RIAA's ass....maybe they will sue Harvard over it...

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Researchers at Harvard and the University of North Carolina say music swapping isn't to blame for falling music revenue, and might even help sell CDs. [CNET News.com]

Ohhh - this is brilliant. The purple midget wants to sell his crap on his own site and decides not to play with iTMS and use WMA. Nice knowin ya....hope your little purple venture works out....we'll be seeing you crawling back to Apple begging for acceptance. Did someone forget to tell the Purple midget that 8 out of 10 MP3 players sold are iPods?

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"Prince may have just signed a deal with major label Columbia Records, but that doesn't mean he's playing ball completely. The iconoclastic pop star -- who once characterized a previous record contract with Warner Bros. as "institutional slavery" -- is bypassing iTunes, Rhapsody and Napster in favor of his own Musicology Download Store at his site, npgmusicclub.com [New Power Generation Music Club]," RollingStone.com reports.

"The store features albums for $9.99... [MacDailyNews]

Destineer subsidiary MacSoft on Monday announced that it is shipping the Mac version of Unreal Tournament 2004. The news comes less than two weeks after the PC version of Epic Games' hotly anticipated first person shooter was released. MacSoft said that U.S. retail stores should see copies by the end of the week. European retailers can expect to have their copies in stock within two weeks. [MacCentral]

"Ausmelt is a $13 million outfit that supplies smelting technology services around the clock to huge global enterprises such as Alcoa, Mitsui, Korea Zinc and Rio Tinto... there's not a Mac in sight among its 40-odd Windows XP and 2000 desktop computers — but there is a dual-processor Apple Xserve network server at the centre of this hub of industry," David Frith reports for Australian IT.

"The Xserve has replaced an older Windows NT server felt to be too expensive —... [MacDailyNews]

JOEL JOHNSON -- Reuters brings word that Microsoft has officially dropped the price of the Xbox by $30 to a new low of $149.99, as well as trimmed some prices on some games. The Xbox price drop has been a not-so-secret rumor for the last few weeks. Read... [Gizmodo]

Jack Mottram compares two popular launchers, Launchbar and Quicksilver, as well as offering some interesting thoughts on running open source/free software on OS X: Quicksilver vs. Launchbar [xlab : a mac os x weblog]

When will people learn? You CAN'T BEAT THE iPOD damnit! Stop crying and admit your asses have been whooped by Apple (again)!

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"According to an e-mail sent to prior customers of BuyMusic.com, the online store will become 'integrated' with its parent site, Buy.com, within several days. What this means to the fate of what was once called 'The World’s Largest Download Music Store' is unclear," Michael Simon reports for SpyMac.com.

MacDailyNews Take: This headline says it all, "BuyMusic.com not compatible with Apple iPod; founder expects to sell 1 million songs per day" - July 22, 2003. The... [MacDailyNews]

"Airlines are trying to come up with distinctions wherever possible in their luxury-class services, and lounge improvements are a core part of that effort. Virgin Atlantic is the latest to add to the lore of premium-class lounge opulence, with its new Virgin Clubhouse at Kennedy Airport," Bob Tedeschi reports for The New York Times.

"The Clubhouse, which opened in February, is a study in architectural élan. Open-air sitting areas surround a series of cozy enclaves,... [MacDailyNews]

Oh, this is brilliant. Lets kill a great technology because a few are using it the wrong way. Hmmmmm, maybe we should outlaw steak knives too...someone might kill someone with it....

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Two senators introduce legislation that would impose jail time for sharing as little as one file, while the House may consider another that would lower the bar to take people to court. Looks like entertainment lobbyists are winning their war against peer-to-peer networks. By Xeni Jardin. [Wired News]

MacTheRipper is a DVD extractor for MacOS X. It removes CSS encryption, Macrovision protection, sets the disc’s region to ‘0’ for region-free, and has the ability to disable RCE region checking. It does not depend on the drive to retrieve the keys to unlock the DVD, so therefore, it is unnecessary to play the DVD with DVD Player to unlock it, making it easier to backup DVDs from other regions. [Lockergnome’s Technology News]

MacDailyNews Take: "Generally, we just wanted people to get excited that they're going to have other opportunities out there," said Christine Andrews, MSN product manager. "Other opportunities," as in, not Apple's iTunes/iPod. According to The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, the term "vaporware" means, "products announced far in advance of any release (which may or may not actually take place). The term came from Atari users and was later applied by Infoworld to Microsoft's continuous lying about Microsoft Windows." [source] An important note: any current legit music download service that does not work with the market-dominating player, Apple's iPod, has proven less than successful thus far.

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"Indie-label executives who caught a sneak peek of Microsoft's music download service here March 18 at the South by Southwest Music Conference give it high marks," Reuters reports. "The software giant's offering, the MSN Music Service, is not slated to launch until the fall, at the earliest. It will compete with already up-and-running services including Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store and Roxio's Napster."

Reuters continues, "Microsoft is stressing the ease... [MacDailyNews]

Pixar on Friday released a version of RenderMan, its Academy Award-winning rendering technology, for Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)... [MacMinute]

Whether you need to administer lots of computers in the workplace or the classroom, Apple Remote Desktop will make your job easier. Here's a walkthrough of its setup and basic operations. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]

Dell can't take the heat, so they have to resort to crybaby tactics and crabby old-lady complaining. What a bunch of fucking pussies. This only means one thing to me - Apple is making a big dent in their sales and they are losing a lot of customers. Can't wait to see the outcome of the pissing contest they just started. Lets see what idiotic campaign Dell launches and how quickly Apple or someone else files suit or throws them under a bus. It seems like anyone can file frivolous claims these days if they don't like something. The worst part....they G5 IS the fastest damn computer in the world....how you like dem apples Dell?

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"The Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Apple Computer discontinue comparative performance claims regarding its Power Mac G5 desktop. Acting on a tip from Apple rival Dell, the council's National Advertising Division (NAD) "determined that the evidence provided by Apple did not provide a reasonable basis for its broad unqualified claims that its Power Mac G5 is 'the world's fastest, most powerful personal computer' and that it 'edged out the competition... [MacDailyNews]

Toyota is offering a US$10 iTunes gift certificate to anyone who test drives one of their recently introduced Scion models... [MacMinute]

Several weeks ago, the Microsoft\'s Macintosh Business Unit provided select organizations and media ... [AppleInsider]

Boeing has developed a special system that protects airplane avionics from interference from passengers' WiFI devices using a special 'money shield.' By offering airline passengers its unlimited internet access 'Connexion' at rates between $9.95 and $29.95, Boeing is able to generate a 'Profit/Safety Phase Array,' suspending the effects of any... [Gizmodo]

You gotta love it when PC Mag admits things are better on a Mac!

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A head-to-head comparison of Bluetooth on Windows and the Mac shows that there's something to the Mac mystique. By Rebecca Freed, PC WOrld (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

This would be something insane....

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Ikanos set to demo uber-VDSL. Ikanos Communications is set to demonstrate next week that it's possible to achieve 100Mbps via ordinary single-line copper. The capability of their Fx-based Optical Network Unit will be shown off next Monday and Tuesday at the FastNet Futures confe.. [Broadbandreports]

Very cool...I must now go check this out...

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Having just read about Quicksilver on What do I know? I did as I was bidden by Todd Dominey and ran to download it, but trying to keep my 'balanced view' head on.

