Apple Mac news for New Zealanders

This site has moved to http://www.mac-nz.com

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:24:52 +1300

mac.nz is now mac-nz.com: mac.nz has outgrown iWeb.
After adding hundreds of pages and media content over three years, it was groaning at the seams and becoming slow to load.
I have had a new site designed by Harrison Fan, the ace Auckland PHP guy (ask me if you want his contact).
The new site introduces new features like a poll and a newsletter – and more.
The new site links back to the review archive here.
Thank you for following mac.nz – I appreciate it.

Pystar defeated, DSLR guide, PDFs, Intel chips, CS4

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:12:00 +1300

Hackintosh-maker Psystar defeated in legal battle: In a crushing defeat for the clone Mac maker, Psystar was on the losing end of a crucial court decision in the company's ongoing legal battle with Apple.
Judge William Alsup ruled this week in a summary judgment that Psystar infringed on copyrights owned by Apple in order to place Mac OS X on unauthorized computers built and sold by the Florida corporation. In addition, Psystar was found to be in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by circumventing Apple's protection barrier that prevents installation of its operating system on third-party hardware.
Macworld’s guide to buying DSLRs: For serious and professional photographers, Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras are the way to go. They offer faster performance and more flexibility with adjusting settings, and changing lenses than even a top-of-the-line point-and-shoot camera.
Extracting images from PDF files: in another Macworld how-to, To extract one image at a time, choose the Select tool (it looks like an I-beam coupled with a black arrow) etcetera.
More promised from Intel: Intel has promised a version of its Xeon processor specifically tailored to high performance computing (HPC). The design will share the same architecture as the eight-core Nehalem-EX but drop to six cores in return for greater overall performance. Clock speeds should be higher but still take advantage of the extra bandwidth of the new platform, making it a better pick for clusters and multi-processor servers, writes Electronista.
Adobe CS4 updates Media Encoder: Media Encoder CS4 updates AME CS4, CS4.0.1 and CS 4.0.2 and 4.1.0, fixing interlaced source to progressive outputs, and audio video syncing with QuickTime and ACC audio. It’s available through Adobe Updater.

Futurology 119: road trains, robot eyes, chatter genes

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:25:26 +1300

Europe looks at ‘road trains’: Part of the EU’s Safe Road Trains for the Environment initiative entails groups of cars with similar destinations being made into road trains over long stretches of highway.
The lead vehicle will be driven by an experienced motorist – maybe even a bus that regularly travels the route – with the functions of each following vehicle automatically controlled and tethered to the actions of the lead car so that individual drivers can hammer out emails or eat breakfast. Cars can exit at any time, writes Wired.
[Comment: they might be very slow on Sundays.]
Solar curtains could answer power needs: Solar cell company Konarka Technologies has partnered with Arch Aluminum & Glass to test out ‘solar curtains’ on buildings.
The entire side of a building could be covered in solar panels. The huge panels are made from Konarka’s plastic solar film, encased in glass, writes Smart Planet.
[Comment: Efficiency is still low, though, and it needs a lot of wiring.]
Hot blooded dinosaurs: new evidence suggests the Tyrannosaurus Rex probably had warm blood. Paleontologists have debated the issue of dinosaur metabolism for decades. Now, using a biomechanical model that predicts the energy cost of walking and running based on the size of an animal’s leg bones, researchers have shown that the biggest dinosaurs couldn’t have gotten around without warm-blooded metabolisms, reports Wired.
[Comment: Even a slow walk needed more power than a cold-blooded system can provide, with most dinosaurs]
Chatterin’ chimp genes: Researchers have identified an entire network of genes involved in the linguistic powers of Homo sapiens.
The findings don’t explain how language functions at the biological level, or exactly what changes were needed to put an otherwise unremarkable monkey on its chattering, Earth-dominating trajectory. But they do a research foundation for investigating the questions.
[Comment: language involves hundreds, and probably thousands, of genes, interconnected and ever-shifting in their activity]
Haydron Collider almost back on line: Plagued by everything from liquid helium leaks to wayward baguettes and even speculative attacks from time travelling terrorists, the mega-physics experiment known as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is finally ready to start crashing protons into each other.
Particle collisions could begin in two weeks.
[Comment: Smashing.]
Growing new breasts: Phillip Marzella from the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery is part of the team that developed Neopec, a new stem cell technique for regrowing breast tissue. The researchers implant a chamber containing some of the individual's own fat tissue under the skin. The chamber is connected to the individual's blood vessels, and fat then grows to fill the chamber, creating a new breast. The chamber itself degrades naturally over time.
[Comment: Success in pig trials means human trials soon.]
New brain cells may knock out old ones: A new rodent study shows that newborn neurons destabilise established connections among existing brain cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in learning and memory.
[Comment: Clearing old memories from the hippocampus makes way for new learning, Japanese researchers suggest, presenting an entirely new framework to study.]
Robotise from fly eyes: By turning the brain cell activity underlying fly eyesight into mathematical equations, researchers have found an ultra-efficient method for pulling motion patterns from raw visual data.
Mysterious as the equations are, they could still be used to program the vision systems of miniaturised battlefield drones, search-and-rescue robots, automobile navigation systems and other systems where computational power is at a premium.
[Image fromFlickr/Tambako the Jaguar]
[Comment: Though they built the system, the researchers don’t quite understand how it works yet.]
Vancouver’s green future planned now: Vancouver's ultra-green Olympic Village will hold 16,000 people by 2020, and they'll eat food grown on the roofs and drink reclaimed rainwater. Fascinating – see the concepts at IO9.

