TidBITS#925/21-Apr-08
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/925>
TidBITS is 18 this week! That's at least 234 in Internet years, but
we're not slowing down any time soon. To celebrate, Adam takes a
stroll down memory lane to see just how far the Macintosh world has
come since 1990, and we offer a special 50-percent-off sale for all
Take Control ebooks. Also this week, Glenn uses TheCodingMonkeys'
Port Map to punch holes in his network (in a sensitive, New Age way,
of course), and also runs down the latest "unlimited" calling plan,
this time from voice-over-IP provider Skype. We also cover the
releases of Safari 3.1.1 and BusySync 2.0, and, in the TidBITS
Watchlist, look briefly at updates to Apple TV, Mactracker,
1Password, Teleport, Camino, Interarchy, ConceptDraw, Google Earth,
and Typinator.
Articles
Safari 3.1.1 Addresses Security Issues
Take Control News: Save 50 Percent on All Our Ebooks
BusySync 2.0 Released with Google Calendar Support
Skype Offers Unmetered Worldwide Calling Plans
Punch Through NAT with Port Map's Port Forwarding
Follow Along Through 18 Years of TidBITS
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 21-Apr-08
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/21-Apr-08
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Safari 3.1.1 Addresses Security Issues
--------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9570>
Apple has released Safari 3.1.1 for Mac and Windows, a security
update that fixes a vulnerability exploited in the recent Pwn2Own
hacking contest at the CanSecWest conference (see "Apple Becomes
First Victim in Hacking Contest," 2008-03-28). According to the
security release notes for Safari 3.1.1, the update tackles the
JavaScript weakness in WebKit exposed at the conference by
"performing additional validation of JavaScript regular expressions"
to prevent a heap buffer overflow.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/safari311.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9529>
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1467>
A flaw where a colon character in a maliciously crafted URL could
lead to a cross-site scripting attack has also been repaired. Two
other fixes are specific to the Windows version of Safari: a timing
issue that opened up control of the address bar and a memory
corruption issue.
Safari 3.1.1 is available via Software Update or as a 39 MB
download. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.2, or
Windows XP or Vista on the PC.
Take Control News: Save 50 Percent on All Our Ebooks
----------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9574>
To celebrate of the 18th anniversary of TidBITS, we're offering a
50% discount on all Take Control and Macworld Superguide ebooks
through next Tuesday, April 29th. To take advantage of the sale, use
this link to start shopping in our catalog; the necessary coupon
code will be applied automatically in the first screen of the
shopping cart. Note that you can select multiple books from the
different tabs in the catalog's tabbed interface before clicking the
Buy Selected Ebooks button to add them to your cart. (Print books
are not included in the sale.)
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/catalog.html?14@@!pt=TCNEWS-TB18&cp=CPN80410TB18>
New and recently updated titles you might especially want to check
out include:
* Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac"
* Steve Sande's "Take Control of iWeb: iLife '08 Edition"
* Ted Landau's "Take Control of Your iPhone"
* Brian Tanaka's "Take Control of Permissions in Leopard"
* Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Easy Backups in Leopard"
* Matt Neuburg's "Take Control of Customizing Leopard"
Also be sure to check out the latest ebooks from Macworld:
* "Macworld Mac OS X Hints Superguide, Leopard Edition"
* "Macworld Total Leopard Superguide"
Although print versions of our books are not included in the sale,
print copies ordered from within an existing ebook are still
discounted at the cover price, not the price you pay during the
sale. So, if you buy a copy of "Take Control of Switching to the
Mac" for $5 during the sale, clicking the Print link at the top of
the first page will still save you $10 off the normal print price.
(For older ebooks that predate the Print link, just click the Check
for Updates button and then click the Order Print Copy tab in the
Web page that appears.)
BusySync 2.0 Released with Google Calendar Support
--------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9571>
BusyMac has released BusySync 2.0, an update to its software that
synchronizes iCal calendars across systems. The new version's
primary change beyond bug fixes and robustness is the capability to
synchronize with Google Calendar. This addition overcomes a key
weakness in the previous BusySync 1.5, which was the inability for a
BusySync calendar subscriber to connect to a BusySync calendar
publisher if the publishing system was located on a private network
that lacked a publicly reachable IP address or required port mapping
beyond a user's ability to configure.
