News Common PC Mac C= CUCUG
The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of themonth: Thursday, February 17th, at 7:00 pm, at the First Baptist Churchof Champaign in Savoy. The Linux SIG convenes, of course, 45 minutesearlier, at 6:15 pm. Directions to the FBC-CS are at the end of thisnewsletter.
The February 17 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. For thismonth's Linux presentation, Tom Purl will be offer the introduction to thePython programming language he was unable to get to last month. TheMacintosh and PC SIGs are open for anything anyone wants to bring in.
ToCWe'd like to welcome the newest members of our group, joining us in thelast month: David Noreen (PC Desktop), Charles Lam (PC Desktop), andThomas Kapelanski (PC Clone).
We'd also like to thank renewing members Edwin Hadley, Selena Kay Douglass,John Baird, Wayne Hamilton, and Jim Lewis.
We welcome any kind of input or feedback from members. Run across aninteresting item or tidbit on the net? Just send the link to the editor.Have an article or review you'd like to submit? Send it in. Have a comment?Email any officer you like. Involvement is the driving force of any usergroup. Welcome to the group.
ToCFrom: Mark S. Zinzow
We'll be meeting next Wednesday, 2/16/05 7-9pm as usual in 1310 DCL.
We've no big presentation planned, but our general Q&A discussionsgenerally fill the two hours and many interesting topics come up.
Earlier that day CITES will begin its training on the new CITES SpamControl for technical staff, so we may get a report on what's in the worksfrom someone who attends that.
I've also spoken with several members interested in more discussion ofUsenet news issues, and expect several folks will be happy to share theirrecent experiences in rediscoverying this Usenet resource that predates theInternet as we know it today and is still relevant to modern needs.
I look forward to seeing many old friends, and encourage everyone to invitenew ones as we start another year of meetings.
ToCBy MATTHEW FORDAHL
Feb 8, 12:26 AM (ET)
URL: http://apnews.myway.com//article/20050208/D8844QS00.html
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Setting up a battle for the future of computing,engineers from IBM, Sony and Toshiba unveiled details Monday of amicroprocessor they claim has the muscle of a supercomputer and can powereverything from video game consoles to business computers.
Devices built with the processor, code-named Cell, will compete directlywith the PC chips that have powered most of the world's personal computersfor a quarter century.
Cell's designers say their chip, built from the start with the burgeoningworld of rich media and broadband networks in mind, can deliver 10 timesthe performance of today's PC processors.
It also will not carry the same technical baggage that has made most oftoday's computers compatible with older PCs. That architectural divergencewill challenge the current dominant paradigm of computing that MicrosoftCorp. (MSFT) and Intel Corp. (INTC) have fostered.
The new chip is expected to be used in Sony Corp. (SNE)'s next-generationPlayStation game console in 2006. Toshiba Corp. plans to incorporate itinto high-end televisions that year as well. And IBM Corp. has said it willsell a workstation with the chip starting later this year.
Beyond that, companies are remaining coy about where it might be used andwhether it will be compatible with older technology.
Supercomputer claims are nothing new in the high-tech industry, and overthe years chip and computer companies have steadily improved microprocessorperformance even without altering chips' underlying architecture.
And while its competitors may well match the Cell chip in performance bythe time it debuts, it differs considerably from today's processors inconstitution.
Cell is comprised of several computing engines, or cores. A core based onIBM's Power architecture controls eight "synergistic" processing centers.In all, they can simultaneously carry out 10 instruction sequences,compared with two for today's Intel chips.
The new microprocessor also is expected to be able to run multipleoperating systems and programs at the same time while ensuring each hasenough resources. In the home, that could allow for a device that's capableof handling a video game, television and general-purpose computer at once.
"It's very flexible," said Jim Kahle, an IBM fellow. "We support manyoperating systems with our virtualization technology so we can run multipleoperating systems at the same time, doing different jobs on the system."
Later this year, Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) plan torelease their own "multicore" chips, which also increase the number ofinstructions that can be executed at once. IBM and Sun Microsystems Inc.(SUNW) already sell chips with multiple cores, mainly for business servers.
On Monday, Intel announced that it has completed the first product runs ofits dual-core processors and said it plans to deliver two separatedual-core Pentium chips and chipset lines in the second quarter.
Cell appears to have an advantage in the number of transistors - 234million compared with 125 million for today's latest Pentium 4 chips.Traditional chip makers, however, have regularly doubled their number oftransistors every 12 to 18 months.
(AP) Jim Kahle, IBM Director of Technology for Cell Technology, holds up asilicon wafer of hundreds of... Full ImageCell is said to run at clockspeeds greater than 4 gigahertz, which would top the 3.8 GHz of Intel'scurrent top-speed chip.
Cell's designers said they are running a variety of operating systems onthe processor at their lab in Austin, Texas. But they would not say whetherMicrosoft's Windows is one of them. In fact, they only confirmed runningLinux, the open source environment.
The PC industry has seen a long line of chips attempt to usurp the x86architecture pioneered by Intel that dominates today's computers. But allhave failed, and Intel remains the world's largest chip maker.
In the 1990s, IBM, Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL)pushed the PowerPC architecture. Though it's still used by the AppleMacintosh as well as IBM workstations and servers, it failed to dethroneIntel.
Most recently, Transmeta Corp. (TMTA)'s Crusoe was supposed to challengeIntel's dominance in notebooks. Launched at the twilight of the tech boomin 2000, it gained only marginal acceptance and the company is nowconsidering plans to focus on licensing its patents.
Intel has since developed its own mobile chip technology, Centrino.
"Transmeta was also a disruptive influence in the market. And because ofTransmeta, we've got Centrino and the advances that have happened in mobilecomputing," said Steve Kleynhans, a Meta Group analyst. "Unfortunately, wedon't really have Transmeta anymore."
For a challenger to succeed in displacing x86, it will have to performconsiderably better since it also will break computing's long-standingtradition of backward and forward compatibility, said Justin Rattner, whooversees Intel's Corporate Technology Group.
"They're going to have to show they're able to do things that conventionalarchitectures at least at the moment are incapable of doing," he said."That's the fundamental question."
The Cell's specifications also suggest the PlayStation 3 will offerrealistic graphics and strong performance. But analysts cautioned that notall the features in a product announcement will find their way into allsystems built on the device.
"Any new technology like this has two components," Kleynhans said. "It hasthe vision of what it could be because you need the big vision to sell it.Then there's the reality of how it's really going to be used, whichgenerally several levels down the chain from there."
Cell links:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/cell-1.ars/1
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/cpu/cell-2.ars
http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.html
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=38754
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/07/technology/07chip.html?oref=login
from the second link, written by By Jon "Hannibal" Stokes:
The Cell and AppleFinally, before signing off, I should clarify my earlier remarks to theeffect that I don't think that Apple will use this CPU. I originally basedthis assessment on the fact that I knew that the SPUs would not useVMX/Altivec. However, the PPC core does have a VMX unit. Nonetheless, Iexpect this VMX to be very simple, and roughly comparable to the Altivecunit on the first G4. Everything on this processor is stripped down to thebare minimum, so don't expect a ton of VMX performance out of it, anddefinitely not anything comparable to the G5. Furthermore, any Altivec codewritten for the new G4 or G5 would have to be completely reoptimized due toinorder nature of the PPC core's issue.
So the short answer is, Apple's use of this chip is within the realm ofconceivability, but it's extremely unlikely in the short- and medium-term.Apple is just too heavily invested in Altivec, and this processor is goingto be a relative weakling in that department. Sure, it'll pack a major SIMDpunch, but that will not be a double-precision Alitvec-type punch.
ToCSearch tool to back up each factual query with results from onlineencyclopedia.
February 1, 2005 - 6:39 AM EST
URL: http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/01/technology/microsoft_search.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. has unveiled the full-releaseversion of its search engine, turning up the heat on Web search leaderGoogle Inc.
The world's largest software maker also revamped its MSN.com Web portal tomake its search engine more prominent and also tweaked the site's contentand advertising to remove clutter, said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's vicepresident in charge of content and services at the MSN Internet division.
At stake are advertising dollars as well as bragging rights in one of thetechnology industry's more interesting growth areas.
