TidBITS#865/05-Feb-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/865>
Would you buy a 23-inch MacBook? It's not an Apple product: Jeff
Porten describes how he turned an ailing 17-inch PowerBook G4 into a
second monitor for his MacBook. Plus, given the increased focus on
Mac security recently, John O'Fallon offers practical precautions
for fending off most attacks. Also in this issue, Apple adds color
to the iPod shuffle line and settles its long-running dispute with
the Beatles' Apple Corps; Nolobe acquires Interarchy and ships
Interarchy 8.5; Open Door Networks updates its line of security
products; the AirPort Extreme starts shipping with new details about
its wireless capabilities; and Macinstruct opens a Mac tutorial
contest with Adam, Tonya, and Joe as judges. Lastly, check out the
first of our "Month of Apple Sales" offers on bundles of
Mac-specific Take Control ebooks!
Articles
Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Enter New Agreement
iPod shuffle Now Colorful
The Ultimate Mac Basement
DealBITS Drawing: Billable Winners
DealBITS Drawing: SmileOnMyMac Productivity Suite
Nolobe Takes Over Interarchy; 8.5 Ships
Macinstruct Opens Mac Tutorial Contest
Open Door Networks Updates Security Products
Computer Security: Who's Responsible?
Apple Ships 802.11n Base Station and Enabler
Build Your Own 23-inch MacBook
Take Control News/05-Feb-07
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Feb-07
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Apple Inc. and Apple Corps Enter New Agreement
----------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8839>
Apple Inc. and Apple Corps today announced a new agreement under
which Apple Inc. will own all the trademarks related to "Apple" and
will license some of those trademarks back to Apple Corps. This
agreement replaces the 1991 agreement in which Apple Corps agreed to
let Apple Inc. use Apple Corps' trademarks even on items falling
within Apple Corps' field of use (entertainment) so long as Apple
Inc. didn't sell "physical media delivering pre-recorded content."
(For a detailed look at the history of the companies' relations, see
Geoff Duncan's "Carry That Weight: Apple Versus Apple," 2006-03-27.)
The agreement also marks an end to the ongoing trademark
infringement case in which Apple Corps sued Apple Inc.; Apple Corps
lost the case but immediately appealed the decision. Both companies
will bear their own legal costs, and Apple Inc. will continue using
its name and logo on iTunes. (Again, for details, see Geoff's "Not
Guilty: Apple Beats Beatles Trademark Dispute," 2006-05-08.) Terms
of the new agreement remain confidential.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/02/05apple.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8471>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8518>
Still up in the air is whether the Beatles' music will ever appear
for sale in the iTunes Store. A handful of subtle references to the
Beatles in Steve Jobs's keynote at the recent Macworld Expo in
January 2007 had many thinking such an announcement was forthcoming.
However, in words that don't exactly scream "let's make a deal,"
Neil Aspinall, manager of Apple Corps said in the announcement, "We
wish Apple Inc. every success and look forward to many years of
peaceful co-operation with them." According to the research firm NPD
Group, the Beatles' music is among the most frequently downloaded
from peer-to-peer file sharing services.
iPod shuffle Now Colorful
-------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8840>
Apple last week announced that the diminutive iPod shuffle is now
available in five colors: pink, orange, green, blue, and the
original silver. The configuration remains the same at 1 GB of
memory for $80. This news report was brought to you by the color
violet, which is jealous.
<http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/tidbits/resources/865/0701shuffle_fam.jpg>
The Ultimate Mac Basement
-------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8841>
In today's look at home renovation, we're travelling to the house of
Soyburger, a 28-year-old video editor/computer animator/graphic
designer who clearly has a flair for interior design. Soyburger is
also a fan of the Macintosh, but whereas most Mac fans content
themselves with a Think Different poster or a prominently displayed
iMac in the living room, Soyburger has one of the largest private
collections of Macs we've seen, all elegantly displayed on IKEA
furniture in a custom-designed basement office/rec room. There's a
bar composed largely of Classic IIs, a wall of iMacs, rows of
different models of Macs, a few scattered Newtons and Apple IIs, and
just for fun, a collection of classic video game consoles. Well
done!