<http://www.busymac.com/>
<http://www.google.com/calendar/>
BusySync enables you to publish a calendar on any Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger or 10.5 Leopard system on which BusySync is running. You can
choose to let others subscribe with or without a password, and
enable read-only access (like the standard iCal publish/subscribe
model), or read/write access, in which a subscriber can add, delete,
or modify events just as well as the publisher.
With support for the free, still-in-beta Google Calendar - which
seems to be the release state for most Google Web applications -
BusySync users can create an intermediate calendar hosted at Google
that accepts changes bi-directionally. The Google Calendar acts as a
conduit that both publisher and subscribers can access, avoiding the
block of private networks.
BusySync 2.0 carries out this neat trick by using your Google
account to pull down and push information to any Google Calendar you
create. Because you can use Google Calendar to share your calendar
with others using view or modify permissions, BusySync can pass
events back and forth between iCal and Google Calendar. Anyone with
whom you've shared your Google Calendar, and who likewise has
BusySync 2.0 installed, can then retrieve and sync events with a
local iCal calendar. BusySync has more details about Google Calendar
setup in its online help.
<http://www.busymac.com/busysync/userguide.html#google>
BusySync 2.0 also works, sometimes, with Leopard's Back to My Mac
feature. Back to My Mac creates an encrypted tunnel between any two
Macs under your control. I had Back to My Mac turned on during much
of my beta testing of BusySync 2.0, and BusySync revealed a lot of
weaknesses in how Back to My Mac copes with other services trying to
use its connection. (If you see Back to My Mac in BusySync's beta
release notes, you can be sure I had something to do with reporting
- not fixing - the bug in question.)
<http://www.busymac.com/busysync/releasenotes.html>
BusySync 2.0 costs $25 for each computer on which it is running,
although BusyMac is selling it for $19.95 until 01-May-08 (and
discounts apply for bulk purchases); a 30-day trial version is
available as a 2.5 MB download. Updates are free to owners of a
prior version of BusySync. Version 2.0 is also backward compatible
with copies of version 1.5 running on your network.
Skype Offers Unmetered Worldwide Calling Plans
----------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9573>
eBay's Skype service has launched a new set of rates for unmetered
regional and worldwide calling through its SkypeOut system that
allows you to call "real" telephone numbers. Skype is associated
with Internet telephony, but has full support for incoming calls
that originate on and outgoing calls that terminate on the
traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN).
<http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#uscaSubscriptionTab>
The new service extends Skype's flat-rate U.S. and Canada calling
plan - which costs $2.95 per month - to landlines in 34 countries.
These 34 countries are typical of other VoIP calling plans; those
countries also currently feature among the lowest per-minute call
rates when paying Skype by the minute. For $9.95 per month, you can
make unmetered calls to landlines in all those countries.
Calls to landlines in three cities in Mexico - Mexico City,
Monterrey, and Guadalajara - is $5.95 per month, with "discounted
rates" to landlines and cell phones everywhere else in the country.
Skype oddly doesn't yet include its per-country pricing on its main
subscription page; they show these prices only in a press release
denominated in euros. Unmetered calling to landlines in a single
choice of 20 European nations costs about $3.50 per month, or to
landlines in any one of the 14 other countries for about $5.95 per
month. Unmetered calling to all 20 European nations is about $5.95
per month. There are special offerings for Asia and Brazil, too.
<http://about.skype.com/2008/04/skype_announces_unlimited_long.html>
These plans are comparable to offerings that are part of existing
Internet telephone services such as Vonage, but Skype has unbundled
them from other voice service requirements. My office "landline,"
for instance, is a VoIP service that runs about $30 per month from
Speakeasy Networks (now part of Best Buy) that includes unmetered
calls to a similar set of 30-odd countries' landlines, but it cannot
be purchased as a separate plan.
<http://www.speakeasy.net/home/voip/>
Cellular carriers are excluded from unmetered service outside the
United States and Canada, because operators in most countries
typically charge ruinous rates even within the same country for
calls that start on a landline or VoIP system (which uses landline
interchanges) and are placed to a cellular caller.
