TidBITS#965/16-Feb-09
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/965>
When you go on vacation, don't you wish you could leave your laptop
at home? Oliver Habicht reviews the compact Photo Safe II, which
stores photos and videos from your camera without a portable
computer. Elsewhere in this issue, Rich Mogull looks at what has
changed in Apple's recent important security updates, Adam
highlights a problem in the Finder that could lead to data loss and
notes free POP3 Hotmail access in the United States, Glenn informs
us about the new Web-based collaborative text editor EtherPad, and
Joe Kissell examines the long-delayed capability to share files from
one's MobileMe iDisk. By the way, what were you doing on Friday the
13th? Adam has declared every Friday the 13th (another one is coming
up in March) as International Verify Your Backups Day. We also note
the release of Ted Landau's "Take Control of Your iPhone, Second
Edition" and a pair of new Macworld Superguides. This week's TidBITS
Watchlist includes Simon 2.5, PasswordWallet 4.4.4, VMware Fusion
2.0.2, Chax 2.2, and Nisus Writer Express 3.2.
Articles
Apple Releases Wide-Ranging Security Updates
Apple Adds iDisk Sharing Feature to MobileMe
International Verify Your Backups Day
Free Hotmail POP3 Access Now Available in U.S. Too
'Take Control of Your iPhone, Second Edition' Offers Key Advice
New Macworld Superguides Cover Mac Security and Mobile Computing
Finder Inconsistency Could Lead to Data Loss
Photo Safe II Offers Worry Free Travel Backups
EtherPad Brings Simultaneous Writing to the Web
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 16-Feb-09
ExtraBITS for 16-Feb-09
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk for 16-Feb-09
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Apple Releases Wide-Ranging Security Updates
--------------------------------------------
by Rich Mogull <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10069>
Apple has released the first general Mac OS X security update of
2009, patching a series of serious vulnerabilities that could allow
an attacker to take over your Mac. Security Update 2009-001 affects
both Mac OS X client and server, and all users are advised to update
their systems immediately. A complete list of changes is found in
the official security note on Apple's support site. Apple also
released a separate security update for Java for Mac OS X, and a
standalone update for Safari for Windows.
<http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3438>
**Safari RSS Fix** -- The most notable vulnerability patched (although
not necessarily the most serious) is a flaw in how Safari handled
links for RSS feeds that could allow an attacker to run arbitrary
code on your system. Programmer Brian Mastenbrook initially
disclosed the nature of this vulnerability on his blog without
exposing the details (see my article "Protect Yourself from the
Safari RSS Vulnerability," 2009-01-14). Mastenbrook provided some
initial workarounds to help users protect themselves that turned out
to be ineffective, and then posted a more complex workaround that
was both problematic for most users to implement, and sometimes
resulted in system problems.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/10003>
Mastenbrook has now posted further information on his blog
describing why he released his workaround before Apple issued a
patch. Mastenbrook stated he notified Apple six months before making
aspects of the flaw public, and revealed the information out of
concern that Apple was not patching the flaw and that the
vulnerability would be easy for someone else to discover and
exploit. The nature of the flaw does appear to be straightforward,
and his release of minimal information and a workaround likely
resulted in reduced risk for Safari users.
<http://brian.mastenbrook.net/display/28>
The Safari fix is included in Security Update 2009-001 for Mac OS X
users, and is available as a separate download for users of Safari
on Windows.
**Other Fixes** -- Security Update 2009-001 also patches a mix of
other security issues, including a few that potentially allow an
attacker to run any code on your system, or escalate their rights to
an administrative user (circumventing an important security feature
of Mac OS X). Some of these vulnerabilities are remotely exploitable
over the Web should you visit a malicious Web site.
This update also includes some important fixes for users of Mac OS X
Server. One vulnerability, in the ClamAV package used by Mac OS X to
filter viruses out of email, could allow a remote attacker to
execute arbitrary code on the server (which is security-speak for
"take over your server").
As with many Apple security updates, the fixes apply to a range of
Apple software and open source tools that are included in Mac OS X,
such as ClamAV, file sharing servers, and programming languages.
**Getting the Update** -- There are three separate updates: one for
Mac OS X, another for Java for Mac OS X, and a third for Safari 3.2
for Windows.
Security Update 2009-001 is available via Software Update or as a
standalone download for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and Mac OS X 10.5.6 client
and server. Separate downloads are available for Mac OS X Server
10.4.11 Universal (213 MB), Mac OS X Server 10.4.11 PowerPC (141.76
MB), Mac OS X Server 10.5.6 (46.54 MB), Mac OS X 10.4.11 PowerPC (74
MB) and Intel (164.23 MB), and Mac OS X 10.5.6 (43.4 MB).
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Server_Universal_>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Server_Tiger_PPC_>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Server_Leopard_>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Tiger_PPC_>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Tiger_Intel_>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Security_Update_2009_001__Leopard_>
The Java update is also available via Software Update or as
downloads for Java for Mac OS X 10.4, Release 8 (1.6 MB) and Java
for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 3 (3 MB).