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/soyburger/sets/72157594228629049/>
DealBITS Drawing: Billable Winners
----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8842>
Congratulations to Steve Green of cox.net, Ed Mullin of
ewmullin.com, Matthew MacKay of upei.ca, and Steve Cronin of
austin.rr.com, whose entries were chosen randomly in last week's
DealBITS drawing and who received a copy of Clickable Bliss's
Billable, worth $24.95. TidBITS readers who didn't win can still
save 20 percent through 14-Feb-07 when purchasing Billable; use
coupon code "tidbits1" when placing your order. Thanks again to the
388 people who entered this DealBITS drawing, and we hope you'll
continue to participate in the future.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8829>
<http://clickablebliss.com/billable/>
<https://store.clickablebliss.com/>
DealBITS Drawing: SmileOnMyMac Productivity Suite
-------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8843>
SmileOnMyMac has made a name for itself over the past few years by
offering an increasing number of useful Macintosh applications.
They're probably best known for PDFpen, their PDF editing utility,
but they also develop DiscLabel for creating and printing CD/DVD
labels, PageSender for sending documents as faxes, BrowseBack for
providing a visual history of your Web browsing, TextExpander for
speeding entry of repetitive bits of text, and PhotoPrinto for
designing and printing photo albums and scrapbooks. A number of
SmileOnMyMac's products have appeared in DealBITS in the past; now
they've brought together all their products in the SmileOnMyMac
Productivity Suite. Normally, these applications would cost over
$200 if purchased separately, but together they cost only $129.
<http://www.smileonmymac.com/suite/>
In this week's DealBITS drawing, you can enter to win one of three
copies of the SmileOnMyMac Productivity Suite, each worth $129.
Entrants who aren't among our lucky winners will receive a discount
on SmileOnMyMac products, so be sure to enter at the DealBITS page
linked below. All information gathered is covered by our
comprehensive privacy policy. Be careful with your spam filters,
since you must be able to receive email from my address to learn if
you've won. Remember too, that if someone you refer to this drawing
wins, you'll receive the same prize as a reward for spreading the
word.
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/smileonmymacsuite/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>
Nolobe Takes Over Interarchy; 8.5 Ships
---------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8844>
Peter Lewis and Stairways Software last week announced that Nolobe,
a new company formed by Interarchy lead developer Matthew Drayton,
has acquired Interarchy from Stairways in what amounts to an
employee buyout. Previously known as Anarchie, Interarchy has been
in continuous development by Peter and Stairways for over 10 years,
with Matthew participating in development over the last 6 years.
<http://www.stairways.com/press/2007-02-01>
<http://nolobe.com/interarchy/>
For current Interarchy users, essentially nothing changes. Licenses
for Interarchy 8 remain valid, and will be honored for the
just-released free 8.5 upgrade, with a discount on a paid upgrade to
Interarchy 9.0 to follow later this year. Stairways Software retains
the Keyboard Maestro hotkey utility, along with several other older
programs that aren't currently being sold, although we expect that
Peter will have his attention elsewhere for some time, given that he
and his wife Nikola expecting their third child any day now.
<http://www.keyboardmaestro.com/>
Interarchy 8.5, which appeared in concert with the announcement,
offers enhanced scripting support with AppleScript recording and an
application Scripts menu, an Open in Terminal command that opens a
selected SFTP folder in a remote ssh session in Terminal, a Dock
menu offering quick access to bookmarks and open tabs, and an
enhanced Get Info window that can calculate folder sizes on remote
FTP servers and adjust file permissions. See Interarchy 8.5's
release notes for a full list of changes. It's a 7.8 MB download and
requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later. The upgrade is free to registered
users; new copies cost $60.
<http://nolobe.com/interarchy/releasenotes/>
Macinstruct Opens Mac Tutorial Contest
--------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8845>
Here's an idea I like - a contest to generate the most creative and
innovative tutorials for Macintosh users. Sure, the meme is that
being a Mac user means not having to read the manual, but the fact
is that the Mac world is also home to some of the best writers and
teachers on the planet. Organized by the non-profit Macinstruct
site, the Tutorama contest aims to encourage Mac users to help
others with clearly presented, helpful tutorials. The format isn't
fixed: although the written word remains the ultimate communication
method for many people, you're welcome to submit video tutorials,
Flash animations, or who knows what else. Just make sure it succeeds
at teaching your topic. And even if you don't win one of the very
cool prizes, you'll have the satisfaction of having shared your
knowledge with other Mac users.
<http://www.macinstruct.com/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/prizes>
Now, I'm not writing about Tutorama purely because I think it's a
good idea, but also because I'm helping to judge entries, along with
Tonya, our senior editor Joe Kissell, Take Control author Kirk
McElhearn, and Take Control editor Dan Frakes. Other judges include
the doyenne of Mac technical writing, Robin Williams; the inimitable
Guy Kawasaki; No Starch Press founder William Pollock; Jonathan
Price, creator of Apple's first style guide; and Amber MacArthur, a
new media journalist and video host.