You may note I use the term "unmetered" instead of Skype's preferred
use of "unlimited" with an asterisk. The footnote for this service
says that unlimited means a "fair use" of no more than 10,000
minutes per month. That would not be unlimited. Verizon Wireless
settled a complaint over the misleading use of the term unlimited
with the New York Attorney General's office in 2007 in conjunction
with its cellular broadband service. The company rightly no longer
uses that term, and has a well-written explanation of limitations,
too.
<http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2007/oct/oct23a_07.html>
<http://wifinetnews.com/archives/008011.html>
Use of Skype requires the installation of a free client for Mac OS
X, Windows, and other platforms, or the use of Skype-enabled VoIP
phones or software installed on mobile phones that allow third-party
VoIP applications for Wi-Fi-based calls.
Punch Through NAT with Port Map's Port Forwarding
-------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9568>
TheCodingMonkeys has released the free, open-source Port Map
application to make it easy for users and developers alike to
control a router's capability to open up access for particular
programs from the outside world. Most home network routers use
network address translation (NAT) to connect private network
addresses - IP addresses that are non-routable or unreachable from
outside the local network - with a single routable IP address
assigned to the router. Unfortunately, this method means that
individual computers can't offer up their own services, like a Web
server, or accept incoming connections for games or other
Internet-spanning programs, like TheCodingMonkeys' collaborative
editing package SubEthaEdit.
<http://www.codingmonkeys.de/portmap/>
<http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/>
But NAT isn't a brick wall, even though it's often called a passive
firewall. Most NAT-capable routers also include one of two standard
methods of allowing software running on a computer with a private
address to ask the router to open up a limited form of incoming
access. Automatic port mapping protocols on the router open one or
more ports - a kind of numbered slot that can be attached to an IP
address - and hand the port number or numbers back to the requesting
software. As long as the router itself has a publicly routable IP
address that can be reached via the Internet, port-mapped
applications can now be reached as well.
Static, manual port mapping, called either "port mapping" or "port
forwarding," lets you set a persistent port that you choose to map
to a given computer and service on the local network. In contrast,
automatic port mapping usually picks an arbitrary internal port that
can change whenever the router is restarted or when you disable and
re-enable the service you're mapping.
All Apple Wi-Fi gear starting in 2003 includes a version of an
Internet standard developed by Apple called NAT-PMP (Network Address
Translation-Port Mapping Protocol). Most other Wi-Fi and broadband
gateways use a more full-featured but balky technology known as UPnP
(Universal Plug and Play). Port Map supports both NAT-PMP and UPnP.
To use Port Map, you need to figure out which ports are used by the
program you want to expose to the Internet. This can be simple in
some cases. For instance, Web servers almost always use port 80,
although they can be configured to use another port. Port Map
includes presets for a few programs and services; the list could be
more fully populated. You may need to consult the user's manual or
online help to find the port or ports needed for your purposes.
You can use Port Map to request a particular public port on the
router, although the router doesn't have to honor that request, and
only one service can use a given public port at a time. If you're
running a Web server that's designed to be widely reachable, you
want its public port to be 80, because that's the port used
implicitly by every Web browser. (It is possible to include a port
number in a URL explicitly by adding a colon and the number, such as
http://www.example.com:1633/.)
The related problem with automatic port mapping is that if you don't
use a well-known public port for a given service, you need to
publicize the port. Back to My Mac uses NAT-PMP and UPnP, and it
uses .Mac to pass information about what ports were assigned among
your various Back to My Mac-enabled computers. With Port Map, you
need to distribute that information. After setting up a port
mapping, you can select it, and Port Map displays a URL that you've
defined or that's drawn from the preset information that you then
give to others or use yourself to access the service remotely.
In practical use, Port Map would work as follows: I want to use
SubEthaEdit with a friend. I launch SubEthaEdit and Port Map. I
select the SubEthaEdit entry that I've already created and set it to
On, or I create a new entry if one doesn't exist. Port Map generates
a URL, and I convey that to my friend via iChat, email, or phone. My
friend then uses the URL to connect to my copy of SubEthaEdit.