iTunes Preview, Gates on Jobs, Stores, 5G nano, Chrome

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:22:28 +1300

Apple launches 'iTunes Preview': Apple has launched a new service called iTunes Preview, which gives customers the ability to view iTunes content without launching the iTunes application.
Links to an iTunes Preview page can be obtained through the iTunes Store "Copy Link" feature. Previously, users who did not have iTunes installed were prompted to do so in order to view content. So now users can share music links via iTunes without the need to launch Apple's media suite.
The iTunes Preview page allows browsing of artists and albums on Apple's Web site. Artist biographies and similar acts can be viewed, as well as details on song prices and individual track lengths.
The new Web page also offers album reviews and customer reviews, just as in the iTunes application. Content can also be browsed by genre.
Song previews can not be listened to through iTunes Preview in a Web browser. The page offers links to "View in iTunes," where it can be previewed or purchased. Currently, the service only works with music.
iTunes Preview is region-less, and makes for a less intrusive option for those who do not have iTunes installed, or do not want to launch the application.
Gates praises Jobs: when asked about Steve Jobs in a TV special that aired this week, Bill Gates said the Apple co-founder has shown "more inspiration" than any other leader in the tech industry.
The program Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great aired Thursday night on CNBC. The "Town Hall Event" featured questions from the audience directed towards two of the world's richest men, notes AppleInsider.
Apple opening more stores: Apple plans to open between 40 and 50 new stores in 2010, with more than half those located outside the US in countries including Canada, Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France and China. The new stores will be larger than the majority of existing stores, to accomodate more product displays and larger Genius Bars. “
5G nano gets software update: Apple has released software version 1.0.2 for the fifth-generation iPod nano. According to the release notes, the new firmware fixes normal/slower/faster audio podcast playback, allows Genius Mixes to now work with Nike+iPod, and fixes an issue with Voice Over and the headphone controls, amongst other improvements. Software version 1.0.2 for the fifth-generation iPod nano is available now via the Update feature in iTunes.
Google Chrome for Mac in december: Google will release a public Mac beta of Chrome in early December, says a product manager for the browser, Neil Baum. A Google spokesman has meanwhile declined to offer a specific date, but does note that Baum's timeframe is consistent with promises to release beta software before the end of the year. Developer channel versions have been available since June, but are not recommended for most people due to stability problems.
Intel mobile Core i5/i7 details leaked: Intel plans to fill out the low- to mid-range of its notebook processor range when it launches its Arrandale-based 32 nanometer models early next year, a roadmap leak explains on Friday. The mobile Core i5 line should be headed by two dual-core models, the 2.4GHz i5-520M and 2.26GHz i5-430M, as of early January 2010. Like their desktop counterparts, they won't support Hyperthreading but will support Turbo Boost and should clock up to as high as 2.93GHz and 2.53GHz respectively when they can afford to shut down one core, reports Electronista.