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/adam/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/tonya/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/joe/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/kirk/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/dan/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/robin/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/guy/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/william/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/jonathan/>
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/amber/>
Check out the Tutorama Resources page for the official rules and
advice from the judges, and then think about what you'd like to
explain to the rest of the world.
<http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorama/resources.php>
Open Door Networks Updates Security Products
--------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8846>
With all the recent fuss about security on the Mac, it's worth
pointing out that we have plenty of tools to protect us from the
most common Internet dangers. Open Door Networks recently updated
all its Internet security products, which are available separately
or as a bundle. DoorStop X Firewall 2.0 adds Location Sets, which
enable you to specify different protection settings for different
environments (for instance, you might want more stringent firewall
settings when using public hotspots than when you're at home behind
your NAT gateway). Other new features include automated log
archiving and service-specific logging options. Who's There?
Firewall Advisor 2.1, which provides additional information about
attacks and attackers, adds new filtering and searching features,
enhanced real-time scrolling, and new service definitions.
<http://www.opendoor.com/doorstop/>
<http://www.opendoor.com/whosthere/>
And lastly, Open Door has updated their ebook, "Internet Security
for Your Macintosh: A Guide for the Rest of Us," to discuss the
latest issues in Internet security for Mac users, most notably
topics related to running Windows on Intel-based Macs. The ebook
itself, and Open Door's security blog, have also been integrated
into all of the products, so you can search the blog for related
items directly from within DoorStop X or Who's There. Through
14-Feb-07, DoorStop X Firewall costs $40 (upgrades are $30), Who's
There? Firewall Adviser costs $30 (upgrades are $20), the ebook
costs $10 (free upgrades), and the DoorStop X Security Suite bundle
of all the products is priced at $70 (with $40 upgrades).
<http://www.opendoor.com/isfym/>
<http://www.opendoor.com/doorstopsuite/>
Computer Security: Who's Responsible?
-------------------------------------
by John O'Fallon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8847>
"Security alert! A vulnerability in Mac OS X HTTP protocol handling
makes possible denial of service attacks and arbitrary code
execution."
"Oh no," you think. "This sounds bad. Is my Mac unsafe? Worse yet,
is my entire network at risk?"
The reality is that "safe" is a relative term, both in the real
world and on the Internet. Is it safe to get in your car and drive
to the QuickieMart? Modern cars have seat belts (they didn't
always), crumple zones, and airbags, but they don't guarantee that
you won't be injured in a crash. Over time, the addition of these
features has made cars incrementally safer, but their level of
safety is still relative. You can't point to one car and say, "That
one is absolutely safe, and that one absolutely isn't."
The same is true of computers and networks. An online banking site
is expected to be more secure than the average Britney Spears fan
blog, but the reality is that both are probably reasonably difficult
to hack, even for a technically savvy user. But at the same time,
both are potentially vulnerable to a malicious cracker.
The problem with security bulletins (well, one of the problems,
anyway) is that they tend to redirect our attention to arcane
technical details and away from common sense precautions. In most
cases, there is greater risk of "social" security breaches than
technical ones. Have you ever written down a password on a Post-it
and stuck it to your monitor? Have you ever had users share a user
account name and password, or sent passwords via normal email? These
are potentially much greater threats to your security than the vast
majority of vulnerabilities that could - in theory - be exploited to
assault your network.
Another problem is that Internet security advisories can be hard to
understand, sometimes even for well-trained network and system
administrators. Often this is because the problem being reported is
so obscure and technical that only a specialist could understand or
respond to it. So, while this fact makes it difficult for many of us
to determine the severity of a problem, or whether or not it even
applies to our situations, it is more important to realize that more
practical, almost intuitive issues generally pose a more significant
threat to your network security.
Most of us make the choice to drive cars because the benefit
outweighs the risk. We connect our computers to the Internet for the
same reason. We do our best to manage the risk, of course, but
ultimately the responsibility is ours. Software vendors have a
responsibility to provide software that is fundamentally stable and
secure, of course, but just like a car, it is up to the end user to
use the software responsibly.
If a car accelerates through the back of some poor guy's garage when
he hits the brakes, or a gas tank explodes when a Ford Pinto is
rear-ended, the public rightly expects the company responsible to
correct the problem. But the vast majority of accidents can be
attributed to drivers, other cars on the road, or conditions outside
of anyone's control, not to fundamental flaws in the engineering of
the cars. Again, the analogy applies to computers and networks; most
real-world security vulnerabilities could be addressed by users
applying basic security measures.
