TidBITS#777/25-Apr-05
=====================
As the world waits with bated breath for Tiger (4 more days!)
and we put the finishing touches on our Take Control ebooks about
Tiger, we managed to find the time for another beefy issue of
TidBITS. Adam looks at NoteBook 2.0, Jeff Carlson examines a slew
of Mac mini-related Web sites, Glenn Fleishman contributes a
retrospective of the just-merged Adobe and Macromedia, and Matt
Neuburg relates the story of how his iMac G5 went up in smoke.
Topics:
MailBITS/25-Apr-05
Adobe Swallows Macromedia
Mac mini Inspires Web Sites
A Shiny New NoteBook
iMac G5: Up In Smoke
Take Control News/25-Apr-05
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/25-Apr-05
<http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-777.html>
<ftp://ftp.tidbits.com/issues/2005/TidBITS#777_25-Apr-05.etx>
Copyright 2005 TidBITS: Reuse governed by Creative Commons license
<http://www.tidbits.com/terms/> Contact: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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This issue of TidBITS sponsored in part by:
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MailBITS/25-Apr-05
------------------
**Apple Releases Security and Java Updates** -- Apple last week
released Security Update 2005-004, a 1 MB download that replaces
an iSync component that could be vulnerable to a buffer overflow.
Also released was Java Update for Mac OS X 10.3.9, which solves
a crashing problem with running Java applets that affected some
users after they installed the Mac OS X 10.3.9 Update. The Java
Update is a 1 MB download; both updates are also available via
Software Update. [JLC]
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301326>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301382>
**Default Folder X 2.0 Supports Tiger** -- Default Folder is the
first piece of software I add to a Mac OS X system after I install
the operating system. The fine people at St. Clair Software last
week lived up to their excellent reputation for staying on top
of system releases by pre-releasing Default Folder X 2.0 for
Tiger 11 days before Tiger ships.
<http://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/release.html>
This update is critical: previous versions of Default Folder will
not work under Tiger. I was bit by this a few times going back
and forth between Jaguar and Panther. Make sure to install the
new release under Panther (where it will work just fine) before
you run an upgrade to Tiger. Default Folder X 2.0 is free for
current registered users, and is a 4.7 MB download. [GF]
**DealBITS Drawing: MaxSleeve and iProtect Winners** --
Congratulations to Peggy Russell of kachergisbookdesign.com and
Michael Bobek of mac.com, whose entries were chosen randomly in
last week's DealBITS drawing and who each received a MaxSleeve and
iProtect from MaxUpgrades, worth up to $38.98. Even if you didn't
win, you can save 15 percent off a MaxSleeve and/or iProtect
(and in fact your entire order other than shipping) by entering
MXPROMODB1 in the Additional Comments field when ordering;
MaxUpgrades tells us that the discount will not show on order
confirmations but will be accounted for in the amount billed.
This offer is open to all TidBITS readers. Thanks to the 769
people who entered, 45 of whom entered after being referred to
DealBITS. Keep an eye out for future DealBITS drawings. [ACE]
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/maxupgrades1/>
<http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&;
Product_ID=102>
<http://www.maxupgrades.com/istore/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&;
Product_ID=103>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08067>
Adobe Swallows Macromedia
-------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
It's taken 20 years, but the graphics application industry
is down to two remaining companies from the early days. Adobe
announced its plan to acquire Macromedia last week in an all-stock
transaction valued at $3.4 billion. The deal, if approved by both
boards and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, gives Macromedia
stockholders about 18 percent of Adobe.
<http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/invrelations/adobeandmacromedia.html>
When the Macintosh was launched, four companies quickly took over
the graphics program field: Adobe, Aldus, MacroMind, and Quark.
Each had its strengths. Adobe was the typographic and vector
giant. Aldus and Quark each had page-layout programs that boasted
legions of adherents from practically the first opening of the
boxes' shrinkwrap. And MacroMind had multimedia authoring tools.
**Web Design Dominance** -- In 1992, MacroMind merged with
Authorware to become Macromedia. In 1995, it bought Altsys,
makers of Aldus FreeHand (more on that in a moment) and Altsys
Fontographer. Macromedia introduced its Web page editing program
Dreamweaver in 1998, and subsequently beefed it up with two
acquisitions: in 1999, it purchased Andromedia, a Web traffic
analysis firm, and in 2001 bought Allaire, the firm behind
the Cold Fusion scripting language.