27-inch review, Manhattan, Windows 7 denial, news & tips

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:10:08 +1300

27-inch reviewed by AppleInside: Apple's latest high-end iMac gets a stunning, huge, cinematic 16:9 27" screen, fast Core i5 and i7 CPU options, a standard wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse, a staggering 16GB RAM capacity. It has a new video input feature, and an environmentally friendly design – all at a new lower price.
Wraps off Manhattan store: Apple gave a first look at its new New York City store located on Broadway at 67th street on Thursday. It’s set to officially open to the public this Saturday at 10am.
The store will be home to a "highly trained team" of over 200 employees. The impressive building at 1981 Broadway features a unique curved glass roof and glass front. The storefront is nearly 16 metres tall, reports AppleInsider (pic, above, from that link).
Microsoft now denies Windows 7 is OS X copy: After a Microsoft official was quoted as saying that the "look and feel" of Windows 7 was inspired by Mac OS X, the Seattle giant has officially retracted the statement.
On the official Windows Blog, Brandon LeBlanc said that the widely circulated quote was "inaccurate." He flatly stated that the style of Windows 7 was not inspired by Mac OS X.
"Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7," LeBlanc said. "I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed." Sure they were.
Safari updated for Leopard: Apple has released an update to the Safari web browser, addressing a vulnerability that could allow an image file to exploit Macs with older software.
According to Apple, the flaw allowed maliciously crafted images with an embedded colour profile to execute arbitrary code, or unexpectedly terminate the application.
The issue does not affect Mac OS X 10.6 systems, and was already addressed with Security Update 2009-005 for Mac OS X 10.5.8 systems.
Network locations and how they work: Network Location lets you both manually and automatically switch between your work locations, based on your network connection info, writes Macgasm.
Get A Mac takes over YouTube: Apple has deployed a new Get a Mac ad, this time directed at YouTube viewers. Mac (Justin Long) and PC (John Hodgman) stand at one side of the front page, watching security camera footage at the top showing former PC users entering Apple Stores. The people are switching instead of upgrading to Windows 7, Hodgman complains, because Apple is highest in customer satisfaction, and since they would have to migrate files anyway, they might as well switch to a Mac.
Bing gets with Wolfram: Microsoft is rolling out enhancements to its Bing search engine, including some that rely on computational information delivered by Wolfram Alpha.
Explaining iPhoto library size discrepancies: Macworld explains what’s going on.
Tip ~ getting better prints: Here are some Macworld tips for getting the best results from an inkjet printer.

