News Humor Common PC Linux Mac CUCUG
The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, December 15th, 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 December 15 gathering will be our Annual meetings. Club officers will be elected. We will also have an open forum and a swap meet for those who'd like to sell or exchange hardware and software in line with the usual ground rules. This is a social event and should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there.
ToC
We'd like to welcome the newest member of our group, joining us in the last month: Jon W. Bjerke (Windows PC, Linux).
We'd also like to thank renewing members Mike Latinovich, Dave Witt, Edwin Hadley, and Quentin Barnes.
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.
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It's that time of year again to renew your membership in CUCUG. We rely on our members and their talents for our strength and vitality. You can renew at the December meeting with Treasurer Richard Hall or through the mail at our P.O. Box address. We sincerely hope to have you with us in the new year.
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These are the gentlemen who have been officially nominated for re-election.
| President: |
Richard Rollins |
() |
| Vice-President: |
Emil Cobb |
(e-cobb@uiuc.edu) |
| Secretary: |
Kevin Hopkins |
(kh2@uiuc.edu) |
| Treasurer: |
Richard Hall |
(rjhall1@uiuc.edu) |
| Corporate Agent: | Kevin Hisel | (withheld by request) |
URL: http://www.gutenberg.org/
November 01, 2005 - Sony CD installs `rootkit'. If you stay away from file sharing networks because you fear virus infections, you'll also have to stay away from copy-protected CDs from now on. At least one commercially distributed Sony CD has been found to install a `rootkit' software which should prevent user from making copies of the CD. A naive removal of the `rootkit' files will make the system CD drive unusable. For more details see: The Register or Slashdot.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/11/01/sony_rootkit_drm/ http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/31/2016223 http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html
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Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes: November 18, 2005
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm111805.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm111805.pdf
Sony BMG gets caught selling copy-protected CDs which contain code that make computers running Windows vulnerable to malicious exploit. Several dozen Sony BMG music releases contain digital rights management software to prevent excessive copying, which gets installed when users insert the CD and use the on-board music player to listen to it. The problem is the software contains code which allows it to hide its files from public view. This raises the troubling possibility that a hacker could exploit this code to seed machines with something damaging, without a user's knowledge or consent. It's been estimated that more than 500,000 computer networks around the world contain at least one computer that's been compromised in this fashion. Sony BMG has since released a patch to uncloak the hidden files its copy-protected CDs leave on hard drives, but the company refuses to provide information on how to safely uninstall the software itself. What's worse, Sony BMG's program tampers with core functions of the Windows operating system, and improperly uninstalling the program can cause Windows itself to crash. Further digging into this story uncovered even more delicious irony, like the fact that many Sony BMG CDs contain a second program which transmits information from your computer to a server every time you play a copy-protected CD. And to top it all off, those who wrote Sony's copy-protection software apparently pilfered open-source code in the process, which conceivably constitutes a violation of copyright law.
ToC
Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes: December 2, 2005
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm120205.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm120205.pdf
Sony BMG's decision to seed many of its music CDs with copy-protection software that made peoples' computers vulnerable to hackers may end up costing the conglomerate quite a pretty penny. At least seven class-action lawsuits have already been filed against Sony BMG over the rootkit-infected CDs. Now, the Attorney General of the state of Texas has also joined the fray, claiming the company's copy-protection measures actually qualify as spyware - and peddling spyware is illegal in Texas. That suit seeks $100,000 per copy-protected disc sold in the state.
ToC
These are just a few sites you can peruse to see if you've got one of these "loaded" CDs.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004228.php
http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/Sony-BMG/mediamaxlist.php
http://www.sunncomm.com/support/faq/releases.asp
December 05, 2005
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004232.php
Real Networks today announced the availability of a web-based version of its Rhapsody music service. Finally, there is a listen-on-demand authorized music service with deep major label catalog that Mac and Linux users can use. I expect Napster 2.0 and Yahoo! will feel competitive pressure to migrate to a cross-platform, browser-based solution, as well.
What strikes me about this announcement is the implicit rejection of DRM that it represents. After all, while Real touts Rhapsody as primarily a "streaming" music service, everyone knows that it is trivial to turn a "stream" into a "download" by using widely available software tools. Audio Hijack, for example, records Rhapsody streams without any problem on my OS X machine. And everyone knows that Linux users will have new "stream-ripping" applications aimed at Rhapsody before you can say "DVD Jon." So it seems clear that Rhapsody has managed to talk its major label licensors into allowing them to concentrate on attracting customers, rather than shackling them in a misguided attempt to restrict the music that is already available on P2P networks for free.
That's a good sign. We've been saying for years now that the music industry needs to pay more attention to fattening the carrot, and less to brandishing the stick.
There have been other signs that the end for music DRM may be near. First, the Sony-BMG debacle has certainly made the labels reassess the value of DRM on CDs. Moreover, Apple allows its customers to bypass the FairPlay DRM by allowing iTunes Music Store customers to burn their purchases to unprotected CDs, which can then be ripped or duplicated without restriction. And all the major authorized music services appear to have spurned Microsoft's "Secure Audio Path" technology, which would have made the DRM shackles on Windows Media files that much tighter fitting.
