Newsletter to Members
May 2007
- Monday Meeting
- News about Apple...
- Eight is Great: New Eight-Core Mac Pro
- DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
- Leopard Pushed to October 2007
- Apple Announces Final Cut Studio 2
- AirPort Extreme N Firmware 7.1 Update
- Security Update 2007-004 Released
- Battery Update for MacBook/MacBook Pro
- Next Byte Mothers’ Day Ideas
- Worldwide Developers Conference 2007
Monthly Meeting Monday 7 May, 6.30pm
The usual venue, level 3 Theatrette, Webster Building, UNSW Kensington
THIS MONTH’S MAIN TOPIC:
- “Back-Up Strategies” presented by Warwick Harty.
THIS MONTH’S PRIZES:
- Dymo USB LabeWriter (Turbo 330, pictured)
- USB swan neck lights
- Blank recordable CDs and DVDs
Eight is Great: New Eight-Core Mac Pro
Fastest, most powerful, most configurable Mac ever!
Adapted from TidBITS#874, by Jeff Carlson
For those power users who have been waiting for even faster Mac desktops to land, Apple has one message: eight is great! They have added a custom option of an 8-core processor configuration to the Mac Pro.
Every Mac Pro packs the power of dual multi-core Intel Xeon processors...
- Choose two 3.0GHz quad-core "Clovertown" processors – the fastest Quad-Core Intel Xeon available – for groundbreaking, 8-core power;
- Or configure a quad-core Mac Pro with a pair of dual-core "Woodcrest" processors at 2.0GHz, 2.66GHz, or 3.0GHz.
Each processor features 8 MB of L2 cache (16 MB total), 128-bit SSE3 vector engine, and 64-bit data paths and registers. Otherwise, the specifications for the Mac Pro remain essentially the same as the quad-core configurations that are still available, including up to 3 TB of internal storage (increased from 2 TB thanks to four 750 GB hard drive bays), up to 16 GB of RAM, and a 16x SuperDrive with double-layer support.
Higher Quality, DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store
Apple and EMI announced in early April that EMI Music's entire digital catalog of music will be available for purchase DRM-free (without digital rights management) from the iTunes® Store in May.
With DRM-free music from the EMI catalog, iTunes customers will have the ability to download tracks from their favorite EMI artists without any usage restrictions that limit the types of devices or number of computers that purchased songs can be played on.
DRM-free tracks from EMI will be offered at higher quality 256 kbps AAC encoding – twice the current bit rate of 128 kbps – resulting in audio quality indistinguishable from the original recording, for a small premium on the existing per-track price. DRM-free songs will play on all iPods, Mac or Windows computers, Apple TVs and soon iPhones, as well as many other digital music players.
In addition, iTunes customers will be able to upgrade their entire library of all previously purchased EMI content to the higher quality DRM-free versions for a nominal fee. iTunes will continue to offer its entire music catalog in the same format and at the same cost as before (128 kbps AAC encoding, with DRM), alongside DRM-free higher quality versions when available. All EMI music videos will also be available in DRM-free format with no change in price.
www.apple.com/au/itunes/store/
What about the others?
Commentary adapted from TidBITS#874, by Geoff Duncan:
EMI is the third largest of the "big four" major music labels, and home to popular acts like Robbie Williams, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Coldplay, and (of course) The Beatles. [If you're wondering when The Beatles music might be available for download purchase, there's still no timetable, although EMI CEO Eric Nicoli did say, "We're working on it."] EMI has always had a UK bent, but its roster also includes a number of American artists like Bonnie Raitt, Lenny Kravitz, Liz Phair, and Wynton Marsalis.
Will other major labels (Sony BMG, Warner Music et al) let EMI set sail alone into the unchartered waters of offering unprotected music? Remains to be seen.
Leopard Pushed to October 2007
Adapted from TidBITS#875, by Jeff Carlson
Leopard will remain caged for a few more months. In a statement released in April, Apple announced that Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will not be released until some time in October 2007. The delay is attributed to the company's focus on getting the iPhone ready for its June rollout, which required "borrowing some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team," according to the statement. The iPhone reportedly remains on schedule.
www.apple.com/au/macosx/leopard/
The statement notes that Apple planned to release Leopard at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. Now, a "near final version" will be shown at the conference and given to attendees for last testing before release.
