April 2004 Archives

All song credits from the Pepsi-iTunes promotion must be redeemed today... [MacMinute]

"Apple's announcement Wednesday that its latest version of iTunes for Windows will support WMA-to-AAC conversion may be a step in the right direction, given that the default version of Windows Media Player rips only to the WMA format," Robyn Weisman reports for E-Commerce Times.

"'Apple has provided a straightforward means of getting [WMA files] into a format supported by iTunes,' Jupiter analyst Joe Wilcox told the E-Commerce Times. 'Because Windows Media Player doesn't... [MacDailyNews]

Key election issue [The Register]

What's better than a nice new Mac running OS X? For some people, it's a cheap Windows XP box hacked and tweaked to look just like an OS X machine. For a lot of XP users, converting PCs into faux Macs is a consuming pastime. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News: Cult of Mac]

Wondering how much life is left in your PowerBook or iBook's battery? Rayner Software has an answer to that question: iBatt. The new Mac OS X utility monitors your battery's performance and provides comprehensive information about its capacity, charge, voltage and current state, complete with the ability to view the data in a graph that shows trends over time periods as short as ten minutes or as long as one month. iBatt also assigns your battery a letter grade from A to F and lets you know if you should replace it soon. [MacCentral]

Apple is marking the first anniversary of its iTunes Music Store by thanking its customers with a free song of the day for the next eight days from artists who have helped make iTunes a runaway success, including Foo Fighters, Avril Lavigne, Courtney Love, Annie Lennox, Jane’s Addiction, Counting Crows, Renee Fleming and Nelly Furtado. Following the anniversary celebration, the iTunes Music Store will continue to offer a “Free Single of the Week” from up-and-coming bands, spotlighting... [MacDailyNews]

Inspired by high-performance racing engines, the engineers at TAG Heuer have constructed the world's first drive-belt transmission-powered watch, the one-of-a-kind Monaco V4 Concept. Displacing traditional watch design innards for a four-barrel sapphire and platinum linear oscillating mass system, the V4 throws almost 300 years of watch design out the window,... [Gizmodo]

"RealNetworks on Wednesday reported a wider net loss and brisk revenue growth compared with the same period a year ago, and announced that the company's president, Larry Jacobsen, is stepping down," Evan Hansen reports for CNET News. "The Seattle-based digital media company posted a net loss of $10.4 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $2.8 million, or 2 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2003. Revenues hit $60.4 million, a gain of 29 percent over... [MacDailyNews]

"RealNetworks Inc., which is suing rival Microsoft Corp. for $1 billion, said it wants to use Microsoft's software to help it sell music over the Internet for play on portable devices. RealNetworks wants to make its music files playable on devices that use the Windows Media Audio format, created by Microsoft, RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser, 53, said in an interview yesterday," The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

"Glaser earlier this month sent an e-mail to... [MacDailyNews]

"RealNetworks is now involved in a war of words with rival digital music outlet Apple Computer Inc. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was quoted yesterday as saying RealNetworks' business model, providing subscription services, is 'not succeeding,'" ComputerWire reports.

"RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser said Jobs' comments were 'ridiculously humorous' and pointed to RealNetworks' 55% growth in music revenue as evidence that the model works, according to the Reuters news... [MacDailyNews]

There's a media war brewing in England between the Inquirer newspaper and the venerable BBC over, of all things, the BBC's reporting about Apple computers. The Inquirer's Nick Farrell claims the BBC is too pro-Apple, writing "stories that gush so much about Apple, that they could have been penned by Job’s Mob spinners." Chill out, Nick. May i suggest you swap that bland British tea you're drinking for a good jolt of Starbuck's morning blend?... [MacMove.com]

Mac software developer Panic has released Stattoo, a new utility that "tattoos" digital statistics onto your desktop. Stattoo's "capsules" that provide the are designed to blend into your desktop background on their own Dock, revealable using Exposé's Show Desktop function or using a separate function key. [MacCentral]

The soft-drink company was ready to distribute as many as 100 million free songs through its bottle cap contest, but Pepsi drinkers claimed only 5 million tracks. [CNET News.com]

Apple on Wednesday released iMovie 4.0.1, an updated version of the digital video editing application the company includes as part of its iLife 04 software suite. The new version improves performance when working with large projects, increases reliability when opened, when titles are added to the timeline and when third-party plug-ins are removed, and more. The 1.2MB update can be downloaded from Apple's Web site. [MacCentral]

iTunes 4.5 users can choose to use different audio formats for any track that you import from CD. iTunes lets you convert your music to MP3s at high bit-rate (320 kbps) for no additional charge. Using AAC or MP3, you can store more than 100 songs in the same amount of space as a single CD.

However, discerning customers and audiophiles want true CD audio, and now iTunes 4.5 can give you that quality with the new Apple Lossless encoder. You’ll get the full quality of uncompressed CD... [MacDailyNews]

Apple's "What's On" QuickTime movie trailer site made the grade in the annual round-up of the "Best Video Web Sites" by Internet Video Magazine... [MacMinute]

Apple has released iPod Update 2004-04-28 which supports all models of iPod and iPod mini introduced before April 28, 2004. This update is required to take advantage of new features in iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store.