**Practical Precautions** -- Here are five easy examples of the
common-sense precautions I'm talking about:
1. Secure physical access to your computers and crucial network
devices. The ultimate "denial of service" attack may just be someone
walking in, unplugging your Mac, and stealing it.
2. Assign passwords that are non-trivial and difficult to guess,
without being hard to remember. Trivial passwords ("abc123",
"admin", "test", etc.) are commonly guessed by port sniffing robots,
and definitely need to be avoided. At the same time, while long
sequences of random characters might seem more secure, these
passwords essentially force users to write them down for handy
reference. [For real-world advice on how to maintain a set of
memorable and secure passwords, check out Joe Kissell's "Take
Control of Passwords in Mac OS X." -Adam]
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/passwords-macosx.html?14@@!pt=TRK-0044-TB865>
3. When setting up network services, don't share user accounts among
users. When more than one person uses the same user account, they
not only automatically have access to the same content and services,
but your ability to track activity is severely limited. Should you
ever need to review activity logs for some reason, there may be no
way to tell one user from another.
4. Minimize the number of applications running, and use software
only from trusted sources. Many potential attacks aren't launched
against a single application, but rather make use of multiple
applications in conjunction with one another. By eliminating
unnecessary applications, and avoiding software from dubious
sources, you can minimize the chance that a small flaw in one
program can be turned into a big hole in your system.
5. When setting up a normal desktop Mac, a server, or your network,
turn on and properly configure the firewall (which is built into Mac
OS X and most modern routers). While it may take a few extra
minutes, this is time well-spent, even when security isn't a primary
concern. It is shocking how much malicious traffic is on the
Internet. Much of this traffic is more annoying than actually
dangerous for Mac users, but your first defense against email
harvesting robots, virus-spread port scanners, and worse is a
properly deployed firewall.
This list is far from complete, but the general idea is that common
sense precautions on both individual Macs, servers, and network
devices is far more important to the security of your key systems
than the arcane "vulnerabilities" reported on the Internet.
When cars first began to be used widely, their limited top speed
minimized the risk of driving them. As they have become more
powerful, and the roads have become more congested, the risks have
increased and drivers have had to exercise more skill and care to
get around safely. Similarly, as we increasingly rely on universally
available and networked computer systems, and as ever more critical
information is kept on these systems, we must be better about basic
precautions, spending our time on them, rather than on worrying
about the latest possible exploit.
Airbags are a great safety feature, but you still need to pay
attention to the road.
[John O'Fallon founded Maxum Development, makers of Rumpus, a
popular FTP and Web file transfer server. He has been developing
commercial software for Apple computers for 25 years.]
<http://www.maxum.com/>
Apple Ships 802.11n Base Station and Enabler
--------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8848>
The AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n is now shipping. The
software enabler required to update existing Macs that have 802.11n
technology built in is included with the base station, and can now
also be purchased from the Apple Store for $2 (see "Two Bucks for
100 Mbps 802.11n Enabler," 2007-01-22). All Macs with Intel Core 2
Duo processors (except the 17-inch 1.83 GHz iMac) or Xeon processors
can be updated to 802.11n, including Mac Pro desktops that had the
AirPort Extreme option added. Apple isn't offering 802.11n options
for any older Macs; third-party adapters will be required.
<http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/>
<http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nplm=D4141ZM%2FA>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8819>
The enabler isn't locked to a particular Mac, a concern that arose
when the enabler was first announced. In a briefing last week, David
Moody, Apple vice president of worldwide Mac product marketing,
said, "You can install it on all the Macs in your house." The
license on the purchase page is even broader: "The software license
for the 802.11n Enabler software allows you to install and use it on
all computers under your ownership or control."
The new AirPort Extreme Base Station can work in either the 2.4
gigahertz (GHz) band, in which 802.11b (AirPort) and 802.11g
(original AirPort Extreme) operate, or in the 5 GHz band, which
hardly any wireless hardware uses today and which has greater
available frequencies. While the new AirPort Extreme Base Station
includes Wireless Distribution System (WDS) support for linking base
stations wirelessly, and will work with older AirPort Extreme and
Express base stations in 2.4 GHz, Moody said that the greater range
of 802.11n should obviate the need for WDS connections in the home.