Macromedia's combination of scripting and interactivity led it
to dominance in the Web-based player world. Shockwave and Flash
have become de facto standards for vector-based interactive
presentations. Despite many efforts, no other serious competitors
have materialized.
Likewise, Macromedia's integration of Cold Fusion and ASP into
Dreamweaver cemented its ownership of the graphical Web site
market. The tied-in scripting and database support drove
Dreamweaver's adoption over Adobe GoLive, formerly CyberStudio,
which Adobe had bought from the German firm GoLive, Inc.
**Print Design Turf Wars** -- During the time that MacroMind was
taking over the interactive and Web authoring world, Aldus and
Adobe became dominant in page layout, illustration, and image
editing.
Aldus had built a large suite of products, starting with
PageMaker, by adding FreeHand (produced by Altsys under license
to Aldus), Persuasion (arguably the best presentation software
of its day), SuperPaint, and IntelliDraw.
Adobe started with fonts and PostScript, and launched Illustrator
for vector-based illustration, which was always in close feature
competition with FreeHand. But Adobe's juggernaut was Photoshop,
which came out in 1990. Photoshop emerged from work by two genius
brothers, one at Industrial Light and Magic and the other at
graduate school in Ann Arbor, MI. It was an immediate success,
destroying its fine competitor Fractal Design ColorStudio.
With Photoshop, Illustrator, fonts, and PostScript licensing
driving sales, Adobe became an ever-larger company, and finally
made an offer to Aldus to merge in 1994. The merger required
the spin-off of Aldus FreeHand with the rights reverting back
to Altsys; Altsys resold those rights to Macromedia the following
year.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=04019>
Acrobat grew from being a footnote when Adobe first introduced
it - with per-seat pricing for every user - to become the world's
only real document interchange format that retains the look and
feel of original documents. Even Microsoft has been unable to
compete effectively with Acrobat, which is saying something.
Adobe later acquired Frame, the third remaining page-layout
program developer, and introduced InDesign as the successor
to PageMaker, which had grown long in the tooth and was being
handily beat by QuarkXPress.
**A New Competitive Landscape** -- Now we've reached the end
of the path. Adobe's competitors now aren't Quark or Viewpoint
(formerly MetaCreations, and other names before that), but rather
Apple and Microsoft. While striving to release software that
works on both Windows and the Mac OS, they're being battered
at the top by Apple's professional video tools and at the bottom
by Microsoft's and Apple's home layout and photo tools.
To achieve the scale to compete against operating system vendors,
Adobe's purchase of Macromedia makes perfect sense and probably
won't raise anti-trust flags. The two companies have almost as
small an overlap as when Aldus and Adobe merged, which resulted in
Adobe unloading FreeHand to Macromedia. Macromedia's Dreamweaver
will certainly supplant GoLive, but it will take some time to
integrate Dreamweaver fully into Creative Suite. With Creative
Suite 2 just shipping, I expect Creative Suite 3 will see full
Dreamweaver integration with interim plug-ins implementing some
of the GoLive CS2 features.
FreeHand and Illustrator find themselves at odds once again, but
it's again likely that FreeHand will be the loser in the battle.
Although still supported, it has been a less and less important
part of Macromedia's offerings, while Illustrator has stayed front
and center for Adobe.
Overall, this could be a win for graphics professionals because
it will mean more consistent pricing and more integration across
tools they already use. Most Web designers already have to use
Flash, Director and Shockwave, Illustrator or FreeHand, InDesign,
and Dreamweaver. It's just a natural progression that one company
offers these all in one place.
I said at the outset only two companies remain. Obviously, Adobe
is one, with what will top $2 billion in revenue between it and
the former Macromedia. The other is Quark, Inc., a company that
started with its flagship QuarkXPress product two years after
Aldus released PageMaker.
Quark has tried to release products other than those focused on
page layout over the years, like Quark Immedia, an odd multimedia
authoring application, or an image-editing program licensed from
a Japanese firm that they could never quite push out the door.