Quite simply, I am absolutely stunned. If you have Panther, you need Quicksilver. Truly amazing.

Cutting edge, 64-bit computer processors--such as the ones that fuel Apple's G5 systems--are posed to transform computing, especially in the areas of gaming and DVD copying, according to the Detroit Press... [MacMinute]

The Devil's Advocate - Apple Patents iPod User Interface [Scoop!] [The Mac Observer]

This ought to be interesting...Tech TV has gone into the toilet lately, especially with the so called "dark tipper" and his on-air romance with Sara Lane. Somebody please gag my with a Dell. I didn't sign up to watch the love-fest. Gimme the nerd stuff - nuttin more, nuttin less. How 'bout upping the ante on Mac coverage while you are at it?

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Comcast announced on Thursday that it would buy cable channel TechTV from Vulcan Programming for an estimated US$300 million in a move to boost the subscriber base of G4, its video game channel... [MacMinute]

Ohhhhh geee....now what was this moron from Real Networks claiming just the other day? Ohhh yeah...that Apple is going to go down in flames and lose the war on formats by not opening the iPod up to his shitty Real or the WMP format. Well...well...well. Looky what we have here. AAC is now going to be a key technology in all future DVD's. Hmmmm....interesting....anyone still think Apple is anything but shit hot?

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Tony Smith writes for the Register, “The AAC (Advanced Audio Codec), the audio format supported by Apple’s iTunes Music Store, has been chosen as a key future DVD Audio disc technology by the standard’s governing body, the DVD Forum.” [Mar 25] [Apple Hot News]

Not that I have read CNet lately, but this solidifies the fact I will NEVER read their shit again.

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'We're getting a better interface with producers of the content' [The Register]

You know those little buttons that are all over people's websites? The ones that look just like the TON of buttons you see below?

I guess they're called "stickers," and today I found a totally badass UI to make them. I've always thought these little things were spiffy, kind of a different way to say "I like this stuff," and be a little creative while you're at it. I just wasted spent an hour or so making stickers, to give my brain a rest after writing all day.

Here are some stuff about me, or stuff I like ones:







And some that could be nifty for links:





How about some love for XM?



And of course, we've got to have some Star Trek stickers:



Okay, so consider yourself inspired! Get outta here and make some that are cooler than these . . . you know you want to. [Wil Wheaton]

This story makes me ill.....it is absolutely AMAZING how stupid some people in positions of influence can be. www.digitalmediaevalist.com

Safe to say I am not alone in my rants?

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This is worrying. If outsourcing to india was the tech industry circling the bowl, I think the fact that students are shunning computer studies means it's about to be flushed. Way to go, corporate America. Nice job of looking at... [Fuck That Job!]

Geee...and this surprises anyone? Hmmmm.....lets see....go to school for 4-6 years, get up to your ass crack in debt, and then go make jack shit for money while you retrain the Indian ass-fuck who will be taking your job for even LESS money and putting you in the welfare line. Yeah, sounds like a logical fucking choice of careers for an aspiring student. Guess what America? If we don't do something like kick that FUCK NUT GW Bush's ass out of office NOW, we are looking at a serious fucking crisis in this country not to mention some serious National Security concerns by not having top notch US BORN AND RAISED talent going into Science and Technology! [/end rant]

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n9fzx writes "The San Jose Mercury News reports on a study by the Computing Research Association which finds that 'Undergraduates in U.S. universities are ... [Slashdot]

Apple's G5 is gaining popularity on the edge of the network with content delivery providers and tele... [MacNN]

StarBand, a provider of two-way satellite Internet to residential and small office customers, has announced the national launch of the StarBand 481 Telecommuter service, which provides customers with a business-grade satellite modem compatible with a variety of computing platforms (including the Mac, Windows, Unix and Linux)... [MacMinute]

For the love of God, who the hell is running the show at Bellsouth? Why the hell would anyone launch a beta test in a market like Palatka, FL, where there is nothing but farms and hillbillies as far as the eye can see?

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BellSouth is starting a new trial of broadband wireless in Palatka, Florida: The company is still leveraging its expensive wire base, but it's conducted ongoing tests of broadband fixed wireless as a way to reach customers beyond the range of DSL.... [802.11b Networking News]

The next time you see a TV news reporter on location, he may be using nothing more than a FireWire-equipped digital video (DV) camera, a G4 PowerBook, a satellite phone, and Streambox Inc.'sACT-L3 QuickTime codec to broadcast his report. The company's codec has been in use by mobile news crews for a while now, and at next month's National Association of Broadcasters trade show, Streambox will debut an integrated solution that includes the codec loaded and configured on a G4 PowerBook. [MacCentral]

This guy is such a fucking TOOL. The moron knows his format (Real Media) sucks ASS and is pissed because Apple has effectively shut him out and told Real to fuck off and that their format sucks. So what's this guy do? He makes up lies about how the iPod can only play songs bought from the iTMS and how it will hurt Apple. PLEASE BITCH!

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During a panel discussion Tuesday at PC Forum in Arizona, RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser said that Apple is creating problems for itself by using a file format (AAC with its FairPlay DRM) that forces consumers to buy legal music from Apple's own iTunes Music Store... [MacMinute]

Ooooooh baby....here is the beginning. We should start seeing a lot of Mac activity in the govt. now. Things are starting to shape up quite nicely in the federal sector for Apple....

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CDW Government (CDW-G), the government and education subsidiary of CDW Corp., is now offering Apple products on the NASA Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement (SEWP) III contract... [MacMinute]

MacDailyNews Take: Now that it no longer serves their purpose, Intel smashes the MHz Myth to pieces. 95% of the world is in for quite a revelation that they've been played as suckers and sold a bill of goods.

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"Taking a page from automobile marketers, Intel Corp. will now assign model numbers to its chips and eliminate measurements of raw speed from its product names, the world's largest chip maker said on Friday," Daniel Sorid reports for Reuters. "The move marks a break from decades of chip marketing strategy, and comes at a time when Intel is trying to pack into its chips more features, such as security and multi-tasking, that fall outside what has long been the primary... [MacDailyNews]

What a hoot...someone should slap this bitch with her own book. Hey, people have bludgeoned others to death with an iPod for less....

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Man, it seems like people are trying to stick it to writers with about the same frequency as designers these days! This one is a doozy by any standards. Thanks to EF for the great listing. WTF?!?!?!? PS - flaggalaggagga... [Fuck That Job!]

Apple Computer may have made a private investment in a small startup company specializing in Intell... [AppleInsider]

I swear, my life just odesn't have enough hours in the day. These projects keep coming and slamming me every which way but up. So another few days lapse between posting and next thing I know, I am sorting through a few hundred places getting back in the groove. Standby for more stuff to come....

Frank

'Extreme' tier coming next quarter. BellSouth yesterday confirmed they'll be offering a 3Mbps DSL tier next quarter (and that marketing departments still think "Extreme" is a popular buzz-word). Rumors surrounding the "DSL Extreme" 3Mbps tier have been bouncing around in our BellSouth.. [Broadbandreports]

This tech note is a long time coming -- a handy list of what TCP and UDP ports Mac OS X uses. I've been longing for this whenever I have to deal with firewall configuration problems.

