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The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, June 16th, 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 June 16 gathering is again open for anything anyone wants to bring in.
ToC
We'd like to welcome back renewing members Jim Berger, David Witt and Anderson Yau.
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
By GREG SANDOVAL, AP Technology Writer
URL: http://tinyurl.com/dlcuc
SAN FRANCISCO - In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the United States in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says.
After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year.
San Diego-based Current Analysis does not follow worldwide personal computer sales.
Spurring demand for notebooks is their overall price drop as quality has improved, says Sam Bhavnani, senior analyst for Current Analysis. "Just a few years ago, the performance of notebooks was nowhere near where it is today," he said.
Notebook prices fell 17 percent during the past year while desktop prices dipped only 4 percent. Some of the features common in most notebooks are longer-lasting batteries, CD burners and wireless capability.
The computing crowd is increasingly requiring mobility.
Last year, 80 percent of notebooks offered wireless; this year, it's 95 percent, Current Analysis says.
"There used to be a time when people expected a reply to an e-mail within a couple of days. Now they expect a response within 24 hours. People want to stay connected wherever they are," said Bhavnani.
Notebooks will continue to grab bigger shares of the PC market, Bhavnani predicted. "You're not going to see the desktop go away though."
ToC
URL: http://www.freepress.net/action/sessionsbill
A bill just introduced in the House could destroy universal, affordable Internet access everywhere.
The "Preserving Innovation in Telecom Act" (H.R. 2726) would let big cable and telecom companies shut down Community Internet and municipal broadband projects being planned across the country. The bill would prevent state or local governments from providing "any telecommunications service, information service or cable service" anywhere a corporation offers a similar service.
This outrageous legislation was introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) - a former SBC executive - and is a blatant effort by the telecom and cable companies to cement their monopoly control of communications at the expense of innovation, competition, and local choice.
We need your help to stop H.R. 2726. Please send a letter to your representative now.
ToC
Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm060305.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm060305.pdf
[Media Minutes content is produced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license; see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ for more information.]
The smoke is clearing from a showdown in Texas that pit phone companies against cable TV giants and put local control over next-generation networks at risk. SBC and Verizon led a lobbying charge to ram through legislation that would have allowed phone companies to negotiate state-wide franchise agreements to offer TV service over their networks. Franchise agreements are essentially leasing contracts which specify how much companies must pay to run cables and wires along public rights-of-way. Cable companies negotiate franchise agreements on a community-by-community basis; the SBC/Verizon proposal would have dramatically simplified the negotiation process for the phone companies by putting it at the state level, but at the expense of local governments, which would have lost the right to charge for access to their own rights-of-way. Opposition from cities, towns and concerned citizens set the Texas House and Senate at odds over details in the bill, and the legislative session came to a close over the Memorial Day weekend without an agreement. This battle was doubly significant because it took place in Texas, SBC's home state, where it employs one lobbyist for every two lawmakers in Austin.
Now some of that lobbying might is focused on Washington, D.C., where congressman Pete Sessions, a Republican from Texas, just introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would prohibit local governments from building out their own broadband networks and running them like any other utility. For the record, Pete Sessions spent 16 years working for SBC - first as a manager, then executive - before embarking on his political career, and after a decade-plus in Congress SBC ranks as the congressman's number-two corporate donor in terms of dollars.
Other congressional activity expected this summer involves broadcast television's transition from analog to digital. About 700 local TV stations now broadcast in digital, and lawmakers are expected to take up legislation that would mandate a hard deadline for turning off the old analog signals. Large chunks of spectrum freed up by the transition could then be auctioned for other uses, netting billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury. A preliminary proposal in the House would turn off analog TV at the end of 2008. But there's lots of disagreement over exactly how to make the switch, including whether the government should subsidize the transition for those who can't afford new DTVcompatible sets, and how much of the reclaimed spectrum will be set aside for public safety and other non-commercial uses.
One person with a unique perspective about the recent controversies in the world of public broadcasting is Jack Mitchell. He was National Public Radio's first employee, cocreated the program All Things Considered, and spent three terms as chair of NPR's Board of Directors in the mid-to-late 1980s. He's now a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and just published a book on NPR's history. Mitchell says there's not a lot of influence the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, can exert on public radio directly, given that NPR is funded primarily through its affiliate stations. However, he's very displeased that the chair of CPB is also running the government's international media initiatives like the Voice of America.
[jmitchell1] :21 "To have the same person essentially overseeing our propaganda operations abroad and then also be in charge of public broadcasting internally I think is outrageous, and it makes the assumption that public broadcasting in this country is supposed to be the same as our overseas operations. And there is a difference - there's a big difference."
Back in Washington, new bills in Congress would establish a special fund for public broadcasting, primarily to help public radio and TV stations make the conversion from analog to digital. While this new money source would be separate from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, it's not yet clear just how it would be managed.
Sometimes truth calls from unexpected places. At a mostly-scripted forum on Social Security held May 24 th in New York, President George W. Bush suffered a truthful moment, as he reiterated a prime talking point of his plan to partially privatize the Social Security system.
[gwb052405] :18 "If you've retired you don't have anything to worry about. That's the third time I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times. See, in my line of work you've got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in. To kind of catapult the propaganda." (applause fade)
Surprisingly, the unedited video and transcript of this forum is still available through the White House web site.
Related Links:
ToCFree Press: Community Internet
http://www.freepress.net/communityinternet/New America Foundation: Spectrum Policy Program
http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=section&secID=3White House: President Participates in Social Security Conversation in New York
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/05/20050524-3.htmlWILL Focus 580: Interview with Jack Mitchell
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/willmp3/focus050526a.mp3
by Spencer Chin and George Leopold
(06/09/2005 12:50 PM EDT)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=164301808
WASHINGTON - The Federal Communications Commission moved Thursday (June 9) to speed up the U.S. digital TV transition by refusing to delay the introduction of digital tuners in new TV receivers.
Consumer electronics manufacturers were seeking to delay the date by which set makers would be required to build digital TV tuners into half of all new mid-size TV receivers measuring 25 to 36 inches. Instead, the FCC said it has moved up by four months the date for full compliance with the rule to March 1, 2006.
FCC rules require that all large TV sets larger than 36 inches be equipped with digital tuners by July 1. Smaller sets and other receivers, including VCRs and DVD recorders, must have built-in tuners by July 1, 2007.
The FCC also proposed moving up the date by which all TV receivers 13 inches or larger and receiving devices must have built-in tuners by seven months to Dec. 31, 2006. That date corresponds with statutory target date for ending U.S. analog broadcasts.
"Today's order makes clear that [the FCC] is committed to moving the digital transition forward," Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement. "Each time a consumer purchases a set with a digital tuner, we move one step closer towards accomplishing the transition."
The FCC's latest announcement brought mixed reactions from the Consumer Electronics Association (Arlington, Va.), an industry trade group.
While applauding the FCC's decision to expedite the tuner mandate, the CEA expressed concern over the FCC's refusal to delay the 50-percent deadline for mid-size TVs to have digital tuners. The CEA argued that the requirement would increase market uncertainty and slow the ramp-up of volume production needed to keep prices down.
In a similar vein, the CEA expressed concern that accelerating the timetable for smaller sets to be DTV-broadcast compliant was unrealistic for manufacturers and could raise prices for smaller sets to levels unaffordable for low-income consumers.
