TidBITS#887/09-Jul-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/887>
Wireless networking is certainly convenient, but is there a faster
way of pushing bits through the home without stringing Ethernet
cable? Kevin van Haaren explores Powerline networking, which zips
data through his house using the electrical cables already in the
walls. Also in this issue, Glenn Fleishman follows up last week's
iPhone coverage with specifics on AppleCare and service options, and
Adam explains why the ChangeShortName utility is useful. Rounding
out the news, we note the releases of Nisus Writer Pro, an Apple fix
for Intel-based Macs that experienced popping sounds under Mac OS X
10.4.10, and the release candidate version of the virtualization
software Fusion. And speaking of Fusion, please welcome the
program's developer VMware as the newest TidBITS sponsor!
Articles
VMware Sponsoring TidBITS
Apple Silences Mac OS X 10.4.10 Popping Sounds
Nisus Writer Pro Restores Classic Features
VMware Posts Fusion Release Candidate, Announces Final Pricing
ChangeShortName Simplifies Name Changing
AppleCare, Battery Replacement, Service for iPhone
Trading In-Home Wi-Fi for Powerline Networking
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/09-Jul-07
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JavaScript, new Ruby/SQL/YAML/Markdown support, code folding.
Over 160 new features in all! <http://www.barebones.com/>.
* Microsoft's MacBU: Supporting Mac users with Office 2004.
Supporting the Mac community through tech support newsgroups,
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Check out our team blog at <http://blogs.msdn.com/macmojo/>
* VMware Fusion. Say goodbye to the Windows desktop and run any PC
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<http://www.tidbits.com/about/support/vmware-fusion.html>
---------- Help support TidBITS by supporting our sponsors ------------
VMware Sponsoring TidBITS
-------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9070>
We're pleased to welcome our latest long-term sponsor, VMware, the
company that is not just the latest entrant into the virtualization
market for Intel-based Macs, but also the overall market leader in
virtualization.
<http://www.vmware.com/>
Without a doubt, the biggest story in the Macintosh world over the
last year has been the switch to Intel processors, largely because
it introduced virtualization to the platform. Although most Mac
users think of virtualization as giving them the capability to run
Windows programs on a Mac, it more generally encapsulates an entire
operating system within a virtual machine - the virtualization
application pretends to be a physical computer. With virtualization,
you can run multiple operating systems simultaneously, but you can
also distribute virtual machines with pre-configured software to
many users in an organization, test software in a clean environment
and easily revert back to a clean state after running a test, move
complex server configurations between different computers, and more.
In short, virtualization is important stuff, and I expect that we'll
be seeing more of it on the Mac.
VMware Fusion, slated for release in August 2007 but available now
for download in Release Candidate form and for pre-order at 50
percent off, is VMware's first Mac product. Although it's too soon
to review it or compare it to the competition, it looks extremely
promising. I particularly like the Unity feature that eliminates the
Windows desktop entirely. I don't like using Windows, and when I
want to run a Windows application, I'm interested only in that
application, not in anything else related to Windows. That's what
Unity does: it breaks Windows applications out of the Windows
desktop and lets them mix with Mac applications (check out this
YouTube video if you're having trouble visualizing this). They can
appear in the Dock, show up as individual windows in Exposé, and
even accept drag-and-drop from other applications. Sure, they still
look like Windows applications, but that's a small price to pay for
letting you avoid Windows itself.
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/support/vmware-fusion.html>
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIApJMzGzDQ>
Thanks to VMware for their support of TidBITS and the Mac community!
Apple Silences Mac OS X 10.4.10 Popping Sounds
----------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9068>
If you installed Mac OS X 10.4.10 before 02-Jul-07, you probably got
version 1.0 of the update, which caused some Intel-based Macs with
external speakers to experience "popping" sounds. PowerPC-based Macs
weren't affected. (For details on what was fixed in Mac OS X
10.4.10, see "Mac OS X 10.4.10 Released," 2007-06-25.)
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9047>
Apple has now released a variety of updates to address this annoying
problem. If you haven't yet installed the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update on
an Intel-based Mac, you'll now see a fixed version 1.1 in Software
Update; it's also available as a standalone download in both delta
(72 MB) and combo (297 MB) forms. Those who have already installed
Mac OS X 10.4.10 will instead see Audio Update 2007-001 in Software
Update; it too is available as a 660K standalone download.