At the same time, legitimate customers are piling up the complaints on DRM schemes that make it difficult to move music to iPods and create new failure modes for paying subscribers, all while doing nothing to prevent file sharing on P2P networks.
So here's to the eventual demise of DRM on digital music. Once the DRM is gone, we can see what a real, robust, competitive digital music marketplace looks like.
ToC
URL: http://www.ontrack.com/newsreleases/index.asp?getPressRelease=31935
Unbelievable but True Tales of Data Disaster and Remarkable Feats of Data Recovery
MINNEAPOLIS - Dec. 5, 2005 - Ontrack Data Recovery has unveiled its annual Top Ten list of the strangest and funniest computer mishaps in 2005. Taken from a global poll of Ontrack data recovery experts, this year's list of bizarre data disasters is even more incredible when you consider that in each case cited, Ontrack actually recovered the data.
"Ontrack Data Recovery receives more than 100,000 requests for data recovery service every year so we come across some pretty strange data disasters," said Jim Reinert, senior director of Software and Services for Ontrack Data Recovery. "Although the examples in this year's list are pretty extreme, they illustrate a very important point - data recovery is possible, even in cases where it seems impossible."
The Ontrack 2005 Top Ten List of Data Disasters and Remarkable Recoveries
And finally, the number one most bizarre data disaster of 2005=8A
"Data can be recovered from computers, servers and even memory cards used in digital devices by either working on the computers or media/storage devices in our labs and cleanrooms, or by using our patented Remote Data Recovery=81 technology," added Reinert. "However, individuals and companies can avoid the hassle and stress this can cause by backing up data on a regular basis and establishing a relationship with a professional data recovery company before disaster strikes."
For further information about data recovery, please call Ontrack at 1-800-872-2599 or visit the Web site at www.ontrack.com.
About Ontrack Data Recovery Ontrack Data Recovery (www.ontrack.com) is the largest, most experienced and technologically advanced provider of data recovery products and services worldwide. Ontrack is able to recover lost or corrupted data from virtually all operating systems and types of storage devices through its do-it-yourself, remote and in-lab capabilities, using its hundreds of proprietary tools and techniques. Ontrack Data Recovery is a brand name of Kroll Ontrack Inc., a technology services subsidiary of Kroll Inc., the global risk consulting company.
ToC
By JONATHAN WEINBERG
URL: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005510723,00.html
EVER done something then instantly regretted you didn't check things out a little bit more closely!
Well, the people behind these websites must have been kicking themselves after buying this set of wacky domain names.
At first glance they might seem innocent enough, but have another read.
And if you've spotted an even better one, send it in to yourviews@the-sun.co.uk marked "Wacky website name"
We'd love to see it and we'll reprint the best ones!
Who Represents?, a database for agencies to the rich and famous: www.whorepresents.com
Experts Exchange, a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views: www.expertsexchange.com
Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island: www.penisland.net
Need a therapist? www.therapistfinder.com
Mole Station Native Nursery, based in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com
New to Milan and you need electric light? Why not sign up on-line with Power-Gen? www.powergenitalia.com
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-Kevin Hisel
One of my favorite browser bookmarks is:
http://home.earthlink.net/~awinkelried/keyboard_shortcuts.html
This page contains a comprehensive guide to creating special typographical characters using your PC or Mac keyboard. Need a yen sign for Japanese currency? Well, it's option - y on the Mac and Alt+0165 (on the numeric keypad) on the PC. How about a trademark symbol? That's easy, just Alt+0153 on the PC and option - 2 on the Mac.
The listing also shows you how to create these symbols in HTML code for use in your own web pages.
I find that I refer to this page at least once a week and it is very helpful.
ToC
Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes: November 11, 2005
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm111105.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm111105.pdf
And now, here's a Media Minutes Fast Fact: According to the experts at Google, to completely index all of the information on the Internet will take some 300 years. As of right now the Internet contains about 5 million terabytes of data - more than 36,000 times the amount of information contained in all the books housed in the Library of Congress. So far, Google has only indexed about 170 terabytes of the 'net - just three one- thousandths of a percent of what exists online.
ToC
Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes content is produced under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license; see
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ for more information.
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm112505.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm112505.pdf
Communities large and small all around the country are hopping on the public broadband bandwagon. They're looking to set up community-wide fiber-optic networks or wireless clouds of connectivity to provide both residents and visitors with broadband access for free or at low-cost. Some are looking at broadband like any other utility, similar to water or electric service, and are offering connectivity under a similar model. To incumbent phone and cable companies, however, this is perceived as a huge threat to their subscriber base. The reason? Community Internet services that are run like public utilities have been proven to offer better broadband access at lower rates than private providers. This is why companies have been lobbying state legislatures so hard over the last year. They seek state-by-state laws to prohibit broadband competition from the public sector. So far, more than a dozen states have banned or significantly restricted the ability of cities and towns to offer such connectivity.