ToC
Anne Grubb
June 6, 2005
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/46641/46641.html
Wasn't it only 3 months ago that Bank of America -- unbelievably, we thought then -- lost backup tapes containing data for 1.2 million of its customers, and only 2 months ago a similar mishap occurred at Ameritrade? If you were hoping that these incidents were just a fluke, you might want to call your bank -- especially if it's Citigroup -- and check your records. That's because Citigroup, the world's largest bank, today announced that United Parcel Service, which was shipping backup tapes containing account and payment history data on 3.9 million Citicorp customers to the Experian credit bureau in Texas, lost those tapes in late May. (I guess UPS's online package tracking system didn't help in this case.)
ToC
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/ptech/06/09/disposable.video.cameras.ap/index.html
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- For years, disposable cameras have been a magnet for last-minute photographic whimsy, encouraging all manner of embarrassing pictures from weddings and other social events.
Watch out: There's now a disposable video camera.
The $29.99 pocket-sized digital video cameras are able to capture up to 20 minutes of video and sound.
CVS Corp. stores, which has exclusive rights to sell them, will process the camera for $12.99 and return a DVD; users also can e-mail video and video greeting cards.
Pure Digital Technologies Inc. developed and designed the camera with just three buttons. One starts and stops recording, another is used to play back video and the third deletes recorded segments.
Grant Pill, director of photography and imaging at CVS, said the camera is ideal for people who don't want to spend hundreds of dollars or fuss with too many controls.
Available now in the Northeast and elsewhere by the end of the month, the video camera looks similar to a point-and-shoot disposable camera, except it's held vertically to film.
The camcorder weighs 5.5 ounces, Pill said, and is about the size of an MP3 player.
Users watch what they're filming through a rectangular, 1.4-inch wide color display. There are no zoom features. After filming a segment, the user can review what's been recorded and choose to delete the segment at any time during playback.
Pill called the film good VHS quality, but acknowledged it isn't on par with that produced by some personal camcorders.
"George Lucas isn't going to use this to shoot Star Wars IV," he said, "but a budding George Lucas may use this to shoot something in his backyard."
ToC
By Russell Skingsley
Thursday, June 9 12:00 AM ET
URL: http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/06/longhorn_licensing.html
Redmond, WA - Microsoft announced today a new licensing scheme to help customers with issues regarding long delays in the arrival of Longhorn, the next generation Windows operating system. The new licensing scheme allows customers to pay for Longhorn licenses now, ahead of the arrival of the software itself.
A company long lambasted for lack of innovation has answered critics in the strongest possible manner with the new licensing scheme that shows lateral thinking combined with their undeniable talent for license enforcement.
Bill Landefeld, vice president for worldwide licensing at Microsoft said the new license system would allow customers to start paying for the new features even though they are not yet available.
Mr. Landefeld explained the rationale behind the move. "We do not see why customers should miss the excitement of licensing just because the operating system is not ready yet."
"At Microsoft we understand that our customer's needs are paramount. Customers are far more aware of their need to have legitimate licenses than they once were. This licensing scheme allows our customers to get ahead of the technology curve and hand over the cash now," said Mr. Landefeld.
Often criticized for hyping products years before readiness, Microsoft believes this scheme will silence their detractors. "You know a product is real when you are paying for the licenses," said Mr. Landefeld. "This system will help customers understand that Longhorn is here and now."
Come Monday customers will be able to buy their Longhorn licenses from their local supplier. When they have done so they will receive a "Longhorn Advance License Activation Disk" which contains a program that you can run under Windows XP to activate your Longhorn Advance License.
Asked whether the "Longhorn Advance License Activation Disk" software contains any of the advanced Longhorn features Mr. Landefeld said "No."
Longhorn Advance Licenses go on sale next Monday at the special Microsoft Longhorn Advance License launch events being held around the country.
(Editor's Note: As we were going to press it was announced that there is a severe security vulnerability with Longhorn Advance License Activation software - users are advised to apply LALA service pack 1 before running the software.)
Related News:
ToCGrim Reaper to License "Blue Screen of Death" from Microsoft
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/04/bsod_grim_reaper.htmlMicrosoft's AntiSpyware Tool Removes Internet Explorer
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2005/01/microsoft_antispyware.htmlMicrosoft Granted Patent for Creating Insecure Software
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2004/07/microsoft_patent.html
During the "Broadband: Media Politics in a New Era", 11:00 am concurrent session, at the 2005 National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis Missouri, - Saturday morning, May 14th, 2005.
URL: http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio05/sat-1100-broadband.mp3
[Minutes 00:42 - 01:48]
Moderator [R. Sean McLaughlin from Alliance for Community Media]: This session is about "Broadband: Media Politics in a New Era" and the marketing pitch is: Broadband will soon become the way Americans receive almost all of their media: TV, radio, Internet, movies, phone, video games and more. Media policies, being made to accommodate the broadband revolution, will shape the future of media forever. Will they yield a more democratic media system, or a scenario that allows broadband companies to dominate the media landscape and censor information? How do we insure that all communities have access to media and communications in the broadband era? This session will explore crucial policy issues, but it's not policy wonking, in the broadband era and will provide specific action steps to educate elected officials on broadband issues and pressure them for positive policy. So, that's the session we're here for.
...
[Minutes 28:57 - 40:44]
Moderator [R. Sean McLaughlin]: As Jeff [Jeff Chester, Center for Digital Democracy] mentioned, David Olson is a cable regulator for Portland, Oregon, which is very well known for the kick-off of the open access discussion about exactly these issues and has led to the Brand X case that's currently pending at the Supreme Court. So, David, you want to fill us in on how you see this?
David Olson: Thank you. Local cable regulator ,,,, that sounds like an exciting career path, doesn't it?
[laughter from the audience]
I told my momma that's what I wanted to do.
[more laughter from the audience]
Uhmm, anyway. Ah .... This phone, your television, as Jeff said, your computer, it's all end user equipment. The technology that runs on it is the same. If it isn't the same yet, where you are, it will be. And yet each ... this hand-held .... each one of these, this and the television is functioning under different bodies of law right now .... in the Communications Act. Those silos of law are still there. And ... even though the technology is interchangeable. And ... I'm glad Jeff started the conversation about content, all the attacks on content, the rules on various aspects of what goes in the pipe, and I want to talk with you a little bit about the pipe ... about how this stuff gets to you ... and about the enormous global corporations that are controlling THAT pipe ... and about the danger you're in, 'cause we can sit and talk about community broadband networks and W-Fi all day long, but what can be unlicensed can be relicensed. And the attack on the means, your means of distribution, is pervasive, it's going on RIGHT now ... in Washington D.C. and in every state house, and in local governments, to the extent that they've become awake - and the people waking them up aren't you. It's the same local representatives of the large corporations.
I am the only local government guy, I believe, that's on a panel at this conference. And yet, it's the local governments that are the custodians, for better or worse, of THE only substantial body of public interest requirements that can be applied to media in their local aspects today. And that's an accident of history, to some extent. But, Title 6 of the Communications Act is the place where public, educational, and governmental access CAPACITY, CAPACITY, can be set aside on that pipe for the public to use. It doesn't exist anywhere else. It's just there. And, dollars, funds, money can be set aside in cable franchise to stay in the community, not sent back to corporate headquarters. It's called Title 6 of the Communications Act. It's where the cable franchising requirements exist and IT IS being marginalized. It is in jeopardy. It is under a complete, full scale assault .... by the phone companies, with the cable companies saying, "Thank you very much. Me too."