<http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/macosx10410updatev11intel.html>
<http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/macosx10410comboupdatev11intel.html>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305840>
<http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/macosx_updates/audioupdate2007001.html>
Nisus Writer Pro Restores Classic Features
------------------------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9071>
Nisus Software has released Nisus Writer Pro, a new word processor
based on their earlier product, Nisus Writer Express (which remains
available). Nisus Writer Pro adds numerous features that appeared in
Nisus Writer Classic but hadn't yet been seen in a native Mac OS X
version of the program. Nisus Writer Pro can perform
attribute-sensitive find and replace operations (both manually and
in macros) and expand glossary entries on the fly (somewhat like
Word's AutoCorrect feature). Other newly added (or "restored," if
you prefer) features include tables of contents, indexing,
cross-references, bookmarks, text wrap around images, widow and
orphan control, multi-page footnotes, line numbering, and an
expanded macro language.
<http://www.nisus.com/pro/>
Nisus Writer Pro costs $79, or $99 for a three-license Family Pack;
single upgrades from Nisus Writer Express are $45. (Prices for Nisus
Writer Express have been reduced to $45 for single users and $79 for
Family Packs.) Nisus Writer Pro is a 103 MB download; a 15-day free
trial version is available.
VMware Posts Fusion Release Candidate, Announces Final Pricing
--------------------------------------------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9069>
VMware last week posted the first release candidate for Fusion,
their software for running Windows on Intel-based Macs. This version
includes improvements to Unity, a mode in which Windows applications
can run side-by-side with Mac applications, rather than in a
separate Windows window. Unity now supports drag-and-drop, offers a
menu of Windows applications in the Fusion Dock icon, works with
more versions of Windows, and features several other improvements.
Release Candidate 1 also provides better keyboard support, including
the option to use Control-click with a one-button mouse to produce a
right click in Windows. Other improvements include better
performance for Boot Camp-based virtual machines, new memory
optimization options, and a variety of bug fixes. Fusion RC 1 is a
160 MB download.
<http://www.vmware.com/beta/fusion/>
VMware has announced that Fusion will retail for $79.99 when it
ships by the end of August. Customers who pre-order it before the
final release get a 50 percent discount.
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/support/vmware-fusion.html>
ChangeShortName Simplifies Name Changing
----------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9059>
Unsatisfied with your identity in Mac OS X? Bothered that the person
being asked to provide an administrator password isn't really _you_?
You can always open the Accounts pane of System Preferences and
change the Name field that holds your full name. But the Short Name
field below it remains frustratingly immutable, even after you click
the lock icon, making you think, perhaps, that Mac OS X is being
unnecessarily over-protective.
This is backwards. Your full name is what you can't escape, the one
inscribed on your birth certificate. But short names, whether
they're chosen, assigned, or merely accidental, are more malleable.
My late grandfather Orville was known to his friends as Barb, a
seemingly inexplicable nickname for a powerfully built farmer who
could fix electric fences without turning off the heat. It was
finally explained to me that it was short for "barbarian," a
reference to his football and boxing prowess at Cornell University
in the 1930s.
Had Grandpa accidentally set his short name in Mac OS X to "orville"
when he would have preferred "barb", the ChangeShortName utility
from James Bucanek and Dan Frakes would have come in handy. It is
possible to change a short name in Mac OS X with appropriate
incantations at the command line and gestures in Apple's NetInfo
Manager, along with edits to configuration files. But it's a tedious
process involving so many steps that not even Apple's official
instructions are complete. It's also prone to errors: if you mess
up, you're looking at significant recovery efforts.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106824>
ChangeShortName makes this process far easier and more foolproof by
encapsulating all the steps necessary to change an account's short
name. All you have to do is select an existing name, enter the new
name, and click a button. Plus, if you've tried and failed to change
a short name on your own, it can also repair some of the damage. It
requires Mac OS X 10.3 or later, and is free, though donations are
requested. Even with ChangeShortName, changing your short name isn't
the sort of thing to do lightly, so be sure to read the included
documentation before using it. It's a 424K download.