Of course, it doesn't cover ports used by ports — port numberws used by third-party programs not included with Mac OS X. You can always look at your local file system's /etc/services file; some lists like this one can be found on the web as well.

But for Mac OS X applications, you may just have to look up documentation for a specific product. SubEthaEdit, for example, uses port 30729 for its document sharing, as it states here.

Does anybody know of a technique for detecting that a particular port is blocked by a firewall, so that an application could defensively check and warn its user, rather than just failing to connect?

. Bway.net is hoping to lure customers afraid of the RIAA with a new anonymous DSL service dubbed AnonDSL. The company says the service is "the ultimate tool for protecting your identity from tracking by the RIAA, MPAA or anyone else" because it makes.. [Broadbandreports]

Apple has posted an in-depth feature article by Brad Cook on Unreal Tournament 2004, the highly-anticipated 3D shooter from Epic Games... [MacMinute]

Now THIS is innovation!!!!

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"Apple's strict position on one-button mice could be set to change, as it has published a patent application - originally filed in September 2002 - for a mouse that has an optically based scrolling feature. This turned up last year as well as plans for a mouse with a rotary dial," Macworld UK reports.

"Instead of a traditional scroll wheel, the optical touch-pad appears to be based on the iPod's scroll-wheel or iPod's mini's click-wheel, which would make the touch-pad... [MacDailyNews]

Check this out. It's called 'iSpec' by KDLAB and it's the winner of the Autodesk iDesign Grand Prize (Attribution: AppleLinks.com). A wonderfully-imagined future Apple product:

http://66.216.122.95/_content/_reel/_movies/ISPEC_web_480.mov (17.3 MB and worth it)

MacDailyNews Take: We want one! [MacDailyNews]

FileMaker Pro 7: Can You Say Paradigm Shift? (15-Mar-2004; 22K) [TidBITS]

Oooohhh, these always annoy. Not content with a flagrant abuse of the intern system ("Candidate must be well versed in the art of Flash design, HTML, DHTML, and all the other technical stuff that makes my head hurt. Strong design... [Fuck That Job!]

"You can take the evangelist out of Apple, but you can't take the Apple out of the evangelist." By Dennis Sellers, MacMinute (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

What a dumbass....

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Okay. And don't sit on your iPod, iSight, or iBook either. [myapplemenu]

JOSH RUBIN -- Rumor is that updated Power Macs and new displays will be released next week. This speculative rendering suggests these new displays will match the sleek design of the Power Mac G5. Read [via Mac Rumors]... [Gizmodo]

Apple Computer is preparing to unveil the 4th-generation of its flagship iPod music player, reliable... [AppleInsider]

Great little app to eject your external drives: http://themacaddress.com/ardiem/

SLOW is sometimes GOOD....

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"Security concerns are slowing things down at Microsoft, but the company is still chugging along with its more ambitious projects including Windows Longhorn, a company executive said on Tuesday," Ina Fried reports for CNET News. "The need to make its current software more resilient to attack is part of the reason that several projects have fallen behind schedule, Senior Vice President Bob Muglia said in an interview.""'It's absolutely slowed things down,'... [MacDailyNews]

Wired magazine revealed the winners of its fifth annual Rave Awards, honoring 20 mavericks, dreamers and innovators inventing the future, at a gala event in San Francisco on March 15. "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson was lauded for achievements in film and multi-talented artist David Byrnes for his creations with PowerPoint.

Steve Jobs was named Wired's 2004 Renegade of the Year for setting the agenda in digital entertainment with Apple's iTunes Music Store and... [MacDailyNews]

I bet these morons won't be so quick to publish articles telling people to delete shit again! :-)

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Last week we covered a MacHome magazine article recommending that users delete the contents of /Library/Receipts to free up hard drive space -- following this recommendation prevents Disk Utility from being able to use the Repair Disk Permissions function. (It could also have consequences for updating software.)

For those users who had already followed the recommendation, MacHome has posted "replacements" for essential receipt files for each version of Mac OS X from 10.2.0 to 10.3.2. Downloading the appropriate receipt files for your version of Mac OS X and then copying them to /Library/Receipts will allow you to run Repair Disk Permissions. (It may not solve all minor issues with software updates; however, for most users, this fix should be adequate.)

[MacFixIt]

At the 19th annual Technology & Persons with Disabilities Conference, which is taking place this week in Los Angeles, Apple announced "Spoken Interface," an upcoming Mac OS X feature that allows those with visual and learning disabilities to use a Mac through speech, audible cues and keyboard navigation... [MacMinute]

Got the munchies? Doritos has launched the "Download it Sweepstakes," a contest where they are giving away a 40GB iPod and a US$150 iTunes gift certificate for the grand prize, and two daily winners of $20 iTunes gift certificates... [MacMinute]

Microsoft Corp.'s Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU) on Tuesday unveiled several features from the upcoming release of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac. Episode 1 of an ongoing series that will appear on Microsoft's site, the Flash demo introduces users to several features that have been previously announced and many more that are being shown for the first time today. [MacCentral]

Last evening Apple released new versions of Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server (10.3.3).

According to Apple, key improvements in the consumer version of Mac OS X 10.3.3 include:

• network volumes are now available in the Finder sidebar and Desktop for convenient access
• improved file sharing and directory services for Mac (AFP), UNIX (NFS) and PC (SMB/CIFS) networks
• improved PostScript and USB printing
• updated Disk Utility, DVD Player, Image Capture, Mail and Safari applications
• additional support for FireWire and USB devices
• improved compatibility for third party applications
• previous standalone security updates and Bluetooth Update 1.5

A Knowledge Base article (#25711) details further enhancements.

Key improvements for the Mac OS X Server 10.3.3 include:

"improved reliability of AFP, SMB/CIFS and NFS file services enhanced Server Admin, Workgroup Manager and Network Image Utility applications improved Open Directory authentication performance, Active Directory integration and Kerberos support updated QuickTime streaming and broadcast services for compatibility with 3G phones added support for background rebuilding of RAID mirrors, and network VLAN tagging updated to Samba version 3.0.2 and MySQL version 4.0.18 improved PostScript and USB printing additional support for FireWire and USB devices improved compatibility for third party applications and devices previous standalone security updates "

Both releases are available via Software Update.

Additional improvements

Performance boosts Several readers have remarked on the overall speed gain apparent in Mac OS X 10.3.3, with some specific third party apps shedding their previous sluggishness:

Paul S. Randall writes "Mail and Safari launch immediately. Microsoft Excel launches immediately, even with huge spreadsheets (2MB). The best thing with Excel is password protected documents. In 10.3.2 I'd have a very long delay with password entry, no longer."

Duplex networking Apple says that Mac OS X 10.3.3 fixes issues, such as a lost network connection, that could occur when connecting to a network device that forces the network speed and/or duplex setting noted in mid-February here on MacFixIt.

New devices supported Mark Rougeux reports that Mac OS X 10.3.3 adds support for his HP 5MP attached to a dual 2 GHz G5 via a USB-Parallel cable.

AppleOnboardAudio.kext and G5s We previously reported significant issues with optical audio on some Power Mac G5s that have been upgraded to Mac OS X 10.3.2. General symptoms include the volume control, input menu and airport icons disappearing from the menu bar, and very slow operation. The culprit in this issue was the extension AppleOnboardAudio.kext in Mac OS X 10.3.2, Replacing the version of this file included with Mac OS X 10.3.2 with the version included with Mac OS X 10.3.1 (or 10.3.0) seemed to resolve the problems on a number of systems.