We're in an age right now, Jeff mentioned, and there are two little acronyms I want you to remember: PI and IP. PI is "public interest." PI is why we're all here. PI is what the entire communications platform is supposed to be about, whether it rides the airwaves, the public space of the airwaves, they belong to you, or the right-of-way, the public streets and roads. Guess what? They belong to you too. And guess what, there's supposed to be a public interest element when private people use 'em. When private people use the public airwaves and when private people use the public right-of-way, the public interest is supposed to be there. And all of that public interest is under assault in the name of competition, and market forces, and what we have is the negative inverse of PI happening and it's leading edge is, guess what, IP. The attack on ... The leading edge of the attack on PI is IP. That's what I want you to remember. It's the polar opposite. [question from the audience] Internet Protocol. The Internet you know, that technology, is the excuse, the globalization, the fact that all these are interoperable, the globalization and this global attack on PI, the leading edge of it and the excuse for it and the occasion for it, is using IP.
That's what's going on right now. That's what Verizon, that's what the Baby Bells, that's what the cable industry are all in Washington talking about. And that's what the phone industry primarily, with the cable industry going "Me too", is in every state house in this country talking about: "You can't have those public interest rules anymore. It's all interchangeable. You can't have public interest rules that apply only to the cable guy and not to the telephone guy or not to the competitive phone guy ... 'cause it's all interchangeable now."
The solution Jeff and I used to talk about was what you need to do, you need to take the public interest concepts of Title 6, of cable in a converged world, and extend those out. You need to take community bit streams, community capacity, you need to extend those out to the new platforms, to the IP platforms. That's what you need to be doing. All of those good concept we fought for in the 70s and 80s need to be extend out to the new platforms . But Folks, that is not what is happening. The polar opposite is happening. PI / IP.
They are saying, "Oh, well, under IP, instead of extending them out, you need to get rid of them all, because 'It's halting the march of progress.' Progress is being brought to a halt by all these damned old-school analog requirements of the old world."
And you are the second wave of community activism, of media activism. You are the second wave. The first wave, your media metaphorical grandparents ... and some of you may have been there ... God knows I was there ... 70s and 80s, wrote those access requirements into the cable act, wrote those capacity requirements, made public, educational and governmental access and keeping media dollars in the community, we wrote that into Federal law. You wrote it and your activist parents and grandparents wrote it. You need to keep at it or it's going away.
Public Interest is a muscle. It needs to be worked or it atrophies. It goes away. And it's not there anymore. You either work it or it goes away. And that muscle has to be worked at the local, state and Federal levels and IT IS under assault.
And, I love community Wi-Fi and a national Wi-Fi cloud as much as anybody else and "Good Luck" because every major telcom company in the world is going to do everything they can to make sure that doesn't happen, because you're interfering with their profit margin. That's what it does, because they want to sell you your broadband connection, which is going to be your essential, already is, your essential window to the world. Not just to receive, but to send. Not just to receive what other people are producing, but to send your production out. Those are under the control of monopoly gate keepers. The cable and the telephone industry run the pipe. We talked about the content of the pipe. The cable and the telephone industry own that pipe. And if you think they are going to sit idly by while you get it for free ... at Starbucks or anywhere else, except on a marginal basis ... then "Good Luck." Think again. The attack on PI is led by this IP.
And, I started off on this because Jeff inspired me, as he always does. But, you know some of the problems. Open standards are being attacked. The broadband folks are rolling some of this stuff out on a proprietary basis. They're trying to put proprietary back into what should be open standards. These are rate deregulated monopolies. You know what it costs a phone company, a cable company, to provide you that broadband connection? You know what it costs them? Ten, fifteen bucks a month maybe. Something like that. In that range. You know what they're charging you? [A "Yeah." and cynical laughter from the audience.] Whatever they can. Why do they do that? Because they can. Because government, despite the command of the '96 TelCom Act that said, "Let a thousand conduits bloom. Let a thousand access points bloom." Didn't happen. In the wake of the telcom collapse, there are two industries left standing: big telco and big cable. They are essential monopolies in the provision of this service and they're going to charge you whatever the market will bear. And, they are the gate keepers to your Internet. And if you are not having this conversation locally, where you can, at state and at the Federal level through your activist organizations, you are going to miss the boat because PI is going away, to be replaced by deregulated IP.
So, I had a lot of notes here that Sean is going to kill me if I read them all, but ... I would say ... you know, Tom Lehrer used to say, "Hey, there's a charge for what we used to get for free in my home town." And you know what? [Laughs] It's also going to be true of your Wi-Fi and your broadband. I'll come back to this because Sean's going to come back to action steps, but I'll leave you with, "It's a muscle. Exercise your PI muscle or it's going to go away." The industry is adapting it's tired old deregulatory arguments to the IP world. They are glossing them up, putting them in mascara, and running the same arguments through that they've always run. And, if you want your electronic "green space," if you want to both receive and send the things you're doing, you're going to have to fight for it. And, it's not just showing up at City Hall or the state legislature or the Federal government. It's taking those wonderful folks, my dear colleagues, by the hand and educating them and saying you care and you're going to be there. And you're going to tell them what the community wants in the cable renewal and it, by God, should be a model for the franchises Verizon and its brethren SHOULD be writing for the video services they say they want to deliver but, "Oh, not under Title 6, by the way. We don't want to do that. That's old school."
So, don't let them marginalize you. Put on a suit. I wore this deliberately, deliberately to inflame you. [Laughter] This is the only time I've worn this all weekend. To inflame you and say, "Show up at City Hall and make your case and MAKE the BUSINESS case." Don't just talk about your entitlements. Talk about the business case. Localism sells. Localism makes money. Localism differentiates the cable guy from the telco guy. They love that. They can make money off this local stuff, did you know that? It grows businesses. Grows small businesses. Makes a community more vibrant. Makes people want to move there. [verbal stumbling] It's just like ... don't let the right wing have the flag. Don't let the right wing have the business argument. There's a fabulous business argument about localism. Use it. I'll shut up. Thanks.
[Applause.]
...
[Minutes 1:05:15 - 1:06:33]
David Olson [in answer to a question]: My grandchild, Brand X. Don't worry about Title 2 and Title 6 right now. I would say worry about one thing, one concept: Will the Internet of the future, and the future is almost now, the high-speed Internet of the future, be subject to the same open access requirements that the Internet grew up on in the dial-up world? [Applause] That's the issue. And that is THE issue because to have the Internet in the future, and the future is almost here depending on who you talk to, you're gonna have to have broadband. Your gonna have to have it to get the full functionality. And the broadband Internet is not , NOT, following the rules of the road that the dial-up Internet grew up on and that gave us the robust , free form, anybody gets on dial-up Internet. The Internet grew up on open rules of the road. It is what it is because of open rules of the road. And the industry, the FCC, are combining to shut down that openness and Brand X is where that issue is being fought in the Supreme Court right now.
...
[Minutes 1:30:09 - 1:32:30]
David Olson [in summation]: Thanks. And I'm glad the question was asked about what you do to exercise that muscle. There are a bunch of things you can do.
First of all, remember, you know more than you think you do. This is not rocket science. The public airwaves are the public airwaves. Your streets are public streets. These are private companies that want to turn the public airwaves and your public streets into the King's private deer park. You don't have to let them do it. That's why we fought a revolution. OK? These are public spaces and the public interest needs to be represented when your airwaves and your streets are used by these monopoly companies. That's a very simple concept.
And it can be done in a variety of ways, which have been discussed today, among them set aside space, parks, green space, electronic green space, parks for people to use. Fund them. There's a model for that in your cable franchise renewals. Find out where that is. Go to City Hall. When is the cable franchise up in your community? Who's responsible for it a City Hall? City Hall may not know. You can help them answer that question. Be at public meetings. There's community ascertainment, which is a buzz word, but it is the research that needs to be done in any community before licenses are given. That could be air waves broadcast or it could be the cable license. You need to be at that community ascertainment. That's where the case is built that the public needs and wants and is interested in this. It's not that hard to find out. You can find that out. For the cable license, it's at City Hall. You can find out for your spectrum licenses, your broadcasters, at the FCC. Go do it.
