Newsletter to Members
July 2007
- News from the Net (7 items)
- Saturday Mac Workshop
- Opt Out
Monthly Meeting Monday 2 July, 6.30pm
Level 3 Theatrette, Webster Building, UNSW Kensington
THIS MONTH’S PRIZES:
- Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse valued at $109
- MacDesign out of the box book coutesy of Peachpitt Press
- And lots of other good stuff...
REMINDER: FEES ARE DUE 1 JULY...
Please bring your Renewal letter to the meeting, fax or mail it ASAP.
Topics raised in the Q&A session at our monthly meetings are summarised on our web site for members’ easy reference.
Click here for June Q&A. You can also view Q&A pages by clicking the Q&A text link at the top of our home page.
Apple beefs up MacBook Pro
Latest Intel Core 2 Duo Processors, memory up to 4GB and higher performance graphics across the line.
Text includes extracts from TidBITS#883/11-Jun-07 by Jeff Carlson
Apple revamped its MacBook Pro line of portables in June with faster processors, better graphics capabilities, 802.11n wireless networking (removing the need to run an enabler), and screens that are backlit using LED technology.
The new 15-inch and 17-inch models are powered by Intel Core 2 Duo processors running at 2.2 GHz or 2.4 GHz. The new chips belong to the recently announced Intel "Santa Rosa" family, which offer improvements in power consumption and bus speed (800 MHz versus 667 MHz for the Core 2 Duo processors used in the previous MacBook Pro revision). The chips also enable the use of up to 4 GB of RAM, up from a maximum of 3 GB.
All base configuration MacBook Pro models include:
|
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The new MacBook Pro models are available now for the same prices as the previous generation.
| 15-inch 2.2GHz A$2,899 | 15-inch 2.4GHz A$3,599 | 17-inch 2.4GHz A$3,999 | ||
| 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo | 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo | 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo | ||
| 1440 x 900 pixels | 1440 x 900 pixels | 1680 x 1050 pixels | ||
| 120GB hard drive | 160GB hard drive | 160GB hard drive | ||
| 128MB video memory | 256MB video memory | 256MB video memory | ||
| 2 x USB 2.0 ports | 2 x USB 2.0 ports | 3 x USB 2.0 ports |
Additional build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include the ability to upgrade to a 160GB (5400 rpm), 160GB (7200 rpm), 200GB (4200 rpm) or a 250GB (4200 rpm) hard drive, up to 4GB DDR2 SDRAM, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple USB Modem, glossy widescreen display, 17-inch 1920-by-1200 high-resolution display and the AppleCare Protection Plan. Additional build-to-order options also include pre-installed copies of iWork ‘06, Logic Express 7, Final Cut Express HD 3.5 and Aperture 1.5.
Apple Unveils Near Final Mac OS X Leopard
During his recent Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled a near final version of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, the sixth major release of Mac OS X.
“Leopard is the best release of Mac OS X to date, surpassing even Tiger, and will further extend Mac OS X’s leadership as the most advanced and innovative operating system in the world,” said Steve. “We think current and prospective customers are going to love Leopard, and that it will help make the Mac even more popular.”
Some of Leopard’s 300 New Features include:
- New Desktop and Reflective Dock with Stacks, an intuitive new way to organise files
- Updated Finder featuring Cover Flow™ and a new way to easily browse and share files between multiple Macs
- Quick Look, a new way to rapidly preview most files without opening an application
- Spotlight extends its reach to search networked Macs and PCs and adds Boolean searching, exact phrases, dates, ranges, and absolute dates.
- Time Machine, a new way to easily and automatically back up and restore lost files or a complete Mac
- Spaces, a powerful new feature to create groups of applications on the desktop and instantly switch between them
- Leopard Mail, offering more ways to customise and add personal style to email than ever before
- Leopard iChat with iChat Theater and video backdrops, allowing users to present photos, presentations, videos and files in a video conference
- Photo Booth effects, to transform iChat video in real time with fun distortion and color effects
- Leopard iCal, introducing powerful group calendaring features that make it easy to organise and co-ordinate schedules with other people
- Web Clip, bringing anything that a user wants from a web page to Dashboard as a live widget
- Boot Camp built-in, making it possible to run Windows applications natively on Intel-based Macs (Windows XP or Vista OS required)
Watch all the stunning demos at www.apple.com/au/macosx/leopard/
Leopard also includes three new technologies that take full advantage of the latest developments in processor hardware: full native 64-bit support to enable applications to take complete advantage of 64-bit processing while still running side by side with existing 32-bit Mac OS X applications and drivers; easy multi-core optimisation and scheduling to take advantage of the latest Intel hardware; and Core Animation, helping developers easily create animated user experiences as amazing as Leopard’s Spaces and Time Machine in their own applications.