It seems that this issue has been fixed in Mac OS X 10.3.3. Tony Aguila writes "The problem with AppleOnboardAudio.kext and the G5 has been fixed. It did not indicate so anywhere, and I was afraid I was going to have to go in and replace that file again after the update. But, the stalling problem is gone. Everything else seems fine... so far."

Troubleshooting

diskutil still broken Kristofer Widholm notes that the command line diskutil is still broken under Mac OS X 10.3.3. "Running diskutil in single user mode (which can come in very handy if you need to troubleshoot your system from Darwin) causes the message 'Carbon Lazy Values, Total Size [nnnnn]' to be printed, and then the utility hangs. This has been broken since the first version of Panther, despite Apple having acknowledged the bug.

Keep Apple-installed applications in their original location If you've moved certain applications out of the Applications, or Applications/Utilities folder (or into subfolders), the Mac OS X 10.3.3 installer may have problems properly updating them.

One MacFixIt reader describes a problem that occurred after moving several Bluetooth utilities:

"After previously installing Bluetooth 1.5 I'd moved the three utilities Bluetooth File Exchange, Bluetooth Serial Utility and Bluetooth Setup Assistant into a sub-folder within my Utilities folder (i.e. /Applications/Utilities/Bluetooth). When I ran the 10.3.3 update (both from Software Update and the full stand-alone installer) it helpfully recreated them in the Utilities folder.

"So far so good. But the applications that get installed are incomplete - they are missing panels, gifs, buttons, all sorts of things - but especially their custom icons."

Problems with the new release? Drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com. [MacFixIt]

"At the beginning of the school year, 13-year-old Trey Cash didn't have a computer at home and had to turn in hand-written reports. Now, the Greene County Middle School eighth-grader has access to his own computer and almost anything he needs to complete his assignments," LaToya Mack reports for The Kinston Free Press.

"Greene County Schools' iTech program, which provided every middle and high school student in the county with an Apple iBook laptop computer, has been... [MacDailyNews]

Must have been one of the old 2G 20GB iPods! I always joke about how you could kill someone with that thing. Well...I guess I was right!

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Everyone knows that the iPod is a great little device, a masterclass in product design you might even say. But I doubt Apple were concerned about the potential side-effects of constructing the device from a hard-wearing stainless steel cover, such as say, bludgeoning someone to death with it…

via 0xDECAFBAD [xlab : a mac os x weblog]

CNN on newsreaders: “Hang on to your hats boys and girls, because your experience of the World Wide Web is about to change, possibly for the first time since Mosaic...” [Ranchero]

As the press release reads, "Velan Software announces today the release version 1.0 of Fast DVD Copy, the first software built for Mac OS X that allows users to make copies of DVD videos with just one click, combining ease of use and professional quality results."

If you've been following the news about 321 Studios DVD X Copy versus the DMCA you'll realize that this software will come under fire any second now.

Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign [MacMerc]

Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004 (7.0.1) fixes known problems in Dreamweaver MX 2004. Some of these issues could cause Dreamweaver to perform slowly or occasionally crash, so all current Dreamweaver MX 2004 users should download and install this software update.

It is no secret that Dreamweaver, for the last 3 versions, has been a dog running on the Mac in comparison to its Windows counterpart. It does not matter if its my PowerBook G4, or the PowerMac G5 at work, Dreamweaver is just dog slow. It screams in Windows. Why is this? For the most part, Dreamweaver is not a compiled application. There is very little that is not user extensible. I love this feature, I just wished the performance (on the Mac) was closer to the performance I see in the Windows version.

I will take a slower DW on a Mac then a screaming fast DW in Windows any day though.

Enter this 7.0.1 (thats DW MX 2004 for those counting) update. I see immediate results on the Mac. Its not as fast as the Windows version, but a huge improvement over 7.0.0. I can now open up and switch between 2 or more documents without it taking forever and a day to open the documents, and work on them all. I am really impressed with the speed improbements that Macromedeia has made. It makes using MX 2004 on a Mac a lot more tolerable then when MX 2004 was first released.

David found this one on Monster, and it really takes the cake. The fucking asshats want an affiliate specialist (sales monkey), search engine analyst, and a graphic designer with "real world website design" experience FOR FREE. Thisis the clearest abuse... [Fuck That Job!]

People are just amazing. I seriously hope nobody is stupid enough to do this...

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Another flaggable gem from craig's list. I especially hate when they think we're stupid enough to drool over little carrots like: "Feature Length Film script is finished and would be a much hire paying job". Really? Wow, that sounds really... [Fuck That Job!]

This is a fucking disgrace. CNN Is hitting the crack pipe too hard. Any American citizen looking to move to India and work for the enemy should be disowned and have their citizenship revoked! If you fucking love India so much, move, wrap a towel around your head and have a great fucking time. American jobs need to stay in AMERICAN in the first place damnit! [ CNN ]

Ok - so you have probably noticed that there hasn't been any activity here in quite a few days. That is simply because I have been under a friggin rock coding like a madman to meet two deadlines on current projects. I am almost caught up and can now look at what the hell has been happening in the last week. New posts to come shortly..........

Frank

It is beat-up on Real day across the net. It is unbelievable that this company has the BALLLZZZ to sue someone for NOT using their shit software! Amazing...

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Video exclusivity spat with MLB. The Real Networks spat with Microsoft moves into the outfield, as Real files suit (Post Intelligencer) against Major League Baseball for its use of the Window's Media Player to broadcast games. Real seeks unmentioned damages claiming they have exclu.. [Broadbandreports]

Ever wonder why so many other MSFT competitors have trouble getting government contracts? Here's why...the SCUMBAGS at MSFT give their virus-infected-sub-par-shit-for-code software to government employees for FREE in an attempt to BUY their mind-share. Having worked for the DOD both active duty AND as a civilian, I am here to tell you that MORONS run IT in the government. I have never seen such a level of incompetence and lack of knowledge by so-called "IT professionals". What I have witnessed and experienced personally cannot even be explained.

Some of these people are stupid enough to use that free software, drink the kool-aid and then base an entire country's IT infrastructure on a free piece of software they got as a "incentive". The sad part is...CIVILIAN CONTRACTORS are now being brought in to run IT DOD-WIDE. The NAVY in particular will be (or already has) outsourced their IT infrastructure to be managed by an outside vendor. The beauty is that now EVERY single IT related piece of equipment will have a monthly "rental" cost associated with it. So guess what folks, WE - the TAX PAYERS, get to pay for those computers for EVER and will never be debt-free as long as some civilian contractor is getting rich. Ya gotta love America.

"Microsoft has been mailing free copies of its pricey Office productivity software to government employees, but CNET News.com has learned that at least two federal agencies are warning recipients to return the gifts or risk violating federal ethics policies," Ina Fried reports for CNET News.com.