Quark is privately held and their financial state is unknown,
although it's generally been perceived over the years as massively
profitable.
The future is clearly about a very small number of graphics
developers with integrated applications - integrated together
like the iLife suite or the Creative Suite or Microsoft Office.
With the purchase of Macromedia, Adobe has taken a large step
towards trying to preserve its multi-platform role in setting
the pace for the graphics world.
Mac mini Inspires Web Sites
---------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Looking at the Mac mini's technical specifications alone, the
computer sits firmly in the middle of Apple's computer offerings -
it's essentially an eMac without the monitor, keyboard, or mouse.
What's notable about the mini is its physical size, a diminutive
rectangle only slightly larger than most external hard drives.
Interestingly, that small size has become a large canvas where
people are projecting their imaginations about what the Mac mini
could be. With its small footprint, the Mac mini is more welcome
in the living room, passing the "spouse test" of being a discreet
media device without looking like a, well, computer. It's also
found a home in automobiles, where enthusiasts want access to
music and video (for passengers, hopefully) without spending
a fortune on dedicated components.
Oh, and then there's the price: the stock Mac mini costs $500,
which is apparently wooing non-Mac users to the Mac OS X platform.
These factors have led to an unexpected surge of Web sites
dedicated to the Mac mini. Obviously, some of what's at play
is the phenomenon of catching something insanely popular at
the ground level, but not since the original iMac has there
been so much interest in an otherwise unremarkable computer.
I recently went looking for Mac mini-themed sites to see what was
propelling so much activity and to answer the question: does an
explosion of niche Web sites promise success for a product, or
is it gold rush opportunism? Time will tell, of course, but in
the meantime it makes for an interesting trip.
**News and Information** -- The site that started my exploration,
Modmini.com, was created by Robert Cassidy and frequent TidBITS
contributor Andrew Laurence. Despite its name, the site so far
isn't focused as much on mods (modifications) in the same sense
that others are (for example, Mac minis embedded into old iMac or
even Centris cases). Instead, it tackles practical considerations
such as setting up the mini as a DVD jukebox (with movies stored
on the hard drive) and adding AirPort and Bluetooth - both build-
to-order items - after receiving the Mac mini.
<http://www.modmini.com/>
If you're looking for more of a daily news and information site,
123Macmini.com and BYODKM.net (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard,
and Mouse ) provide ongoing doses of news (Mac mini-related
product releases, as well as general Mac OS news) and reviews.
They both also offer discussion forums where people can swap
stories, tips, and ask the instantly age-old question: "Mac mini
or [insert name of any computer here]???"
<http://www.123macmini.com/>
<http://www.byodkm.net/>
**Home Theater** -- The Mac mini quickly became the low-cost,
low-profile computer of choice to anchor the digital hub, and
several sites have sprung up with information specific to building
a media center. MacHTPC, HTmini.com, and Home Theater Mac provide
news and reviews with a slant toward using the Mac mini as a home
theater, plus general Mac news where applicable.
<http://www.machtpc.com/>
<http://htmini.com/>
<http://www.hometheatermac.com/>
Also noteworthy is the CenterStage project, which isn't
necessarily tied to the Mac mini, but it was inspired by the
tiny Mac. CenterStage is an open-source project for developing
a home theater environment running on the Mac that can be run
from a remote control (think TiVo with all the features you
really want). Development is still in its early stages, but
a 0.1 alpha version is available for download.
<http://www.centerstageproject.com/>
If you sometimes feel as if your car is your home, be sure to
check out MacVroom, where you can "Mac your ride" with Mac mini
car integration. MacVroom is all over the efforts to put Mac
minis in cars, including information on working with small-size
LCD screens, alternative power supplies, and more.
<http://www.macvroom.com/>
**Mac mini Community** -- All of the sites mentioned above include
discussion forums or weblog-style comment features, but two
sites have been set up solely for the purpose of hosting online
communities of Mac mini owners and enthusiasts. Macminiforums
includes forums on using, troubleshooting, and modifying Mac
minis, as well as classified ads. MacminiCenter is a community-
contributed Mac mini wiki (which is just fun to say out loud
three times) with information and links to specific hardware
(such as LCD projectors), software, and other categories.