<http://www.danfrakes.com/ChangeShortName.html>
AppleCare, Battery Replacement, Service for iPhone
--------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9067>
The costs of extending your iPhone's warranty, replacing its
battery, and having it otherwise repaired are now available. I
mistakenly wrote last week in "My First Days with the iPhone"
(2007-07-02) that Apple hadn't yet provided details on its AppleCare
plan; in fact, those were apparently available for at least a day on
the Apple Store's ordering page for the iPhone (click the Warranty
button in the bottom right). Other repair information appears to
have shown up on or around 02-Jul-07.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9062>
<http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&node=home/iphone/iphone>
The warranty included with the iPhone covers defects for one year
and technical support for two years; the latter is tied in with the
usual policy of cellular operators providing phone support during a
contract period. AppleCare costs $69 per phone and extends the
warranty against defects to two years. It may be purchased any time
during the first year of ownership, but it's not yet available for
sale. Apple is promising AppleCare availability in July, as store
employees at an Apple Store told me at the iPhone launch.
Accidents and loss aren't covered, which is consistent with Apple's
other warranty programs. However, most cell companies also offer
what is generally overpriced, but mostly inclusive, insurance
against loss and accidental damage to supplement free coverage for
defect repairs. These plans cost $30 to $60 per year, billed
monthly, and have a deductible of $35 to $50 or even more, depending
on the phone. You can get your phone replaced or repaired only a
limited number of times, and the insurer can choose to provide a
comparable phone. Apple is having none of that.
Cell carriers, by the way, often do a terrible job of repairing
phones that have warranty-covered defects within a reasonable time,
while Apple's computer repair service typically gets top ratings by
consumer publications. AT&T and Apple are handling repairs and
returns through Apple Stores and mail order; AT&T Stores won't
handle hardware after it's sold.
According to Apple's iPhone service FAQ, the price for servicing an
iPhone with a repair that falls outside either the covered warranty
terms or the warranty period is $199 for a 4 GB model and $249 for
an 8 GB model. If just the battery needs to be replaced, that's a
separate program that costs $85.95 ($79 plus $6.95 shipping).
Battery replacement and other services take about three business
days. I expect Apple will send out a lot of refurbished iPhones in
favor of repairing purchased iPhones given the amount of soldering
on the iPhone; see iFixIt's tear-down.
<http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/service/faq/>
<http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPhone>
Most people can't be without a phone for three working days (which
might mean five or six over a long weekend). Apple has a deal for
you: the Apple Service Phone, a $29 rental that lasts until a few
days after your iPhone is repaired.
<http://www.apple.com/legal/terms/iphonerental.html>
The rental phone must be returned 7 days after you receive a
repaired phone back by shipping service, 5 days after your phone is
ready for pickup at an Apple Store, or 10 days after it's sent if
you fail to send your broken iPhone in at all. There's an extra $50
charge if you return it late, and a $600 reserve placed on your
credit card that's turned into a charge if you fail to return it
within 10 days of the end of the loan.
The SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card that's used to identify
your account uniquely can be removed from the iPhone by poking a
paper clip into a hole at the top of the iPhone. That SIM card can
be swapped into the rental phone before you send back your own model
for repair. If you send the SIM card in when you return a rental
phone, you have to contact AT&T to get a new one.
Apple also offers a page of tips on conserving and extending battery
life.
<http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html>
Trading In-Home Wi-Fi for Powerline Networking
----------------------------------------------
by Kevin van Haaren <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9050>
After my PowerBook G4's CPU destroyed itself, I replaced it with a
much cheaper, but less portable, Mac mini in my living room. When I
made this change my wireless network became just a way to bridge the
computers in my home office with the computers in the living room.
Although 802.11g wireless networking works adequately for this
purpose, I always have my eye out for something faster. My iTunes
library is stored on a machine in my computer room and is almost 100
GB in size. Synchronizing my video iPod from the Mac mini in my
living room could do with a bit of a speed boost.
Upgrading to 802.11n, with its significantly faster performance, is
not really an option. Apple doesn't offer an upgrade for older Macs
that lack the 802.11n hardware. USB adapters may be available for
other companies' 802.11n implementations, but I'd need to purchase
an adapter for each device I wanted to add to the network.