Identify with your champions. Find your champions and work with them. There are two really sharp members of the FCC here at this conference: Commissioners Copps and Adelstein. They're on your side. Work with them. Listen to them. Go to the web site and read one of their speeches. That'll give you specific ideas.
And, and and, show up. [Laughs] Show up in your community when these things are being discussed and indicate that for the monopoly profits being taken out of your community some element needs to be kept in your community, because the public deserves no less when these private companies use public spaces.
[Applause.]
ToC
Paul Thurrott
URL: http://www.wininformant.com/
Microsoft has confirmed that Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7.0 won't be available for Windows 2000 but will instead run only on Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows XP with SP2, and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. When the company initially announced IE 7.0, it noted that the release would be only for XP but apparently wrestled with the possibility of adding Win2K compatibility after customers complained. Your complaints have fallen on deaf ears, people. Please upgrade.
I love Dell. I really do. But I have to smile a bit about two developments this week regarding my favorite PC company. First, Dell plans to create a new line of high-end PCs and notebook computers that it refers to as its Lexus line; a final name has yet to be announced. That's cute. I've always believed that people will pay a bit more for better merchandise and services, but the name is also a bit out of sync with Dell's blue-collar roots. Second, Dell said this week that it plans to take disciplinary action against a Dell salesperson who sent an email message to IBM customers, warning them not to purchase Lenovo Group PCs because doing so would "directly support/fund the Chinese government." Yikes. It's OK to be scrappy and competitive. But fears over Lenovo's purchase of IBM's PC business notwithstanding, it's not OK to be xenophobic.
Maybe Apple really is on to something. Intel has boosted its revenue estimates for the current quarter, citing a higher-than-expected demand for its microprocessor products. Intel says that the demand for Pentium M chips and other notebook computer parts is particularly strong.
Next week Microsoft will issue a whopping 10 security patches, including one for Windows that's rated critical, as part of its customary monthly security patch release. Yep, it's just another typical month in the life of Microsoft security. Good stuff.
At Microsoft TechEd this week, Microsoft announced that businesses have installed more than 200 million copies of XP SP2 worldwide. That number is astonishing, mostly because it includes only businesses, not consumers.
ToC
Paul Thurrott
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/46678/windowspaulthurrott_46678.html
Microsoft rereleased its MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search today after adding a key feature back into the product: tabbed browsing for Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE). The tabbed-browsing feature is available to IE users several months before Microsoft is expected to ship IE 7.0, the next major version of IE. The main new feature in IE 7.0, of course, will be tabbed browsing.
The new IE tabbed-browsing functionality you get when you install MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search is similar to tabbed browsing on other browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox. The tool includes a My Tabs feature that lets you easily bookmark a set of Web site addresses, each of which will open in individual tabs, or tabbed subpages, when you select them. The feature also lets you open MSN Search results in background tabs, which don't disrupt the current window display.
When I spoke with Microsoft about MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search in April, the tabbed-browsing feature was scheduled for inclusion in the initial public release of the product. When MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search shipped in May, however, the feature had been dropped so that Microsoft could test the functionality further. Originally, Microsoft planned to ship tabbed browsing as an iFilter add-on for the initial MSN Search Toolbar. However, current users of the toolbar will need to uninstall the initial version of the product and install the new version (see the URL below).
This new tabbed-browsing feature represents the second time that MSN has jumped out ahead of the Windows Division with its MSN Search Toolbar. In addition to shipping tabbed browsing for IE first, the MSN Search Toolbar also adds instant desktop-searching capabilities, a feature that Microsoft originally planned for Longhorn. However, the company has delayed Longhorn until late 2006.
MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search is free and requires Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 and IE 5.01 or later. To obtain more information or the free download, visit the MSN Web site.
ToC
Adam Carheden
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/46566/46566.html
A bright new "What's New" graphic graced the Office 2003 XML Reference Schemas page this morning, announcing that Office's XML file formats, which are currently supported in Office 2003, will be the default in the next version, Office 12. The XML Reference Schemas are licensed by Microsoft to any developer royalty-free, much like many open source licenses, including the license for OpenDocument, the recently approved competing standard from the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
The licensing behind both of these standards allows any developer to distribute or sell programs that read and write these file formats without paying licensing fees or violating patents. This is great news because it could mean that office documents will display correctly in competing programs, such as OpenOffice.org, Corel WordPerfect Office, and IBM Lotus SmartSuite. Though I rather like Microsoft Office and I have no plans to switch at the moment, an open file format should help cut prices and drive innovation.
ToC
UPI 05/31/05 7:30 AM PT
URL: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/hardware/43450.html
The "My" prefix was apparently an attempt to create a personal connection between people and their computers at a time when the idea of using a computer might have been forbidding.
If you are a Microsoft user, there's a big change coming in Longhorn -- the code name for the next MS operating system: the "My" prefix is disappearing.
Microsoft users have become used to the "My Music," "My Pictures," and other "My" folders, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reported. Those Windows folders will still be yours -- but they won't keep hitting you over the head with that terminology.
Ending a longstanding tradition, Microsoft says, starting in the next Windows version due out next year, folders will be known simply as "Documents," "Music," and so on.
The "My" prefix was apparently an attempt to create a personal connection between people and their computers at a time when the idea of using a computer might have been forbidding.
The technique seems especially outdated now that computers and technology have become such a normal part of everyday life, Naomi Baron, an American University Latest News about American University linguistics professor told the Post- Intelligencer.
ToC
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
eWeek - June 7, 2005
URL: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1824810,00.asp
Opinion - And if the Linux desktop wants to play, it had better get a lot better, a lot faster.
Linux desktop and Longhorn developers suddenly have something in common: They should be worried, very worried, about Mac OS X coming to Intel processors.
The Mac community is in an uproar over Apple moving the Mac to Intel processors, but it's the Linux desktop and Longhorn programmers who should be reaching for the aspirin.
Mac OS X is not only the best desktop interface for Unix-style operating systems, it's the best desktop interface around-period.
I've always known Mac OS X could run on Intel processors. Way back in 1993, I reviewed NeXTStep, one of Mac OS X's ancestors, on a 66MHz 486DX2 with 32MB of RAM for PC Magazine. If NeXTStep could run on that, there was never any question in my mind that Mac OS X could run on today's Intel hardware.
Indeed, as I've pointed out, Mac OS X's foundation operating system, Darwin, is already there. And, my boss, Matthew Rothenberg, and a buddy of his reported almost three years ago that Apple was working on a Mac OS X port called "Marklar."
What that means for everyone else in the desktop picture is that they need to get better and they need to do it now.
Was it any coincidence that Apple CEO Steve Jobs makes it sound like we'll see Mac OS X on Intel before we'll see Longhorn? I think not!
Is Apple taking a risk with Intel? Read more in Peter N. Glaskowsky's column.
To even have a chance to make Longhorn's late 2006 deadline, Microsoft has been cutting out features like WinFS (Windows File System) and changing its fundamental infrastructure so that it will no longer be built on .Net Framework. Microsoft is as vulnerable as it has ever been on the desktop.
Microsoft has been giving Linux desktop vendors their shot at the big time. Jobs saw the same thing.
So now Linux desktop vendors need to get their act together in a hurry if they're going to make anything of their chance. If the Linux community wants to play a major role on the desktop, it needs to get products out now that can challenge the Mac OS X desktop.