Two alternatives to Port Map are available on the market. Codelaide
Software's Lighthouse ($12.99, 14-day demo) is similar to Port Map,
but with a much greater set of features, including a long list of
presets and the capability to import and export profiles. The
company also regularly updates presets that can be downloaded into
the software.
<http://www.codelaide.com/blog/products/lighthouse>
Bains Software's ShareTool ($20, 15-minute-at-a-time demo mode) is a
way to tunnel Bonjour discovery and resource access using automatic
port mapping to enable the secure connection of two systems running
their software. Since parts of Mac OS X (like file sharing and
screen sharing) and many individual applications use Bonjour to
advertise their availability, an encrypted tunnel for Bonjour
traffic effectively extends your local network. This lets you stream
music from a shared iTunes library outside your local network, for
instance.
<http://bainsware.com/sharetool/>
Port Map is clearly just a sketch of what can be done, and
TheCodingMonkeys have released their code to encourage developers to
incorporate more NAT sense into their Internet-enabled programs.
Follow Along Through 18 Years of TidBITS
----------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9575>
This week marks the 18th anniversary of TidBITS, which dates all the
way back to 1990. We've written something to celebrate the event
most years; see the TidBITS History series.
<http://db.tidbits.com/series/1166>
This year, in honor of TidBITS becoming old enough (in the United
States) to vote, be drafted, bear arms, own property, marry without
parental consent, see an NC-17 rated movie, and serve on a jury, I
want to look back at each of the anniversary issues of TidBITS to
see just how far we've come and how much things have changed. Follow
along then, as we start in...
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18_%28number%29#Age_18>
**1990** -- In TidBITS #1, I wrote about Lotus and Novell merging "in
a blow to industry leader Microsoft." Change the names and you have
Yahoo contemplating a merger with AOL to stave off Microsoft's
hostile offer. Also in that issue, I mentioned a powerline
networking technology that offered 38.4 Kbps of throughput;
powerline networking is now up to 200 Mbps, but still hasn't become
mainstream.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/1>
**1991** -- For TidBITS #54, we reported on the results of our first
survey of TidBITS readers. It's amusing to compare to the results of
our 2007 reader survey - see "TidBITS 2007 Reader Survey Results:
Who Are You?," (2007-03-12) and "TidBITS 2007 Reader Survey Results:
News & Info Sources" (2007-08-16).
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/54>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8904>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9075>
**1992** -- Jon Pugh joined us in TidBITS #120 to review SuperMac's
VideoSpigot card and ScreenPlay software for recording video; it's
interesting to think about how far video creation capabilities have
come since, with HD camcorders and software ranging from iMovie to
Final Cut Pro. We also had coverage of the CODE 252 virus,
apparently the third one to appear in a short time. Happily, the
virus problem on the Mac didn't worsen, and we have yet to see any
viruses that target Mac OS X.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/120>
**1993** -- In TidBITS #173, I bemoaned the demise of ThoughtPattern,
a free-form database and snippet keeper that I dearly loved at the
time. It's telling that we've seen (and reviewed) numerous similar
programs over the years; see the Conquer Your Text series. This
issue also marked the first appearance of Glenn Fleishman in TidBITS
- he was writing about the loss of the Quadra 700 from Apple's
product line. Little did we know then just how essential Glenn would
become to our future coverage and infrastructure.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/173>
<http://db.tidbits.com/series/1196>
**1994** -- In TidBITS #222, I noted that Tonya had started writing
more for TidBITS, having left her tech support job at Microsoft
following the success of my "Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh"
book. She wrote about upcoming PowerBook releases, including the
520/520c, the 540/540c, and the Duo 280/280c, along with the Duo
Dock II. We may still have Tonya's old Duo 230 in the attic; we
should put it side-by-side with a MacBook Air.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/222>
**1995** -- By TidBITS #273, Geoff Duncan had joined TidBITS, and he
wrote about how Apple was announcing next-day support on their
eWorld online service to bolster existing telephone support.