"We really are about answers and not about links," Mehdi told Reuters,taking a swipe at MSN Search's nearest competitors, which also includeYahoo Inc. (Research)
"There's a huge amount of room for improvement" in online searches, Mehdisaid.
To make answers to factual questions more relevant, Mehdi said MSN Searchwould include the full range of information contained in Microsoft Encarta,Microsoft's electronic encyclopedia.
Users will be able to get definitions, calculations, geographical andhistorical information, and other information, and also view encyclopediaarticles and content for any two-hour session via MSN Search.
"We aim to have an answer for every query," Mehdi said.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft (Research) decided nearly two years ago tobuild its own search engine after seeing Google take the lead and profitfrom the billions that advertisers pay to have their own ads displayedalongside search results.
Since then, Google (Research) has gone public and Yahoo has beefed up itsown search offerings as both company's face the prospect of competingagainst Microsoft and its deep pockets and army of software engineers.
The launch of MSN Search comes three months after the release of an initialbeta, or test version. Microsoft had been using Yahoo unit Inktomi to powerits search services, but will no longer do so with the full release of itssearch engine, which uses Microsoft's own technology to sift through theWeb.
Microsoft's new search engine will be culling results from a database indexof more than 5 billion Web documents and pages. Google's index database ismore than 8 billion pages.
Microsoft has also integrated results that link directly into its MSN Musicservice, which was launched in September of last year.
One new capability that Microsoft will be introducing with Monday's launchis the ability to create RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, feeds thatallows users to track search results through an incoming data feed on theirpersonal computers.
Mehdi also said that Microsoft would market its search engine through amarketing campaign directed at online users as well as television viewers.He did not disclose any projections for advertising spending.
ToCURL:http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/biztech/01/21/digital.rights.electronics.reut/index.html
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands (Reuters) -- The world's four biggestconsumer electronics companies have agreed to start using a common methodto protect digital music and video against piracy and illegal copying, theysaid on Thursday.
Japan's Sony Corp and Panasonic-brand owner Matsushita Electric Industrial,South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Dutch Philips Electronics formed thealliance because they want buyers of their products to watch or listen to"appropriately licensed video and music on any device, independent of howthey originally obtained that content," they said in a joint statement.
Such interoperability does not exist at the moment. Songs bought in Sony'sConnect store on the Internet, for example, can only be played on portablemusic players from Sony or companies that license its digital rightsmanagement (DRM) system.
Digital encoding and decoding formats also differ per store, with Appleusing AAC in its iTunes Music Store and Microsoft using Windows Media. Thelack of interoperability slows down the success of digital entertainmentand the subsequent sales of devices, they feel.
If they do not offer their own protection system, as Sony does, theconsumer electronics makers have to chose sides and license someone's DRMsystem for inclusion into products.
Together, the companies sell consumer electronics worth tens of billions ofeuros (dollars) every year.
The alliance, called the Marlin Joint Development Association (Marlin JDA),gives the companies standard specifications to build DRM functions intotheir devices that support commonly used modes of content distribution.
"(This) promotes interoperability while maximizing efficiency (whencreating new products)," they said.
Intertrust Technologies, a small United States-based company which ownsmany of the crucial patents for digital anti-piracy protection, is alsopart of the alliance.
The technology can be used in all products that get their content via theInternet, broadcast or mobile phone networks.
The Marlin-based DRM systems will be offered alongside existing systems.The statement did not say if members such as Sony would give up theirproprietary systems, but senior Sony executives have said in the past theyfavor interoperability in order to accelerate sales of digital electronics.
A first version will come out by the summer of 2005, and it will supportanother, longer-term initiative, called Coral, which is aimed at developinga set of DRM-neutral agreements to ensure interoperability between all DRMsystems and standards.
ToCFrom: David Weintraub
Mon, 7 Feb 2005 11:25:06 -0800
As you've probably heard, there is a new Super Computer made up ofApple Xserves at UIUC. It consists of 640 Apple Xserves - each with 22GHz G5 processors.
Pictures can be found at:
<http://www.cse.uiuc.edu/turing/Images/FrontView.html>
and
<http://www.cse.uiuc.edu/turing/Images/FourRacksPlusNet1.html>
The Web page describing the project can be found at:
<http://www.cse.uiuc.edu/turing/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07945>
ToCFeb 7, 6:52 PM (ET)
By MATTHEW FORDAHL
URL: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050207/D883VUMO1.html
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - After getting a taste of the radio business incollege, software designer Craig Patchett never lost his interest inbroadcasting. But without a job in radio, it seemed likely to remain one ofthose unfulfilled passions - until something called "podcasting" camealong.
Now, Patchett's creating shows and sending them out to the masses everyday - not over the airwaves to radios but over the Internet, from hispersonal computer in Carlsbad, Calif.
His listeners download his shows to their iPods and other digital musicplayers.
Patchett, 43, is among a growing number of people getting into podcasting,which is quickly becoming another of the Internet's equalizingtechnologies.
Less than a year old, podcasting enables anyone with a PC to become abroadcaster. It has the potential to do to the radio business what Web logshave done to print journalism. By bringing the cost of broadcasting tonearly nothing, it's enabling more voices and messages to be heard thanever before.
"It was just one of those things where you read about a technology and itclicks in your head: This is perfect and something I want to get involvedwith," said Patchett, whose podcasts focus on Christian and familyprogramming.
For listeners, podcasting offers a diverse menu of programs, which can beenjoyed anywhere, anytime. Unlike traditional radio, shows can be easilypaused, rewound or fast-forwarded. The listener doesn't need to be near aPC, unlike most forms of Internet radio.
The number of regular podcasts is well over 800 and growing daily. Manyfocus on gadgets, technology and podcasting itself. Others highlight newbands and music or discuss the latest developments in politics, movies andsports. There are podcasts for beer lovers and wine aficionados, even a fewfor astronomy buffs and for activities performed in the buff.
Productions range from stream-of-consciousness rants punctuated by "uhs" tohighly professional shows complete with sound effects and music. Unlikeradio, there's no time limit, deadlines or government oversight of what'ssaid.
"There are going to be podcast stars who are just entertaining to listento," said Adam Curry, a former MTV personality and a driving force behindpodcasting. "There will be Howard Sterns who can use the seven dirty wordson their shows."
Before podcasting arrived, Curry was frustrated by the state ofbroadcasting on the Internet, which is often done by streaming feeds.Unlike with traditional radio, streaming costs grow with the audience, andit's difficult for listeners to save the show or do anything else with itafterward.
By comparison, regular downloads of audio files can be more evenlydistributed over time and let listeners move programs to portable devices.Before podcasting, however, there was no simple mechanism to do thatautomatically.
Curry saw potential in a technology called Really Simple Syndication, orRSS, which automatically feeds text from Web logs and other sites tosubscribers so they can read summaries from many sites at once.
After meeting with Curry in 1999, RSS co-inventor Dave Winer updated theprotocol so that attachments, such as MP3 audio files, could be sent alongwith text.
But there was no program that could automatically transfer the files to amusic player - until last summer when Curry taught himself the AppleScriptprogramming language and created a small program called iPodder.
It caught the attention of programmers.
"Within in a week, not only had people improved the script dramatically,but they started creating their own versions in Python, Perl and Java"programming languages, Curry said. "A whole new category of software hadbeen created."
Curry also started up a podcast, "Daily Source Code," to give theprogrammers something to listen to. But it didn't take long for other showsto appear.
"Basically, it was a radio show for a very small community, which just grewastronomically," he said. "Before I knew it, people were sending me linksand clips from their own podcasts. We didn't even have the name 'podcast' -we were calling them shows, audioblog posts all kinds of different names."
It was in a Sept. 15 online post that Dannie Gregoire of Louisville, Ky.,coined "podcast." [ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ipodder-dev/message/41 ]
When entered into a Google search, the word now returns 1.6 millionresults. Curry says his own podcast now has 50,000 listeners, and Gregoirehas created a portal that organizes podcasts by content[http://www.podcast.net]. A number of Web sites do the same, includingCurry's ipodder.org and Patchett's godcast.org.
But is there money to be made? Maybe, podcasters say.
