The Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group

The Status Register - May, 2004


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

May 2004


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

May News:

The May Meeting

The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, May 20th, 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 May 20 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. The Linux SIG will have Tom Purl doing a presentation about automatic backups. Here's a link to the description:

http://www.cucug.org/starship/index.phpviewtopic.php?t=714

The PC SIGs will be having a demonstration of how to back up your valuable DVD collection using free software that's easy to use, compliments of Mr. Hisel. The Macintosh SIG will be open for anything anyone wants to bring in.

ToC

Welcome Renewing Member

We'd welcome back renewing members Mike Latinovich. Mike has been a mainstay of the group and things just wouldn't be the same without him. Welcome back, Mike!

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

ToC

Sasser worm suspect confesses

11:15, May 8 2004
URL: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/24by7panews/tm_objectid=14222313&method=full&siteid=50143&headline=sasser-worm-suspect-confesses-name_page.html

BERLIN (Reuters) - The 18-year-old man arrested by German police on suspicion of creating the destructive "Sasser" computer worm has confessed to police that he had programmed the worm.

"He made a confession to police," said spokesman Frank Federau for Lower Saxony police.

Federau did not give any details on where the admission was made or whether the man went to police before they searched his parents' home, where he also lives, on Friday afternoon.

Federau said more details would be available at a police news conference later on Saturday.

Sasser, a tenacious computer worm, is expected to infect millions of machines before it runs its course.

Since appearing a week ago, it has wreaked havoc on personal computers running on the ubiquitous Microsoft Windows 2000, NT and XP operating systems, but is expected to slow down as computer users download anti-virus patches.

ToC

Police in Germany question more Sasser suspects

By Reuters
URL: http://news.com.com/2100-7349-5211543.html
Story last modified May 12, 2004, 5:16 PM PDT

German authorities have searched five homes near the village where the teenager who created the crippling Sasser computer worm was caught last week, police said Wednesday.

Police expect to lay charges of computer sabotage against an 18-year-old identified in the media as Sven Jaschan after he admitted to creating and distributing the Sasser worm, which brought down thousands of computers around the world.

They had previously believed the youth, a student of computer science at a vocational college, had largely worked alone, merely exchanging ideas with fellow students.

"The assessments that have followed have now supported the suspicion that others were involved in distributing the virus," police in the state of Lower Saxony said in a statement.

Sasser, a worm that affects computers running on the omnipresent Microsoft Windows 2000, NT and XP operating systems, laid low computer systems of companies, government offices and individuals across the world since it surfaced more than a week ago.

Jaschan was arrested last Friday after a tip-off from Microsoft. He was released pending charges after police seized the computer on which the worm was developed.

Police said officers working with the Verden state prosecutors office had secured a large quantity of material during searches of the five homes near the northern German town of Rotenburg on Tuesday.

Two of those questioned had admitted to receiving the source code to the related Netsky worm from the author of Sasser, but only one had admitted to distributing Netsky.

Police gave no further details, saying the investigation was still under way.

ToC

Common Ground:

House Probes Threat Posed by Spyware

MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - It's the newest computer security problem to attract the attention of Congress: spyware, or software designed to collect computer users' personal data without their knowledge.

Secretly piggybacking on downloaded Internet software, spyware transmits information about computer usage and generates pop-up advertisements and other annoyances. It often is difficult to uninstall.

Little known a few years ago, spyware is now so common that many consider it the biggest problem for Internet users since spam.

Microsoft estimates spyware is responsible for half of all PC crashes and warns that it has become a multimillion-dollar support issue for computer makers, Internet service providers and technicians.

In some cases, it makes a computer unusable.

A research lab in Washington state found one of its computers "hijacked" by pop-up ads, to the point where "we couldn't do anything," said Patrick Clapshaw, the lab's director.

After a week of frustration and several visits by technicians, the problem was eventually solved, but not before causing at least $500 worth of lost data and downtime.

Clapshaw, of Kirkland, Wash., calls spyware worse than spam.

"To me, this is an aggressive computer takeover," he said. "It's the difference between someone dropping fliers on your front porch, or walking around your house following you and annoying you."

Members of Congress are taking the threat seriously. At least three bills have been introduced to address the problem, with more likely to follow.

"There is no more pernicious, intrusive activity going on in the Internet today" than spyware, said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

At a hearing Thursday before the panel's subcommittee on commerce, trade and consumer protection, computer makers and user groups urged Congress to address deceptive behavior, rather than ban categories of software. Citing a new Utah law, the groups said broad legislation could end up prohibiting legitimate practices and stifle innovation.

Members of the Federal Trade Commission also urged caution as officials learn more about the problem and the best way to combat it.

"I do not believe legislation is the answer at this time," said commission member Mozelle Thompson. "Instead, we should give industry the time to respond. Self-regulation combined with enforcement of existing laws might be the best way to go."

The go-slow approach infuriated Barton, who said he intends to push a spyware bill through his committee - and the full House - this year.

"You like this stuff? You're the only person in this country that wants spyware on their computer," he told Howard Beales, the FTC's consumer protection chief.

Barton urged FTC officials to work with the committee to draft a new law "instead of trying to defend something that's indefensible."

Beales said the FTC considers spyware a problem, but wants to make sure that legislation targets deceptive behavior while allowing legitimate uses. Some proposed solutions, such as requiring permission every time a user downloads a new program, "would make the process of installing new software extremely tedious," Beales said.

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., whose district includes Kirkland, called it "absolutely astounding" that the FTC does not see a need for a new law "when we have hundreds of thousands of violations every day." Inslee introduced a bill Thursday that would outlaw spyware programs designed to record Web browsing habits and collect personal data without notice and consent of the user.

Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., has introduced a similar bill requiring that consumers receive a clear and conspicuous notice before downloading software. The bill would also require that third parties disclose their identity to the consumer, along with a valid e-mail address.

Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Barbara Boxer, D- Calif., have introduced a bill prohibiting installation of software on someone else's computer without notice and consent. The bill also would require reasonable "uninstall" procedures for new software.

ToC

Lawmakers Support Scaling Back Copyright Law

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An effort to scale back a controversial copyright law gained momentum Wednesday when a powerful committee chairman said consumers should be allowed to break the digital locks that prevent them from copying DVDs and other materials for personal use.

Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who took command of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in February, said current law should be scaled back to allow consumers to make personal copies and exercise other long- established "fair use" rights, now prohibited under a 1998 digital- copyright law.

"The balance between consumers' rights and producers' rights over copyright material needs to be restored," Barton said at a hearing on the issue.

Barton plans to schedule a vote on a bill that would scale back the 1998 law, a spokeswoman said. The bill, sponsored by Virginia Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher, has drawn only 15 co-sponsors since it was introduced early last year, but several other committee members voiced their support at the hearing.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act has won praise from software companies and other content creators, who maintain that hacking around their digital locks should be outlawed in an age when perfect digital copies of their works can spread instantly across the globe through the Internet.

The law has been invoked to block software that would allow consumers to copy DVDs and electronic books. It has also been used by makers of printer ink-jet cartridges and garage-door openers to shut down rivals and at least one programmer has been jailed under the law.

Critics say the law assumes all consumers who want to copy a DVD onto their laptops will sell that copy on the black market, even though the vast majority have no intention of doing so.

"I am, like other consumers, a profit center for these businesses and it is about time they treated us with a little respect," said Allan Swift, a former congressman who said he has been making mix tapes for friends for 50 years.

The movie industry's top lobbyist warned that loosened copyright laws could devastate the industry as he brandished a bootleg copy of the film "Runaway Jury."

"The honest people will do right, but dishonest people will not do right and, in the digital age, that is a devastation I just don't want to comprehend," said Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America.

Boucher's bill would allow consumers to break digital locks for personal use and allow academics to crack them for research purposes. It would also require content creators to label copy-protected works accordingly.

A Barton spokeswoman said she did not know when the committee would vote on the measure.

ToC

'PearPC' looks to mix Apples and Wintel oranges

By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
URL: http://news.com.com/2100-1016-5216251.html
Story last modified May 19, 2004, 12:15 PM PDT

Though there's long been a relatively stable application for running Windows-based software on Apple hardware, using Mac-centric programs on Microsoft-minded machines has rarely been possible.

A duo of enthusiasts is attempting to buck that trend by launching an open-source program called PearPC that lets PCs built around chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices emulate a machine running the Mac's PowerPC chip.

http://pearpc.sourceforge.net/

The software can also run various flavors of Linux, though most of the interest has focused on its ability to run the Mac OS on a PC. Early testers say the software works but that it runs very slowly.

Sebastian Biallas, who created PearPC with help from Stefan Weyergraf, acknowledged the software's limits, warning that it's prone to crashing and runs at only a tiny fraction of the speed of the host PC.

Still, Biallas and Weyergraf's effort would appear to be the best yet at getting Mac OS X to run on anything other than a Mac. Throughout the Mac's history, others have tried to run the operating system on the PC, with varying success, as chronicled on the site Emaculation.com.

Biallas is also encouraging further development, posting PearPC on the Open-source Sourceforge Web site.

By contrast, Virtual PC has been around for years, allowing Macs to run PC software. The software, first developed by Connectix and later acquired by Microsoft, runs the latest versions of Windows, albeit with somewhat slower performance. The software currently doesn't work on the Power Mac G5, but Microsoft has been working to fix that with Version 7, which has been pushed back until the second half of this year.

Although far less established, PearPC has attracted a great deal of attention among Mac enthusiasts, with many rushing out to see if, indeed, their PC can run Mac software.

Dutch university student Thom Holwerda said he wanted to try Mac OS X, but couldn't afford to go buy a new computer.

Holwerda said he saw a mention of PearPC on operating system enthusiast site OSNews. "I immediately gave it a shot," Holwerda said in an e-mail interview.

PearPC doesn't include a copy of Mac OS X, but Holwerda said he borrowed a copy from a friend. While the software works, it runs at only about 2.2 percent of the speed of the computer it's running on.

As a result, Holwerda said, he's not actually running any Mac OS X programs. "It's kind of useless right now; way too slow."

Holwerda said he was nonetheless encouraged. "This is only a 0.1 release, more is definitely to come."

ToC

The PC Section:

WinInfo Short Takes

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

Microsoft Won't Cut as Many Longhorn Features as Reported

According to Microsoft sources, a "BusinessWeek" report that detailed cutbacks in the Longhorn feature set was a bit exaggerated. Although Microsoft will indeed cut features as the product gets closer to fruition, the company is now saying that none of the features demonstrated at Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2003 in October will be cut, and that the product's three main pillars--the Avalon presentation layer, the WinFS storage engine, and the Indigo collaboration components-- will appear in the next major Windows release as planned.

Microsoft Plans Massive Chinese Investment

Microsoft said this week that it will invest tens of millions of dollars in the fledgling Chinese software industry, hoping to erase the decades of software piracy that has almost made one of the world's largest potential markets financially useless to the company. It doesn't help that the Chinese government has cast a blind eye to its country's rampant software piracy and has made clear its preference for homegrown products. And you thought Microsoft had problems with the US and European governments.

April Patch Day Overwhelms Microsoft Servers

Microsoft's controversial April 2004 monthly security patch--in which the company fixed more than 20 security flaws, some of which were several months old--apparently caused quite a flutter among security-minded customers. Because of record demand, Microsoft Windows Update servers were almost overwhelmed for several hours Wednesday as almost four million simultaneous users caused the servers to reach a sustained download rate of more than 50GB a second. Microsoft says that the feeding frenzy lasted about 4 hours, which raises an interesting question. Perhaps the people who quietly receive Automatic Updates should get such security updates first--a day before Microsoft makes them available for manual download. That way, customers who take steps to automatically update their systems will be rewarded, and customers who make knee-jerk reactions to security alerts get what they deserve. I know that statement sounds harsh, but we need to start using our heads a bit more when it comes to security.

Windows XP SP2: Late Summer?

Microsoft sources are now placing the Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) release in "late summer," which will likely be significantly later than the July time frame that Microsoft was foisting around yesterday. The new date is also about a year later than XP SP2's initial estimated ship date and about 6 months later than Microsoft arguably should have released SP2, given all the much-needed security improvements it will contain. No one has said so, but I think that the May Release Candidate 2 (RC2) date is also definitely off, although I suppose Microsoft could add an RC3, if necessary. In short: XP SP2 is the most important Windows client update Microsoft will ever release. But you still can't get it. And now the situation is just getting silly.