Telephone support is still available, but Apple has traded
one-on-one online support for the retail store Genius Bars. Of
course, having access to Apple's Knowledge Base online, along with
the Apple discussion forums, makes up for a lot. Tonya also reviewed
a CD-ROM-based ZIP code and telephone number database called
ProPhone. Now there's a product category that has been thoroughly
eliminated by the Internet.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/273>
**1996** -- In TidBITS #324, we announced our first translation of
TidBITS - into Dutch! The Dutch translation team has continued apace
and has been matched in consistency by the Japanese translation
team. Other languages have come and gone, and we have plans to make
translating individual articles much easier in the future.
Amusingly, we also reported on the possibility of IBM licensing the
Mac OS in that issue; although licensing is a thing of the past,
last week saw both much fuss about a potential Mac clone from
Psystar and reports that IBM was making it easier for employees to
switch to the Mac.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/324>
<http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/04/15/so_exactly_who_or_what_is_psystar_we_dig_a_little.html>
<http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/04/16/ibm-launches-pilot-program-for-migrating-to-macs/>
**1997** -- TidBITS #375 saw the release of Eudora 3.1 and Emailer
2.0. As huge as both programs were back in 1997, neither remains in
development. Although Eudora 6.2.4 continues to work in Mac OS X for
many users, development on the classic Eudora code base has ceased
and it remains to be seen if the program will transition
successfully to an open-source approach based on Thunderbird.
Although Emailer never made the jump to Mac OS X, some of its
development team made a different jump to Microsoft, where they
worked first on Outlook Express and then on Entourage. Also in that
issue, the $13,000 prize in the "Crack A Mac" challenge remained
unclaimed, a far cry from the quick takeover of a MacBook Air in the
Pwn2Own contest at CanSecWest (see "Apple Becomes First Victim in
Hacking Contest," 2008-03-28).
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/375>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9529>
**1998** -- In TidBITS #425, Matt Neuburg reviewed Word 98, noting
"many of Word 98's new features are really old features with
additional, optional interfaces laid on top of them." In some ways,
this is exactly what Microsoft has once again done with Word 2008,
changing the interface in an attempt to reveal existing features
more than changing the feature set itself.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/425>
**1999** -- In TidBITS #477, we noted Apple's $135 million profit in
Q2 1999 (the sixth profitable quarter in a row), giving the company
$2.9 billion in cash. That's not chump change, but Apple's Q1 2008
earnings report showed a $1.58 billion profit and $18.4 billion in
cash. Wow. Also in that issue, Connectix released a fix for Virtual
PC that fixed floppy disk problems on PowerBook G3s. As much as
Virtual PC was an amazing technical feat, it pales in comparison
with today's VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop running on
Intel-based Macs. Virtualization trumps emulation!
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/477>
**2000** -- TidBITS #527 saw the release of Now Up-to-Date & Contact
3.9, with Palm synchronization. Although Now Up-to-Date & Contact
made the leap into Mac OS X and continues to be a viable product,
Now Software is working on a complete rewrite. But more telling is
the fact that Palm synchronization isn't a big deal any more, partly
due to Apple's synchronization technologies and partly due to the
slide in popularity of Palm OS-based handhelds. It's all about the
iPhone these days.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/527>
**2001** -- In TidBITS #576, we covered the release of Mac OS X
10.0.1, a mere three weeks after the initial release of Mac OS X.