Gregoire, who runs one of the go-to Web sites for anyone interested in thephenomenon, says he's looking at a number of business models, includingoffering a service to host shows or simple tools to put them online.
"Even though it's relatively easy, there are still stumbling blocks," hesaid.
Real radio stations are also taking note. Public radio's WGBH in Boston hasstarted podcasting its weekly "Morning Stories" segment, which saw itsdownloads jump from 30 downloads in the first week to 57,000 in December.
"Those are the kinds of trend lines that get your attention," said BobLyons, the station's director of radio and new media initiatives. "Theycertainly got ours."
The corporate world is also jumping in. Thomson Petersons, best known forits college guides and test-prep books, was expected to announce plansTuesday to begin podcasting 10-minute audio files offering students generaladvice on college admissions, financial aid and standardized tests.
Podcasting isn't likely to threaten traditional broadcasting any time soon,as the number of digital music players is only in the tens of millions,compared with hundreds of millions of radios. But as the player marketgrows - and more devices such as cell phones become capable of play audiofiles - it could pull away advertising dollars, especially those thattarget younger generations.
Public radio is showing the most interest, both in distributing traditionalprograms as podcasts and looking for new voices.
"It's easier for us to jump into this because our profit model is stillvery similar to the profit model of podcasting, which is put something outthere and then figure out how to ask money for it," said Brendan Greeley,site editor of the Public Radio Exchange, a distributor of programming.
Some podcasters still see podcasting as just a fun hobby.
Mark VandeWettering, a Pixar Animation Studios technical director, podcastsfrom his El Sobrante, Calif., home on a range of subjects, includingfatherhood, baseball and telescope building.
"It would be great if I made a fortune doing it, but I don't see how thatcould possibly happen," he said. "I'm not really trying for it, either. I'mhoping to meet some interesting people and establish some goodcommunications with people on weird topics."
---On the Net:
Podcasting portals:
| http://www.podcastalley.com | (Chris McIntyre) |
| http://www.godcast.org | (Craig Patchett) |
Adam Curry's iPodder software: http://www.ipodder.org
Dannie Gregoire:(http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2005/01/24/story3.html)
Podcasting coined - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ipodder-dev/message/41
Podcasting defined - http://www.evilgeniuschronicles.org/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/2004/09/29
Dannie Gregoire's site - http://www.podcast.net
ToCMedia Minutes: February 4, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm020405.mp3
The telecom world is abuzz with the news that SBC Communications is buyingAT&T for $16 billion dollars. According to Mark Cooper, Director ofResearch at the Consumer Federation of America, "It's ironic to see a babyBell eat its parent." And, similar to the old Ma Bell, whose break upcreated SBC, in the thirteen states where SBC has its core businesses, it'salready considered a monopoly.
"SBC essentially has 90% of the residential telephone business. It hasgathered around it the wireless business. They just bought AT&T Wireless afew months ago. They're trying to pick up the long distance business. So,they really do dominate the telecommunications part of the communicationsmarket."
News of AT&T's acquisition sent ripples through the telecom sector, leadingto talk of other potential mergers to compete with a beefed up SBC. ButCooper says there's really not that many companies left to conduct similartransactions.
"Four telephone companies, which are the four remaining Baby Bells, fourhuge cable providers and a couple satellite providers, barely eight or tencompanies completely dominate the communications space."
This entire trend of consolidation in telecommunications goes against theexpectation of lawmakers when they passed the Telecommunications Act of1996. The law was intended to stimulate competition among local phoneservice providers. Instead, competition occurred at the long distance levelwhile local level phone companies, those who actually control the copperwire network infrastructure, used that control to keep competitors out, Asa result, Cooper says, American consumers pay higher prices for low servicequality, especially relative to other industrialized nations. A starkexample of this can be found in the provisioning of broadband Internetservice.
"In the last four years, because we don't have vigorous competition, wedon't have open networks, the US has fallen from third in the world inhigh-speed Internet adoption to fifteenth. Americans pay 30 times as muchas the Japanese on a megabit basis, 10 times as much as the Koreans, twiceas much as many of the Europeans."
The acquisition still requires the approval of the FCC and Department ofJustice's Anti-Trust Division, a process which could take more than a year.However, those skids have been well greased over the last four and a halfyears during which SBC and AT&T spent a combined $166 million dollars onlobbying and campaign contributions in Washington D.C. Consummation of thiscorporate marriage is also expected to cost 13,000 employees their jobs.
A significant victory for media reform: the federal government has decidednot to appeal last year's ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appealsblocking implementation of new FCC media ownership rules which would haveallowed big media companies to grow even bigger. Andrew J. Schwartzman ispresident of the Media Access Project and the lead attorney in the lawsuitthat led to the judicial stay. He say, "Although the National Associationof Broadcasters and many of its corporate clients have gone ahead with theSupreme Court appeal, without government backing, that appeal is likely tofail." Ultimately, that means the FCC will have to revisit the issue ofmedia ownership from square one.
"The easiest way to describe it is that it's a do-over, but it's a do-overunder a different set of rules with a court watching over the FCC'sshoulder."
One advantage to judicial review of any new ownership rule revisions isthat the public interest is guaranteed a spot at the table.
"The Court of Appeals had chastised the FCC for being inadequatelyattentive to public comments the first time around, so we would expect thatthe FCC will be more attentive this time around."
While an industry appeal is pending, the FCC may hold off on a rewrite ofmedia ownership rules, especially given that the positions of chairman[Michael Powell, Secretary of State Colin Powell's son] and chief of theagency's media bureau [W. Kenneth Ferree] will be vacant in a month.Schwartzman says this gives public interest advocates at least a few monthsof time to prepare for the second round of this battle.
"I would assume that with the turnover at the FCC and the Supreme Courtconsidering it, we won't see any action until spring."
Any FCC rewrite of the media ownership rules is expected to occurincrementally, as opposed to the wholesale revision attempted in 2003. And,any new proposed rules will probably not even be formalized until early2006.
[More on Michael Powell - http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm012805.mp3 ]
[Media Access Project - http://www.mediaaccess.org/ ]
ToCMedia Minutes: February 11, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm021105.mp3
Recently, the New Millennium Research Council published a report thatviciously attacked municipal and community wireless broadband networks,faulting them for taking business away from the private sector and likeningthe spread of community wireless to the encroachment of socialism. But theNew Millennium Research Council is no garden variety think tank. It was setup six years ago by Issue Dynamics Incorporated, a company that specializesin public relations management for corporate clients, many of whom justhappen to be telecom companies, like Comcast, SBC, Bell South, Verizon,Sprint and Quest. It seems like a pretty clear cut case of research forhire, although NMRC Executive Director Alan Hepner would like you tobelieve otherwise.
"Since its inception, the NMRC has been financially supported by a numberof IDI clients, but as a matter of policy, the NMRC doesn't discloseindividual funders."
Meanwhile, the NMRC's corporate clients continue a state by state crusadeto kill or cripple the growth of community wireless networks. New bills todo just that have been introduced this year in the state legislatures ofIndiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon and Texas, and similar telecom companysponsored laws are already in effect in at least 14 states.
[New Millennium Research Council - http://www.newmillenniumresearch.org/ ]
[Editor's Note: Champaign-Urbana has one of these community wirelessnetworks - http://www.cuwireless.net/ ]
ToCMedia Minutes - January 21, 2005
URL: http://freepress.net/mediaminutes/mediaminutes/archive/mm012105.mp3
Carnivore is no more, so says the FBI who ditched the controversialcomputer network wiretapping software after only two years in operation.Carnivore was developed and deployed in 1999 at a cost of more than $3million dollars, but new congressional reports uncovered by Freedom ofInformation Act requests filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Centerclaim Carnivore hasn't been used since fiscal year 2001. Why not? Becauseadvancements in commercial computer snooping software made Carnivoreobsolete. The FBI uses those commercial products now in a new surveillancesystem it calls DCS 1000. In fiscal years 2002 and 2003 that system wasemployed 13 times in various investigations.
[Electronic Privacy Information Center - http://www.epic.org/ ]
ToCURL: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/01/20/tech.phishing.reut/index.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Internet "phishing" scams are becoming moredifficult to detect as criminals develop new ways to trick consumers intorevealing passwords, bank account numbers and other sensitive information,security experts say.