One of those states is Wisconsin, where a grassroots group tried to find a way around a state ban on the public provision of broadband. Norman Stockwell with Madison Community Wireless Advocates says the city began exploring a community Internet plan earlier this year; just recently it announced it would farm out the building of a wireless network to a private company, who would then install its equipment on the city's power poles.
Norman Stockwell: "It won't cost the city of Madison anything and it's not an exclusive agreement, which means other wireless providers could also come into the picture."
This is a far cry from the ubiquitous public access the group had in mind. But the public- private partnership seems to be the model many communities are subscribing to as they consider building their own broadband networks. Houston is the latest major city to announce such a partnership and hopes to have at least a part of its network online next year. Most expect public access to these networks to cost less than a comparable cable or DSL connection. As for Madison, Stockwell says they'd like to try and establish a non- profit wireless presence that could offer free broadband for the city.
Norman Stockwell: "Our intention is to continue exploring different options and probably begin to work on a neighborhood level. Since the CellNet agreement is not exclusive, it means that other people could come into play and could provide service and maybe things could work out in such a way that everyone will be able to work together."
Next door in Iowa, citizens in 32 cities and towns voted on referenda this month calling for the creation of broadband utilities. More than half decided to go for it, despite $1.5 million dumped into the campaigns by incumbent cable and phone providers Mediacom and Qwest to try and rally no-votes. Just when it seemed this issue would remain local, though, Congress signals it may get involved. Three bills dealing with community Internet are currently in circulation on Capitol Hill: two would forbid or restrict cities and towns from operating a publicly-accessible broadband network, while the third would supersede local and state restrictions to allow unfettered competition between the public and private sectors.
Digitize your old records and cassette tapes while you still can. The recording and motion picture industries are teaming up to lobby Congress on legislation that would plug the so-called "analog hole." This term was coined three years ago by the Motion Picture Association of America. It refers to the ability to convert content from digital to analog and vice versa - like videotaping a movie or making an MP3 of something recorded off the radio. Converting digital content to analog strips it of any built-in content protection systems, which allow it to be re-copied at will. Movie studios and record labels would like Congress to require electronics manufacturers to embed special chips in all recording devices that would automatically shut them down if someone attempts to convert copyrighted content from analog to digital. This would make it impossible to transfer records and tapes you rightfully own to MP3 or other digital formats. A discussion draft of such legislation began circulating on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
And now here's a Media Minutes Fast Fact: Prime time television content is shrinking to make way for more advertising. In any given hour, an average program contains 42 minutes of content and 18 minutes of ads. But if you combine the spot load with show promos, teasers, and recap clips, the actual content of any given week's program is closer to 40 minutes - meaning that for every two minutes of new content aired every week there's a minute of filler. TV networks are adding more filler by adding more commercial breaks - the industry standard for an hour-long primetime show a year ago used to be four breaks per hour, but now it's six.
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Written and produced by John Anderson (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes: December 9, 2005
Audio: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm120905.mp3
Text: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/transcripts/mm120905.pdf
The city of New Orleans plans to build a city-wide wireless broadband network. Unlike other cities that have jumped on the wi-fi bandwagon, though, New Orleans plans to make access to the network absolutely free. City officials believe ubiquitous broadband access will entice people back to the still-ravaged city and speed its rebuilding and recovery process. There's just one problem: a state law prohibits local governments from offering public broadband access. But because New Orleans still resides under a declaration of a state of emergency, it can ignore that law for now. What happens when the emergency is over, though, is another story: city officials plan to seek a waiver for their network, or they may lobby to overturn the state law completely.
The plan's already drawn retaliation from New Orleans' incumbent phone company, BellSouth: the company had offered to donate a building in New Orleans to the city for use as a replacement police headquarters, but hours after the mayor and other city officials announced the free wireless project BellSouth officials reneged on their donation. While the company disputes this characterization it is not the first time BellSouth's been caught trying to strong-arm a municipality out of offering broadband service to its citizens: last year, when the city of Lafayette, Louisiana announced plans to build a municipal fiber-optic data network which would be open to the public, BellSouth threatened to close a customer service call center in Lafayette, which would have meant the loss of 1,300 jobs. The citizens of Lafayette voted to move ahead with the fiber network anyway - and the call center remains open.
ToC
In the October Newsletter, we provided an article from the BBC on the World Summit on the Information Society to be held in Tunis in mid-November. The World Summit took place on November 16-18, with 23,000 people attending. This is an important subject on the international stage. The Summit passed with nothing overtly done, but with some fundamental differences in interpretation as to what was agreed to. For more information on this subject, check out:
Masters of the Universe
"At the moment, the United States sets the rules for the Internet, through the non-governmental Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Whether the U.S. will retain its hegemony, however, is uncertain; it's up for debate next month at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. Kenneth Neil Cukier outlined the debate for Foreign Affairs, and joins Brooke to discuss what's at stake."