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/_Java_for_Mac_OS_X_10_4__Release_8>
<http://support.apple.com/downloads/Java_for_Mac_OS_X_10_5_Update_3_>
Safari 3.2.2 for Windows is also available as a direct download.
<http://www.apple.com/safari/download/>
Apple Adds iDisk Sharing Feature to MobileMe
--------------------------------------------
by Joe Kissell <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10070>
Apple has announced, through their MobileMe News blog, a new iDisk
feature that had been demonstrated, but then pulled, before the
release of MobileMe in July 2008. You can now easily share any file
on your iDisk with others, via email or the Web, with just a few
clicks. I complained about the absence of this feature on page 80 of
"Take Control of MobileMe," so it's nice to see that it has finally
appeared.
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/news/2009/02/sharing-large-files-with-idisk.html>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/mobileme?pt=TB965>
The example Apple gives to explain why this feature is interesting
is when you need to send a large file via email. If you want to send
someone a file larger than a few megabytes, you have to determine
whether both your email provider and the recipient's provider can
accommodate such large attachments - and even if they do, you might
worry because some email programs choke on large files. (MobileMe
limits email attachments to a maximum of 20 MB, and anything over 5
MB may have trouble getting through to other ISPs.) The old way of
working around this problem using MobileMe was to put the file in
your iDisk's Public folder and then email the recipient instructions
on how to access it there - a multi-step process even for Mac users,
and slightly more complicated on Windows. (Of course, there have
always been other ways to accomplish this without MobileMe - for
example, using the free Pando service or others of its ilk.)
<http://www.pando.com/>
With the new sharing feature, here's what you do instead. First, put
the file you want to share anywhere on your iDisk - it need not be
in your Public folder. Next, log in to your account at www.me.com
and click the iDisk icon to display all the files on your iDisk in
your Web browser. Select the file you want to share and click the
new Share File button. MobileMe generates a unique, private URL
pointing to that file and displays it in a dialog. In this same
dialog you can optionally fill in one or more email addresses and a
message to send the URL to others; you can also choose whether the
URL expires after a period of time (the default is 30 days) and add
a password if you want. Click Share, and the file becomes available
at the new URL. (You can also, after the fact, modify the file's
expiration and password settings.) A Web-based tutorial walks you
through the whole process, but it's pretty self-explanatory.
<http://www.me.com/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2009-02/iDisk-Sharing.png>
<http://www.apple.com/mobileme/tutorials/#idisk-share>
If, during the sharing process, you opted to send an email
announcement, the recipient gets a message showing the file's name,
icon, and size, with a large, friendly Download button that
downloads the file in the user's default Web browser.
As a number of commentators have already pointed out, with varying
levels of cynicism, Dropbox already offers the same capability, only
easier (see "Dropbox: A Collaborator's Dream," 2009-02-03), as does
SugarSync (see "SugarSync Sweetens Online Syncing," 2008-08-30). So
one way of looking at Apple's announcement is that they're once
again behind the curve in their online service offerings, only
belatedly (and partially) catching up with competitors that have
long since surpassed MobileMe in other respects.
<http://www.getdropbox.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/10048>
<http://www.sugarsync.com/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9751>
What's my take on it? I'm happy to see that Apple has finally made
good on an earlier promise, and I hope this signals that the company
is serious about expanding and enhancing MobileMe. For people who
already use MobileMe - especially those who don't want to bother
signing up for yet another service or installing another piece of
software - this new feature is huge. It will make a common activity
easier, more reliable, and less of a hassle. Could it be easier
still? Absolutely. (In particular, I sure wish I could do this
sharing directly from the Finder, without having to log in to my
account in a Web browser - and I wish I could share an entire folder
in this way, not just individual files.) But I can say for sure that
I'll use this feature often - in fact, it's likely to become my
default method for sending drafts of Take Control books to my
editors.
International Verify Your Backups Day
-------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10071>
I'm not a superstitious sort, though I admit to preferring a
particular jersey and shorts when I'm racing. But for many people,
Friday the 13th is an inauspicious day, long reputed to be unlucky.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th>
So I propose that we fight back against both superstition and the
forces of entropy that constantly tear down all those works we labor
so hard at creating.
The best defense against entropy is a good backup strategy. To quote
a long-ago ad campaign from backup software maker Dantz Development,
"To go forward, you must back up."
But as those of us who have had to rely on our backups in the past
know, the act of backing up is only the first small step in the full
equation - it's being able to _restore_ that really matters.
Some psychiatrist friends with their own practice once ran afoul of
this in a serious way. Their bookkeeper had religiously been making
backups of all their invoicing and billing records as she worked,
but she had never tried restoring from those backups until her hard
disk died. When she went to restore from her carefully prepared
backups, she was aghast to discover that they hadn't been working.
Months of data was lost, and it was a huge problem both for the
bookkeeper and for my friends.