Microsoft Verifies, Updates XP Reloaded Plans

Various Microsoft representatives verified this week that XP Reloaded will be a marketing campaign designed to rejuvenate consumer excitement about Windows XP, a product that has evolved dramatically since its initial release in October 2001. Set to run from October to December 2004, XP Reloaded will concentrate on new XP versions such as XP Media Center Edition (XP MCE) 2005 and XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, as well as various product updates that will ship in late summer and early fall, including XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), the next major version of Windows Media Center, and add-on products such as Portable Media Centers and Windows Media Center Extenders. Microsoft has changed its original plan for separate XP SP2 and XP Reloaded marketing campaigns; instead, the company will now market SP2 as part of the XP Reloaded campaign.

Microsoft Pumps 64-Bit Computing, Asks Partners for Drivers

Calling 64-bit computing the "future of mainstream," Microsoft representatives, including Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, used this week's WinHEC 2004 trade show as a platform to get developers excited about the 64-bit Windows versions that will ship late this year, including XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems and Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems. Both OSs will target systems based on AMD64 and Intel x86 64-bit technology and will for the first time offer all the features of their 32-bit brethren (earlier 64-bit Windows versions dropped features such as Windows Media Player--WMP). However, these new 64-bit OS versions will have one major limitation that will--for the time being--limit their appeal. Hardware driver support will be minimal until third-party manufacturers step up to the plate with 64-bit drivers (today's 32-bit drivers won't work). And that means 64-bit systems will be pretty useless for mainstream users, at least for the short term.

Know Why Microsoft Doesn't Improve IE? It's Your Fault

For months I've fretted about Microsoft's refusal to improve Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) by embracing modern Web standards and adding user- requested features such as tabbed browsing, and I think I've finally figured out the problem. Microsoft won't fix IE as long as it's still the most-often-used Web browser and its nearest competitor has only Macintosh- like market share. And that's the problem, folks. By continuing to use IE, you're letting Microsoft continue its policy of ignoring a product that, frankly, needs a lot of work. So if you're serious about seeing Microsoft improve this aging clunker, maybe the best solution is to start using something else. I recommend Mozilla Firefox.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox

Dell Posts Record Revenues

PC powerhouse Dell announced this week that it posted record revenues for its first quarter 2004 results, with an income of $731 million on sales of $11.54 billion. Sales outside the United States were much stronger than expected, but Dell suffered a bit because of April's increased component prices, which cost the company about $30 million. Most interesting, perhaps, was the performance of Dell's consumer electronics products. Sales of flat-panel TVs were up 70 percent from fourth quarter 2003, the company said. Dell also sold more than 800,000 printers in the first quarter, just a year after introducing the product line.

Intel to Ship New 64-Bit Chips in June

Itanium who? This week, Intel said it plans to ship its new Pentium 4- based 64-bit chips in June, along with support for a new security extension that will help make Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) systems more secure. The new microprocessors, which are based on what Intel calls Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T), will also support Intel's Hyper- Threading (HT) Technology, which makes one processor perform like dual processors. But Intel has a way to go before it catches up with AMD, which pioneered the AMD64 platform that Intel is now copying. What an interesting turn of events.

ToC

The Linux Section:

Linux Bits

from Tom Purl (tompurl2000@yahoo.com)

Fedora Core 2 Has Been Released

The latest version of the distribution formerly known as "Red Hat" is now available. If you want to download it via FTP or HTTP, you have to wait until May 18th, but you can download it via BitTorrent today. Check out the Slashdot story for the BitTorrent link:

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/05/16/1333210&mode=thread&tid=106&tid=110&tid=185&tid=187

The Mono Project Has Released Its First Beta

The Mono project's goal is to provide an open source implementation of Microsoft's .Net framework that can run on multiple platforms. The first "beta" version of this software is now available. Here's a link to the press release:

http://www.go-mono.com/archive/beta1/beta1.html

Knoppix 3.4 Has Been Released

The latest and great version of everyone's favorite "live CD" Linux distribution is now available. If the old version didn't support your hardware, then you may want to check this one out. Here's the download link:

http://www.knoppix.net/get.php

Sun Considers "Open Sourcing" The Solaris Operating System

Here's the link:

http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/04/30/HNsolarisgpl_1.html

I don't know what to say about this one. It could really shake up the OS market. If this happens, then I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft started giving Windows away (even though they would never give away all of the source).

The Chief Architect of the Gentoo Linux Distribution Quits

The originator of the Gentoo Linux distribution recently resigned. No one is really sure why, but it seems amicable. This also coincides with the release of the 2004.1 version of Gentoo. For more information, please visit this site:

http://www.gentoo.org

OpenBSD 3.5 Has Been Released

Everyone's favorite Canadian BSD is now available. The press release is available here:

http://www.openbsd.org/35.html

ToC

2.6 Kernel Users Good Stuff Alert!

from Skal Loret

If any of you have a Linux machine running the 2.6 kernel, here is a little tip I picked up today that will REALLY speed up your network response times. I mean REALLY. I did this and I cannot believe the new speed at which I load a complex webpage.

Put this in the file /etc/modprobe.conf

alias net-pf-10 off

What this does is stop the kernel from attempting ipv6 address resolution. Whooo law, does it ever speed things up!

Oh, there is another benefit of this little thingy: The system boots a lot faster and KDE loads incredibly faster.

What a nice tweak.

ToC

The Macintosh Section:

Apple Releases Faster iBooks and PowerBooks

TidBITS#727/26-Apr-04

Apple refreshed its entire laptop line last week with the release of improved iBooks and PowerBooks. The entry-level 12-inch iBook, at $1,100, contains a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 512K of L2 cache running at 1 GHz, 256 MB of RAM, and a 30 GB hard drive. A 14-inch model, at $1,300, shares the same specs as the 12-inch, with the exception of a 40 GB hard drive (and the larger screen, of course!). The high-end 14-inch iBook, at $1,500, features a 1.2 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, a 60 GB hard drive, and AirPort Extreme built in (AirPort Extreme is available as an option on the other two iBooks). All iBooks include an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32 MB of video memory, along with a Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW); the two 14-inch models offer a build-to-order option for a SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW), which runs at 4x speed (compared to previous 2x SuperDrives for laptops). The iBooks can now also support up to 1.2 GB of RAM, versus the 768 MB limit of the previous generation.