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_102805_masters.html
And, for a real history lesson on the Internet and the issues involved, check out the interview with "Dan Schiller, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, talking about issues of global media governance."
http://www.will.uiuc.edu/willmp3/mediamatters051127.mp3
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For some, Google stands for a new model in advertising, and reflects the increasingly interconnected nature of our media and economy. But do we really want total omnigooglization, as the French call it? Brooke speaks with Matt Thompson, creator of an eight-minute Internet movie entitled "Epic 2014," wherein the future media landscape is dominated by a single company: Googlezon.
http://www.robinsloan.com/epic/
GOOGLEZON
December 2, 2005
URL: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_120205_googlezon.html
Paul Thurrott
URL: http://www.wininformant.com/
The December Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Windows Vista will be build 5276, plus or minus one build, I was told today. Beta testers, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers, and TechNet members can expect to see the December CTP in a week or 10 days. It includes many new features compared with the previous CTP in October, but it isn't the feature-complete version of Vista that Microsoft promised to deliver in December. Microsoft will deliver that version internally this month, but testers won't see a feature-complete CTP until January or February.
Speaking of Vista, you might recall that Microsoft had originally planned to deliver three versions of the new UI, called Aero Glass, Aero Express, and Aero To Go. Those plans have been revised. Now, Microsoft will offer two modes only, called Windows Vista Aero (which includes the glass effects) and Windows Vista Basic, which is roughly like the Windows XP display. However, the capabilities of the three previous modes are still there: Vista Aero is the equivalent of Aero Glass, and you can get the equivalent of Aero Express by turning off the translucency effects while running Vista Aero. The best news? Contrary to rumors, you'll need only a 64MB video card with 3-D capabilities to run Vista Aero on a typical PC (higher resolution displays will require more video RAM).
Microsoft has pushed back the public preview version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7 for XP to early 2006. I was told that the release would most likely happen in January or February. The IE 7 public preview will be feature-complete and will include many new features, some of which Microsoft hasn't publicly demonstrated yet. Stay tuned for more details.
It's painful, but it's true
Paul Thurrott
InstantDoc #48614
Paul Thurrott's WinInfo
URL: http://tinyurl.com/cb8fv
A public beta version of Windows OneCare Live, Microsoft's upcoming consumer security service, will be made available today, the company tells me. Microsoft had been testing the service through its MSN division since mid-2005, but this public beta test marks the first time it will be distributed to a wide range of users.
"The consumer beta of Windows OneCare Live will be available this week as part of an extensive testing and development process before its final release to the public," a Microsoft representative told me yesterday. "Windows OneCare Live will ... offer real-time anti-virus and managed firewall security, back-up and restore capabilities and PC maintenance tools. Other features will be added over the course of beta testing, including anti-spyware protection."
Microsoft describes OneCare Live as an automatically self-updating PC health service that runs quietly in the background, giving you persistent protection against viruses, hackers, and other threats, helping keep your PC tuned up and your important documents backed up. You can find out more about the Windows OneCare Live beta at the Live.com Web site: http://ideas.live.com
In related news, Microsoft is also privately testing a new version of its upcoming Windows Live Mail service, codenamed Kahuna. The updated Windows Live Mail beta includes more advanced features to help protect customers from phishing scams and spam, as well as gives customers more control of their Windows Live Mail beta experience, according to Microsoft.
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The company will offer two security fixes, both of them for the Windows OS
News Story by Elizabeth MontalbanoDECEMBER 09, 2005 (IDG NEWS SERVICE) - Microsoft Corp. is planning two software security fixes -- at least one of them rated critical -- as part of December's release of security updates due out on Tuesday.
Both patches are for the Windows operating system, according to information on Microsoft's Web site. A critical rating for a bug means that a worm could take advantage of it without the user taking any action.
The patches, called "updates" by Microsoft, will come as part of the company's regular monthly patch release cycle. Microsoft releases most software patches on the second Tuesday of each month, a date that has come to be known as Patch Tuesday by security professionals.
Microsoft also will release an updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services and the company's Download Center Web site. The tool will not be distributed using Software Update Services, however. The company will also release two nonsecurity, high-priority patches on Windows Update and Software Update Services, and three nonsecurity, high-priority patches on Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services.
In November, Microsoft released one software patch that addressed three critical security vulnerabilities in the way that Windows processes Windows Metafile, a graphics format used by some computer- aided design applications.
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Posted by: Digital Dave on December 10, 2005 12:11 PM
URL: http://www.winoscentral.com/
Well, personally I think it is. Do I feel it needs some work in the memory area? Sure, but I'm sure that will get solved over time. Its not like IE isn't a hog itself.
Firefox 1.5 has been out since November 29, 2005, and has garnered glowing reviews around the Internet. This is not one of them. In fact, I recommend holding off, at least temporarily, on installing Firefox 1.5. I've installed and used Firefox 1.5 through the betas, and had no trouble, but somewhere early in the Release Candidates I began to encounter problems. And I'm beginning to learn that I might not be alone in that. I can't speak with authority that a large number of Firefox users are having issues with Firefox 1.5; I am, though, hearing sufficient reports about trouble to be cautious.