Pricing & Availability
Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard is scheduled to ship in October this year and will be available through the Apple Store <www.apple.com/au/store/ > and Apple Authorised Resellers for a recommended retail price of A$199 inc GST for a single user license.
The Mac OS X Leopard Family Pack is a single-residence, five-user license for RRP A$299 inc GST.
And Mac OS X Server Leopard...
Also scheduled to ship in October, Leopard Server is hailed as the most significant improvement to the server operating system since Mac OS X Server was launched, introducing new features such as a wiki server, making it easy to connect groups over a shared intranet; Podcast Producer, the ideal way to automatically produce and publish podcasts to iTunes or a blog; and Spotlight™ Server to quickly find content stored on other servers. Leopard Server also includes the new iCal Server, based on the CalDAV open standard that works with Leopard’s new iCal application.
Extract from TidBITS#883/11-Jun-07 by TidBITS staff
Safari 3 for Windows
Winning Hearts and Minds (and Browser Market Share)
The classic "one more thing" announcement in his WWDC keynote was a shock, with Jobs announcing that Apple would be taking advantage of the experience in porting iTunes to Windows to release Safari 3 for Windows XP and Vista as well as for Leopard and for Tiger. Although this seems like an odd move, given that Apple won't make any money from a Windows version of Safari, it may be designed to encourage Web developers working in Windows to create sites that will display properly on the iPhone, which itself will be running a version of Safari.
Safari has always been the fastest browser on the Mac and now it’s the fastest browser on Windows, loading and drawing web pages up to twice as fast as Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.6 times faster than Mozilla Firefox 2. Other Safari features now available to Windows users include SnapBack™, one-click access to an initial search query; resizable text fields; and private browsing to ensure that information about an individual’s browsing history isn’t stored.
Safari 3 supports all modern Internet standards so users can view websites as they were meant to be seen, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SVG and Java.
The free public beta of Safari 3 is available immediately as a download at www.apple.com/au/safari/ – it is preview software licensed for use on a trial basis for a limited time. The final version of Safari 3 will be available as a feature in the upcoming Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard, and will be available as a free download to Mac OS X Tiger and Windows users in October.
Extract from TidBITS#885/25-Jun-07 by Jeff Carlson:
Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update
Boldly marching into double-digit version number territory, Apple has released Mac OS X 10.4.10, a maintenance update that adds more RAW image support, fixes issues with Bluetooth and USB, and addresses a few other issues. The delta update from 10.4.9 is available via Software Update or it can be downloaded for Intel-based Macs (a 72 MB download) and PowerPC-based Macs (a 25 MB download). A combo update (weighing in at a 293 MB for Intel Macs and 165 MB for PowerPC Macs) updates any version of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). More info...
Extract from TidBITS#885/25-Jun-07 by Adam C. Engst:
A Pair of Updates Fix Safari 2 and 3
Just two days after releasing the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update, Apple released Security Update 2007-006 to address bugs in the WebCore and WebKit code upon which Safari and many other Web-savvy Macintosh applications rely. The details are unimportant, but both exploits required the user to be enticed into visiting a maliciously crafted Web page, emphasizing the advice to be aware of what sort of Web sites you're reading. Security Update 2007-006 is available via Software Update and as standalone downloads for Mac OS X 10.3.9 (2.2 MB) and for Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later in both PowerPC (2.7 MB) and universal (4.5 MB) versions. Note that if you've installed the Safari 3 beta, you won't see Security Update 2007-006 in Software Update.
More info...
Extract from TidBITS#885/25-Jun-07 by TidBITS staff:
Developing for the iPhone
Jobs's final WWDC announcement was that Apple has come up with a new way for developers to create applications that can run on the iPhone, a question that has been much debated since the iPhone was first announced. Apple's approach is to leverage the Safari engine to enable AJAX*-based applications that can communicate with the Internet and integrate with other iPhone services like placing calls, sending email, accessing Google Maps, and so on. And that's all without the need for Apple to publish and maintain a software development kit.
*AJAX – asynchronous JavaScript and XML – enables a Web page to retrieve information and update a page via JavaScript without reloading the page.
Adobe expert seminar series comes to your place
New Adobe eSeminars online.
Now there's no need to leave your desk to develop your knowledge of Adobe products. “Attend” one of the new one-hour eSeminars and have the experts provide you with the answers in a live, interactive environment. Discover how to get the most out of specialised features, key industry topics, point product reviews and more.
The eSeminars will be conducted through July and August by Adobe staff and key industry experts. So whether you're involved in design, photography, web development, printing, pre press, film, flash video, post production, TV development or in another industry using Adobe products, there's an eSeminar for you.