Office:Mac updates, European Mac successes, 2 updates

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:18:55 +1300

Microsoft Office:Mac ’04 and ’08 updates ~ Microsoft has posted a fresh update for Office 2008 for Mac, v12.2.3. The patch primarily addresses stability problems, such as one affecting the entire suite which could result in application crashes after a program was opened.
Several unique crash scenarios have been fixed in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Document Connection. Security has also been upgraded, closing a hole which could be used to overwrite memory with malicious code.
Office 2004 also gets a security boost with the Mac 11.5.6 update, which corrects a vulnerability that could allow a remote baddie to overwrite your computer’s memory.
In August, Microsoft announced it would release a new version of Office for Mac users in late 2010, complete with Outlook for Mac (a replacement to Entourage).
Repoint your browsers, RSS links: soon you’ll have to realign your browsers and RSS links as I’m switching this Apple-centric site to a new server in a week. I will give ull details as it happens.
Mac market share grows in Europe: PC sales in the UK and Western Europe diminished over the past year, but Apple's market share grew, with the higher-priced Macs finding success respite the recessed economy.
New European sales figures for the third financial quarter of 2009 were released by research firm Gartner Wednesday. Overall UK PC shipments were down 2.4 percent. The data showed Apple's market share of PC sales in the UK increased from 3.8 percent in 3Q 2008 to 5 percent in 3Q 2009. Apple shipped 165,000 Macs, good for 26.6 percent growth from last year, in the same period.
Apple ‘now in Microsoft’s rearview mirror: With Apple's annual revenue more than doubling since 2005, a new analysis looks at the possibility of the Mac maker surpassing its chief rival, Microsoft, as the world's most valuable technology company.
Gabriel Madway with Reuters offered a look at Apple's astounding growth, which has caused the Cupertino, California, company's market value to surge to $180 billion. Microsoft remains much larger, with a $250 billion market cap, but it is Apple's rapid growth that has raised the question of whether it could exceed its rival to the north and become the most valuable technology company in the world.
ABBYY updated for Snow Leopard: ABBYY has announced that FineReader Express Edition for Mac now supports Snow Leopard. The optical character recognition tool, which converts scans and camera images into various files such as XLS spreadsheets, PDF documents and HTML pages. It automatically detects tables and reconstructs them, also providing tools for editing the end result.
So does Yojimbo: Bare Bones has released v2.1 of Yojimbo, its Mac organisational utility. The software centralises miscellaneous scraps of information including notes, images, bookmarks and PDF documents, sort of like Bento. Content can be sorted by category, or else by tag, which allows filtering through the Tag Explorer.
Yojimbo 2.1 costs US$39 new, or US$20 as an upgrade from v1.x. Requirements include Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, along with a MobileMe account if using cross-computer sync.
A free trial version is available.
Troubleshoot inkjet printer problems: this Macworld article tells you what to try if you have blurry details, strange colours and unsightly blotches.
“Whether your prints suffer from pixilation or puddling, learn how to recognize and correct the most-common print problems.”

Snow Leopard updated, new Cocktail, free MacTimer ...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:13:14 +1300

Snow Leopard update: Apple's second update for Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6.2, was officially yesterday, fixing a number of issues including a guest account bug that could potentially delete a user's account data.
The guest account bug is triggered by logging in and out of a guest account on a Snow Leopard machine.
The operating system upgrade also features native support for the new multi-touch Magic Mouse. Those on previous versions of Mac OS X required the Wireless Mouse Software update 1.0.
The 473MB download is available direct from Apple or via Software Update. Also released Monday afternoon: 10.6.2 combo update, Mac OS X Server 10.6.2, Server combo update, and Security Update 2009-006 Client. The included fixes are listed at Apple.
S Leopard update drops Atom support: Intel Atom support is confirmed to be missing in the final release of 10.6.2, citing multiple prominent Hackintosh sources.
Apple's latest update for Snow Leopard has broken support for Intel's Atom processor line. This stops people hacking Snow Leopard to run on Netbooks (which are non-Apple, of course).
OSXDaily reported that various netbook and "hackintosh" forums are "blowing up with problems of 10.6.2 instant rebooting their Atom-based notebooks." Systems using the Atom processor will go into a startup-loop if the 10.6.2 update is installed.
Mini DisplayPort gets the tick: The Video Electronics Standard Association officially issued its Mini DisplayPort standard on Tuesday, based on the technology licensed from Apple.
Cocktail now Snow Leopard ready: Maintain has launched Cocktail 4.6. The software runs maintenance scripts, such as Unix, with a user-friendly interface. It can run scripts, repair permissions, set journaling for disks and force empty the trash, among other features. Users can also clean cache files and Trojan horses.
Version 4.6 adds support for Snow Leopard and a number of QuickTime interface customisation options, enabling features such as autopsy, subtitles and simultaneous recordings.
A single-user licenses is US$15, family licenses are $30 and other larger packages are available. A free trial is also available.
Soho Notes updated: Chronos has released updates to its SOHO Notes and SOHO Organizer software. The company has rewritten the core engine from scratch, enabling faster performance and a variety of new features. With the companion iPhone app, Notes8 now allows users to synchronise with with the handset via Wi-Fi. The interface has been improved with Cover Flow and Icon views.
MacTimer has new features: BravoBug has released MacTimer 3.0. The free application can run multiple independent timers with custom duration, titles, alarms and appearance for each.
Limiting the animations can control the rate at which the software hits the CPUs, and the timers can run as large as full screen or minimised to the dock, depending on user preferences. MacTimer 3.0 requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher.
New FireWire 800 PCIe(PCI Express) adapter card: Sonnet Technologies has announced the Allegro FireWire 800 PCIe(PCI Express) adapter card. This easy-to-install adapter delivers faster FireWire 800 performance to Mac Pro, and Power Mac G5, Xserve, and Windows PCs with PCI Express slots. Installation is simple, and for maximum convenience, Allegro FW800 PCIe is backward compatible with FireWire 400 drives and other devices. It’s $100US; MacSense should be stocking the card for New Zealand.
Tip ~ Global Light in Photoshop: Global Light is like one of those caged light bulbs with the hook at the top, explains this Macworld tip.
While working on your car’s engine, you’ll typically hang the shop light somewhere under the hood to illuminate your work space. As you move around the engine compartment, you can relocate the hanging light ...
Tip ~ speeding up clips in iMovie: Another from Macworld – “Double-click the clip in the Project pane and in the Clip tab of the Inspector window that appears, click the Convert Entire Clip button. (You have to do this before you’re allowed to adjust the speed of a Flip camcorder’s clips.) When iMovie finishes converting your clip the Inspector will show a speed control slider in the Clip tab. You can drag this as high as 800-percent.”
Tip ~ protecting your photos online: You can watermark your photos to prevent piracy of your images. But is there any way to find your photos online to see they're being used inappropriately? Yes – another goody from Macworld.