At 2.4 GHz, Apple won't allow 40 MHz "wide" channels that, in the
absence of other Wi-Fi network signals, could double throughput (see
"AirPort Extreme 802.11n Throughput Limits," 2007-01-29). Moody
explained that Apple has a huge interest in preserving the
functionality of Bluetooth, which has shipped alongside Wi-Fi in
most Macs in recent years. "We need to make sure Bluetooth and
802.11n co-exist perfectly," he said.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8834>
Allowing 40 MHz wide channels in 2.4 GHz would have severely
constrained Bluetooth since only about 80 MHz is available in the
United States (and varying amounts elsewhere) in the 2.4 GHz band.
While Bluetooth 1.2 and later can avoid frequencies in use - and 1.2
or 2.0 is found in all recent Macs - the 40 MHz wide channel
squeezes Bluetooth's capability to deliver consistent throughput.
This could cause audio transmitted to a Bluetooth headset to
stutter, for instance.
Jai Chulani, a senior product manager at Apple, suggested that many
users would be better served by preserving a legacy 2.4 GHz network
for 802.11b/g devices with an existing base station, and plugging
that older base station into an Ethernet port on the new AirPort
Extreme, which would then operate to its best advantage with newer
802.11n hardware in 5 GHz.
The AirPort Extreme with 802.11n is configured to choose the best
channel in 5 GHz automatically, but Chulani said that an advanced
settings option would enable 5 GHz channel selection. This could be
important, because four of the nine channels in 5 GHz that Apple is
offering are restricted to a low-power mode with reduced range.
Chulani also confirmed that the Apple TV could operate in either 2.4
GHz or 5 GHz bands, but that like the AirPort Extreme, the best mode
of operation would be selected automatically, and could be
overridden manually.
Apple's AirPort Admin Utility has been updated for the new standard
with an overhauled interface that, Chulani said, "has two faces."
One features more automatic, sensible choices for users who don't
need or want to customize configuration. The other includes even
more technical detail than earlier releases. For instance, the
separate, free AirPort Client Monitor, which graphically displayed
connected devices and their signal strength, is now part of the
AirPort Admin Utility. An update to the AirPort Management Utility
for configuring multiple base stations at once will be released in
the indefinite future. Mac OS X 10.4.8 or Windows XP is required to
run the new admin utility.
Macs in Apple's product pipeline do not yet have 802.11n enabled;
that changeover will happen over an undisclosed period of time.
Purchasers of new Macs that aren't enabled for 802.11n will need to
purchase the $2 enabler; however, it's likely that only those who
buy a new AirPort Extreme Base Station (which includes the enabler)
would have any interest in using the new 802.11n standard.
The new AirPort Extreme Base Station started shipping last week, and
orders placed at the time of announcement should be in purchasers'
hands shortly, Moody said. I placed my order at Macworld Expo a few
days after the keynote, and I received email from the Apple Store on
03-Feb-07 telling me that my new Extreme Base Station would arrive
by 06-Feb-07.
Build Your Own 23-inch MacBook
------------------------------
by Jeff Porten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8849>
A couple of weeks ago I began sporting a new laptop: 3 GB of RAM,
200 GB hard drive, dual optical burners, 4 USB and 3 FireWire ports.
But the best thing about it is the 23-inch monitor.
Yes, it's a Mac. Why do you ask?
Let's start this story at the beginning. A few weeks ago my beloved
17-inch PowerBook died on me. Although I was able to fix it later, I
needed a working Mac immediately, so I picked up a new MacBook. (The
fix included refrigerating my apartment to 50 degrees and suspending
the PowerBook over a tray of ice cubes. But I digress.) The MacBook,
as most of you know, is a fantastic computer - blazingly fast
compared to my 1 GHz PowerBook G4.
But the transition to the smaller monitor really threw me. You
wouldn't think that the switch from 1440 by 900 to 1280 by 800 would
be that big a deal; at least, I didn't think the loss of 21 percent
of my screen resolution would bother me. But it was as disruptive as
trying to type with only eight fingers. I do Web and database
development, and most of the time I have 50 different windows open.
My productivity took a huge hit on the smaller screen - or maybe it
didn't, it's hard to tell objectively. Subjectively, though, the
reduced screen real estate drove me up the wall.
Perhaps more importantly, I was starting to experience eyestrain
after only 8 or 10 hours on the MacBook. (Yes, I need to get out
more often.) The dot pitch on the MacBook - that is, the physical
size of the pixels - is smaller than on the 17-inch model I was used
to, and it made my eyes work harder. Like your mother said, keep
doing that and you'll go blind.
I began shopping for an external monitor to give myself more display
real estate, but two thoughts kept nagging at me. Frugal me noted
that I already had a perfectly good 17-inch monitor in my PowerBook.
