The
Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group

The Status Register - March, 2005


This newsletter will never appear on CUCUG.ORG before the monthly CUCUG meeting it is intended to announce. This is in deference to actual CUCUG members. They get each edition hot off the presses. If you'd like to join our group, you can get the pertinent facts by looking in the "Information About CUCUG" page. If you'd care to look at prior editions of the newsletter, they may be found via the Status Register Newsletter page.
News     Common     PC     Linux     Mac     CUCUG

March 2005


To move quickly to an article of your choice, use the search feature of your reader or the hypertext directory above. Enjoy.

March News:

The March Meeting

The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, March 17th, at 7:00 pm, at the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The Linux SIG convenes, of course, 45 minutes earlier, at 6:15 pm. Directions to the FBC-CS are at the end of this newsletter.

The March 17 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. The Linux SIG will have our new SIG Chairman, Phil Wall, revealing "Everything You Want Know About Linux." The Macintosh SIG will be getting a close up look at Emil Cobb's new iPod Shuffle. The PC SIG is another "mystery meat" banquet to be served up by Richard Rollins.

ToC

Welcome New and Renewing Members

We'd like to welcome the newest member of our group, joining us in the last month: Marianne Venute (Mac G4, Mac 6500, Mac G3 desktop, Mac G3 Pismo laptop).

We'd also like to thank renewing members Mike Latinovich, Anthony Philipp, and Kyle Webb.

We welcome any kind of input or feedback from members. Run across an interesting item or tidbit on the net? Just send the link to the editor. Have an article or review you'd like to submit? Send it in. Have a comment? Email any officer you like. Involvement is the driving force of any user group. Welcome to the group.

ToC

UIUC IBM PC User Group Meeting Moved to March 30

Due to a number of schedule conflicts, I've taken a straw poll of PCUG members and we've decided to move the meeting to the end of the month, Wednesday, March 30 from 7-9pm. I've submitted the paperwork to request our usual meeting room in DCL, however it will be some time before I have a confirmation that we can get it, so the location is officially "TBA, to be announced" for the moment.

Eric Johnson has kindly offered to do several short presentations this month. He will review Weather Pulse (www.tropicdesigns.net/weatherpulse.html) a spyware-free alternative to weather bug, a few netnews index/search web sites like:

http://alt.binaries.nl
http://bincrawler.com
http://newzsearch.com

as well as a few interesting fun sites ( a self-learning system and some pretty pictures) and information about how Eudora spam filtering works.

As usual, we should also have time for the usual questions and answers, so I hope to see you all then. I'll send off another email as soon as I know for sure where we'll meet, but I wanted to let you know we will not be meeting at the usual time and place next Wed.

ToC

In Memoriam: Jef Raskin, 1943-2005

by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#768/28-Feb-05

We'd heard recently that one of the fathers of the Macintosh was seriously ill, and last week brought the news that Jef Raskin passed away.

<http://digibarn.com/friends/jef-raskin/>

Raskin is widely acknowledged as the person who created many theoretical underpinnings of modern personal computing and then pulled together many threads of his own and others to create a team at Apple that would eventually produce the first Mac.

Raskin was forced out of Apple in 1982 as Steve Jobs took an ever greater interest in the Macintosh. He could be prickly, fighting what was often a rear-guard battle against revisionist history, ignorance of his role, and occasional indifference. Reporters like myself often received long email messages about what he perceived as our errors in reporting (or not reporting) his role.

But he was also apparently an incredibly generous and creative person, devoted to improving the relationship between people and computers which, by extension, would give people more control over their creative abilities. Raskin's work since leaving Apple has centered on the Humane Interface, an entirely new and sometimes hard-to-grasp approach to interaction. It was just like him to create something simultaneously mystifying, fascinating, inscrutable, and potentially indispensable.

He was a renaissance man of the kind found only, these days, in technology fields: a musician, an artist, a computer science theorist, and a practical builder. Consider the way in which he resigned from the University of California, San Diego:

"When I resigned I got into a hot air balloon in the middle of Revelle Plaza and flew over the Chancellor's residence playing my sopranino recorder so that he would hear the sound. He came out and I yelled down that I was resigning and floated off. I was an art professor at the time and it seemed arty to leave that way."

<http://jef.raskincenter.org/published/ubiquity.html>

The world is poorer without Jef Raskin sometimes chiding, always teaching, always engaged.

ToC

Common Ground:

Apple lawsuit: Thinking different?

By Charles Cooper
URL: http://news.com.com/Apple+lawsuit+Thinking+different/2010-1047_3-5611497.html
Story last modified Fri Mar 11 13:27:00 PST 2005

Such has been my dilemma, watching Steve Jobs operate over the years, that I still don't know whether to applaud or boo.

That he is one hell of a talented guy is a statement that goes beyond contestation. But how then do you account for his company's bizarre decision to go to war with the Fourth Estate? That's the gist of an Apple Computer lawsuit that is bound to ignite a First Amendment donnybrook.

Just before noon Friday, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge cleared the way for Apple to subpoena Think Secret, Apple Insider and PowerPage to find out who leaked the Mac maker's product plans. Apple sued the three Mac enthusiast sites, arguing they do not deserve the same free speech protections as "legitimate press," and the judge agreed.

"Defining what is a 'journalist' has become more complicated as the variety of media has expanded," Judge James Kleinberg wrote in his 13-page decision. "But even if the movants are journalists, this is not the equivalent of a free pass. The journalist's privilege is not absolute."

Tricky area. Few would argue that there are limits to that privilege, but this decision opens a Pandora's box. The judge argued that nothing in his ruling was meant to stifle the free exchange of opinions and speculation. But then he went on to interpret California's Shield Law as affording only limited protection--a decision that can only hurt the ability of news gatherers to do their jobs.

My hunch is that every crack First Amendment attorney in the country will want a piece of this appeal. If this decision stands, they know this would be bad news in bells for a free press.

Apple contended this was a case of the misappropriation of "trade secrets" under California law. Kleinberg went along, but it was a phony argument from the get-go. The leaks hit the Internet a couple of weeks in advance of Apple's planned announcements. What's more, the information that triggered Apple's hissy fit was imprecise, and the biggest "news" leak had to do with price.

The real subtext is this: Apple is directed by a collection of control freaks who would have found themselves at home in the Nixon White House. The big difference here being that reporters had the constitutional protection to report on the Nixon White House.

Apple has been an infuriating company for me to cover over the last two decades or so. I adore its technology but can't stomach its overreaching sense of entitlement. Other tech companies deal with leaks all the time. Nobody's happy when their discussions wind up as fodder for the rumor mill. But that's part of the give-and-take that's defined the technology business for decades.

So why turn this into a federal case--(well, state case -- but you get the point.) People who know the company say that "everything starts with Steve."

For good and for bad.

Jobs had already secured a place in the annals of tech by co-founding Apple. Then he defied the odds when he returned to Apple in late 1996 and saved the day. And if that were not enough, the guy went on to build Pixar into one of the hottest movie animation companies--all in his spare time.

Loyalists say he accomplished all this by being a demanding perfectionist. But he didn't compile a resume of achievement by being Mr. Nice Guy. Forget the fluff PR adorning the company's advertisements. Jobs knows how to play hardball with the best of them.

But now you have to ask whether paranoia has trumped good judgment. With today's ruling, Jobs is in danger of leaving a big black blot on an otherwise remarkable legacy.

[Charles Cooper is the executive editor of commentary at CNET News.com. ]

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ChoicePoint data loss may be higher than reported

By Robert Lemos, <rob.lemos@cnet.com>, CNET News.com
Published on ZDNet News: March 10, 2005, 3:04 PM PT
URL: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5609253.html

ChoicePoint could have leaked information on far more than 145,000 U.S. citizens, the data collector's latest filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission suggests.

The Atlanta-based company said in the filing that it has alerted only consumers whose personal details were improperly sold on or after July 1, 2003--the date that a California notification law went into effect.

In its regulatory 8-K document, filed on March 4, ChoicePoint said that it had restricted its search to a 15-month period, during which records on 145,000 consumers were purchased by 50 fraudulent companies.

"These numbers were determined by conducting searches of our databases that matched searches conducted by customers who we believe may have had unauthorized access to our information products on or after July 1, 2003, the effective date of California's notification law," ChoicePoint said in the filing.

The exclusion of possible sales to suspect companies before that date raises questions about the true number of Americans affected by the data leak. Sales could have taken place before the period covered by the California Security Breach Information Act, which requires businesses to tell people if their sensitive details have been exposed.

A ChoicePoint representative declined to comment or speculate on the number of records that may have been exposed before July 1, 2003. ChoicePoint provides consumer data services to insurance companies, other businesses and government agencies.

In its SEC filing, the company did not specify whether it intends to do additional searches. ChoicePoint did say that any increase in its estimate of the number of potentially affected consumers will not be "significant." It's not clear whether that estimate is only for records sold on or after July 1, 2003.

Background data

ChoicePoint discovered on Sept. 27, 2004, that a few of its small-business customers in the Los Angeles area were engaged in "suspicious activity." The company notified law enforcement agencies, but did not notify the consumers whose information was leaked until early February.

At first, the company only notified some 35,000 California residents as required by law in that state. After a public outcry for more information, the company notified 110,000 U.S. citizens whose records were improperly accessed.

The ChoicePoint incident was the first of many data leaks to be disclosed recently. This week, publisher Reed Elsevier Group acknowledged that hackers gained access to personal information on about 32,000 U.S. citizens in its LexisNexis databases. In late February, financial services giant Bank of America alerted government workers that backup tapes containing their sensitive data had gone missing.

Legislators and government agencies have already started investigating ChoicePoint, with the SEC and Congress looking into the company's business practices. The incidents are widely expected to spur legislation aimed at protecting consumer data.