Therefore, I humbly submit that Friday the 13th, whenever it rolls
around, should be considered International Verify Your Backups Day.
(The United Nations is welcome to make this official, and if someone
wants to add it to the Wikipedia page linked above, that would
undoubtedly help spread the word.) In 2009, Friday the 13th arrives
in February, March, and November. If you're reading this article on
some other day, I'd encourage you to verify your backups right away
and then continue with the Friday the 13th schedule.
Take a few minutes to identify some critical files and see if you
can restore them successfully from your backups. If a bootable
backup is part of your backup strategy, make sure you can actually
boot from it. (If you don't have a good backup from which you can
restore right now, allow me to recommend two of our most popular
ebooks, Joe Kissell's "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups" or "Take
Control of Easy Backups in Leopard.")
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/backup-macosx?pt=TB965>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/leopard-easy-backup?pt=TB965>
That's it. No costumes are necessary, there's no obligatory
greeting, and you aren't expected to make a special meal. If you
feel the need to honor your successful verification, well, a little
celebratory imbibing of your favorite beverage is never
inappropriate.
But do tell your friends, relatives, and colleagues about
International Verify Your Backups Day. Because losing data is not a
question of _if_, but of _when_, and good backups from which you can
restore reliably will protect you from unexpected losses small and
large alike.
Free Hotmail POP3 Access Now Available in U.S. Too
--------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10063>
Thanks to Tech Night Owl Live host Gene Steinberg for alerting me to
the fact that Hotmail (officially known as Windows Live Hotmail) is
now offering POP3 access for free. That may seem
oh-so-twentieth-century, but for the gazillions of Hotmail
subscribers, it's a welcome way to read messages sent to Hotmail in
a desktop email client like Apple Mail, Microsoft Entourage,
Mailsmith, PowerMail, or Eudora. More interestingly, POP3 access to
Hotmail lets you combine multiple Webmail accounts (since you could
have Gmail pick up email from Hotmail via POP, for instance), or it
could let you access Hotmail via your iPhone's or Blackberry's
native mail client.
Until recently, POP3 access was limited to paying Hotmail Plus
subscribers. But on 14-Jan-09, Microsoft announced the phased
rollout of free POP3 access for Hotmail users in the UK, Canada,
Australia, France, Japan, Spain, Germany, Italy, and the
Netherlands. Support for POP3 access in the United States and other
countries was promised for future phases, but no dates were given.
<http://windowslivewire.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2F7EB29B42641D59!32413.entry>
Gene noticed that POP3 access worked in his U.S.-based Hotmail
account, and when I signed up for a Hotmail account and tested it,
it worked fine for me as well. It may not be universally available
yet, but it's also likely that Microsoft simply hasn't pushed out an
announcement. If POP3 access isn't yet available for your account,
you can reportedly fool Hotmail into enabling it by changing your
country temporarily.
<http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/01/22/hack-to-enable-hotmail-pop3-and-smtp-support-instantly-for-all-countries/>
Two notes. I'm sure Microsoft's Web services take an insane level of
attack, but the CAPTCHA required to sign up for a Hotmail account is
the least readable one I've ever seen. It took me multiple tries to
get one I could even guess at correctly. Also, when I configured
Apple Mail to pick up mail from Hotmail, it marked as spam the only
two messages in the account - the welcome message from Hotmail and a
simple test message I'd sent myself. I recommend additional
attention to your spam filter while it learns about the kind of mail
that comes in through Hotmail.
Although the basics of setting up POP3 access to Hotmail in your
email client are easy, be careful when entering the settings. I
couldn't connect until I realized I was supposed to use the full
Windows Live email address as my user name. The configuration
details are:
* Incoming Mail Server: pop3.live.com (Port 995)
* POP SSL Required? Yes
* User Name: Your Windows Live ID, for example, [email protected]
* Password: The password you usually use to sign in to Hotmail or
Windows Live
* Outgoing Mail Server: smtp.live.com (Port 25)
* Authentication Required? Yes (use your POP user name and password)
* SSL/TLS Required? Yes
Although Hotmail isn't represented nearly as highly on the TidBITS
subscription list as MobileMe (over 7,000 mac.com addresses, only
about 150 me.com addresses), Gmail (over 2,700 entries), AOL (over
2,200), EarthLink (over 2,100), Yahoo (1,800), Comcast (1,700), or
Road Runner (1,000), we still have over 800 Hotmail subscribers.
Oh, and before you ask, I tried setting up IMAP access and pointing
my account at imap.live.com, but no luck.
'Take Control of Your iPhone, Second Edition' Offers Key Advice
---------------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10068>
It's been a while since we've announced a new ebook, but we've been
hard at work and are pleased to let you know that Ted Landau's "Take
Control of Your iPhone, Second Edition" is now available, and it is
up-to-date for the latest iPhone 2.2.1 software release. Ted's a
writing machine, and he has pumped out a 183-page compendium (plus
additional online resources) of the most useful information about
the iPhone, with a particular focus on helping you work more
effectively, avoid trouble, and fix any existing problems. The book
normally costs $15, but as a limited time introductory discount, you
can get it for $10 with this link (follow the link, click the Buy
Ebook button, and your discount should appear in the first screen of
the shopping cart).