<http://macminiforums.com/forums/>
<http://www.macminicenter.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page>
A Shiny New NoteBook
--------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
A few weeks back, Circus Ponies released version 2.0 of their
elegant note-taking and snippet-keeping application NoteBook,
significantly improving the program in key areas. The upgrade
reportedly adds over 150 features and is available for free to
existing owners, although you do have to upgrade your license
code to mesh with a new licensing system.
<http://www.circusponies.com/>
As I wrote in "The Well-Worn NoteBook" back in TidBITS-745_,
I've become a devoted user of NoteBook for to-do lists, recording
steps in complex processes, keeping snippets of information
from email or the Web for research, and for eliminating all
those little pieces of paper that breed in the dark recesses
of my desk. My basic uses for NoteBook haven't changed, nor has
its basic approach, so reading my previous article will give
you a more full impression of the program.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07803>
**Contents Card** -- With NoteBook 2.0, some of my uses have
become more fluid thanks to new features. Most notable is a new
Contents Card, which is a thin drawer-like element that provides
an always-visible view of the table of contents of your notebook
file. That may seem like a small change, but in fact it's
tremendously helpful because it lets you keep an outline of
your notebook's contents in sight while you're working. Plus,
you can move items between pages by dragging to the appropriate
spot on the Contents Card. I find myself using the Contents Card
constantly. The main improvement I'd still like to see with regard
to seeing more content simultaneously is the capability to show
two independent pages at the same time; something that fits in
nicely with the physical notebook metaphor.
**To Do Items Index** -- Since I last wrote about NoteBook, I've
changed my style of handling to-do items, thanks in large part
to reading David Allen's "Getting Things Done" book. Before, I
was tracking to-do items with a page for each week, and an outline
heading for each day. Although that worked fairly well, I was
starting to learn how to ignore items in the list, so each day was
filling up with items I stood no chance of doing. In the Getting
Things Done model, the goal is to come up with the next action in
any given project, and to categorize them not by project, but by
context: calls, email, writing, errands, and so on. The idea is
that then, when you sit down to do work, you can look at what's on
the list for that context and pick out something to do that makes
sense with the time and energy available. Obviously, the overall
approach is more complicated than that, but it's working well for
both Tonya and me, and I've changed how I handle to-do lists in
NoteBook accordingly.
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142000280/tidbitselectro00/
ref%3Dnosim/>
Now I have a section of my Notebook file with a page for each
context I'm trying to track, and a set of action items on that
page. I also have agenda pages for each of the people I work
with regularly so I don't forget things that need discussing.
Nothing in that wasn't possible in previous versions of NoteBook,
but since the NoteBook folks have also been reading "Getting
Things Done," there are some new features that help out with
such organization. Most notable is a To Do Items Index, an
automatically generated page that collects all your action
items (lines to which you've assigned a checkbox) and shows
them in two sets: incomplete and completed. It's a great overview
of all the action items spread across all my contexts; something
the Getting Things Done model would suggest you should review
every Friday to make sure you're not falling behind on some
project.
**Sorting, Linking, and More** -- Another area where NoteBook 2.0
has improved is in sorting; you can now create sorts and have
them applied automatically. I've had some trouble getting this
feature to work as I'd like; auto-sorting seems a bit finicky
at the moment, but when it works, it's a great way to organize
action items on a page by whether or not they're completed and
when they were last modified.
I've also taken to doing a bit more linking, now that NoteBook 2.0
can create links not just between pages, but between cells. For
people who use multiple NoteBook files, you can even link to cells
in other files.
Clippings now include a lot more metadata related to the clipping
source, so you can easily determine the application from which
the clip originally came, and if it came from Apple Mail, the
item is automatically linked to the sender's Address Book entry,
if present.