Scam artists posed as banks and other legitimate businesses in thousands ofphishing attacks last year, sending out millions of "spam" e-mails withsubject lines like "account update needed" that pointed to fraudulent Websites.
These attacks now increasingly use worms and spyware to divert consumers tofraudulent sites without their knowledge, experts say.
"If you think of phishers initially as petty thieves, now they're more likean organized crime unit," said Paris Trudeau, senior product manager forInternet-security firm SurfControl.
Phishing attacks have reached 57 million U.S. adults and compromised atleast 122 well-known brands so far, according to several estimates.
At the end of 2004 almost half of these attacks contained some sort ofspyware or other malicious code, Trudeau said.
One attack, first documented last month by the Danish security firmSecunia, misdirects Web surfers by modifying a little-known directory inMicrosoft Windows machines called a host file. When an Internet user typesa Web address into a browser, he is directed instead to a fraudulent site.
This technique has shown up in attacks spoofing several South Americanbanks, said Scott Chasin, chief technical officer of the security firm MXLogic.
The convergence of all of these threats means "we can expect to see somelarge attacks in the near term," he said.
Another more ambitious attack targets the domain-name servers that serve asvirtual telephone books, matching domain names with numerical addressesgiven to each computer on the Internet.
If one of those computers is compromised, Internet users who type in"www.bankofamerica.com" could be directed to a look-alike site run byidentity thieves.
Domain-name servers are tougher to crack, as they are typically run bybusinesses rather than home users, but hackers can find a way in by posingas a company's tech-support department and asking new employees for theirpasswords, Trudeau said.
Domain-name hijacking is suspected in incidents involving Google.com,Amazon.com, eBay Germany and HSBC Bank of Brazil, Chasin said.
Even straightforward phishing attacks are getting more sophisticated.Spelling errors and mangled Web addresses made early scams easy to spot,but scam artists now commonly include legitimate-looking links within theirWeb addresses, said Kate Trower, associate product manager of protectionsoftware for EarthLink Inc.
Consumers who click on links like www.citibank.com in these messages aredirected to a fraudulent Web address buried in the message's technicalcode, she said.
MasterCard International has caught at least 10 phishing scams involvingwww.mastercard.com over the past two months, said Sergio Pinon, senior vicepresident of security and risk services.
Consumers can protect themselves with software that screens out viruses,spyware and spam. But online businesses will have to take steps as well,perhaps by issuing customers a physical token containing a changingpassword, Chasin said.
Internet engineers should also figure out a way to authenticate Webaddresses, much as they are currently figuring out how to make sure e-mailaddresses are legitimate, he said.
ToC[Editor's Note: This ought to get some folks' blood pumping. :-) ]
Why do PC users put up with so many viruses and worms? Why isn't everyoneon a Mac?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, February 4, 2005
URL: http://sfgate.com/columnists/morford/
So about a year ago, the SO [significant other] finally upgraded her Netconnection to DSL, carefully installed the Yahoo! DSL software into hercreaky Sony Vaio PC laptop and ran through all the checks and installverifications and appropriate nasty disclaimers.
And all seemed to go smoothly and reasonably enough considering it was aWindows PC and therefore nothing was really all that smooth or reasonableor elegant, but whatever. She just wanted to get online. Should be easy as1-2-3, claimed the Yahoo! guide. Painless as tying your shoe, said thephone company.
She got online all right. The DSL worked great. For about four minutes.
Then, something happened. Something attacked. Something swarmed hercomputer the instant she tried to move around online and the computerslowed and bogged and cluttered and crashed, and multiple restarts anddebuggings and what-the-hells only brought up only a flood of nightmarishpop-up windows and terrifying error messages and massive system slowdownsand all manner of inexplicable claims of infestation of this worm and thatTrojan horse and did we want to buy McAfee AntiVirus protection for $39.95?
Four minutes. And she was already DOA.
My SO, she is not alone. This exact same scenario, with only slightvariation, is happening throughout the nation, right now. Are you using aPC? You probably have spyware. The McAfee site claims a whopping 91 percentof PCs are infected. As every Windows user knows, PCs are ever waging alosing battle with a stunningly vicious array of malware and worms andviruses, all aimed at exploiting one of about ten thousand security flawsand holes in Microsoft Windows.
Here, then, is my big obvious question: Why the hell do people put up withthis? Why is there not some massive revolt, some huge insurrection againstMicrosoft? Why is there not a huge contingent of furious users stomping upto Seattle with torches and scythes and crowbars, demanding the WindowsFrankenstein monster be sacrificed at the altar of decent functionality andan elegant user interface?
There is nothing else like this phenomenon in the entire consumer culture.If anything else performed as horribly as Windows, and on such a globalscale, consumers would scream bloody murder and demand their money back andthere would be some sort of investigation, class-action litigation, ademand for Bill Gates' cute little geeky head on a platter.
Here is your brand new car, sir. Drive it off the lot. Yay yay new car.Suddenly, new car shuts off. New car barely starts again and then only goesabout 6 miles per hour and it belches smoke and every warning light on thedashboard is blinking on and off and the tires are screaming and the heateris blasting your feet and something smells like burned hair. You hobbleback to the dealer, who only says, gosh, sorry, we thought you knew --that's they way they all run. Enjoy!
Would you not be, like, that is the goddamn last time I buy a Ford?
I see it all around me. All Chronicle employees receive regular emailwarnings from our IT department about all sorts of viruses that are comingtheir way and aiming for company PCs. The AP tech newswires are full talesof newly hatched viruses and worms and Trojan horses and insidious spywareprograms sweeping networks and wreaking havoc on PCs and causing all mannerof international problems, and all exploiting this or that serious flaw inthe Windows OS.
Oh yes, the Serious Windows Flaw. This is astounding indeed. It seems not amonth goes by that Gates & Co. isn't announcing yet another MicrosoftSecurity Bulletin, one that could cause serious problems for users andnetworks and millions of Web sites alike, could compromise your personaldata and make it very easy for any 10-year-old hacker to waltz right intoyour hard drive and swipe your credit card info and wipe out all your pornand read your secret emails to the babysitter and won't you please hurryover to Microsoft.com and download Major Windows Security Bug Fix#10-524-5b?
There have been not a few of these dire warnings. There have been dozens.Maybe hundreds. Each more dire and alarming than the last.
And with very few exceptions, every Mac owner everywhere on the planetsimply looks at all this viral chaos and spyware noise and Microsoftapologia and shrugs. And smiles. And pretty much ignores it all outright,and gets back to work. (By the way, yes, I own a tiny handful of Applestock. Do I need to advocate for Mac? Hardly. I'm already happy as can bethanks to the success of the brilliant, world-altering iPod.)
It's very simple. The Mac really has few, if any, known viruses or majordebilitating anything, no spyware and no Trojans and no worms, and sureI've been affected by a couple email bugs over the years, but those weremostly related to my mail server and ISP. For the most part and for allintents and purposes, Macs are immune. Period.
I know of what I speak. I am not a novice. I've been using Macs almostdaily for 15 years. I am online upward of 10-12 hours a day. I run multipleNet-connected programs at all times. I receive upward of 500 emails a day,much of it nasty spam that often comes with weird indecipherableattachments that try, in vain, to infiltrate my machine. My Mac just shrugsthem off and keeps working perfectly. I dump them all in the trash andnever look back.
I'm a power user. And I have yet to suffer a single debilitating virus orworm or spyware or malware whatsoever. Not one problem in 15 years, savethe time I spilled water in the keyboard of my PowerBook and I took off theback and let it dry out for two days and it worked perfectly.
Oh, I know all the arguments as to why Macs aren't the dominant system inthe world. I know Apple screwed up 20 years ago by not licensing its OS,and Gates stumbled in and made a killing by stealing the Mac's look andfeel but mangling the actual usability and thus irritating about 150million people for the next 20 years.
I know Macs are (well, were) more expensive, even though they're reallynot, when you finally jam that ugly cheapass Dell with enough video cardsand sound cards and disk burners to make it comparable to a Mac that comeswith all of it, standard.