For starters, that means getting all their efforts behind one desktop. They can't afford to waste time and energy working on both KDE and GNOME. Pick one, and get on with it (my choice: KDE). Stop the whining over which is better. Here's the simple truth, troops: Mac OS X is better, a lot better, than either one. Either the Linux desktop gets its act together in the coming year, or it will never become more than a niche operating system.
You know what else? If you're a Linux developer and you've been spending time on, say, porting Linux to the prehistoric z80 processor or writing device drivers for the long obsolete ESDI (Enhanced Small Device Interface), maybe you should consider spending your time on something that's more productive.
I'm not the only one to make that argument. Ulrich Drepper, a Red Hat developer, makes the same argument in his blog. The only difference between us is that I believe refocusing the Linux community's energy is critical.
Now Linux desktop developers do hold a few cards in their hands.
For starters, Linux has a lot more drivers for the x86 platform than Apple and friends have. But I wouldn't count on that ace too much. The part of Mac OS X that talks to drivers is based on FreeBSD. No, the BSD operating systems don't have as many developers as Linux, but their best people are the equal of Linux's best.
Now, more then ever, the major Linux distributors-Novell/SuSE and Red Hat-need to talk to the hardware vendors. If they can't get them to build Linux drivers, they need to give them a full-court press to at least open their APIs so that the Linux open-source community can do what it does best and develop the drivers themselves.
For insights on the Mac in the enterprise, check out eWEEK.com Executive Editor Matthew Rothenberg's Weblog.
The Linux desktop also has more desktop applications for the x86 platform than Mac OS does. OK, so you will be able to run legacy PowerPC applications on x86 PCs with "dynamic binary translation." I've seen this kind of emulation many times before. Even the best-Digital's FX!32 translator for the Alpha a few years back for my money-doesn't give you much bang for your processor buck.
On the other hand, if Apple, with some help from Intel, manages to get Mac OS X running with VT (Virtualization Technology), all bets on performance are off.
VT is still a work in progress, but it's built on technology from VMWare, and that company has already shown with products like VM Workstation 5 that it knows how to build virtual machines that don't sacrifice performance for compatibility.
If I sound a little harsh, well, tough. The Linux desktop community has to make a decision-and has to make it now. Do you want to become a fanboy operating system like AmigaOS on the desktop, or do you want to fight it out with Apple and Microsoft for control of the desktop?
It's your decision now. Choose wisely.
[ eWEEK.com Senior Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been using and writing about operating systems since the late '80s and thinks he may just have learned something about them along the way. ]
ToC
By Mike Ricciuti
URL: http://news.com.com/Microsoft+hypervisor+plan+takes+shape/2100-1016_3-5735876.html
Story last modified Tue Jun 07 13:47:00 PDT 2005
ORLANDO, Fla.--Microsoft gave more details Tuesday on its plans to launch Windows-based "hypervisor" software for running multiple operating systems.
Bob Muglia, senior vice president in the Windows Server Division, said at Microsoft's TechEd conference here that the software will be "built directly in Windows and will allow companies to virtualize multiple operating systems."
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer first mentioned the hypervisor plans in April at the company's Management Summit conference. Such software lets multiple operating systems run on the same computer, a feature that's useful for consolidating servers in order to save money, and for extracting as much work as possible from a single system.
Muglia said the hypervisor software will be delivered in 2007, following the debut of Longhorn Server. The new software will take advantage of virtualization technology coming from chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices next year, Muglia said.
The software will differ from Microsoft's existing Virtual Server product, Muglia said. That product runs on top of Windows and can run multiple Windows sessions. A recent update to Virtual Server allows companies to run Linux and other operating systems as well.
The new software will instead be built directly into Windows. "We will build a thin hypervisor that sits on top of the hardware and virtualizes resources like CPU and memory, so it has the ability to create OS sessions," Muglia said.
"One of those sessions will have the virtualization stack built into it to do device assignment and start and stop virtual sessions," he said. "It will have a version of Windows but will typically be a stripped-down version. That will control the other sessions, which can be Windows, Linux and anything that runs on x86 hardware such as Solaris or Linux."
And what about the Mac OS, now that Apple Computer has said it will begin using Intel chips? "It's impossible to say," Muglia said. Apple CEO "Steve Jobs does not intend to allow the Mac OS to run on non-Mac hardware, so I don't even know what that would mean at this point."
Microsoft hasn't decided how to package and sell the software. It could come in a service pack release after the debut of Longhorn Server, Muglia said.
Microsoft's rival in this area is an open-source software package called Xen, which has rapidly gained the support of Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Novell, Red Hat, Intel, AMD and IBM. Those companies have offered Xen support in the form of endorsements, programming help and software contributions. Xen doesn't yet support Windows, however.
In addition, VMWare recently expanded the capabilities of its existing virtualization software. And IBM in February released the source code for a project called Research Hypervisor, or rHype.
Muglia said virtualization software is relatively new, so the competitive picture isn't yet complete. "It will grow in importance, but we're in the early stages of use," he said. Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
ToC
by TidBITS Staff <editors@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#782/06-Jun-05
At Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) today, Steve Jobs dropped a bombshell on the Mac community by confirming rumors that the company will transition its computers from the PowerPC architecture to Intel processors by 2007. The news was leaked in the Wall Street Journal two weeks ago and confirmed by CNet and the Wall Street Journal last week.
<http://developer.apple.com/wwdc/>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/06intel.html>
The reason? Power. Citing each company's processor roadmaps beyond 2006, Jobs said that the PowerPC provides 15 "units of performance" per watt, while Intel's processors will be able to offer 70 units per watt. Jobs also mentioned that they've been unable to get a PowerPC G5 processor that will run cool enough to put into a laptop, a long-standing sore point among PowerBook aficionados.
However, it's important to note that the WWDC keynote was short on hard details: no specific hardware nor specific gigahertz targets were mentioned. Support for other hardware that Apple software depends heavily on, such as AltiVec, was also not addressed. However, you won't be able to run out and buy any old Intel box and install Mac OS X, according to comments by Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller; Apple will restrict the operating system to Apple-sold Intel computers. It's likely that these future Macs will be able to run Windows applications better than with today's emulation software.
Jobs said that Apple has been co-developing an Intel-based version of Mac OS X for the last five years in order to keep its options open; every release of Mac OS X has been compiled in-house for Intel processors. During the WWDC keynote, Jobs demonstrated third-party applications such as Photoshop CS2 running on a 3.6 GHz Pentium 4 processor-based system under Mac OS X 10.4.1.
Apple plans to ship low-end Macs using Intel processors by this time next year, while higher-end systems for professionals will appear in 2007. Jobs specifically apologized to those who surely wished they could have a PowerBook G5 by now, so we wouldn't be surprised to find a high-end laptop high on the development priority list.
One aspect of this transition that could prove interesting, in all positive and negative connotations of the word, is the so-called "trusted computing" capabilities of Intel's CPUs. Little has been done with them yet, but as we understand these capabilities, they're designed to work with a Microsoft digital rights management (DRM) system. There's no telling if or how they may play into Apple's existing music or future video plans.
Developers who use Xcode should be able to make minor changes for their programs to work with Intel processors. Compiled binary applications will be able to contain the processor-dependent code for both PowerPC and Intel chips, meaning that developers can release a single program for both types of Macs. Jobs said that more than half of current Apple developers use Xcode and another 20 percent were planning to start using it soon. Not surprisingly, he suggested that everyone else get on the bandwagon, too.