There are a slew of other features that I haven't yet had an
excuse to use. Integration with Apple's bundled applications
(none of which I use, unfortunately for this context) has improved
greatly, so you can easily link to contacts in Address Book and
initiate iChat sessions or email messages in Mail directly from
NoteBook. NoteBook can also generate alarms in iCal for action
items that have due dates; it's a nice way to gain alarm
capability without writing yet another reminder system. For those
who like toolbars, there's now a completely customizable toolbar
that can appear at the bottom of your NoteBook window; the main
thing I like about it is the breadcrumb display of your current
location. The Voice Annotation feature now enables you to record
lengthy sessions, adding notes at relevant points. You can send
voice annotations to iTunes for listening or for downloading
to an iPod. And speaking of iPods, you can even send a NoteBook
outline to your iPod for viewing using the normal iPod interface.
HTML export has improved, making it easy to create full NoteBook-
generated Web sites, complete with internal navigation.
With some pieces of software, I immediately think of features to
request, and apart from the double-page view, that's not happening
with NoteBook. In fact, it's the reverse. I'm always a little
depressed when I see, in the process of writing about a piece of
software, how much of it I haven't yet delved into, especially
in a program I use daily like NoteBook. But on the bright side,
it also means that there's always more to learn. The hard part is
remembering that the features exist when a need arises. Perhaps
I'll have to devote a page in NoteBook to features in programs
that I don't need now, but which might be useful in the future.
NoteBook 2.0 costs $50 for new customers; upgrades for existing
customers are free. Educational and volume discounts are
available, as is a free 30-day demo version. The program requires
Mac OS X 10.3 or later.
iMac G5: Up In Smoke
--------------------
by Matt Neuburg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
This is the story of how my iMac G5 joined the legion of machines
that recently have spontaneously failed, and how the problem was
resolved.
I purchased my 20-inch iMac G5 at the end of November, and was
deliriously happy with it from the start. It crunches numbers in
sprightly fashion, runs GarageBand without hiccupping, and even
scrolls Microsoft Word documents fairly quickly. It writes DVDs.
It has a huge hard disk. The screen displays two full pages of
text and is drop-dead gorgeous; it feels worth the price of the
entire computer. And then of course there's the astounding form
factor: in essence, the computer consists solely of a two-inch-
thick monitor, with all the works inside it.
<http://www.apple.com/imac/>
Even before my purchase, I had been hanging out on Apple's
discussions boards, where I proceeded to acquire quite an
education. For example, I learned that the iMac G5's bus
throughput is faster if RAM is installed in matched pairs;
therefore I replaced the stock 256 MB of RAM with two 512 MB
sticks early in the game. Removing the iMac G5's back cover
and installing the RAM was astonishingly easy. Indeed, one
of this model's most remarkable features is that it is highly
user-repairable. Four internal LEDs assist in diagnosis, and
the parts are so ingeniously arranged and connected that,
if need be, the user can easily replace the hard drive, the
optical drive, the power supply, the inverter, the display,
and even the midplane (essentially a sheet of metal to which
everything else is attached - replacing the midplane replaces
the logic board and fans, and involves removing all the other
user-serviceable parts).
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/imacg5/>
<http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/Developer_Notes/
Macintosh_CPUs-G5/iMacG5/04_Expansion/chapter_5_section_1.html>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86812>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300205>
<http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cip/pdf/imacg5/033-2494.pdf>
**Intimations of Mortality** -- About a month ago I started seeing
anecdotal reports, on Apple's discussion boards and elsewhere,
that repeated in essence an identical story: iMac G5 users would
notice that the machine was giving off an acrid smell, like
plastic melting or tires burning, and shortly thereafter the
machine would fail. I made a mental note, but I also thought,
"This can never happen to me."
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.68ab823e>
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.68a4aa56>
<http://www.macintouch.com/imacg5part05.html>
<http://www.macintouch.com/imacg5part06.html>
<http://www.macintouch.com/imacg5part07.html>
But of course it did. On Tuesday, 29-Mar-05, the iMac gave off
an ominous smell. It was a foul, slightly nauseating smell, rather
like burnt tires; I had to open all the windows just to remain
in the room. The fact that I was prepared by the similar reports
from other users was suddenly useful. I expected the computer
to fail soon, but at that moment it was still running, so I
immediately backed it up, twice - once to four DVDs, and again
by synchronizing it with my trusty iBook G3/600 that sits in
the living room, hooked up to the stereo system. I also ran the
Apple Hardware Test (by starting up from a special CD that comes
with the computer), and the computer passed all the tests. The
next day, Wednesday, the iMac was still running in the morning.