Apple Announces Final Cut Studio 2
Adapted from TidBITS#875, by Jeff Carlson
Kicking off the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in April, Apple reinvigorated its line of professional video applications, which will collectively be bundled as Final Cut Studio 2. The studio includes Final Cut Pro 6, Motion 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, and Compressor 3; DVD Studio Pro 4 is also included, though it hasn't been updated (perhaps because the high-definition DVD format war between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD continues to rage). In addition, Apple is including a new application, Color, which enables professional color grading and adjustment.
www.apple.com/au/finalcutstudio/
A new full retail purchase of Final Cut Studio 2 costs A$1,698*; owners of Final Cut Studio can upgrade for A$649, while owners of any version of Final Cut Pro or Production Suite can get the latest set for A$899. The applications are available only as part of the studio, and are not sold separately.
* Prices sourced from the Apple Australia Online Store, 2 May 2007.
AirPort Extreme N Firmware 7.1 Update
Adapted from TidBITS#875, by Glenn Fleishman
Apple recently released a minor firmware upgrade related to a pair of security issues with the AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n (“Extreme N”).
The 7.1 firmware release closes a hole in the next-generation Internet Protocol technology that's built into the Extreme N (and, for that matter, into Mac OS X). IPv6, as it's known, will ultimately replace the well-known "dotted-quad" of the current IPv4 addressing system. IPv6's 128-bit address space is several orders of magnitude larger than the 32 bits allotted to IPv4, and will be coupled with advances like automatic address forwarding across routers that will provide truly mobile IP, enabling your laptop to use a static IP address that's assigned and managed by your home network no matter where you are.
Read the full TidBITS article.
Security Update 2007-004 Released
Adapted from TidBITS#876, by Adam C. Engst
Apple has released Security Update 2007-004, which fixes a wide variety of obscure security holes and includes new versions of several open source components of Mac OS X, including fetchmail and ftpd. The Update includes fixes to Mac OS X's file sharing client software, the elimination of several bugs, and fixes for holes in the Login Window authentication dialog. Academic users should also note that Security Update 2007-004 addresses three different exploits aimed at the Kerberos secure authentication support in Mac OS X.
The update is available in four versions:
- for Mac OS X 10.4 on PowerPC-based Macs (9.3 MB)
- for Mac OS X 10.4 on Intel-based Macs (16.1 MB)
- for Mac OS X 10.3.9 Client (37.6 MB) and
- for Mac OS X 10.3.9 Server (54.1 MB).
www.apple.com/support/downloads/
Or, just let Software Update do the job for you.
Battery Update 1.2 for MacBook and MacBook Pro
Adapted from TidBITS#877, by Jeff Carlson
Apple has released Battery Update 1.2 for MacBook and MacBook Pro models, and batteries for them, sold between February 2006 and April 2007. The update fixes some unspecified performance issues. Apple notes the issues that prompt the update do not present a safety risk (unlike last year's major battery recall). The problems appear to be a mixture of hardware and software, since another support page for the update notes a list of symptoms that could indicate a faulty battery (like "Battery pack is visibly deformed," a slight understatement compared to some recent photos of swollen MacBook batteries).
After Battery Update has been installed, each battery you insert into your MacBook or MacBook Pro will be updated automatically.
Be sure to run the update with the laptop's power adapter connected. Apple also notes that Intel Core Duo-based MacBooks and MacBook Pros gain an additional two years of warranty protection for the battery.
Battery Update 1.2 is a 244K download from Apple or via Software Update. More info...
Next Byte Mothers’ Day Ideas
Forget the flowers this Mother's Day, 13th May – show mum how special she is with a gift she can listen to her favourite music on! Next Byte stores throughout Sydney have these specials on offer until close of business Saturday 12th May 2007...
1. Buy any iPod nano, receive bonus gift with purchase:
Pink XtremeMac MicroWallet valued at $29.95
2. Buy any iPod with Video, receive bonus gift with purchase:
White leather XtremeMac MicroFolio valued at $49.95
3. Buy Xtreme Mac Luna:
Mother's Day Special Price $269 – save 10%
XtremeMac Luna puts a new spin on traditional alarm clocks by letting you customise your sleeping and waking experience. Plus, it delivers outstanding audio throughout the day from two precision speakers and a two-channel amplifier.
4. Mothers Day Workout Bundle:
iPod nano 2GB, Nike + iPod Sports Kit, Runaway shoe adapter (works on any running shoe), Gecko iPod nano armband; Mother's Day Special Price $290 – save 10%.
