News Common PC Linux Mac Amiga CUCUG
The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, November 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 November 15 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. The Macintosh and PC SIGs are open for anything anyone wants to bring in.
ToC
Jerry White and Norris Hansell renewed their membership for 2008. Thanks guys.
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 ours.
ToC
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 any of the meetings remaining this year or through the mail at our local address given at the end of the newsletter. We sincerely hope to have you with us in the new year.
ToC
By way of a recap, CUCUG will be electing officers for next year. The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Corporation Agent are open. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting. The actual election will take place at the December "Annual" meeting. If you'd like to serve your club, or know of someone who you would like to see in a position of leadership in CUCUG, be considering your nominations. For the specifics, The election guidelines appeared in the October newsletter.
ToC
These are the gentlemen who are officially standing for re-election.
President:
Richard Rollins
Vice-President:
Emil Cobb
Secretary:
Kevin Hopkins
Treasurer:
Richard Hall
Corporate Agent: Kevin Hisel
URL: <http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/07/155209>
Two top officials with the internet giant Yahoo were called before Congress Tuesday to testify on their role in the jailing of a Chinese journalist. Shi Tao was sentenced to ten years after Yahoo passed on his email and internet protocol address to Chinese officials. Speaking before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan defended Yahoo's role. Shi Tao's mother was sitting in the room. At the urging of Congressmember Tom Lantos, Yang and Callahan bowed their heads to her in apology. Lantos told the pair: "While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies."
Related Link:
by Wendy Kaufman, National Public Radio
All Things Considered, November 13, 2007 -- Internet company Yahoo has settled a lawsuit filed by two Chinese journalists who were jailed after the company provided Chinese officials with information about their online activities.
Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning wrote anonymous e-mails promoting democracy and challenging Communist authority.
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16266333>
[Congressman Tom Lantos] called on other Internet companies to "resist any attempts by authoritarian regimes to make them complicit in cracking down on free speech, otherwise they simply should not do business in those markets."
"It took a tongue-lashing from Congress before these high-tech titans did the right thing and coughed up some concrete assistance for the family of a journalist whom Yahoo had helped send to jail," Lantos said in a statement. "What a disgrace."
<http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jxM79pzLTm4rNPLXXyUk9XVjr6YQD8ST2RBO2>
By PETER SVENSSON
The Associated Press, October 19, 2007
URL: <http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gxRiQSVfgK4sLbVRE_X4MOlM9q0AD8SCASPG0>
NEW YORK (AP) -- Comcast Corp. actively interferes with attempts by some of its high-speed Internet subscribers to share files online, a move that runs counter to the tradition of treating all types of Net traffic equally.
The interference, which The Associated Press confirmed through nationwide tests, is the most drastic example yet of data discrimination by a U.S. Internet service provider. It involves company computers masquerading as those of its users.
If widely applied by other ISPs, the technology Comcast is using would be a crippling blow to the BitTorrent, eDonkey and Gnutella file-sharing networks. While these are mainly known as sources of copyright music, software and movies, BitTorrent in particular is emerging as a legitimate tool for quickly disseminating legal content.
The principle of equal treatment of traffic, called "Net Neutrality" by proponents, is not enshrined in law but supported by some regulations. Most of the debate around the issue has centered on tentative plans, now postponed, by large Internet carriers to offer preferential treatment of traffic from certain content providers for a fee.
Comcast's interference, on the other hand, appears to be an aggressive way of managing its network to keep file-sharing traffic from swallowing too much bandwidth and affecting the Internet speeds of other subscribers.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV operator and No. 2 Internet provider, would not specifically address the practice, but spokesman Charlie Douglas confirmed that it uses sophisticated methods to keep Net connections running smoothly.
"Comcast does not block access to any applications, including BitTorrent," he said.
Douglas would not specify what the company means by "access" - Comcast subscribers can download BitTorrent files without hindrance. Only uploads of complete files are blocked or delayed by the company, as indicated by AP tests.
But with "peer-to-peer" technology, users exchange files with each other, and one person's upload is another's download. That means Comcast's blocking of certain uploads has repercussions in the global network of file sharers.
Comcast's technology kicks in, though not consistently, when one BitTorrent user attempts to share a complete file with another user.
Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither message originated from the other computer - it comes from Comcast. If it were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other: "Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye."
Matthew Elvey, a Comcast subscriber in the San Francisco area who has noticed BitTorrent uploads being stifled, acknowledged that the company has the right to manage its network, but disapproves of the method, saying it appears to be deceptive.
"There's the wrong way of going about that and the right way," said Elvey, who is a computer consultant.
Comcast's interference affects all types of content, meaning that, for instance, an independent movie producer who wanted to distribute his work using BitTorrent and his Comcast connection could find that difficult or impossible - as would someone pirating music.
Internet service providers have long complained about the vast amounts of traffic generated by a small number of subscribers who are avid users of file-sharing programs. Peer-to-peer applications account for between 50 percent and 90 percent of overall Internet traffic, according to a survey this year by ipoque GmbH, a German vendor of traffic-management equipment.
"We have a responsibility to manage our network to ensure all our customers have the best broadband experience possible," Douglas said. "This means we use the latest technologies to manage our network to provide a quality experience for all Comcast subscribers."
The practice of managing the flow of Internet data is known as "traffic shaping," and is already widespread among Internet service providers. It usually involves slowing down some forms of traffic, like file-sharing, while giving others priority. Other ISPs have attempted to block some file-sharing application by so-called "port filtering," but that method is easily circumvented and now largely ineffective.
Comcast's approach to traffic shaping is different because of the drastic effect it has on one type of traffic - in some cases blocking it rather than slowing it down - and the method used, which is difficult to circumvent and involves the company falsifying network traffic.
The "Net Neutrality" debate erupted in 2005, when AT&T Inc. suggested it would like to charge some Web companies more for preferential treatment of their traffic. Consumer advocates and Web heavyweights like Google Inc. and Amazon Inc. cried foul, saying it's a bedrock principle of the Internet that all traffic be treated equally.
To get its acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved by the Federal Communications Commission, AT&T agreed in late 2006 not to implement such plans or prioritize traffic based on its origin for two and a half years. However, it did not make any commitments not to prioritize traffic based on its type, which is what Comcast is doing.
The FCC's stance on traffic shaping is not clear. A 2005 policy statement says that "consumers are entitled to run applications and services of their choice," but that principle is "subject to reasonable network management." Spokeswoman Mary Diamond would not elaborate.
Free Press, a Washington-based public interest group that advocates Net Neutrality, opposes the kind of filtering applied by Comcast.
"We don't believe that any Internet provider should be able to discriminate, block or impair their consumers ability to send or receive legal content over the Internet," said Free Press spokeswoman Jen Howard.
Paul "Tony" Watson, a network security engineer at Google Inc. who has previously studied ways hackers could disrupt Internet traffic in manner similar to the method Comcast is using, said the cable company was probably acting within its legal rights.
"It's their network and they can do what they want," said Watson. "My concern is the precedent. In the past, when people got an ISP connection, they were getting a connection to the Internet. The only determination was price and bandwidth. Now they're going to have to make much more complicated decisions such as price, bandwidth, and what services I can get over the Internet."
Several companies have sprung up that rely on peer-to-peer technology, including BitTorrent Inc., founded by the creator of the BitTorrent software (which exists in several versions freely distributed by different groups and companies).
Ashwin Navin, the company's president and co-founder, confirmed that it has noticed interference from Comcast, in addition to some Canadian Internet service providers.
"They're using sophisticated technology to degrade service, which probably costs them a lot of money. It would be better to see them use that money to improve service," Navin said, noting that BitTorrent and other peer-to-peer applications are a major reason consumers sign up for broadband.
BitTorrent Inc. announced Oct. 9 that it was teaming up with online video companies to use its technology to distribute legal content.
Other companies that rely on peer-to-peer technology, and could be affected if Comcast decides to expand the range of applications it filters, include Internet TV service Joost, eBay Inc.'s Skype video-conferencing program and movie download appliance Vudu. There is no sign that Comcast is hampering those services.
Comcast subscriber Robb Topolski, a former software quality engineer at Intel Corp., started noticing the interference when trying to upload with file-sharing programs Gnutella and eDonkey early this year.
In August, Topolski began to see reports on Internet forum DSLreports.com from other Comcast users with the same problem. He now believes that his home town of Hillsboro, Ore., was a test market for the technology that was later widely applied in other Comcast service areas.
Topolski agrees that Comcast has a right to manage its network and slow down traffic that affects other subscribers, but disapproves of their method.
"By Comcast not acknowledging that they do this at all, there's no way to report any problems with it," Topolski said.
[Associated Press Writers Ron Harris, Brian Bergstein, Deborah Yao and Kathy Matheson contributed to this story.]
On the Net:
ToC
Written and produced by Stevie Converse (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes 10/26/07
Audio: <http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm102507.mp3>
The Associated Press recently exposed Comcast for blocking broadband subscribers who tried to upload files via a file-sharing network called BitTorrent.
Not only did Comcast block the traffic, but it used a deceptive technique to disguise what it was doing.
BitTorrent may not be an everyday Internet application for many people - yet. It is meant for moving big files around the net quickly and cheaply. Adam Lynn, Policy Coordinator for Free Press, explains:
Adam Lynn: When you normally download something off the Internet, you go to a Web site, you click on a link and it starts downloading. And where it's downloading from is a server which the Web site pays for their content to be stored on and pays for upload speeds. What BitTorrent does is it distributes out that task of getting people that information. So the person who created the content doesn't have to pay such high fees and hosting costs to have it on a Web site.
Applications like BitTorrent are best known for quickly downloading movies and other entertainment files. But Lynn says many businesses and other users are starting to recognize the value of this type of file-sharing because it's a very efficient way to transfer information.