While wandering around the computer store recently (a habit I really
should try to stop) I found that HomePlug adapters had recently
received a boost in throughput. For many years the HomePlug
Powerline Alliance has promulgated a standard for Ethernet over
electrical wires called HomePlug 1.0. Unfortunately this standard
maxes out at around 14 Mbps, which is hardly fast enough for home
users accustomed to (theoretical) 100 Mbps wired connections and 54
Mbps wireless connections.
Two competing standards have arisen to provide the next generation
in Ethernet over home electrical systems. The first is the HomePlug
AV standard produced by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. The second,
called Powerline HD, is from the Universal Powerline Association.
<http://www.homeplug.org/products/whitepapers/>
<http://www.upaplc.org/page_viewer.asp?section=Resources&sid=10&page=Current+Specifications&pid=7>
The two standards offer similar functionality. Both claim a
theoretical maximum throughput of 200 Mbps. Both offer improved
encryption and quality-of-service (QoS) options over the older
specification. The specifics of the standards differ enough that you
can't use a Powerline HD adapter to connect to a HomePlug AV
adapter. Unfortunately, like Betamax versus VHS and Blu-ray versus
HD-DVD, having multiple competing standards will hurt adoption of
the technology by consumers.
At the store, there were no HomePlug AV adapters in stock, but
Powerline HD adapters from both D-Link and Netgear were available. I
chose the D-Link Powerline HD adapters based on price ($180 for the
two-adapter starter kit versus $200 for the Netgear starter kit).
<http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=533>
<http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters/HDXB101.aspx>
**Installation** -- Installation was extremely simple; all I had to do
was plug the Powerline adapters straight into a wall jack (it's
important to plug directly into a wall outlet, and not to use a
surge protector or UPS). Neither HomePlug nor Powerline signals will
cross a transformer, which is seldom an issue in residential
construction.
You may wish to use a simple circuit tester to verify your plugs are
wired correctly. In my testing, Powerline adapters worked plugged in
either way (the adapters aren't polarized), which means they'll work
with incorrectly wired circuits, but circuits with reversed wiring
are a safety hazard, so it wouldn't hurt to test anyway. A weird
effect appeared in my testing, however. I saw the fastest file
transfers with one adapter plugged in normally and the other plugged
in reversed.
<http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100062242>
The D-Link Powerline adapter has three lights: one shows that it is
receiving power, another indicates it has detected another Powerline
adapter, and a final light indicates when a live Ethernet connection
has been established. The adapters will work in the default
configuration, but on the default D-Link network and without
encryption. If you live in an apartment building, or if your house
shares a transformer with other houses, your signal could be
available at their power outlets. (And I don't know about you, but I
don't want my neighbor's blender to be able to snoop on my email!)
**Configuration** -- Setting up your own network name and turning on
encryption requires that you configure the adapters, which,
unfortunately, requires a Windows computer. (Every HomePlug AV and
Powerline HD adapter I've found has this same requirement.)
Configuration certainly should work from Windows running under Boot
Camp and will probably also work from Windows running under
Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. However, I've not tested any of
these options myself.
To get started with configuration, you plug the adapters into the
wall jacks (preferably in their final locations, but that's not
necessary). Both adapters should indicate they see another Powerline
adapter.
Next, using an Ethernet cable, plug your Windows computer directly
into one of the adapters and launch the configuration software that
comes with the adapters. It automatically detects both adapters,
showing one as ETH and the other as PLC. The ETH (short for
Ethernet?) adapter is the one directly connected to the computer and
the PLC ("Powerline Connected" perhaps?) adapter is the remote one.
First configure the remote (PLC) node. If you first set up the node
you are plugged into (ETH), the adapters will no longer be able to
see each other and the configuration software will not be able to
talk to the remote adapter.
Basic configuration consists of assigning a Net-ID (similar to an
SSID on a wireless network) and encryption key (just like the
encryption key on a wireless network). Plus, you can give each
adapter a more identifiable name - I named mine for their physical
locations - and you can set a configuration password to prevent
other users from changing your configuration. Once you've done the
PLC adapter, repeat the process with the ETH adapter.