Any decision by ChoicePoint not to search further into the past would be reasonable from a corporate standpoint, said Bruce Schneier, a security expert and chief technology officer for network protection provider Counterpane Internet Security. However, the strategy would make the company and its actions an even larger target for lawmakers, he said.

"They are putting a big sign on themselves saying, 'Please regulate me,'" Schneier said. "They are showing that they are not going to be a good actor unless we force them to be."

Schneier took ChoicePoint to task in an entry on his blog. He argued that as long as U.S. citizens are not customers of data collection companies, they should not expect good security.

"The real problem here is that your data is not controlled by you," he said. "We are not ChoicePoint customers, so they have no reason to listen to us. If we didn't hire them, we can't fire them."

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Bank of America loses customer data

Senators among up to 1.2 million federal employees affected

The Associated Press
Updated: 7:35 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2005
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7032779/

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. has lost computer data tapes containing personal information on up to 1.2 million federal employees, including some members of the U.S. Senate.

The lost data includes Social Security numbers and account information that could make customers of a federal government charge card program vulnerable to identity theft.

Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., is among those senators whose personal information is on the missing tapes, spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said.

"There were some senators' Visa credit card accounts involved," Schmaler said. "We don't know how many, but he was one of them."

The bank issued an apology.

"We deeply regret this unfortunate incident," said Barbara Desoer, who is in charge of technology, service and fulfillment for the Charlotte-based bank. "The privacy of customer information receives the highest priority at Bank of America, and we take our responsibilities for safeguarding it very seriously."

The bank will be sending letters to people whose private information was on the tapes -- probably hundreds of thousands of letters, according to Bank of America spokeswoman Alexandra Trower. While there were 1.2 million accounts on the tapes, some individuals had multiple accounts, she said.

Privacy incidents are keeping the U.S. Postal Service service busy lately. Just last week, a security breech at ChoicePoint Corp. led to that company sending 145,000 letters to exposed consumers.

Leahy has been a leader of calls this week for a Senate Judiciary Committee inquiry into whether more regulation of companies that buy and sell personal data is needed.

That came after the disclosure that ChoicePoint Inc., a data warehouser, had learned that as many as 140,000 consumers may have had their personal information compromised.

"I hope this latest incident at least will bring the issue closer to home so Congress will pay better attention to the rapid erosion of privacy rights that ordinary Americans are facing as more and more of their personal and financial information is collected and sold on databases that too often have too few privacy protections," Leahy said in a statement Friday.

Baggage handlers suspected

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was told the data backup tapes were likely stolen off of a commercial plane by baggage handlers in December.

"Whether it is identity theft, terrorism, or other theft, in this new complicated world baggage handlers should have background checks and more care should be taken for who is hired for these increasingly sensitive positions," he said.

Bank spokeswoman Eloise Hale called the system of shipping backup tapes "an industry practice and a routine bank practice. As a safety precaution measure, backup tapes are stored in different locations."

She declined to give any more details about where and how the tapes are moved around the country.

The missing tapes include information on federal employees who use Bank of America "smart pay" charge cards for travel and expenses, Hale said Friday.

She said federal law enforcement officials were notified as soon as the tapes were discovered missing.

"The investigation to date has found no evidence to suggest the tapes or their content have been accessed or misused, and the tapes are now presumed lost," the bank said in a news release.

Trower said the company would not comment on the format of the data on the tapes -- and wouldn't say if the data was encrypted -- but she said it would be "virtually impossible" for anyone who found the tapes to access the data.

[MSNBC.com's Bob Sullivan contributed to this report.]

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More Wireless Bandwidth

Media Minutes: March 11, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm031105.mp3

On Thursday, March 10th, the Federal Communications Commission approved allocating a new 50 megahertz of spectrum for the development of wireless broadband networks. This allocation calls for a mixture of licensed and unlicensed wireless activity, something Commissioner Michael Copps thinks will help satisfy the growing demand for wireless networking.

"I think entrepreneurial and municipal and mess networks should get a real boost from this approach."

However, the fine points of the new policy, like guaranteeing equal access between licensed and unlicensed wireless users, remains to be written. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein says this point will be critical. And if it's handled correctly, it could mean expanding the reach of broadband data services dramatically.

"This should make it easier to get spectrum in the hands of people who are ready and willing to use it and will certainly present new opportunities for rural broadband deployment."

The spectrum in question was traditionally reserved for satellite uplinks and downlinks, but in the majority of the United States, it is not used.

Related Links:

FCC's Wireless Broadband Access Task Force - http://www.saschameinrath.com/node/114?PHPSESSID=51ebc5022327b2305e5f14573cae0ed8

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Indecency, File Sharing, & Corporate Intimidation

Media Minutes: March 4, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm030405.mp3

New U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales set out some strange priorities in a recent speech to the Republican-friendly Hoover Institution, his first semi-public address outside the U.S. Justice Department since being sworn in on Valentine's Day. According to Gonzales, cracking down on the porn industry is just as much a priority for him as fighting the war on terror. In Congress, the House of Representatives has passed what's called The Broadcast Decency Act which increases the minimum FCC fine for indecency by more than fifteen fold. Not to be outdone, the United States Senate is working up a bill to expand FCC prohibitions against naughty words and images to satellite and cable broadcasts which have been exempt from indecency regulation because they are subscription based and not publicly accessible.


On March 29th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit that pits movie and record companies against file sharing systems, consumer media recording device makers, and free speech advocates. More than sixty parties filed briefs in the case of "MGM versus Grokster" which seeks to pin liability for the unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted material on the makers of software and services which enable file sharing to take place. Such liability would provide easier targets for music and movie companies to sue instead of the current strategy involving batch lawsuits against individual file sharers.

Mark Cooper, research director at the Consumer Federation of America, says the case involves a rehash of principles first articulated in 1984 during a temporary panic over video recorders.

"Hollywood insisted that VCRs would destroy their industry and they literally tried to outlaw the VCR. The court said, 'No, we're not going to find it as an illegal technology as long as it has substantial usage that don't infringe copyright.' And Congress also did nothing and in the ensuing twenty years Hollywood makes almost 40 percent of its revenue off of VCRs and DVDs."

Record labels, movies studios and recording artists, such as the Dixie Chicks, the Eagles and Elvis Costello, claim that file sharing programs are used so heavily to infringe copyrights that it takes money out of their pockets. But Cooper says that claim has no empirical evidence to stand on.

"The test is not whether some infringement would happen. The test is whether there is so much infringement that it would harm or undermine the economic viability of the industry. And that's absolutely not the case."

The studios and labels lost in the lower courts, basically, because they failed to prove that the primary task of file sharing systems IS the circumvention of copyright. Cooper says it's anyone's guess which way this case may go.

"The original Sony decision, which kept the VCR in the world, was a five to four decision and it took two oral arguments for the court to decide."

So far, the Recording Industry Association of America has filed suit against more than 7000 people for sharing copyrighted works online. The Motion Picture Association of America launched its first round of lawsuits against file sharers in November, targeting at least 50 people around the country.


Incumbent telecom providers are getting down and dirty in their desperation to stop community Internet projects, like municipal broadband. In Lafayette, Louisiana, Bell South has filed a lawsuit against the city in an attempt to stop it from building a municipal fiber optic network.

This is not the first time Bell South has resorted to the courts to try and stop a community Internet project. Last year, it sued a city in North Carolina, but lost the case on appeal in January.

Perhaps that's why a Bell South official hinted that a Lafayette-based call center that currently employs 1300 people might close unless the city dropped its fiber network plans. City parish officials called the suggestion "economic blackmail." Although Bell South has since back-peddled, saying its insinuation had been misinterpreted.


And now here's a Media Minutes Fast Fact. American children and adolescents watch 22 to 28 hours of television per week. On average, they spend more time in front of the tube than doing anything else except sleeping. By the time most American children finish the first grade, they will have spent the equivalent of three school years in front of the television. So, it should come as no surprise that almost half of all parents report that their kids are already asking for brand name products by age five and one out of five say their kids begin asking for brand name products by the age of three.


Related Links:

Alberto Gonzales Remarks to Hoover Institution Board - http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/RESEARCH/conferences/02282005.html
EFF: MGM vs. Grokster - http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/
CFA: http://www.consumerfed.org/
Lafayette: BellSouth threatens pullout - http://www.freepress.net/news/6958

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The Battle Over Broadcast Flags

Media Minutes: February 25, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm022505.mp3

As broadcast media makes the move from analog to digital, corporate content creators are looking to lock down their programming. Currently, it is no crime to tape a TV show or record songs off the radio. That practice, known as time shifting, has been upheld in the courts as proper employment of the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. In the digital realm, however, plans are in the works to encode content data with what is called a broadcast flag. Such a flag embedded in the data would make it impossible for consumers to record anything. The FCC has already ruled that TV receiver and recording devices must recognize and comply with broadcast flag technology by July. But, a court challenge lead by the American Library Association questions the regulations legality. Arguments were held in front of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 22nd.

Art Brodsky of the Open Access advocacy group Public Knowledge, another plaintiff in the case, says the initial reaction from the three judge panel was quite skeptical to the idea that the FCC's authority extended as far as this.

"It was not delegated by Congress to take control over consumer electronics and computing devices. The Commission had never in its history taken such a step before."

The D.C. Circuit has not announced when it may rule on the case. Other freedom of information advocates are conducting workshops to help consumers buy or build their own broadcast flag free technology before the July deadline arrives. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has even released a cookbook, of sorts, providing step by step instructions for constructing an open source, fair use compliant, DTV receiver and recorder. Presumably, building such a system after the July deadline would run afoul of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it a crime to use any technology designed to circumvent a copyright protection system.