"Since the launch of Office 2003 last year, Microsoft has given out tens of thousands of free copies of its flagship software, which retails for about $500, to workers at its... [MacDailyNews]

Avid just doesn't get it. Final Cut Pro is kicking their ass for good reason. Notice how the article leaves out the price for Avid Xpress Po, but it mentions the price for DV? Avid is not only $700 MORE than FCP, but you also have to put up with that dongle. If you lose that dongle, you are shit-outa-luck. When I asked an Avid rep how I would go about getting another dongle if mine was stolen, lost or destroyed, he said I would have to buy another copy of the program. WHOOOPS! No thank you Avid. I will stick to FCP. For less than Avid Xpress Pro, I can buy FCP 4 AND DVD Studio Pro 2 and have a complete, DONGLE-FREE, solution.

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Perennial rivals Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut Pro took decidedly different upgrade paths this year. With version 4, Apple reinvented Final Cut Pro as a massive five-program bundle containing extra titling and music-scoring tools. Meanwhile, Avid Xpress Pro's core has become a more refined, more powerful version of the Xpress DV platform. Avid distilled features from its professional products, added hardware acceleration with the optional Mojo unit, and lowered the price. [MacCentral]

Last Thursday, Apple Computer (AAPL) set a new 52-week high to close up $1.24, or 5.18%, at $25.16 in heavier-than-usual trading of 11,789,828 share volume. AAPL shares on Friday surged $1.58, or 6.28%, to close with another new 52-week high of $26.74 on fairly massive volume of 27,442,306.

After some profit-taking earlier this week, AAPL has done it again, setting a new 52-week high to close up $0.58, or 2.14%, at $27.68 on heavy trading of 17,982,680 shares.

NASDAQ AAPL quote here. [MacDailyNews]

"At the risk of plunging everyone into the walnut-panelled gloominess of corporate thinking, may we report that Steven Milunovich, analyst with international bankers and billionaires Merrill Lynch, sees the iPod as something akin to a new California oil strike," Garry Barker reports for The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Sales of the players, boosted by the launch in the United States last month of the coloured iPod mini range 'could be a $US1 billion ($A1.3 billion) business... [MacDailyNews]

“…Specifically, let’s talk about the stuff that people are serving without realizing it. Security pros have known about this problem for years, but most computers users still have no idea that they may be revealing far more to the world than they would want. In fact, it wouldn’t be far from the truth to say that Google is in many ways the most useful tool available to the bad guys, and the most dangerous Web site on the Internet for many, many thousands of individuals and organizations.

I’m not putting down Google. Far from it: it’s a great search engine, and I use it all the time. I couldn’t do my many jobs without Google, so I’ve spent some time learning how to maximize its value, how to find exactly what I want, how to plumb its depths to find just the right nugget of information that I need. In the same way that Google can be used for good, though, it can also be used by malevolent individuals to root out vulnerabilities, discover passwords and other sensitive data, and in general find out way more about systems than they need to know. And, of course, Google’s not the only game in town — but it is certainly the biggest, the most widely-used, and in many ways the easiest to use.”

I dropped this shit-ball company's products over 5 years ago...I suggest everyone else finally wake up and do the same...Quicktime or nuttin baby....

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jogin.com reports, “Following my previous two posts about Real Networks and about Real Player, I’ve received another e-mail, this time from an anonymous individual who used to work as a consultant for Real Networks. Read for yourselves, the following text is the mail in its entirety.” [ Via waxy.org ] [Lockergnome’s Technology News]

Reviewing the iMac in Government Computer News, John Breeden II writes, “The monitor rotates around the silver arm. If you often collaborate with someone else or have multiple work areas, you can simply slide the LCD to where you want to use it. This impressive feature can’t be overrated. The monitor moves horizontally or vertically in such a smooth fashion that you can sit anywhere close by and adjust the monitor for optimal viewing. It does an excellent job of saving space, too.” [Mar 10] [Apple Hot News]

See your story in print! -- even if you choose to use an alias and only your hacker friends know it's you!

Publisher John Wiley & Sons has just commissioned me to co-author my second book, telling the untold stories of computer hacking and social engineering into the most resilient organizations on the planet--Corporations, and government and military installations. [Defensivethinking.com]

OhhhhhBOY....I can see some real good uses for this already.... :-P

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Zanka Software today released Wired, an open, modern and free version of the BBS-style client/server... [MacNN]

Pixar is switching to Mac OS X and will be using Power Mac G5s for its work, according to a MacNN re... [MacNN]

What a lame and pointless tax. The fucking French are full of MORONS. No wonder nobody likes them...we should ban all US sales to France and lets see how quick they change their tune...

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A French association representing recorded music rights holders threatened to take Apple to court in a dispute over lost music royalties. (Associated Press via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

When you read a beginner-level magazine, you end up with beginner-level advice. What a bunch of freakin MORONS. They should call themselves NOOB-Central. Listen up Mac peeps - stick to reading Mac Addict or MacWorld magazine.

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We've received reports that after following a number of suggestions in a recent article in MacHome magazine, users are no longer able to use Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permission function -- a common maintenance and troubleshooting tool. MacFixIt reader Shawn Lynch writes:

"Following the advice...I emptied the contents of /Library/Receipts to save some space. I don't know if this is connected or not, but since that time I have been unable to repair permissions! It says: Error: no valid packages."

We obtained a copy of the article in question -- the "Spring Cleaning" article in the March issue -- and can confirm that the procedure Shawn described is the cause of this problem. The section of the article to which Shawn is referring states:

OS X is not quite as flexible as OS 9 when it comes to system components, and as a rule, it's best to avoid mucking about with the System and Library folders. However, there is at least one folder you can empty: Macintosh HD>Library>Receipts. This folder contains installer packages that are no longer of use.

As regular MacFixIt readers may recall, we've covered the /Library/Receipts folder in the past. It doesn't actually contain installer packages; rather, it holds installation receipt packages -- hence the name of the folder -- that provide Mac OS X with detailed information about software that has been installed (mainly Apple software, but also some third-party software).

Besides these files being important to the Installer application -- which often uses receipts to determine what software has previously been installed and, thus, whether or not an update is necessary or whether or not software required by an installer package is already present -- receipt files are vital to Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions function. Specifically, Repair Disk Permissions relies on these receipt files in order to determine the correct permissions for system-level files. If you don't have the appropriate receipt files in /Library/Receipts, Repair Disk Permissions will not be able to correctly repair those permissions. (This is why you should always run Repair Disk Permissions when booted from the volume being repaired -- it uses the contents of /Library/Receipts on the boot volume to determine the "correct" permissions.)

However, even more significant, if the BaseSystem.pkg and Essentials.pkg receipt files are not present in this folder, the Repair Disk Permissions function may refuse to run at all, presenting the message quoted by Shawn: "Error: no valid packages."

Despite the suggestion made in the MacHome article, users should not remove files from /Library/Receipts unless they have a very specific reason to do so. (Potential reasons for why you might do this are beyond the scope of this report; if you're interested in the nitty-gritty behind installer and receipt packages, one of the best discussions available can be found in MacFixIt founder Ted Landau's upcoming book, Ted Landau's Mac OS X Help Desk.)

We have notified MacHome about this issue so that they can update their readers with the correct information.