Comcast claims they are simply "managing the network" to ensure a good quality service. But the evidence suggests otherwise.
For one, Comcast's technology doesn't target individual users - it targets everyone using an application Comcast doesn't like.
Secondly, Comcast's technology falsely impersonates its customers to intercept the transmissions. Such deceptive practices may be illegal and are a clear violation of Network Neutrality.
Why would Comcast resort to such underhanded measures?
Numerous content providers in Hollywood have contracted with BitTorrent to make their online programming available for downloading. As the Internet grows and consumers understand how the quality and quantity of their video files can improve, file-sharing will be an important part of moving Web traffic. And Comcast views all this peer-to-peer sharing as competition to their own business model.
Lynn: They're looking for short-term gains. The long-term investment to build out your network - you're going to drive demand by doing that, not by inhibiting what customers can do online, but by increasing what they can do online.
Related links:
Comcast Interferes with File-Sharing
Definitely Not Comcastic
Discrimination Is Not Comcastic
Look! My Solution Found a Problem
URL: <http://www.onthemedia.org/episodes/2007/10/26/segments/87884>
Many Comcast customers attempting to file share online are being thwarted by ... you guessed ... Comcast. It's exactly the type of activity that net neutrality advocates warned us could happen. AP reporter Peter Svensson explains.
Posted by: Doug Fisher, October 28, 2007 - 12:41PM
Columbia, S.C.
To say the AP "exposed" is a bit misleading. Word about this practice by Comcast was all over message boards and "lesser" news sources for at least a month before the AP story. Better to say AP "discovered" or "caught up." This is the reality of modern media. Those boards also report that Comcast is cutting off some users entirely by saying they have exceeded their bandwidth -- but not revealing what those bandwidth limits are. Haven't seen anything much on that in the traditional media.
"Thought Comcast refused to comment about whether it contracts to Sandvine, possibly for BitTorrent disruption services, several articles from April confirm a business relationship between Comcast and Sandvine. It's even listed in on Sandvine's site in their press section. Oops."
<http://consumerist.com/consumer/bittorrent/damning-proof-comcast-contracted-to-sandvine-315921.php>
According to an inside source, Comcast is trying to hunt down who leaked the internal BitTorrent memo to us last week. The rumor is that they're interviewing supervisors and then customer service representatives. Memos regarding the dire consequences of providing internal information to the press are being distributed.
http://consumerist.com/consumer/leaks/comcast-hunts-bittorrent-memo-leaker-317667.php
ToC
By PETER SVENSSON
AP Technology Writer
Posted on Fri, Nov. 02, 2007
URL: <http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/v-print/story/217359.html>
A coalition of consumer groups and legal scholars on Thursday formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to stop Comcast Corp. from interfering with its subscribers' file sharing.
Two of the groups are also asking the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 for every affected subscriber.
The petitions will be the first real test of the FCC's stance on "Net Neutrality," the long-standing principle that Internet traffic be treated equally by carriers. The agency has a policy supporting the concept but its position hasn't been tested in a real-world case.
Last month, The Associated Press reported that Comcast hindered file sharing by subscribers who used BitTorrent, a popular file-sharing program. The AP's tests confirmed claims by users who also noticed interference with some file-sharing applications.
Comcast is the country's largest cable company and has 12.9 million Internet subscribers, making it the second-largest Internet service provider.
Comcast denies that it blocks file sharing, but acknowledged last week that it was "delaying" some of the traffic between computers that share files.
In practice, the company blocks requests from users who are trying to retrieve files from a Comcast subscriber's computer for a period of time. But it eventually lets the requests through if they are repeated.
In one AP test, a request went through after 10 minutes of trying. The technology does not directly affect downloads of BitTorrent files by Comcast subscribers, only uploads.
Comcast has said the interference is intended to improve the Internet experience for all its subscribers, noting that a relatively small number of file sharers is enough to slow down its network.
In response to the filings, David Cohen, an executive vice president at Comcast, said that the FCC's policies recognize that ISPs need to manage the traffic on their networks.
But if other ISPs follow in Comcast's footsteps, file sharing would essentially crawl to a halt. While the technology is a popular way to illegally share copyright movies and music, legal uses are proliferating, particularly in movie distribution.
"They're blocking an innovative application that could be a competitor to cable TV," said Marvin Ammori, general counsel at Free Press, one of the advocacy groups behind the petition to the FCC.
The petition asks the commission to immediately declare that Comcast is violating the FCC's policy. The co-signers are Consumer Federation of America; Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports; Media Access Project; Public Knowledge; and professors at the Internet practices of the Yale, Harvard and Stanford law schools.
Free Press and Public Knowledge are separately filing a formal complaint that asks the FCC to demand a "forfeiture" from Comcast of $195,000 per affected subscriber.
The number is based on the statutory maximum of $97,500 for a single continuing violation, doubled by what the groups see as deception on the company's part. Comcast kept its practice secret until publicized by the AP, saying that it couldn't divulge the inner workings of its network for security reasons.
Its filtering technique also involves the company forging network messages so that they appear to come from subscriber and non-subscriber computers.
The complaint includes affidavits from three Comcast subscribers who say they have been affected by Comcast's interference. The complaint asks the FCC to determine the total number of affected subscribers.
It's not clear how quickly the FCC would act on the filings.
"The FCC should be aggressively reviewing these cases because they go to ensuring the freedom and openness of the Internet which is so vital to our communications future and to our civic dialogue," FCC Commissioner Michael Copps said in a statement.
Comcast's Cohen noted that the FCC's policy statement, which says that consumers are allowed to run the Internet applications of their choice, makes that "subject to reasonable network management" by ISPs.
"If Comcast is right - that what it's doing meets the policy statement - then anyone can start blocking BitTorrent tomorrow," Ammori said.
A ruling against Comcast could cause problems for other Internet service providers. Many of them acknowledge managing traffic to improve flow, which likely includes slowing down file-sharing traffic by means less drastic than Comcast's.
The Net Neutrality debate erupted in 2005, when the FCC abolished the obligation of providers of Internet service via digital subscriber lines, or DSL, to carry all traffic nondiscriminately (that obligation had been abolished for cable broadband in 2002). The obligation was replaced with the policy statement.
Phone companies started suggesting that they would like to be able to charge large Web companies more for guaranteed delivery of their traffic as a way to finance the build-out of their networks.
Web anchors like Google Inc. and Amazon Inc., joined by consumer groups, opposed the notion, saying it would make Internet service providers the toll keepers of the Internet and enable them to stifle competition and innovation.
The debate was stilled when AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. agreed to shelve their plans temporarily to get their respective plans to acquire BellSouth and MCI approved by the FCC.
Ammori said it appeared that the "nightmare scenario" portrayed by Net Neutrality proponents like his own group, Free Press, had been averted.
"Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Comcast is doing exactly what we most feared ... secretly degrading an application," Ammori said. "We didn't expect the first violation to be so blatant."
Related Link:
By Nate Anderson | Published: November 12, 2007 - 01:56PM CT
Net Neutrality advocates and the industry-funded lobby groups that oppose it rarely agree on issues, especially when those issues involve network filtering or throttling. So why is [Hands off the Internet] agreeing with SavetheInternet.com about Comcast?
ToC
Written and produced by Stevie Converse (mediaminutes@freepress.net)
Media Minutes 11-2-07
Audio: <http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/archive/mm110207.mp3>
This was a watershed week for media reform, with three important bills being passed by key congressional committees and a raucous rally and hearing at the Federal Communications Commission.
Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced the bipartisan "Local Community Radio Act," which could help bring hundreds of local, Low Power FM radio stations to cities and suburbs across the country. A companion bill awaits action in the House.
The Senate Commerce Committee also approved the bipartisan "Community Broadband Act." This bill would overturn state prohibitions against cities and town providing their own high-speed Internet services. It promises to bring faster, cheaper and more reliable broadband services to local communities that now find themselves on the wrong side of the digital divide.
And in the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee passed the "Broadband Census of America Act." Currently, there are no reliable numbers to measure high-speed Internet access and availability in the United States, which has been falling behind The rest of the world. The bill would require both the National Telecommunications & Information Administration and the FCC to collect more - and more accurate - information.
On Halloween, hundreds of citizens rallied at FCC headquarters to send a message to big media and FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. The agency held its final localism hearing with only a few days' advance notice. Yet civil rights and labor leaders, consumer and media reform advocates, and a team of cheerleaders showed up to speak out against more media consolidation. Media Minutes will have more highlights from the event next week.
Related Links:
Senate Committee Votes to Expand Low Power FM Radio
- <http://prometheusradio.org/content/view/573/1/>
Senate Bill Would Help Connect Local Communities
- <http://www.freepress.net/news/27551>
House Committee Approves Broadband Census Act
- <http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/10/31/house-committee-approves-broadband-census-act>
Public Urges the FCC to Listen to Broad Outcry Against Big Media
- <http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=295>
Whilst DDR4 still needs to take off memory manufacturer Qimonda is shipping the first GDDR5 samples already. Yummie :)
Qimonda AG, a leading supplier of memory products, today announced that the company has shipped the industry's first 512Mb GDDR5 (Graphics Double Data Rate 5) samples to customers.
"We are pleased that we can support the GDDR5 activities of our customers with this first sample shipment, which is a major step to ensure the fast introduction of GDDR5 into the Graphics Market," said Robert Feurle, Vice President of Business Unit Graphics at Qimonda.
GDDR5 is targeted to become the next predominant graphics DRAM standard and will boost memory bandwidth of graphics applications to a new dimension. The GDDR5 standard is about to get finalized in JEDEC where industry participants jointly defined this leading edge graphics standard over the last years. GDDR5 will be available with data rates up to 20GBytes / s per component, which is more than double the band width of the fastest GDDR3 memories today and comes with a multitude of advanced power saving features. First products with GDDR5 memories are expected for 2008. GDDR5 is targeting a variety of applications, starting with High Performance Desktop Graphic cards followed by Notebook graphics. Later on also the introduction in Game consoles and other graphics intensive applications is planned.