Changes for iPod without a Dock connector: - Compatibility with iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store - Improved playback performance

Changes for iPod with a Dock connector and iPod mini: - Compatibility with iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store -... [MacDailyNews]

Apple has posted QuickTime 6.5.1, which includes support the Apple Lossless Encoder, a new lossless ... [MacNN]

Early this morning Apple released version 4.5 of iTunes via Web download. (It hasn't yet appeared in Software Update on our computers here at MacFixIt.) The new version provides a number of significant new features:

• CD insert printing: After burning a CD you can create and print a label insert directly from iTunes.
• WMA audio file support: According to Apple's docs, "you can now import WMA (Windows Media) files (unprotected files only)."
• Lossless Encoder: Although the details aren't yet clear, "using the Apple Lossless Encoder, you can import CDs into iTunes with sound indistinguishable from the original recording but at about half the size." The new Lossless Encoder appears as an option in the Importing pane of iTunes preferences.
• Links to iTunes Music Store: Songs in your iTunes library automatically link to the iTunes Music Store, allowing you, for example, to find more music by an artist you like. (You can disable link icons via the General pane of iTunes preferences.)
• "Party Shuffle" playlists: A new Smart Playlist that is continually updated with songs from your library. "Party Shuffle automatically chooses upcoming songs from your Music Library or Playlists. You may add to, delete or reorder the upcoming songs at any time." You choose options for the Party Shuffle playlists such as the source (your entire Library or just a particular playlist); the number of upcoming songs; the number of recently played songs; and whether or not to give preferences to higher-rated songs.
• Compilation grouping: iTunes can keep compilations grouped together when browsing.

With the release of iTunes 4.5, Apple has also announced new iTunes Music Store features:

• Free downloads: Each Tuesday selected singles will be available, for the next week, for free download. (This week's song: "My Hero" by Foo Fighters.)
• "Wish lists": You can create a playlist of songs that you want to buy and then purchase them later.
• Published playlists: Users can publish their own playlists as well as view (and rate) playlists published by other users.
• Music videos: Users can view videos for selected iTunes Music Service songs from within iTunes.
• Movie trailers: Movie trailers available from Apple's QuickTime website are also viewable from within iTunes.
• Radio station charts: Playlists/charts from over 1200 U.S. radio stations are updated weekly and available for browsing.

Note that when you first launch iTunes 4.5, a message may appear stating that you need to update QuickTime to version 6.5.1 to support some features; version 6.5.1 is currently (as of 6am EST) not yet available. In addition, on first launch iTunes 4.5 will update your music library for compatibility with the new features.

[MacFixIt]

“iTunes has exceeded our wildest expectations during its first year, charting a new direction for the music industry,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. In its first year, music fans have purchased more than 70 million songs, making it the number one online music service in the world with more than 70% market share of legal downloads for singles and albums. iTunes customers are currently purchasing 2.7 million songs per week, a rate of 140 million songs per year. To kick off its second year, Apple today launched the third generation iTunes Music Store, featuring the industry’s largest online music catalog of over 700,000 songs from all five major music companies and over 450 independent music labels, as well as groundbreaking new features. [Apr 28] [Apple Hot News]

Apple Computer Inc. on Wednesday unveiled iTunes 4.5, a new version of the company's music jukebox software that contains many new features. Included in the new version is iMix, Music Videos, Video Trailers, a new lossless audio codec, free weekly downloads and Radio Charts. [MacCentral]

"When IBM sneezes, Apple catches a cold, goes one variation on the old saw. As the maker of the PowerPC chips that run Apple's G5 desktop computers, IBM (IBM ) is Jobs & Co.'s most important supplier. In fact, Apple has more or less staked its computing future on the G5 line, produced largely out of IBM's Fishkill (N.Y.) facility. Now, IBM is struggling to produce cutting-edge G5 chips of sufficient quality in sufficient quantity, and the upper half of Apple's hardware lineup is... [MacDailyNews]

"Apple Computer is preparing to unveil the 4th-generation of its flagship iPod music player, reliable sources told AppleInsider last week. Excluding the introduction of the iPod-mini in January, over half a year has passed since the company last update the iPod product-line on September 8th," Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider. "While sources could not pin-point a specific day or month of introduction, they said the soon to be released player would boast a 50GB hard... [MacDailyNews]

Peripheral maker Belkin Corp. on Tuesday announced that its Digital Camera Link for iPod ships on May 1, 2004. The peripheral enables digital camera users to transfer images to a third-generation iPod, thus freeing up space on their camera's internal memory and memory cards. [MacCentral]

Set Up Multiple Domains On OS X For Web Development [Apple-X.net]

"Stroll the corridors and the atriums on Apple Computer's corporate campus these days and you will notice that something is missing. Gone are the posters and graphics accenting the company's sleek personal computers. In their place, in the main lobby, is a striking, three-story-high billboard celebrating Steven P. Jobs's brand-new billion-dollar consumer electronics business - the iPod digital MP3 music player," John Markoff reports for The New York Times.

"In just two and... [MacDailyNews]

"The other day I spoke at the general meeting of the Fredericksburg PC Users' Group. Before my talk, the group's webmaster showed off a nifty little gadget that I had heard of but had never seen in use," Chris Muldrow writes for The Free Lance-Star.

"The device was a little keychain-sized storage device that has a USB connector on it. You just plug the device into the USB port on your computer, and you've got anywhere from a few megabytes of storage to a gig or... [MacDailyNews]

PC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Miller recently had the opportunity to talk with Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen about open-source software, the Macintosh and the software scene. Here are the Apple and Mac-related questions and answers: MM: Obviously most of your applications run on Mac, to some extent, fewer now than it used be to because you've pulled back in some cases because Apple was in the space.

BC: It didn't make sense to compete against Apple.