Unfortunately, if you've already followed this procedure and are now in a position where you cannot use the Repair Disk Permissions function, getting that functionality back is not a simple procedure. If you have another Mac that has the exact same version of Mac OS X, and all the same subsequent updates, installed, you may be able to copy the BaseSystem.pkg and Essentials.pkg receipt files from that Mac to the one suffering from missing receipt files. However, although this may allow you run Repair Disk Permissions, doing so may not accurately repair system-level permissions since your Mac will still be missing many of the receipt files necessary for accurate permissions repairs. If it's important to you to be able to run Repair Disk Permissions and get the full benefit of its repair routines, you may want to consider an Archive and Install of Mac OS X from the OS X Install discs, using the "Preserve Users and Network Settings" option. Doing this, and then installing all subsequent updates, will provide you with all the appropriate system-level receipt files.

Note: In the interest of full disclosure, we note that a member of the MacFixIt editorial staff writes for Macworld magazine, which competes with MacHome.

[MacFixIt]

Somebody needs to whack these Quark freaks over the head with a cast-iron pan. Adobe InDesign is kicking Quarks ass in every way shape and form. These are the same people who can't bear to let go of Mac OS 9. GET OVER IT! Somebody just kill Quark so we can all move on to more productive reading...

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Due to the overwhelming number of problems our readers have been having with QuarkXPress, it has become apparent that an entire section of our forums needs to be devoted to the cause. So, if you have a Quark question, a bug to report, a nit to pick or if you have a bit of know-how when it comes to QuarkXPress, I would invite you to take a look at the posts in the QuarkXPress Commiseration Area. Even if we are unable to solve your problem, it's always a bit of a comfort to know that you're not alone in your suffering.

Like Pixels? Check out MacDesign [MacMerc]

And yet another example of why SUN has been downgraded to JUNK status in the investment world. MSFT's .Net sux monkey ass, maybe Sun should try to refocus their efforts into JAVA...

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Sun amazes the fuck out of me sometimes. They've got themselves a chief gaming officer now.

HEY SUN! Wake up and start drinking the Java! MSFT's .NET is WHOOOOPING your ass! Get Off the Game Crack Rock!

I don't advise anyone to read this article, just illustrating a point. Chief Gaming Officer? [nidin::blogs]

Ohhh whaaa-fucking whaaa. Rockwell has HUGE BALLS crying that there is no AMERICAN talent for these jobs. Well guess what? If we keep sending the work offshore, the problem will only get WORSE! What Rockwell and every other corporate whore scumbag CEO should be doing is investing AMERICAN dollars into TRAINING AMERICAN WORKERS to fill those jobs. Hell, why not be really progressive and try giving out scholarships with 100% full-paid tuition to promising minds that would not otherwise be able to afford to go to school? The talent is here, but corporate America just doesn't want to nurture it. The answers and solutions are right under our noses. Corporate America just keeps trying to sling their bullshit sympathy pleas in order to save a buck and make the CEO even richer.

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Let'er rip people. US tech firms seek more H1-B visas Vasantha Arora (IANS) Washington, March 9 A leading California-based high tech company is pleading for more H1-B visas, of which Indians are a major beneficiary, saying enough skilled workers are... [Fuck That Job!]

RedWolves2 writes "As was mentioned yesterday, Viacom was trying to warn Dish Network customers over the weekend that its channels were going to be pulled from ... [Slashdot]

This Napster CEO, Gorog is a complete idiot. It doesn't surprise me that he has a Disney background considering the losers they have hired over the years. Gorog will never get it - just quit now while you are ahead and still have a job dude...

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"In October, after a period of testing with 45,000 beta users, Napster relaunched as a legal download site with a library of 500,000 songs - 'the world's largest,' Chris Gorog, Napster CEO says. It offers subscriptions for US$9.95 per month, or simple downloads at 99c per track or US$9.95 per album. In the United States, the only country where it operates, it's in second place, a long way behind Apple's estimated 75 per cent of the business," Charles Arthur reports for The... [MacDailyNews]

In its race to remain on top of the digital media player market, Apple this month launched several a... [AppleInsider]

Tip/Trick for Burning in iDVD to External DVD Burners [AccelerateYourMac News Headlines]

Customers lose in Viacom Echostar spat. Even if you're not a Dish Network subscriber, you've probably been noticing the messages flitting across your screen on certain Viacom owned channels the past several days. They're part of a spat between Viacom and Echostar that has resulted in many.. [Broadbandreports]

"iPod has exploded. Sales of a miniversion of the popular digital music player by Apple Computer Inc. are through the roof, local retailers say. Staff at Best Buy in Saginaw Township [Michigan] say they're out of the iPod mini that just went on sale a couple of weeks ago,' Paul Wyche reports for The Saginaw News.

"'We have people coming in everyday asking for it,' said a worker at the electronics store, 4460 Bay. 'It's in demand.' Workers at Circuit City, 2970 Tittabawassee,... [MacDailyNews]

Barnes & Noble bookstores will be fully unwired as hotspots by Sept. 2004 via Cometa: Remember how we noted the lack of news since fall from Cometa a few days ago? This doesn't quite qualify as the kind of news that Cometa wants publicized. The Barnes & Noble deal has been well known since early 2003. For some reason, however, the execution has been severely delayed while Barnes & Noble's leading competitor Borders was fully hotspotted by T-Mobile's network. So while this adds a significant number of locations to Cometa (pushing them to nearly 1,000 publicly committed or unwired locations), it's more of a confirmation of how long it takes to move from a deal starting to actually executing. Barnes & Noble has 647 stores nationwide, and hasn't quite regained the momentum it lost by trying to compete head to head against Amazon.com. Their online venture has done extremely poorly, never achieving more than a fraction of Amazon's book sales. This move to add Wi-Fi is certainly an attempt to bring savvier users in. One factor I've wondered if Borders and Barnes & Noble have considered: as David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times pointed out in a story a couple of years ago, the big box booksellers have moved from discounting many titles to just heavily discounting a few. This means that the kinds of users likely to use the Wi-Fi service might also be likely to price compare. They browse the book in the store and then order it online for free shipping and 30 percent less. (My site, isbn.nu, offers book price comparisons by title or ISBN, for instance, among several of its ilk.) There's an egregious statement in the press release that I must explicate: Unlike other public Wi-Fi networks, where customers have only one choice of service provider, the Cometa Hotspot(sm) network at all Barnes & Noble stores will be open to multiple providers. Customers can choose which provider they want. This isn't about the customer, it's about the network. If you want to resell Cometa hotspots as a wireless ISP to your customers, you have to arrange a deal with Cometa in which you agree to pay their wholesale fees. And in many hotspot locations, customers actually already have a choice: the native network (Surf and Sip, for instance), a roaming partner (FatPort, for instance), or several aggregators (iPass, Boingo, GRIC). Further, there are... [802.11b Networking News]

Some analysts are predicting the demise of the Internet cafe with the advent of Wi-Fi: In the U.K., an Internet cafe chain called Easyinternetcafe, has changed its model from building standalone Internet cafes to adding Internet cafe capabilities to existing venues. The phenomena of Internet cafes vs. hotspots is really a complete reversal, according to one analyst. People don't have to find a new place to get Internet access which happens to also sell coffee, like they did with the Internet cafe. Now they go to the same place they got coffee, which happens to have Internet access via Wi-Fi. Internet cafes never became super popular in the U.S. Still, I think they'll survive around the globe, especially where tourists hang out. Internet cafes have been a blessing to me in remote places where I wouldn't dream of phoning my friends, because the cost would be outrageous, but sending emails with tales of travel has been ideal. Internet cafes will always be ideal in places where it's likely that people won't have their own laptops. On an interesting side note, the head of The Cloud comments in this article about how expensive Wi-Fi access is. He said that The Cloud is signing up some big name companies that plan to sell access for far less than the going rate. He also predicts that within 18 months most bars, restaurants, and cafes will be giving Wi-Fi away as a tool to attract customers. [link via Gigaom]... [802.11b Networking News]

"When Steve Jobs, Apple Computer Inc.'s chief executive officer, unveiled iPod mini in January, critics frowned. They said that iPod mini, a slimmed-down version of Apple's runaway hit, the iPod digital music player, was too expensive and that cheaper versions from Apple's competitors would eat its lunch," David Akin reports for The Globe and Mail.