For further information on what is on and to register:
- eSeminars – Web
- eSeminars – Design
- eSeminars – Photography
- eSeminars – Video Production
- eSeminars – Acrobat
NeoOffice free for OS X
At our June meeting, we heard about a free alternative to Microsoft Office...
NeoOffice is a fully-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing programs) for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, NeoOffice has integrated dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as Microsoft Office.
Released as free, open source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis.
It is available FREE from the NeoOffice download page.
NeoOffice 2.1 requires Mac OS X 10.3 or higher, minimum 512 MB RAM and 400 MB of free hard disk space.
Caveat: Since NeoOffice is developed by volunteers and tested by users, crashing or other serious bugs may accur. NeoOffice recommends saving work frequently. If users feel they need software that has been heavily tested, NeoOffice recommends a commercially-supported product like Microsoft Office or Apple iWork.
Extracts from TidBITS#883/11-Jun-07:
A Trio of Windows-on-Mac Announcements
by Joe Kissell
For almost a year, TidBITS has covered the ongoing rivalry between Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion, the two leading ways to run Windows on an Intel-based Mac without rebooting. Recently, the competition escalated yet again as both products received major new releases. And, just to keep things interesting, Apple also released another beta of Boot Camp, their official dual-boot solution for running Windows.
Read Joe’s full article here.
Take Control News
by Adam C. Engst
Learn to Troubleshoot Mac Problems with a Take Control Ebook
Life's rough when your Mac isn't working properly, but with "Take Control of Troubleshooting Your Mac," you can learn how to diagnose and fix nearly any Mac-related problem. Written by Mac expert Joe Kissell, the 86-page ebook explains 6 ways to prepare for trouble and teaches you 17 troubleshooting procedures. It then provides specific instructions for solving 9 common problems you're likely to experience, before showing you how to apply your newfound troubleshooting skills to solving exasperating new dilemmas.
Joe has also written the best-selling "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups" and "Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac," and he brings the same calm, friendly advice to "Take Control of Troubleshooting Your Mac." Before getting into how to solve problems, he walks you through steps designed to prevent problems from occurring, and helps you assemble tools that are essential to have around when trouble strikes.
PDF format, 86 pages, free 17-page sample available. Publication date: June 7, 2007.
Save 10% off the US$10 list price right now with the MUG discount embedded in this link.
Pictures from the iPhone Line
Apple’s eagerly-awaited iPhone goes on sale in 164 Apple retail stores and AT&T stores right across the US, TODAY, Friday 29 June at 6pm local time.
Glenn Fleishman from TidBITS will be standing in line and taking pictures at Seattle's University Village mall, which contains both a corporate-run AT&T Store and an Apple Store. If you'd like to see the photos he takes – which he hopes to upload directly while on location through a free Wi-Fi network or cell data connection – you can visit this Flickr photo group. There's an RSS feed option if you want to subscribe, as well.
Watch the amazing series of iPhone TV commercials on air in the US:
www.apple.com/iphone/ads/
Snapz Pro X 2.1 Goes Universal
By Adam C. Engst
Ambrosia Software has released Snapz Pro X 2.1, making the popular still image and video screen capture utility a universal binary for native performance on Intel-based Macs. Other changes provide generally improved performance, support for QuickTime compression sessions, compatibility with the Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard beta from WWDC, the (restored) capability to use "Save Later" when post-processing movie captures, and various bug fixes. The update is free to registered users; it's an 11.8 MB download. New copies of Snapz Pro X cost US$30 for still image capture only, or US$70 if you want to add movie capture capabilities.
www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/
Securing Communications with SSL/TLS
A High-Level Overview
Most of us take it on faith that a Web browser's secure connection is actually secure. But what's going on behind the scenes to protect our valuable data in transit? Chris Pepper looks at SSL/TLS encryption: how it works, how to make sure it's working correctly, and how it can impact communications in the future.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) are systems for providing security to Internet communications, particularly Web browsing. Specifically, they use encryption to provide confidentiality (privacy) and authentication (authorisation).
Read the author’s full article here.
Learn Mac OS X basics in a friendly, informative environment. Presented by AMUG Sydney.
Saturday 7 July, 10am-2pm.
Room 136C (Computer Lab), Ground Floor, Webster Building, UNSW Kensington.
- One Mac per person
- No questions too silly
- Use one of the Uni's iMacs or bring your own Notebook
- Get Apple's latest Software Updates on CD, without the big downloads
- Get MacFixIt's "Year of Fixes" archive Help files
- Free for AMUG members
To book, phone Rob on 9387 2069 or email sydamug@mac.com
If you do not wish to receive any future editions of this online newsletter, please send an email to AMUG Sydney.