MM: How is the Mac platform doing... [MacDailyNews]

Apple's Motion and xSan won the Vidy Award Best of Show 2004 awards at NAB 2004, while Apple's Motio... [MacNN]

Way to go RIAA! Go ahead and do it. You will just be signing your own death warrant. The people will NOT put up with this shit and I am willing to bet most artists won't either.

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"iTunes has been hailed as the first successful online music store, with over 50 million songs downloaded. Its success has been due largely to Apple's powerful name, the iPod, flexible use of the tracks, and the 99 cent-price per song or $9.99 for an album. More than that, it has been celebrated as a sign of things to come for an industry still in its infancy," Matt Buchanan writes for The Washington Square News.

"Despite iTunes' success and the growing success of... [MacDailyNews]

Apple Computer Inc. on Thursday held its annual shareholders meeting at the company's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters, which saw the nominees for the Board of Directors pass by a huge margin. Apple CEO Steve Jobs and members of the Executive Committee answered questions for almost 45 minutes ranging from overall company strategy to its plans on expanding its overall marketshare. [MacCentral]

Apple's new Motion software "has the potential to further alienate Adobe, making After Effects look like some nerdy science project in comparison," Charlie White writes in his "NAB Report" for Broadcast Newsroom... [MacMinute]

The iPodlounge notes that Belkin has posted details on its Digital Camera Link for third generation iPods... [MacMinute]

For months, governments have been working secretly to fix a flaw in the underlying technology of the Internet. A researcher says hackers could exploit the flaw to shut down key routers, blocking traffic through broad swaths of the global network. [Wired News]

Protocol flaw sends nations scurrying. Late last year, a man in Milwaukee discovered a flaw in the TCP/IP protocol that has quietly sent governments and security researchers scurrying the world over. Paul "Tony" Watson identified a method to reliably trick hardware (both PC's and routers.. [Broadbandreports]

"Apple produced another triumphal earnings report on Apr. 14, with CEO Steve Jobs beaming as he announced soaring numbers. For the second fiscal quarter of 2004, ended Mar. 27, Apple earned 12 cents per diluted share -- triple the number from the same time last year. Net profit hit $46 million, and gross revenues grew 29% from the previous quarter, to $1.91 billion," Alex Salkever writes for BusinessWeek. "The results showed that iPods had strong sales momentum. Apple... [MacDailyNews]

"Apple rocked NAB with major announcements and cheering crowds in a packed 2,000-plus press conference where they announced strategic alliances with Panasonic, Thomson Grass Valley and BBC Technology and new products including Final Cut Pro HD, Motion, Xsan, DVD Studio Pro 3 and Shake 3.5 as well as more powerful new PowerBook G4s," Post Magazine reports.

"'We really want to nail HD to the wall,' said Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of applications marketing to... [MacDailyNews]

If you have an account through America Online (AOL), you don't need to use AOL's software to check it anymore. America Online Inc. on Wednesday announced its new Open Mail Access feature, which enables Mac and PC users to check their AOL mail using third-party applications that support the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) protocol. [MacCentral]

This guy at Real Networks is just a plain friggin idiot! I am so tired of him spelling the doom of the iPod, yet crying incessantly to the media about how Steve Jobs won't partner with him. GET OVER IT! REAL MEDIA SUCKS AND WE DONT WANT IT!!!!!

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"RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser on Tuesday brushed off a recent rebuff from Apple Computer and called on Hollywood to keep new digital technologies open for all to use. Incompatible piracy prevention tools in new digital entertainment services such as Apple's iTunes Music Store and its iPod portable music player threaten to turn off consumers, he said," Stefanie Olsen reports for CNET News.

[MacDailyNews Note: Apple's iTunes Music Store has "turned off consumers" to... [MacDailyNews]

As part of its annual "Free Cone Day" promotion, Ben & Jerry's is giving away 50,000 free iTunes Music Store downloads... [MacMinute]

iPod people 'downsizing' A Wall Street Journal article profiles the iPod mini and a few other smaller MP3 players which are becoming increasingly popular relative to the full-size iPod. "Do you really need 10,000 songs at your fingertips? For music fans who have decided that the latest high-capacity portable music players are overkill, there’s a growing number of more compact options. Apple Computer Inc. made the biggest splash in January with its iPod mini. The slimmed-down version of the original iPod was an instant hit, and now is on back-order across the United States." More.

RealNetworks Launches Mac OS X Encoding Solution and RealProducer Plus 10 While Apple may be stealing the show at this year's NAB conference in Las Vegas, RealNetworks (which in the past few weeks has sought to partner with Apple in online music ventures) has some significant announcements for the Mac OS X community as well. The company unveiled a beta version of its new Real 10 Export Plug-in for Mac OS X. The Real 10 Export Plug-in enables video editors for the first time to export RealAudio10 and RealVideo 10 formats directly from Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Avid Xpress Pro and more. The company also released a final version of RealProducer Plus 10. More.

'Phishing' scams luring more users News.com reports that the number of 'phishing' e-mails circulating on the Web has increased from 279 to 215,643 over the past six months, according to e-mail security company MessageLabs. "Phishing is an Internet scam in which unsuspecting users receive official-looking e-mails that attempt to fool them into disclosing online passwords, user names and other personal information. Victims are usually persuaded to click on a link that directs them to a doctored version of an organization's Web site." More.