Akin reports, "The critics couldn't have been more wrong. Even before it hit the stores on Feb. 20, Apple had received... [MacDailyNews]

What a bunch of fucking morons. What were they thinking? DUH!!!

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UK developer Starbrite Solutions has a $20 software offering called pBop that may remind you more than a little of Apple's iPod. While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, pBop flattered the iPod too much as far as Apple's legal department was concerned. [MacCentral]

I think this should qualify iPods as health devices and as such, my health insurance should pay for my iPod to keep my sanity. It will keep their shrink bills to a minimum I say.... :-)

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Doctor Says iPod Helps Us Find Our Personal Space, No Bull [The Mac Observer]

FileMaker today announced the immediate availability of FileMaker Pro 7, which the company says is "the most significant new version of FileMaker Pro ever, with breakthroughs in ease-of-use, customizability and developer productivity."... [MacMinute]

Sony Ericsson announced three new Tri-band phones, the K700, S700 [right], and Z500. Notable features include the K700's VGA camera with 4x digital zoom, the... [Gizmodo]

Yet another big FUCK YOU to the RIAA....

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The music industry cannot file one lawsuit against 200 alleged file swappers, says a federal judge in Philadelphia. Instead, the Recording Industry Association of America will have to sue each individually. By Katie Dean. [Wired News]

Where Apple really stands out is in marketing. By Rob Enderle (TechNewsWorld via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

Linux Magazine praises Mac OS X in a new article... [MacMinute]

I have too many email accounts: a few with my ISP, one .Mac, and a few with my web hosting service. Some are used for web business, others for support email, and others for personal email. When I create a New email, Mail pick... [Mac OS X Hints]

"I've held the future of computing in my hand and its name is iPod. For those unaware, the iPod is Apple's hugely successful music playing computer, which has been so successful it has spawned a dozen competitors," James Derk reports for Scripps News.

How successful is the iPod? This year Apple will sell more iPods than it will sell computers. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is laughing (or listening) all the way to the bank with this tiny Lexan and stainless wonder. In fact, it was... [MacDailyNews]

Shares of Apple Computer Inc. rose 6 percent on Friday to their highest price in more than three years on the heaviest volume in nine months, adding to gains already posted this year amid the success of the company's iPod and iPod mini digital music players. [MacMegasite]

"Shares of Apple Computer Inc., which employs hundreds at a plant in Elk Grove, climbed more than 7 percent in heavy trading Friday for no apparent reason. Published reports said the reappearance of an Internet rumor that Apple and Sony Corp. would merge, combining Apple's iPod portable music player with Sony's portable devices, could be fueling the binge. Other speculation about the cause involved Apple's shares breaking through the $25 level on Thursday, a price point where the... [MacDailyNews]

Here is a word of warning to all web developers / designers out there - ALWAYS GET A CONTRACT BEFORE WORKING ON A PROJECT. No matter how well your intentions may be, working without a contract can land you in JAIL. That's right folks..JAIL. Here is a great example of how Law Enforcement in this fine country of ours, the USA, can abuse their power and EXTORT American Citizens under the name of the"law". Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

As a former law enforcement officer, it angers the hell out of me to see these cowboy, hillbilly sheriff's treat one of their own (or any other citizen) in this way. POLITICIANS ARE ALL SCUMBAGS BY NATURE. Remember that in most places, the Sheriff is an ELECTED official (ie. a politican).

Read on...

The Inquirer posts an internal IBM memo in which IBM promotes their major win in beating Intel at providing technology for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox a... [MacRumors]

The iPod mini is virtually sold out after less than two weeks in stores, with nearly 100,000 of the colorful digital music players being bought up... [MacMinute]

Go baby go!!!

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Shares of Apple Computer (AAPL) are up $1.54 to $26.70 in very heavy early trading with 14,774,540 share volume.

Yesterday, APPL gained $1.24, or 5.18%, at $25.16 in heavier-than-usual-for-AAPL NASDAQ trading on 11,789,828 share volume to set a new 52-week high.

CBS MarketWatch attributes the surge to "a report in USA Today said the company's new iPod mini digital music player has been a runaway success. The paper said the mini iPod is virtually sold-out." More... [MacDailyNews]

"Apple has a smash hit on its hands with the new iPod mini digital music player. The little cousin of the full-size iPod is virtually sold out after less than two weeks in stores, with nearly 100,000 snapped up," Jefferson Graham writes for USA Today.

[MacDailyNews: the fact is that Apple reported over 100,000 pre-order of the iPod mini - before iteven shipped - so sales by now are far in excess of the 100K number.]

"'I've never seen a product line sell like this,'... [MacDailyNews]

Macromedia Inc. has a full agenda of improvements planned for its multimedia application development products, including re-architecting its Flash Player technology and readying the upcoming release of the Flex framework. Speaking at the FlashForward & Flash Film Festival event Thursday, Macromedia Chief Software Architect Kevin Lynch outlined Macromedia's plans and intentions for 2004 and beyond. He cited Macromedia's emphasis on "rich client" application development. [MacCentral]

"Our editors see gadgets galore on a daily basis, but a lot of them are simply humdrum or even substandard. But when a product meets or exceeds our expectations, that's reason to celebrate. From desktops to cell phones and more, see the 100 products that we believe really stand out from the crowd," CNET reports.

Apple finds many of its products in CNET's new Editors' Top 100 Tech Products list. The Power Mac G5 is named "Best Desktop for Creative Pros," Apple's... [MacDailyNews]

Open-source advocates had claimed the leaked document proves Microsoft bankrolled SCO's legal assault against Linux. But SCO claims the memo's writer was simply confused. By Michelle Delio. [Wired News]

Holy Bajingas! This is it folks...the end of MSFT's dominance is near. When a major developer like Macromedia starts supporting Linux, they see the value in an operating system alternative to Windows. They already have it on the Mac and have had tremendous success. I predict soon we will see Adobe follow the same path and expanding their presence in the Linux market. Soon after that - it is goodbye MSFT...

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LnxAddct writes "An article on CNet reports that Macromedia will start taking Linux more seriously. It will start this new initiative by making it's suite of ... [Slashdot]

Apple's stock today hit a 52-week high of $25.22 on unusually high volume of 11,789,628. AAPL, liste... [MacNN]

Michael Dell will give up his position as chief executive officer (CEO) to Kevin Rollins in July... [MacMinute]

Mac OS X: Keyboard shortcuts offers common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts. [Apple]

Apple "has become one of the coolest companies around, thanks to the iPod and the iTunes Music Store," according to global market research group Datamonitor... [MacMinute]

Apple's move to G5 processors from IBM is giving the company a clear advantage against manufacturers using chips from Intel or AMD, an industry expert has said. (Macworld UK via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

"Embattled Walt Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner on Wednesday was stripped of his role as chairman, but kept his position as chief executive even after 43 percent of shareholders voted against him in an unprecedented protest," Reuters reports.