<http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=6079>
ToC
URL: <http://dailyapps.net/2007/10/hack-attack-install-leopard-on-your-pc-in-3-easy-steps/>
Well its been only a day since the Mac OSX Leopard <http://www.apple.com/macosx/> was released officially by Apple and the hackers have managed to create a patched DVD that everyone like you and me can use to install Leopard on PC's without having to buy a Mac. Please note the tutorial that I am going to post is still experimental and things might not work the right way simply because it is still early days in hacking Leopard to work on PC's. Well if you don't mind your PC getting screwed then go ahead and try out this tutorial.
Make sure you backup all important data before you proceed. Here are the things that you will need before Install Leopard on your PCÉ
- The Patched DVD Image
- The zip file containing the patch
- One pen drive or USB Flash Drive formatted as FAT32
Well once you have all these you can go ahead and Install Leopard..
Step 1. Getting things ready
- Burn the DVD Image onto a Single Layer DVD-R using a software like Nero.
- Format the USB Flash Drive and the drive label should be "Patcher" without the quotes. Please note it has to be "Patcher" only and nothing else for the patch to work when we apply it later.
- Extract the Zip file and put its contents into the USB Flash Drive.
- Now your USB Drive should contain a folder called "files", if it doesn't then check to see where you have gone wrong.
Step 2. Installing Leopard
- Now that you have the Patched DVD with you, you can now install Leopard. Pop in the DVD into the drive and boot into it by pressing F12 at the BIOS Prompt.
- Boot into the DVD and the installer should now load. It take a while though, so be patient.
- Select your Language and make sure you select Customize and you need to deselect all the packages that are displayed.
- Leopard will now install. This can take a while, so go grab yourself a coffee.
- It will ask you to Reboot, so go ahead and Reboot. Before rebooting make sure that USB Flash Drive is connected to the PC.
Step 3. Patching Leopard
- Now that you have got Leopard installed, you need to patch it. Before we do that Boot into the Leopard DVD like the way you did before.
- Wait for the Darwin Bootloader to load. Once it loads up press F8. You should now see a prompt. Type *-s *and hit enter. The DVD will now load in Verbose mode. Watch for any errors. It should load without a problem because you have already installed Leopard.
- Once the setup is loaded select your Language. Once done you should now be seeing the Welcome Screen. Once there navigate to Utilities-Terminal.
- Once the terminal loads up, you now need to browse to your USB Drive, so follow the steps below, typing it exactly as it appears below in the Terminal.
In the command line type the following as they appear here
/*cd ..
cd ..
cd Volumes
cd Patcher
cd files */Notice the space between cd and the 2 dots.
- Now its the time to run the patcher to make sure Leopard will work on your PC. Type the following into the Terminal.
/./9a581PostPatch.sh/
- The Patch should now run. You can answer *Yes *while removing the ACPUPowerManagement.kext
- After the Script is done, you should now be able to Boot into Leopard after you restart.
Step 4. Congratulations! You've done the Impossible!
Well that was it. Please note this has not been extensively tested, so
most of your Hardware like Sound, Network may not work. If something
goes wrong for you or you want to help us, then please join the
discussion over at OSX86Scene
<http://forum.osx86scene.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2008&st=0&sk=t&sd=a >.
If you noticed I haven't posted the links to the Torrent that contains
the DVD image and the zip. Well I haven't posted them because I am sure
the lawyers over at Apple are going to sue the hell out of me. If you
wondering where you can find them, then head over to Demonoid
<http://demonoid.com/> and search for it.
Well here are few screenshots by Mac.nub over at the forums who could get Leopard working on his system.
<http://dailyapps.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/leo1.jpg>
<http://dailyapps.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/leo2.jpg>
JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press
October 5, 2007 at 2:32 PM EDT
URL: <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071005.wgttinwhiskers1005/BNStory/Technology/home>
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- They've ruined missiles, silenced communications satellites and forced nuclear power plants to shut down. Pacemakers, consumer gadgets and even a critical part of a space shuttle have fallen victim.
The culprits? Tiny splinters - whiskers, they're called - that sprout without warning from tin solder and finishes deep inside electronics. By some estimates, the resulting short-circuits have levelled as much as $10 billion in damage since they were first noticed in the 1940s.
Now some electronics makers worry the destruction will be more widespread, and the dollar amounts more draining, as the European Union and governments around the world enact laws to eliminate the best-known defence - lead - from electronic devices.
"The EU's decision was irresponsible and not based on sound science," said Joe Smetana, a principal engineer and tin whisker expert with French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent SA. "We're solving a problem that isn't and creating a bunch of new ones."
Typically measuring under a millimetre long, tin whiskers look like errant strands of static-charged hair, erupting in every direction from tin-based materials like solder. Their cause is hotly debated. Other metals also grow whiskers, but not like tin.
Trouble arises when the whiskers bridge separate parts of increasingly miniaturized circuit boards. They also can flake off and interfere with sensitive optics.
While scientists debate their cause, they agree on one thing: Small amounts of lead mixed with the tin have been remarkably effective at preventing whisker eruptions for decades.
Lead, however, is a serious health concern. In children, it can cause learning or behavioural problems and has been associated with anemia and kidney problems. In adults, exposure has been linked to high blood pressure and reproductive organ damage.
Last year, Europeans barred the toxic metal from most electronics to prevent its being incinerated or accumulating in dumps after computers and other gadgets are tossed out. Similar measures are being considered or are already in place in other countries, including Japan, China, South Korea, Argentina, Australia and the United States.
Some companies say the EU rules threaten the reliability of their products, exposing them to unknown risks and possibly threatening people's safety.
But EU officials say the regulations banning lead, cadmium, mercury and three other hazardous substances are needed to protect people and the environment.
They also note that many types of electronics are exempt from the law, including military and other national security equipment, medical devices, and servers, data storage computers and telecommunications gear that use leaded solders.
Exemptions are also granted when alternatives to the hazardous materials don't exist yet, or because the substances can't be replaced without jeopardizing safety.
Still, even some companies with exemptions say it's getting harder to buy the leaded parts. They worry about the increased risk of pure-tin parts, the culprit behind the most devastating tin-whisker-related failures.
"Over time (the failures) are just going to get worse and worse and worse," said Jim McElroy, executive director of International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative, or iNEMI a group of big electronics makers, government agencies and other parties active in tin whisker research.
"Even if the military is exempt forever, they will be forced to convert because they can't get the components they want," he said. "And that will eventually happen across the board."
Tin whiskers have left a trail of destruction in a string of important machinery, chronicled in an extensive database of publicly disclosed failures kept by researchers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Last year, for example, NASA engineers testing parts for the space shuttle Endeavour discovered that millions of tin whiskers were causing an electronic box to inaccurately point the shuttle's engine, knocking the rocket's trajectory off-kilter, according to Henning Leidecker, chief engineer of the electronic parts office of NASA's Goddard and a tin whisker expert.
It turns out NASA had approved the pure-tin-coated clamps used for holding circuit boards in place back when the electronics were made in the 1980s, before NASA adopted its current rule requiring a small amount of lead in its tin coatings.
"These whiskers have the potential to destroy missions," Leidecker said.
Failures blamed on tin whiskers have run the gamut of devices and manufacturers.
In the 1980s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalled some pacemakers because of a high failure rate caused by tin whiskers.
In 1998, PanAmSat Corp.'s $250 million Galaxy IV communications satellite, which provided service to tens of millions of pagers across North America and thousands of pay-at-the-pump gas station machines, was deemed a total loss after two processors failed. The main spacecraft control processor, which governs the satellite's positioning and other functions, failed for an unknown reason, and the backup couldn't be used because tin whiskers had shorted it out a year before.
At least 10 other satellite failures have been blamed on tin whiskers, according to the NASA database.
Over the past two decades, also according to the NASA database, nuclear power plants have been temporarily shut down at least seven times after tin whiskers in the alarm system circuit boards triggered false alarms, alerting managers to threats that didn't exist. There have been no reported injuries.
"There's a real loss of money because the plant is shut down and stays down, and it also presents a situation where workers are taught not to believe the alarms," Leidecker said. "Are you comfortable with that? I am not."
The military also isn't immune. Whisker-related malfunctions have been reported in the radar used aboard fighter jets, in the target-detection system of certain missiles, along with various unspecified problems in other parts of the U.S. military's missile programs.
Little is known about those failures, other than the part that failed and the cause. Most involve military secrets and are only known because they're revealed in technical forums by defence contractors, who incur heavy repair expenses for malfunctioning tin-whisker-infested equipment and are active in scientific circles looking for a fix that doesn't involve lead.
Tin whisker experts said the industry is working fast to come up with a lead-free solution. So far, other materials have shown to be effective in preventing tin whiskers, but not as powerfully as lead.
One promising remedy is tin-silver-copper solders, said George Galyon, a senior technical staff member at IBM Corp. However, Galyon noted that lead-free solders often require much higher temperatures, which can warp circuit boards and cause materials to degrade.
Despite the setbacks, he said the major players realize anti-lead laws give them no choice.
"It's whistling in the wind if you think we're turning this back," he said. "China's full-bent on it, the major markets are into it. The world flipped over in one fell swoop."
Related links:
Here is one of NASA's web pages, a photo gallery of growing whiskers.
<http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/photos/index.html>
Here are a couple of videos done by Jay Brusse, a NASA scientist. they're about 6 and 7 megabytes, respectively.