Previously we noted:

• Apple releases Bluetooth firmware 1.1
• Apple updates AirPort software to 3.4
• Apple intros new iBooks, PowerBooks: Up to 1.5 GHz, AirPort Extreme in every PowerBook
• ATI offers fix for Mac OS X 10.3.3 DVD Player problems
• More on disappearing disk space
• Virex 7.5b1 conflicts: Adobe CS products; MYOB AccountEdge; Final Cut Pro; more
• Clocks running fast on some eMacs
• Macs incorrectly searching for network startup volumes
• Mac OS X 10.3.x: Calculator crashing on currency update
• Apple's NAB announcements: DVD Studio Pro 3; Shake 3.5; Panasonic to collaborate on FireWire HD
• A variation on the type/creator "trojan horse": Special character that appears as a period
• Date and time problems with digital cameras

[MacFixIt]

iPod people 'downsizing' A Wall Street Journal article profiles the iPod mini and a few other smaller MP3 players which are becoming increasingly popular relative to the full-size iPod. "Do you really need 10,000 songs at your fingertips? For music fans who have decided that the latest high-capacity portable music players are overkill, there’s a growing number of more compact options. Apple Computer Inc. made the biggest splash in January with its iPod mini. The slimmed-down version of the original iPod was an instant hit, and now is on back-order across the United States." More.

RealNetworks Launches Mac OS X Encoding Solution and RealProducer Plus 10 While Apple may be stealing the show at this year's NAB conference in Las Vegas, RealNetworks (which in the past few weeks has sought to partner with Apple in online music ventures) has some significant announcements for the Mac OS X community as well. The company unveiled a beta version of its new Real 10 Export Plug-in for Mac OS X. The Real 10 Export Plug-in enables video editors for the first time to export RealAudio10 and RealVideo 10 formats directly from Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Avid Xpress Pro and more. The company also released a final version of RealProducer Plus 10. More.

'Phishing' scams luring more users News.com reports that the number of 'phishing' e-mails circulating on the Web has increased from 279 to 215,643 over the past six months, according to e-mail security company MessageLabs. "Phishing is an Internet scam in which unsuspecting users receive official-looking e-mails that attempt to fool them into disclosing online passwords, user names and other personal information. Victims are usually persuaded to click on a link that directs them to a doctored version of an organization's Web site." More.

Previously we noted:

• Apple releases Bluetooth firmware 1.1
• Apple updates AirPort software to 3.4
• Apple intros new iBooks, PowerBooks: Up to 1.5 GHz, AirPort Extreme in every PowerBook
• ATI offers fix for Mac OS X 10.3.3 DVD Player problems
• More on disappearing disk space
• Virex 7.5b1 conflicts: Adobe CS products; MYOB AccountEdge; Final Cut Pro; more
• Clocks running fast on some eMacs
• Macs incorrectly searching for network startup volumes
• Mac OS X 10.3.x: Calculator crashing on currency update
• Apple's NAB announcements: DVD Studio Pro 3; Shake 3.5; Panasonic to collaborate on FireWire HD
• A variation on the type/creator "trojan horse": Special character that appears as a period
• Date and time problems with digital cameras

[MacFixIt]

Microsoft is a hotbed of secret Apple fans. Just ask Lenn Pryor, a Microsoft director who transformed his Sony Vaio into a pseudo-PowerBook. By Leander Kahney, Wired News (via MyAppleMenu) [Wired]

Apple quietly rolled out a new AirPort Extreme Base Station model today, featuring Power over Ethern... [MacNN]

Apple announced today that the entire PowerBook G4 line would include AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth as standard, built-in features--no more build to order delays. Certain models of the PowerBook G4 already included these features, but now even the introductory 12-inch (boosted to 1.33 GHz) has all the wireless you could... [Apple AirPort Weblog]

Following up on five major product announcements at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas on Sunday, Apple Computer Inc. on Monday announced upgrades to its entire line of portable computing products. Apple's pro PowerBook models have been bumped to a top speed of 1.5GHz, while the consumer iBook now reaches speeds of 1.2GHz. [MacCentral]

Alias used this week's NAB 2004 event in Las Vegas, Nevada to announce Maya 6, the latest major revision to its popular 3D graphics and animation software. While the new version gains hundreds of new features and enhancements, significant changes performance boosts for Mac OS X, new tools for creating realistic-looking hair, cloth and fur, integration with Adobe Photoshop and much more. [MacCentral]

Matsushita Electric Industrial and Apple Computer plan to market a digital video editing system that would "simplify and lower the costs of making TV broadcasts, movies and DVDs," reports AP... [MacMinute]

Time magazine (paid subscription required) has placed Apple CEO Steve Jobs in its "Top 100" list issue, which presents the magazine's choices of the 100 most influential people in the world today... [MacMinute]

We will see how long it takes Adobe before pulling After FX for the Mac now that Motion is here. My guess...they will throw in the towel within 1 year tops.

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Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe After Effects 6.5, a new version of its award-winning motion graphics and visual effects software. Significant new features, including Animation Presets, an advanced clone tool, and tighter integration with the other Adobe video products, help professionals meet production challenges and demanding deadlines.