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

The PowerBook line leapfrogs the previous generation's speeds with 1.33 GHz PowerPC G4 processors on the two 12-inch models and one 15-inch model, and 1.5 GHz processors for a second 15-inch configuration and the still-enormous 17-inch model. Starting at $1,600, the 12-inch PowerBook includes 256 MB of RAM, a 60 GB hard drive, and a Combo drive; for $200 more, the other 12-inch configuration adds the 4x SuperDrive. They also include Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics processors with 64 MB of video memory, and a FireWire 400 port. The 15-inch Combo drive model, at $2,000, adds a FireWire 800 port, the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics processor with 64 MB of video memory, and a 4x SuperDrive. Moving up to the top of the 15-inch pile, the $2,500 configuration features 512 MB of RAM, an 80 GB hard drive, and the now-famous backlit keyboard. For $300 more, the 17-inch model offers the same specifications as the top 15-inch model, but with a who-cares-about-plasma-displays beautiful 17-inch screen. All PowerBooks feature built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth, 512K of L2 cache, and now use 333 MHz PC2700 memory across the board. [JLC]

<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index12.html>
<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index15.html>
<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/index17.html>

ToC

eMacs Get Speed Bump, Price Drop

TidBITS#727/26-Apr-04

Last week, Apple Computer also revised the eMac, its most affordable Macintosh computer. The eMac still sports a white, all-in-one design with a 17-inch CRT-based display capable of resolutions up to 1280 by 960 pixels (leaving it the only picture tube in Apple's otherwise all flat- screen lineup). But Apple's revved up the internals: the eMac now sports a 1.25 GHz G4 processor, 333 MHz PC2700 RAM, an ATI Radeon 9200 graphics controller with 32 MB of video memory, three USB 2.0 ports, and either a 40 GB hard drive and a 32x Combo drive (DVD- ROM/CD-RW) or an 80 GB hard drive and an 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/ CD-RW). The revised eMacs are available immediately starting at $800 for the Combo drive model, and $999 for the SuperDrive- equipped model; eMacs are also available at reduced prices to education customers in the U.S. and Canada through Apple's Store for Education, along with a bare-bones model with no optical drive. Build-to-order options include AirPort Extreme wireless networking, an internal Bluetooth module, up to 1 GB of RAM, and larger hard drive capacities; eMacs ship with Apple's iLife '04 collection of digital media applications, AppleWorks, Quicken 2004, WorldBook Encyclopedia, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. [GD]

<http://www.apple.com/emac/>
<http://www.apple.com/education/store>
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/>

ToC

Apple Posts $46 million Q2 Profit

TidBITS#727/26-Apr-04

Apple Computer announced a $46 million profit for its second operating quarter of 2004, based on revenue of $1.9 billion and sales of nearly 750,000 Macs and over 800,000 iPods. International sales accounted for 43 percent of the quarter's revenue, and gross margins were a still-substantial 27.8 percent. The quarterly profit takes into account a $7 million restructuring charge; Apple will likely incur restructuring charges next quarter as well, as the company announced plans to further streamline processes by shutting down its Sacramento, California, manufacturing facility and moving those operations to a supplier in southern California. Nonetheless, Apple remains in good financial shape, having completed its third quarter of double-digit revenue expansion, keeping $4.6 billion in cash on hand, and having no corporate debt. [GD]

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/14results.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07553>

ToC

Security Update 2004-05-03 Released

TidBITS#728/03-May-04

Apple seems to enjoy releasing security updates on Monday afternoons. This week, the company unveiled Security Update 2004-05-03, a 4.2 MB package that updates the AFP Server, CoreFoundation, and IPSec components of the operating system, and includes the components of the earlier Security Update 2004-04-05. For owners of Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar, the update provides the same new components, but in a 9.8 MB download. No other details were available at press time. Both updates are available via Software Update; standalone downloads will likely be available by the time you read this. [JLC]

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07621>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/>

ToC

iMovie 4.0.1 Improves Performance

TidBITS#728/03-May-04

Apple has released iMovie 4.0.1, which improves performance in long projects and fixes a few bugs in the video editing application. The update corrects problems when launching the program and adding titles to the timeline, and better handles projects that used third-party plug-ins which are no longer present. It also includes fixes for pixelated video, corrupted Ken Burns (pan and zoom) clips, and audio loss after emptying the trash. Apple recommends upgrading to QuickTime 6.5.1 and, if you use an iSight as your video input source, iSight 1.0.2. The iMovie 4.0.1 update is a 1.2 MB download, and is also available in Software Update. [JLC]

<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieformacosx.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/isightfwupdater.html>

ToC

New Zires and Palm Desktop 4.2.1

by Jeff Carlson <jeffc@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#728/03-May-04

PalmOne last week introduced two new color models of its consumer handhelds, the Zire 31 and Zire 72, along with a long-awaited maintenance update to its Mac desktop software, Palm Desktop 4.2.1.

Zire 31

When the company released its first Zire handheld in 2002, it appeared to be a step backwards (see "Palm Offers Low-price, No-frills Zire Handheld" in TidBITS-652_). While other personal organizers were gaining faster processors, color screens, and improved networking capabilities, the Zire arrived with specifications akin to the original Pilot, such as 2 MB of memory and a monochrome screen (with no backlight). To everyone's surprise (except for Palm), the Zire was a hit, tapping into the fact that many people primarily use their handhelds to keep track of contacts and calendars. The fact that the Zire (and later, the slightly upgraded Zire 21) cost only $100 was also instrumental in its success.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06967>
<http://www.palmone.com/us/products/handhelds/zire31/>

Now, PalmOne believes that even cost-conscious users are willing to pay a little more for a better handheld, while keeping the Zire's streamlined feature set. For $150, the Zire 31 features a color screen capable of displaying thousands of colors, 16 MB of memory, Palm OS 5.2.8, an expansion slot that accepts MultiMediaCard/SD cards, and the 5-way Navigator control (which replaces the scroll-up and scroll-down buttons) found on the company's other recent handhelds. The Zire 31 also includes a rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery, a fairly speedy 200 MHz Intel ARM-based processor, and a stereo headphone jack to use the device as an MP3 audio player. Like previous Zire models, this one uses a standard mini-USB cable to synchronize with the computer, versus the Universal Connector port found on the Tungsten line of devices.