<http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/video/vid-tin-whiskers-D-sub-connector.wmv> <http://nepp.nasa.gov/whisker/video/2006-whiskers-terminal-lug.wmv>
"Suffering from its exorbitant price point and a dearth of titles, Sony's PlayStation 3 isn't exactly the most popular gaming platform on the block. But while the console flounders in the commercial space, the PS3 may be finding a new calling in the realm of science and research.
Right now, a cluster of eight interlinked PS3s is busy solving a celestial mystery involving gravitational waves and what happens when a super-massive black hole, about a million times the mass of our own sun, swallows up a star."
<http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/news/2007/10/ps3_supercomputer>
ToC
Tuesday, November 06, 2007 | 10:18 PM
The Eagles -- the multi-platinum selling alt country/rock band circa 1970s -- are trying an interesting sales strategy for their first studio album in 28 years.
For the new disc, it appears that there is:
- no recording label participation;
- downloads at their site only;
- physical 2-CD Set purchased only at Wal-Mart, or ordered at their site (http://Eaglesband.com>.
The band cranked out over 700,000 discs in the first week -- not too shabby for a double disc.
For you young 'uns, the album Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is the all time best-selling album in the U.S. (according to the RIAA); Their album Hotel California is #18 on the all time top selling list).
What's really interesting is the downloading -- the double disc is available for in two formats: MP3 256k for $10.88, and in FLAC lossless for $11.88, directly from the band's website.
I am not sure, but it appears that both the labels and Apple's iTunes have been cut out of the picture.
Update: November 7, 2007 5:52am
The Eagles made a direct exclusive deal with Wal-Mart for physical album -- no label involved.
The band sold the album to Wal-Mart on a one-way basis (meaning, no returns).
My anonymous industry source adds:
"If memory serves, I believe they bought 3.6M units at $8 or $9. The band pays manufacturing costs and publishing (most of which goes to themselves as writers) and keeps the rest. Pretty nice haul. I haven't confirmed with the manager, but I believe the downloads are being done by the band through their site only."
Again, no iTunes, no labels . . .
Sources:
Eagles
Wikipedia
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagles>
Top 100 Albums
RIAA
<http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTop100>
Mitchell Peters, L.A.
Billboard, November 06, 2007, 8:30 PM ET
URL: <http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003668840>
The Eagles' first new studio album in 28 years, "Long Road Out of Eden," takes a short route to No. 1 on The Billboard 200 after Billboard revised a significant chart policy today (Nov. 7).
In consultation with Nielsen SoundScan, Billboard will now allow exclusive album titles that are only available through one retailer to appear on The Billboard 200 and other charts, effective with this week's charts. Prior to this, proprietary titles were not eligible to appear on most Billboard charts.
Early SoundScan numbers have the Eagles taking the top perch on The Billboard 200 with 711,000 copies sold, with most sales moved by Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. For now, the only other U.S. outlets carrying "Eden" are walmart.com, where both physical copies and downloads are sold, and the Eagles' own Web site.
"Eden" became available at the mass-market chain Oct. 30. Aside from two compilations, this is the Eagles' first album since the mostly live "Hell Freezes Over," which led The Billboard 200 for two weeks in 1994.
Britney Spears' new Jive album, "Blackout," which would have been No. 1 had the Eagles' data not been reported, will open at No. 2 with first-week sales of 290,000 copies.
"We know that some retailers will be uncomfortable with this policy, but it was inevitable that Billboard's charts would ultimately widen the parameters to reflect changes that are unfolding in music distribution," says Geoff Mayfield, Billboard's director of charts. "We would have preferred to make this decision earlier, but only became aware within the last 24 hours that Wal-Mart would be willing to share the data for this title with Nielsen SoundScan."
The revised policy initially impacts The Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, where "Eden" will also bow at No. 1. Criteria for the remainder of Billboard's albums charts will be formulated later this week. A handful of other titles will debut this week on The Billboard 200 as a consequence of the policy revision.
Previously, titles that were not generally available at retail were not eligible to appear on The Billboard 200, but were entitled to chart on Billboard's Top Comprehensive Albums, which includes catalog titles and proprietary albums from retailers willing to report those sales.
The comprehensive chart will continue to appear on Billboard.biz, to show how catalog titles compete with the overall market. However, once parameters for the remainder of the album charts are determined, Top Comprehensive Music Videos will be discontinued, as exclusive titles will then be eligible for the Nielsen SoundScan-fed Top Music Videos.
For exclusive interviews with Eagles members Don Henley and Glenn Frey,
click here.
<http://billboard.com/bbcom/feature/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003658087>.
In the interview with Don Henley, one of the questions he responded to was this one:
Q: There is a commentary on consumerism here, so it's not a stretch to go from that to talk about the Eagles' Wal-Mart exclusive. Is there any kind of problem in reconciling the art and the commerce of this?
A: I certainly had some trepidation about it, but the business has changed so drastically. Wal-Mart is not a perfect company, but as I have said many times in print, they can't possibly be any worse than a major record label. My daddy was a small businessman and he was not a fan of big box retailers or chains or franchises. But this is just the world we live in and there aren't many places where 60-year-old men, no matter how good their record is, can get this kind of promotion and widespread retail coverage. We are artists, but we are also businessmen and we try to live in the real world.
Some of my environmentalist friends are a little upset because we made this deal with Wal-Mart, but on the other hand I now have the direct line to the CEO of Wal-Mart. I also have a direct line and exchange e-mails on a regular basis with the two whiz-kids they have hired to make the company greener. They have a pretty elaborate and impressive plan laid out.
You really can't change things from the outside. We are certainly making our feelings known about what we believe as far as ecological stewardship and some of the practices of big business that are undesirable and wasteful, and I think Wal-Mart is making an effort.
Let me hasten to add, I am not thrilled with everything Wal-Mart has done, both in terms of doing business with us and on the environmental front and on the matter of some of their employee practices. But you could pick out just about any big company and say the same thing. We wanted to try something new. Everyone has been screaming, let's have a new paradigm in the record industry, let's figure out a way to do this ourselves. Let's figure out a way to leave the big dinosaur record companies behind that have been robbing from us -- and the consumer -- for the last 60-80 years. Ever since the record business became big business, the labels have been suspect. We just thought we would try something different. Some people have praised us for it and some people have damned us for it, but that's the way it goes.
ToC
<http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/11/08/1449253>
Former AT&T technician Mark Klein traveled to Washington Wednesday to urge lawmakers not to give AT&T, Verizon and other telecom companies immunity from lawsuits over their role in the government's domestic spying operations. Last year Klein leaked internal AT&T documents that revealed AT&T had set up a secret room in its San Francisco office to give the National Security Agency access to its fiber optic internet cables.
Mark Klein: "They were copying everything flowing across the Internet cables, and the major Internet links between AT&T's network and other company's networks, and it struck me at the time that this is a massively unconstitutional, illegal operation. It affects not only AT&T's customers, but everybody, 'cause these links went to places like Sprint, Qwest, a whole bunch of other companies, and so they're basically tapping into the entire Internet."
'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for Nov. 7
Read the transcript to the Wednesday show
updated 10:16 a.m. CT, Thurs., Nov. 8, 2007
URL: <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21690264/>
Video: <http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/08/countdown-att-whistleblower-speaks-out-against-immunity-for-telcoms/>
OLBERMANN: In room 226 of the Dirkson (ph) Building in Washington tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider whether to protect some of America's most powerful corporate executives from the legal consequences of having spied on the rest of us in this country. In our third story tonight, an AT&T whistle-blower today told members of Congress much more than that is at stake with the secret crimes that took place at Room 641A of AT&T's Fulsome Street facility in San Francisco, and potentially at others throughout country. Specifically, retired 22 year AT&T technician Mark Klein says that despite Mr. Bush's claims, the U.S. government used AT&T's cooperation to spy not only on overseas communications, but to vacuum up virtually all of America's use of the Internet for years, email, Googling, web surfing, you name it, thanks to AT&T's secure rooms, like 641A in San Francisco, accessible only to those cleared by the NSA.
Klein obtaining AT&T schematics showing how the company used splitters to send secure room 641A a duplicate of every fiber-optic signal routed through its facilities. It involved not just AT&T customers, but virtually every Internet and telecommunications company, and virtually all email and web traffic in the country, without a warrant, without any mechanism for separating domestic from overseas, without separating suspect from citizen.
We welcome now former AT&T technician Mark Klein, whose documentation and claims are now part of a class action lawsuit against AT&T, one of 38 telecom spy lawsuits. AT&T so far declining to comment on the specifics of the allegations. Mr. Klein, great thanks for speaking out tonight.
MARK KLEIN, GOVERNMENT SPYING WHISTLE BLOWER: Thanks for inviting me.
OLBERMANN: The Senate is considering granting the telecom executives immunity. You lobbied Congress today not to do so. How come?
KLEIN: Well, if they give them immunity, it would probably shut down the lawsuit that I'm a witness for, and then the American people won't find out what's really going on. And so that's why I'm here to stop immunity. Congress should let the judicial process go forward.
OLBERMANN: Two parts here; first, can you explain to those of us that could use the Internet, but would not be able to tell the difference between its physical form and a box full of guitar strings, exactly what happened in that secure room or secret room 641A?
KLEIN: I don't know what goes on in the secret room, because I didn't have security clearance. But I know what went on outside, because my job -- I worked in the Internet room. My job was to connect circuits into the splitter device which was hard wired to the secret room. And effectively the splitter copied the entire data stream of those Internet cables into the secret room.
We are talking about phone conversations, email, web browsing, everything that goes across the Internet. And that device, the splitters, is a dumb device. It doesn't do any selection at all.
OLBERMANN: And the follow-up to that, as you mentioned, you didn't have the security, the NSA clearance. So give us an idea how you know all of this, in addition to your expertise as a technician.
KLEIN: As a technician, I had the engineering wiring documents, which told me how the splitter was wired to the secret room. So I had to know that in order to do my job. So I know that whatever went across those cables was copied. The entire data stream was copied into the secret room. The splitter device has no selective capability, just copies everything.