After Effects 6.5 is a core component of the Adobe Video Collection 2.5, which includes new versions of Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5,... [MacDailyNews]

Apple Computer Inc. on Sunday kicked off the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas, NV with an invitation-only event to unveil three product updates and two brand new products for the professional video market. Apple demoed features and the integration of the new products to rousing applause from video professionals in the crowd of almost 2,000. [MacCentral]

Glaser came to the negotiations with no bullets in the gun. By Charles Cooper, CENT News.com (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]

Apple's Steve Jobs will take Real Networks' olive branch, snap it across his knee and whack Rob Glaser over the head with it. Read Leander Kahney's take on today's big Apple story in our Cult of Mac blog. [Wired News: Cult of Mac]

According to an AP article on Chris Rock and his upcoming HBO special, the comedian lives a "two-iPod lifestyle."... [MacMinute]

Confirming previous reports, sources with an unblemished track-record tell AppleInsider that Apple i... [AppleInsider]

Below are a series of notes gathered from this evenings conference call with Apple CEO, Fred Anderso... [AppleInsider]

"Shares of Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) rose sharply after the bell on Wednesday after the computer firm posted a quarterly profit that more than tripled on strong sales of its iPod digital music players and sleek notebook computers," Reuters reports.

Apple shares rose $28.30 on the INET electronic brokerage system from a close at $26.64 in regular Nasdaq trade.

NASDAQ After Hours Trading quotes here. [MacDailyNews]

The price of your typical RAM chip is about to hit the roof. According to ZDNet, "The price of memory chips is rising at its fastest rate in more than four years due to an unexpected global shortage." So far, the price rise has been over 70%. ZDNet is assuming that this price increase could be due to difficulty with the new production technology, and the fact that many companies are beginning to make other memory types (flash cards, etc.). [MacMerc]

Apple Computer Inc. reported on Wednesday a net profit of $46 million for the company's second quarter ended March 27, 2004. In the quarter, Apple shipped 749 thousand Macintosh units and 807 thousand iPods, representing a 5 percent increase in CPU units and a 909 percent increase in iPods over the year-ago quarter. [MacCentral]

"The little white boxes and ear-bud headphones are ubiquitous devices on college campuses, but the iPod, like other fad gizmos, is an accessory that often demands its own accessories. Although there are other MP3 players on the market, the faddy nature of the iPod has spawned an entire aftermarket of products designed to make it run longer, work better and appear slicker. This accessorizing is emblematic of the trend toward marketing and selling products to consumers that promote... [MacDailyNews]

I wasn’t aware of this near-scam, but based on lots of others, it doesn’t surprise me too much.

The disease under the microscope this time is The Video Professor. If you’re within spitting distance of a TV at any time during a normal day, you’ve been exposed to at least one of their ads. John Scherer [a.k.a. The Video Professor] comes on and gives a spiel about how he will send you “two complete lessons” for free, supposedly as a way to introduce you to their courseware. Then he goes on to show how easy it is to learn using it and the usual ordering info comes on next. There are variations of the ad using different actors and such, but the basic message is the same- order two lessons from our list of courseware for the cost of shipping and handling ($6.95) and we hope you’ll want to order more.

The hook comes when you actually order something. That’s what earns it the title of ‘Scam’ in my book (and apparently, the books of many others). It’s what they don’t tell you that can hurt you.

One guy (or I thought it was only one when I followed the link) was so ticked off that he created a website to warn others before they fell for the scheme.

[Lockergnome’s Technology News]

"In what may well be Apple Computer's largest coup in the Australian enterprise space, the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) will deploy 1200 Apple G4 iMacs across 140 registry offices. A statement Computerworld obtained from the RTA reveals the G4s will be used as point-of-sale terminals for its counter staff to handle RTA customers transactions across 'prepared business applications' as well as for 'collecting data and payments and issuing licences, registration certificates... [MacDailyNews]

"Morgan Stanley increased estimates for Apple Computer, citing better-than-expected sell-through in the fiscal second quarter (ended March) of iPods, Panther OS and iBooks. The research firm raised expectations for the quarter to earnings of 10 cents per share on revenue of $1.82 billion, compared with an earlier estimate for earnings of 9 cents per share on revenue of $1.81 billion. Morgan Stanley raised fiscal 2004 estimates to earnings of 49 cents per share on revenue of $7.69... [MacDailyNews]

The Mac User Group (MUG) Center leads off this week's round of user group news with editor Chuck Joiner's latest User Group Report. Available as a downloadable MP3 file or in streaming QuickTime, this week's edition features interviews with South Florida Final Cut Pro Users Group member Orlando Luna, who talks about the In House Film Festival and other things DV-related; journalist and user group advocate Dennis Sellers, who discusses his new Web site, Macsimum Perspective; CodeTek Studios employee Bill Goldstein, who tells Joiner about his company's support of user groups and an upcoming rebate program; David Roemer of Ideas United, which is sponsoring iMovieFests and other Mac-related events at colleges and universities in Georgia; and O'Reilly's Marsee Henon, who offers a glimpse into the publisher's upcoming Mac User Group Day on April 24. [MacCentral]

Rock on Dell! Way to support our US economy and US CITIZENS. Lets just offshore our asses while we are at it. Anyone who buys a DELL (including our US Government) should be publicly hanged. BUY AMERICAN.

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The majority of PC maker Dell's employees are located outside the United States, according to the company's annual report filed with securities regulators. [CNET News.com]

"Just because you can do anything with Windows, doesn't mean it's the best overall computing experience. The cracks are appearing in the Microsoft monopoly's facade: increasing feature bloat, lagging performance on ever-faster hardware, security nightmares thanks to ever-more-interoperable software," Aaron Vegh writes for OSNews.com.

"For the average Windows user on a broadband connection, it's a bad, bad world. I'm sure many of you have had the experience of supporting... [MacDailyNews]

THANK GOD! This is the single most DAMAGING piece of software available on the Mac today. I have seen this *shitware* completely destroy dozens of unsuspecting people's hard drives, myself included. Take a bit of advice, stick to using Disk Warrior, Tech Tool Deluxe Pro 4, and my newest favorite, Intech SpeedTools.