ALA: Broadcast Flag rulemaking - http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/broadcastflag/broadcastflag.htm
PK: - http://www.publicknowledge.org/
EFF: HTDV-PVR Cookbook - http://eff.org/broadcastflag/cookbook/

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Cable vs. Public Access

Media Minutes: February 18, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm021805.mp3

Volunteers and friends of community television dodged a bullet at the FCC this month when Commission staff rejected a proposal from the cable industry to kill off local control of cable franchise agreements. For the last four years cable TV's trade lobby has been pushing a plan to deregulate cable systems in forty-one states, calling local oversight unnecessary due to competition from satellite broadcast services. Had the FCC taken local control away it would have most likely have sounded the death knell for public access TV channels. Even so, cable companies are pushing state by state now to free themselves of the requirement to set aside a few channels for community, school and government use.

On February 15th, supporters of public access TV in Arizona rallied at the state capital in Phoenix where Jerry Dobbs of Access Phoenix says two bills are pending that would weaken local control of cable systems.

"There will only be two channels negotiated with any city and those two channels are government and, of course, education. But that means there's no room for us."

Meantime, phone companies are feverishly working to develop their own TV distribution technology now that cable companies have begun offering phone service. SBC, the largest phone company in the country, has launched tests of video over IP technology in select markets and wants to roll it out nationwide by November. And Verizon, which just gobbled up MCI in a $6 billion acquisition this month, is also developing an IPTV plan.

ToC

Why DRM Offends the Sensibilities

by Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#769/07-Mar-05

There are many things in the world that you feel to be true, but you're not exactly sure why. So if you're a thinking person, you're left with this nagging suspicion that you should be better able to come up with a better explanation than "But it's just wrong!"

For many people, myself included, digital rights management (DRM) technologies fall into this category. Even if we have no intention of breaking copyright law by downloading music or movies willy-nilly, and even though many of us earn our livings through the production and sale of copyrighted material, we're still offended that the entertainment and media conglomerates of the world - the Content Cartel, as one commentator has labeled them - are pushing so hard to ensure that every song, every movie, every television show, is wrapped up tight in some form of DRM that controls access to the content and use of it.

Thanks to a talk by Professor Dan Burk of the University of Minnesota Law School that was organized by Cornell University's Information Science Department, I have a significantly better sense of just why DRM makes my skin crawl. If you're generally interested in the topic of DRM and the law, I encourage you to read the draft paper on which Professor Burk based his talk.

<http://www.infosci.cornell.edu/about/Feb02.html>
<http://www.infosci.cornell.edu/about/burk.pdf>

Legal Rules versus Legal Standards

As Professor Burk explained, the law is broken down into two basic aspects: rules and standards. A legal rule is a specific imperative in which all the thought surrounding the details of the law takes place ahead of time. In theory, at least, with a legal rule, the body establishing the rule deliberates on specifics such as boundaries, exceptions, penalties, and so on, and for violators of the resulting law, there is no leeway for interpretation. For instance, consider a drug possession law that states that offenders caught with more than 5 grams of marijuana must serve a 3 year prison term. If some stupid pothead kid falls into that category, regardless of any other circumstances, it's off to prison for 3 years.

Contrast that with a legal standard, which essentially posits a goal and lays down some guidelines for defining illegal behavior, but which leaves significant room for interpretation. So, instead of a rigid law stating exactly what behavior is considered illegal and mandating specific punishment, a law based on a legal standard would declare that drug possession was illegal, but would leave discretion in the hands of the judge as to whether the crime warrants a lesser punishment (in the case of the pothead kid) or greater punishment (in the case of a known drug dealer caught with a kilo of heroin).

I'm no legal scholar, but from a common sense standpoint, I think most people would prefer legal standards to legal rules. After all, laws are created by politicians; would you trust a politician - even one of the honorable ones - working with hypothetical "what if" scenarios to define a crime and a punishment? Or would you prefer that cases be decided by a judge with the actual facts of a specific case at her fingertips? Consider a law that most of you have probably broken in the last few days - the law against speeding. Would you prefer a law that said being caught driving over the speed limit was grounds for an automatic $200 fine, or one that gave the police officer and the traffic court leeway to see that driving a seriously injured person to the emergency room was grounds for dismissal?

As Professor Burk pointed out to me in email subsequently, some people do prefer rules to standards for the simple reason that the rules are predictable, so you know what to expect beforehand. He also noted that some people also become concerned about judges having too much power, although it seems to me that most of the people who complain about "judicial activism" are politicians, and are bent out of shape about having competition.

DRM: Them's the Rules

Let's step back a moment. Creating a law is only one of many ways that societally acceptable behaviors can be encouraged. If society's overall goal is for people to drive more slowly and cautiously, putting speed bumps in the road would have the same effect, as would keeping the road and shoulders narrow. Of course, those strategies have other downsides, such as slowing down ambulances or making it difficult for fire trucks to maneuver, and they don't absolutely prevent the unwanted behavior, they just discourage it. You can still drive quickly over speed bumps or along narrow roads. In this respect, such extra-legal strategies are akin to legal standards - they leave some wiggle room in the system.

DRM technologies fall roughly into this category of extra-legal methods of encouraging behavior, but there's at least one important difference: DRM, like all technology, is an embodiment of a legal rule, not a legal standard. It's simply impossible to create a DRM technology that can evaluate and approve exceptions, no matter how reasonable or legal they may be. If you want to play a song purchased from the iTunes Music Store without stripping the DRM, you must use an iPod or iTunes on an authorized machine; there's no wiggle room at all.

This is a big deal because the law that DRM instantiates is copyright law, and copyright law is distinctly a case of a legal standard. Copyright law allows all sorts of exceptions, including fair use, reproduction by libraries and archives, and musical performances at agricultural or horticultural fairs (I wonder how much that last exemption cost?). Plus, in any copyright infringement case, the judge would have to take into account what was copied, how it was copied, what the intent was in copying, and the harm done to the copyright owner in the marketplace. No matter how hard the Content Cartel tries to conflate the two under the rubric of "piracy," there's a big difference between the downloading of a song from Kazaa and the burning and reselling of thousands of DVDs of the latest Harry Potter movie.

<http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html>

So now you can see why DRM rubs so many people the wrong way. It's turning copyright law, which is at its heart a reasonable legal standard, into a legal rule with no ifs, ands, or buts.

Permission and Forgiveness

There's another aspect to the way DRM stands in for laws. No matter whether we're talking about legal rules or legal standards, you're still free to do whatever you want and then ask for forgiveness if you're caught. As a result, many violations of the law are never noticed, and many others never make it to court because the cost to society of enforcing them is higher than the benefit (a police officer can make the decision that it's more important to get that injured person to the hospital than it is to enforce the speed limit).

However, the corollary to this fact is that our laws thus reach further than we intend. Exceeding the speed limit at any time is technically a violation of the traffic laws, but no one really believes that enforcing the speed limit is so important that cars should automatically inform the police whenever you are speeding. Similarly, every unauthorized copy of a digital media file is technically an infringement of copyright law, but few people outside the RIAA probably believe that every iPod owner should be hauled into court to justify copying music from a Mac to an iPod under fair use.

So in the real world, we're used to asking for forgiveness after committing actions that are technically in violation of a law (and frankly, we're used to getting away with a lot of violations that are too trivial to justify enforcing). In the digital world, however, DRM inverts this system, forcing us instead to ask for permission rather than forgiveness. Anyone who has ever been a teenager knows just how problematic that is - parents seldom agree to the cool stuff. When it comes to technology, the end result of being forced to ask for permission is that experimentation and innovation are stifled. If the original Napster and the other peer-to-peer file sharing networks hadn't scared the hidebound music industry silly, do you think they would ever have agreed to Apple creating the iTunes Music Store?

Because most DRM systems start from the written copyright law and prevent any behavior that would technically be an infringement, they not only fail to account for the exceptions in copyright law, they also ignore our societal expectations about how laws should work in practice. It would be like car manufacturers outfitting all cars with limiters that could determine the posted speed limit on any stretch of road and prevent the car from driving faster than that, for any reason. Talk about grounds for a revolt!

Room to Move?

In fact, there is a little wiggle room with DRM-protected content like songs from the iTunes Music Store, and that's the fact that pretty much every piece of DRM technology has been broken. According to Professor Burk, the peer-to-peer tracking company BigChampagne has found that it takes about 4 minutes after release for a song using copy-prevention technologies to appear on the file sharing networks. So you could purchase a song from the iTunes Music Store, remove the FairPlay DRM in any one of a variety of ways, and use it in some way that would otherwise be impossible.

But there's a problem with creating your own wiggle room by breaking a DRM technology: our old friend the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act); see "The Evil That Is the DMCA" in TidBITS-656_. The DMCA distinguishes between access of content and usage of content (though it's a relatively fuzzy distinction), and forbids any circumvention of access control technologies. However, the DMCA does not forbid the circumvention of usage control technologies; the thought is that this was the loophole Congress left to allow fair use of material that you had legally purchased. However, the problem is that the DMCA also bans the supplying of tools to circumvent either access or usage control technologies. In short, you can legally break any usage control technologies you want, but you can't get any help doing it, nor can you create tools for anyone else to do it. Needless to say, this is a barrier which essentially no one can cross legally.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06997>

There is some hope that the courts have recently seen the danger behind the DMCA. In his talk, Professor Burk called out a pair of cases where appellate courts had ruled against plaintiffs brandishing the DMCA. In one case, Chamberlain v. Skylink, Chamberlain sued to prevent Skylink from reverse engineering the codes necessary to make Chamberlain's garage doors open; Skylink was reverse engineering the codes for use in a universal garage door opener. The court ruled that Congress had no such anti-competitive behavior in mind with the DMCA. And in Lexmark v. Static Control, the court ruled that Lexmark could not use the DMCA to prevent Static Control from reverse engineering the chips necessary to create off-brand toner cartridges for Lexmark printers.