<http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/xcode/>
Jobs also discussed Rosetta, a binary translator that turns PowerPC code into code for Intel chips on the fly. While this kind of conversion has been used for some forms of emulation by other companies in the past, Jobs indicated that Rosetta is optimized enough to avoid comparisons with the often clunky and funky operation of Classic within Mac OS X. It should be a more seamless experience for Mac users, comparable to the PowerPC transition, when the vast majority of older 680x0 applications simply ran. Jobs demonstrated Photoshop CS2, Microsoft Office, and Quicken running in unmodified PowerPC-binary form using Rosetta. Of course, just because they run doesn't guarantee that they will run well, especially for something like Photoshop, which is commonly used to benchmark processor speeds. However, it does signal to users that they don't have pay for upgrades to all of their software, as many did with the Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X transition simply to run it on a new architecture.
Apple has a long history of carrying its older users on its back as it forges across a river dividing two architectures. The change from 680x0 to PowerPC was generally good - with exceptions - and Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X was a long, slow, but ultimately successful transition as developers produced applications that could run in Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Even the addition of a 64-bit processor in the form of the PowerPC G5 produced relatively few problems.
Jobs also announced that Mac OS X 10.5 will be codenamed Leopard and ship in late 2006 or early 2007, around the same time as Microsoft Longhorn - just to heighten the comparison, one wagers.
The Intel processor transition is likely to affect smaller developers much more than larger ones. Most large software companies that create products for Mac OS X also have Windows versions. The code base can be largely identical. Smaller developers typically program for a single platform and may not have the financial or staff resources for the testing necessary.
But Apple made overtures to cater to this audience, which includes thousands of companies that currently release Mac software. Select and Premier members of Apple's Developer Connection will be able to purchase a $999 Developer Transition Kit that comprises an Intel processor-based computer and preview releases of Mac OS X and Apple software. This system won't be available to the general public, nor will it work like a normal consumer system, being geared for programming and testing. Interestingly, developers will have to return these Intel boxes by the end of 2006 - it's a loan, not a purchase.
<http://developer.apple.com/transitionkit.html>
In the past, Intel chips ran hotter and required more power than comparable PowerPCs. But the company has learned a lot from tuning its Pentium 4M and Pentium M for laptops, and its new dual-core architecture that has the equivalent of two processors in a single integrated circuit package doesn't double heat or power as it doubles computational performance. (Multi-core technology is apparently the near-term future of most processors, with IBM releasing a nine-core system called Cell.)
Beyond wattage figures, IBM and Intel had closed the gap on true computational measures, a previous bone of contention dubbed the "megahertz myth" when focusing on cycles per second instead of actual tasks completed. Intel has suffered a number of setbacks in the last year that have slowed their processor speed targets, but is still on track to outpace IBM dramatically in the future. IBM has had noticeable stumbles including delayed G5 deliveries last summer that pushed G5 iMacs back three months.
Technical issues aside, the real question is the reaction of consumers and professionals. Do customers respond to this announcement by embracing the current Macintosh platform more heavily, knowing there's a steady uptick ahead for processor performance with what could be a relatively seamless transition that allows them to use current software? Or will hardware sales plummet as companies and individuals decide to wait for faster machines in a year or two? (We always suggest buying what you need when you need it; there's invariably going to be something newer, better, and faster around the corner, and it's silly to wait forever until they stop innovating.)
Apple has basically conceded that PowerPC G5 chips cannot be made cool enough to be used in laptops, which means that unless Freescale Semiconductor (Motorola's spun-off chip division) can produce much faster PowerPC G4s, Apple will wind up releasing only modestly faster PowerBooks for a full two years, which could cost them quite a bit of the pro and speed-demon markets.
It's likely that Apple's roadmap shift to Intel will cause financial analysts and business writers to tell the public and institutions that Apple now is on a secure footing, no longer tied to a small fraction of a tiny part of IBM's current revenue, but is rather tying its hopes on the core business of the world's largest chipmaker. On the other hand, the stock market generally considers change to be a bad thing, and there's a distinct tinge of defeat in switching CPUs (ignoring of course, that what makes the Mac different has always been the operating system, not the technical details of the hardware underpinnings).
Even more significant is that Windows XP and Longhorn will be facing head to head challenges with Mac OS X on what is likely to be highly comparable equipment. Running a native Intel Photoshop under Mac OS X versus Windows XP will reveal more about the efficiencies of Unix and Apple's implementation than any of the apples to oranges (or Apples to Redmonds) tests yet performed.
ToC
The Associated Press/SAN FRANCISCO
By GREG SANDOVAL and MATTHEW FORDAHL
AP Technology Writers
Jun 10, 5:09 PM (ET)
URL: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8AL032O0.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down
In the late 1990s, Apple Computer Inc. ran TV ads mocking the Intel Corp. chips in rival Windows-based PCs: The Pentium II glued to a snail and the toasted bunny suit were supposed to suggest that Apple's Macintosh computers were simply faster.
How times have changed. Apple CEO Steve Jobs warmly embraced Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini this week as they announced that Macs will switch to chips built by the same company that has made a fortune selling the hardware that powers PCs running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system.
Though the transition is likely to be rocky at first for Apple, programmers and customers, the move could lead to Macs that are both more competitive and more compatible with Windows. It could even open the Mac to software titles now available only to Windows users.
At the same time, Apple would retain as much control as it wants over its software and brand.
Beyond the future performance and energy efficiency improvements Intel has promised, Apple could deploy an Intel security scheme that could allow Apple to keep its operating system locked to Macs. Apple also could tap a separate Intel technology that lets multiple operating systems run efficiently on a single chip.
Such advances could be critical for Apple, which has gained a reputation for building innovative and stylish machines that run Apple's own, acclaimed Mac OS X operating system. By not allowing clones, as are common in the Windows world, Apple can still charge a premium and differentiate itself.
After all, the microprocessor may be the brain of a computer, but the soul is provided by the software, which Apple has said will continue to be locked to its systems.
Apple's business model of selling its own computers and operating system stems from 1970s, when Jobs and friend Steve Wozniak were pioneering the personal computer industry from a Silicon Valley garage. At the time, a fledgling company then-called Micro-Soft was just getting started.
That changed in the early 1980s, when International Business Machines Corp. rushed to put out a personal computer that could compete against Apple. Big Blue integrated hardware and software from other companies -- namely, Intel and Microsoft -- into its systems.
IBM famously failed to stop competitors from copying its PC. A healthy IBM clone industry grew, fueled by the support of software developers, who saw the huge business opportunity in the volume of clone PCs being purchased.
Apple continued to sell systems based on non-Intel processors and its own software. Even in 1984, when it launched the first Mac, it stuck with Motorola chips and its own software.
In the 1990s, Motorola and Apple joined forces with IBM, which by then long realized it had lost control of the PC, to build the more powerful PowerPC microprocessor to do battle with WinTel.
But Apple's market share continued to slide. Corporations and consumers embraced Windows-based systems because they could run more programs. Software developers loved WinTel because it guaranteed a huge market.
Apple became the niche player it is today, with just 2.3 percent of the worldwide market, according to the latest figures from the research firm IDC.
Still, Jobs managed to continue marketing the Mac as the Porsche of the PC industry.
But IBM and Motorola, which last year spun off its chip business into Freescale Semiconductor Inc., haven't been able to give Apple what it needs. Freescale's G4 has seen only incremental improvements in performance while IBM's G5 runs too hot for notebook computers.
And so Jobs went chip hunting.
Intel promises Apple fast, energy-efficient chips, manufacturing reliability and possibly even lower prices.