I went out to lunch with some friends, and when I returned in
the afternoon, the iMac was in a deep sleep from which I could
not wake it. I shut it down and couldn't start it up again.
**A Doctor in the House** -- My first response was (using the
iBook) to go onto Apple's iMac G5 support page, where a link
leads to a sequence of pages that act as a diagnostic assistant.
These pages guided me through an analysis of the situation. At
each step, you're presented with a set of choices or questions
or instructions, and so you proceed, page by page, to a solution.
<http://www.apple.com/support/imac/>
The assistant elicited from me that the computer was not powering
up, that there was no chime, and that the power outlet at the wall
was working. It told me to remove the iMac's back cover, plug in
the power cord, and examine the four internal LEDs. If the first
LED had been off, this would mean I needed a new power supply.
But the first LED was on, so the assistant told me to press the
internal power button, and then the System Management Unit reset
button, to see if the computer would power on. It didn't. The
assistant gave its final diagnosis: the mid-plane needed
replacing.
<http://www.apple.com/support/imac/assistant/nopower/>
(Incidentally, this series of diagnostic Web pages is both
instructional and entertaining. You can learn a lot about your
computer just by pursuing an imaginary scenario. For instance,
if my computer had started up when I pressed the internal power
button, but would not start up when the back cover was replaced,
the diagnosis would have been that I needed a new back cover.)
On the last page of the diagnosis, I encountered a pleasant
surprise - a link leading seamlessly into the ordering of a new
midplane. It looked as though I would solve this entire problem
without ever directly contacting a human being. I clicked the
link, provided the computer's serial number, and ordered the
midplane. You have to supply a credit card number to be charged
in case you fail to return the original midplane, but if all
goes according to plan, since the computer is under warranty,
the entire operation is free. Apple pays for the midplane itself,
for shipping the new midplane to you, and for shipping the old
midplane back in the same carton (by means of a second label,
self-addressed and pre-paid, underneath the carton's label
addressed to you).
<http://www.apple.com/support/imac/assistant/nopower/52.html>
Thus, although somewhat disturbed that my computer had failed,
I went to bed feeling that Apple's system for handling the
situation was commendably efficient.
**Second Thoughts** -- The next day I woke up and started to
worry. I was remembering some more of what I'd read in the
user reports on the Internet about various spontaneous failures.
Some users had described swollen capacitors, and there was
some expert explanation on MacInTouch and elsewhere of how a
batch of capacitors with a bad electrolytic formula had been
manufactured through industrial espionage, and why this might
cause them to swell. But I had seen nothing wrong with any
capacitors. Furthermore, those who reported the capacitor problem
were also generally reporting flickering displays, along with
failure of the Apple Hardware Test, which my computer had passed.
<http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?128@@.68a31fdd>
<http://www.pbase.com/johncoggi/image/40667990>
<http://g5support.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=4124>
<http://www.oliver-kreuzenbeck.de/iMac_problems/iMac.html>
<http://www.badcaps.com/causes/>
<http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/feb03/ncap.html>
In addition, those who talked about the smell nearly always
mentioned the power supply. Some seemed to be saying that
replacement of the midplane alone had not helped. Others,
in fact, seemed to be saying that replacement of the power
supply had been sufficient. My hunch was that there might
be two different problems, one involving capacitors, another
involving the power supply; I might, I feared, have been misled
by my memory of the capacitor stories into accepting the diagnosis
that the midplane was at fault, whereas the real problem might be
the power supply. As a further complication, some users seemed to
be reporting that the failure of the power supply might take down
the midplane as well, perhaps simply because soot from the burning
power supply is blown into the midplane. In any case, despite the
online diagnosis with the internal LEDs, I was no longer confident
that replacing the midplane would solve the problem, and I decided
to contact Apple directly.
**Phone Tag** -- Getting through to Apple by phone turned out to
be no easy task. Whenever I tried, I got a busy signal. I thought
perhaps I was calling out of hours, but no hours are posted on
Apple's Web site (as far as I could find), so I couldn't be sure.