Worldwide Developers Conference 2007
Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) will kick off Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday 11 June 2007 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At WWDC, Apple plans to show developers a feature-complete version of Mac OS X Leopard and give them a beta copy to take home for final testing. Leopard is now scheduled to ship in October this year.
Activities at WWDC 2007 include:
- Presentations from Apple engineers who will provide an in-depth look at Leopard, from its open source foundation to new technologies and innovations like Xcode 3.0, Dashcode, Core Animation, Time Machine, iChat Theater and more;
- technology labs where attendees can work one-on-one with Apple engineers on topics such as Cocoa, Open GL and AJAX; and
- special events, including the Apple Design Awards and Stump the Experts.
Adobe CS3 Sydney Roadshow
Adobe Creative Suite 3 is here. Supported by Apple and HP Printing, Adobe’s Sydney CS3 Roadshow is on THIS MONDAY May 7 at the Wesley Conference Centre, Pitt Street, Sydney, from 9.00am-5.00pm.
The morning session will concentrate on working between CS3 products in a production environment. Design and Web Premium are two of six new suites and that offer powerful design workflows.
The afternoon session is a deep dive into the main products with demos of the cool new features that allow users to express their creativity with ease. Learn how to expand your skills in InDesign, Illustrator, Flash Professional, Acrobat, Dreamweaver and Photoshop.
Google Desktop Comes to the Mac
Extract from TidBITS#874 by Joe Kissell
Google has released the first public beta version of Google Desktop for the Mac, an application that rapidly searches files on your computer, messages in a Gmail account, and Google's existing index of Web pages, all in a single interface.
Google Desktop adds indexing of new data types, including your Web history. That's right: it indexes entire Web pages as you browse them, so you can quickly search for the content of pages you viewed last week or last month, even if you don't know the URL (and even if the pages' content has changed since then). Previously, this feature has been available only to OmniWeb users, or to those who have added St. Clair Software's HistoryHound or SmileOnMyMac's BrowseBack to their Macs.
The file is a 2.8 MB download, accessed through another new Google application, Google Updater, which provides a centralized interface for installing, opening, updating, and uninstalling Google's Mac software. Google Updater is a 1.0 MB download. More info...
Read Joe’s full review in this TidBITS article.
Fusion Beta 3 Draws New Parallels
Extract from TidBITS#874, by Joe Kissell
VMware last month released Beta 3 of its Fusion virtualization software for running Windows on an Intel-based Mac. Among several new features are two that are obvious attempts to overcome advantages offered by competitor Parallels Desktop: support for booting from a copy of Windows installed under Boot Camp and an Easy Install option to automate the process of running the Windows installer. This version also includes performance improvements and a simplification in the way virtual machines are packaged, among other changes. Fusion beta 3 is a 135 MB download.
www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/
Printing Industries launches creative training on disk
The Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) has launched a range of DVD-based training courses covering the major printing industry software applications, as part of its new focus on expanding its range of services and benefits to members.
The training is focused on creative environments in graphic design, video editing and production, sign making, digital photography and specialist areas such as Blogging and Vidcasting.
The tutorials are usually several hours in length and cover both introductory and advanced levels of knowledge. These include Adobe's Creative Suite collection including training for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and Studio which includes Dreamweaver, Flash Professional, Fireworks, Contribute and FlashPaper.
Macromedia, Quark, Microsoft, Corel and Apple application training is available and many specialist areas catered for including HTML, JavaScript, Digital Video and Scanning.
All orders for Adobe CS training software will receive a free copy of Inside Apple OS Tiger. “This eight-hour training offers dozens of professional tips and tricks for tapping the power of Tiger and integrating this revolutionary new operating system into your Mac workflow,” said Printing Industries CEO Philip Andersen.
New Take Control eBooks
1. "Take Control of Your iPod: Beyond the Music"
Discover Many Practical and Fun Uses for an iPod
Much has happened in the iPod world of late, so if you haven't been keeping up on the many things you can do with an iPod other than play music, check out the second edition of "Take Control of Your iPod: Beyond the Music," by gadget-wizard Steve Sande. Almost completely rewritten, the 134-page book covers the latest in iPod technology, explains the basics for new users, and helps everyone find more practical (and fun) uses for iPods. You'll learn about a dozen major iPod uses, ranging from reading email and RSS feeds to running Keynote and PowerPoint presentations.
Read this book to learn answers to questions such as these:
- Which iPod do I have?
- Can I replace my radio alarm clock with an iPod?