We are talking about domestic traffic, as well as international traffic. And that's what got me upset to begin with.
OLBERMANN: I was just going to say, Mr. Klein, this huge distinction the White House made when all of this was first revealed, what its defenders still say; we were just intercepting international communications; no domestic communications were affected. I take it you don't buy that it in the slightest?
KLEIN: No. I know that wasn't not true. That's what got me going in December of 2005, when the "New York Times" revealed this, and then the administration came back, the president himself, and various cabinet people, trying to argue-and they still do-that it's just international communications. It just effects a handful of people who were making phone calls to the Middle East.
I know the physical equipment and I know that statement is not true. It involves millions of communications, a lot of it domestic communications that they're copying wholesale, sweeping up into that secret room.
OLBERMANN: When you saw this and realized what was going on, what was this like? Was this like sitting there and finding yourself in a scene from the sci-fi flick "Invasion of The Body Snatchers?" Did it have that sort of horror quality to it?
KLEIN: I'm a little older, so my thought was George Orwell's 1984, and here I am being forced to connect the Big Brother machine.
OLBERMANN: Oh, boy.
KLEIN: I felt I was in a funny position, but I needed my job so I didn't want to make a fuss. After I retired, I thought about it some more.
OLBERMANN: In talking to Congress today, what did you hear? Did you get a sense that anybody is prepared to go after not just the telecom execs but the government officials who ordered this.
KLEIN: I couldn't tell. I'm not a politician. They play their cards close to the vest. All I can do is emphasize, again, that they are copying everything. This is a violation of the Constitution. It's domestic traffic. It's phone calls as well as email. And something should be done to stop it. And Congress should not kill the-kill the judicial process.
OLBERMANN: The nice thing is that if there is anything that's going to stop it, it's going to be because people like you have the courage to do something about it.
KLEIN: Thank you.
OLBERMANN: Mark Klein, formerly of AT&T, great thanks for joining us and great thanks for what you are doing.
KLEIN: Thank you.
ToC
by Mark H. Anbinder <mha@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#903/05-Nov-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9275>
Google's announcement last week that its free, Web-based Gmail service would now support IMAP access in addition to the existing POP3 and Web methods is fantastic news for everyone, but especially for Mac and iPhone users. The new feature makes Gmail a great choice for those who want to access email on the road but have never liked webmail solutions.
<http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/sync-your-inbox-across-devices-with.html>
iPhone users in particular will benefit from Gmail's top-notch spam filtering. Since the stripped-down Mail program on the iPhone lacks any spam-handling whatsoever, iPhone users are especially reliant on server-side filtering, which not all providers offer. Some Gmail users thus use it only as a middleman between their existing mail server and mail client, taking advantage of Gmail's settings that let the world see whatever email address you specify for outgoing messages.
This change makes Gmail a practical email solution for iPhone users. Previously, the options included using Gmail's Web interface, which works in iPhone Safari but is quite cramped; or using Mail as a POP client, which defeats the purpose of Gmail keeping all your mail in one place. Google even features iPhone setup instructions, along with instructions for Mail, Thunderbird, and other clients.
For Mac users and iPhone users alike, IMAP support also means you can access your "labels" in Gmail as IMAP folders, and take full advantage of the rules-based filtering Gmail offers without losing mobile access to some of your mail.
ToC
Paul Thurrott
URL: <http://www.wininformant.com/>
In early 2008, Microsoft will switch Internet Explorer 7 back to its original behavior of dealing with ActiveX controls, removing the silly current behavior, which requires users to click once on the controls before they are activated. This behavior was required by a ruling against the software giant in the long-running Eolas patent infringement case. But since Microsoft and Eolas have settled that case, Microsoft is now able to free up ActiveX controls again. Why it's taking so long--Microsoft says the behavior will change back in April 2008--is unclear. But at least it's happening. And you know who we have to thank for this, of course. That's right. Frank Stallone.
You've heard all the doom and gloom from the blogosphere, now it's time for some reality: In just 9 months on the market, Microsoft has sold 85 million copies of Windows Vista, most of which are the high-end editions such as Vista Home Premium and Ultimate. More interesting, perhaps, sales are actually increasing: Microsoft sold 25 million copies of Vista in the most recent quarter, so it's on track to have well over 100 million users by the end of the year.
When is an opt-out really an opt-in? Apparently, when we're talking about Windows Update, which continues to supply its users with automatic updates even when they've specifically configured the service not to do that. This time around, small businesses that have configured Windows Server Update Services not to download and install updates automatically via Windows Update have discovered that certain undesired updates, like Windows Desktop Search 3.01, have been pushed automatically to users overnight. Microsoft explained this one away by noting that while WDS was an optional download, this update is required when the previous version is installed and... Geesh. Could this get any sillier?
Actually, yes, it can. It turns out that Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare security and PC health service might be responsible for some of the other auto-updating behavior that users have noted. Like other security products, OneCare enables the auto-install option in Windows Update to ensure that users always get the latest security updates. This change can bypass whatever choice the user made previously, and it's done without explicitly alerting the user. As Microsoft notes, however, that's by design: The people who would install such a product don't want to think about security and just want it to be updated in the background without any intervention. Honestly, in this case, I have to agree with Microsoft, and any attempt to sensationalize this event is, well, just an attempt to sensationalize this event and take advantage of the recent climate of distrust that has grown up around what is clearly just a huge misunderstanding. So should Microsoft "do the right thing" and make it more obvious what OneCare is doing? I'm not sure that's such a great idea. After all, the people this product targets would simply be confused by this discussion.
ToC
by Paul Thurrott
URL: <http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/97498/windowspaulthurrott_97498.html>
On Sunday evening, Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Home Server, an integrated solution for protecting and sharing PCs, documents, and digital media content. Not coincidentally, the most eagerly awaited Windows Home Server product, HP's MediaSmart Server, is also now available for preorder from a variety of online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
"Digital devices and content are everywhere in our day-to-day lives and they are more important all the time," says Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "With the launch of Windows Home Server, Microsoft and its partners are creating a new consumer product category that will help people keep their digital media safe and make it easier for them to enjoy it with friends and family."
Windows Home Server is an easy-to-use server solution for the home that will typically be purchased with dedicated hardware such as HP's innovative MediaSmart Server. (A software-only OEM version of Windows Home Server is also available for enthusiasts and system builders for about $200.) Windows Home Server provides automatic backup of all Windows Vista and Windows XP-based PCs on the home network, remote access to the server and connected PCs using a custom Web address, digital media content and file sharing, and network-wide health monitoring, all from a centralized location.
The MediaSmart Server is a surprisingly compact device that can house as many as four Serial ATA (SATA) hard drives. A MediaSmart Server version with one 500GB hard disk drive is available for $599, and a version with two 1TB hard disk drives is available for $749. The MediaSmart Server builds off the core Windows Home Server product by adding a dramatically simpler setup process, a Web-based photo-sharing system, and integration with Apple's iTunes. Other PC and device makers, such as Fujitsu, Iomega, Life|ware, and Medion, will ship Windows Home Server-based machines in late 2007 and 2008.
ToC
by Kevin Hisel
If you have an extra box and some major HD space lying around the house, you can try out Windows Home Server for yourself for FREE for 120 days. Microsoft is sure you'll want to keep it and register after the 120 days.
The system requirements for WHS are positively miniscule: 1GHz, 512MB, 70GB (depending on the size of your backups) and wired Ethernet (not wireless). The only requirement that may require a mod to that old box you have in the corner is the necessity for a DVD reader drive you can boot from. Check the web--these are cheap and easy to install.
For all the info, please see <http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/eval.mspx>.
Thanks to CUCUG member Jon Bjerke for pointing this out.
ToC
by Kevin Hisel
I've been to almost all the Windows Vista "tips" pages and I'm pretty sick and tired of reading the same old tips over and over again. Most of them are just pointers to where in the user interface settings are. Pretty lame stuff to the power users of CUCUG. Jon Bjerke pointed out that ZDNet's Ed Bott has a collection of tips you probably won't find elesewhere. Ed's Vista tips are for advanced users (usually) and are real tips, not warmed over content from Microsoft's help pages.
You can find Ed Bott's Vista tips here:
<http://blogs.zdnet.com/topic/Hands+on+Vista.html>
ToC
by Paul Thurrott
URL: <http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/ArticleID/97467/97467.html?Ad=1>
Last month, Microsoft announced that it had sold 85 million copies of Windows Vista, compared with just 45 million copies of Windows XP during the same time span in its initial release. This milestone is particularly impressive given the widespread negative articles one reads everywhere online about Vista, though most of that is anecdotal. But Microsoft says the reality of Vista is all upside and that Vista's growth is making a sudden surge.
The reason, Microsoft says, is that its biggest Windows customers, slow-moving corporations, are now starting to move to Vista. They're doing so as they always do, on their own schedules, but now that Vista has been in the market for most of a year, the sudden jump in sales is coming at an opportune time. Combined with holiday PC sales, this surge could make a huge quarter for the supposedly flailing OS. That's good news, unless of course you were playing the Chicken Little role in this invented tech farce.
"We feel like we are starting to hit our stride not only in demand, but in deployment in business," Microsoft president Kevin Johnson told Reuters this week. Growth in the Windows business has exceeded 20 percent each quarter since Vista first shipped, and the company is on track for 25 percent annual growth. Most impressive, perhaps, is that Microsoft makes 75 cents of profit on each dollar in Windows sales.
Part of the reason for Vista's huge financial success is that consumers are turning to high-end versions of the system in record numbers. In the previous quarter, over 75 percent of all Vista sales were for the high-end (and higher cost) Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate versions. (With XP, 59 percent of customers opted for premium versions of the OS.) While the software giant's decision to bifurcate Vista into more product versions than any previous Windows version was widely criticized, it's clearly been successful doing so. The company credits its progress on "educating consumers" about the benefits of the higher-end versions.