Advanced configuration lets you set two rules for
quality-of-service, which enables you to prioritize your traffic.
For example, you can give Skype packets a higher priority than other
packets. This would help keep the voice quality of your Skype
communications high, while an FTP file transfer going on at the same
time would be slowed down. Gamers may wish to set certain game
traffic higher than regular traffic to keep their games from lagging
behind other players. Since I have no need for QoS on my setup,
however, I stuck with the basic configuration.
**Real World File Transfer Tests** -- To get a feel for how fast the
adapters operate in the real world, I ran several tests, first over
the wireless network, next over the Powerline connection, and then
comparing to wired Ethernet. To keep the configurations as similar
as possible, both networks used encryption (WPA for the wireless)
and had no QoS rules in place. I repeated the tests over a couple of
days to verify the reliability of the numbers.
Initially, I transferred a 1.4 GB file via FTP from my Linux server
using pure-ftpd to the Mac running Interarchy. According to
Interarchy's transcript, the wireless transfer of 1,472,156.9
kilobytes took 1,797 seconds (just under 30 minutes) or 6.4 megabits
per second (Mbps). (Remember that 802.11g has a theoretical
bandwidth maximum of 54 Mbps.)
The Powerline adapters demonstrated quite a bit of variation in
transfer rates. The worst transfer took 1,210 seconds (a hair over
20 minutes) or 9.52 Mbps. The best clocked in at 948 seconds (almost
16 minutes), or 12.16 Mbps. Most transfers ran at around 10 Mbps,
putting the Powerline adapters at 50 to 100 percent faster than my
802.11g wireless network, if nowhere near the 200 Mbps theoretical
maximum. I can't really account for variation in the rates, although
noise on the power lines, such as from an air conditioner, compact
fluorescent lights, or washing machines, may be involved.
Next, I decided to compare the results to a direct Ethernet
connection. I don't have a long enough network cable to test this in
my current setup, so I moved the Mac mini to my computer room and
connected it via 100 Mbps Ethernet. With this setup, transferring
the 1.4 GB file via Interarchy showed a significantly faster result
of nearly 87 Mbps, or almost 9 times better than the Powerline
adapters. Clearly, if performance is key and you can run real
Ethernet cable, it's the preferred way to bridge two locations.
**Network and Ideal Situation Performance Tests** -- In addition to
testing with Interarchy, I used the network performance tool Iperf
to measure pure network throughput. Testing with file transfers
involves the operating system, file system, and hard drives. It's a
good benchmark for expected real world operations but doesn't
isolate just the network component. Iperf measures just the network.
<http://dast.nlanr.net/Projects/Iperf/>
Since I had already moved the Mac mini to my computer room for the
Ethernet test, I also decided to do some additional tests of
wireless and Powerline connections in an ideal setup. My wireless
router is in the computer room, so I tested a wireless connection
with the Mac mini just a few feet from the router. Iperf recorded a
throughput of 12.8 Mbps, but the Interarchy test dropped back down
to 7.0 Mbps, just a touch faster than when the Mac mini was in the
living room.
For the ideal Powerline test, I plugged the two adapters into the
same electrical outlet. It doesn't get more ideal than that for
Powerline adapters - no circuit breakers or fuses to cross, and less
noise on the line from other devices. In this ideal configuration,
Iperf reported a throughput of 69 Mbps, and Interarchy reported 65
Mbps, nearly 7 times faster than my real world configuration. This
result suggests that I should try to find two outlets that share the
same circuit breaker. Unfortunately, the builder of my house
neglected to label my circuit panel, so until I can get a wire
tracer I'll have to just move the adapters around and see if I get
better results with different outlets.
For comparison, with the 100 Mbps wired Ethernet connection, Iperf
reported a throughput of 91.1 Mbps, which is a huge increase over
both the wireless and Powerline connections. Ethernet really is the
way to go for maximum performance, assuming it's feasible to run
cable to the necessary locations.