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Mirroring a move made on the Windows software side, and reflecting a long-term corporate strategy, S... [AppleInsider]

QuickerTek has started offering an AirPort-specific version of the Super Cantenna, a high-performanc... [MacNN]

Macs can be found all over Hollywood: in editing rooms, in story meetings, in music recording sessions, on set and just about anywhere else that creative types congregate. Given their relatively low key but fundamentally important position in the industry, screenwriters don't often receive recognition for the Macs sitting on their desks, but you'll find them there too. [MacCentral]

This would be interesting and VERY tempting. BUt the bottom line is that I still don't trust Comcast with their bullshit invisible caps....I want my speeds in WRITING and GUARANTEED before I shell out a penny to these dirtballs....

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Provider planning bell response. Multiple sources contacted us this week, informing us that Comcast executives are considering raising the company's standard speed to 6Mbps/384Kbps. The move would be an effort to combat recent changes by both SBC and BellSouth. Seemingly terrified.. [Broadbandreports]

Finally, something GOOD to come from sending something to India....

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India bound [The Register]

"Steve Jobs wants to return to the Disney fold if Michael Eisner is ousted as CEO, The Post has learned," Tim Arango reports for The New York Post. "In January, Jobs' Pixar Animation Studios dealt a serious blow to Eisner when it announced it was ending talks on extending a lucrative movie deal with Disney. But lately, Jobs has told associates in Hollywood that he would like to re-up with Disney if Eisner is pushed out, according to sources close to... [MacDailyNews]

But only for new customers it seems.... Additional details of Earthlink's speed upgrades are popping up in our Earthlink forum. From an e-mail making the rounds among subscribers, it looks like new Earthlink subscribers in Covad territory will have access to 3Mpbs speeds starting today, p.. [Broadbandreports]

I hate these shitbag companies that act as if they are doing the world a favor by "reporting" their security findings, but are really just using it as a disguise to generate sales in a cheap way, while educating hackers on just how to wreak havoc. Fucking idiots....the bottom line: their findings were shit and pointless. Way to go Intego...you just succeeded in making sure I never take anything you say seriously or contribute to your bottom line. Next time, try being a little more ethical you assfucks...you are no better than spammers.

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Intego on Thursday issued a security warning to its customers for the first Trojan horse to affect Mac OS X. Dubbed MP3Concept (MP3Virus.Gen), the Trojan horse exploits a weakness in Mac OS X where applications can appear to be other types of files, according to the company.

The issue is that the OS X Finder can be fooled to represent an application as a file. This occurs because the Finder depends on two different sources of information for how to display an object: it uses both file type/creator codes, for compatibility with OS 9; and also can use .extensions, introduced in OS X.

In this instance, the file type is set to "application", and the .extension is set to "file".

This "exploit" is only one step further from simply renaming an application file with a different extension, ".mp3" for instance. The only difference is that Mac OS X can be fooled into actually launching an application based on the false file type/creator codes and .extensions - iTunes for a file with a .mp3 extension for instance. However, it would seem that any damage done by a file disguised in this manner would already be done when it the application (appearing as a data file) is double-clicked.

Before we delve any further into the issue, there is a simple way to see if any of these files exist on your computer. Simply do a Finder-based search (Command-F) and set two criterion:

• Name contains: place a file extension here; .mp3, .jpeg, .wmv, etc.
• Kind: application

Any files that pop up (including a non-harmful example of the "trojan horse") are likely of the same nature that Intego is describing.

MacFixIt reader Michael Dinsmore writes:

"The practical result of this is illustrated by the proof of concept application posted here. The demonstration code only displays a warning dialog and plays a song: but that dialog could be easily converted to do anything that the currently logged in user has the authority to do, including delete their home directory with all of their data. It wouldn't be capable of doing anything that the current user is not able to do, like implanting a backdoor to the system; but losing all of your data is plenty bad enough.

"The trojan will display some attributes as a regular file: it has an MP3 icon, an MP3 .extension, and will even play a song if double clicked or dropped on iTunes. At first glance, it appears very much like a regular .mp3. However, the same file also has attributes of an application. It is labeled an application in the Get Info window, and in column view. It does not have the playback control that a normal mp3 does in column view.

"If you use a utility that can see file types and creator codes in terminal, you will see that it has type APPL--reserved for applications. It has been noted that the file needs to have it's resource forks preserved during transmission to be effective, which generally means it needs to be compressed. Therefore, as Stuffit is required to make it work, Stuffit can also be used to help thwart it.

Stuffit 8.0.2 Although Stuffit 8.0.2 has a preference that will toggle "Set Execute permissions by default", and indeed if the check box is unchecked this file will not have the +x bit set in the terminal, it will nonetheless execute. Therefore, this preference is of no help.

However, Stuffit 8.0.2 can also be set to call a virus scanner to scan decompressing files. Setting this to Intego's VirusBarrier, with the latest virus updates, does indeed flag the file as having an issue during decompression.

UPDATE: Gregory Lawhorn has an important reminder for those who choose to scan files during StuffIt expansion:

"Stuffit Deluxe and Stuffit Expander have separate preferences, and both need to be set to do this - setting Stuffit Deluxe alone won't change the Stuffit Expander preferences."

Forum threads Meanwhile, there two threads going about the first Trojan that affects Mac OS X in the MacFixIt Forums.

• "Trojan Horse for Mac OS X reported" in the Mac OS X 10.x forum:
• "Hey Mike - first OS X confirmed trojan?" in the Symantec for Mac forum

UPDATE: Some MacFixIt readers took issue with Intego's handling of the vulnerability's announcement, noting that the company simultaneously performed a good service by discovering the flaw, but essentially laid out the exploit for those who would like to use it with malicious intent.

Joe. F writes:

"Bravo to their tech people for spotting the flaw, describing it, and providing a fix -- thumbs down to their management and marketing people who decided to exploit the work of the tech people.

"To use a virus example. Suppose a drug company had the only effective treatment for smallpox. Suppose it then decided to send weakened samples of the smallpox virus to anyone who asked with suggestions that the weakened smallpox could be turned into a robust virus that would cause major illness if it were to be spread throughout the population. When the company reaped great profit from its increased sales to treat the resulting epidemic, should we all cheer for its contribution to fighting disease?"

Intego has now issued a new press release clarifying their position, providing correct details, and includes a justification for releasing the original press release. An excerpt:

"While the first versions of this Trojan horse that Intego has isolated are benign, this technique opens the door to more serious risks. The exploit that it uses is both insidious and dangerous and it is our duty as a vendor of Macintosh security solutions to protect our users. We don't believe in waiting until the damage occurs, unlike some of our competitors. The Intego Virus Security Laboratory quickly discovered how to block this Trojan horse and prevent it from running its code and as part of our commitment to our users, it was only natural that we release this in our latest virus definitions for Intego VirusBarrier.

"We initially hesitated about releasing this information, but finally decided that it was our responsibility to alert users to this security risk.

"It should be noted that while Intego was the first to publish information about this Trojan horse, both Symantec and McAfee released updates to their antivirus software after the publication of our press release. However, these companies do not specify whether their updates protect against this Trojan horse. [...]

"As far as we know, this Trojan horse is benign today, but nothing prevents a malicious hacker from using this same technique to create a dangerous Trojan horse. We have examined the code contained in this Trojan horse and it doesn’t delete any files or change anything in Mac OS X, but we cannot be sure exactly what this Trojan horse is doing now, or whether it will have other effects in the future. In any case, protecting users now is better than responding too late, especially when we are aware of the threat."

UPDATE: Update from Symantec coming Symantec's Cary Kwok told MacFixIt that a new virus definition for Norton AntiVirus, addressing the "MP3Concept" vulnerability, is on its way:

"Concept  (MP3Virus.Gen) is a Trojan that imbeds mp3 data in an application.  Once the file is executed, the Trojan executes and displays the following message -- "Yep, this is an application.  So what is your iTunes playing right now?"  After displaying the message, the program launches iTunes and plays the mp3 file.

"The Trojan will only execute if opened as an attachment.  If the file is downloaded and opened through iTunes, the mp3 will play but the Trojan will not execute.  This Trojan does not contain any malicious code.  MP3Concept is a proof-of-concept Trojan and is not currently seen "in the wild" -- it is not spreading and infecting Mac users.  

"Symantec Security Response is planning to post a definition today for the Trojan and we will continue to closely monitor for any unusual activities as well as other potential threats to the Mac OS X platform. "

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

[MacFixIt]

In an article entitled "Openness and Security on Campus" at the Syllabus: Technology for Higher Education Web site, as noted at MacSurfer, MIT's network manager and security strategist Jeff Schiller speaks highly of the Mac... [MacMinute]

By Dennis Sellers - Donn Denman, who joined the early Mac team at Apple in 1982 with the task of building a BASIC programming language interpreter for the new computer, feels that today's Macs are not all that different from the ones built 20 years ago, but thinks we'll see a lot of changes in the next 20 years... [MacMinute]

Only a fucking bean-counting corporate asswipe imbecile would have the nerve to make such a statement. Try telling this to the hundreds of thousands of unemployed AMERICAN workers that lost their jobs to India.

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In the US, at least [The Register]

For this of you who didn't know, as of today AOL has opened its mail system to IMAP access. just use imap.aol.com (inbound) and smtp.aol.com (outbound) from Mail (or your preferred IMAP-capable email client) and you're all se... [Mac OS X Hints]

Classic.....if they would have been on a Mac, there wouldn't be any worries about viruses!

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AOL Time Warner internal virus. According to a source at Time Warner, a disgruntled employee has injected a virus into their internal network that tells staff they are due for a 26.75% bonus on their work. The virus encourages employees to "submit an application" for the raise, by .. [Broadbandreports]

"The Beatles' company, Apple Corporation, may have hit him with a lawsuit following his entry into the music market, but elsewhere Steve Jobs, Apple Computer's chief executive, is persona grata in the music industry," Alan Cane and Adam Woods report for The Financial Tmes.

"Just as Mr Jobs' iPod has provided a stylish vessel for storing music files digitally, so his iTunes Music Store has given Americans an easy way to buy downloads legally and handed the big labels proof... [MacDailyNews]

This is something that I have (thankfully) never seen myself.

A client of mine called me up asking why a specific word was linked on his entire site. That work was “real estate.” I did not make it a link, and it was not a link on my PC or my Mac.

I went to the site, and sure enough that word was not underlined. Clicking this link took my client to a ad sponsored page, obviously to do with real estate.

Some adware had actually linked that keyword. Amazing, I did not know they could do that. But it is Internet Exploder and I am not surprised with what adware can do anymore. I told my client to download Spybot Search & Destroy and run it weekly. My guess is Spybot took care of it.

Folks, this is yet another reason I do not use my PC for production.

[Breaking Windows]

Microsoft's Mac Business Unit (Mac BU) today announced that it plans to ship Office 2004 by the third week of May... [MacMinute]

SpyMac Beats Google To The GB Email Storage Giveaway [MacSlash]

Later this month, IT professionals and others will gather in Orlando, Fla. to attend MySQL Users Conference & Expo. Apple will be there; the company is an exhibitor and a "Platinum Sponsor," and will be the focus of several conference sessions. MySQL is the open source database used on multiple platforms and included with Mac OS X Server. The conference will bring announcements and introductions of new products designed to work with MySQL. [MacCentral]

"Apple Computer said it is seeing a definite shift in the types of the people building for its operating system," Michael Singer reports for InternetNews.com. "The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer maker, which is preparing for its annual developers conference in late June, claims a spike in the number of enterprise code writers. The company said it has seen a large number of UNIX, Java and Open Source developers migrating to its Mac OS X operating... [MacDailyNews]

STOP THE INSANITY!!!

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I own several domain names and like many of you I have managed to create an online identity for several businesses and myself. But, the most important domain name I own (or used to own anyway) is the one that was created way back in 1996 in order to establish a personal presence on the Internet. The domain name is not all that common, it’s simply my last name, but it allowed me the opportunity to establish the easiest email address possible, my first and last name separated by the @ sign.... [MacNETv2]

Panther's Fast User Switching is a great feature, but it's flawed by a glaringly bad UI design: the menu displays your long user name, taking up a huge amount of valuable right-hand-side menu bar real estate. Enter WinSwitch,... [Mac OS X Hints]

"iPods and their ilk are changing the way music is being experienced, or reexperienced, by all sorts of audiophiles in all sorts of settings, from health clubs and school cafeterias to malls and subway cars," Joseph P. Kahn writes for The Boston Globe. "In essence, these devices function much like customized jukeboxs or personalized radio stations, but don't require a pocketful of coins to feed them or noisy advertisements to support them. 'All my music, all the time -- and... [MacDailyNews]

"Ingvar Kamprad, the Swede who founded furniture retail chain IKEA, has overtaken Microsoft's Bill Gates as the world's richest man, Swedish TV news reported on Sunday," Reuters reports. "Citing next week's edition of the Swedish business weekly Veckans Affarer, public service SVT2 television said Kamprad, 77, has a personal fortune of 400 billion crowns ($53 billion).""Gates's fortune is put at $47 billion, according to the latest list of the world's rich in... [MacDailyNews]

playfair is a tool for Mac OS X that strips the digital rights management protection from tracks pur... [MacNN]

"It looks like I'm going to have to reconsider something I'd been taking for granted -- that Linux on the desktop, and especially the laptop, was a non-starter in the operating systems race. While I wasn't paying sufficient attention, the proverbial tortoise has been playing some serious catch-up," Dan Gillmor writes for The Mercury News. "One reason I'm rethinking this long-held conviction is in my lap. I'm writing this column on a nearly 4-year-old IBM ThinkPad, a... [MacDailyNews]

Sun really fucked up when they bought and then abandoned the Cobalt line of servers. That was mistake #1. Now this? Gimme a break. I am out. I am revoking my SUN Partner status and cashing in my chips. Next new web hosting servers: Apple XSERVES.

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"Microsoft and Sun redrew the battle lines in the computing world Friday, with news of a 10-year pact designed to better integrate the leading proprietary Unix and Windows platforms and unifying the rivals against a common enemy--IBM and Linux," Paula Rooney and Barbara Darrow report for CRN. "During a brief press conference, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Sun CEO Scott McNealy--megarivals whose companies have battled fiercely in the operating system market for more than... [MacDailyNews]

Maybe gateway can outsource its stores to India? Serves them right. It's too bad the CEO and top exectuvies weren't the ones being fired....

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Through its branding efforts, store locations and unique products, analysts said Apple Computer Inc. is well positioned in the retail market. [Computerworld Macintosh News]

Aint this the truth! I have actually gotten MORE spam since the law went into effect!!!

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The number of spam campaigns continues to rise, despite a new U.S. antispam law that went into effect in January, according to a survey released Thursday by antispam vendor Commtouch Software Ltd. Part of the problem with the new Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act is that 40 percent of spam e-mail comes from outside the U.S., said Avner Amram, Commtouch executive vice president. [MacCentral]

Apple has extended the deadline for redeeming winning codes found on Pepsi bottles in its Pepsi-iTun... [MacNN]

Today Apple announced it is releasing OS X on Wintel machines. Microsoft has decided to throw in the towel and stop all production of future operating systems. Bill Gates was quoted as saying "This is the last straw. First the iPod and now this....we just can't compete." Microsoft spokesperson stated that "Microsoft will be pursuing a buyout from rival Apple and selling everything at pennies on the dollar." When Apple CEO Steve Jobs was asked what he thinks of Microsoft's position...he stated he wouldn't take their company if it was willed to him.... Happy APRIL 1, 2004 - GOTCHA! :-)

Apple Computer, Inc. turns 28-years-old today! Time Magazine's 80th anniversary issue featured a look back over 80 years in a piece titled "80 Days That Changed the World," published on March 31, 2003. Lev Grossman wrote about one such day that changed the world, the founding of Apple Computer, Inc. on April 1, 1976:

They were two guys named Steve, so Steve Jobs was called Steve and Steve Wozniak went by Woz. At 25, Wozniak was the technical brains. Jobs, 21, was the dreamer... [MacDailyNews]