I know Macs are not perfect, that there have been a handful of seriousApple security fixes over the years, and even a few rumored viruses andspyware apps (though rarely any reports of major server attacks or systemshutdowns). I know Apple releases regular security updates of its own. TheMac is not flawless. But it's damn close.
And I know, finally, the argument that says that if the world was usingMacs instead of PCs, the hackers would be attacking the Macs. It's a gameof numbers, after all. Anti-Mac pundits always mutter the same thing asthey install yet another PC bug fix: there just aren't enough Macs outthere to warrant a hacker's attention.
Which is, of course, mostly bull. I'm no programmer, but I know what Iread, and I know my experience: the Mac OS architecture is much morerobust, much more solid, much more difficult to hack into. Apple's softwareis, by default, more sound and reliable, given its more stable core. (Foryears throughout the '90s, a Mac org whose name I forget ran a ratheramazing hacker competition: they offered a $10,000 cash prize to anyone inthe world who could hack into the company's unprotected Mac server andalter the contest's home page in any way. Needless to say, no one evercould).
Perhaps there is something I'm missing. Maybe there's something I don'tunderstand as to why there is not a massive rush of consumers and ITmanagers to dump PCs in favor of Macs (or even Linux OS). Surely thousands(millions?) of work-hours have been lost nationwide as tech departmentsspend untold months debugging and installing PC virus protections andkeeping abreast of the latest and greatest worm to come down the pike, alldue to Microsoft's lousy software.
Am I being unfair? Maybe. Hell, I'm sure Windows has its gnarled and warydefenders, war-torn and battle-tested folk who still insist that, becausethere's more software available for the Windows OS, it's somehow superior-- though I challenge them to name one significant, common activity the Maccan't do as well as, if not better than, PCs. For 97 percent of users inthe world, Macs would be a more elegant and intuitive and appealingsolution. Period.
So then. Here's hoping the new, incredibly affordable Mac Mini converts ahundred million people to Mac in the next year. Here's hoping theborderline illegal and monopolistic domination of Microsoft comes to an endin the next decade. Apple appears poised, finally, again, ready to takeover the consumer world. Hell, thousands of glorious iPods have alreadyinfiltrated the Microsoft campus up in Redmond, causing MS management noend of humiliation and frustration. Can revolution be far behind?
And what about my SO's PC woes? Well, after her Vaio was so violentlydebilitated, and after being told by various experts that it would requirenothing short of a complete (and very expensive) Windows system debuggingand OS reinstall followed by a mandatory soak of the machine in a tub ofbleach and then spraying it with a thick coat of road tar as she waved aburning effigy of Steve Ballmer over it while chanting the text of theOfficial Microsoft 'Screw You Sucker' Windows Troubleshooting Guide, shepromptly dumped the useless hunk of sad landfill and bought herself abeautiful new iBook.
And of course, in a year of solid use, she has yet to have a singleproblem.
Oh wait. I take that back. She has had one nagging issue with her Mac. Oneprogram keeps crashing in the middle of her work, for no apparent reason.It is baffling and frustrating and makes you shake your head and want toscream.
The program in question? Microsoft Word.
---Mark Morford's Notes & Errata column appears every Wednesday and Friday onSF Gate, unless it appears on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which it never does.Subscribe to this column at sfgate.com/newsletters/.
ToCPaul Thurrott
InstantDoc #45407
February 11, 2005
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/45407/windowspaulthurrott_45407.html
ToCMy Advice for HP
Drop the Overlapping Brands, Spin Off Printers, Demand iPod Compatibility
HP finally dropped the bomb on Carly ("Worst. CEO. Ever.") Fiorina and islooking for a new leader. I have a few somewhat obvious pieces of advicefor the suddenly struggling company. First, get rid of all the overlappingCompaq/HP product brands. An almost identical Compaq model seems to existfor every HP computing product, which confuses customers. Second, spin offthe printer business or, better yet, spin off the rest of HP (maybe asCompaq), and make HP simply a printer and imaging business. Third, comethrough on last year's promise to make Apple Computer let you add WindowsMedia Audio (WMA) compatibility to the iPod for the sake of all yourcustomers who use digital media receivers, HP Media Center PCs, PCs, PocketPCs, and other devices that are completely incompatible with Apple'sAdvanced Audio Coding (AAC) format. If Apple continues to deny you thatobvious need, bail from the iPod. You sold a piddling amount of the deviceslast year, anyway.
Intel Preps 64-Bit Pentium 4 Processor
A year after promising to adopt the x64 platform across all its mainstreamprocessors, Intel is finally getting ready to release x64-compatiblePentium 4 chips. The Pentium 4 6XX family, as the chips are crypticallyknown, will feature an 800MHz front-side bus, 2MB of L2 cache, and Intel'sx64-compatible EM64T technology, according to the company. It will alsofeature advanced power-management features not found on other Pentium 4chips. Due as early as this month, the Pentium 4 6XX won't offer manyadvantages over 32-bit systems for the short term. But Windows XPProfessional x64 Edition's release to manufacturing (RTM) is due in lateMarch, and the product will be widely available in April; then Intel'soffering--like competing AMD Athlon 64-based systems--should suddenlybecome quite interesting.
Microsoft Erects New Defense Against Spammers
Microsoft and the Pfizer pharmaceutical company have launched parallellawsuits against Web site operators and spammers who advertise cheap andillegal Viagra rip-offs to Internet users. The companies say they spentmore than 7 months investigating the advertising to discover who was behindit. Pfizer is suing two companies, Canadian Pharmacy and E-Pharmacy Direct,and Microsoft is targeting three unnamed spam advertisers. Although thisnews is heartening, I'd still like to know why my spam filter is fooled bysuch obvious misspellings as V1agra.
CNET Touts Longhorn Beta 1 Schedule I Published in January
A Microsoft executive told CNET this week that Longhorn Beta 1 will ship bythe end of second quarter 2005 (i.e., June), publicly corroborating theschedule I published on the SuperSite for Windows in January. According toMicrosoft, beta 1 will target developers, as previous alpha builds did. Andunless something dramatic changes during the next few months--and itcould--don't expect anything too dramatic from the beta. According to mysources at the company, current build 5xxx versions of Longhorn look almostexactly like XP and don't have many interesting new features. If Microsoftdoesn't pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat soon, Longhorn is going toedge so far into joke territory that no one will be interested.
Microsoft Considers Being More Transparent to Developers
Microsoft is thinking about releasing the source code for its Windows FormsUI technology and other projects, although problems remain (key among themthat Avalon will soon replace Windows Forms, I presume). Microsoftexecutives call this strategy being more "transparent" to developers bygiving them a deeper understanding of how things work. However, givenMicrosoft's mixed success with pseudo open-source releases, I suspect thatpeople in the open-source movement will see transparency in Microsoft'smotives, not in its actions. Maybe I'm just cynical.
IBM Announces Cell Processor
IBM revealed details this week about its upcoming Cell Processor, which thecompany co-developed with Sony and Toshiba. Described by eager fans as theanswer to every problem ever posed, the Cell Processor is, in reality, justan evolution of the PowerPC processor that offers some interestingadvantages over other chips. The Cell Processor can simultaneously execute10 processor instructions, compared with just two for most Intel chips. Itshould also scale up to enormous clock speeds, starting at 4GHz--fasterthan any Intel chip. The problem, I think, is the way IBM is marketing thechip. As it did with the original PowerPC, IBM is touting the CellProcessor as a hugely versatile chip that will run every OS known to manand will power (ahem) devices as unrelated as cell phones, game machines,and PCs. Will it fly? Sony is going to use the processor in the PlayStation3, so maybe it has a future. But I doubt that we'll see any mainstreamcomputing platform adopt the Cell Processor any time soon.
New Spyware Targets Mozilla Browsers
Mozilla users who assumed they were safe from the spyware ills that bedevilMicrosoft Internet Explorer (IE) users got a rude shock this week when thedark side of their browser's success became clear. Security experts are nowwarning users of Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox about spyware that'sspecifically written to attack those products. This event confirms whatI've always thought about security: Hackers go where the victims are.That's why IE is so unsafe (well, that and bad technology such as ActiveX)and why Mac OS X, with its tiny user base, is so infrequently attacked. ButMozilla is still a lot safer than IE. Thanks to the way the product works,to be compromised by the new spyware a user would have to agree to downloadand install the offending code. But hackers are industrious, and they'llfool many users by hiding nasty code inside something that doesn't lookdangerous. I'll be interested to see how The Mozilla Foundation responds towhat I feel is the first serious security attack on its products.