Practical me noted that my home office pretty much serves as a place
to keep my backup drives and books - between client sites and
Starbucks, I'm usually on the metaphorical road. An external monitor
tethers me to a particular desk, which is something I've avoided for
a long time.
The perfect answer would be to come up with a way to use the
PowerBook as an external monitor for the MacBook; with that
accomplished, I'd have two screens to work from, plus the system
would remain portable (if not exactly, strictly speaking, a laptop).
Turns out, not only is this possible, it's actually fairly easy.
**Setting Up Your Laptops** -- The software that performs this magic
is ScreenRecycler, currently available in pre-release stage from the
German company Jinx; for now, it's a free download. There are two
components to ScreenRecycler: a video driver and an application.
You'll also need a VNC screen-sharing client; links to several
utilities for Mac or Windows are available on the ScreenRecycler
download page. Yes, Virginia, if you have a Windows laptop, you can
use it as a Mac monitor.
<http://www.screenrecycler.com/home.html>
Install the ScreenRecycler software on the primary Mac; in my case,
that's the MacBook. The driver installation requires a reboot.
Pre-release drivers are sometimes a cause for worry, but in my
testing the only problem is that the machine now takes an extra 15
seconds or so to reboot.
Your next step doesn't involve the ScreenRecycler application;
instead, you want to set up a secondary network between the two
laptops. You might have done this already, as there are many useful
reasons to have one. The secondary network allows you to send IP
traffic across one connection (e.g., an Ethernet or FireWire cable
to your other laptop), while remaining connected to the Internet
over any other connection.
Open your Network preference pane, and choose a port over which to
connect your laptops; I recommend Ethernet, especially if both
computers have gigabit Ethernet. Your alternative is FireWire, which
might be preferable if you frequently connect with Ethernet to an
office or home network; it's easier to use more ports than to create
multiple network locations. If either Ethernet or FireWire isn't in
your Network Status view, choose Network Port Configurations to
enable them.
In order to create your secondary network, double-click your
preferred port in Network Status on the primary laptop. Enter the
following settings:
* Configure IPv4: Manually
* IP Address: 192.168.2.1
* Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
* Router: 192.168.2.1
There is one tricky part here: you need to be sure that this address
doesn't conflict with other networks you might use. For example, my
Linksys router at home uses 192.168.1.1 - the important difference
being that the third number in this address is different than the
one we're using in the secondary network. You can choose any number
"nnn" you like between 0 and 255 to make a 192.168.nnn.1 address.
On the other laptop, open the Network preference pane, and enter the
above settings, but change the IP address to 192.168.2.2 (or
whichever nnn you chose). The router address, however, must be the
same as what you entered on the first laptop.
Both computers will now be available on two different networks. Your
first network can still connect to the Internet, over whichever port
is your usual mode of access. And now you've got your own private
intranet between the laptops.
By the way, if you're wondering why you can't just use Bonjour for
all this, the answer is that you can...but you might not always
connect over the fastest available connection. By using IP
addressing, you can be certain that your ScreenRecycler traffic is
directed over the right cable.
Whew. Time for the final installation step: install a VNC client on
the secondary computer. VNCThing is much faster, but doesn't work on
Intel-based Mac laptops; for those you need Chicken of the VNC.
<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/9261&vid=6708>
<http://www.geekspiff.com/software/cotvnc/>
**Recycle Your PowerBook** -- Now you're (finally!) ready to rock out
on two portable monitors. Fire up the ScreenRecycler application. On
the second laptop, open the VNC client and connect to the address
you created for the secondary network. (The ScreenRecycler window
tells you all of your available network addresses, so you don't have
to memorize it.)
Two things will happen: your primary laptop monitor will change just
as if you had connected an external monitor, and your secondary
laptop will show a window with the contents of that external
monitor. Go ahead and use full screen mode, and you've got yourself
a dual-display MacBook. Sure, it's not a true 23-inch monitor, but
add up the pixels on a 13-inch and a 17-inch screen, and that's darn
close to the pixels on a 23-inch monitor.
If you want to change the resolution on the external monitor (i.e.,
if you're not filling up the entire screen of the second laptop), go
ahead and do so in the Displays preference pane. Changing the
resolution causes ScreenRecycler to disconnect, but you can
reactivate it by reopening the connection in your VNC client.
Of course, there are a few caveats to this method. The first is that
you're sending video traffic over a network, which isn't nearly as
fast as a direct hardware connection to a real monitor. Any moving
graphics, such as dragging a window, cause the image to fuzz out to
Atari 2600-style graphics until it becomes stationary again.