After the holiday sales season is over, Johnson expects another Vista sales boost, this time from the corporate market, when Microsoft ships the system's first service pack in the first quarter of 2008. Many of Microsoft's business customers wait for the first service pack before deploying a new Windows version. Microsoft's unearned revenue in the Windows business jumped 27 percent in the previous quarter, indicating that its customers were getting ready to make the jump to Vista: Unearned revenue is revenue that has been signed but not yet recognized because the product has yet to be delivered to and deployed by customers. That's all from upcoming Vista deployments, Johnson says.
ToC
Features that make Vista a better experience that aren't marketed much
Oct 29, 2007 3:55 PM by Frogboy Discussion: Windows VistaWindows Vista has a lot going for it that most people don't really hear about. It's understandable because marketing some of these new features would essentially be tantamount to saying "Oops, XP had some problems".
What makes Windows Vista a much better experience aren't due mainly to the major new features. Instead, it's the hundreds of barely documented improvements to the OS that users notice but quickly take for granted -- at least until they have to go back to using Windows XP for awhile. The big features like a new security layer, integrated search, game & DVD exploring, DirectX 10, backup, Aero, kernel overhaul, better audio handling, Windows Event logging, WDDM, SuperFetch, ReadyBoost, ReadyDrive support, WPF, WCF, and on and on (thousands of new features).
But what about the end-user experience that people may not have heard of? Below are 10 improvements in Windows Vista you probably haven't heard about.
#1 - A truly multithreaded explorer. In Windows XP, if you opened a file dialog or a window that had to connect to the CD/DVD drive or to the network the whole shell would hang while it did its thing. Not so in Windows Vista. In Windows Vista, that all is done in a background thread. Getting around the OS is always a very fluid experience.
#2 - Wireless networking is much improved. The built in wireless networking in XP was pretty awful. Most users ended up having to a user a kludgy or bloated third-part wireless network manager instead. The one in Windows Vista is not only better looking, it "just works".
#3 - Incredibly good plug & play. While it is true that video driver support for Vista at launch was spotty. The reality is that most things do work and work extremely well. If I buy a brand new device today and plug it in, odds are it'll work without me having to do anything. And Vista has a nice little progress dialog that you can check to see how your new device is working. On XP, you just got little pop up messages during every stage. And how many times on XP did you run into something just not working when you plugged it in with no real explanation? That won't happen on Vista. At the very worst case, you'll be able to see where things went wrong in the progress dialog that you can look at.
#4 - More polish. Polish matters. If it didn't, we wouldn't be talking about the iPhone all the time. A good user experience matters. Look at the screenshot to the right here (<http://www.stardock.com /brad/blog-384.jpg>). Don't be afraid. This is one of the reasons why Jenny Lam is my hero (her team at Microsoft really did a great job on this). This kind of improved experience throughout the OS makes Windows Vista much more pleasurable. While there are plenty of people who use our software to make XP look a lot like Vista, there's no substitute for the real thing.
#5 - More information about your system. A lot of us have big giant cases under our desk. In fact, in the age of the monitor having the USB ports, the case is getting farther and farther away from us. So the days of being able to simply listen to the hard drive crunching are long over. On Windows XP, if my system was slow, I'd bring up the task manager and check CPU. And if the CPU meter wasn't pegged then I'd go and look at the case to see if I could hear the hard drive crunching. On Vista, the task manager will tell you how much of your hard drive bandwidth you're using up and tell you what process is accessing the disk.
#6 - Much higher tolerance for handles. On Windows XP, if your system runs out of handles, programs won't launch and weird things start to happen. There's no warning message about it. Almost nobody knows what a user handle is. On Windows XP, users would just reboot their machine. People who know what handles know how to kill them off. I wrote an article "How to keep Windows XP stable" that goes into this. On Windows Vista, the system seems to do just fine with high handles so far. This means a much more stable experience.
#7 - Assessments. If you're reading this, you're probably the person who people call with computer questions. On Windows XP, you might ask them "What kind of computer do you have?" and the likely response was "It's a Dell." or HP or Gateway or Toshiba or whatever. On Windows Vista, you instead ask them what their performance index is which they can get to very easily. This instantly lets people see how fast their computers really are.
#8 - Better thumbnails. Windows Vista has "Windows Photo Gallery". But 99% of the time I'm going through photos in Explorer. In Windows XP, my choice was "thumbnails" which topped out at 128x128 thumbnails. In Windows Vista, I can have them as large or small as I'd like which can make for very handy viewing of lots of pictures at once.
#9 - Better Laptop experience. In Windows XP, I didn't ever know for sure if my laptop was really going to come back from sleep or hibernation. Some of my laptops still run XP and it's a difference between XP and Vista I am constantly reminded of. In Windows Vista, my PC is definitely coming back from sleep. I know there are still people who complain, I'm not saying it's perfect but it's a lot more reliable for me than XP was (or OS X Tiger was) in this regard.
#10 - Usability improvements. There are so many tiny touches in Windows Vista that you won't see mentioned anywhere. For instance, in Windows Vista, if you click on the system tray clock, you get a nice calendar dialog. By contrast, in Windows XP, I would double-click to get the date and time properties and it was slow (the Vista calendar pops up instantly). It's just a nice small but useful touch. The home folder is a really nice touch that wasn't in XP in a meaningful way.
ToC
From Engadget
URL: <http://tinyurl.com/2s6v8e>
Oh, how the mighty have fallen: Ben Curtis, famous just a few years ago as "Steven the Dell Dude," is now a waiter /bartender at Tortilla Flats in New York. Although the Steven ads were hugely popular and generated tons of buzz (and revenue) for Dell, the company eventually dropped the campaign after Ben got arrested for buying pot in 2003 -- shocking no one who actually watched the commercials, but apparently not the message Dell wanted to send the parents fronting the cash for all those machines. Although he's down to slinging drinks, Ben's taking it in stride, saying "There were times when I made boatloads of money as an actor, but here I can be myself." That doesn't mean he's given up the dream just yet: he's hoping to score big with his band, Whale, which he says has "the green light," but has "decided to take a little time off to record our EP and package ourselves properly." Hm, seems like a perfect opportunity to get back together with Dell, actually -- it could use some new music after getting caught using GarageBand's built-in loops in that XPS One teaser.
ToC
[Editor's Note: My thanks to Kevin Hisel for submitting all the articles in this section of the newsletter.]
ToC
From a friend
ClarkConnect 4.2 was released today [11/1/07] and I set it up as a samba file server with a computer and hard drives I have here. It does every computer server thing you might need, it's free, it's linux-based and it's hella easy.
I gots me a big-assed file server now. Nice to have, indeed. It's headless, too.
<http://www.clarkconnect.com/>
ToC
by Jeff Carlson <jeffc@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#901/22-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9256>
If you're thinking that Apple has transformed itself into an iPod company that also makes computers, it's time to realign your view. The company reported today that for the fiscal quarter ending 29-Sep-07, it shipped 2,164,000 Macintosh computers, besting last quarter's record by 400,000 (see "Apple Marks Best Quarter of Mac Sales for Q3 2007," 2007-09-07). One year ago, Apple shipped a then-record of 1.61 million Macs. This year's shipments helped Apple bring in $904 million in profit on revenue of $6.22 billion.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/10/22results.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9088>
Don't expect the iPod division to be shuttered just yet, however. Apple sold 10.2 million iPods, compared to 9.81 million in the last quarter and 8.73 million in the year-ago quarter. But the more interesting number is the iPhone, which sold 1,119,000 units during the quarter to bring the total sales to 1,389,000 (the discrepancy comes from the first 30 hours the iPhone was sold, which was at the end of the previous fiscal quarter).
Apple also noted that international sales accounted for 40 percent of the revenue for the quarter. Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that Apple finished the fiscal year with $15.4 billion in cash and no debt, and expects revenue of about $9.2 billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2008.
ToC
by Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#903/05-Nov-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9284>
Apple has quietly updated the MacBook and the MacBook Pro, although the upgrades are so minor that they didn't warrant a press release.
<http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html>
<http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/>
The MacBook Pro's upgrade is limited to two new build-to-order options for the high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 17-inch MacBook Pro models: a 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor for $250 (up from 2.4 GHz) and a 250 GB hard drive running at 5400 rpm for $150. Otherwise, prices remain the same, $1,999 for the low-end 15-inch model, $2,499 for the high-end 15-inch model, and $2,799 for the 17-inch model.
The MacBook's update is slightly more interesting. The mid- and high-end models of the MacBook now come with a 2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up from the 2.16 GHz processor in the previous incarnation. The new models also feature a RAM ceiling of 4 GB, up from 2 GB; a frontside bus of 800 MHz, up from 667 MHz; and a new graphics chip, the Intel GMA X3100 with 144 MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory that replaces the previous Intel GMA 950 with 64 MB. The new MacBook also features new media control keys along the function key row.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306843>
Although the new MacBook processors are only infinitesimally faster, the faster frontside bus should provide some performance boost, the new graphics chip could help in certain situations (although it also has some compatibility issues with advanced gaming applications), and being able to add more memory is always welcome. Prices remain the same, ranging from $1,099 for the low-end model up to $1,499 for the high-end black unit. The 250 GB hard drive is also available as a build-to-order option.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306764>
Both the MacBook and MacBook Pro now ship with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which is generally a good thing. However, in places like universities and large corporations, where the just-released Leopard has not yet been approved for use, a tech note from Apple about the MacBook is causing some consternation. It states that the new MacBook (which Apple calls "Late 2007") comes with a version of Leopard that can be installed only on this particular model, and that other Mac OS X 10.5 installation disks will not work on this model. It does not comment on compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4.10, but the fact that other 10.5 installation disks won't work implies that 10.4.10 won't either. There's a rumored 10.4.11 that could in theory enable the MacBook (Late 2007) to use Tiger, if and when Apple releases it.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306766>
ToC
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#901/22-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9245>
Steve Jobs confirmed to the Wall Street Journal what Ars Technica reported earlier: iTunes Plus songs sold via the iTunes Store are now 99 cents, down from a typical $1.29. iTunes Plus songs are sold without digital rights management (DRM), which encrypts content for playback on specific devices in specific ways.