Microsoft Preps Fix for Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 is a gotta-have upgrade for any Tablet PC user;it's full of useful new functionality and features. There's just oneproblem: One of the release's biggest improvements, the Tablet Input Panel(TIP), apparently has a glaring memory leak that eats up the system'sresources over time, killing performance. The only solution now is forTablet PC users to routinely reboot their machines. Microsoft is working ona fix, which the company hopes to release soon. In this meantime,Microsoft's advice is simple (if inelegant): Reboot that Tablet PC once aday.
Longhorn Laptop Secondary Displays at VSLive! Show
I've seen a few reports this week touting a VSLive! presentation duringwhich a Microsoft executive showed off secondary displays for upcomingLonghorn-based laptops that are based on the company's Smart PersonalObject Technology (SPOT). I don't understand why the reports I've seenpresent this information as if were new. Although these displays, which siton the outside of a laptop shell, are a cool idea, they're not new. Infact, Microsoft first showed them publicly almost a year ago at WindowsHardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2004. And as you might expect, Iposted pictures on the SuperSite for Windows at that time.
Record Earnings for Dell--Again
Dell roared to record revenues of $13.5 billion in the most recent quarter,up from $11.5 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Income, however, waslower than expected, thanks to a one-time tax charge. The company postedincome of $667 million; before the charge, its income was $947million--higher than analysts had expected (the income, not the charge).Flush with its most recent success--this was the 16th quarter in a row thatthe company met or exceeded expectations--Dell now says that it expects topost its first $80 billion year in fiscal 2005. For the quarter endingDecember 31, overall shipments grew 19 percent, with Dell's printerbusiness growing 111 percent and its desktop PC sales jumping 16 percent.With 17 percent of the market (compared with HP's 16 percent), Dell isagain the largest PC maker in the world.
Rank of Top PC Makers Changes a Bit
And speaking of market share, while juggernauts Dell and HP continue theirone-two lockstep atop the list of best-selling PC makers worldwide, therest of the top five has changed quite a bit as companies such as Acer andGateway made huge gains in the most recent quarter. Acer sales jumped 44percent in the quarter, launching the company back into the top five anddisplacing Toshiba. And Gateway's acquisition of eMachines appears to havepaid off. Strong sales of Gateway and eMachines PCs propelled Gateway intothe number four spot. IBM, incidentally, was number three.
Mark Joseph Edwards
InstantDoc #45385
February 9, 2005
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/WindowsSecurity/Article/ArticleID/45385/45385.html
Reported February 8, 2005 by Microsoft
VERSIONS AFFECTED
DESCRIPTION
Microsoft has released a cumulative update for IE. The update also includesnew patches for vulnerabilities related to improper handling ofdrag-and-drop events, improper handling of URLs, improper handling ofDynamic HTML (DHTML) methods, and improper handling of content from acrossmore than one domain. All of the problems could allow a remote intruder totake complete control of a user's system.
VENDOR RESPONSE
Microsoft has released Security Bulletin MS05-014, "Cumulative SecurityUpdate for Internet Explorer (867282)," which explains the update and itscaveats in more detail.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms05-014.mspx
ToCPaul Thurrott
InstantDoc #45344
February 8, 2005
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/45344/45344.html
Yesterday, as promised, Microsoft issued a massive number of securitybulletins and fixes as part of its regularly scheduled monthly securityupdate release schedule. The company released 12 security bulletins forvarious products, including several Windows versions, Microsoft ExchangeServer, Office XP, Windows Media Player (WMP), MSN Messenger, and WindowsSharePoint Services (WSS). Eight of the bulletins are rated critical, thecompany's most serious rating. "Microsoft is committed to deliveringsecurity updates on a predictable and consistent monthly schedule," acompany representative said yesterday. "As we do every month, Microsoftwill hold a technical Webcast on Wednesday morning to discuss this month'supdates. This Wednesday's Webcast has been extended to last for 2 hours."You can sign up for the security Webcast on the Microsoft Web site.
The eight critical security bulletins include fixes for the LicensingLogging Service in Windows; the Windows Server Message Block (SMB) service;the OLE and COM technologies in Windows, Exchange Server, and Office; theDynamic HTML (DHTML) Editing Component ActiveX Control in Windows;Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE); the Hyperlink Object Library in Windows;Office XP; and the PNG processing facility in Windows, WMP, and MSNMessenger. You can download these and the other updates issued yesterdayfrom the Microsoft Security Web site.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx
ToCPaul Thurrott
InstantDoc #45339
February 8, 2005
URL: http://www.windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/Article/ArticleID/45339/windowspaulthurrott_45339.html
Microsoft has quietly started testing its Microsoft Update service, whichwill replace Windows Update later this year. Like Windows Update, MicrosoftUpdate will give Windows users a central location to downloadWindows-related patches and software updates. But Microsoft Update willalso provide update downloads for all supported Microsoft non-Windowsapplications, including Microsoft Office.
Microsoft has been planning the move to Microsoft Update for some time. Ifirst wrote about the service way back in July 2003(http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/39545/39545.html). Butmoving to Microsoft Update required a large amount of back-end work. First,Microsoft moved to the V5 software update engine that now provides thefoundation for the current versions of Windows Update, Automatic Updates,and the company's other software update products. With that engine inplace, the company is finally turning its attention to Microsoft Update.
The beta Microsoft Update site, which went live last night and is available(if temporarily) to the public (http://update.microsoft.com/), is clearly awork in progress. The site is still branded Windows Update, not MicrosoftUpdate, and no non-Windows updates are yet available. Sources at Microsofttell me that the Microsoft Update beta will be made available to betatesters and Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2005 attendeesin second quarter 2005 and that the final release is scheduled for thirdquarter 2005.
ToCTidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
24-Jan-05 marked the 21st birthday of our favorite smiling friend,Macintosh. If you have a BitTorrent client (I'm currently using Azureus),go to the last URL below and download the video (21 MB QuickTime) of theMac's introduction. Steve Jobs's bow tie alone is worth the download. [JLC]
<http://www.bittorrent.com/>
<http://azureus.sourceforge.net/>
<http://www.industrial-technology-and-witchcraft.de/1984.html>
TidBITS#762/17-Jan-05
Fresh on the heels of its Macworld Expo product announcements, Applereleased its first quarter results for fiscal year 2005, with CEO SteveJobs boasting the "highest quarterly revenue and net income in Apple'shistory." The quarter ending 25-Dec-04 gave the company a net profit of$295 million, compared to a net profit of $63 million in the first quartera year ago. Revenue was $3.49 billion, up 74 percent, and gross margin was28.5 percent, up from 26.7 percent, from the year-ago quarter.
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07504>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=07853>
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jan/12results.html>
In the first quarter, Apple shipped 1,046,000 Macintosh computers and4,580,000 iPods, representing an impressive 26 percent increase in CPUs anda stunning 525 percent increase in iPods over the same quarter a year ago,which includes the traditional holiday shopping period running from lateNovember until Christmas. The company has now sold over 10 million iPods.[MHA]
ToCby Adam C. Engst <ace@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
Apple today pulled the wraps off an update to the PowerBook line thatincreases CPU speeds to 1.5 GHz and 1.67 GHz, bumps all hard drive speedsto 5400 rpm, adds an 8x SuperDrive, and introduces a pair of interestingnew technologies - the scrolling trackpad and Sudden Motion Sensor - thelatter of which you hope you'll never need.
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/jan/31powerbook.html>
<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/>
Faster PowerBook!
In a not unexpected move, Apple bumped up the clock speeds of the PowerPCG4 used in the current PowerBook line. The end result is a $2,700 1.67 GHz17-inch PowerBook that comes with a 100 GB hard disk, an 8x SuperDrive(CD-RW/DVD+-RW), an ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics processor with 128 MBof video memory, Dual Link DVI support that can drive Apple's 30-inchCinema HD Display, and internal Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Other specs remain thesame: 512 MB of RAM, Gigabit Ethernet, 56 Kbps v.92 modem, built-in 54 MbpsAirPort Extreme, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 and 800 ports,optical digital audio input and output, and an illuminated keyboard withthe ambient light sensor.