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/iphone?cp=CPN005590211DIS&pt=TB965>
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/iphone?cp=CPN005590211DIS&pt=TB965>
Taking the Murphy's Law approach that if something can go wrong, it
probably will, Ted explains how your iPhone figures out where in the
world it is, how it connects to the Internet and cellular data
networks, and how it communicates with your Mac. You'll learn key
details of syncing with iTunes and via MobileMe, how to manage your
apps, and ways you can share files with your Mac. The ebook helps
you get the most life from your iPhone battery and connect a
Bluetooth headset, and it provides tricks for typing more quickly
and accurately. You'll find a cornucopia of advice for making the
most of the main built-in iPhone apps, including iPod, Phone, Mail,
Maps, and Safari. But that's not all - extensive problem-solving
sections help you solve network problems, resolve sync conflicts,
avoid crashes, and, if necessary, restore an ailing iPhone from
backup.
The ebook covers the iPhone from a Macintosh point of view, though
most of the information is useful even if you connect your iPhone to
a Windows PC. The ebook also covers the iPod touch; we just couldn't
figure out a clever way to work "iPod touch" into the title.
For those who have the preview version of the second edition "Take
Control of Your iPhone," click the Check for Updates button on the
cover to access your free update. And if you own the first edition
of the ebook, also use Check for Updates to look for a
50-percent-off discount on the upgrade. We've also sent email to
these groups with details.
New Macworld Superguides Cover Mac Security and Mobile Computing
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10067>
Keeping up with our own Take Control authors is hard enough, but
with our friends at Macworld putting together Superguides too, well,
we fell behind in the end-of-year crunch in 2008. We now have
Macworld's two most recent Superguides in our catalog. The "Macworld
Mac Security Superguide" is particularly interesting, thanks to its
real-world advice to help you maintain your privacy online, protect
your sensitive data, and keep your Mac safe from both malicious
software and intruders. The ebook also helps you lock down your home
wireless network, set up a firewall, and secure your data when
computing in public. $9.99
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/mw-security?pt=TB965>
And for those who are ditching the desk chair for a
coffeehouse-based office for the first time, taking that first
laptop to college, or switching to a job that requires tons of
travel, the "Macworld Mobile Mac Superguide" helps you pick the best
laptop for your needs, find Internet connectivity wherever you go,
share files with your Macs at home, keep your data backed up while
on the road, and work through common problems when you can't easily
call anyone for help. $9.99
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/mw-mobile-mac?pt=TB965>
The author lists for these ebooks again include numerous TidBITS and
Take Control contributors - yes, it's a small industry, and we work
with the best.
Finder Inconsistency Could Lead to Data Loss
--------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10062>
Consultant Scott Rose has isolated a potentially dangerous problem
in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that could cause data loss for people who
rely on the Dock or the Apple menu's Recent Items submenu as a
launcher for in-progress documents. The steps to reproduce the
problem aren't likely to bite careful users, but it's easy enough to
see someone accidentally stumbling into the situation, as did one of
Scott's clients.
**The Problem** -- Assume you drag frequently used documents to the
Dock for quick access, and once in the Dock, you use those Dock
aliases exclusively for opening documents. Or, imagine that you use
the Apple menu's Recent Items submenu or applications' Open Recent
submenus to access your in-progress documents. Further assume that
for some reason, perhaps accidentally, you move one of these
important files to the Trash.
Normally, if you double-click a file in the Trash, the Finder
refuses to open it, telling you to remove it from the Trash first.
The warning makes perfect sense, since it would be all too easy to
empty the Trash while working and lose your file.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2009-02/Finder-Trash-warning.png>
However, if you open a trashed document via the Dock, the Recent
Items submenu, or an application's Open Recent submenu, some
applications allow you to open the document, make changes, and save
your changes, all without the slightest warning. Were you to empty
the Trash, your data would be lost, and you'd be left with no
recourse short of a therapeutic bout of cursing. (And yes, this
would definitely fall into the category of "user error," but if
Apple is going to prevent people from double-clicking files in the
Trash, the least they can do is be consistent about other ways of
opening files in the Trash.)
In a quick spot check of applications I use, programs that allowed
editing of files in the Trash include Microsoft Word 2004 (but not
2008), Microsoft Excel 2008, and BBEdit 9.1.1. Scott Rose also tells
me that he's verified the problem in FileMaker Pro (any version),
Quicken 2007, and Final Draft 7.