Zire 72

If it weren't for a similar physical design, you might wonder how the Zire 72 can be legitimately grouped with the Zire 31. For $300, the Zire 72 is PalmOne's consumer multimedia handheld. It features a high-resolution color screen (16-bit color in a 320 by 320 pixel area), 32 MB of memory, a 312 MHz Intel PXA270 processor, Palm OS 5.2.8, headphone jack, expansion slot, rechargeable battery, and mini-USB HotSync cable. Unlike the Zire 71, which it replaces, the Zire 72 includes built-in Bluetooth wireless networking (which I use almost exclusively to synchronize the data on my Tungsten T and PowerBook G4 - one less cable to carry around!), and a built-in voice recorder.

<http://www.palmone.com/us/products/handhelds/zire72/>

The Zire 72 will also appeal to the image conscious: not because it's attractively designed (it is), but because it includes an integrated 1.2 megapixel digital camera capable of taking images at 1280 by 960 pixels. (The camera also boasts a 2x digital zoom, but in my experience digital zoom serves only to make otherwise decent images blurry.) The camera can also capture video at 320 by 240 pixels; however, currently the video is saved in ASF format, and can't be played back on a Mac without a third-party utility such as MPlayer.

<http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/>

Palm Desktop 4.2.1

Many Palm users who upgraded to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther discovered that Palm Desktop refused to work properly. After several months, a new version of Palm Desktop is available that fixes the permissions issue that caused the problem. The download also includes version 3.1 of the Send to Handheld droplet, which facilitates the transfer of image and audio files from the Mac to the handheld. Palm Desktop 4.2.1 is a free 12.1 MB download, but unfortunately you need to fill out a form, receive an email from PalmOne containing a URL to click, and agree to a legal form that appears in a pop-up window in order to download the installer. Or, if you have trouble getting the email from PalmOne, just use the second link below.

<http://www.palmone.com/us/support/macintosh/macdesk421.html>
<http://www.palmOne.com/us/support/macintosh/macdesk421_legal.html>

PalmOne has also released a separate utility for users of Mac OS X 10.2 or 10.3 who ran into an Access Denied error after installing iSync 2.1. The PalmOne Permission Fixer, a 20K download, corrects the permissions of the folders that contain the HotSync conduit files (which dictate how data is synchronized between the Mac and the handheld's expansion card).

<http://www.palmone.com/us/support/downloads/permissions_fixer.html>

Continued Support for the Mac

Lastly, PalmOne expressed its ongoing support of the Mac platform when the new Zire handhelds were released. In an interview with MacCentral, Stephane Maes, PalmOne's senior product line manager for handhelds reiterated support for the Mac platform for future PalmOne devices, saying, "We will continue to meet Mac users' needs regardless of what OS we're running."

<http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/04/27/palmone/>

In February 2004, PalmSource (the spin-off company that now handles Palm OS development) demonstrated Palm OS Cobalt, the next version of the handheld operating system and let slip that Mac synchronization would no longer be supported. Independent Mac developer Mark/Space took advantage of the news and announced that the next version of its Missing Sync utility would provide that synchronization and more (see "PalmSource to Drop Mac Support in Palm OS Cobalt" in TidBITS-717_).

<http://www.markspace.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07543>

It's not yet clear if that support will come in the form of updated Palm Desktop software, the licensing of Missing Sync, or some entirely new solution, but it is heartening to hear that the Mac community won't be left out in the cold as the Palm platform advances.

ToC

iTunes 4.5 and the iTunes Music Store, One Year Later

by Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#728/03-May-04

Apple last week celebrated the first anniversary of the iTunes Music Store with the release of iTunes 4.5 and a slew of new features in the iTunes Music Store itself. Although the update doesn't warrant a full version number jump, it's not at all insignificant.

New iTunes Features

Whether or not you buy music from the iTunes Music Store, iTunes 4.5 offers a number of useful new features. A new dedicated Party Shuffle playlist selects a random list of songs to play from one of your playlists (or your entire Library), but unlike simply shuffling through a normal playlist, you can see what just played, see what's coming up, change the order of songs on the fly, or add new songs. It's essentially a temporary, malleable playlist that you can modify without fear of messing something up. If you perform a fair amount of ordering and deleting songs, you can save your efforts by dragging the contents of Party Shuffle to the playlist pane to create a normal playlist with those selections.

Also highly welcome is the new capability of smart playlists to exclude the contents of other playlists. That means you could, for instance, have a smart playlist that includes all your music except for the songs in a Christmas Music playlist that might sound rather jarring in July.

iTunes has enabled users of networked Macs on the same subnet to share music for some time, and although the short-lived Internet sharing feature hasn't reappeared, multiple users of the same Mac can now share music in exactly the same way. The sharing settings look exactly the same as in earlier versions; however, as long as the user whose music is being shared is logged in, all other users who log in via Fast User Switching can play the shared music.

Amusingly, if a user called Fred is playing music in iTunes and then another user, Guido, logs in via Fast User Switching, Fred's music continues to play and Guido can't stop or control it in any way. And if Guido starts playing music in iTunes as well, the two songs play simultaneously. It's not exactly a bug, since Apple is aware of the behavior, but in my mind, Fred's music should continue to play only until Guido starts playing music in iTunes as well. In many cases, multiple accounts are used for testing or troubleshooting, and not having to restart iTunes on every user switch is welcome. But in other cases, it's truly annoying for one user to have to listen to the other's music.

For those who burn CDs, iTunes can now print song lists using a variety of templates, along with jewel case inserts that include album artwork, if available. And if you're printing a jewel case insert for a CD that contains songs from multiple albums, iTunes arranges the artwork from multiple albums in a mosaic pattern.

Lastly, to ensure the highest possible sound quality, you can rip original audio CDs using a new Apple Lossless Encoder. Its lossless compression method reduces file size by approximately 2:1 (as opposed to 10:1 or more for MP3 or AAC) without compromising quality at all. Audiophiles will undoubtedly appreciate the option to store original quality music in half the space. (Audiophiles will note that the Apple Lossless Encoder is an Apple home-brewed solution, and not based on other lossless encoding schemes such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Encoder).) Music encoded with the Apple Lossless Encoder is compatible with only dock-connector iPods and the iPod mini, and only then after applying the just-released iPod Update 2004-04-28.