The addition of the backwards-compatible Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced DataRate) is somewhat notable, given that Apple is the first major company tobuild the technology in by default. Bluetooth 2.0 triples the maximum datarate from 1 Mbps to 3 Mbps and in doing so, thanks to the side effect oftransmitting for shorter periods of time, reduces power consumption. Ofcourse, nothing else supports Bluetooth 2.0 right now, but that willundoubtedly change soon. The final Bluetooth 2.0 specification was ratifiedin November 2004, with the first ratified chips appearing in December,meaning that Apple turned on a dime to build them into these new PowerBooks.
<http://www.apple.com/bluetooth/>
<http://www.bluetooth.com/news/releases.asp?A=2&PID=1437&ARC=1>
The 15-inch PowerBook comes in 1.67 GHz and 1.5 GHz models ($2,300 and$2,000, respectively). Compared to the 17-inch PowerBook, the 15-inch 1.67GHz model includes only 64 MB of video memory (128 MB and Dual Link supportare optional), comes with an 80 GB hard disk, and lacks digital audio inputand output; the 1.5 GHz model also trades the SuperDrive for a Combo drive(CD-RW/DVD-ROM) and loses the option of Dual Link support.
With the 12-inch PowerBook, Apple offers a pair of 1.5 GHz models. The$1,700 model includes an 80 GB hard disk and an 8x SuperDrive; the $1,500model instead provides a 60 GB hard disk and a Combo drive. Both modelsalso rely on an Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 graphics processor with 64 MB ofvideo memory, and they offer only 100Base-T Ethernet and FireWire 400instead of the faster ports sported by their larger siblings. As withprevious models, the 12-inch version does not offer the illuminated backlitkeyboard.
All models come with Mac OS X 10.3 Panther, iLife '05, Art Director'sToolkit, QuickBooks for Mac New User Edition, GraphicConverter,OmniGraffle, OmniOutliner, and a variety of trial versions of otherprograms.
Scrolling Trackpad
Raging Menace Software's $15 utility SideTrack has long simulatedscroll-wheel capabilities on PowerBook and iBook trackpads, but it does soby devoting a side of the trackpad to scrolling. Apple's new scrollingtrackpad technology, which is built into all the new PowerBooks, takes adifferent approach that may work better. Drag two fingers on the trackpadsimultaneously to scroll horizontally, vertically, or to pan around theactive window. You can customize the settings or turn off scrollingentirely, presumably in the Trackpad tab of the Keyboard & Mouse preferencepane.
<http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/>
The scrolling trackpad technology is built into the trackpad hardware andthus won't be available to owners of older PowerBooks or iBooks, though Iwould expect to see it migrate to the iBooks with the next minor update tothat line.
Sudden Motion Sensor
Dropping your PowerBook is a bad idea. A really bad idea. But as much asbreaking the screen and denting the case in ways that might prevent the lidfrom closing or the optical drive from working are terrible, horrible,awful, rotten, no-good things to have happen, even worse is damaging thehard drive and losing all your data. (Unless, of course, you have cleverlyfollowed Joe Kissell's advice in "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups" toensure that you can restore everything with a minimum of fuss anddowntime.)
<http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/backup-macosx.html>
Apple still hasn't built any sort of automatic backup capabilities into theMac, but the entire line of new PowerBooks feature the new Sudden MotionSensor, which detects changes in axis position and accelerated motion (aswill likely happen when you accidentally pull the PowerBook off your deskwhile messing about with the cable nest on the floor). When the SuddenMotion Sensor activates, it instantly parks the heads of your hard drive tolessen the chance that they'll scratch the disk surface, reducing thelikelihood of data loss. Once the Sudden Motion Sensor notices that yourPowerBook is level again, it unlocks the drive heads automatically.
As much as the Sudden Motion Sensor is a useful technology, it's by nomeans a panacea. Even ignoring all the other damage that comes withdropping a PowerBook, the Sudden Motion Sensor is relevant only if you dropthe PowerBook while it's running; when the PowerBook is sleeping or shutdown, the drive heads are already parked. So don't assume that the SuddenMotion Sensor will provide any protection beyond what you already have inmany situations. As always, focus on prevention: be careful when handlingyour laptop, use a well-padded laptop bag (TidBITS sponsor Matias has avideo of dropping a laptop in their Laptop Armor bag onto concrete from ahigh of 10 feet (3.05 meters)), and set up your working environment toreduce the risk of people tripping over cables and other accidents.
<http://laptoparmor.com/index.php?refID=5>
Nice Updates
These minor revisions to the PowerBook line are welcome, particularly giventhat they don't come with increased prices - no one will ever complainabout a CPU speed bump, and the faster hard disks should improveperformance with disk-intensive work. The Dual Link capability will beparticularly appreciated by those who use a 15-inch or 17-inch PowerBook astheir primary Mac, but who also need the massive screen real estate of a30-inch Cinema HD Display. And the addition of Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, thescrolling trackpad, and Sudden Motion Sensor sweeten the deal beyond whatnormally happens with a speed bump update. The new machines will beavailable later this week.
ToCby Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
Early complaints about the cost of built-to-order options for memoryupgrades and wireless options on the Mac mini have apparently led Apple toslash those prices dramatically. (MacNN originally noticed these changes.)
<http://www.macnn.com/news/27834>
The 1 GB memory upgrade was originally a fairly ridiculous $475 whenname-brand 1 GB cards of the same type can be found in the mid-$200s. Theprice now is $325, which is low enough that it's more reasonable to have anApple-certified technician perform the installation - especially when youconsider that Apple will warranty that RAM and replace it if you haveproblems. (Self- installed RAM is your own problem, a problem that bit mewith my PowerBook G4 and Panther.)
The wireless combination of Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme is now $100instead of $130 when installed together. Upgrading the hard drive to 80 GBnow costs $50 instead of $90. (MacNN also noted that the add-on SuperDrivespeed jumped from 4x at the time of the announcement to 8x. However,according to MacCentral, Apple said that the speed change was atypographical error and changed the specification back to 4x speed - thedrive reads at 8x, but writes at 4x.)
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/26/macminisuperdrive/>
I assumed that because built-to-order units wouldn't have shipped, earlybuyers will get this new pricing. However, author and Macworld SeniorWriter Dan Frakes wrote in after I'd posted this and noted that he'dreceived his build-to-order (BTO) unit on 20-Jan-05! He's contacting Appleabout a refund in the difference, and I suggest all early BTO purchasers dothe same, as Apple is generally good about this kind of short-term pricechange.
This dramatically drops the cost of a "high-end" Mac mini in the BTOvariety. Take a 1.42 GHz processor, an 80 GB hard drive, a SuperDrive,Bluetooth, AirPort Extreme, a USB keyboard and mouse (the price of whichdropped last week), and a full gig of memory, and you're no longer payingover $1,400, but $1,180 instead.
ToCSmallest, Most Affordable iPod Yet Is a Very Big Deal
By Christopher Breen, Macworld Magazineposted January 18, 2005April 2005
URL: http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/reviews/ipodshufflereview/index.php
In Brief:
iPod shuffle 512MB Price as rated: $99 Best Current Price: $99.00 (via ProductFinder) iPod shuffle 1GB Price as rated: $149 Best Current Price: $149.00 (via ProductFinder)
Not content to dominate the middle- and high-end of the portable musicplayer market, Apple has determined to own it all by releasing the smallestand most affordable iPod yet, the iPod shuffle. Available in capacities of512MB and 1GB (priced at $99 and $149, respectively) the shuffle isremarkable not only for its size and price, but also for its lack of adisplay. Is a display-less iPod for you? That depends on what you expectfrom your music player and how much effort you're willing to expendcreating playlists that make sense for your on-the-go lifestyle.