- How do I read RSS news feeds on my iPod?
- How do I put maps and directions on my iPod?
- How can I read long Microsoft Word documents on an iPod?
- How do I sync music videos to an iPod?
- How do I put Flash-based videos from YouTube on my iPod?
- How can I convert a DVD so I can watch the video on an iPod?
- Which iPods are best for using as voice recorders?
Steve begins with colorful comparison charts of the various iPod models to help you figure out which one you have, since you may not realize that the iPod you bought few years ago is considered a "second-generation iPod" or you may have received your iPod as an unidentified hand-me-down. After a brief look at charging, syncing, and troubleshooting, Steve jumps into the many things you can do with an iPod, including obvious uses like listening to podcasts, watching video downloaded from the Internet, and exercising with the Nike+iPod Sport Kit.
But the real fun comes in putting an iPod to less obvious uses like recording lectures or podcast interviews, reading text-based electronic books, and displaying maps.
This book covers the latest iPods and iTunes 7, and provides instructions for both Mac OS X and Windows users.
PDF format, 134 pages, free 30-page sample available.
Publication date: April 26, 2007
eBook Price: US$10. More info...
User Group Discount:
Save 10% off the book's price with this MUG coupon discount, courtesy of Adam Engst and TidBITS.
2. "Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Extreme Network"
Discover and use the new features in the 802.11n AirPort Extreme
Get real-world advice on setting up Apple's new 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station from Wi-Fi expert Glenn Fleishman. You'll find help with all the picky details: choosing the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band, using old Wi-Fi gear without hurting performance, connecting to an Apple TV, handling complex Internet addressing configurations, the ins and outs of sharing USB disks and printers from an AirPort Extreme, and connecting from Macintosh and Windows clients.
Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions like:
- What are the steps for connecting an Apple TV to a network?
- I have an older AirPort base station – should I still use it on my network?
- How do I set up and print to the USB printer attached to my AirPort Extreme?
- What should I consider as I set up USB disk sharing?
- How do I know if I need the 802.11n enabler for my Mac?
- Why can't I see my AirPort Express in AirPort Utility?
- How do I set up dynamically assigned addresses?
- How do I create a password to restrict access to my base station?
This title begins with a quick look at useful terminology and then walks readers through setting up a new AirPort Extreme Base Station: hooking it up, connecting to it with AirPort Utility, and setting up a new wireless network that can either connect to the Internet or to another network segment.
You will learn how 802.11n fits with older networking standards like 802.11a, b, and g; find help with band and channel choices for the AirPort Extreme; and learn how to extend your network's coverage and range. The ebook also helps you consider and configure your wireless network's security, noting oft-suggested security approaches that don't work well and explaining how to implement measures that do work well.
PDF format, 154 pages, free 29-page sample available
Publication date: April 5, 2007
eBook Price: US$10. More info...
User Group Discount:
Save 10% off the book's price with this MUG coupon discount, courtesy of Adam Engst and TidBITS.
Stop those pesky Telemarketers!
If you want to curtail those annoying unsolicited phone calls, usually from overseas and typically right at dinner time, a new Australian Government initiative called the Do Not Call Register has been set up to address that very problem.
How does the register work?
The Do Not Call Register Act 2006 makes it illegal in the absence of consent, for a telemarketer in Australia or overseas to contact a number listed on the register. Telemarketers can check their calling lists against the Do Not Call Register. If a telemarketer calls a number on the Do Not Call Register, they may be in breach of the Act, and may face penalties.
To register, the telephone account holder provides their household phone number and/or mobile number, along with their full name and email address. Registration can be done online, by phone or by post. When submitted online, an email back to the person who submitted the information is then generated by the system, which requires clicking on a pre-set link to activate the registration.
Exemptions
Organisations with which you do business, and who have your consent, can continue to call you for reasonable business purposes. In addition, certain public interest organisations are allowed to call phone numbers that are listed on the register. Exempt organisations include charities, educational and religious institutions, politicians and political parties.
The Do Not Call Register is managed by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (AMCA). Registration for private individuals is available now; while the Telemarketer Access Portal will operate from 25 May 2007.
Topics raised in the Q&A session at our monthly meetings are summarised on our web site for members’ easy reference.
Click here for April Q&A. You can also view Q&A pages by clicking the Q&A text link at the top of our home page.
Learn Mac OS X basics in a friendly, informative environment. Presented by AMUG Sydney.
Saturday 12th May, 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.