On the other side of the spectrum, Apple's own TextEdit, Preview,
Pages '09, and Numbers '09 alert you that the file is stored in the
Trash and require you to save it elsewhere. Microsoft Word 2008
presents a clear dialog telling you to move the document out of the
Trash or use Save As. Adobe Photoshop CS3 lets you open the file and
make changes, but when you try to save, it forces a Save As without
any explanation. On my first test with Adobe InDesign CS3, it
crashed; subsequent tests merely closed the document without warning
or explanation as soon as I opened it.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2009-02/Word-2008-save-warning.png>
Testing would be required to determine how any given program will
react to this situation, so if you rely on the Dock, Recent Items,
or Open Recent as a launcher for in-progress documents, you may wish
to check the applications you use. I haven't tested Mac OS X 10.4
Tiger with regard to opening trashed documents, but I'd guess that
the problem exists in that version as well.
Exacerbating the problem is the fact that Leopard's Time Machine
doesn't back up files once they're in the Trash. It may have a
backup of the file before it was moved to the Trash, but that could
be significantly out of date, were you to empty the Trash and then
look to Time Machine to restore the most recent backup.
**Who's Responsible?** From the varying results in my testing, it's
clear that responsibility _currently_ lies with application
developers to notice that an open file is located in the Trash and
to prompt the user appropriately. Apple's own programs appear to do
that, and I strongly encourage developers to perform that check on
either open or save, preferably open.
More generally, though, and the reason I think Apple should modify
Mac OS X to eliminate this possibility of data loss, is that the
Finder and the Dock behave differently in exactly the same
situation, and the Finder itself displays inconsistent behavior.
Double-click a file in the Trash, and the Finder forces you to move
it before opening it. The Finder also warns you appropriately if you
put a document in the sidebar or toolbar, trash the file, and then
try to open it. But open a trashed file by clicking it in the Dock
or from the Recent Items submenu, and... it just works (which is a
bad thing, in this case).
For the sake of both consistency and safety, the Dock, the Recent
Items submenu, and the Open Recent submenu in applications should
refuse to open any file that's stored in the Trash. And, ideally,
the Finder should offer to move the offending file to the user's
Desktop, rather than just presenting an error dialog. That would
just be polite.
Plus, although fixing this bug would address the issue of opening
files in the Trash, I believe that Time Machine _should_ back up the
contents of the Trash, just like everything else, since it's all too
easy to create a file and trash it within the hour-long time frame
that Time Machine operates, thus preventing Time Machine from ever
seeing that file.
I've reported this problem to Apple, and with luck, it will be
addressed in Snow Leopard.
[Thanks to reader Matt Strange for suggesting that I investigate the
behavior of Recent Items and Open Recent as well. Based on those
results, I recast the article so it doesn't focus so much on the
Dock, since the problem obviously exists in other areas of Mac OS X
as well. -Adam]
Photo Safe II Offers Worry Free Travel Backups
----------------------------------------------
by Oliver Habicht <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10064>
Recently my family took a three-week vacation overseas, and having
left my computer at home (hey, it was a family vacation!), I needed
a convenient way to store all the photos and videos that we were
taking. Adam had written about this topic a few months ago (see
"Backing up Photos While Traveling", 2008-08-11 and "More Photo
Backup Options While Traveling", 2008-08-12) and since he had
received a Digital Foci Photo Safe II for review after those
articles appeared, he asked me to give it a real-world test.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9728>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/9732>
<http://www.digitalfoci.com/photo_safe.html>
The Photo Safe II is a lightweight (0.6 lb/272 g) portable photo
storage device and memory card reader, and it proved a welcome
traveling companion. With it, I was able to back up all our photos
and videos as the trip progressed, copying them from our camera's
memory card every few days. I even had enough storage space to back
up all the photos taken by the relatives who were traveling with us.
And, although I didn't use it to add data in this way, it can also
work as a normal USB external hard disk (that's how you move data
from it to your Mac).
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2009-02/Photo-Safe-II.jpg>
The Photo Safe II offers nearly foolproof backups. This is due to a
variety of features, and assisted by the excellent Quick Start Guide
which provides well written instructions, useful diagrams, and
anticipates many user questions. Perhaps the most important of its
features is that you can only delete photos from the device when
it's connected to a computer, effectively eliminating the risk of
accidentally wiping out your entire trip's pictures with the push of
a button.
Further lessening that risk is the fact the Photo Safe II has only
two buttons. One turns it on or off when held down, or, when pressed
and released, toggles between pre-selecting the copy and delete
functions. The second button then executes either copying (all)
files from memory card to the device, or deleting (all) files from
the memory card. The latter action is somewhat safeguarded by
requiring you to hold down the button for three seconds. And again,
once photos are loaded onto the Photo Safe II, there's no way to
delete them using only the device's controls.
Complicating things just a bit is the fact that the two buttons
offer a few other context-dependent functions. These include
recalculating the available space and displaying information (the
number of files copying and the target folder number) following a
copy. The former is clearly displayed, making it easy to know just
how much room you have left. That said, depending on how you're
using the Photo Safe II, you may find you don't need to check it
often. With the (now-discontinued) 80 GB model, even after I copied
several thousand photos and short videos to it, it still had over 56
GB available at the end of my trip. Of course, if you're also using
the device as an external hard disk, a more capacious model might be
required.