Surprisingly, this isn't really a problem; I'm using my external
monitor to view several Safari windows right now, and they're all
crisp and legible. But the text window I'm using to write this
article is on my primary monitor; on the secondary, there's a short
lag between typing and seeing what I've typed, which is annoying.
Some graphic applications, though, such as my online poker game,
look just fine on the secondary monitor. Go ahead and try out your
applications to see which ones are ScreenRecycler-eligible.
If you like, you can open your Displays preference pane and drag
your menu bar over to the second monitor, as you can with a hardware
monitor. I recommend one caution, though: if you shut down
ScreenRecycler without first dragging it back, the external monitor
window gets fritzed out the next time you use it. This window is
where the Displays preferences will be shown the next time, so the
method to get your setup restored isn't obvious. You can use F7 to
force screen mirroring to be turned on. (Or Function-F7 if "Use
function keys to control software features" is turned on in your
Keyboard preference pane.) That will bring back your internal
display, where you can modify your settings to restore the external
monitor. Or just don't move your menu bar in the first place.
When you're finished, simply quit the ScreenRecycler application.
The connection to the other laptop will drop, and your Mac will
reconfigure as if a monitor was detached, with your external windows
moving back to the primary screen. Note that if you click the
ScreenRecycler "stop" button, or quit VNC on the second computer,
your windows will remain on the now-invisible second screen, and
your mouse pointer can get lost there. If you're stuck, try using
Command-Tab to activate ScreenRecycler, then hit Command-Q to set
things aright.
Incidentally, it's worth mentioning that you can still use your
second laptop normally; the view of the second monitor is simply a
full-screen window over there, so you can switch applications and do
whatever you like, then switch to VNC to bring your dual setup back.
**But Wait, There's One More Thing... Okay, Several** -- Now that you
have two monitors, it's time to pimp your ride. You might notice
that when using ScreenRecycler, you annoyingly have two keyboards in
front of you but only the one on the primary Mac works. Seems kind
of silly, especially if you ignored my warning and moved your menu
bar to the second Mac. (Like I did.)
Turns out that ScreenRecycler works just fine with the Teleport
utility. Teleport is a nifty preference pane that lets you control
one Mac using another's keyboard and mouse; it's similar in function
to a software KVM switch. In this case, you're sending your
keystrokes from your second Mac to your first Mac, which then
appears on your second Mac when you're working with the external
screen. If that sounds confusing, think of it this way: you type and
use the trackpad _on either Mac_, and it just works.
<http://abyssoft.com/software/teleport/>
(Incidentally, you will probably want to turn off the bezel display
that lets you know that Teleport is activated, as it appears smack
dab in the middle of your external monitor. To do this, make sure
Teleport is not running, open a Terminal window on your second
computer, and paste the following at the prompt.)
defaults write com.abyssoft.teleport hideControlBezel YES
Finally, let's say that for you, the discriminating Mac user, 23
inches of screen real estate is not enough. You want more. Your
MacBook can drive an external monitor at 1920 by 1200, so why limit
yourself to the paltry native size of the external display?
In fact, there's a Quartz hack that's been around for a while,
called AppleDisplayScaleFactor. You can use it to set the relative
size of any application on your Mac; the downside is that most
applications really can't deal with this and all sorts of bizarre
things start to happen, like having your clicks register as if they
were three inches away. As it happens, though, VNCThing works
perfectly with this hack, and bypasses all of the quirks that happen
in other applications. In other words, you can scale to your heart's
delight.
<http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/macosxhints/2006/08/guiscale/>
To make this magic happen, you first need to determine a scale
factor. I want to fit a 1920 by 1200 screen on a 1440 by 900
monitor, so that's exactly 75 percent. If your scale factor is the
same, make sure VNCThing is not running, and again open a Terminal
window on your second laptop. Paste the following:
defaults write VNCThing AppleDisplayScaleFactor 0.75
Fire up VNCThing again, and you'll see as much display real estate
as your primary laptop can pump out. With this hack in place, you'll
effectively have a 23-inch monitor and a 13-inch monitor, with a
total pixel count of 3.3 million. Compare that to 4.1 million on a
30-inch Apple Cinema display; yes, it's a bit smaller, but it's also
$2,000 cheaper.
And if that's still not enough, this all works fine with
VirtueDesktops, so you can run as many virtual desktops as you like
to go with your 3.3 million pixels.