<http://flac.sourceforge.net/>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/ipodupdate.html>

iTunes Music Store Numbers

Included in last week's announcement was news from Apple on how the iTunes Music Store fared in its first year. Apple has sold more than 70 million songs so far, and the current run rate is 2.7 million songs per week, which points toward Apple doubling its per-year sales in the second year to 140 million songs. Apple also says that the iTunes Music Store now contains over 700,000 songs from the five major record labels and over 450 independent labels.

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/apr/28itunes.html>

Those numbers are impressive, and although the general consensus is that Apple doesn't make much, if any, money on the iTunes Music Store, the overall strategy would seem to have helped iPod sales, which exceeded 800,000 in Apple's last fiscal quarter.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07645>

Less heartening was the news from CNET's News.com about the promotion from Apple and Pepsi to give away 100 million free songs with specially marked bottles of soda. Odds of winning were supposed to be 1 in 3, although apparently tilting the bottles at a specific angle could reveal whether or not any given bottle contained a song code. Unfortunately, it appears that Apple gave away only 5 million of the 100 million free songs. Late delivery and spotty distribution of some of the special bottles may have reduced the numbers somewhat, but it's still disappointing (and a bit surprising) that only 5 percent of the free songs were redeemed.

<http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-5201676.html>

For another chance at free music, U.S. readers who go to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Web site and agree to vote in the upcoming presidential election can receive a code to download a free song. The first 50,000 people will get the music, but anyone who fills out the form before 31-Oct-04 can win a free iPod, a 20" iMac, and a trip to the company in Vermont to spend the day as an "honorary Flavor Guru." If I win, I plan to suggest "Blueberry iMac," which would be blueberry and vanilla ice cream with macadamia nuts. Mmm...

<http://vote.benjerry.com/>

If that's still not enough free music for you, Apple is now giving away a free song each week. It's a way for Apple to increase traffic to the store, and also for listeners to sample artists that they might otherwise ignore. Although no other details are available, it wouldn't surprise me if Apple is able to charge the record labels a fee for this type of preferred placement on the store, since it's great publicity for a band. (Apple also gave away a free song each day for eight days following the unveiling of iTunes 4.5.)

New iTunes Music Store Features

A number of the new features in iTunes 4.5 enhance usage of the iTunes Music Store. QuickLinks (the little encircled arrows next to artist and album names in iTunes Music Store listings) now appear next to track, artist, and album names for all your music in iTunes; clicking one takes you right to the song, artist, or album listing in the iTunes Music Store; Option-clicking displays the song in your library along with the other songs from its album. Although the addition of all the QuickLinks muddies the display somewhat, it's nice to be able to look for music from artists whose work you already own without performing a search.

You can also now drag the 30-second previews from an iTunes Music Store listing to a playlist; all that's saved is a link to the preview, but it's a good way to create wishlists. In the past, I used the shopping cart instead of 1-Click purchasing to collect songs I wanted to run by Tonya before buying. One slight advantage to that approach is that it's not tied to a particular computer, so I could add songs to the shopping cart from my desktop Mac or my PowerBook. Unfortunately, even when you have a playlist wishlist, iTunes won't move from one song to another, something I've found truly annoying, since I usually want to listen to all the previews for an album before I'll buy anything, and double- clicking each one separately is a pain. AppleScript to the rescue! Download the iTunes Music Store Player, one of many scripts for iTunes written by Doug Adams, to play all song previews currently showing.

<http://www.malcolmadams.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=itunesmsp>

Many people will enjoy the iTunes Music Store's new listing of what's playing on over 1,000 radio stations around the U.S. because it simplifies identifying and buying the song you just heard on the radio. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell how Apple's lists correspond to when specific songs are played on the radio. For those who have noticed that "over 1,000" radio stations sounds suspiciously similar to the "approximately 1,200" radio stations owned by Clear Channel Communications (an international radio/television/event behemoth), I have confirmed that the two lists are independent; Apple's list contains both stations that are and are not owned by Clear Channel. Unfortunately, none of the Ithaca radio stations, particularly WVBR (independent, but run by Cornell students) and WICB (Ithaca College's student station), are listed. Perhaps Apple will enable such stations to join the list given that college students are smack dab in the middle of the target market for the iTunes Music Store.

<http://www.clearchannel.com/>
<http://www.wvbr.com/>
<http://www.ithaca.edu/radio/wicb/>

Unchanged in iTunes 4.5 is handling of streaming radio stations; one nice addition would be to parse the current song and artist and provide links to the iTunes Music Store.

For those who think Apple might at some point move into video with the iTunes Music Store, notice that it now includes top-level links to more music videos (which are great, since they include entire songs rather than the truncated 30-second previews) as well as movie trailers that you can view within iTunes. Both are sales tools, of course, and you can easily purchase the song related to a video or the soundtrack to a movie whose trailer you've just seen.

iMix, You Mix, Meow Mix

Perhaps the most interesting new feature of the iTunes Music Store, however, is iMix, the capability for iTunes users to publish their playlists (up to 250 items) to the iTunes Music Store and inform friends about them. The iMix playlists are linked to the included artists, and the publishing users can add descriptions (theoretically only 1,024 characters, although in my testing, iTunes wouldn't even take that many). Other users can play the 30-second clips for the songs in the playlist, rate iMix playlists, and buy the songs.

It's a fascinating way of sharing musical tastes. I've found that I appreciate the Listeners Also Bought links within the iTunes Music Store, and the iMix playlists extend that linking of related music, enabling users to say explicitly, "I like all this music, and if you like some of it, perhaps you'll like other tracks I include as well." I'm less sure of how well the ratings will work, since it's not clear to me whether other users will rate the playlist as an interesting collection of music (as I think should happen), rather than rating the playlist on the perceived merits of the songs it contains. The latter makes relatively little sense to me, since it would imply that a playlist containing a single hit song could have a high rating because everyone likes the song, despite the fact that it's an utterly pointless playlist.

You can take a look a couple of playlists I've generated, in fact; one contains some of my favorite songs, and a larger one includes songs whose lyrics particularly speak to me. Take a listen, give them a rating, and please send me your iMix playlists as well. I imagine it will take me some time to work through the deluge of playlists, but hey, it's a great way for me to find out a bit more about all of you - you all know way more about me than I do about you.