It's important to realize that each time you ask the Photo Safe II
to copy a memory card, it does a _complete_ copy of the card and
puts the data in a completely new, top-level, sequentially numbered
directory, prefaced with the card type. Also important to realize is
that the copy action copies everything, not just photos and videos,
but all directory structures as well.
If you have one memory card, and you choose to make backups during
your trip without deleting files from the card, the last file copy
will contain the entire contents of your card. You can then ignore
all the previous copies.
However, if you're copying more than one memory card of the same
type, you need to compare the contents of the device's sequentially
numbered folders to make sure you get the correct data (since
they'll all have similar folder names). Apparently it's possible to
pre-create partitions on the device's hard drive, thus permitting
you to separate the data coming from different cards of the same
type, though I didn't try this.
However, I did successfully use the Photo Safe II with a wide
variety of point-and-shoot and SLR cameras that utilized the
following memory cards: SD (normal and HC), Sony Memory Stick Pro
MagicGate (High-speed), xD, and Compact Flash. The Photo Safe II
also has slots for many other types, such as CF Type I (including
Sandisk Extreme III, IV), MMC, SD/HC, miniSD, MS, MS PRO, MS Duo, MS
PRO Duo, and xD.
During the trip, I connected the Photo Safe II to a PC running
Windows Vista (someone else's, of course) and it performed admirably
as an external hard drive. In fact, I even took the opportunity to
make a full copy of all our card copies to create yet one more
backup of everyone's photos and videos!
The Photo Safe II can also copy data from MS/SD/MMC/xD memory cards
to a Compact Flash card. This would allow the risk-averse to create
yet another level of backup. One could perhaps then mail full
Compact Flash cards back home, or simply have enough peace of mind
to delete the photos on the camera's primary memory card.
The Photo Safe II can be powered with its included rechargeable
battery, via the included AC adapter (sporting a small and
lightweight wall plug that's compatible with 100 to 250 volt power
mains), or via USB. Additionally, both the AC adapter and USB can be
used to recharge the battery within the unit, something that's
lacking in most cameras (sorry, just a pet peeve there). Included in
the package is an unusual forked USB cable. One end has a mini-USB
connector for connecting to the Photo Safe II, and the other end has
a both normal USB connector for transferring data to a computer, and
a second USB connector for delivery of even more power to the
device, presumably to speed charging. Ingenious!
After a lengthy opportunity to explore the Photo Safe II, I'm left
with only a handful of quibbles: When the device was connected to my
Mac, I couldn't see the data within the inserted memory cards, only
the data on the device's hard drive itself. However, according to
the documentation, it's supposed to function as a memory card
reader.
Also, when powered by AC, I couldn't get it to recognize the memory
card. I had to pull the AC, turn it on with battery power, insert
the memory card which would be recognized, and only then could I
plug the AC in again and be fine thereafter.
Finally, and perhaps this was just an anomaly, at one point the
device's power indicator showed a single flashing bar when I was
using just the battery, indicating a low battery. When I turned it
off, and then back on, it indicated a full charge for quite some
time.
Despite these minor quirks or aberrations, I highly recommend the
Photo Safe II as the worry free means of backing up on the go. The
Photo Safe II is currently available in 160 GB ($149), and 250 GB
($199) models, and can be purchased from Digital Foci's Web site.
<http://www.digitalfoci.com/>
[Oliver B. Habicht is an IT director in the Cornell University
Library. He's still looking for a tiny and quick point-and-shoot
digital camera that can charge via USB.]
EtherPad Brings Simultaneous Writing to the Web
-----------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9869>
I like to write with others just about as much as I like to write by
myself. SubEthaEdit has long been one of our primary tools at
TidBITS for collaborating simultaneously among editors and writers.
The program lets us write in the same virtual document while seeing
each other type. We can quickly produce a lot of text and edit each
other's work, all the while checking in (sometimes through an iChat
backchannel) on changes as we make them.
<http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/>
Simultaneous writing might seem like the authorial equivalent of the
four-way intersection car crash in Steve Martin's "L.A. Story."
Instead, we find it makes it possible for us to write faster
(especially under deadline during real-time events) and to speed up
editing, as well.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102250/>
EtherPad treads on SubEthaEdit's turf. The software, now available
for general use, is a free, hosted Web application with many of
SubEthaEdit's key collaboration features, while also being freed
from many of SubEthaEdit's desktop application constraints.
(EtherPad was originally released in a form of public beta, which
went private due to so much use. It opened on 03-Feb-09 to all
comers.)
<http://etherpad.com/>
Let's take a look at the two.
**Compare and Contrast, in Real Time** -- SubEthaEdit (from Coding
Monkeys, 30-day trial, 29 euros or US$38) requires one writer to
host a document and others to connect over the Internet or using
Bonjour on a local network. Once the document has been announced and
unlocked, other writers who have been given read/write permission
are automatically assigned a unique color, and can begin editing at
once. Text appears color-coded by author as soon as a character is
typed or deleted on all participants' open copies of the document.