<http://virtuedesktops.info/>
**The Human Factor** -- I'll answer the question that I'm sure many of
you have been pondering: yes, this setup is entirely portable. I
toss both laptops into my Brenthaven backpack and I'm good to go. My
guess is that the total weight I'm carrying is in the ballpark of 25
pounds; in any case, the bag doesn't feel any heavier than it
usually used to when I was just carrying around my 17-inch PowerBook
(and maybe a book or two). The first day I tried out this trick, I
took a two-mile hike on a park trail to breakfast, and arrived
slightly winded but without feeling like I had just deliberately
exercised. I'd think twice about trying this with a shoulder bag,
though.
I've added two things to my usual pile of gizmos I carry around: a
small power extension cord so I can plug two laptops into a single
jack, and an Ethernet cable.
As you might suspect, two laptops take up a bit of table space. If
you're familiar with the Kinko's laptop kiosks, I'm pretty much
filling one up right now. When I wrote this during dinner at a
restaurant, I asked for a table for four and barely had enough room
for my food along the nearest edge. This setup doesn't work at a
standard Starbucks round table. I'll stick to one laptop when I'm in
any busy location, as you really don't want to annoy the people
around you when they're busily carrying hot beverages next to $5,000
worth of your equipment.
And of course, some of the less geeky members of the general public
might find it a bit... odd that any one person needs to use two
laptops simultaneously. They might laugh, or point and stare, or
shake their heads sadly. Luckily, you'll have your headphones on and
will be staring intently at two screens, so you probably won't
notice.
[Jeff Porten is more thrilled with his new multiple monitor setup
than he probably should be.]
Take Control News/05-Feb-07
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8850>
**Month of Apple Sales: Getting Around to It** -- We're tired of the
childish "Hey, look at me while I break this!" Month of Apple Bugs
project, so here's a constructive alternative: four weekly "Month of
Apple Sales" offers on our Mac-specific Take Control ebooks
throughout the month of February.
First up is the Getting Around to It sale, in which we invite you to
consider the state of your New Year's resolutions after a month. If
one of them was to bring your Mac up to date with Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger, we're giving you a good reason to spend some of the slow,
early months of the year upgrading to Tiger and coming up to speed.
That way, you'll be in a position to watch Leopard's release and
first few months of upgrades from the safety of Tiger's stable and
mature vantage point. The reason? A whopping 60 percent discount on
the following big bundle of 7 ebooks, giving you over 700 pages of
essential information about Tiger for only $22 (normally $55).
* Take Control of Upgrading to Tiger
* Take Control of Customizing Tiger
* Take Control of Users & Accounts in Tiger
* Take Control of Syncing in Tiger
* Take Control of Passwords in Mac OS X
* Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac
* Take Control of Your AirPort Network
To take advantage of this discount, just purchase from the Month of
Apple Sales: Getting Around to It page.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/offers/moas1.html>
And yes, if you want the bundle but already own one of these books,
feel free to give your extra copy to a friend. Stay tuned for next
week's sale!
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/05-Feb-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8851>
**Remote support software** -- Although Timbuktu by itself can't punch
through a NAT gateway, it can do so with assistance from Skype or by
invitation from someone else running Timbuktu. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1118/>
**CSS Editing Tools** -- After mentioning CSSEdit 2, readers recommend
the Firefox Web Developer Extension. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1119/>
**Daylight Saving Time problems** -- Andrew Laurence's article about
problems arising from the United States changing Daylight Saving
Time this year raises more questions and answers. (7 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1120/>
**But will the ads feature crash test dummies?** Microsoft is spending
$500 million to market Windows Vista; an article in Advertising Age
explores this strategy, including information on growing Mac OS
market share. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1121/>
**Archiving and cataloging old projects** -- If you have lots of discs
filled with old projects, what's the best way to keep track of them?
Also, do you need to make sure you can open those files in their
native applications later? (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1122/>
**Monitoring usage of one's WLAN** -- What products are available to
monitor usage of a wireless network? A few suggestions are offered.
(3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1123/>
**AirPort Extreme 802.11n Throughput Limits** -- Following Glenn
Fleishman's reporting on the capabilities of the new AirPort
Extreme, a reader wonders if the device is switched to enable better
bandwidth for each connected user. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1124/>
**Eudora attachments** -- Email attachments from Eudora seemingly
aren't arriving at a colleague's computer, and some sleuthing
reveals a bug in Outlook 2002. (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1125/>
**Copy one disk to three others?** Is it possible to copy the contents
of one hard drive to three others simultaneously? (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1126/>
**Syncing Music From Desktop to Laptop via iPod** -- What's the best
approach to transfer downloaded music to one machine? (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1127/>
**Certificates in my Keychain** -- A reader asks for clarification
about certificates in his keychain... where did they come from, and
is there a security risk? (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1128/>
$$
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