More on this story: http://internetweek.cmp.com/handson/174907404
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from Tom Purl (tompurl2000@yahoo.com)
Rhapsody.com, which is a subscription music site run by RealNetworks, now supports Firefox on Linux (as well as Safari on OS X). I've been waiting for one of these types of sites to finally support Linux for a long time, so I checked it out.
First, you need to download a Firefox plugin that appears to be a slimmed-down version of RealPlayer that can be embedded within Firefox. After that, you simply sign up with the site and you can start using their service. I thought that it might be a bear installing this software on Linux, but the Rhapsody site makes it as easy as following a wizard (and of course, you should restart Firefox after installing any new plugins or extensions).
The introductory offer at Rhapsody allows you to "listen" to 25 songs for free. By listen, please note that I didn't say "download", because if you want to do that, you need to subscribe to their "premium" package, which is $10 a month. Once you've done that you can then actually download the songs to your computer for $0.99 a piece.
What else does the "premium" plan give you? You can listen to as much music as you want on their site, as long as you stream it to your desktop. They have a pretty nice collection, and you can access it from any location as long as you have a web browser, but it doesn't seem like much compared to the iTunes Music Store.
So if you, like myself, are a Linux user who really likes music but doesn't want to spend a lot of money, this appears to be a mediocre new option. If you'd like to be able to pay for your music once and then use it on any piece of hardware (your iPod, your Linux box, whatever), then you're probably better off with some of the better CD clubs. I highly recommend yourmusic.com, because they have a great selection, no contract, and very cheap prices.
ToC
IBM's recently announced that the Workplace line of web-based productivity software will be able to view and edit documents that use the OpenDocument standard. This standard, which was recently ratified, is partially supported by the OpenOffice.org software suite and promises to give individuals more control over their data. Please see the following links for more information:
Only in France could a story this weird be published seven months after April. The "VU/SACEM/BSA/FA Contents Department" that is currently being debated by the French parliament bill proposes that free software authors be sued for publishing source code. Here's some links:
Everyone's favorite Linux distribution that is named after an ancient African word is now certified by IBM to run the DB2 realtional database manager. Ubuntu is an enhanced version of Debian Linux, and Debian has possessed this certification for some time now. So which is the bigger deal, that Ubuntu is certified to work with DB2 or that Canonical (the company that steers the Ubuntu project), unlike most Linux companies, actually has hired a marketing department?
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TidBITS#809/12-Dec-05
The Mozilla Corporation has released Firefox 1.5, the latest version of the popular open source Web browser for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Important new features include an automated update capability, improved navigation performance, drag-and-drop reordering of tabs, improved pop-up blocking, a one-step method of clearing private data, more-descriptive error pages, automatic RSS discovery, better accessibility, a wizard for reporting broken Web sites, enhanced support for Mac OS X (including profile migration from Safari and Internet Explorer), and numerous security enhancements. Firefox 1.5 requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later and is a 9.4 MB download.
<http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/>
Ironically after my article about simplifying installation in TidBITS-807_, the Firefox disk image provides only graphical instruction that's actively confusing. An arrow leads from the Firefox icon itself to a smaller, greyed-out version of the Firefox icon that is presumably being dragged, to judge from the non-Mac-like pointer and + badge, and then to a greyed-out icon that looks like the Applications folder. Unfortunately, it's all representational - the Applications folder is just a picture, and not a symbolic link, and there are no textual instructions to clarify what to do. I've already heard of people not realizing they had to copy the Firefox package and instead running it from the disk image. Worse, the instructions on the Firefox Web site say "double click the Firefox Disk Image to open it in Finder, and then drag the Firefox application onto your hard disk. Drag the icon to your Dock if you want it to appear there." I'm sure there are people who will promptly drag the Firefox icon from the disk image to the Dock, instead of copying it to the Applications folder and then dragging the copied version's icon to the Dock. Obviously, there's nothing all that hard here, but that's no reason not to make it easier yet.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08346>
In comparison, applications that deserve kudos for using this installation technique include Jim Matthews's Fetch (of course!), James Thomson's PCalc, and Frank Reiff's A Better Finder Rename, with extra points to Rainer Brockerhoff for using the technique for his XRay utility since 2003. Some disk images don't force icon view if the user has Open New Windows in Column View set in the Finder preferences, which eliminates any graphical or textual help that would otherwise appear. I'm not yet sure how to force icon view in all situations. [ACE]
<http://www.fetchsoftworks.com/>
<http://www.pcalc.com/>
<http://www.publicspace.net/ABetterFinderRename/>
<http://www.brockerhoff.net/xray/>
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#809/12-Dec-05
The Flashblock extension for Firefox lets you control whether Flash animations automatically start playing on Web pages (see "Firefox Flash Blocker" in TidBITS-794_). With the release of Firefox 1.5, I was bereft! No update! Andrew Lawrence pointed out via iChat that Flashblock had an update - the extension has forked into two separate versions. For Firefox 1.0.x, you can use Flashblock 1.3.3; for Firefox 1.5, Flashblock 1.5.