Reuters reports., "Convening in Philadelphia after a stormy annual meeting, Disney's board said it had elected former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell as the company's chairman. It said 61-year-old Eisner had its unanimous backing... [MacDailyNews]

By SteveJack

"Apple Computer's iPod has revolutionized the digital music business. Now, some observers wonder if the hip consumer gadget could do the same for Apple itself," K.C. Swanson reports for TheStreet.com. "Most investors still treat iPods and Apple's related online music venture as a sidelight to the flagship computer business, which accounted for 63% of Apple's sales in the latest quarter."

Swanson reports, "But Merrill Lynch analyst Steve... [MacDailyNews]

Following its introduction at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco, Calif. in January, storage peripheral maker WiebeTech LLC is now shipping G5Jam in a new configuration. G5Jam was originally sold in 640GB and 1TB capacities; the new G5J-0 configuration sold by WiebeTech allows buyers to add their own drives instead. [MacCentral]

So now we know that Microsoft is the underhanded evil dirt scumbags we always knew they were. What a perfect match for SCO. I think some people need to go to jail on this one. It is time we drop the hammer on these corporate evil-doers. Hey Justice Dept....are you paying attention?

Take a look at this leaked memo from an inside whistleblower at SCO. [ OpenSource.org ]

Roy Disney and Stanley Gold Say Vote Is Clear Message That Eisner Must Go

Philadelphia, PA - March 3, 2004 — “The resounding ‘No Confidence’ vote cast by shareholders/owners of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has sent a clear and undeniable message that dramatic change is needed now and that Michael Eisner must go,” Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold said today.

Messrs. Disney and Gold said that their estimated tally of votes indicates that Walt Disney Company shareholders withheld more than 40% of votes from Michael Eisner for re-election as a Director of the Company, and 20% from George Mitchell, John Bryson and Judith Estrin as Directors.

“It has been suggested that Mr. Eisner’s withhold vote is really a referendum on the separation of the jobs of chairman and CEO,” they stated. “While we agree that this is a necessary action, and the job should be split, we don’t believe Mr. Eisner should have either job.” As Patrick McGurn of Institutional Shareholder Services said, “This is unprecedented. This is beyond a referendum on corporate governance. This is a referendum on Eisner’s continued presence at the company.” ISS earlier recommended a “no” vote on Mr. Eisner.

Source: SaveDisney.com

I could elaborate and go into my opinion on Eisner, but I wont. He just has to go.

By William Hungerford

In the next few weeks, I'll be spending a week in beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona while on business. Whenever I travel, I make sure to stay at hotels that offer high-speed wireless Internet access. If that's not available, I look for nearby hotspots like coffee shops, libraries, etc. Here are a few resources to find those local hot-spots next time you're on the road!

Wi-Fi HotSpotList.com: Do a quick and easy search based on location. A great and comprehensive site.

EZGoal.com: A great site because you can search not only by location, but also by network. Currently over 11,000 hotspot listings.

WiFi411.com: This is an extremely comprehensive Wi-Fi hotspot site. Beside lookups by location and by network, this site has tutorials and a great FAQ. If you're looking to learn more about Wi-Fi, this is a great place to start.

WiFinder.com: This site lists Wi-Fi spots around the world. Lets you search by locations offering free or paid service, which is a nice feature.

Boingo.com: This page has a search of all the Wi-Fi locations on the Boingo network. They also have software you can download that will allow you to search for Wi-Fi hotspots on the Boingo network.

SpeedyHotels.com: This site gives listing of hotels with Wi-Fi in a quick and easy lookup. Requires free registration.

WiFiFreeSpot.com: What's better than free Wi-Fi access? Free Wi-Fi hotspots listed by state, that's what! You'll want to bookmark this page.

Wi-FiZone.org: Another site that offers a comprehensive search for Wi-Fi hotspots.

Airports on the Internet: This is a general listing of worldwide airports with a website. A great resource to see if the airport you're traveling through has Wi-Fi Access.

Courtyard by Marriott: Courtyard offers free high speed access in all their rooms in the US. Bet you can guess where I stay when on the road.

Starbucks: If your hotel doesn't have Wi-Fi, why not slip over to a local Starbucks for a little Web surfing?

McD Wireless: How about a burger and some Wi-Fi? A listing of worldwide McDonald's locations that offer Wi-Fi.

Of course, there are more hotels and resources that offer Wi-Fi access out there, but I hope this gives you a starting point for that next business trip or vacation.

According to one unconfirmed source, Federal Express may be looking to make a significant purchase of Macs to replace their current PCs.

Reportedly... [MacRumors]

"...In the last quarter of 2003... Apple's overall education market share rose by 2.7%, according to numbers from tech tracker IDC cited by Apple executives at a Mar. 1 analyst briefing," Alex Salkever reports for BusinessWeek. "Better still, Apple's share of the K-12 laptop market climbed by 2%, to 20.2%, in the last calendar quarter of 2003. That's important because laptop sales in the education market will surpass desktops in three years, according to IDC. Clearly, Apple... [MacDailyNews]

Infoworld reports on Apple's $10 billion growth strategy: "Apple Computer Inc.'s chief financial off... [MacNN]

About New York City Screensaver
Whether you are currently living in New York or just want to relive your time there, this collection of 101 color and black & white photographs will offer you the opportunity to reminisce about one of the greatest cities on Earth. All images are either views of Manhattan or from Manhattan and include the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue, Grand Central Terminal, various skyline views, and a large dose of Central Park. [Mac OS X Downloads]

PhotoshopWorld Conference & Expo kicked off today in San Francisco with a keynote address from Adobe senior vice president Bryan Lamkin, a presentation by Adobe senior evangelist Julieanne Kost, and an opening segment featuring NAPP president Scott Kelby and instructors Dave Cross, Felix Nelson, Deke McClelland, Jack Davis, Ben Willmore and 20 other top Photoshop trainers... [MacMinute]

Pixar's "Finding Nemo," the 2003 box office hit about a clownfish searching for his lost son, won the Academy Award on Sunday for best animated film... [MacMinute]

For the seventh year in a row, a film using Apple's Shake compositing software won "Best Visual Effects" at the Oscars... [MacMinute]

It was a long time coming for the Silicon Valley company that helped launch the personal computer in the 1970s with its Apple II. But Apple San Francisco finally joins major Mac outlets in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. [Wired News]

The PowerMate is Griffin Technology Inc.'s stylish rotary controller for the Mac and PC. On Friday the company announced the release of a new version of the PowerMate's controller software for Mac OS X that offers 17 new customized settings, including settings for Apple's iLife 04 software suite and its music creation software GarageBand. [MacCentral]

Destineer subsidiary MacSoft on Thursday launched a Web page dedicated to its forthcoming Mac conversion of Unreal Tournament 2004 (UT 2K4). [MacCentral]

Jeff Kew from Fireboy Creative has posted a few pics of the San Francisco Apple Store". Nice shots Jeff!

[MacMerc]