Louvre Store, Magic Mouse, Windows 7, Viewfinder, Intel

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:23:49 +1300

Louvre gets Apple Store: Thousands flocked to The Carrousel du Louvre on Saturday, the scene of France's first Apple Store opening.
Beneath the Louvre Museum in Paris, there are high-end shops and eateries and now, France's first Apple store. Saturday saw the store's opening, and thousands were on hand to peruse Apple's current line of products and take advantage of the Genius Bar's knowledgeable staff, reports AppleInsider.
Ars Technica looks at the Magic Mouse: Apple attempts to reinvent the mouse with its new Magic Mouse. It offers multitouch gestures and brings a new dimension to scrolling, while, writes Ars Technica, dropping some useful features from its predecessor.
I have one at the moment, and I can tell you it feels great in the hand, scrolls beautifully and is quick to get used to.
Windows 7 selling well: Windows 7 arrived two weeks ago and so far it's selling quite well.
Windows continues to dominate with more than 90 per cent of the market, Mac OS is above the five percent mark, and Linux is just under one percent. In October, Windows was the only operating system not to show positive growth, notes Ars Technica.
ViewFinder image search: Viewfinder offers a convenient way to search, obtain, and attribute photos from the popular Flickr photo-sharing site. If you use a lot of images in your day-to-day life, you will want to take a closer look.
Parallels faster than Fusion? Parallels has released its answer to VMware's Fusion 3, bringing Snow Leopard compatibility as well as support for Redmond's latest OS. Parallels Desktop 5 adds Crystal Mode to its Coherence OS integration and offers a serious advantage in graphics performance.
Intel readying new architecture: Intel is planning to almost completely overhaul its Atom processors with an early Pine Trail unveiling and a near complete replacement of its most important models, a leak reported by Electronista suggests. The company reportedly plans to introduce its next-generation designs on December 21st and have PC makers shipping finished products by January 4th, when many had expected the initial unveiling. On that day, Intel is reported by Xbit-Labs as planning to scrap its long-serving 1.6GHz Atom N270 and 1.86GHz N280 chips almost immediately.
Doing your books online: FreshBooks (screenshot above) is a web-based and 256-bit encrypted accounting, time billing, estimate, and invoicing application that seeks to replace desktop-based accounting programs, writes Macworld.