<http://flashblock.mozdev.org/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08225>
Installing extensions within Firefox is a breeze:
If the extension doesn't download in Step 3, that's due to Firefox's clever way of disallowing software installations from sites you haven't approved.
Here's how to approve the site:
TidBITS#806/21-Nov-05
Last week, a reader wrote in asking if we knew anything more about the freezing problems he was having with his single processor Power Mac G5 1.8 GHz. Almost simultaneously, Apple released a firmware update for that machine that promises to address a number of freezes, enabling us to write back and tell him that we'd looked into the problem, contacted Apple, and that they had dropped everything to release a firmware update for us. Every now and then you just have to take credit for utter coincidences! There are separate updates for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4.3; they're about 1 MB in size. [ACE]
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302212>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2736>
TidBITS#807/05-Dec-05
Apple has released Security Update 2005-009, preventing a diverse collection of possible exploits in both the desktop and server versions of Mac OS X 10.3.9 and Mac OS X 10.4.3. The most notable changes are to Safari, in which Apple improved handling of credit card security codes, eliminated a bug in the JavaScript engine's PCRE (regular expression) library, ensured that files with overly long names won't be downloaded into unexpected locations, caused JavaScript- generated dialogs to identify the site that created them, and fixed a heap overflow that could enable arbitrary code execution in WebKit-based applications. Other components of Mac OS X seeing fixes include Apache2, apache_mod_ssl, CoreFoundation, CoreTypes, curl, iodbcadmintool, OpenSSL, passwordserver, QuickDraw Manager, ServerMigration, sudo, and syslog. Security Update 2005-009 is available via Software Update and as a standalone download for each version of Mac OS X; sizes range from 6 MB to 33 MB. [ACE]
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302847>
ToC
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#809/12-Dec-05
The Taiwan-based chipmaker Ralink may be the solution for many users of Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger trying to find a Wi-Fi adapter that works with their particular machine. Although few companies make Wi-Fi products that include or support Tiger drivers, several companies use chips from Broadcom, Apple's Wi-Fi chip supplier, which enables their products to work on a Mac without additional software.
However, Broadcom's competitors have made inroads into the Wi-Fi market, and some products that worked six months ago - for instance, a Belkin 802.11g PCI Card - have been re-engineered to save costs and no longer use Broadcom chips. Manufacturers rarely directly disclose which chips are in which products to avoid making promises about the underlying technology; they're promising functionality (i.e., a Wi-Fi connection).
That's what makes Ralink's unsupported drivers for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4 and Linux so interesting: if you wind up with a Ralink-based device, you can still use it with your Mac. Ralink has been listening to its indirect Mac customers, because they recently updated their drivers for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and they seem to release regular bug fix updates as well.
Ralink's driver page contains downloads for supported products, but it's organized by internal chipset and product names. I hope some enterprising soul will figure out which products and versions from major makers use Ralink chips, expanding Mac users' options.
<http://www.ralinktech.com/supp-1.htm>
Belkin's 802.11g PCI Card (part number F5D7000) claims to have Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3 (not 10.4) compatibility on its detail page, but doesn't offer drivers for download via the linked page. Al Varnell wrote in point out that you must take a different route to find drivers by visiting Belkin's download section and navigating to the product. I have no idea why the drivers aren't properly linked in both directions! The drivers were updated in April, 2005 and include no mention of Tiger compatibility. (Belkin also has Panther drivers for other products.)
<http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=&pcount=&Product_Id=136479>
<http://www.belkin.com/support/download/download.asp?category=9&lang=1&mode=>
There are now Tiger-supported USB 2.0 adapters for Macs - I found this out almost by accident. The ZyXEL AG-225H, a Wi-Fi hotspot detector with a built-in LCD screen, doubles as an 802.11a/b/g adapter using USB 2.0. ZyXEL provides Mac drivers for both Panther and Tiger; I haven't tested them but have been told that they work by other Mac users. I reviewed the ZyXEL unit, looking primarily at its Wi-Fi finding functions, for Mobile Pipeline back in September, 2005. It's about $75 from several online retailers.
<http://us.zyxel.com/support/download.php>
<http://www.mobilepipeline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=171000509>
Thanks to Dave Goldman for this tip!
ToC
TidBITS#807/05-Dec-05
U.S. Mac owners have one less option to pay the taxman. For a few years, H&R Block developed TaxCut for Mac OS X, paralleling their fairly good online site for tax preparation and filing. However, there will be no TaxCut 2005 (that's tax year, not release year).
With the growth in tax-preparation Web sites that provide instant feedback, don't require downloaded updates, and offer all kinds of upsell ("Have an accountant review your return for $75, and we'll ship you a cheese sandwich for $15!"), standalone Mac OS X tax software appears to be a losing game. That said, Intuit's TurboTax remains an option for Mac users (Intuit also offers Windows and online versions). Their 2005 tax year version for federal filing is available now; state tax add-ons will appear starting next month.