Over the last eight years, Mac OS X has seen five more major
releases that have taken the operating system from a curiosity to an
industrial-strength operating system used by millions. But you can
still bet on a quick bug fix release appearing within a few weeks of
each major release of Mac OS X.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/576>
**2002** -- In TidBITS #626, I announced the first edition of my
"iPhoto for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide." I didn't quite
realize then that I'd be updating it for the rest of time; I now
have seven editions on my shelf, the latest of which is "iPhoto '08:
Visual QuickStart Guide." More interesting, though, was the fact
that we released it as an ebook for those who pre-ordered the print
book (iPhoto 1.0 had significant problems, and we wanted to wait for
the soon-to-be-released 1.1 version before going to press). The huge
success of this ebook was one of the key factors in our decision to
start the Take Control series - clearly people liked ebooks when
they provided information that wasn't available in print form.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/626>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/iphoto7-vqs.html>
**2003** -- TidBITS #676 saw the release of the second public beta of
Safari, which we were able to describe as "widely adopted" even
though it hadn't yet seen its official release. Safari has gone on
to become the de facto Web browser for Mac users, and although no
one expected as much back in 2003, it has also migrated both to
Windows and to the iPhone.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/676>
**2004** -- In TidBITS #727, we looked at Apple's Q2 2004 financial
report, which included revenue from sales of over 750,000 Macs and
800,000 iPods, and resulted in a $46 million profit. Cash on hand
had almost doubled since 1999, to $4.6 billion. Although the numbers
aren't quite comparable (since Q1 2008 includes the holiday season
and Apple isn't set to report Q2 2008 results until 23-Apr-08), the
most recent quarter saw nearly 2.4 million Macs sold, along with
over 22 million iPods.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/727>
**2005** -- TidBITS #776 saw both the release of Mac OS X 10.3.9 (the
final version of Panther) and the announcement that Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger would appear on 29-Apr-05, marking an 18-month gap between the
initial release of Panther and the appearance of Tiger. Previous
intervals had been shorter, but the jump from Tiger to Leopard would
take 30 months, and it remains to be seen how long we'll be waiting
for the next big cat. Q2 2005 financials once again appeared in this
issue, with Apple selling 749,000 Macs and 807,000 iPods to post a
$290 million profit and reach $7.06 billion in cash.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/776>
**2006** -- In TidBITS #826, we were talking about Aperture 1.1 and
Apple Remote Desktop 3, and Kevin van Haaren contributed an article
of Windows tips for Mac users, given the increasing use of Boot Camp
and Parallels Workstation (soon to be renamed Parallels Desktop).
What I find interesting about this is just how current it seems -
Aperture 2.1 shipped only recently, and Apple Remote Desktop is
still at version 3.2. Sure, there have been improvements, but two
years just isn't that long for a platform as mature as the Mac.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/826>
**2007** -- TidBITS #875 brought the news that Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard
wouldn't arrive until October 2007, attributing the delay to Apple's
need to devote more resources to the release of the iPhone in June
2007. The iPhone has been huge for Apple, and we expect a
second-generation iPhone and the opening of the iPhone App Store in
the relatively near future, two moves that could put the iPhone on
the exponential sales curve pioneered for Apple by the iPod.
<http://db.tidbits.com/issue/875>
**Looking Forward** -- That concludes our spin through history both
ancient and recent, and I hope you've enjoyed contemplating how the
Macintosh world has evolved since TidBITS first appeared on the
scene back in 1990.
We never anticipated that we'd be publishing TidBITS for so long,
but now that we're at 18 years, clearly we need to aim for 20, and
for 25 after that. Besides, we have to keep going, if only to
maintain our position as the oldest continuously updated technology
publication on the Internet (and the second oldest in general behind
the Irish Emigrant News, which has archives going back to April
1987).
<http://www.emigrant.ie/>
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 21-Apr-08
---------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9566>
* Apple TV 2.0.2 is a bug-fix update that address wireless network
reliability (presumably to correct a problem when using it on an
802.11n network set to use the 5 GHz frequency, though Apple's
release notes do not call out specific details). The update is
available only through the Apple TV: from the main screen, choose
Settings > General > Update Software. (Free)
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1600>
* Mactracker 5.0.2 by Ian Page adds the latest Apple hardware to his
application for tracking all the technical details of Macintosh
models. Mactracker 5.0.2 also adds Brightness and DPI information
where available for the built-in displays of MacBook, MacBook Air,
and MacBook Pro models; and it now details the maximum supported
resolution for an external display for the Mac mini, MacBook,
MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and PowerBook G3/G4 models. Mactracker is
also available as a Web application for the iPhone and iPod touch.