(Deletions aren't shown or retained. You can use Undo to revert back
through your own edits, however.)
<http://www.codingmonkeys.de/subethaedit/images/sessionbig.png>
EtherPad (from AppJet, free) does away with many of these
constraints, although its first release is nowhere near as mature as
SubEthaEdit. But let's be fair: SubEthaEdit has been under
development for years, and EtherPad is just as impressive as
SubEthaEdit (then called Hydra, for obvious reasons) was when it
first showed up as something close to a student programming project
in 2003.
<http://etherpad.com/static/img/oct/pageshot.png>
<http://blog.appjet.com/>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lernaean_Hydra>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SubEthaEdit>
EtherPad opens up editing to any platform with support for one of
several major browsers: Internet Explorer (version 6 or later),
Safari (3 or later), and Firefox (2 or later). Other browsers may
also work. This means that iPhone users can (tediously) participate
as well as our friends suffering through Windows or enjoying their
own unique blend of GNU/Linux.
Because the service is hosted as a Web application, EtherPad does
away with the requirement for one user to have a publicly reachable
IP address. This has bedeviled us many times, sometimes requiring us
to open a SubEthaEdit document on a Mac OS X Server system to all
who participate. Many features, like color coding of each
participant's changes, will be familiar to SubEthaEdit users.
EtherPad provides revision saving coupled with restoration from
stored versions, something not found in SubEthaEdit. EtherPad also
centralizes storage of the current document and revisions on
AppJet's servers. Both editors lack auto-save, a feature we've
wanted for years, but EtherPad's capability to save a version trumps
SubEthaEdit's simple Save command, which overwrites the previously
stored version. (You can use third-party programs to add an
automatic saving option and version tracking to SubEthaEdit, but
this should be a piece of core functionality, especially considering
that one of the authors of SubEthaEdit, Martin Ott, puts together
the Mac OS X installer of the Subversion version control system.)
Centralized storage means that any participant always has access to
the current state of the document or previous revisions. With
SubEthaEdit, users other than the host can save a copy at any point,
but aren't assured of having the last version of the document unless
they save and the host immediately closes before any other edits
take place.
SubEthaEdit was designed, in part, for Extreme Programming, which
includes the principle of pairing programmers to work on the same
code at the same time. Some studies have shown that multi-person
programming actually improves efficiency by reducing errors and
producing more readable code in fewer lines.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_Programming>
As such, SubEthaEdit includes a long list of syntax coding options
for popular programming languages, where code elements are colored
for better recognition and to avoid making errors in spelling a
name. Help in ensuring paired, nested parentheses and braces is also
found in SubEthaEdit. (Nearly all non-collaborative SubEthaEdit
features appear in BBEdit.)
<http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/>
Only JavaScript syntax coding appears in this first EtherPad
release, which isn't odd given the developers. The folks who wrote
EtherPad developed AppJet, a JavaScript-driven Web application
engine that they had to revise substantially to make EtherPad work.
<http://etherpad.com/ep/blog/posts/etherpad-and-appjet>
EtherPad even throws in chat among participants in a document,
providing chronological archived discussion alongside the live space
in which everyone is editing. This works remarkably well, since
there's often backchannel discussion about what's being written that
doesn't belong in the document itself.
**Competition Improves Collaboration** -- I look forward both to more
developments in EtherPad, and the response from Coding Monkeys. For
many years, I've wanted to have a tool that's a bit easier to use -
especially freed from the storage and public IP requirement - for
less-technical friends and colleagues. And Windows users have
previously been left out in the cold.
Competition should help spark innovation, but EtherPad will
certainly allow more unfettered communication. We know from history,
more communication either leads to better understanding or a
complete breakdown. I hope for the former.
TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 16-Feb-09
---------------------------------------------------------
by Doug McLean <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10066>
Simon 2.5 from Dejal Systems is a significant update to the Internet
monitoring tool. Changes include an SMS notifier plugin that enables
Simon notifications to be sent as text messages to your mobile
phone. The update also adds SMART Status and Drive Status services
that monitor the health of local hard disks. Minor bugs have also
been repaired, including one that could cause new default services
and notifiers to disappear after relaunching if no changes were made
manually after updating. The full list of changes is available via
Dejal's Web site. ($29.95 to $195, free update, 11.7 MB)
<http://www.dejal.com/simon/>
<http://www.dejal.com/simon/release/>
PasswordWallet 4.4.4 from Selznick Scientific Software is a minor
update to the longstanding password protection utility. The update
"simplifies iPhone synchronization for new users, adds Japanese
translation, and addresses some usability issues." The company has
also released Password Wallet 4.4.5 for the iPhone with a number of
cosmetic and usability tweaks. ($20, free update, 5.0 MB)
<http://www.selznick.com/products/passwordwallet/>
<http://www.selznick.com/products/passwordwallet/iphone/>
VMware Fusion 2.0.2 from VMware is a maintenance update to the
popular Windows virtualization software. New to this version is the
capability to import Windows virtual machines from both Parallels
Desktop 4.0 and Parallels Server for Mac, support for mounting
unencrypted .dmg files as CD/DVD disk images, support for Mac OS X
10.5.6 as a host operating system, support for Ubuntu 8.10 as a
guest operating system, and more. ($79.99, free update, 286 MB)
<http://www.vmware.com/download/fusion/>
<http://www.vmware.com/support/fusion2/doc/releasenotes_fusion_202.html>
Chax 2.2 from Kent Sutherland is a minor update to the iChat
enhancement and extension utility. Changes include a new Send Camera
Snapshot feature that enables users to send pictures from their
cameras as inline images, support for multi-touch gestures capable
of switching chat tabs, an added option to confirm before ending AV
chats, and improved display options for the Message History. The
update also fixes several minor bugs. (Free, 1.3 MB)
<http://www.ksuther.com/chax/>
Nisus Writer Express 3.2 from Nisus Software is the latest version
of the streamlined word processor. The update features added backup
options, editable document properties, and the capability to select
the default file format for new documents. Also new is a Services
menu that enables users to create a Nisus Writer document from
selected content in another application. Numerous bugs have also
been fixed, all of which are listed, along with other smaller
changes and features, within the extensive release notes. ($45 new,
free upgrade, 59 MB)
<http://nisus.com/Express/>
<http://nisus.com/Express/releasenotes.php>
ExtraBITS for 16-Feb-09
-----------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10075>
**10 Ways Microsoft's Retail Stores Will Differ from Apple's** -- PC
World offers this tongue-in-cheek countdown of 10 ways that
Microsoft's forthcoming retail stores will differ from Apple's. Our
favorite: "Stores will be named Microsoft Live Retail Store with PC
Services for Digital Lifestyle Enthusiasts." (Posted 2009-02-13)
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/159521/10_ways_microsofts_retail_stores_will_differ_from_apple_stores.html>
**Jeff Carlson Talks iMovie '09 with Macworld** -- Jeff Carlson chats
with Chris Breen on this week's Macworld Podcast to talk about what
he likes and dislikes about iMovie '09, and whether it's worth
upgrading or if people should jump to Final Cut Express instead.
(Posted 2009-02-11)
<http://www.macworld.com/article/138772/2009/02/mwpodcast153.html>
**John Siracusa Examines Past, Present, and Future of Ebooks** -- John
Siracusa at Ars Technica turns his attention to ebooks in this
lengthy piece, bemoaning the slow state of adoption at the
mainstream level and making the oft-missed distinction between
ebooks and ebook readers. (Posted 2009-02-11)
<http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/02/the-once-and-future-e-book.ars>
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk for 16-Feb-09
----------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[email protected]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/10074>
**Steve Wozniak** -- Fire up the TiVo, because Apple co-founder Steve
Wozniak is going to be a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars"! (3
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2450>
**File Sharing** -- A reader wants to create a file that can be shared
with multiple people but edited only by one. Is Google Docs the
answer? (4 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2451>
**More Ebooks Available for the iPhone/iPod touch** -- If Amazon were
to sell ebooks for the iPhone, would that channel run counter to
Apple's developer guidelines? (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2452>
**Google Sync for the iPhone** -- Google announced the capability to
sync contacts and events to the iPhone, but what's the benefit of
doing so? (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2453>
**Dock Bug Could Lead to Data Loss** -- Readers debate the severity
and likelihood that someone could fall prey to a bug in the Mac OS X
10.5 Leopard Dock. (10 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2454>
**The Phoenix Lander on Mars tweets** -- The Phoenix Lander (or, more
accurately, someone at NASA who communicated in the first person)
used Twitter to send out regular updates while it was active. (7
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2455>
**Mouse-click via AppleScript?** It's possible to use AppleScript to
create a mouse click, though not straightforward. The question is,
why? (11 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2456>
**Multiple boot versions of OS X?** For testing purposes, a reader
wants to know the best way to keep multiple versions of Mac OS X at
hand. Separate hard drive partitions? Virtualization? (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2461>
**24" iMac Solid Gray** -- A problematic external hard drive or bad
RAM could be the cause for a new iMac to display only a solid gray
screen. (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2462>
**Dropbox: A Collaborator** -- Should Apple buy Dropbox and
incorporate it into MobileMe? Its features seem more advanced than
Apple's offerings. (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2463>
**Alternatives to iDisk** -- What other options exist for backing up
critical data online? (13 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2464>
**Apple Adds iDisk Sharing Feature to MobileMe** -- Apple's newest
iDisk feature invites comparisons to Dropbox, and suffers from the
fact that you can share only a file, not a folder. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2466>
**Gmail Adds Move To and Label Menus to Toolbar** -- Want to know how
to tell if your ISP is filled with incompetent monkeys? Read on. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2468>
**Macs and AVCHD files** -- A reader wants information about HD
camcorders that shoot AVCHD format, and how that's edited on the
Mac. (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/2469>
$$
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