For years, I worked with an accountant because of some complicated payout issues and other matters. I switched to TaxCut because I like the Web site and although the standalone version had some shortcomings, it seemed like the right choice. Now that I'm being forced to switch away from TaxCut, I'll be curious to see how easy it is to move my Quicken data into TurboTax. [GF]
ToC
TidBITS#807/05-Dec-05
Bare Bones Software has updated both of their text editors, the powerful BBEdit and the freeware TextWrangler. Both programs, which share the same text engine, benefit from a variety of bug fixes and the capability to turn off the Script menu. BBEdit 8.2.4 is a free update and is a 15.2 MB download; TextWrangler 2.1.1 is a 9 MB download. [ACE]
<http://www.barebones.com/support/updates.shtml>
<http://www.barebones.com/support/bbedit/current_notes.shtml>
<http://www.barebones.com/support/textwrangler/current_notes.shtml>
TidBITS#806/21-Nov-05
Michael Tsai has updated his popular and powerful spam detection utility SpamSieve to version 2.4 (see "Tools We Use: SpamSieve" in TidBITS-667_ for a full review). The update features tweaks to the Bayesian email analysis engine for improved accuracy, phishing detection, filing of spam into different mailboxes in Apple Mail based on spam scores, support for new Habeas headers, and a variety of other minor changes. New copies of SpamSieve 2.4 cost $25 (save $5 with the coupon in "Take Control of What's New in Entourage 2004" or the soon-to-be- updated "Take Control of Spam with Apple Mail"), but the update is free to registered users. It's a 3.1 MB download. [ACE]
<http://c-command.com/spamsieve/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07076>
<http://c-command.com/blog/2005/11/16/spamsieve-24>
TidBITS#807/05-Dec-05
If the limited selection of TV shows available on the iTunes Music Store is preventing you from watching video on your new iPod, check out the latest version of EyeTV from Elgato Systems. EyeTV works with video hardware to enable you to watch and record TV on your Mac, edit out unwanted content, and (in conjunction with Roxio's Toast) burn recorded shows to CD or DVD. The latest update, version 1.8.4, adds the capability to export shows to one of two formats for video iPods: QuickTime H.264 or MPEG-4, the latter of which Elgato claims encodes five times faster and offers higher resolution output. The updates is free to registered users of EyeTV, which costs $80 on its own, or comes in a dizzying array of bundles from Elgato (due in large part to international television standards; only four products are appropriate for U.S. Mac users). [ACE]
<http://www.elgato.com/>
<http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=products_eyetvmain>
<http://www.elgato.com/index.php?file=support_updates_eyetv>
by Mark H. Anbinder <mha@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#809/12-Dec-05
When Apple introduced its new video-capable iPod in October, the early iTunes Music Store video offerings were limited to ABC and Disney Channel television programs. Don't get me wrong, I like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," but I yearned for this new service to explore more of its potential. Last week's Apple announcement of a deal with NBC Universal realizes that dream for me.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/dec/06nbc.html>
Now available is a much broader selection of entertainment, featuring such NBC drama as "Law & Order" and "Surface," the nightly shows of Leno and Conan, science fiction masterpiece "Battlestar Galactica" from the Sci-Fi Channel, and the USA Network hit "Monk." But of more interest to me, since I can already watch all of those shows via DISH Network, is the collection of vintage NBC shows like "Adam-12," "Dragnet," and even "Knight Rider," plus the first season of "Law & Order."
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/videos/>
Episodes of each show are available for $1.99, with new episodes available the day after they air on television. (Currently, TV shows are available only in the U.S., and availability of other videos varies by country.) Just as music albums often offer songs for a total price lower than 99 cents each, TV series "seasons" are typically available for a lower total price than $1.99 per episode.
NBC Universal and Apple are cleverly taking advantage of the recent surge in DVD sales of old TV shows. If you'll buy old "Bewitched" episodes on DVD, why not grab an old "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode to take on the morning commute? The programs are all commercial-free, in contrast to announcements last month that the NBC and CBS networks would offer 99-cent on-demand shows with commercials via DirecTV and Comcast Digital Cable, respectively. Noticeably absent is the NBC Nightly News Netcast with Brian Williams, available for free in Windows Media format on MSNBC.com each weeknight after 10 PM Eastern.
Apple says iTunes Music Store customers have purchased more than three million videos since the service's debut less than two months ago, for viewing in iTunes or the Front Row application included with the latest iMac, or on an iPod. Add me to the list; my first TV show download, of the long-ago pilot episode of "Law & Order," is almost finished. Would you believe, considering how many times a day "Law & Order" airs on TV, I've never seen the pilot?
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
November 17, 2005 -- President Rollins began the meeting with the traditional introductions of officers. Kevin Hisel and Rich Hall not present.
The floor was the opened for Questions and Answers.
Phil Wall said he had run Spybot and wanted to ask about something he found. He said he let Spybot kill it and that was the consensus.