<http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMailToID=583468702&pt=Y>
<http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2007/10/16/jobs-confirms-itunes-plus-price-drop-across-the-board>
The impetus is likely the launch of the Amazon MP3 music store, which offers DRM-free music for 89 to 99 cents per track from both EMI, which Apple carries in DRM-free form, and Universal, which has declined to make such a deal with Apple (see "Amazon MP3 Takes on the iTunes Store," 2007-09-25). Both stores include DRM-free music from many independent labels as well. iTunes Plus songs are encoded as 256 Kbps AAC files; Amazon's music is all 256 Kbps MP3. iTunes has over 6 million songs; Amazon, over 2 million.
<http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=163856011>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9203>
What's not clear yet is whether it will still cost money to convert iTunes songs with DRM to iTunes Plus songs if the cost is the same; whether you'll be refunded any previous upgrade fees for iTunes Plus (unlikely, in my view); and whether Apple will list iTunes songs with DRM alongside the same song without (also seemingly unlikely).
ToC
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#903/05-Nov-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9293>
In its usual shot across the proverbial TidBITS bow - or so we egomaniacally believe - Apple released updates for QuickTime and iTunes this afternoon. Details on both updates are sparse, which we have come to expect.
iTunes 7.5 adds the capability to activate an iPhone "wherever service is offered," which is a reference to this week's launch of the iPhone in the UK, and subsequent launches in Germany and France. iTunes 7.5 is available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later (41.1 MB) and Windows XP SP2 and Vista (51.8 MB).
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes75formac.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes75forwindows.html>
The update vaguely mentions "support for Phase, a new interactive music game" that's meant for the third-generation iPod nano, the iPod classic, and the fifth-generation iPod. I synced a 5G iPod with iTunes 7.5, and saw no game nor a firmware update appear. I have no idea what "support for" means - perhaps an upcoming release on Tuesday, when Apple usually refreshes the iTunes Store content? Maddening.
Apple also released QuickTime 7.3 for Panther (51.5 MB), Tiger (49.3 MB), Leopard (52.6 MB), and Windows (20.3 MB). The update improves creating iPhone-compatible Web content without an explanation of what precisely was improved, works with iTunes 7.5, updates QuickTime plug-in JavaScript support, and fixes security-related bugs. The bugs included several that could allow "arbitrary code execution," which is how an attacker could insert a payload into an attack.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime73forpanther.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime73fortiger.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime73forleopard.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime73forwindows.html>
Apple thanks researchers, as usual, but also notes in several cases that researchers were working with one of several projects that pay for zero-day exploits - exploitable flaws that haven't been patched - to avoid those exploits from being weaponized and used by malicious parties. The details of the security updates are detailed on this security update page.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798>
ToC
by Jeff Carlson <jeffc@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#902/29-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9269>
Leopard may be the sixth release of Mac OS X, but it's important to remember that it's also a dot-zero release, the first version of a major update of the operating system. There are bound to be some incompatibilities and fixes that Apple is aware of but didn't get a chance to fix before the discs had to be pressed, or that have cropped up since hundreds of thousands of people started running it.
Here's a rundown of some current important issues with Leopard.
This update resolves an issue caused by using an account that was created in Mac OS X 10.1 or earlier, which used a different login authentication method. It also addresses connecting to some 802.11b/g wireless networks and changing the password of an account with FileVault enabled. The update is available via Software Update or as a 10 MB download.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306804>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/loginkeychainupdate10.html>
Many people who run Unsanity's Application Enhancer utility are ending up stuck with a blue screen after performing an upgrade installation. Apple has posted an article with recommendations on how to recover from the problem (though your best bet is to make sure all of your utilities are disabled before upgrading as Joe recommends in "Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard," and that's especially true of system-level "haxies" like this). Unsanity claims the problem stems from people using versions of Application Enhancer earlier than 2.0.3, and that they're working on ensuring Leopard compatibility. (Most third-party developers didn't receive their final release versions of Leopard until after the retail copies shipped on Friday, which puts some of the blame for incompatibilities squarely on Apple's shoulders.)
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306857>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/leopard-upgrading.html?14@@!pt=TB902>
<http://www.unsanity.org/archives/haxies/leopard.php>
Alan Oppenheimer and Open Door Networks are cautioning Leopard users to turn off the Back to My Mac feature due to a security vulnerability that enables anyone with access to your .Mac account password to control your Mac remotely. Back to My Mac is located in the .Mac preference pane, and is enabled by default. [Open Door has now posted more details.]
<http://www.isfym.com/site/blog/Entries/2007/10/27_Don't_go_Back_to_My_Mac.html>
<http://www.isfym.com/Site/Blog/Entries/2007/10/29_More_about_Back_to_My_Mac.html>
They write: "The problem came in when we selected the server Mac in the client's sidebar. Instead of either connecting to that Mac's File Sharing as a guest, or asking us for that Mac's password, Back to My Mac automatically connected to the server Mac's File Sharing as that Mac's owner without ever asking for the owner's name and password. Worse yet, the same thing happened when then clicking on 'Share Screen...' giving us full remote control of the Mac without ever entering its password."
Apple is advising users of its professional photography software that the Aperture database could become inconsistent if the program is running during a Time Machine backup (which occurs every hour). Apple's wording is interesting: "If you use Time Machine with Leopard, be sure to set your computer up so that Time Machine only does manual backups." Presumably this refers to being able to customize the Time Machine backup schedule, a feature Apple demonstrated but which didn't appear in the released version. Or, I could be reading it wrong and Apple just means that you manually switch Time Machine on in the Time Machine preference pane to trigger a backup.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306853>
Speaking of Aperture, Apple has also released Aperture 1.5.6 Update (a 130.6 MB download), which provides Leopard compatibility and addresses issues with iPhoto, the iLife Media Browser, and recovering an Aperture Library from a Vault.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306387>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/aperture156update.html>
Each of the following Apple software updates provide improved stability and compatibility with Leopard (and don't mention much else): iLife Support 8.1.1 (6 MB), iDVD 6.0.4 (6.5 MB), GarageBand 3.0.5 (14.4 MB), and Backup 3.1.2 (6.3 MB).
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ilifesupport811.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/idvd604.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/garageband305.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/backup312.html>
FileMaker Inc. has posted an article in their knowledge base on FileMaker's compatibility with Leopard. The company says FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced don't currently "deploy properly on Leopard," and they're working on a compatibility update. FileMaker Pro 9 and FileMaker Pro 9 Advanced "generally run on Leopard," with two known issues:
<http://filemaker.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/filemaker.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=6649>
The company says it has not tested versions of FileMaker prior to FileMaker 9 under Leopard, and has no plans to update earlier versions.
We'll write more if and when other notable problems arise.
ToC
by Joe Kissell <joe@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#902/29-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9271>
Right after Tiger shipped, two and a half years ago, I wrote an article here about my impressions of the upgrade procedure (see "Evaluating the Tiger Installation Process," 2005-05-02). I began by saying that the installer was much better than its predecessor, so much so that I might not be able to sell as many ebooks about upgrading as I had when Panther was released! Nevertheless, I found enough surprises that I could say, with all sincerity, that the average Mac user is likely to have an easier and more successful upgrading experience with a bit of expert guidance.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8086>
Well, today I'd like to sing another verse of the same song. Yet again, Apple has made substantial improvements to the installer, and in general, the Leopard installation is easier and more reliable than the Tiger installation was. Also, yet again, some aspects of the upgrade process can cause unexpected problems. Based on the feedback I've received from readers of "Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard," the many additional pages of advice and instructions I added about preparing your Mac to run Leopard - and solving problems before, during, and after upgrading - have been more than worthwhile.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/leopard-upgrading.html?14@@!pt=TB902>
Apple always increases the minimum threshold for hardware compatibility when they release a major upgrade to Mac OS X. But most people assumed Leopard would run on any Mac with a G4 or better processor. Not so: if you have a G4-based Mac, it must be faster than 867 MHz. A question I've heard numerous times is, "What about my dual-800 MHz Power Mac? Isn't that faster than 867 MHz?" The answer, as far as the Leopard installer is concerned, is no. It doesn't matter if your computer is almost fast enough, or if it has multiple processors, each of which is almost fast enough. If the installer doesn't see an 867 MHz or faster processor, it won't let you install. I have heard of some hacks that could let some users of older Macs run Leopard, but I can't recommend them because Apple won't have tested Leopard on those machines, so you may encounter other problems, such as video card incompatibilities and software update failures.
Apple has made some improvements to the Archive and Install upgrade method. Specifically, it copies many more folders and files from your old /Library folder to your new one, meaning you'll have less work to do afterward to restore everything to its proper place. The net result is that if you use Archive and Install, with the Preserve Users and Network Settings option selected, you'll get virtually the same result as if you use Erase and Install along with the option of transferring old files from a backup drive at the end. I still think Erase and Install is better, because even if the sets of files you end up with are the same with either method, Erase and Install can wipe out lots of random disk gremlins, as well as reducing disk fragmentation (for what that's worth).