Apple could lose control of its operating system when it starts using next year the same hardware that powers the Windows world.
That's where the new technologies come into play and why Apple is so willing to make a move.
Intel has been touting a hardware-based security plan called LaGrande Technology as a way to keep systems secure by locking data with a key that's embedded in a hardware chip.
But LaGrande also could be used to ensure that certain software only runs on permitted machines, such as Mac OS X only running on systems built by Apple.
"You can tie the serial number of the software with the hardware ID, and say these things go together and shall never be separate," said Roger Kay, an analyst at IDC.
But there's a much bigger opportunity for Apple beyond faster, more efficient chips. Though it will prevent Mac OS X from leaking non-Apple PCs, it could allow Apple systems to run Windows -- and its universe of programs -- at full speed. Currently, running Windows programs on Macs requires emulators that slow down performance.
"It seems to me that Jobs is putting himself in the sights of Bill Gates," said Don Yachtman, a Salt Lake City-based software developer. "Microsoft may act like they don't care about Apple's move to Intel but you never know until they launch an attack."
But Microsoft isn't likely to complain. After all, Apple or its customers would still have to buy a copy of Windows.
Nonetheless, Apple faces technical and psychological hurdles in the near term.
"I'm sure some of Apple's loyal customer base see this as a sellout," said Tim Deal, senior analyst with Technology Business Research. "These users supported this niche, boutique player for years and this agreement with Intel removes a very important difference between a Mac and a PC."
ToC
By Ina Fried, Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Story last modified Mon Jun 06 17:20:00 PDT 2005
URL:
http://news.com.com/Intel+deal+may+mean+end+to+OS+9+support/2100-1045_3-5734410.html
SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple Computer's move to Intel chips appears to spell the eventual end of support for older, pre-Mac OS X programs.
Current versions of Mac OS X support the running of Mac OS 9 programs in a "Classic" environment. However, documentation for Apple's Rosetta technology says the transcoding software will not support programs written for Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9.
Rosetta was announced by CEO Steve Jobs on Monday as the translation software technology that will help ease Apple's planned transition to Intel-based chips. Rosetta will allow most Mac OS X programs to run on Intel-based Macs even if the software has not been compiled to run natively on Intel chips.
In an interview, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller did not definitively address future Classic mode support but said "it's certainly not very high on the priority list."
Schiller said Apple research shows few new Mac buyers are using Classic.
"In recent versions of Mac OS X, we actually stopped installing Classic by default because very few--if any--people use it anymore," Schiller said. "We've done research to determine who buying new products from us is using Classic. You really can't find hardly anyone who does anymore."
An Apple representative declined to comment further on future support of Classic.
Classic came into being with the arrival of Mac OS X in 2001 as a way to run programs that had not been "Carbonized," or modified to run natively in the new operating system.
Though the transition could pave the way for the end of OS 9 support, Apple has long predicted its death, with Jobs first delivering that message to developers in May 2002.
For some time, Apple continued to sell a limited number of models with OS 9, primarily for schools and some business customers. More recently, though, OS 9 compatibility has come only through Classic.
People who are running Classic programs aren't out of time yet. Apple plans to continue selling PowerPC machines for the next two years, so presumably customers have at least that long to buy machines capable of running Classic applications.
/CNET News.com's Declan McCullagh contributed to this report./
ToC
by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#781/23-May-05
Last week, Apple released Mac OS X 10.4.1 Update for the just- released Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" operating system. (And, of course, Apple did so within minutes of our publishing TidBITS-780_. Sigh.) The standalone version of the Mac OS X 10.4.1 Update weighs in at 37 MB, but is somewhat slimmer (19.4 MB) via Software Update.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301517>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1041.html>
Mac OS X 10.4.1 Update includes significant enhancements and fixes, although users contemplating the update are strongly encouraged to read Apple's release notes and back up their systems before installing.
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/454>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301584>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301416> <http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07566>
TidBITS#782/06-Jun-05
Apple has released QuickTime 7.0.1, a 26.6 MB download via Software Update. This update replaces the Quartz Composer plug-in, which was found to be capable of sending local data to an arbitrary Web location using an encoded URL. The new component prevents this from happening. QuickTime 7.0.1 supports Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301714>
<http://www.apple.com/quicktime/>
QuickTime 7.0.1 also includes unspecified bug fixes and allegedly improves compatibility with Apple's Final Cut Studio. TidBITS Technical Editor Geoff Duncan discovered fixes for a couple of annoying QuickTime 7 problems on multi-channel audio interfaces: QuickTime 7.0.1 respects the user's default stereo output pair (where version 7.0 sent stereo audio only to channels 1 and 2 - bummer if your speakers are connected to outputs 3 and 4!), and version 7.0.1 plays monophonic audio correctly. [JLC]
ToC
by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#782/06-Jun-05
Last week saw two significant developments regarding Apple's now-iconic iPod music players: an Apple-sponsored recycling program designed to diminish the environmental impact of millions of iPods one day being landfilled, and a tentative settlement in a class action lawsuit over battery life in early iPod models.
Effective immediately, users can take iPods they don't want anymore to any U.S. Apple Store for free "environmentally friendly" disposal; anyone dropping off an iPod, iPod mini, or iPod photo will receive a 10 percent discount on the purchase of a new iPod. However, the 10 percent discount is only good that day - no saving a coupon and hoping an even cooler iPod ships next month - and, while Apple will presumably accept iPod shuffles for recycling, they don't qualify for the 10 percent discount. Apple makes a point that iPods received in the U.S. will be processed domestically and no hazardous material will be shipped overseas. In the future, we hope Apple expands its recycling programs to products other than iPods - good candidates would be laptop batteries, monitors, and CPUs - and that the company makes product recycling available to customers internationally. It's the same planet, after all.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jun/03recycle.html>
<http://www.apple.com/environment/>
Although you won't see any word of it from Apple sources, on 12-May-05 Apple quietly agreed to a settlement of a class action lawsuit regarding battery life on older iPods. A California Superior Court judge still has to approve the deal on 25-Aug-05, although that's expected to be a formality, and some iPod owners began receiving notice of the settlement last Thursday.
The terms cover first, second, and third generation iPods with a one-year warranty sold before 01-Jun-04 and which were advertised to play music for 8 hours on a single charge. Consumers who can show proof of purchase of an eligible iPod can receive a one-year extension of their iPod's warranty. Consumers who can show proof of purchase and found their iPods either played music for less than 50 percent of the advertised time or that iPod batteries failed over time may:
Although the settlement is estimated to apply to as many as 2 million iPod users, the proof-of-purchase requirement reduces Apple's vulnerability a bit, since iPods purchased second-hand aren't eligible. Under the agreement, Apple neither admits to any wrongdoing nor to any defect in the iPod; in fact, at least in public, Apple is sticking to the party line that iPods perform as advertised, so long as users practice good battery management.
<http://www.apple.com/batteries/>
ToC
TidBITS#781/23-May-05
Apple has announced a voluntary recall of certain rechargeable laptop batteries sold with, or sold separately for use with, its 12-inch iBook G4, 12-inch PowerBook G4, and 15-inch PowerBook G4 models from Oct-04 through May-05. The company, which acted in cooperation with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and international authorities, says the affected batteries could overheat, posing a potential fire hazard. The batteries will be replaced at no cost to the owner.