Phil then asked about a USB mouse problem he has. He said fast scrolling causes a weird dumping of stuff to command line. Dave Witt asked what kind of mouse it was. Phil said he had two different mice, two different machines, Linux and Windows. Both machines started out with PS2 mice. They're a Logitech and a no name generic. Richard Rollins theorized it was caused by a buffer overload. Quentin said it might be a BIOS error. A general discussion of mice followed.
Norris Hansell reported his G4 Powerbook having a long copy problem, among other things. He sent it in to Apple through Ramjet. The story ended happily. He got a 250 GB backup drive. In restoring he machine, the OS took possession of his user file and it reconfigured his machine for him.
Norris then talked about importing Pagemaker documents as EPS files and making nice PDF files. He said his copy of CS2 Suite needed OS9, and he found that it has a copy of Illustrator 9 hidden away in it.
He noted that backing up your User folder takes care of most things.
Jerry Feltner brought in more photo paper.
David Witt asked if an iMac SE 700 MHz Special Edition would run Tiger. He noted that it will run Panther. Edwin Hadley suggested going smalldog.com for information. There is a list of legacy models Apple has dropped Quentin said. Macfixit.com also has forums, Richard Rollins suggested, that can help you put newer OSes on machines that are no longer supported by Apple.
Norris Hansell related a story about needing Word 5.1 to open some old files, but that the install disks are floppy disks, so he made a DVD and low and behold it worked. He said he later found out that the current version of Word will open those files, so he went through all that and never had to use it, but it did work.
David Noreen asked about how some of the URLs in newsletter were word wrapped. Kevin Hopkins talked about the difference between hard line feeds and soft line feeds. Richard Rollins brought up the use of Tiny URL to get around using some of the extended URLs.
Richard Rollins talked about Sony's Rootkit controversy. He said this vile business leaves a wide open port for viruses to attack your machine. He also noted that when the crap code goes bad it takes out access to the CD. He said the problem goes back two years and only on discs sold in the US. You can protect yourself by shutting off auto run and denying the EULA. Richard said Sony's software only phones home on the Mac. He recommended reading http://www.sysinternals.com/Blog/ - Monday, October 31, 2005 - "Sony, Rootkits And Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far." Norris Hansell asked if this effects blank Sony disks or Sony movies? The blanks are fine, but as for the movies, we don't know yet.
In the discussion that followed it was reported that Microsoft will be providing "Malicious Software Removal Tool" next month which will remove Sony's root kit. Shields Up - http://www.gcc.com - was also highly recommended to analyze your risks.
The discussion then turned to the games on Sony machines in the November newsletter.
Another bit of news that surfaced was that Microsoft got in trouble with the judge handling their anti-trust agreement.
The discussion then turned to video podcasting and to the ability to set up one's own online network. Right now its enthusiasts, but they're beginning to get financial backing. Someone noted that the next version of Tivo will be Internet aware. Also mentioned was that Warner Brothers is putting out old shows with commercials for free.
If you are interested in the After Thanksgiving Sales, here are a couple of suggested web sites:
http://BlackFridaysAds.com
http://www.bf2005.net
Addressing some club business before the break, President Rollins opened up the floor for nominations for club officers. Kevin Hopkins nominated the current slate, Mike Latinovich seconded. Ed Hadley made the motion to close nominations, Norris Hansell seconded.
As we moved into break, Mark Zinzow had some shake chargeable flashlights for sale for $4. Such a deal.
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
Five people attended the Macintosh SIG this evening.
Quentin Barnes showed off an iPhoto book made by a co-worker of his of his Vacation to Peru.
There was a discussion of iPhoto's quirks in making those books.
Emil talked about some repairs that were made on his PowerBook from Apple.
Edwin talked about some of the programs he uses, their pros and cons.
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
The November meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, November 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: Kevin Hisel, Emil Cobb, Mike Latinovich, and Kevin Hopkins.
Rich Hall was absent (he went to an Illini game). Jim Lewis was back in town last week, but had to leave before our meeting on Thursday. Richard Rollins called in but was unable to make the meeting.
Before the actual meeting began Kevin Hisel reported that he had gotten a bottom of the web article on The Best of the Web OpinionJournal at http://opinionjournal.com .
Mike Latinovich: In discussing programs, Mike said that Process Explorer from sysinternals is good. Rootkit Revealer is great. Autoruns is another great one. Mike said it shows you all the stuff that gets run automatically on your machine. Right click on something and Google link comes up in the menu and you can go and find out what's what. Processlibrary.com explains what all that stuff is too.
Emil Cobb: We had 17 people at the last meeting. Emil said Richard Rollins will get the doughnuts and Emil will get the coffee for next month's Annual meeting.
Kevin Hopkins: We had four reups at the last meeting.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin said he needed a Certified Check, Cashiers Check, or Money Order made out to the Secretary of State for Reinstatement of Corporate Status for $200 from Rich Hall. Kevin Hopkins said he would relay the message and the check.
Kevin noted that Mininova.org is a good source for television Bittorrents.
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/ .