Thus it was Friday before I finally got through to a human being
at Apple. I started by routing myself through the voicemail
system to a customer service person who might be able to tell
me the status of the mid-plane order, which I had not been able
to learn from Apple's support Web pages. She was very nice,
but she couldn't give me any information, which I found odd.
She then transferred me, not without some difficulty, to a
technical support person.
At this point the story turned positive again. I had described the
situation a little to the customer service person, and it seems
she had passed this information on to the technical support person
before he came on the line. Thus when he picked up the phone he
was completely ready to deal with the problem. He seemed to know
all about these iMac G5 failures, and I had the sense that he
really didn't need to listen to my story at all, but was just
waiting for me to stop talking so that he could tell me the answer
he'd been prepared with all along. My hunch was absolutely right:
the power supply was probably working well enough to light the
internal LED but not well enough to power up the computer, and
he'd have a new power supply sent right out. He took my credit
card information again; this was all he needed, since he already
had my computer's serial number and, through it, my address.
Now began a waiting game. During the weekend nothing happened.
On Monday, much to my surprise, the midplane arrived; it was lucky
I was home, as a signature was required. But I didn't open it,
because it was sealed with a piece of tape that read, "Don't break
seal unless using parts." Well, I wouldn't know whether I'd be
replacing the midplane until I saw whether replacing the power
supply fixed the problem; and I didn't want to give the impression
that I'd used the replacement midplane if I hadn't.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the power supply didn't arrive, and I was
getting nervous. I was particularly distressed by the fact that
although I could see on Apple's support Web pages that the order
for the power supply had been entered, those pages provided no
further information. You'd expect that, like Amazon and similar
operations, when the part shipped, that fact would be noted,
perhaps along with a tracking number so you could estimate
the time of arrival; but no such information was forthcoming.
I regard this as a flaw in Apple's fulfillment system.
So early Wednesday afternoon I tried again to phone Apple. Getting
through was nearly impossible. I was on hold in the voicemail
system for 45 minutes and then, just as it seemed I was about
to speak to a real human being, I was disconnected. I phoned back
and waited another 45 minutes. But at last I did speak to someone,
and after begging him not to disconnect me, I found that he was
able to tell me exactly what I wanted to know: the power supply
had not shipped, it would ship that same day, and he had a
tracking number for me.
**Anticlimax and Afterthoughts** -- There was a simple, quick, and
happy ending. The power supply arrived the next day (Thursday).
It took about five minutes to replace it; a practiced hand could
have done it in two, as the attachment and cabling of the power
supply on the midplane are ingeniously designed to make it easy.
(Apple supplied a printed version of the replacement instructions,
and had even sent along a Phillips-head screwdriver.) I put the
back cover onto the computer, plugged in the power cord, pressed
the button, and after a heart-stopping pause it started right
up. I ran DiskWarrior, just in case the spontaneous shutdown
had caused any damage to the hard disk's directory structure
(there didn't seem to be any), and synchronized once again with
the iBook G3, which had been valiantly serving as my primary
computer for a week. Everything was now as it had been before.
<http://www.info.apple.com/usen/cip/pdf/imacg5/033-2497.pdf>
<http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/>
I handed the two boxes - one containing the used power supply,
the other containing the unused midplane - back into the DHL
system for pre-paid return to Apple. The question of that midplane
caused me some misgivings; perhaps, I thought, as long as I've got
it I should install it. But I didn't; my old midplane seems to be
working fine, and if it, too, is going to fail, I'll just have to
wait for that to happen and deal with the problem then. Logical
considerations must prevail over emotion; being without the
computer for a week and a half had been wrenching and I wanted
to avoid having this happen again, but when all's said and done
I had no evidence that it would happen again if I didn't replace
the midplane - or, for that matter, that it wouldn't if I did.
Indeed, the tentacles of irrational emotion remain insinuated into
my thought processes: it's hard, in the aftermath, to separate
fact from fantasy. I regard the iMac G5 with a certain mistrust.
I back it up daily instead of weekly. I sniff the air for traces
of that ominous smell. I tend to shut down the computer when I
leave the house, instead of putting it to sleep (because it was
asleep when the smell started, and because if the power isn't on,
the power supply can't burn out). But of course none of that
makes rational sense: there isn't the slightest evidence that
the computer isn't good as new, and the mistrust can be expected
to fade away over time as the iMac continues to function normally.