<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=26642>
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPublishedPlaylist?id=12736>

When you publish a playlist, you may be, as I was, somewhat disappointed in the number of tracks that don't exist in the iTunes Music Store. My favorites playlist contains 71 songs but the iTunes Music Store contained only 35 of them. And my Ultimate Lyrics playlist has 128 tracks, of which only 80 appear in the iTunes Music Store. Apple could do a better job of matching; for instance, "Superman's Song" from the Crash Test Dummies is in the iTunes Music Store, but since I have it from their album "The Ghosts That Haunt Me" and the iTunes Music Store has it on the compilation "Upfront! Canadians Live from Mountain Stage," it didn't make it into my published iMix playlist.

More to the point, however, I'd like to see Apple consider the songs that iMix playlists contain, but which aren't yet in the iTunes Music Store, as requests. There's no telling if this is feasible, but if lots of iMix playlists contain a particular song, album, or artist, I'd hope that Apple would notice and increase efforts to add the appropriate items to the iTunes Music Store.

A less noticeable new way to share your musical tastes is a new Tell a Friend link that appears with every album that you view in the store. Clicking the link takes you to a form where you can enter friends' email addresses and an optional note; the email they receive includes a link to the album plus a thumbnail of the album's artwork.

Sturm and DRM

Along with these modifications to the iTunes Music Store, Apple made two changes to the digital rights management (DRM) aspects of purchased music.

On the plus side, Apple increased the number of Macs you can authorize to play purchased music from three to five. This is a welcome change - Tonya and I have been occasionally irritated by the limitation, since we each have a desktop and a laptop Mac, and an old iBook plays music from iTunes through our stereo as well.

On the minus side, Apple reduced the number of times you can burn the same playlist to CD from ten times to seven; this may annoy people who regularly burn CDs of music for friends, although my impression is that it's fairly trivial to change the playlist to work around the limitation if it's a problem. That's fine, since the goal of the limitation is to prove to the music industry that iTunes can't be used to mass-produce music CDs easily.

Doing Windows

iTunes 4.5 is also available for Windows, where it has essentially the same feature set as the Mac version, with the addition of the capability to convert unprotected WMA files to AAC, letting iTunes take over for all music a Windows user might have, short of purchased songs from other online music services.

Download Details

iTunes 4.5 is a 10 MB download available directly or via Software Update; it requires Mac OS X 10.1.5 or later, with current versions of Mac OS X and QuickTime 6.5.1 (also available via Software Update or directly) recommended for best results.

<http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/>
<http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/>

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HistoryHound Fetches the Past

TidBITS#730/17-May-04

Talk about a delayed reaction! I've been moaning for years about how useless most Web browsers are at helping you return to places you've been in the past. Back in 1996, there was a MacUser utility called Web Ninja that captured the URL of every page you visited, making it easy to find and revisit those pages. And until this January, when the Omni Group showed off the pre-release OmniWeb 5, nothing even approached Web Ninja's power. With OmniWeb 5, the Omni Group raised the bar, indexing not only the URL of each page you visit, but also the full text. I've been beta testing OmniWeb 5, and although I don't search my history every day, that feature has proved invaluable on more than one occasion.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=00892>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07511>
<http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/5/>

But what about other browsers, like Safari and Internet Explorer? Jon Gotow of St. Clair Software has come to the rescue with HistoryHound, a $20 utility that reads the existing history and bookmarks from Safari and Internet Explorer, visits those sites on the Web, indexes their contents, and lets you search the index. To search, you press a keyboard shortcut (no matter what application you're in), type your search terms, and pick a page from a ranked results list; it opens immediately in your default browser. It's a brilliant, elegant interface, and although I haven't used it long on the Macs where I still rely on Safari, I think it will become one of those indispensable tools (and it has a great icon done by Tony Bush of Cartoon Dogs). If you've ever found yourself unable to find that site you visited a few weeks or months ago, ask HistoryHound to find it for you. A 30-day free demo of HistoryHound 1.0.2 is available as a 1.6 MB download and requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later. [ACE]

<http://www.stclairsoft.com/HistoryHound/>
<http://www.cartoon-dogs.com/>

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GarageBand 1.1 Released

TidBITS#730/17-May-04

Apple tidied up the garage a bit today with the release of GarageBand 1.1. The new version addresses a number of issues, adding per-track Echo settings and support for unprotected AAC audio files. The update also supports loop libraries located outside GarageBand's default disk location, and provides fixes related to moving GarageBand songs between different computers, the timing of individual notes and regions, and support for Propellerhead Software's ReWire (which provides a mechanism for transferring audio data between applications - like GarageBand and third-party software instruments - in real time). GarageBand 1.1 also now has the capability to rearrange tracks by dragging them. The update is a 37.5 MB download via Software Update or Apple's Web site. [JLC]

<http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/>
<http://www.propellerheads.se/>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/garageband.html>

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The CUCUG Section:

April General Meeting

reported by Edwin Hadley (elhadley@life.uiuc.edu)

April 15 - Moderate confusion was in un-control when I arrived. This was mainly because I was confused and a bit harried trying to set up everything and pay attention to the talk... but you don't really give a crap about that... So as best as I can make out the discussion was centered around a portable Firewire housing for a laptop hard drive. The latest in very small, high capacity portable drives. Uh... that is except for the micro drives in the new mini-iPods. But it is pretty darn close to in size anyway. The case goes for somewhere around 80 bucks plus/minus. A real cool little device. There was also a DVD-RW making the rounds as well. Prices were nebulous as they had just arrived that afternoon and Rich Rollins hadn't broken down the bill item by item. But Emil, who had bought the hard drive case, was fooling around with it almost immediately. By the end of the meeting, he had the old Titanium hard drive enclosed in it's new home like a hermit crab changing shells.

Discussion turned to the micro drives and how some mp3 players with big hard drives are being snatched up and stripped of their drives so someone can have themselves a neat small portable hard drive. Rich said he had seen several Nomad mp3 players on ebay with everything but the hard drive being auctioned off. He also said he was really impressed with just how many 'youngsters' on campus are plugged into their mp3 players.