**Latency Tests** -- I made one other test of the adapters: latency.
Network latency is a measure of how long it takes packets to travel
through a network. Although the file transfer measurements above are
typically referred to as "speeds," they're really a measurement of
bandwidth. Think of a pipe with water coming out at a rate of one
liter per minute. To get water faster - say, two liters per minute -
I have two options: I could push the water molecules through the
pipe faster, or I could make the pipe larger. Although individual
water molecules in the larger pipe still take the same amount of
time to travel, more of them are traveling in the same amount of
time, making the rate appear faster. Networks can do the same thing.
Bits can travel through the system faster, or more of them can be
transferred at the same time.
To measure the round-trip latency of each connection, I used the
ping command, which sends an "Are you there?" packet to a device.
The device, if present and active, responds with a "Yes." The
sending computer can time how long it takes to receive the answering
packet, which is the round-trip latency of the network.
I used Mac OS X's built-in ping command in Terminal to ping my Linux
server 100 times. Over the 802.11g wireless network the ping command
reported a minimum transit time of 1.5 ms (milliseconds), an average
of 1.8 ms, and a maximum time of 4.8 ms.
Like the transfer rates, the latency when using the Powerline
adapters changed over several days. The worst was a minimum time of
1.5 ms, an average of 9.1 ms, and a maximum of 121.7 ms. Most of the
tests came out to a minimum of 1.5 ms, with an average of 3.5 ms and
a max of 27 ms. Although they push a lot of packets through, the
D-Link Powerline adapters seem to have a very high (and variable)
latency. This means that, even with the QoS features, the Powerline
adapters may be less suitable than other network types for VoIP
(Voice over IP) applications such as Skype and iChat.
**Summary** -- On price it doesn't appear the D-Link adapters can be
beat. Both other Powerline HD and HomePlug AV adapters appear to be
more expensive than the D-Link adapters, and they're also cheaper
than outfitting multiple Macs with new wireless gear, and are likely
cheaper (or at least easier) than running Ethernet cable inside
walls. The downside is that because of the competing Powerline HD
and HomePlug AV standards, I may be locked into purchasing D-Link
adapters to expand my network.
In terms of performance, the D-Link adapters are good, but not
stunning. They seem to have a high network latency, but since my
network needs to bridge only two locations, and since my use is
mainly downloading files, either through Web browsing or moving TiVo
movie or iPod music files around, the 50 to 100 percent increase in
throughput over 802.11g is certainly welcome.
PayBITS: If Kevin's comparative testing was helpful to
you, consider thanking him with a few bucks via PayPal!
<https://www.paypal.com/xclick/[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Read more about PayBITS: <http://www.tidbits.com/paybits/>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/09-Jul-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9072>
**iPhone without the phone part** -- A number of people want all the
features of the iPhone except the phone - essentially, a really cool
iPod or a small tablet Mac. But that device might already exist in
the form of the Nokia N800. (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1355/>
**External hard drives for Mac & PC to share** -- What's the best
approach for buying an external hard drive that needs to be accessed
by Macs and Windows PCs? Readers narrow how the drive will be used
and offer suggestions (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1356/>
**Reloading Apple data** -- A .Mac meltdown has prompted a reader to
abandon Apple's online service, but how does .Mac communicate with
Apple's applications? (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1357/>
**iPhone: why wait?** Some people are taking a wait-and-see attitude
about the iPhone, since it is, after all, a 1.0 product. But a
reader wonders if he should just skip the waiting and dive right in.
(1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1358/>
**Apple Silences Mac OS X 10.4.10 Popping Sounds** -- Apple's latest
operating system fix is a relief to many, but one reader's
PowerPC-based Mac is exhibiting the audio troubles that seemed to be
isolated to Intel-based Macs. A few workarounds are suggested. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1360/>
**iPhone in Europe?** -- Apple hasn't yet brought the iPhone to the
European market, but what about service for travelers who purchased
the device in the United States? (9 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1361/>
**iPhone charging tip** -- An iPhone owner shares advice about getting
the most power out of the device. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1362/>
**Entering recurring lunar events in iCal** -- Is it possible to mark
events in iCal as "every quarter moon" or "every 10th and 25th day
of every lunar month"? (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1363/>
**Can my old Mac run my weekend house?** What resources are available
to find out if an old Mac can control heating and other systems in a
house that's uninhabited for most of the week? (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1365/>
$$
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