<http://www.apple.com/support/batteryexchange/>
<http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml05/05179.html>
The recalled batteries include those with model numbers A1061, A1078, and A1079, and have serial numbers that begin with HQ441 through HQ507, and 3X446 through 3X510. There are unaffected batteries with the same model numbers but different serial numbers, so check both. After verifying the battery is from the affected batches, Apple will ship a replacement battery at no charge to the user, who will then return the original battery using the same packaging and an included pre-paid shipping label. [MHA]
ToC
TidBITS#781/23-May-05
Proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks, Jim Matthews and Fetch Softworks today released Fetch 5, a sleek new version of the earliest FTP client still in active development for the Macintosh. With Fetch 5, Jim focused on simplifying the user interface to improve ease of use and adding support for low-level technologies like SFTP. Fetch now sports a new toolbar for quick access to commonly used functions, Back and Recent buttons for easier navigation to previously viewed folders, a more Finder-like list view, and a status pane at the bottom of each transfer window. Other interface niceties include a file transfer progress indicator in Fetch's Dock icon, context- sensitive help, and a recent connections pop-up menu in the New Connection dialog. Under the hood, along with SFTP support, Fetch 5 now offers resuming of binary uploads, automatic detection of FTP and SFTP servers on your local network if they advertise their presence via Bonjour (formerly called Rendezvous), importing of Interarchy and Transmit bookmarks, support for using StuffIt to compress files automatically on upload and expand automatically on download, improved handling of non-ASCII and Unicode file names, and "Automatic Passive Mode" for automatic detection of proper connection modes for reliable transfers through firewalls and NAT gateways. Fetch 5 works with Mac OS X 10.2.4 or later (including Tiger), and it costs $25, with upgrades from Fetch 4 priced at $15. New copies of Fetch and upgrades may both be purchased directly from within Fetch 5; choose Purchase or Purchase Upgrade from the Fetch application menu. Users at educational and non-profit charitable organizations may apply for a free license. [ACE]
<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/>
<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/edapply/>
TidBITS#781/23-May-05
As reported by our friends at MacInTouch, Qualcomm has acknowledged that recent versions of its Eudora email software for Macintosh could incorrectly delete messages from the Inbox associated with an IMAP account.
<http://www.macintouch.com/newsrecent.shtml#tip.2005.05.20.eudoramail>
The company has told site license support providers that an upcoming release of Eudora, version 6.2.3, addresses the problem. Early advice to revert to Eudora 6.1 won't help, as the code that could cause that bug is in 6.1 as well. Qualcomm recommends installing the public beta of version 6.2.3, or turning on the "Show Deleted Messages" function in the mailbox options menu at the bottom right of the Mailboxes window. The rare bug only affects mailboxes accessed with the IMAP protocol. Users who use the POP3 protocol for retrieving mail will not be affected. [MHA]
<http://www.eudora.com/betas/>
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
May 19, 2005 - This meeting turned out to be one of the best in recent memory. I know that's an Editorial comment, but you'll just have to deal with it. "Why so?" you may ask. Because it was like old home week: everybody showed up. Jim Lewis was in from Arizona. Dave Witt was there. Mike Latinovich, Anderson Yau, Craig Kummerow, Jim Huls, Quentin Barnes, Harold Ravlin, Bill Zwicky, and on and on. We had no programs planned and, you know what, we didn't need any. It was so cool. The place was abuzz. I'm so glad I was there.
President Rollins began the meeting with the usual introduction of the officers.
Some of the guys were planning one of their usual trips up to the College of DuPage computer show, with a side trip to Fry's, so we looked up Fry's web site in connection with that discussion.
Anthony Philip asked if we were still doing Folding@Home. Kevin Hisel kind of talked about that a little bit, noting that he preferred helping out genetic research through Folding, as opposed to looking for aliens through the SETI project which similarly uses home computing to supplement data crunching.
Kevin Hisel talked about the Amazon banner on the CUCUG web site and asked members to use it if they were going to purchase anything at Amazon because the club actually gets a little "referral" cash from such traffic and the best part is it doesn't cost you anything. Kevin said he would put a banner on the front page and other prominent places on the site to facilitate this worthy endeavor. Harold Ravlin asked about whether you had to have cookies turned on. Yes.
David Noreen had a question about uninstalling AOL software. He said he volunteers at Prairienet and that AOL software screws up his connection. Kevin Hisel talked to the subject. He said AOL software used to be real bad: versions 5 through 7 used to talk over your entire Internet connection. Version 9 is somewhat of a better citizen. RIchard Rollins talked about the actual process of removing it. He said he has to go into the registry and manually delete everything with AOL on it. He advised looking into registry cleaning software for those with a little less kamikaze approach to computer maintenance.
I response to a question about Widows XP capable hardware, Jim Lewis related a story about running Windows XP on a Pentium One 233 MHz. He said it would run, but you couldn't install any of the Service Packs, because Microsoft added hardware checking on boot up and it would shut out the older hardware.
There's a brand new version of Netscape out now, version 8. Time Warner AOL owns Netscape. Kevin Hisel was less than enthusiastic. He wondered if the new version would no longer hijack your search sessions.
Norris Hansell asked if anyone had upgraded to Mac OS 10.4 "Tiger" yet. Craig Kummerow and Bryan Forbes had it running on their laptops just down the table from him. Norris asked if it had outdated any of their software. So far, no. It was noted that Cisco Systems VPN "Virtual Personal Network" software had broken, but that a new version was working its way through the problem.
Anthony Philip asked a question about how to get a new Finder window to default to disk mode.
Mark Zinzow talked about getting an order together for some optical mice. Price? Three bucks a piece.
Kevin Hisel brought up a news item he'd seen about billboards being barred from low earth orbit.
Edwin Hadley had a bunch of stuff to sell for an office mate of his.
Anthony Philip had a 512 MB iPod Shuffle for sale for $80.
Richard Rollins piped in he has a house for sale in St. Jo.
Kevin Hisel conducted one of our drawings. Craig Kummerow won the book "PC Annoyances." Dave Witt won the book "Digital Audio Essentials." Mark Zinzow won the book "Linux in a Windows World." And finally, Bryan Forbes won a $25 gift certificate from Computer Deli.
At this point we took our mid-meeting break and the rest of the night was spent in friendly conversations.
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
The May meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, May 24, 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: Richard Rollins, Rich Hall, Emil Cobb, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel and Jim Lewis.
Richard Rollins: Richard started by saying what a great meeting we'd just had: twenty-six members show up - three past Presidents, Dave Witt, Mike Latinovich, Craig Kummerow, Anderson Yau, Quentin Barnes. It was good to see everybody.
We reviewed the prize winners of the drawing.
We have nothing planned for the SIGs.
Rich Hall: Rich reported that he had received funds for three renewing memberships at the meeting and that they had been deposited. Rich noted the money we had received from Amazon for traffic through our web banner.
Emil Cobb: Emil said he had been on vacation and wasn't at the last meeting, so he had no club business to report. He did say that the show in Chicago had been about half of what it had been. Richard confirmed this. Richard went on to describe some of his purchases.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin had no new business to report.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin said he thought we had gotten some new members because of our forums policy.
Jim Lewis: Jim said it was good to be back and get to see everyone. The meeting had been good. "Bull sessions" can be very informative. As for the new facilities since the last time he was here, "It rules."
Jim then went on to regale us with stories about the Phoenix PC Users Group, how it's run, and how it compares with our organization. He said they have about 300 members, meeting in three separate locations around the Phoenix area over a given month. The average age of the membership is about 65 and the acronym of the club is PPCUG. We'll leave it at that. Jim finished up by saying, "I miss you guys." The feeling is mutual.
ToC
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 352-1002 submitcomments.html Linux SIG: Phil Wall 352-5442 phil.wall@pobox.com
Email us at http://www.cucug.org/ submitcomments.html, visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/ .