**Response and Responsibility** -- What are the implications of
this little adventure for Apple Computer, Inc.? From my personal
perspective, it was Apple's own discussion groups that apprised me
in advance of the possible impending danger; that's good. On the
other hand, the online diagnostic tool, though comforting, gave
the wrong answer; at the height of the crisis, Apple was vexingly
difficult to reach by phone; parts did not ship very promptly, and
shipping dates and tracking numbers were not provided on the Web.
More broadly, how widespread are these failures, and what are they
costing Apple? In its recent financial results conference call,
Apple made no mention of such incidents, and gave no hint that
its bottom line was being adversely affected. This might be
disingenuously creative bookkeeping, but perhaps the number of
failed iMac G5s is really not that large, or perhaps, even if
it is, the costs of replacement and dealing with the public is
insignificant in comparison with Apple's overall profits. Since
all reports are anecdotal, and since failures are vastly more
likely than non-failures to be reported on the discussion groups,
it is impossible even to guess what percentage of iMac G5s are
spontaneously expiring. Still, one user described an 18 percent
failure rate in his shop; another said that the Genius Bar minder
at the local Apple store spoke of five similar failures having
been brought in that week; a CompUSA employee has seen 20-odd
failed machines in the last couple of months. MacInTouch continues
to reflect a steady stream of failures. Apple must know far more
about the problem than it is telling, and one wishes that they
would just come clean and reveal it: "Here's what went wrong,
here's what we are doing about it, here's what we have learned,
here are the chances are of your computer failing, here's what
will happen if it does." That, however, will almost certainly
not happen.
<http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq205/>
<http://www.macintouch.com/imacg5part08.html>
Take Control News/25-Apr-05
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
We're completely on track to release all four of our Tiger titles
simultaneously with Tiger itself, and we've come up with yet
another reason to upgrade - by getting one of the ebooks for free.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/news/>
**"Take Control of Upgrading to Tiger" Free with Tiger Purchase**
-- It's a safe bet that almost everyone who buys "Take Control
of Upgrading to Tiger" will also be ordering Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger
itself. So why not get the ebook for free? All you have to do
is pre-order the ebook, click the Check for Updates button in
your pre-order copy to find a coupon code worth $5 off at Small
Dog Electronics, and then use the coupon when you buy Tiger
from Small Dog. They'll even throw in some Vermont maple syrup
(in a bottle, presumably)!
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/tiger-upgrading.html>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/25-Apr-05
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
The second URL below each thread description points to the
discussion on our Web Crossing server, which will be faster.
**Maybe the World is Changing...** -- Readers note that retail
Apple Stores are getting significant traffic, even in locations
where larger nearby businesses are seeing fewer customers.
(17 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2548>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/406>
**An FM Transmitting Monster** -- Geoffrey Bronner's review of the
Monster iCarPlay prompts a reader's hands-on experience with the
FM transmitter. (1 message)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2550>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/408>
**Broadband Update Bigotry** -- The most recent Mac OS X updates
are tens of megabytes in size, making it difficult for people on
dial-up Internet connections to keep their software current.
(36 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2551>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/409>
**10.3.9 and Safari** -- The latest Mac OS X update includes
Safari 1.3, which has introduced problems on some systems.
(12 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2554>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/412>
**Web site caching software** -- A reader wants to store copies
of Web sites on his computer, and receives several software
suggestions. (5 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2555>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/413>
**Cheap Wireless Headphone Solution** -- Instead of spending big
bucks for a set of Bluetooth wireless headphones, a reader
proposes an FM transmitter and FM stereo headphones for much
less money. (2 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2556>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/414>
**iMovie 5.0.2 update** -- Apple's latest iMovie update fixes some
nagging bugs, but others remain. Matti Haveri provides a rundown
of issues. (1 message)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2557>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/415>
**Forced to use Microsoft OS to get and submit Federal grants** --
A U.S. government contractor requires Windows to work with
federal grants, so what does this mean for Mac users? PC emulation
software, or an escalation to members of Congress? (4 messages)
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tlkthrd=2558>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/416>
$$
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