DVD-RWs were discussed some more. Everybody seems to want one! And, they are just about the only way to back up a large capacity HD. Kevin Hisel complained about the fact that media is really scarce, even the relatively slow speed media.

Talk went to large capacity hard drives. Rich mentioned new 400 gig drives. They seem to be the thing some network people are using for server back-ups. Kevin Hisel talked about his Maxtor 250 gig drive that he uses for back-up. He says it works like a charm. Someone else mentioned a Western Digital drive out at Best Buy for a good price.

Rich asked if there was anything new to show and I talked about a set of portable speakers that I bought at Best Buy for 20 bucks. They are compact and clip together for mobility. The set consists of two speakers with 'clips' that are also props to hold the speakers in a near vertical angle, a little amp powered by 4 AAA cell batteries, and cables to connect them. There is the capability for the amp to be powered by a generic power converter so you can save or avoid battery use. Of course there are always rechargeable batteries. But the package is fairly compact with good sound and volume. For 20 bucks, that is.

Special Note: Both "Beavis" AND "Butthead" showed up for a rare experience.

Rich mentioned that the most recent poll of e-mail was that more than 60% of all e-mail is spam. I would have guessed it was more like 80%. There was general grumbling and wisecracking about e-mail. One person said '...someone went to a lot of trouble to send that, you shouldn't just throw it away!' And then someone else suggested that it should be archived! Others just looked nervous...

Rich read off some slightly strange stats about web browsing, who, what and how much. bad jokes about how much of it was porn, and how much more it would be if the 'people' could get wider bandwidth.

Talk of Apple big profit from the success of the iPod and iTunes. something like three time what they expected. A debate ensued regarding whether Apple is actually make the money on iTunes' music sales. Rich said they were supposed to be making 30¢ on the dollar of song sales and making some more on the sale of iPods. More than a 100 million bucks. Kevin said they weren't supposed to be making anything on the sales of songs. Norris wondered if they would be planning on dumping their computers for iPods and music. Most didn't think this would happen... 'any idiot can make a mp3 player. And some do!' Discussion continued with a review of Apple's legal hassles with the Beatles' Apple Corp. "That's why they don't make any money off of iTunes!"

George (that evil PC user) wondered about some reports of mechanical and electrical hassles. Discussion of the possibility of price increases of iPods. Rich said he hadn't heard of it Mike and several others said they had heard the rumor. Rich wondered who was rumoring it. A general discussion of the market and how other folks would like to get part of Apple's profits.

A fellow asked what would be the cheapest and easiest way to get video from a digital camera to a laptop for editing. The general opinion was a Firewire card for the laptop or desktop. There are other ways to do it, but most of them mean a big hit in some way. Either in image quality or length of time time to transfer the files. Some talk of the various types of computers and what their limitations would be. Rich suggested getting a Firewire card or a USB 2 cards.

Discussion of the latest Microsoft system fixes. Discussion about the pluses and minuses of saving up the fixes until there are enough to 'justify' the update. Some discussion of Internet Explorer non-starting hassles. Rich has done all the normal methods of repair, but nothing has fixed the problems. The problem came from unsafe web-surfing. The discussion turned pretty arcane very fast. But the general consensus was to re-install.

Then came the 9.0 on the 'Weird #@*#-o-meter'... as of Jan. 20, 2004 there is an undocumented feature in the update for Windows XP Home and Pro. If you like to play with fonts or accessibility features, that there is a sequence of keystrokes that will cause your display to flip 180° (upside down). There is supposed to be no real fix for the problem, although some one hacked a fix that will turn you display 175 ° back around. When the system boots all the DOS stuff reads correctly, but when the login shows up it is upside down. Evidently it effects a wide variety of machines. Kevin Hisel, the semi-official web- browser, started to squawk as everybody started shouting commands at him and just where he should be surfing. Kevin HIsel suggested he could send folks a copy of 'Bad Day" virus that would flip the display 180°!!!

Thus ended the main meeting.

The giveaways... MS Office Professional Edition 2003 ($410) and Office System 2003, Step by Step, a book. Steven Gast won the book. Rich Rollins won the software. Everyone got a free MS Office pen - the soft rubber baby-bumper kind.

The Macintosh SIG

reported by Edwin Hadley (elhadley@life.uiuc.edu)

Well there really wasn't a Mac-SIG. The meeting was very loose after the break. I was talking with some folks and Emil seemed pretty well engrossed in his new hard drive project. Others gathered and separated as the conversation demanded.

Eventually everybody went home.

ToC

April Board Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

The April meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, April 20, 2004, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Richard Rollins, Rich Hall, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, and Emil Cobb.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin had no new business to bring up.

Emil Cobb: Emil reported that we had 16 members in attendance at the April General Meeting. He reported that there was no Mac SIG and no PC SIG really. The meeting was kind of a social without being formally called such.

Emil reported that Apple had released an HD authoring suite. Kevin Hisel expressed some interest in seeing it.

Emil let us know that he has been playing with Bluetooth recently.

Kevin Hisel suggested a free DVD movie backup demo. After some discussion, it was decided that he would do it at the next PC SIG meeting. He said he will be using free software tools to perform the task - DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink.

Richard Hall: Rich reported that Mike Latinovich renewed his membership at the meeting.

Kevin Hisel: Kevin reiterated his request for input from the Mac and Linux people for what they'd like to see on the club's web site. The content he's looking for is contact information, what the SIG does, etc.

Richard Rollins: Richard arrived late. He started off talking about wireless cameras, 802.11B, and security set ups.

Richard said the meeting was very interesting. "It had a life of it's own."

He then talked about the bug in Windows that was raised at the meeting where a certain key sequence while in the Fonts manager will invert your display. Fixing this feature is a major pain.

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The Back Page:

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

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

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

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

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

   President/WinSIG:   Richard Rollins      469-2616
   Vice-Pres/MacSIG:   Emil Cobb            398-0149               e-cobb@uiuc.edu
   Secretary/Editor:   Kevin Hopkins        356-5026                  kh2@uiuc.edu
   Treasurer:          Richard Hall         344-8687              rjhall1@uiuc.edu
   Corp.Agent/Web:     Kevin Hisel          406-948-1999
   Linux SIG:          Tom Purl             390-6078         tompurl2000@yahoo.com

Visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/index.php .

CUCUG
912 Stratford Dr.
Champaign, IL
61821

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