Most people, of course (at least those who don't read my book) will stick with the default Upgrade method. It works reasonably well - in fact, it seems to be more robust than the same method in Tiger. However, as ever, it isn't smart enough to disable all of the innumerable doohickeys you may have installed that could conflict with Leopard. I've read reports, for example, of old versions of Unsanity's Application Enhancer causing blue screen hangs after an Upgrade installation; a variety of other system add-ons, especially those that hack Mac OS X in ways Apple officially discourages, could also cause problems. As long as you have a fresh, bootable duplicate, though, you risk little by trying the Upgrade method - except the expense of time to redo the installation if it fails. Speaking of which...
Do not under any circumstances even consider thinking about upgrading to Leopard without a complete, recent, and verified backup of your drive, preferably a bootable duplicate. (Two backups would be even better.) You should do this not only in case something goes wrong during the upgrade itself, but so that you can go back to your previous system, later, if you find out in a few days or a week that something simply isn't working for you in Leopard. Even for people who have no trouble with Leopard at all, a bootable duplicate is extremely helpful in that it lets you use the Erase and Install method without losing any of your old data or applications.
For reasons I can't comprehend, when you're running the Leopard installer from the DVD, the AirPort status icon appears in the menu bar. Initially it indicates that AirPort is off, but you can turn it back on and join a wireless network right there, in the installer. I can't think of any reason why you'd want or need to do this, Apple doesn't mention it in their documentation, and I've read several reports of people having difficulties with the installation process after attempting to join a wireless network while booted from the DVD. Why would Apple include this seemingly useless feature, which can only tempt people to take an unnecessary action that might actually cause problems?
When I wrote about the Tiger installer, I complained that it didn't automatically disable login items on the disk you're upgrading, an obvious source of potential conflicts. The Leopard installer has the same problem, regardless of which upgrade method you choose. On the other hand, it may in some situations disable certain software (such as Now Up-to-Date & Contact) without giving any explanation of why it did that, or what components specifically were affected.
Now that Boot Camp is officially part of Mac OS X, Apple includes the latest version of their Boot Camp Windows Drivers on the Leopard DVD itself. So if you're using Boot Camp, you should reboot in Windows right after installing Leopard, reinsert your Leopard DVD, and let the installer run to update your Apple drivers to the latest version.
The Leopard installer isn't bad; it's definitely an improvement over the Tiger installer, and nicer even than the much-improved installer Microsoft offers for Windows Vista. Nevertheless - and I'm speaking as someone who has installed Leopard dozens of times, using many different options, on several machines - that "just-run-it-and-it-works" experience that Apple wants you to believe in may or may not be a reality. If you have a relatively clean system, it could be just that simple. But the more modifications you've made under Tiger or Panther, the greater your chances of glitches when upgrading. And, even the most scrupulous Mac user could fall victim to random disk errors or other unforeseen problems. So although upgrading to Leopard is not difficult, and is not something you should fear or avoid - not even in the initial, 10.5.0 release - make sure you do it right. For detailed guidance in getting your Mac ready for Leopard, performing that crucial full backup, choosing an upgrade method, and working through problems you could encounter in the process, read "Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard," a 125-page ebook that spells out everything you need to know to make the transition as smooth as possible.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/leopard-upgrading.html?14@@!pt=TB902>
ToC
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#902/29-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9266>
Screen sharing is the nifty new craze sweeping the nation - but Leopard users only need apply, right? No! You, too, if you're a Tiger user, can hop on the electric funk train. (Yes, I'm punchy following Leopard's release.) All it requires is a checkbox and maybe an extra piece of free software.
Screen sharing enables remote control of another Mac OS X system running Leopard. You turn the feature on in System Preferences by selecting the Sharing preference pane and checking the Screen Sharing box. (You can choose to limit access to certain users, too.) You can access a remote screen in one of four ways with Leopard - and a fifth trick works for Tiger:
The fifth approach couples Leopard's Screen Sharing feature with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It turns out that you can make it possible to control a Mac running Tiger remotely from a Leopard-based Mac by turning on the Apple Remote Desktop service in the Sharing preference pane's Services tab on the Tiger Mac. That enables just Tiger-from-Leopard control.
For the Leopard-from-Tiger direction, you need a separate, free application. Screen Sharing is based on, and compatible with, VNC, a widely used remote-control protocol. You can thus use a VNC client under Tiger to connect to Leopard systems. First, on the Leopard Mac, in the Sharing preference pane's Screen Sharing item, click Computer Settings, and then check the VNC box and enter a password; note that VNC doesn't rely on or integrate with Mac OS X user accounts. Back on the Tiger Mac, install the free Chicken of the VNC, and use it to connect to and control the Leopard Mac. (A VNC client on Macs running older versions of Mac OS X or computers running other platforms can also work with Leopard's Screen Sharing.)
<http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=64347>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2007-10/vnc_setup_leopard.png>
Chicken of the VNC can discover local systems, including those running Leopard, that are sharing screens by using Bonjour; or you can enter a remote, routable IP address.
Screen Sharing plus NAT traversal simplifies having remote access to your own system or systems, as well as providing tech support to colleagues and your family members.
ToC
by Joe Kissell <joe@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#902/29-Oct-07
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9270>
In "Take Control of Upgrading to Leopard," I spent a few pages talking about how to turn on and configure Time Machine, but I didn't go into much detail because I already have another book, "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups," which is all about backups and is therefore the proper place to put a full explanation of if, when, why, and how to use Leopard's new built-in backup feature. I am at this very moment working hard on a new version of that book that will tell you everything you want to know about Time Machine, and though I can't project an exact release date yet, we will certainly make it available as soon as we possibly can.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/leopard-upgrading.html?14@@!pt=TB902>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/backup-macosx.html?14@@!pt=TB902>
However, my work on the new book has been slowed down considerably by having to take time out, on at least a dozen occasions in the last few days, to answer email messages about what I think of Time Machine, how well or poorly it accomplishes some task, whether it's appropriate for enterprise backups or a suitable replacement for Retrospect, and so on. (The messages usually start, "I know you're probably going to cover this in an update to your backups book, but...") I am, of course, always happy to answer messages from readers, but I never dreamed Time Machine would turn into such a drain on my productivity! So, in the interest of heading off more inquiries for a few more days so that I can actually get the book finished, I'd like to take a moment here to offer my initial impressions of, and suggestions regarding, Time Machine. For more information... wait for the book!
First, some bad news. At the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2007 - just four months ago - Steve Jobs announced that Time Machine would work with an AirPort Disk (a USB hard drive attached to an AirPort Extreme N base station). As recently as two weeks ago, the same claim appeared on the Time Machine page on Apple's Web site. But then it mysteriously disappeared, and sure enough, the shipping version of Leopard offers no support for AirPort Disks. For whatever reason, presumably technical difficulties of some sort, Apple dropped that feature at the last minute. So, while it's still possible to back up multiple Macs in your home or office over a network, even wirelessly, doing so requires a host Mac (running Leopard or Leopard Server) - a step backward in convenience. The same limitation applies to NAS (network-attached storage) devices from other vendors. Although it may be possible to work around this problem, I wouldn't trust my backups to an unsupported hack, and I strongly discourage you from doing so as well.
<http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=4402934>
That's not the only missing feature. Apple had previously claimed that Time Machine would support encryption, but it doesn't. It does keep FileVault archives encrypted, but the cost of doing so is not being able to back them up until you're logged out of your account - a significant inconvenience. Yet another missing feature is the capability to specify a time limit beyond which older files will be deleted from your backup disk; now Time Machine simply keeps going until it nearly fills up your disk, and then starts purging older files - with an optional warning, but without an option to offload those older files to other media for long-term storage.
Apart from things many of us expected because Apple had told us about them, Time Machine lacks numerous important features common in other backup programs. A biggie: it can't make bootable duplicates; if your hard drive dies, you'll spend long hours restoring your Time Machine backup to a new drive before you can get back to work. It doesn't let you schedule times when it won't run, though you can manually turn it on and off whenever you want. You can't specify more than one destination disk and switch between them automatically (as you might want to do, for example, to keep an extra backup offsite - something I recommend). (It is possible to work around this in various ways, but I have to do more experimentation before I can provide reliable advice.) You can't back up to an iDisk or to optical media. You can't compress your backups - you're going to need, at a bare minimum, free disk space 1.2 times the size of the data you want to back up. And although you can manually specify files, folders, or volumes to be excluded from your backups, Time Machine offers no intelligent filtering (for example, excluding all disk images or all downloaded videos).
I started with the bad news not to diss Time Machine or persuade you that you shouldn't use it, but to put it in perspective. It's the very first version of a brand-new technology. It has limits and bugs (such as a problem with Aperture - see "Leopard Early Fixes and Warnings"), and seemingly lost some features just before its initial release. So despite the one-click setup (very nice) and the groovy 3-D interface for restoring files (extra super nice), it is not the Ultimate Mac Backup Program. At least, not yet.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9269>
On the other hand, I can think of at least one excellent reason you might want to start using Time Machine right now: it's guaranteed to be compatible with Leopard! Some of your existing backup software may not be. For example, the developers of SuperDuper are working hard on a Leopard update, but it's not quite there yet. EMC has announced that a Leopard compatibility update for Retrospect will be available within 30 days, and Prosoft says that they're preparing an update to Data Backup 3. Among the backup software already working under Leopard is CrashPlan, thanks to an update on 27-Oct-07. A new version of Carbon Copy Cloner released last week appears to work with Leopard, but may have a few glitches left. And Apple's own Backup just had a minor update for Leopard compatibility (among other things). If you're using any of the dozens of other backup utilities out there, check with the developer for information on its support for Leopard.
<http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html>
<http://www.emcinsignia.com/products/smb/retroformac/>
<http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_backup_info.php>
<http://www.crashplan.com/>
<http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/backup312.html>
I've been using the final version of Leopard on my main Mac for the past few days, and based on what I've seen so far, Time Machine appears to work approximately as advertised. It does back up and restore files correctly when I ask it to. However, a few things are not quite as I expected:
