The Champaign-Urbana Computer Users Group

The Status Register - October, 2005


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

October 2005


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

October News:

The October Meeting

The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, October 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 October 20 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. The Macintosh SIG will be having an iTunes demonstration, courtesy of Mr. Emil Cobb, who will have a collection of iTunes tools and web sites to discuss. He also promises to bring along his iPod Nano. The PC SIG will be examining Richard Rollin's Spy Hunter collection of malware and virus fighting programs. Richard says iTunes for the PC could also be an additional topic.

ToC

CUCUG Elections Coming In December

CUCUG will be electing officers in December for next year. The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Corporation Agent are open for nominations. The election will take place at our "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. The election guidelines appear later in this newsletter.

ToC

CUCUG Membership Renewal

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 P.O. Box address. We sincerely hope to have you with us in the new year.

ToC

Podcasters prepare to launch video era

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/10/14/spark.podcast.reut/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Podcasting is on the verge of setting off a video revolution and users of Apple's new video iPod can expect a deluge of outspoken commentary, religious sermons and pornography.

Podcasting, a term based on the name for Apple's portable media player, allows customers to download audio -- and now video -- segments for free to their computers and portable devices. Radio shows are among the most popular podcasts, but amateurs have helped turn podcasting into an eclectic global phenomenon.

Apple's video-enabled iPod models, announced Wednesday, promise to stoke the fervor of home-grown broadcasters.

http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/articles/2005/10/specialevent/

"I'm thrilled by the possibilities of combining devices," said 'Soccergirl,' whose opinionated and sexually suggestive program was listed among the 40 most popular podcasts on Apple's iTunes service.

The 26-year-old librarian, who chooses not to reveal her real name, already produces short video segments that can play on viewers' computers.

The new iPods "will make it easier for many of my listeners to watch my video as easily as they listen to my show," she said.

Other early adopters of video podcasting are likely to include clergy of all stripes.

San Francisco-area pastor Tim Hohm, whose audio podcast is one of more than 1,400 religious offerings available on iTunes, says the new iPods represent "a fantastic opportunity" and believes video has the potential "to inspire tens of thousands to embrace a message of inspiration and hope."

The current crop of audio podcasters also includes entrepreneurial-minded Web journalists, some of whom are struggling to find a workable business model.

Media analyst Rafat Ali, whose paidcontent.org Web site focuses on the economics of digital content, forecasts many such start-up projects will fail due to lack of expertise and funding.

"Producing interesting video content is really hard," he said.

Success will depend largely on programmers' resources and ability to grasp the complexities of a medium that is much more complicated than audio, Ali said.

"It's a matter of how good is the quality and how do they get funded," he added.

Historically, pornographers have a strong track record of adapting new imaging devices and formats in a commercially viable way.

Mark Kernes, a senior editor at the Adult Video News trade magazine, said the highly-visible video iPod would certainly be used for adult content, but that many consumers might not want to show off their new material in public.

"Anybody that's got a video iPod is probably going to want to have a couple of porn clips on there, just to have," he said. "But you're not going to be looking at it at the mall."

[Editor's Note: I tried to find an uplifting Podcasting story - this one fails pretty miserably, but it does hint at what other individuals can do with the technology. Just like the mainstream media to focus on the salacious.]

ToC

"Digital Duo" -- Technology-related program on PBS

from David L. Noreen <d-noreen@uiuc.edu>

I just thought that I'd mention something, though, that some of the CUCUG members might find interesting.

WILL-TV broadcasts a show called "Digital Duo" on Sundays from 5 - 5:30 pm that's hosted by Stephen Manes, a columnist for PC World, and Angela Gunn, of USA Today. Many of the topics covered on the show are technology-related topics that might prove of interest to CUCUG members. (Several years ago when the show was being broadcast on WILL, I taped most of the episodes and occasionally showed a few, or excerpts of them, at the PC Users Group meetings when they touched on a topic that was of particular interest to the group. However, the show hasn't been aired for several years on WILL, although it's now been back on the air for at least the last month or so -- possibly longer, as it was just a month or so ago that I noticed it once again in the television listings.)

More information about the show, including video clips of recent broadcasts and links to topics covered, can be found at:

http://www.digitialduo.com

which redirects to:

http://www.pcworld.com/digitalduo/index/0,00.asp

ToC

Net power struggle nears climax

By Alfred Hermida
Technology editor, BBC News website
URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4327928.stm

The US has got an image problem when it comes to the Internet.

It is seen as arrogant and determined to remain the sheriff of the world wide web, regardless of whatever the rest of the world may think.

It has even lost the support of the European Union. It stands alone as the divisive battle over who runs the Internet heads for a showdown at a key UN summit in Tunisia next month.

The stakes are high, with the European Commissioner responsible for the net, Viviane Reding, warning of a potential web meltdown.

"The US is absolutely isolated and that is dangerous," she said during a briefing with journalists in London.

"Imagine the Brazilians or the Chinese doing their own Internet. That would be the end of the story.

"I am very much afraid of a fragmented Internet if there is no agreement."

Brokering the peace

The UN has been wrestling over who should run the Internet for a number of years. It was one of the issues which divided nations at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva two years ago.

The second phase of the UN conference is due to take place in Tunisia from the 16 to 18 November.

Currently a California-based group called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) is the nearest thing to a ruling body.

The private company was set up by the US Department of Commerce to oversee the domain name and addressing systems, such as country domain suffixes. It manages how net browsers and e-mail programs direct traffic.

Icann was to gain its independence from the Department of Commerce by September 2006. But in July the US said it would "maintain its historic role in authorising changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file".

America's determination to remain the ultimate purveyor of the Internet has angered other countries which believe it is time to come up with a new way of regulating the digital traffic of the 21st century.

In the face of opposition from countries such as China, Iran and Brazil, and several African nations, the US is now isolated ahead of November's UN summit.

The row threatens to overshadow talks on other issues such as bringing more people online and tackling spam e-mail.

Global forum

America's traditional ally, Europe, has been left trying to find a way of brokering the peace.

"There is a problem as many parts of the world don't like the fact that one country is linked to the organism that technically rules the Internet," said Commissioner Reding. "Many countries would like a multilateral approach."

On the table are European proposals for some kind of international forum to discuss principles for running the Internet.

The EU does not intend to scrap Icann. It would continue in its current technical role.

Instead Europe is suggesting a way of allowing countries to express their position on Internet issues, though the details on how this would happen are vague.

"We have no intention to regulate the Internet," said Commissioner Reding, reassuring the US that the EU was not proposing setting up a new global body.

Rather she talked of a "model of cooperation", of an international forum to discuss the Internet.

Her carefully chosen form of words may help assuage a Bush administration which is vehemently opposed to any kind of international body to govern the Internet.

"I am sure we will find a solution in interests of the Internet," said Mrs Reding. "We think we could have an agreement on what's on the table."

[Editor's Note: This story was submitted by David Noreen.]

ToC

RealNetworks and Microsoft Settle, Present New Unified Front

by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#801/17-Oct-05

The moral of last week's settlement agreement between RealNetworks and Microsoft is apparently that if you continue a lawsuit long enough against the Redmond software giant, they pay you off - in this case, to the (pun-intended) tune of $761 million.

<http://www.realnetworks.com/company/press/releases/2005/real_microsoft.html>

That's not to say that ex-Microsoftie and RealNetworks founder Rob Glaser's complaints about Microsoft's past predatory practices were invalid. On the contrary, Microsoft clearly engaged in activities designed to make it harder for Windows users to use RealNetworks's audio and video products reliably. Whether these points were illegal in a criminal or civil standpoint had not yet been proven; Microsoft had been found to violate anti-trust laws in 2000 (see our coverage in TidBITS-525_).

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=05875>

The $761 million that RealNetworks will receive comes in two pieces. The first installment of $460 million, paid up front, is intended to resolve all Real's claims for damages worldwide. Real also gets long-term access and licenses for Microsoft's Windows Media technology. Microsoft will also let RealNetworks integrate its player much more fully into Windows, let users more easily choose which media player to use, and allow companies like Dell to pre-install RealPlayer without crying foul or imposing sanctions.

The second chunk, $301 million, is actually credit against services. Microsoft will market Rhapsody, RealNetworks's subscription Windows-only streaming service, through MSN, and RealNetworks gets the right to buy ads on MSN to promote Rhapsody. In turn, RealNetworks will incorporate MSN Search within RealPlayer and will commit to using Microsoft technology for some services.

How does this affect Apple? Microsoft isn't buying RealNetworks, so we still have three large competing formats:Windows Media, RealAudio/RealVideo, and QuickTime. The market will remain in three pieces. In fact, it's clear that both RealNetworks and Microsoft are committed to developing their own formats further. But the disturbing part for Apple is that the two companies will work to make their digital rights management (DRM) schemes interoperable, which could create more unified competition for Apple's iTunes/iPod/iTunes Music Store troika, in which content is protected by Apple's closely held FairPlay DRM.

In recent years, RealNetworks has transformed itself from its roots as a server software company that gave away a free player. Now the company is increasingly a premium subscription services firm that licenses content and distributes it through its RealPlayer Gold service, which handles video, and its Rhapsody music subscription service, which streams an unlimited number of different tunes to a PC for a monthly fee.

Real's stock surged upwards by 36 percent following the announcement, closing at nearly $8 per share. The stock, adjusted for splits, hit its all-time high of nearly $100 per share in 2000. In the last two years, the stock has gyrated between bands of about $5 and $7. The first payment of $460 million will bring the company's cash on hand from $260 million to $720 million.

(Disclosure: I own a very small number of RealNetworks shares because of the purchase eight years ago of a company I helped out in its early days. I never worked for RealNetworks, and my material benefit is not significant in terms of overall holdings.)

[CUCUG Editor's Note: I heard this was the last remaining anti-trust case pending against Microsoft. Somehow, congratulations just doesn't seem the right thing to say.]

ToC

Common Ground:

Of Piracy, Motherboards, and Microsoft

By Ed Foster, Section The Gripelog
Posted on Tue Oct 11th, 2005 at 12:03:00 AM PDT
URL: http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2005/10/11/030/82390

[Foster's Note: Occasionally a story comes along that seems to tie together a lot of the threads we've been following. An example is a tale one reader just relayed that, while seemingly quite mundane, nonetheless touches on such recent topics as justifying piracy, bad motherboards, and Microsoft's advantage over customers.]

---

"I work at a small 'mom and pop' computer shop in Maryland," the reader wrote. "We survive mainly by doing repairs. A customer came in with an E-Machine with a bad motherboard. E-Machines wanted a ridiculous price for a new motherboard, so we installed a cheaper non-E-Machines motherboard, saving the customer money."

Because of the new motherboard, of course, Windows XP activation was triggered. "During the requisite call to Microsoft for an activation number, we were told that Microsoft could NOT give us the activation for this particular copy of XP since it was sold through a 'special licensing agreement' with E-Machines. Even though we had the 25-digit license number, Microsoft insisted we would have to contact the manufacturer for the activation number. Two separate calls to E-Machines elicited the same response. NO activation number would be given since we did not install an 'official' and expensive E-Machines motherboard. So the customer is forced into purchasing another copy of Windows XP even though they already paid for the original license when they first bought the computer and have all the required proof."

In other words, the reader's customer -- who has done nothing wrong other than have a motherboard fail on him -- has the choice of paying ransom to E-Machines or to Microsoft to have a functioning OS again. Which led the reader to wonder just what would constitute piracy in such a situation. "We all know there are plenty of copies of XP that work fine without the product activation scheme," the reader wrote. "Usually these are copies of corporate or academic versions of XP originally sold by Microsoft with broad licenses covering many computers. Is this customer justified in installing such a 'pirated' copy of XP on this system? Or should the customer have to buy yet another copy of XP, and presumably throw his old copy in the trash, just because his motherboard failed?"

Those are interesting questions. I know what Microsoft would say: the XP EULA doesn't allow you to transfer a license from one machine to another, so it's totally up to the OEM to decide if it's the same machine or not. And we know what E-Machines (which is now a Gateway brand) or most other OEMs are going to say to that: buy the replacement parts from us at our price or else. And we know one other thing. As Microsoft continues to tighten the screws on its "Genuine Windows" validation process and other campaigns supposedly intended to fight piracy, more and more customers are going to find themselves in similar circumstances to the reader's customer. After all, not only can these tactics produce more revenue for Microsoft, it obviously gives the PC manufacturer leverage on the customer as well.

So how would you answer the reader's questions? And who bears the most responsibility for this situation -- Microsoft, the OEMs, or the customers who keep buying into it? Post your comments below or write me at Foster@gripe2ed.com.

[Editor's Note: Follow the link for some interesting comments from his readers.]

ToC

Fasterfox 0.7.6

From: "Mark S. Zinzow" <markz@uiuc.edu>

Here's a tidbit worth sharing. I was browsing new Firefox extensions today and decided to try Fasterfox 0.7.6, a performance and network tweaker for Firefox.

https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=1269&application=firefox

My favorite feature of this extension is that it kills the pop-ups that have been getting through the regular blocker!

ToC

ACM's Reflections / Projections videos now available

From: Anthony Philipp <philipp1@uiuc.edu>

The Association for Computing Machinery at the University of Illinois held its 11th annual student computing conference on October 7 - 9, 2005.

http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/conference

Videos from the speakers at Reflections / Projections 2005 have been posted and are available here.

http://www.acm.uiuc.edu/conference/webcast.php?PHPSESSID=f3dd3f9683f001b82e2c350a0f559398

ToC

The PC Section:

WinInfo Short Takes

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

Update Rollup 2 for XP Media Center 2005 Arrives

At the Digital Life show in New York City today, Microsoft will unveil its much-anticipated Update Rollup 2 (UR2) for Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) 2005, the company's last significant update to Media Center before it is completely subsumed into Windows Vista. Actually, I'm told that two-thirds of all former eHome employees (who were responsible for Media Center) have been working on the Vista Media Center software (codenamed Diamond), and not UR2 (codenamed Emerald), all year anyway so that change has been underway for quite some time. If you're interested in UR2, I've got a full review available now on the SuperSite for Windows. It's a minor update, but it's free and will be widely available on the Web later today.

Surprise ... Apple Copies Media Center

Speaking of Media Center, I'm surprised that there was less outrage over Apple's Front Row software, which is a complete Media Center rip- off (albeit one that offers only a subset of Media Center features). Joe Belfiore, the general manager of Microsoft's eHome division, is in New York this week for Digital Life for the soft-launch of XP MCE 2005 UR2, and he's surprised about a completely different issue. "I was surprised that it took them as long as this to do a feature like Media Center," he said. Indeed. But this lengthy gestation--Media Center has been out for over three years now--suggests that Apple isn't all-powerful. Furthermore, Apple is only now dealing with issues Microsoft first solved four years ago--IR interfaces, for starters--and has yet to figure out all the issues involved with TV tuner cards, TV recording, and so forth. In short, they have a long way to go before they can ever catch up with Media Center. Most tellingly, perhaps: Why is Apple's interface so text-based? It looks sad next to Microsoft's highly-visual approach. Which, frankly, is what you want with digital media content. Just a thought.

Not News: XP to get Vista Gadgets

In what is quickly becoming a long-standing tradition, this week I must take exception with another bit of non-news that's been widely reported on the Web. In his blog this week, Microsoft group product manager Sean Alexander noted that Gadgets designed for Windows Vista's new (and lamer) Sidebar will also run on Windows XP. This was picked up by a variety of news sites as "confirmation" that Gadgets would run on XP. But this was always the plan, and Microsoft announced this plan publicly at PDC 2005 in September. More to the point, why are these gadgets even happening? And where the heck did the real Sidebar go? That thing used to be cool.

Ex-Microsoftie Gets 2.5 Years for Theft

A former Microsoft employee who stole software from the company and then sold it on the street this week was sentenced to 2.5 years in jail. Frank Philips used Microsoft's internal software ordering system to snag expensive software systems, which he then sold for a profit of $100,000, pre conviction. Actually, he's going to post a loss on those transactions, because he was also ordered to pay $666,000 in restitution, an interesting sum.

OpenOffice.org 2.0 Now Due Next Week

Eagled-eyed readers know that Sun released its StarOffice 8.0 office productivity suite in late September, but the OpenOffice.org release on which it is based--OpenOffice.org 2.0--has yet to ship. Well, that will finally be rectified next week, when the open source office productivity suite hits the streets. Like StarOffice 8.0, OpenOffice.org 2.0 supports the suddenly-important Open Document format natively, offers a Microsoft Office 2003-like user interface, and can export PDF files. But unlike Star Office 8.0, OpenOffice.org 2.0 will be completely free, which certainly has its benefits.

ToC

Xbox plays starring role in Windows update

By Mike Ricciuti
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
URL: http://tinyurl.com/cgent

Microsoft on Friday delivered new software that will more closely link its forthcoming Xbox 360 gaming console into the company's plans for delivering digital entertainment.

The company said that as part of an update to its Media Center Edition of Windows, it will add the capability to stream digital media--music, videos, photos television and movies--from Media Center PCs to any television or device via Xbox 360. The move has been expected. Company executives discussed plans to build the software earlier this year.

Microsoft already allows customers to stream media through devices it calls Media Center Extenders, and it has in the past sold a kit to make Xbox work with Media Center PCs. But the new software will make Xbox, Microsoft's high-profile game machine, a peer in such arrangements and will for the first time include the ability to stream high-definition content. Xbox 360 consoles with special Media Center Extender technology will ship later this year, said Brad Brooks, senior director of product management in Microsoft's Windows client division.

The move could help promote sales of both Xbox and Media Center PCs, as Microsoft continues to link its products into a larger home entertainment plan, which still relies on the PC--and the company's Windows franchise--as its center of gravity. Competitors include Apple Computer, which continues to build a franchise around its iPod lineup; Sony, the longtime consumer electronics heavyweight; and others.

"The strategy here is quite simple. We want to create an environment based on Windows that will give consumers...the ability to take their content to any device that was connected back to a Windows PC. (Adding) the Xbox 360 is just the next evolution of that vision," Brooks said.

"In past extender experiences, we haven't been able to bring over the full navigation, 3D graphics and (user interface) experience on a Media Center. With an Xbox 360 you get all of that," he said.

The software update, called Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, will support DVD changers, so that users can manage up to 200 movies through Media Center, Brooks said. In addition, a new feature, called Away Mode, adds a consumer electronics-like on-off function to Media Center PCs. Microsoft will also add new DVD-burning capabilities and will add support for additional high-definition TV tuners.

Microsoft also plans to announce new deals with content providers to develop programming available to Media Center users. New to the list are: additional MTV and VH1 content, along with MTV Overdrive and a broadband video channel; the AOL Pictures digital photo service and AOL Radio featuring XM; the Akimbo Service, which offers more than 5,000 programs from the BBC, National Geographic and Discovery, as well as Major League Baseball playoff games; and two gaming services: Game xStream and Discover Games.

Brooks said the software update will be available as a free download for Media Center users on Friday from the company's Windows Update site. New PCs with the updated software installed should arrive at retailers by this weekend, he said.

It's unclear what role Media Center will play after the release of Windows Vista, a new version of Windows expected to launch next year. Brooks said no final packaging decisions have been made for Vista.

The company released a "community technology preview" of Vista in September. The final version of Vista, which has also been known by its Longhorn code name, is due out in the second half of next year. Microsoft has not said when it will release a second test version of Vista.

ToC

Hot Tip #12 : Windows XP Performance Tips

By Chief Bargainmeister
(C) 2002-2005 techbargains.com, LLC
April 19, 2005
URL: http://www.techbargains.com/hottips/hottip12/index.cfm

Introduction

Everyone wants their machine to run faster. We have compiled all the special tweaks we've made into this one handy article. We focus on settings that improve the performance of Windows XP and not on user interface tweaks. Note: You can disable most of XP's user interface candy and increase performance!

These tweaks are designed for Windows XP both Home and Pro. Make sure you have at least 256 MB of RAM, any less and your machine will lag due to use of the hard drive as memory. 512MB is preferred. Backup your System before attempting any of these modifications!

Microsoft covers performance in Windows XP. PC magazine found general application performance is faster on XP than on Windows ME.

BIOS

You need to ensure that you have configured your BIOS correctly. The BIOS is software embedded on your motherboard that loads and configures hardware before the operating system. Failure to do so can easily slow down CPU and disk performance. Consult your computer or motherboard's manual to ensure that all CPU caches are enabled, memory timings are set correctly, and that IDE data transfer modes are set correctly.

You can speed up the boot process by enabling "Rapid Bios Boot" or "Fast/Quick boot". Also turn off auto detection of IDE devices and detect them manually. Set System and Video BIOS Cacheable to OFF as well as Video RAM cacheable to off, as these are legacy operating system DOS settings.

Test CPU performance with PC Magazine's benchmarks ( http://www.pcmag.com/category/0,2999,s=1477,00.asp ). Test drive performance with HDtach benchmark ( http://www.tcdlabs.com/hdtach.htm ).

Drivers

You need to ensure that you have the latest versions of all your hardware drivers. The ones on the original Windows CD-ROM are usually out of date. Updated Video and SCSI drivers can significantly improve the performance of your computer.

Video Performance

If you experience slow screen redraws and you are running the latest drivers for your video card, try selecting a lower quality video resolution. In the Display icon of the Control Panel, select the Settings Tab. If the system is set for True color try lowering it to High Color (16-bit). Many LCDs cannot show a full 32-bit color pallet. You can also reduce the Desktop Area. Upgrade to a new video card if this does not help. Using the latest Microsoft DirectX drivers can increase game performance.

Reducing XP's screen effects will also speed up performance. Goto My computer, Properties, Advanced Tab, Performance Settings, Select adjust for best performance.

Hard Drive Port

Make sure your hard drive is not connected to the same IDE port as your CD/DVD-ROM. Each IDE port is programmed to operate at the slower of the two devices on the port, so you could be slowing down access to your primary hard drive by leaving a CD-ROM on the same channel. Put your CD/DVD-ROM on the Secondary IDE port.

Intel Application accelerator ( http://www.intel.com/support/ chipsets/iaa/ ) lets you independently set tranfer rates for devices on the same cable.

IDE DMA

Windows does not automatically utilize faster DMA IDE data transfer modes on IDE slave drives. Programmed I/O mode is the default setting.

  1. Right click on "My Computer", select the Hardware tab, and Select Device Manager.
  2. Expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller" and double-click on "Primary IDE Channel"
  3. Under "Advanced Settings" tab, check the "Device 1" setting. Set it to "DMA if available"
  4. Repeat the step for the "Secondary IDE Channel" if devices are present there.

SCSI Write Cache

Many SCSI drives do not have their write caches enabled. Use a Mode Page Editor such as the one built into EZ-SCSI to enable Write Caching on all your hard drives. Windows XP allows you to enable Write Caching in the Properties page of a SCSI Drive.

Minimize Background Applications and Services

Press CTRL-ALT-DEL while in Windows and bring up the Task Manager. Notice how many programs are running in the background. Each program steals memory and CPU cycles. Offenders include: Adobe Gamma Loader, Fast Find, msmsgs (Messenger), Office Startup, qttask (Quicktime), System Agent, Real Player, Norton. To stop programs from automatically starting, remove the file from the Programs - Startup folder, left click on the icons in the System tray and turn off automatic loading, or consult the help file of each program to turn it off. Run MSCONFIG to get a list of programs that run on startup and remove unnecessary ones.

Disable Alerter, File and Print, FTP Publishing, Indexing Service, World Wide Web Publisher, Messenger, Computer Browser, Routing and Remote Access, Smart Card, Smart Card Helper, Terminal services, Uninterruptible Power Supply if they are not being used. You can always turn them off and test your machine, before setting them to be disabled on startup. Run "services.msc" from the Run.. menu and Disable any services that are unnecessary. BlackViper ( http://tinyurl.com/8dpou ) has additional information on services.

You can also Configure Virus scanning to only scan incoming files.

Removed Unused Programs, Protocols, and Fonts

Uninstall any Programs that you do not use. Also remove any Fonts that are not used. This will free up disk space and make the machine boot faster. You should also remove any temporary files located in the C:\TEMP, c:\windows\prefetch, or C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directories. Also remove any unused Network Protocols such as NetBEUI or IPX.

Unload DLLs

Windows does not unload dll files a program has used after it has been closed, to speed up a possible restart of the program.

Use Regedit to edit:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
Add the DWORD value named: AlwaysUnloadDLL and set it to 1

Virtual Memory

Windows uses your Hard Drive as swap memory but its default configuration can cause a major loss of performance with the memory swap file getting moved around.

Select System icon from the Control Panel - Performance and Maintenance, select Advanced Tab, select Performance areas, and click on Settings Under virtual Memory click Change. The Initial and Maximum size should be equal otherwise Windows will keep resizing the file. The optimal memory setting for users with 128 MB+ is approximately 1.5-2 times the RAM size, users with 64 MB should use a 2 times multiple. You should also locate Virtual Memory on your fastest drive or striped RAID volume, placing it on the non-boot drive, can help increase performance. Defragment after setting this to minimize fragmentation and force the swap file to get located on the fastest part of your disk. Third party defragmentaters can optimize the swap file.

Always make sure your system has enough RAM. 128MB is the absolute minimum, 512MB is preferred. You can bring up the Performance Tab of the Task Manager to ensure that Total Commit Charge is lower than your Total Physical Memory. If not, add ram.

Memory Tweaks

There are 3 tweaks you can make to change how XP uses memory.

Open Regedit and Find
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\

Disable Paging Executive:

XP pages data from RAM memory to the hard drive. We can stop this happening and keep more data in RAM, resulting in better performance. Users with a large amount of RAM (256MB+) should use this setting. The setting we change to disable the 'Paging Executive', is DisablePagingExecutive. Changing the value of this key from 0 to 1 will de-activate memory paging.

System Cache Boost:

Changing the value of the key LargeSystemCache from 0 to 1 will tell XP to allocate all but 4MB of system memory to the file system cache, allowing the XP Kernel to run in memory. The 4MB of memory left is used for disk caching, if more is needed, XP allocates more. Generally, this tweak improves performance by a fair bit but can, in some intensive applications, degrade performance. As with the previous tweak, you should have at least 256MB of RAM before attempting to enable LargeSystemCache.

Input/Output Performance:

This improves performance of large file transfers. If this entry does not appear in the registry, you will have to create a REG_DWORD value called IoPageLockLimit. The data for this value is in number of bytes, and defaults to Zero which equates to 512KB on machines that have the value. Most people using this tweak have found maximum performance in the 8 to 16 megabyte range, so you will have to play around with the value to find the best performance. The value is measured in bytes, so if you want, 12MB allocated, it's 12 1024 1024, or 12582912. As with all these memory tweaks, you should only use this if you have 256MB or more of RAM.

Use your hard drive less for Virtual Memory:

The Windows 98/ME "ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1" optimization does not work for XP.

Defragment

Make sure you regularly defragment your hard drive with a defragmenter. Windows XP includes one. Keep your drive defragmented as a drive with even 5% fragmentation can be very inefficient.

Microsoft has a utility called "Bootvis" ( http://tinyurl.com/j3ua ) that can monitor your system bootup and optimize its performance. They removed the files from their site. This site has a copy: http://www.soft32.com/ download_19687.html Extremetech (
http://www. extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1785996,00.asp ) has more bootup performance tips.

Network Performance

Tweak XP ( http://www.tweakxp.com/ tweakxp/display.asp?id=282 ) has a nice tip on adjusting how much network bandwidth is reserved for different programs.

Offload processor tasks to network adapter's with intelligent processors.
Open Regedit and Find
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Edit or Create the REG_DWORD key "DisableTaskOffload" and set it to 0 to Enable the Task Offload. By default, if this key is present, it's set to 1 to disable the task offload.
Details ( http://tinyurl.com/99zh9 ) from Microsoft.

Drive Performance

Some drives have configurable acoustic levels. They sacrifice performance for quiet. You can always turn off acoustic management for maximum performance.

Shortening Menu Delay

You can shorten the delay when menus open up by using Regedit to edit: HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop / MenuShowDelay By default, the value is 400, but changing it to a smaller value, such as 100, will speed it up.

Other Resources

TweakHound ( http://www. tweakhound.com/xp/xptweaks/supertweaks1.htm ) is a good site to go for more tips.
TweakXP ( http://www.tweakxp.com/ ) is a good site to go for more tips.
Windowsxp AtoZ ( http://www.windowsxpatoz.com/ ) is a good resource.
Windowsxp.nu ( http://www.windowsxp.nu/ ) is also a good resource.

X-Setup ( http://www.xteq.com/ ) can help tweak settings.
Cachemem ( http://www.outertech.com/ ) can help tweak cache - memory settings.
Super Win Software ( http://www.superwin.com/ ) makes several tools for tweaking including Add/Remove pro

We do not claim to know it all. Please contact us ( http://www.techbargains.com/ contact.cfm ) with additional tips, questions, and suggestions!

ToC

The Linux Section:

Linux Bits

from Tom Purl (tompurl2000@yahoo.com)

This was a big month for releases but, other than that, things were pretty quiet.

MIT Creates Prototype For $100 Linux-Powered Laptop

It runs Linux, can be powered by a hand crank and is targeted at children in developing nations. For more information, please see the Slashdot link:

Ubuntu "Breezy Badger" Released

A new version of an up-and-coming Linux distribution has been released. I personally use this distribution (and have already upgraded to this version) and think that it's very easy to use and install.

Please see the following links for more information:

Mark Shuttleworth Comments on "Ubuntu's Direction & Intent"

Venture Capitalist and South African cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth comments "on some of the issues and decisions that have been controversial" related to a new and popular Linux distrubtion, Ubuntu.

Please see the following links for more information:

Mandriva Linux 2006 Released

The latest version of Mandriva (formerly Mandrake) Linux was released on 10/07/2005. Cool new features include the Kat desktop search application (http://kat.mandriva.com/) and Centrino hardware certification.

For more information, please see the following links:

SUSE 10.0 OSS Released

The free (Free?) version of SUSE Linux has been released. Cool new features include Xen 3 (which allows you to run multiple OS' on a single machine) and GCC 4.

For more information, please see the following links:

ToC

Linux gains lossless filesystem

Sep. 30, 2005
URL: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9521569196.html

An R&D affiliate of the world's largest telephone company has achieved a stable release of a new Linux filesystem said to improve reliability over conventional Linux filesystems, and offer performance advantages over Solaris's UFS filesystem. NILFS 1.0 (new implementation of a log-structured filesystem) is available now from NTT Labs (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's Cyber Space Laboratories).

Log-structured what?

Log-structured filesystems write down all data in a continuous log-like format that is only appended to, never overwritten. The approach is said to reduce seek times, as well as minimizing the kind of data loss that occurs with conventional Linux filesystems.

For example, data loss occurs on ext3 filesystems when the system crashes during a write operation. When the system reboots, the journal notes that the write did not complete, and any partial data writes are lost.

The UFS filesystem used by Solaris provides a data "snapshot" feature that prevents such data loss, NTT Labs says, but filesystem operation must be suspended to use the feature, reducing performance. NILFS, in contrast, can "continuously and automatically [save] instantaneous states of the file system without interrupting service," NTT Labs says.

"Checkpoint" snapshot feature

The "instantaneous states" that NILFS continously saves can actually be mounted, read-only, at the same time that the actual filesystem is mounted read-write -- a capability useful for data recovery after hardware failures and other system crashes. The "listcp" ("list checkpoint") command of an interactive NILFS "inspect" utility is first used to find the checkpoint's address, in this case "2048":


# inspect /dev/sda2
...
nilfs> listcp
         1     6 Tue Jul 12 14:55:57 2005 MajorCP|LogiBegin|LogiEnd
      2048  2352 Tue Jul 12 14:55:58 2005 MajorCP|LogiEnd
...
nilfs> quit

The checkpoint address is then used to mount the checkpoint:

# mount -t nilfs -r -o cp=2048 /dev/sda2 /nilfs-cp
# df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda2             70332412   8044540  62283776  12% /nilfs
/dev/sda2             70332412   8044540  62283776  12% /nilfs-cp

Additional claimed features of NILFS include:

About NTT Labs

NTT Labs is an R&D affiliate of NTT. It is chartered with improving the reliability and functionality of operating systems, DBMS (database management systems), and other middleware. It joined the OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) in February of 2004, and is helping adapt open source software for use as "the mainstay system for enterprises," it says.

NTT is Japan's second-largest company, behind Toyota, and the world's 18th largest company, according to Fortune Magazine's 2005 Global 500. NTT has revenues over $100B per year, putting it well ahead of second-place Deutsche Telekom, world's 37th largest company, with annual revenues of $72B.

The NILFS filesystem currently supports 32-bit x86 hardware running 2.6.13-series Linux kernels. The project homepage can be found here (http:www.nilfs.org).

[Editor's Note: This article submitted by Phil Wall.]

ToC

Dell offers an open-source PC

By Michael Singer, CNET News.com
Wednesday, October 05 2005 09:51 AM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/hardware/0,39042972,39273933,00.htm

Dell began offering a new desktop PC this week with no operating system installed. The machine is designed for people who want to run open-source software such as Linux instead of Windows.

The Round Rock, Texas-based company's Dimension E510n PC comes with a blank hard drive and a copy of the FreeDOS operating system, which can be installed by customers. The computer is part of Dell's n-Series of PCs, which first started shipping without an operating system back in September 2002.

The desktop retails for US$849 and comes with a Pentium 4 processor; 512MB of advanced DDR computer memory; a 128MB ATI Radeon X300SE HyperMemory video card; an 80GB serial ATA hard drive and a one-year limited warranty.

The computers are designed for customers and companies that want to experiment with Linux and other open-source operating systems. Many large companies that have pre-purchased Windows through licensing programs have to erase all the software that comes on factory-shipped PCs and then install the alternative software they've chosen. Buying a PC without an operating system saves a step and eliminates the cost of the extra software.

Despite its affinity for selling Windows-based computers, Dell is also a staunch supporter of Linux. The company has invested almost US$100 million in open-source developer Red Hat and sells PCs and servers based on its operating system, such as its Dell PowerEdge SC430 with a dual-core Pentium.

On the desktop, Dell has been installing Linux on its Precision workstations for a couple years. Dell spokesman Liem Nguyen said the company will continue to do so.

The launch of the new Dimension desktop also marks the beginning of Dell's efforts to streamline its consumer products business, which features Inspiron notebooks and the Dimension desktop PCs.

During its launch of its new XPS series last week, Dell said it will continue to offer Dimension and Inspiron products as they are, for now, but each will eventually split into two increasingly divergent categories.

One of these categories will target audiences for basic systems; the other will aim at markets for entertainment PCs. The entertainment series will come with Microsoft Windows Media Center Edition (WMCE) standard, and the basic series will be loaded with Windows Home Edition.

Although the entertainment systems will offer WMCE both with and without a TV tuner and related hardware, Dell expects most of these computers to go out the door without the media hardware, since the company is counting on its media-savvy customers to trade up to the new XPS series.

[Editor's Note: This article submitted by Phil Wall.]

ToC

The Macintosh Section:

Apple Quadruples Q4 Profit

by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#801/17-Oct-05

Apple Computer has published the financial results for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2005, and... well, there's no other way to put this. Somewhere in Cupertino, someone is rolling around in a big pile of money and laughing like a comic book villain on nitrous oxide. Apple earned $430 million on $3.68 billion in revenue, marking the highest quarterly revenue and profit in the company's 29-year history. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, Apple quadrupled its profit.

<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/11results.html>

For the quarter, Apple's operating margin was a healthy 28.1 percent (up from 27 percent a year ago), and 40 percent of the company's revenue came from outside the United States. The quarter also concludes a great year for the company, marked by 68 percent revenue growth and a 384 percent increase in net profit year-over- year. Apple pulled in $13.93 billion during fiscal 2005, from which it squeezed $1.335 billion in profit.

What's fueling Apple's windfall? In a word, iPods. To be sure, the company managed to shuffle 1.2 million Macintosh computers out the door (split nearly evenly between desktop and portables, with 602 million and 634 million Macs of each type sold, respectively), a highly respectable increase of 48 percent year-over-year. And the company generated $590 million in revenue from things like the peripherals and non-computer hardware, software like the iLife application bundle and Mac OS X, and .Mac memberships, etc.

However, these traditional activities of Apple, a computer company, are being rapidly overshadowed by its music business, which now accounts for over 40 percent of the company's revenue. Apple shipped 6.45 million iPods during the last three months and pulled in another $265 million from other music offerings like the iTunes Music Store. (And it's a good bet that some of the money accounted for separately as hardware and peripherals are, in fact, iPod-related: speakers, lanyards, batteries, adapters... and, fer gosh sake, socks.)

Does Apple think the ball is going to stop rolling? Nope: for its first quarter of 2006 - which includes the end-of-year holiday buying season - Apple is anticipating revenues of around $4.7 billion.

ToC

Apple Unveils Video iPod & New Media-centric iMac

by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#801/17-Oct-05

In one of its trademark media events in San Jose on 12-Oct-05, Apple Computer took the wraps off its new fifth-generation video- capable iPod and a new, slimmer iMac with an integrated iSight video camera and new Front Row media software.

First, Apple's fifth-generation iPod sports a 2.5-inch LCD screen which, like previous color iPods, can display album art and photographs, but can also play video, including music videos, television episodes, video podcasts, and home movies. The new iPods are available in 30 GB and 60 GB capacities at $300 and $400, respectively: Apple says the 60 GB model can hold up to 150 hours of video. The new iPods are also slimmer than their now bulky-seeming predecessors: the 30 GB model measures 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.43 inches (104 by 61 by 11 mm) while the 60 GB model is just slightly thicker at 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.55 inches (104 by 61 by 14 mm). The new iPods will be available from Apple this week in both white and the highly popular black.

<http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html>

Like previous iPods, the new fifth-generation portable player works with both Mac OS X and Windows XP; video and other content is synchronized to the iPod from the user's computer via iTunes 6, also announced (see "iTunes 6 Gets Video," elsewhere in this issue). Apple says the new 60 GB iPods get up to 20 hours of battery life playing music, while the 30 GB models play tunes for up to 14 hours. Video and slideshow playback is more costly, however: the 60 GB model can play 4 hours of slides or 3 hours of video, while the 30 GB model conks out after 3 hours of slides or 2 hours of video. The iPods feature a stereo minijack for headphones, a Dock connector enabling USB 2.0 connections to a host computer, and (most intriguingly) composite video and audio output through the minijack, enabling users to play iPod-stored video on a television or other video device with a special AV cable. A separate Universal Dock accessory supports S-video. Missing from the new iPods? FireWire. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, you'll want a Mac with USB 2.0 to load music, podcasts, video, and other content onto a new iPod.

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

Not to be lost in the (ahem) shuffle, Apple also showed off a new, slimmer iMac G5, sporting either a 17- or 20-inch LCD screen, an integrated iSight video camera, and new Front Row media software which can play music and videos from your iTunes collection, show slides of iPhoto images, or play home video - all from any nearby seat, via an included remote control that features an (ahem) familiar-looking click wheel design. Although Front Row offers easy access to media stored on the iMac, it's almost more interesting to say what Front Row is not: a personal video recorder or media server. Front Row does not turn a Mac into a TiVo-like personal video recorder, nor does it manage distribution and access to media across a network.

<http://www.apple.com/imac/>
<http://www.apple.com/imac/frontrow.html>

Clearly aimed more at the dorm room than the home theater, the iMac G5 faetures a familiar set of specifications and features: either a 1.9 or 2.1 GHz PowerPC G5 processor, 512 MB of RAM (expandable up to 2.5 GB), a 160 or 250 GB hard disk, an 8x SuperDrive, an ATI Radeon X600 Pro or X600 Pro XT graphics controllers, two FireWire 400 ports, three USB 2.0 ports, two USB 1.1 ports, and VGA out, plus S-Video and composite video out (via a separate adapter). The iMac G5s also sport Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme, built-in Bluetooth, built-in stereo speakers, a built-in mic, headphone/optical audio output, and audio line in. Notably missing is a built-in modem, although you can add an external USB modem for $50 if you're forced to use a dial-up Internet connection or wish to send and receive faxes.

New to the iMac equation is the built-in iSight video camera, suitable for video conferencing via iChat AV, or for creating your own home movies and video podcasts. A new application called Photo Booth turns the iMac into... well, a photo booth. The new iMacs also sport Apple's multi-button Mighty Mouse, making the new iMac G5 the first Macintosh in history to ship with a multi-button mouse by default. It appears that the single-button Apple Mouse is on its way out, given that the Mighty Mouse and the Bluetooth- based Apple Wireless Mouse are the only pointing devices now available separately.

<http://www.apple.com/imac/isight.html>
<http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/>

The new iMac G5 models are available starting this week; pricing ranges from $1,300 for the 17-inch, 1.9 GHz version to $1,700 for the 20-inch, 2.1 GHz version, with several build-to-order options available.

ToC

iTunes 6 Gets Video

by Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#801/17-Oct-05

In the much-anticipated "One More Thing..." special event last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced iTunes 6, just five weeks after the release of iTunes 5. That version numbering was somewhat deceptive; iTunes 5.0 was really just the next point upgrade after iTunes 4.9, and its features reflected that reality. Although it doesn't look much different from the previous versions, iTunes 6 (and the iTunes Music Store) breaks new ground in a variety of ways, most notably in its support for video.

Along with the oodles of songs available on the iTunes Music Store, iTunes 6 now enables you to buy short films from Pixar, music videos, and select ABC and Disney TV shows for $1.99 each; TV shows currently available include Desperate Housewives, Lost, Night Stalker, The Suite Life, and That's So Raven. New episodes will appear the day after they're broadcast. Each episode checks in at about 180 MB, and Jobs claimed they'd take 10 to 20 minutes to download over a broadband connection. Along with the television shows, you can also buy music videos and short films for $1.99 each; they're smaller and thus faster to download. The videos are 320 by 240 pixels in size (the same resolution as the new video iPod), so don't expect to watch DVD-quality presentations.

Also new in iTunes 6 is the capability to give people music, TV shows, or music videos to anyone with an email address, making it possible to build digital music and video into gift-giving habits, something that's been tricky for downloadable products so far.

In yet another attempt to help you buy more from the iTunes Music Store, iTunes 6 now provides "Just For You," a built-in recommendation service that points you toward music that you might like, based on music that you've bought already. Just For You is still in beta, and although some of its recommendations seemed reasonable, others were truly wacky (such as recommending the audio book of C. S. Lewis's "Prince Caspian" because I'd bought the album "Painting It Red" by the Beautiful South). If you don't like the automatically generated suggestions from Just For You, you might be able to learn more about new music via reviews submitted by iTunes customers. With these Amazon-like features, how long will it be before we have an iTunes Music Store popularity ranking for every song and TV show as well?

Currently the TV shows are accessible only to United States customers, probably due to licensing agreements. It's too bad, since first run television shows from the United States would be wildly popular in countries that must normally wait months or years for the shows to air locally. Some BBC shows from the United Kingdom would undoubtedly enjoy a similar popularity in the United States.

Clearly, the handful of TV shows currently available in the iTunes Music Store is just the tip of the iceberg, given the number of other shows and, looking forward, full-length movies produced by ABC and Disney and their subsidiary networks, like the cable sports channel ESPN. Once the near-certain popularity of downloading TV shows is proven, Steve Jobs will undoubtedly manage to convince other networks to sell through the iTunes Music Store as well, including the back catalog of old but still popular shows. And that, my friends, will be a major change in the entertainment landscape, since there are many people, like Tonya and me, who will happily (and economically) trade cable TV for access to individual programs.

I can't see music video sales being as popular, since music videos started primarily as a way of advertising an artist's music, and as advertising, have always been available for free up to this point. There's no question that some music videos have excellent production values and stand on their own as an art form, but pricing a several-minute music video the same as a 60 minute television show seems wrong.

It's also worth noting that with video gaining a central spot in the iTunes Music Store and being played through iTunes, those names are becoming increasingly inaccurate and almost uncomfortable, much along the lines of clicking the Start button in Windows when you want to shut down. That said, Apple has a great deal invested in "iTunes" and "iTunes Music Store," making it difficult to switch to something more all-encompassing and generic (like calling the software "iPod for Macintosh" and the store the "iPod Store").

iTunes 6 is of course free as a 14 MB download, and Software Update has it as well. iTunes 6 requires Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, with 10.3.9 or later required for video. Playing videos purchased from the iTunes Music Store also requires that you install QuickTime 7.0.3, a free download you can get via Software Update or as a 32.3 MB stand-alone download.

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

ToC

Office 2004 SP2 Enhances Entourage, Fixes Bugs

TidBITS#798/26-Sep-05

Microsoft has released Office for Mac 2004 Service Pack 2 (SP2), which fixes bugs in all the Office programs and provides notable enhancements to Entourage, the email, calendaring, and contact management part of the software suite. Entourage 2004 SP2 features enhanced support for Microsoft Exchange Server, making it easier for Mac users to coexist in a predominantly Windows and Outlook environment. Specific improvements include better email and calendar management, enhanced public folder support, faster client-server synchronization, improved access (with full browsing) to the Global Address List, and enhanced delegate access that makes new setup possible entirely through Entourage without needing to use Outlook on a PC. Entourage 2004 SP2 requires Exchange 2000 or later, and some organizations may need updates to Exchange.

Although Entourage was the only program with significant new features, all the other Office programs received numerous bug fixes and security improvements. You can read the full list at the link below, but we're happiest about the promised performance improvements in Word 2004 SP2 and the fix for the bug that crashed Word when you updated Table of Contents fields contained in a table cell, the two of which had been forcing us to rely primarily on Word X for our Take Control ebooks. Many of the bugs fixed resolve crashes, so if you've had trouble with Office 2004 applications crashing, be sure to install SP2. You can download Office for Mac 2004 SP2 via the Microsoft AutoUpdate utility, or from Microsoft's Mactopia Web site; it's a 57 MB download. [ACE]

<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/autoupdate/description/AUOffice20041120EN.htm>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx>

ToC

Opera Now Free

TidBITS#798/26-Sep-05

Perhaps acknowledging the difficulty of selling a Web browser in today's Internet, Opera has freed its Web browser. While you can still choose to pay for Opera 8.5, which also features chat, contact, email, and other related features, that fee now covers support, not the software.

<http://opera.com/>

Opera is offering one year of 24-hour-turnaround email support for $29; otherwise, the browser is free. Opera's browser is a bit quirky in how it renders CSS and handles JavaScript, but some folks swear by its fast rendering and certain subtle features. The company has increasingly moved into mobile and embedded browser development, in which revenue comes from licensees who pay a per phone, per customer, or per copy of software sold license. Adobe, for instance, embedded Opera's technology into Adobe GoLive CS2 product for better previewing of pages. Discussion on TidBITS Talk also points toward Opera earning sufficient money from ads shown along with search results from Google. [GF]

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2720>

ToC

Apple Posts Security Update 2005-008

by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#798/26-Sep-05

Apple has released Security Update 2005-008, which is available either as a standalone installer or via Mac OS X's Software Update feature. The update applies to both Mac OS X 10.3.9 Panther and Mac OS X 10.4.2 Tiger, with sizes ranging from 4 to 7.4 MB.

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302413>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2005008macosx1042.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2005008macosx1039.html>

Fixes in this update include changes to ImageIO, LibSystem, Apple Mail, QuickDraw, Ruby, SecurityAgent, securityd, and Safari (Mac OS X 10.3.9 only). Some highlights:

ToC

New iPod nano Replaces iPod mini

by Jeff Carlson <jeffc@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#796/12-Sep-05

Remember when the iPod was a marvel of compact engineering? At a press event in San Francisco last week, Apple introduced the iPod nano, an ever-more diminutive music player that replaces the now-discontinued iPod mini and more closely resembles the original iPod design than the mini. (The new design was spoofed hilariously by Crazy Apple Rumors, which "reported" that new iPods would now include a coolness expiration date laser-etched to the metal backside.) Although not as small as the iPod shuffle, the iPod nano makes the iPod mini seem almost colossal: the iPod nano is 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) tall, 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) wide, and just 0.27 inches (0.68 cm) deep. It weighs 1.5 ounces (42.5 grams), and is available in white or black finishes. Apple offers two capacities of the iPod nano's solid-state memory: 2 GB (approximately 500 songs) or 4 GB (approximately 1,000 songs).

<http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/>
<http://www.crazyapplerumors.com/archives/000549.html#000549>

Like the regular iPod, the iPod nano includes a backlit color screen (with a diagonal measurement of 1.5 inches, or 3.8 cm), Apple's Click Wheel navigator, and the same dock connector that supports USB 1.1 and 2.0, but, surprisingly, not FireWire. Although the dock connector is the same size as in previous iPod models, if you try to connect its dock via FireWire, the iPod nano displays a message that FireWire song transfer is not supported, although the battery can be charged via FireWire. In another change from other models, the headphone jack is mounted on the bottom. Apple claims battery life of up to 14 hours with music playback, or 4 hours of slideshows with music.

Yes, slideshows. Just as with the current iPod model (and the iPod photo before it), you can load images onto the iPod nano. When the first iPod photo came out I scoffed at the small screen, but now I often see people sharing their photos on cellular phones, so clearly size isn't an issue. In fact, after playing with an iPod nano for a few days, I must belatedly admit that having photos at such convenient display is a lot of fun (owners of current color iPods are probably saying, "Duh!").

The photos are limited to the iPod nano's screen, however. Although you can buy an Apple iPod AV Cable or iPod Dock for the regular iPod that enables you to display photos on a television or projector, the iPod nano lacks that capability. Similarly, the Apple iPod Camera Connector - which makes it possible to transfer digital photos directly to the iPod's memory - is also not supported by the iPod nano.

<http://www.apple.com/ipod/color/accessories.html>

The iPod nano includes a few features new to the iPod line. World Clock displays multiple time zones (with clock faces appearing white for daytime hours and black nighttime hours). A Screen Lock capability enables you to assign a security code to unlock the iPod nano's controls (turning the Click Wheel into a little combination lock), while Stopwatch is useful for keeping track of your time when exercising. It's unclear whether these features will make their way to other iPods.

<http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/features.html>

This may be hard to believe, but Apple is also offering several accessories for the iPod nano, such as an armband ($30, in five colors), dock ($30), and iPod nano Tubes ($30 for a set of five colored snug plastic cases). I'm more interested in the $40 lanyard, however, which plugs into the dock connector and incorporates earbuds (available in October).

<http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/accessories.html>

If there are any drawbacks to the iPod nano, they're related to the small size. I have fairly large hands, so it's not as easy for me to operate the Click Wheel with my right thumb as it is on a larger iPod because the iPod nano's wheel has a smaller diameter. But the more obvious potential trouble is that I'm sure a few iPod nanos will end up going through the laundry if people accidentally leave them in a shirt or pants pocket.

The iPod nano is available now for $200 (for the 2 GB model) and $250 (for the 4 GB model). And just for the record, TidBITS came up with the "nano" name in April, though our "sources" at the time attributed it to the consumer Mac line instead of the iPod.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08044>

ToC

Apple Addresses Flaws in Some iPod nanos

TidBITS#799/03-Oct-05

Shortly after writing about the iPod nano (see "New iPod nano Replaces iPod mini" in TidBITS-796_), a reader wrote to me asking, "What about the issue of reports of the easy breaking of the screen when there has been no obvious / excessive / accidental misuse of the iPod nano?" As the device had only been out a few days, I had no idea what he was talking about. Soon, though, I began to see reports on the Web about people having problems with iPod nano screens cracking without being mishandled, as well as scratched screens. At that point, I didn't pay it much attention: when dealing with hundreds of thousands of consumer hardware devices, some flawed ones are bound to appear.

<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08242>
<http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/>

Last week, however, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller addressed the problem in an interview with Macworld Magazine. He said that less than one-tenth of one percent of the iPod nano units suffer from a manufacturing defect, and that owners with the problem can call AppleCare to have the iPod replaced. As for the scratches, Schiller noted that the screens use the same materials found on the current iPod color line, which have not generated complaints. (One enterprising owner documented his success at using a $4 can of Brasso to bring his black iPod nano back to like-new condition.) [JLC]

<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/09/27/nanoscreen/index.php>
<http://todd.dailey.info/archives/2005/09/27/restore-your-ipod-nano-to-new-condition-with-a-4-can-of-brasso/>

ToC

Adam Helps Launch MacNotables Podcast

by Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#801/17-Oct-05

Podcasting is all the rage right now, and it's something we've thought about doing in a variety of ways for TidBITS and Take Control. But the obstacles are huge - learning entirely new technologies and skills, coming up with interesting topics to talk about, and carving out time in our already overcommitted schedules on a regular basis. So when Chuck Joiner, who has tons of experience with The User Group Report, called to run an idea past me, I sort of ambushed him with a related idea - why not create a new podcast with a group of well-known Mac people who weren't currently participating in the podcast space? In one fell swoop, the idea, now a reality as the MacNotables podcast, eliminated all the problems that had kept many of us out of the podcasting world. Chuck's production, interviewing, and scheduling skills anchor the podcast, which features a veritable who's who of panelists, including Chris Breen of PlaylistMag.com, Bryan Chaffin of The Mac Observer, Jim Dalrymple of MacCentral and Macworld.com, Tonya and me representing TidBITS, Andy Ihnatko of the Chicago Sun-Times, Ted Landau, Bob LeVitus of the Houston Chronicle, and Dennis Sellers of Macsimum News. The first few episodes have been panel discussions: the first one focused on Apple's financials and speculation about last week's announcements, while the second covered Apple's new products. So give us a listen, and stay tuned for more notable episodes. Use the second link below to subscribe via iTunes; the MacNotables home page has links for general RSS subscription and direct listening. [ACE]

<http://www.macnotables.com/>
<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=82507146>

ToC

The CUCUG Section:

September General Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

Sept. 15, 2005 - The meeting began with President Rollins reporting that there had been no Linux SIG meeting this time. Richard also dispensed with the officer introductions. The floor was opened to Questions and Answers.

Mark Zinzow asked if anyone had a copy of an old PC Magazine program called "InCTRL." He said it used to be free; now they're charging $10 for it. It was once freely distributable. They've revoked that now.

Ed Hadley, using a Dell, says he's on his second PS2 mouse. The pointer keeps running off the screen. Richard Rollins suggested trying a USB mouse. He has a machine that does the same thing.

Phil Wall reported his on-board sound went out. He said he's worried about an expanding hardware problem. It was suggested it might just be a driver problem or other errant software. Phil said he bought a sound card to get around the initial problem. During the discussion, it was highly recommended by several people not to use Windows Update to install hardware drivers. Someone with a similar problem said they did a System Restore back two days and that fixed it.

Jerry Feltner had a question about odd messages popping up on a friend's machine. Members finger the problem as Windows Messenger - in Services, one of them is Messenger - if not disabled, anyone can send you a message. To get there go to My Computer/right click/manage/Services & Applications/Services Messenger. Start up type/disable.

Richard Rollins reported that Microsoft says malware taking down 40% of machines. He will present a program on the subject next month. He also said one in six malware programs is an identity theft program. George Krumins and Richard Rollins have both been hijacked by such programs.

AOL may get together with Microsoft to use Microsoft search engine. Microsoft is buying part of AOL.

x360 coming out in November.

Emil Cobb talked about the iTunes phone available through Cingular. It's solid state, holds 100 songs, which is a hard coded limit, uses Trans Flash memory. Quentin Barnes just happened to have one and showed it off to people.

Emil also talked about the just released iPod Nano. It's thinner than a pencil and about the size of a credit card.

Richard Rollins brought up the topic of Windows Media Center, the first version of which sucked he opined. He said the second version is looking better. Some talk about Vista followed.

Another new version of Office is coming out. Richard said Microsoft doesn't know if anybody will buy it. Old versions are still working fine for people.

Kevin Hisel said that the laptop NIC card suggestions from the club last month worked for him. More specifically, Richard Rollins' suggestion worked: entering the WEP key in hex worked.

Emil Cobb had some information on how to open up your iPod shuffle. Check out the web site http://www.chipmunk.nl/ipod/ipodshuffle.html .

ToC

September Board Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

The September meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, September 20, 2005, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were: Richard Rollins, Emil Cobb, Kevin Hopkins, and Kevin Hisel.

Richard Rollins: Richard addressed the problems we had with the Internet connection at the last meeting. Richard apologized for that and will see that it gets handled for the next meeting. The problem was that there is a 250 MB cap per 24 hour period on the church's connection. After that is exceeded, the connection slows to 12 KB per second. Not good. Richard said he would see that we get a waver on that for our meeting nights.

There will be an iTunes demo in the MacSIG. Emil has a collection of tools and web sites to discuss. The PC SIG will be digesting Richard's Spy Hunter collection of malware fighting programs. iTunes for the PC is likewise a potential, additional topic. Richard talked about Steve Jobs' speech on the iTunes store and music prices.

Richard said he has talked to the Linux guys about doing a program on setting up a Linux server.

Emil Cobb: Fourteen people attended the last meeting. Emil reported that he had received a request to do an iTunes demonstration, so that's what he's going to do next month.

Emil said the Mac SIG has been having pretty good discussions on the stuff people have been bringing in, such as Norris Hansell and his desire to use an external monitor with his laptop.

Emil said he hopes to have an iPod Nano at the next meeting.

Kevin Hisel: Kevin reported that the BBS traffic has been slow.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin stated that his idea of a meeting on RSS was pretty much a bust. Having no Internet connection didn't help. However, there were discussions all over the room and there didn't seem to be any problem keeping people's interest.

With the official meeting over, there was a discussion of memory cards. Conversation then turned to Richard's malware topic and a couple of programs were mentioned: RegSeeker, a registry cleaner, and Crap Cleaner.

Kevin Hopkins, being new to PCs, asked if the was a way to change the avatar picture on the log in screen. He was directed to Control Panels/User Accounts/Change My Picture.

Kevin Hisel voiced a warning to beware of "coolweb." You cannot get rid of it at all.

Richard mentioned that Microsoft had bought Giant which made Anti-Spyware.

ToC

CUCUG 2005 Election Outline

I. Offices available
      A. The President - basically, the coordinator for the entire club.
         Appoints committee chairs and presides over the general meetings.
      B. The Vice President - performs the President's duties in his absence.
      C. Treasurer - in charge of the financial affairs of the club. He/she pays
         the bills.
      D. Secretary - in charge of keeping all of the procedural documentation,
         e.g., meeting minutes, as well  as correspondence with members,
         non-members and other clubs.
      E. Corporation Agent - in charge of all matters dealing with CUCUG's
         corporation status.

II. Candidates
      A. Potential candidates should contact the chairman of the Election
         Committee prior to the November meeting so that they may coordinate
         the forum, etc. Kevin Hisel 217-406-948-1999
      B. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting.
      C. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their views
         or present their platforms at the November meeting.
      D. The Nominating Committee will verify that anyone nominated is a
         member in good standing. Otherwise, they will not be allowed a forum.
      E. Candidates' names will be published in the December newsletter.

III. Voting
      A. Who can vote
            1. Every member in good standing (i.e., dues paid) may vote.
            2. Must have and present the current (2005) membership card.
      B. Voting at the general meeting in December
            1. Secret ballots will be distributed to each member that presents a
               valid membership card at the December meeting.
            2. The Secretary will prepare the official ballot forms. No
               candidates' names will appear on the ballots themselves.
               Candidates' names and the offices they seek will be posted at the
               meeting place by office and then alphabetically by candidate.
      C. Proxy voting
            1. If you cannot attend the December meeting, you may request a
               special proxy ballot from Kevin Hisel (217-406-948-1999) no later
               than December 5, 2005 (the Monday of the week prior to the week
               of the meeting).
            2. Place filled-in ballot in a blank, sealed envelope.
            3. Place blank envelope along with your valid membership card in
               another envelope.
            4. Address this envelope to: CUCUG, 912 Stratford Dr., Champaign, IL
               61821, clearly print the word BALLOT on the front and
               mail it.
            5. These proxy votes will be opened and verified only by the Tellers
               at the December meeting and counted along with the general
               ballots.
            6. All proxy ballots must be received at the CUCUG post office box
               no later than December 15, 2005 (the day of the meeting).
      D. Who you may vote for
            1. You may vote for anyone. Write-in (non-nominated) votes will be
               accepted and counted. The candidate with the most votes for a
               particular position wins that position. In the event of a tie,
               the Tellers will require a recasting for that position only.
            2. To assume office, a candidate must be a member in good standing
               both in 2005 and in 2006. If a winning candidate cannot be
               verified, the office goes to the next verifiable candidate with
               the most votes. If there are no verifiable winners, a second
               balloting will take place. Proxy ballots will be counted
               each time.

IV. Chronology
      A. October meeting
            1. Announce protocol to general membership.
            2. Solicit candidates.
      B. November newsletter
            1. Re-cap the election protocol.
      C. November meeting
            1. The membership will appoint a Nominating Committee.
            2. Accept nominations from the floor.
            3. Nominations will close.
            4. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their
               views or present their platforms.
      D. December newsletter
            1. Candidates' names will be published in alphabetical order with
               the offices they seek.
      E. December meeting
            1. Nominated candidates names and the offices they seek will be
               posted in alphabetical order.
            2. The President will appoint 2 or more Tellers to distribute
               ballots and count the votes.
            3. Votes will be taken and counted by the Tellers. Winners names
               will be announced by the President.
      F. January newsletter
            1. Winners names will be published.
      G. January meeting
            1. New club officers will be installed.
ToC

The Back Page:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CUCUG
912 Stratford Dr.
Champaign, IL
61821

ToC