<http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Chamberlain_v_Skylink/>
<http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/Lexmark_v_Static_Control/>

The moral of this story, if there is one, is that DRM technologies are more subtly pernicious in their effect than may be apparent from first glance, due to the way in which they embody legal rules and eliminate the human effect in determining how copyright law should be interpreted and enforced. That realization does little to assuage the annoyance many people feel when their lives are unnecessarily complicated by DRM, but at least it puts into words why DRM is so often annoying, not to mention concerning for the future of technological experimentation and innovation.

   PayBITS<: If Adam's article helped you understand how DRM
   is undermining copyright law and why that's concerning,
   consider a donation to the EFF. <http://eff.org/support/>
   Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>
ToC

The PC Section:

WinInfo Short Takes

Paul Thurrott
http://www.wininformant.com/

Dell Number-One PC Maker Again

Dell was the number-one PC maker again in the fourth quarter of 2004, edging out perennial bridesmaid HP for the top honors. Dell snagged 15.9 percent of the worldwide PC market, compared with 15 percent for HP. Shipments at the PC giant rose 21.1 percent year over year to 8.8 million units. That isn't too shabby when you consider that average PC sales growth for the quarter was about 12.3 percent. For the year, Dell sold 31 million PCs, up 23.1 percent from 2003. HP shipped 27.6 million units, up 12 percent. IBM, Fujitsu, and Acer rounded out the top five.

ToC

Google Releases Picasa 2

What's the best photo-management software on the planet? I'll give you a hint: It's absolutely free and, no, Apple Computer doesn't make it. OK; that's two hints. The best photo-management software is called Picasa, which search giant Google purchased last year. This week, Google released a new version of Picasa--
intriguingly called Picasa 2 because, get this, it's the second version--and it's a humdinger. Picasa 2 does everything more expensive packages such as Adobe PhotoShop Album 2 do and more, including helping you organize and catalog photos, perform simple editing operations, add special effects, and share photos online. Picasa 2 is good stuff. And did I mention it's free? Find out more--and grab that free download--from the Picasa Web site.

ToC

Ironically, CAN-SPAM Law Leads to Rise in Spam

It's been a year since the US government instituted its vaunted but paradoxically named CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, which was designed to stem the flow of junk email (i.e., spam). So you might expect that junk mail volume has fallen. After all, our vigorous and well-run government has proven especially effective over the years at legislating and enforcing technology. I get goose bumps just thinking about legislation such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which is most often used to limit our legal rights to Fair Use copying, and the wonderful Carnivore program over at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But I digress. Oddly enough, since the CAN-SPAM Act went into effect in January 2004, spam traffic in the United States has risen dramatically and now represents about 80 percent of all email traffic, up from 50 percent to 60 percent in pre-CAN-SPAM days. I guess that's why they called it CAN-SPAM, eh? Eh? Anyone? CAN-SPAM actually legalized spamming as long as spammers follow certain rules. So even though Microsoft and other companies have used the act to sue spamming companies and individuals, spam continues to rise. Here's a thought: Rather than let the federal government try to tackle what's essentially a technological problem, why don't we just fix email once and for all? Seriously.

ToC

Microsoft Makes Windows XP x64 RC2 Available for Free Download

Microsoft made the Release Candidate 2 (RC2) version of XP Professional x64 Edition available to the public this week. The release, which is identified as build 1433 (for those you who keep track of such things), will run only on x64- based PCs that use AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, or Intel EM64T-based microprocessors. Microsoft expects to complete XP Pro x64 in March and make it widely available to customers in April, I'm told. When you think about it, that schedule makes a WinHEC 2005 final release of the product likely.

ToC

Windows Beats Linux in Live Security Contest

During a live duel of sorts between backers of Windows 2003 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux during the RSA Conference 2005 this week in San Francisco, a surprising victor emerged. Based on the previously agreed-upon rules, Windows 2003 came out ahead, emerging as the more secure OS. How could this happen, you ask? After agreeing to terms, backers of both OSs evaluated the security- oriented performance of Windows 2003 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux during the past year, looking at such key criteria as number of reported security vulnerabilities and the amount of time that elapsed between the public disclosure of a security flaw and the release of a fix. But doesn't the open- source model practically guarantee that fixes are released more quickly than they are with proprietary OSs? I guess not. Results of the competition will be released next month, but here's the gist: Windows 2003 won every part of the competition. It had fewer flaws overall. The average time between Windows 2003 flaw reports and fixes was less than half that of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Less than half. Does this mean that Windows is more secure than Linux on the server? Not necessarily. But it certainly provides an interesting real-world example of why assumptions about Linux security are completely bogus, as I've often noted.

ToC

When It Comes to Talking to Kids, Microsoft has M4d Sk1llz

This story is so silly I wish I were making it up, but I'm not. Microsoft has created a Web site that explains computer slang to parents. The site is sort of like those 1950s documentaries in which suit-wearing straights explained how "Mary Jane" and "weed" were corrupting America's youth, leading to a lifetime of dependency and crime. What sort of slang is available on the Internet today? How about warez or w4r3z, as in wares or pirated software? Or words such as kewl, woot, and--my favorite--noob. I have one thing to say to Microsoft: D00d, you noobs rox0rs.

ToC

Firefox Downloads Hit 25 Million

And speaking of alternatives to Microsoft products, everyone's favorite Web browser got even more popular this week. The Mozilla Foundation celebrated more than 25 million downloads of its Firefox 1.0 Web browser, a milestone it hit in less than 100 days. An average of 25,000 people download Firefox every week, which isn't too shabby. Firefox is free, of course, and is a much safer Web browser than Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). I strongly recommend it.

ToC

IE 7.0 Will Have Tabbed Browsing

According to a source close to Microsoft, the company is internally testing a build of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7.0 that features tabbed browsing. Last week at the RSA Conference 2005, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates revealed that the company is working on IE 7.0 but mentioned only some of the security oriented functionality that the browser will include, leaving open questions about other often-requested features. Since the show, the company has been notably silent about planned IE 7.0 features and is fending off press requests until it gets closer to the "early summer" beta 1 release. Why the silence? My guess is that Microsoft is concerned about tipping off the makers of open-source browser Mozilla Firefox, which is currently stealing IE market share at an alarming rate. If Microsoft revealed all the IE 7.0 features now, The Mozilla Foundation could simply pick the best features and implement them before IE 7.0 Beta 1 hits.

ToC

Dell CEO: Longhorn Will Help PC Sales Only Temporarily

Dell CEO Kevin Rollins said this week that Microsoft's mid-2006 Longhorn release will only temporarily lift PC sales and won't result in the continued sales upturn that Windows 95 created 10 years ago. "There could be a slight surge, but I don't think it's going to return to the type that we saw in the '90s," Rollins said. The PC market is already healthy and growing steadily, however, and Dell is extremely successful. But don't blame Longhorn for lackluster expectations. Rollins says that market maturity has taken away the rollercoaster-like ride that the PC market used to follow, when every Intel processor release or new Microsoft OS caused a spike. Longhorn, Rollins said, will resonate with consumers because of its pervasive digital media capabilities and support for dual-core processors.

ToC

Dell Disses AMD Again

Nothing in the tech world makes me sadder than Dell's Intel-only stance when it comes to microprocessors. I'm a huge fan of Dell PCs and, until recently, purchased only Dell equipment. But Dell has refused to adopt AMD's microprocessors, especially the superior 64-bit Athlon 64 designs, deciding instead to stick with Intel despite the fact that Intel is only now, more than a year later, finally getting around to introducing 64-bit Pentium 4 chips. This week, Dell CEO Rollins took yet another pot shot at AMD, confirming that, although Dell did examine the possibility of selling PCs with AMD chips, it has now moved firmly back into the Intel camp. That's bad news for AMD, which could use a high-profile conversion from the number-one PC maker to reverse its financial fortunes. And it's bad news for all PC users, really, because AMD, not Intel, is innovating and pushing us to a new platform. I'd like to see AMD rewarded for that, especially after Intel's 64-bit mega-flop, the Itanium, never even attempted to shoot for mainstream market glory.

ToC

Microsoft Changes Windows XP Product Activation Policy for OEM Versions

In a bid to stem piracy, Microsoft is planning to change the way certain XP Product IDs are activated. Previously, all XP Product IDs could be activated via the Internet, semiautomatically, whereas Product IDs that were preactivated required a painful phone call. Now Microsoft is disabling Internet activation for XP copies that are distributed by the top 20 PC makers worldwide. This change doesn't mean that you'll have to make a phone call when you buy a new Dell or HP, however, because the copies of XP on those systems are already activated for you. What this change will prevent is situations in which large numbers of Product Keys are stolen and sold with new PCs from smaller system vendors. Because those vendors can't preactivate the systems, customers will be faced with a phone-activation request and will be told what happened. Then the inevitable legal battles can erupt as God intended.

ToC

Firefox Gets Major Security Update

Users of the excellent Mozilla Firefox Web browser are advised to download the latest release of the browser, Firefox 1.0.1, which includes a major new security update. Firefox 1.0.1 fixes a bug in its International Domain Name (IDN) support and patches two other major security flaws that were recently discovered. Because wide numbers of users are finally adopting Firefox--more than 25 million people have downloaded Firefox 1.0 since November--it's starting to come under attack by hackers. How The Mozilla Foundation responds to these attacks will determine, in part, whether Firefox is a flash in the pan or the browser of the future. My money is on the latter.

<http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=3822:2EA5B>

ToC

Gates: Longhorn Gets Its Groove Back

During a press conference describing Microsoft's acquisition of Groove Networks, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates said yesterday that Groove's collaboration technology will be integrated into Longhorn, the next major Windows release. "We will bring together the peer-to- peer and authentication capabilities Groove has built into its application with the equivalent things we have been incubating at Microsoft to strengthen the platform," Gates said. "Clearly, a big thing with Longhorn is its peer-to-peer capabilities, and Groove will help us pull that together. Groove has some fantastic and unique features we want to fit into the entire Office offering [as well]." Longhorn will feature simple ad hoc networking features and new "castle" functionality, which Microsoft describes as "domains for the home." For more information about upcoming Longhorn technologies, check out my recently updated "The Road to Windows Longhorn 2005" showcase on the SuperSite for Windows.

ToC

Microsoft Won't Confirm WinFS on Windows XP Rumors

Various Web rumor mills have been reporting that Microsoft is going to backport its WinFS storage technology to Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), just as the company has decided to do with the Avalon and Indigo technologies. Microsoft refuted those claims, however, stating that the company is simply investigating the feasibility of such a move. Because WinFS won't ship in final form until early 2007 at the earliest--compared with a mid-2006 release for Avalon and Indigo--supporting XP SP2 might not make much sense. WinFS is a relational database-backed storage engine that sits on top of the NTFS file system. Its exclusion from Longhorn, however, doesn't mean that Longhorn won't feature instant desktop search features. In the aforementioned SuperSite showcase, I describe exactly which search features Longhorn will include.

ToC

Intel Ships 64-Bit Pentium 4 Chips

URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/45474/windowspaulthurrott_45474.html

On Monday, microprocessor giant Intel finally introduced its line of x64- compatible Pentium 4 chips, ushering in an era of mainstream 64-bit computing. The Pentium 4 6xx series chips run at clock speeds of 3.2 GHz to 3.6 GHz, utilize a large 2 MB L2 cache, and offering compatibility with the x64 platform first pioneered by AMD. All that's missing now is an x64-based operating system, and Microsoft is set to release Windows XP Professional x64 Edition within the next several weeks.

"Intel continues to offer new platform features based on what people are actually doing with their PCs, such as using rich media, communicating with friends or family, and being productive in the office," says Rob Crooke, the general manager of Desktop Marketing and Strategic Planning at Intel. "As software for the digital home and office matures and becomes more demanding, desktops [compatible with x64] are well-timed to take advantage of emerging new usage models."

In addition to the new Pentium 4 models, Intel also began shipping a new x64- compatible Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (EE) processor that runs at 3.73 GHz. The company plans to convert its entire x86 line of desktop microprocessors, including those based on the Celeron processor, to x64-compatible technology by the end of 2005. And in the second quarter of 2005, Intel will begin shipping dual-core Pentium 4 chips that provide the processing muscle of two microprocessors. Rival AMD says that it, too, will ship dual core chips in 2005.

In related news, Intel's recently-released Centrino upgrade, code-named Sonoma, is in short supply. According to the chip giant, the new Centrino chipset, which is designed for mobile computers, is being adopted by PC makers more quickly than previously expected.

ToC

Microsoft: Xbox 2 Will Intro HD Era of Video Gaming

URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/WinInfo/Article/ArticleID/45683/WinInfo_45683.html

On Wednesday, Microsoft finally lifted the veil of secrecy about its next generation Xbox video game console (codenamed Xenon), providing concrete information about the device for the first time. The Xbox 2 disclosures were made at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), held in San Francisco.

According to Microsoft corporate vice president J. Allard, Xbox 2 will move video gaming from the "3D Era" to the "HD Era," providing game fans with the lush, high resolution video quality that movie and TV lovers have enjoyed for some time. "In the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor," he said during a GDC keynote address. "New technology and emerging consumer forces will come together to enable the rock stars of game development to shake up the old establishment and redefine entertainment as we know it."

Architecturally, the Xbox 2 features a multi-core processor architecture that was co-developed with IBM and an advanced graphics processor co-developed with ATI. The current Xbox console features a stock Intel Pentium III processor and an NVIDIA graphics chip. Xbox 2 will support gaming technologies such as DirectX and the recently revealed XNA Studio, which is a Visual Studio-based software development environment.

Because it is an HD device, the Xbox 2 will present games in the standard widescreen 16 x 9 aspect ratio, which will be letterboxed on standard definition sets. And with this next generation console, Microsoft will require all Xbox 2 titles to be Xbox Live aware. Xbox Live is Microsoft's hugely popular Xbox online game service.

Allard also showed off the new Xbox 2 Guide, which will provide a user interface, or "entertainment gateway" in Microsoft parlance, that will be consistent across all Xbox 2 game titles and media experiences. Through the guide, Xbox 2 users can connect with their buddies, their games, and their digital media content. The guide also includes access to the following:

Gamer Cards. Similar to the Contact Card feature in MSN Messenger 7, Gamer Cards provide quick-look information about other Xbox Live gamers, and helps players hook up with others who have similar interests and skills.

Marketplace. Essentially an online store for purchasing game add-ons, new game levels, maps, weapons, skins, and even community-created content, the Marketplace will feature game and genre searching.

Micro-transactions. This feature will let game makers charge small amounts of money for in-game services and features, such as new cars for a racing title or new weapons for a first person shooter.

Custom playlists. An online guide that connects players to their own music collections, custom playlists is a somewhat innovative feature that means gamers will no longer be bound to in-game soundtracks but can instead listen to their own tracks while playing games.

Allard said that Microsoft would formally announce the Xbox 2 at the E3 trade show in May. Presumably, at that time, the company will reveal the final name of the product and its expected release date.

ToC

A supercomputer for the home?

By JACK KAPICA
Wednesday, February 23, 2005 , Updated at 12:44 PM EST
URL: http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050223.gtgridironfeb23/BNStory/Technology/

A supercomputer for the home PC? It will happen, says GridIron Software, an Ottawa-based developer of grid computing software.

GridIron has entered into an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to develop a grid computing product called X-Factor that would run on the Windows XP operating system.

GridIron provides a commercial product for distributed grid computing that is embedded directly into software applications. The company says its product can raise the efficiency of computing resources in an enterprise network by as much as 80 or 90 per cent.

In an average corporate system, GridIron says, the typical desktop runs at 10 per cent of its capacity and a server at 30 per cent of capacity.

Connecting several small computers into a grid, sometimes called a distributed computer system, breaks up a job into discrete tasks and distributes each task to different machines on the grid. All the machines, working in concert, can collectively match or exceed the capability of a large, powerful and highly expensive supercomputer.

It's not new technology (It's been used extensively with industrial-strength computers, Linux systems and there's a version for Apple), but it will be new to Windows home users.

Grid computing results in significant productivity and cost benefits when used for applications requiring substantial computing requirements, such as digital content creation.

Typically, however, the resources and expertise required to deploy commercial grid software has limited its use to high-performance computing and large enterprise markets.

GridIron, however, is an application-embedded approach that the company says requires no special skills for end users to deploy and yields benefits with as few as two computers, allowing the benefits of grid computing to be realized for the first time in non-traditional markets, such as digital content creation.

"Our work with Microsoft is further endorsement of the tremendous benefits GridIron's grid computing solution brings to mainstream computer users working with desktop software applications," GridIron CEO Steve Forde said in a statement.

Both Microsoft and Adobe, makers of imaging software, now support GridIron's technology, Mr. Forde added.

ToC

The Linux Section:

iPod 'squeaks' betray software secrets

by Will Knight
16:51 01 March 2005
NewScientist.com news service
URL: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7085

Computer enthusiasts have worked out how to reprogram Apple's iPod music player with their own code using an ingenious acoustic trick.

They adapted the component that generates clicks - or "squeaks" - as a user scrolls through the on-screen menu in order to extract vital information from the latest generation of the device. This allowed them to install an alternative operating system and make their iPods run games and other new programs.

The project began when Nils Schneider, a 17-year-old computer science student from Germany, received an iPod for Christmas. Unlike most new iPod owners, he decided to install Linux - a freely available computer operating system not used as standard in iPods - on his device. The existing version of Linux for the iPod would not install easily, however, as the latest generation of player features new hardware. Undeterred, Schneider decided to figure out how these components worked by himself. He found he could control some parts of the device but not those containing details about the way the unit starts up, which is vital to getting Linux installed.

Piezoelectric component

Instead of going through the usual process of trial and error to work out the code, Schneider realised that listening to it could provide a shortcut. Bernard Leach, a UK software engineer who helped set up the so-called iPod Linux project, had already worked out how to control the piezoelectric component within the iPod that produces the click.

To decipher the bootloader code - the program which allows the iPod to start up - Schneider decided to use Leach's system to play the bootloader code as sound.

"I just tried to encode a single byte as a click sound with different spaces between the clicks," Schneider told New Scientist. "It seemed to work but it was slow so I played around with the code and found out how to make the clicks faster."

After encoding the bootloader data he recorded the resulting sounds onto another PC programmed to convert it back into computer code. The whole process took more than 20 hours and Schneider had to construct a sound proof box for the recording. But, in the end, he had extracted the information intact.

Serious purpose

This made it possible to get Linux running on the device, along with a variety of compatible software programs such as simple games and audio recorders.

"After extracting the bootloader it was only a couple of days' worth of work to get iPod Linux booting," Leach told New Scientist. "Otherwise it would have taken months."

Leach explains that the iPod Linux project is partly for fun but also has a more serious purpose. "It changes the iPod from a consumer device, where the manufacturer sets the rules about what it will and won't do, into a general purpose device," he says. "Much of the interest has been to develop various games, but things like a simple calculator, drawing program and even a GPS/mapping interface are all possible."

ToC

Wine maker relaxed over Microsoft's 'blockade'

Ingrid Marson
February 23, 2005, 13:00 GMT
URL: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39188944,00.htm

A company that sells products based on Wine, an open source application that allows users to run Windows applications under Linux, said it isn't worried that Microsoft's anti-piracy application appears to be blocking the emulation software.

Jeremy White, chief executive at CodeWeavers, which sells Wine-based products, said this week that he wasn't worried about the issue because Microsoft would face legal action if it attempted to tie Office and Windows too tightly together.

I think people have blown it out of proportion because it's not a problem," said White. "If they [Microsoft] start saying you can only get Microsoft Office updates if you are running the Windows operating system then that would expose them to legal repercussions as they would be tying one monopoly product to another. We would be delighted if they did this -- we could sue them and become rich."

Last month Microsoft said from the middle of 2005 customers will need to verify that their copies of Windows are genuine before downloading updates and add-on tools, through a programme, called Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA). WGA uses a validation tool to check whether a particular version of Windows is genuine, which is already running on the Microsoft site.

Wine developer Ivan Leo Puoti subsequently warned on a mailing list that the WGA validation program appears to be blocking Wine. The problem affected Wine users emulating various versions of Windows, apart from Windows XP.

This appears to be a deliberate attempt to block Wine, as a Wine configuration key was found in an application used as part of the validation process, according to Puoti. "Even if this is only an initial attempt, they [Microsoft] appear to want to discriminate Wine users," said Puoti.

Web site Slashdot posted information on the this issue last week, which lead to concerned postings from some Wine users who were worried they would not be able to download updates to their licensed version of Microsoft Office.

"I don't use Wine to run Windows OS [operating system], I run it to run some (work required) Office apps and some games," said one posting. "The Office apps were purchased and presumably have rights to be updated the same as any other user of Office apps. Same with the games. But Microsoft is saying that, because I am using a valid purchased version of their software on an OS other than Windows (by using Wine) they will not allow updates from their servers."

White believes this issue shows that Microsoft is worried about Wine, which he believes is good news for his company.

"The reason we love this is because this shows that Microsoft is aware of Wine at very high levels," said White. "For us it's exciting -- it is an acknowledgement of us as a threat. Microsoft does not want the world to know how terrified of Wine they are."

White's main concern is that people who hear about this issue may think that they cannot run Microsoft Office on Linux, which would discourage people from moving to the open source operating system. "Microsoft would love it if people thought that," said White.

This is not the only concern that has been raised against Microsoft's WGA programme. Last month research group Gartner said the programme will result in more security problems as there will be more unpatched Windows systems available on the Internet.

Microsoft had not responded to requests for comment at the time of writing.

ToC

The Macintosh Section:

Apple unveils more iPods

New digital music players include models with color screens, a mini with larger storage capacity.

February 23, 2005 - 12:59 PM EST
by Katie Benner, CNN/Money staff writer
URL: http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/23/technology/personaltech/apple_new/index.htm?cnn=yes

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Apple Computer Inc. introduced new versions of its hugely popular iPod on Wednesday.

The No. 1 seller of portable digital music players introduced a six-gigabyte iPod mini and 30- and 60-gigabyte models of the iPod photo with a color screen.

The new offerings also include a four-gigabyte model for $199 -- down from $249 previously -- and the new six-gigabyte model for $249.

"Clearly, Apple is responding to competition, because they wouldn't make a move like this if there weren't competitors," said Gene Munster, a research analyst with Piper Jaffray.

"This keeps the company a step ahead, and really leaves no room for competitors to successfully grab market share," Munster added.

Apple currently dominates the music player market, with more than 90 percent of the U.S. market for hard-drive based machines, according to market research firm NPD Group.

Apple will likely see a dramatic pick up in iPod mini sales due to the price reduction, said Charlie Wolf, a hardware analyst at Needham & Co. Wolf.

"For whatever reason, $199 tends to be a magical price point," Wolf said.

The new mini models have increased battery life and are available in kicked-up colors, Apple said in a statement; and they aren't the only item Apple is upgrading.

The new 30-gigabyte model of the iPod photo sells for a suggested $349 and holds up to 7,500 songs, while the 60GB model, for $449, holds up to 15,000. Will shuffles sag?

Needham and Co.'s Wolf said that any reduction in the price gap between the mini and Apple's recently released iPod Shuffle, will likely take a bite out of the lower-priced music player's sales. The iPod shuffle sells for as low as $99.

"The margins on the mini are far higher than the shuffle, so if the mini steals sales, it's to Apple's benefit," said Wolf.

But most analysts were not overly worried about any negative impact a cheaper iPod mini will have on the shuffle.

According to Piper Jaffray, the company can't keep the shuffles in stock. The Apple store in Manhattan recently sold more than 300 of the new, flash-based music players in two to three hours, and all stores are reporting shuffle shortages, Munster said.

Apple specialist resellers have told Piper Jaffray that they have not received any iPod shuffles and that numerous customers are calling daily inquiring about whether there are any in stock.

Apple (up $2.70 to $87.99, Research) has seen shares almost quadruple in value over the last year on the success of its iPod music players, jumping from about $21 to more than $88. The stock was up more than 3 percent in midday Nasdaq trading Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the company announced a 2-for-1 split of its common stock.

ToC

Apple Freshens iPod mini, iPod photo Lines

by Mark H. Anbinder <mha@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#768/28-Feb-05

Apple expanded its wildly successful iPod family of portable music players last week, lowering prices and adding new capacities to the iPod mini and iPod photo product lines.

With its 4 GB capacity and new, lower price of $200 in the U.S., the basic iPod mini, which also gains extended battery life (the company claims "up to 18 hours"), fills the midrange gap between the $100-$150 iPod shuffle and the previously pricier models starting at $250. A new 6 GB model takes over the $250 price point. The new iPod minis are available now worldwide in metallic silver, pink, blue, and green hues (gold, one of the original iPod mini colors, apparently lost its luster).

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07494>
<http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/>

At the same time, Apple is offering a slimmer 30 GB model of its iPod photo, featuring a color screen and video connector for photo slide shows for $350, down $150 from the price of the original (now discontinued) 40 GB iPhoto photo. The 60 GB unit drops from $600 to $450. Both models are available immediately worldwide. (The 40 GB Click Wheel iPod has also quietly disappeared from Apple's lineup, leaving the original lineage with only the 20 GB model, at $300, and the 20 GB U2 Special Edition model for $350.)

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07877>
<http://www.apple.com/ipodphoto/>

The new lineup is also notable for what's missing. Both the iPod mini and iPod photo models come with USB 2.0 cables for transferring data and recharging the internal battery. If you want to use FireWire, you need to buy an optional $20 iPod Dock Connector to FireWire cable. A $20 iPod photo AV cable is needed to view photos on a television, or the $30 iPod photo Dock offers an S-video connector (as well as audio out and the Dock connector).

A new $30 iPod Camera Connector, expected to ship in late March, will enable photographers to free up limited camera storage card space by transferring photos to the iPod (check Apple's site to verify compatibility with your camera before buying). Once transferred, the photos can be displayed on the iPod photo's built-in color screen or, after previously being connected to a computer, on a television through the unit's video connector, and they can later be moved to a Mac or Windows PC.

ToC

Office 2004 for Mac 11.1.1 Update Improves Stability

TidBITS#769/07-Mar-05

Microsoft has released an update to the English and Japanese versions of Microsoft Office 2004 (French, German, Italian, and Swedish versions still to come). All Office programs gain improved display of inserted PICT images and correct importing of black-and-white scans from Xerox scanners. In addition, Excel 2004 features improved performance when calculating array formulas that include a user-defined function, PowerPoint 2004 better handles opening presentations with invalid font information, and there's a fix that could cause Office 2004 programs to freeze when users with Adobe Acrobat opened documents containing forms created in Visual Basic for Applications. The 17.4 MB update is available via the Microsoft AutoUpdate utility (look in your Applications folder) or as a stand-alone download. [ACE]

<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/autoupdate/description/AUOffice20041111EN.htm>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/office2004/update_11.1.1.xml>

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Security Update 2005-002 Fixes Java

TidBITS#768/28-Feb-05

Apple has released Security Update 2005-002 to eliminate a vulnerability through which an untrusted Java applet could gain increased privileges and potentially execute arbitrary code. The fix applies only to Java 1.4.2 (and thus Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later); previous Java releases are not affected. The update is available via Software Update and as a separate 16.4 MB download. [ACE]

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300980>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2005002macosx1034orlater.html>

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Firefox 1.0.1 Security Update Released

TidBITS#768/28-Feb-05

The Mozilla Organization last week released Firefox 1.0.1 for all platforms, which fixes a number of small security holes or potential problems, notably the homograph spoofing problem we've talked about recently in TidBITS (see "Don't Trust Your Eyes or URLs" in TidBITS-766_). The updated version includes a new preference, network.IDN_show_punycode, which is set to true. (To access this preference, enter "about:config" in the Location field and press Return; it's probably easiest to then type "IDN" in the Filter field to display the preference.)

<http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/all.html>
<http://www.mozilla.org/projects/security/known-vulnerabilities.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07983>

Instead of seeing the actual display of international characters in domain names, you'll see the punycode or Unicode-to-Roman mapping when you visit a site that is attempting to pass itself off as another site using this technique. The Shmoo Group, which exposed this visual vulnerability, have a demonstration on their site. The second o in shmoo in the links at the top of that page is a homograph, or a letter that looks like another letter. Before Firefox 1.0.1, the links and the destination of the fake domains at the top of that page would read "http://www.theshmoogroup.com/". Now they appear as "http://www.xn--theshmogroup-bgk.com/".

<http://www.shmoo.com/idn/>

The English version of Firefox 1.0.1 for Mac OS X is an 8.7 MB download; note that not all language versions have been updated yet.

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Two-Fingered Blackout PowerBook Dropping

by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#769/07-Mar-05

I asked Apple to loan me a new PowerBook so I could test first-hand the hardware features they added in the latest refresh a few weeks ago: the scrolling trackpad, the Sudden Motion Sensor for hard drive protection, and increased backlighting for the keyboard. You can read about these features in Apple's marketing materials, but it's nice to test them first hand.

<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/>

Using the scrolling trackpad is more natural than it may sound. You use two fingers to gesture across the trackpad to simulate a mouse's scroll wheel, which works horizontally as well as vertically; the sensor has no trouble telling the difference between one finger or two. (I've been waiting since college for 3D gestural recognition; a scholar-in-resident spent a year working on that, but obviously we're not there yet.)

Apple says the keyboard backlighting is up to 10 times brighter than in the previous models, and, man, are they right. In a fully darkened room in the back of my office, I kept hitting the brighter-backlight function key and the room got brighter and brighter. It's so bright, in fact, you'll set it below maximum for most situations.

As for the Sudden Motion Sensor, which detects quick movement and locks the hard drive heads, you may ask, did I drop the PowerBook from a great height? Hey, this is a loaner, and I'm responsible for returning it intact. So, no. But I did shake it and drop it in my hands, and it surely did pause and restart the drive without a skip. For a more entertaining test of the Sudden Motion Sensor, see Amit Singh's exploration of the sensor's capabilities, including software that adapts to the PowerBook's position (such as a self-adjusting window that stabilizes itself according to how the laptop is tilted).

<http://www.kernelthread.com/software/ams/>

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Mac mini impressions

From: Kevin van Haaren <kevin@vanhaaren.net>
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:25:22 -0800
TidBITS Talk Discussion List" <tbtalk.tidbits.com>

So I've been using my mini for a whole weekend now and thought I'd upload some impressions.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07953>

  1. 256mb is way too little. Highly recommend you upgrade to 512mb at least. I went to 1GB. Performance doesn't seem to be significantly higher than my 667 MHz PowerBook was (I got the 1.4 GHz model.) But I'm not a huge user of processor intensive applications (yet, I'm hoping to edit and burn some DVDs with iMovie and iDVD.) I had 1GB in my PowerBook too.

  2. if you've read Dan Frakes' MacWorld article on opening a mini, and you've read Adam's tidbits article on upgrading a Tivo, and you still want to try it -- go for it. But be prepared to scratch your mini

<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/macminiinside/index.php>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06918>

I found getting the case off my Series 1 Tivo took more brute force than the mini, but the mini was more stressful because i simultaneously thought I was going to bend my putty knives and break the tabs holding the case on. Get a bright flashlight and examine how much force it takes to get the little holders to bend away from the case. It was a lot for me.

I used 4.5" metal putty knives, the thinnest I could find. Be sure to get the thinnest -- even with the ones I bought when I inserted into the case it scraped the label off the knives.

I don't have the need at the moment, but I would be reluctant to upgrade the hard drive on my own. It looks to be as hard as replacing the Ethernet port in a cube (the longest disassembly I've done to date.)

  1. I miss my PowerBook. the mini is transportable, not portable. It isn't easy to move it around the house and use anywhere. Currently it sits on the shelves with my Tivo and AV components. I use Apple's Bluetooth keyboard and a Logitech wireless trackball. The only cable snaking over to it is the video cable.

  2. Apple's Bluetooth keyboard is nice. The keys are OK, I'd probably prefer a Tactile Pro keyboard (but there isn't a Bluetooth version), but it has a solid weight on my lap. I thought it would be light and flimsy like most keyboards but it really stays in place.

  3. Does nobody make a Bluetooth trackball? I couldn't find one at microcenter, all the cordless trackballs have their own RF receiver. I didn't really want another thingy hanging off the mini. Actually what I really want is a Bluetooth keyboard with trackpad built-in using the keys the Tactile Pro uses. Then I could really use the mini from anywhere in the living room and only have to keep track of one device (oh heck, and build in a universal remote too 8-).

  4. I bought a transcend 2.5" Firewire enclosure to mount my PowerBook harddrive and recover files onto the mini. I was really surprised at the package. For $40 I got a small case that holds the enclosure and both Firewire and USB cables, plus a mini cd for windows 98 drivers (new OSes already support the drive.) After I recover all my files I may start carrying this me when I travel for use with work laptops.

  5. One of the downsides to my PowerBook was peripherals. I really hated hooking up peripherals, even my iPod. I tended to use the PowerBook on the couch and having a bunch of Firewire hard drives and Bluetooth dongles and my video to Firewire converter was a pain. With the mini in one place most of the time I can hook up a bunch of stuff and just leave it.

Overall I'm very happy for the price, but in the long run I think this is going to be more of a digital hub and future computing will be done with a new PowerBook once I save up the $$$.

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Upgrading an Old iMac to Mac OS X

by William Porter <wp@polytrope.com>
TidBITS#765/07-Feb-05

Just before Christmas, with a little help from my friends in the TidBITS community, I upgraded two old iMacs to Mac OS X. When Jaguar was first released, I purchased the Mac OS X Family Pack (5 installations) with these machines in mind, but I had put off upgrading the iMacs for a couple of reasons. Somewhere I had picked up the idea that it is possible to kill the iMac if you don't upgrade the iMac's firmware properly before installing Mac OS X. I was also afraid that Panther would run so slowly on a G3-based iMac that I would regret having installed it. Luckily, it turns out that my fears were entirely unfounded. Both upgraded machines run just fine. As Geoff Duncan pointed out in TidBITS a while back, while the firmware upgrade is critically important, it's not hard to do it right. Anyway, I am here to report that you don't have to be an expert to upgrade an old iMac yourself, and when you're done, your iMac will have a new lease on life.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06973>

The two iMacs I upgraded were both 2001-vintage slot-loading models: a 350 MHz model with 192 MB of RAM (the original 64 MB plus a 128 MB upgrade DIMM), and a 400 MHz model with only the original 64 MB of RAM. These two machines presented somewhat different problems. The first machine, running Mac OS 9.0, was sitting in my office gathering dust; its hard disk contained nothing that needed to be saved. With this one, I wanted to run Mac OS X simply so it could run the Mac OS X applications I rely on everywhere else. The other machine, running Mac OS 9.1, belongs to my mother, and I wanted to upgrade it partly so she could use modern applications like iPhoto and Mail, and so I could more easily support her when she had problems. This machine's hard disk stored all her files (email, photos, some word processing) and one important Mac OS 9-only application, Stitch Painter 2. I was pleased to learn from a rep for Cochenille, Stitch Painter's developer, that a Mac OS X-native version is in the works, but because it's not expected for many months, I decided that keeping Classic on this machine would be necessary. And although I didn't download it until the end of the process, before doing anything, I also confirmed that a Mac OS X driver exists for her HP combination fax-copier-printer. (Drivers for this printer do not appear to be included with the Panther installation.)

<http://www.cochenille.com/stitch.html>
<http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html>

In what follows, I have stuck fairly close to what I did with my own two machines. Before you set out to upgrade your own iMac, make sure you spot the differences between your machine and those I upgraded, and do a bit of research yourself to make sure you aren't missing something important to your own situation.

What I Needed

Apple recommends that machines running Mac OS X have at least 128 MB of RAM. I knew that more would be better, so I ordered 512 MB DIMMs from my favorite memory vendor, Crucial Technology ($103 each on 04-Jan-05), one for each iMac. These iMacs have two memory slots, so I knew I'd be able to use both the new 512 MB module and an old module, and end up with a decent amount of RAM. [Editor's note: Ironically, I was also upgrading an old iMac to Mac OS X over Christmas, but my grandparents' iMac was a tray-loading 333 MHz model (Rev. D), and apparently only some models of that iMac can see a 256 MB DIMM in the top slot, whereas others are limited to a 128 MB DIMM. I lucked out, so my grandparents' iMac ended up with 288 MB of RAM, which turned out to be plenty for their Mac OS X needs. -Adam]

<http://www.crucial.com/>
<http://www.lowendmac.com/imacs/imac-d.shtml>

I also had to figure out what version of the iMac firmware my machines needed. At first, I found the article on Apple's Web site a bit confusing, but with the help of Apple's System Profiler, a Mac OS 9 utility present on both of my machines, I was able to determine current firmware version and also the processor speed of each machine. The processor speed helped me find the right row in the Apple chart for my machines. Both of my iMacs needed to be upgraded to firmware version 4.1.9. Your iMac may need a different firmware version, or its firmware may already be up to date, so be sure to research your own situation carefully.

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75130>

I discovered that the 4.1.9 firmware updater wouldn't work on my iMac because it was running Mac OS 9.0 and the firmware updater requires 9.1 or 9.2. Lucky for me, I'm a packrat and had the box for Mac OS 9.1 handy. Even if I couldn't find the 9.1 CD, I could have downloaded the 71 MB Mac OS 9.1 upgrade from Apple.

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75103>

The last thing required for the upgrade process was time. It took several hours to perform each of these upgrades. My iMac had to be upgraded twice (Mac OS 9.0 to 9.1, then 9.1 to Mac OS X). My mom's iMac didn't need the 9.1 installation, but I did spend some time backing up her files and cleaning out some other stuff.

Step by Step

Once I had collected all the ingredients, I proceeded with the recipe as follows. Note that the sequence of the steps here is important.

  1. BACKUP DATA AND RECORD SETTINGS. One of these machines had no important files on it, and I was content to lose everything on the hard disk as a result of the Mac OS X installation. But the other machine (my mother's) did have valuable files, so backing up was the first step. I enabled file sharing on this iMac, then copied its files over the LAN to my PowerBook G4. (As it turned out, no files were lost during the upgrade process on this machine, but I don't perform even simple updates without backing up. The last thing I wanted to do was explain to my mom that I'd lost all her knitting patterns!)

  2. SAVE IMPORTANT PASSWORDS AND SETTINGS. I talked to my mother to make sure she had a record of information that would be needed after the upgrade account names and passwords for her Internet access provider and various Web sites she used to do banking, buy groceries online, etc.

  3. UPGRADE TO MAC OS 9.1. As I mentioned above, I had to do this on my iMac because the firmware update requires 9.1. My mom's iMac was already running 9.1, so I didn't have to do this on her machine.

  4. UPDATE THE FIRMWARE. I downloaded the firmware update from Apple, read the instructions, and followed them carefully. The only tricky part here was that the firmware updater asked me to perform a maneuver I'd never performed before holding down the programmer's button on the side of the iMac while powering the machine back on and then waiting for a long alert sound (more of a toot than a beep) before letting go. I recommend that you print the instructions out and do a dry run of the process to make sure you understand what buttons you are supposed to press and when.

    <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60385>

  5. INSTALL MORE RAM. This involved opening the back of the iMac, removing the smaller memory module completely, moving the larger module into slot #2, and placing the new module into slot #1. (If you place the iMac face down on a clean cloth, the #1 slot will be the upper slot as you peer into the upgrade area.) When I finished the upgrades, my iMac had 640 MB of RAM (512 plus 128) and my mom's had 576 (512 plus 64). I wish my hands were a bit smaller, because the iMac doesn't give you much room to move. And I was confused for a few minutes during one of the installations, because I was trying to insert the new module upside down. But otherwise, upgrading memory in an iMac is straightforward and the only "tool" required is a coin to unlock the iMac's upgrade panel. Keys here: Wash your hands first, work in a well-lighted place, be patient, discharge static from your body, don't touch anything inside the iMac except the catches on the memory modules and the plastic edges of the modules themselves, and remember which side is up when you put a new module into the slot. In short, follow the instructions at the first link below or as provided with the memory module. [Editors note: It appears that installing RAM in an older iMac is more involved, but I too found it straightforward after following Apple's instructions at the second link below. -Adam]

    <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=95144>
    <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=43012>

  6. INSTALL MAC OS X 10.3. On one machine I did an "Erase and Install". On the other machine, I installed Mac OS X over Mac OS 9 and the existing files. Because neither iMac has a large hard disk, I performed a custom install in both cases and told the installer not to install unneeded language modules. For a bit of good general advice on performing Mac OS X upgrades and updates, I recommend Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Upgrading to Panther" ebook.
  7. <http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/panther/upgrading.html>

  8. UPDATE CLASSIC TO MAC OS 9.2.1. I didn't install Classic on my iMac at all, but I did keep Mac OS 9 on my mom's machine, which was running 9.1 originally. The 9.2.1 upgrade provides better compatibility between Classic and Mac OS X. The CD for this installation was in the box for one of the earlier versions of Mac OS X; you can download it from Apple; or you can use the Software Update control panel in Mac OS 9 to download and install it.
  9. <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75288>

  10. UPDATE MAC OS X TO 10.3.7. I ran Software Update (from the Apple menu) and installed all the appropriate updates to take each machine from the original 10.3 to 10.3.7. Software Update also updated many of the Apple applications such as Safari, Mail, and iPhoto. I had to do this a couple times; apparently Software Update can't perform all the updates at once. For some advice on using Software Update, take a look at a recent article on John Gruber's Daring Fireball site.
  11. <http://daringfireball.net/2004/12/software_update>

  12. RECONFIGURE. I provided the Mac OS X Network preference pane with the info needed by each iMac to connect to the Internet.

  13. UPDATE DRIVERS, APPLICATION SOFTWARE, TRANSFER DATA. On my mom's iMac, I downloaded and installed the Mac OS X driver for her all-in-one HP printer. I moved her old data into her user's Documents folder in Mac OS X, and I imported all her old photos into iPhoto. I was also able to import her old Internet Explorer bookmarks into Safari. When it was all done, I tested both machines online and also ran a few applications such as iPhoto and Safari.

Merry Christmas

Everything works great! It was almost like getting a new iMac for Christmas. I had been toying with the idea of buying processor upgrades or larger hard disks for these machines, but now I don't think I'll bother. (If you want to go beyond simply upgrading the operating system, see the following article from Macworld online, which explains how to upgrade both memory and the hard disk on an old iMac.) I haven't tried editing video on either machine and don't plan to, but for email, the Web, iPhoto, and the few other applications I intended to run on these machines, everything seems very good. I'm mainly sorry I waited so long to upgrade these elderly iMacs to Mac OS X.

<http://www.macworld.com/2001/10/bc/howtoimac/>

[William Porter is a former classics professor who, in 1998, gave up academic tenure to pursue "other interests," including developing database applications. An Associate Member of the FileMaker Solutions Alliance, Will is currently working on a book about FileMaker Pro 7 for No Starch Press.]

  PayBITS: Do you have an aging iMac in need of updating? If William's
  article helped you out, onsider sending him a few bucks via PayBITS!
  <https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=wp%40polytrope.com>
  Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>
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The CUCUG Section:

February General Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

February 17, 2005 - President Rollins began the meeting with the traditional introduction of officers. He then said the PC SIG would be looking at the Hawking network camera this evening. The Mac SIG would be an open discussion of whatever comes up.

Richard talked about the Mac Mini and his experience with the all in one G5.

Norris Hansell asked about battery life in wireless keyboards. He said he had changed the double A batteries in his keyboard once in 8 months. However, he's had to change the batteries in his mouse about every 3 weeks. He's noticed the batteries in his laptop gradually from 99% to 94% over time. Emil Cobb advised him to use it until it goes dead - rechargable batteries have a memory. You have to totally drain them to get them to return to total charge. Richard Rollins said you can freeze them to get them to bounce back.

There was a discussion of wireless connecting.

New member Marianne Venute had a question about a problem she was having viewing an iPhoto disc on a PC. It was doable but inconvenient. Emil Cobb said that is the nature of the beast. The way he gets around this is to create a separate disc of just the JPG images which the PC can handle more easily.

Another member had a question about a radio interference problem he was having from his son's PC when he was trying to listen to AM580. The members narrowed it down to a case that wasn't properly shielded. Another alternative was to try a battery powered radio, since the interference might be coming in through the power cord.

Norris Hansell informed the members about a slick feature of Photoshop CS. He can make a Photoshop PDF slideshow from a folder containing multiple format picture files with just one click. It makes showing his picture collection very easy. Edwin Hadley noted that GraphicConverter, a Mac only program, also has a slideshow feature. Picture and Fax Viewer, included with Windows XP, also does a fairly decent job.

President Richard Rollins then informed everyone the Computer Deli had offered the club several items to support our efforts. We then had a drawing for two $25 gift certificates. George Krumins and Jerry Feltner were the lucky winners.

In a discussion just before the break, it was stated that Weather Bug is spyware infested. Weather Pulse is a good replacement. Tom Purl said the Forecaster plug in for Firefox was good.

As this was Tom Purl's last meeting for the foreseeable future, I'd like to thank him for all his hard work in running the Linux SIG and wish him the best of luck in his new job. All the best, Tom. Keep in touch.

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February Board Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

The February meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, February 22, 2005, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Emil Cobb, Phil Wall, Kevin Hopkins, Rich Hall and Kevin Hisel.

Emil Cobb: In the absense of President Richard Rollins, Emil conducted the Board meeting. Emil reported that we had 18 members in attendance at the last meeting.

Phil Wall: Due to Tom Purl getting a new job and moving out of the area, CUCUG was in immediate need of a new Linux SIG chairman. Phil has graciously volunteered to step into the breech and be our Linux SIG Chairman. Phil asked about the duties he had to take on. He asked about the procedure of sending news to the newsletter. During discussions of the Linux SIG, Board members expressed their interest in the Linux subject and Phil offered to do an "Everything You Wanted To Know About Linux" session.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin talked about the Starship CUCUG Forums. He also noted that the CUCUG web site main page needed to be updated, which Kevin Hisel did as we talked.

Kevin discussed the topic of Palm PDAs with Emil.

Kevin was asked to send a current membership list to Kevin Hisel and Emil Cobb by the 26th.

Rich Hall: Rich reported that we had three renewals and one new membership at the last meeting. He also reported that we owed no taxes for last year. And one final Treasury housekeeping item, Rich informed the Board he was going to shred some outdated documents and asked if anyone wanted them saved. He was given the go ahead to clean up his archive.

Kevin Hisel: Kevin had no new business at this meeting.

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The Back Page:

The CUCUG is a not-for-profit corporation, originally organized in 1983 to support and advance the knowledge of area Commodore computer users. We've grown since then, now supporting PC, Macintosh and Linux platforms.

Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The FBC-CS is located at 1602 N. Prospect Avenue in Savoy, on the NE corner of Burwash and Prospect. To get to the the First Baptist Church from Champaign or Urbana, take Prospect Avenue south. Setting the trip meter in your car to zero at the corner of Kirby/Florida and Prospect in Champaign (Marathon station on the SW corner), you only go 1.6 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. The Savoy village sign (on the right) will be at the 1.4 mile mark. Burwash is at the 1.6 mile mark. The Windsor of Savoy retirement community is just to the south; Burwash Park is to the east. Turn east (left) on Burwash. The FBC-CS parking lot entrance is on the north (left) side of Burwash. Enter by the double doors at the eastern end of the building's south side. A map can be found on the CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html. The First Baptist Church of Champaign is also on the web at http://www.fbc-cs.org .

Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at mid year.

Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. All recent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user group exchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. As a matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.

For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):

    President/WinSIG:   Richard Rollins      469-2616
    Vice-Pres/MacSIG:   Emil Cobb            398-0149               e-cobb@uiuc.edu
    Secretary/Editor:   Kevin Hopkins        356-5026
kh2@uiuc.edu
    Treasurer:          Richard Hall         344-8687              rjhall1@uiuc.edu
    Corp.Agent/Web:     Kevin Hisel          406-948-1999           contact/index.html
    Linux SIG:          Phil Wall            352-5442           phil.wall@pobox.com

Email us at http://www.cucug.org/ contact/index.html, visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/ .

CUCUG
912 Stratford Dr.
Champaign, IL
61821

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