(Donationware, 20.9 MB)
<http://www.mactracker.ca/>
<http://mactracker.blogspot.com/2008/04/mactracker-502.html>
<http://iphone.mactracker.ca/>
* 1Password 2.5.13 from Agile Web Solutions updates the
browser-independent password manager and form filler to work with
the just-released Camino 1.6. However, another update will be
required to restore 1Password support for the recently released
OmniWeb 5.7. ($34.95 new, free update, 9.1 MB)
<http://1password.com/>
* Teleport 1.0.1 from Abyssoft fixes a number of bugs in the virtual
keyboard and mouse switcher that enables you to control multiple
Macs from the same keyboard and mouse. Version 1.0.1 also provides
Panther compatibility, adds an Unpair button on paired hosts, and
provides a Shared Screen button when the shared Mac has multiple
monitors. For more on Teleport, see "Tools We Use: Teleport"
(2007-08-27). (Donationware, 717K)
<http://teleport.abyssoft.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9125>
* Camino 1.6 from The Camino Project adds several major new features
to the Mac-focused, Gecko-based Web browser, including automatic
software updates, improvements to tabbed browsing, and more
extensive compatibility with the Mac OS X Keychain. Camino 1.6 also
features user-changeable search engine options, an improved
interface for finding text within the current page, AppleScript
enhancements, and a variety of bug fixes. (Free, 15.5 MB for
English-only or 18.1 MB for multilingual)
<http://caminobrowser.org/releases/1.6/>
* Interarchy 9.0.1 from Nolobe fixes numerous problems that plagued
the previous release of the file transfer software. Notably, you can
now set editors for filetypes within Interarchy and so the setting
applies only within Interarchy; copying and pasting will now perform
a copy rather than a move; numerous crashing bugs have been
squashed; and much more. If you use Interarchy, this update is a
must. ($59 new, free update, 6.6 MB)
<http://nolobe.com/interarchy/>
<http://nolobe.com/interarchy/releasenotes/>
* ConceptDraw 7.6 from CS Odessa speeds start-up performance of the
business graphics application by 10 to 20 percent, significantly
improves the text editing performance when working with Chinese and
Arabic characters, and addresses other unspecified issues. ($299
new, free update)
<http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/cd5/main.php>
* Google Earth 4.3 enhances Google's virtual globe with the addition
of Google Street View when you get down to street level in some
areas, new first-person controls that make flying around Google
Earth more like a video game, time lapse sunrises and sunsets,
photo-realistic buildings from cities around the world, and faster
3D graphics. (Free, 33.1 MB)
<http://earth.google.com/>
* Typinator 3.0 from Ergonis turns the auto-correcting and
abbreviation expansion utility into a background application with an
icon in the menu bar for accessing its interface. Other improvements
include a search field in the toolbar to aid in finding
abbreviations and expansions, single-character abbreviations,
automatic checking of new versions, and fixes for a number of
specific bugs. (19.99 euros new, free updates for 2 years, 1.8 MB)
<http://www.ergonis.com/products/typinator/>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/21-Apr-08
------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9572>
**Reluctantly Switching from Eudora to Apple Mail** -- Readers share
their experiences and opinions on switching to Mail following
Tonya's article. (14 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1951>
**Configure Mail to Prevent iCal Spam** -- The automatic handling of
.ics email attachments in Mail, which allows unsolicited events to
appear in iCal, is also an issue under Tiger as well as Leopard. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1952>
**Synching non-Mac Mail Accounts** -- A reader solicits opinions on
the best way to keep tabs on important email across multiple
machines, triggering a spirited POP vs. IMAP debate. (45 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1953>
**My iPhone doesn't play in my car** -- The iPhone's recessed
headphone connector may be the cause of a reader's inability to play
music in the car. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1954>
**Power Mac 8100/80** -- A reader's old workhorse Mac is still
kicking, but now is a good time to start thinking about upgrading to
a modern machine (including all the software updates). (9 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1956>
**Leopard's image icon preview** -- Is there a way to disable the
frame created in the Finder's icon view for images? (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1957>
**iTunes 7 in Leopard Loses a Feature** -- A reader discovers that he
cannot drag songs from a CD into an iTunes playlist, but others
still see this behavior. (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1958>
[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- A recent article notes that IBM is beginning to
embrace the Mac, not only as supported machines for employees to
use, but also as a target for software development. (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1959>
$$
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