Limited for Your Protection
Given a regular iPod's ability to display contacts, calendars, and notes;play games; and-with all dock connector iPods except for the iPodmini-record voice-quality notes through an add-on microphone and storepictures via a media card reader, it's little wonder that previous iPodshave been described as more than simple music players. In this case there'sprecious little danger of the iPod shuffle being confused with anything buta bare-bones music player as that's exactly what it is-the first iPodthat's dedicated solely to playing music with nary a bell nor whistle insight.
How stripped down is it? I've mentioned the lack of a display so navigationis barely a concern. The iPod shuffle bears a simple three-position toggleswitch on the back that turns the iPod off, directs it to play its playlistfrom beginning to end in order, or flips the device into Shuffle mode wheresongs are played randomly. A green stripe below the switch helps you seewhat position the switch is in but it's a little too easy to skip past thefirst position into Shuffle mode when you pull down on the switch.
Apple's tiniest iPod communicates through two LEDs planted under theplastic housing on the front of the device. For example, a yellow LED showswhen the player is charging-a green LED shines when the shuffle iscompletely charged. A blinking green LED indicates that the device has beenpaused. If it blinks yellow three times in succession, you've engaged Hold(by holding down the Play/Pause button for three seconds). Thankfully,Apple includes a small iPod shuffle "cheat card" that tells you what thevarious blinks and LEDs mean.
Some blinks take precedence over others in less-than-helpful ways.Specifically, the iPod shuffle displays a steady green LED when the deviceis fully charged. However-as is noted in the manual-if you've configurediTunes so that the iPod is used as a disk, a yellow LED blinks continuouslyso you can't be sure exactly when the shuffle is completely charged.
And there are times when some LED action would be better than none.Specifically, the only way to tell if the iPod shuffle is playing is toplug it in. Yes, it will blink for one minute when paused, but once thatminute has elapsed, the device doesn't glow at all-just as if it wereplaying or switched off. Unless you're careful to switch it off when you'renot using it, you could easily discover that its battery is drained afterit was accidentally activated when stored in a pocket, purse, or backpack.
The back bears its own LED. Just below the toggle switch is a BatteryStatus button that, when pressed, flashes an LED that gives you a verygeneral idea of how much of a battery charge remains-green indicates a goodcharge, yellow, a low charge; red, a very low charge; and no glow means nojuice remains. Given the shuffle's limited means of communication, Iunderstand why you're offered only a four-stage status indicator, but Iregret that there's not some interim indication when you've reached thehalf-way point of your charge. A glowing green LED can indicate that youhave anything from 5 to over 12 hours of power remaining.
An iPod just isn't an iPod without some kind of click-wheel controller, andthe iPod shuffle is no exception. Because the iPod shuffle can't benavigated, there's no reason to include a spinning wheel controller or aMenu button. Instead, the device includes a round controller that offers aPlay/Pause button in the middle and a four-way click ring on the outsidethat offers Volume Up, Volume Down, Fast Forward/Next, and Rewind/Back.(Choosing between moving from one song to another and simplyfast-forwarding or rewinding through a portion of a song works the same wayas it does on other iPods: Click one to move to another songs, click andhold to fast-forward or reverse.)
Making the Connection
When you pull the far-too-easily lost cap from the tip of the iPod shuffleyou'll see a USB connector. This is the means for linking the iPod to acomputer or an optional power supply.
Having such a connector built into the iPod is both convenient and not soconvenient. It's helpful because it means you don't have to lug along (andpossibly lose) a cable to move music and power between your computer andplayer. It's not so convenient because, by default, you must charge theiPod shuffle with your computer, and a computer isn't always handy. Also,because the iPod shuffle is a bit wider than the USB keydrive it resembles,it won't fit on some computers (Apple's eMac, for example). Both theseissues can be addressed by Apple accessories that cost nearly a third ofthe 512MB iPod shuffle-the $29 iPod USB Power Adapter, the $29 iPod shuffleExternal Battery Pack (which provides 20 additional hours of playtime withtwo AAA batteries) and the $29 iPod shuffle Dock.
iTunes Additions
If you're a digital music enthusiast it's likely that your iTunes musiclibrary exceeds the number of songs that can be stored on an iPod shuffle.With that in mind, Apple has made adjustments to both the iPod shuffle andiTunes to make it easier to pack the player with the most music-andgreatest variety of music-possible.
Its first space-saving trick is to limit the kinds of files that can beplayed by the iPod shuffle. Unlike with other iPods, the iPod shuffle can'tplay AIFF or Apple Lossless files-files that consume a lot of storage space(wav files, which consume the same 10MB per minute of stereo audio as AIFFfiles, can be played by the iPod shuffle, however). The next trick is foundin iTunes' iPod preferences. Here you'll discover the Convert Higher BitRate Songs to 128 kbps AAC for this iPod option. When this option isenabled, iTunes converts AIFF and Apple Lossless files to 128 kbps AACfiles. Such a conversion reduces an AIFF file to about seven percent of itsoriginal size (and compromises audio quality in a way that those withdiscerning ears may find objectionable).
iTunes 4.7.1 (included with the iPod shuffle) adds the Autofill featurethat picks songs from your iTunes music library or from a playlist youdesignate in iTunes' Source list. You can direct Autofill to choose songsat random as well as favor songs that have a high rating. You can alsochoose to replace the songs on the iPod shuffle when Autofilling or addselections to the current songs on the device. While not as powerful as awell-built Smart Playlist that can exclude or include songs by genre andplay time, Autofill is a reasonable and easy-to-use compromise.
It couldn't be much easier to use Autofill. Just plug in the iPod shuffle,select it in iTunes' Source list, choose a source for your music in theAutofill pane that appears at the bottom of the iTunes window, and clickthe Autofill button. iTunes will grab a subset of your music, create aplaylist, and copy the contents of the playlist to the iPod shuffle. Ifyou've enabled the Convert Higher Bit Rate Songs to 128 kbps AAC for thisiPod option, it will take longer to sync the device, as large files must beconverted on the fly. (I found it takes about a minute to download a songthat's being converted.)
Something not mentioned in Apple's documentation, but worth noting is thatwhen you instruct iTunes to keep the iPod shuffle in the Source list evenwhen its disconnected (an option in the iPod shuffle's Preferences tab) youcan click Autofill over and over to create different playlists. When youstumble across one you like, select all its contents and choose NewPlaylist From Selection from iTunes' File menu to create a new playlistthat contains the songs generated by Autofill. When you next connect youriPod shuffle, just select this playlist from the Autofill From pop-up menuand click Autofill to load the music from the playlist to your shuffle.
The iPod shuffle will play type 2, 3, and 4 Audible.com audiobooks(audiobooks sold by the iTunes Music Store are compatible) but won'tautomatically add them to the iPod shuffle. Instead, you must add themmanually, which can be a bit of a chore with an iPod shuffle that's alreadyfull of tracks. The device doesn't support EQ settings imposed in iTunesnor will it respond to any volume adjustment, start time, or stop timesettings you've created in iTunes' song settings windows.
One last useful feature found in the iPod shuffle's Preferences tab is theability to reserve specific amounts of storage space on the device formusic and data. When you attach the shuffle to your Mac or PC, select it iniTunes Source list, and enable the Enable Disk Use option, you can activatea slider that determines how much of the shuffle's storage space will bedevoted to music and how much will be used for storage. If the iPod shuffleis full of music, clicking OK after setting this slide will cause iTunes totoss out some of the music on the shuffle to make room for data storage.Regardless of whether you've set aside room for data, you can copy data toan iPod shuffle that's mounted on your computer as a disk drive.
In Use
The iPod shuffle sounds as good as any iPod I've owned. As Apple suggests,it's about the size of a pack of gum and, when worn around your neck on theincluded lanyard, feels just about as heavy. Given that the shuffle can beeasily detached from the lanyard with a quick jerk, it won't take long forthose who live in less savory parts of their communities to learn to wearit inside their clothing-it will be a tempting target for those thieveswith quick hands and feet. (On the other hand, I suppose it's better tolose the iPod than be throttled by the lanyard when the iPod won't detach.)
Because there's no hard drive that can fidget when jostled, skipping isn'ta concern, making the iPod shuffle an ideal player for the active iPodowner. The included earbuds are Apple's standard issue and, as such, maynot be for those who demand both a comfortable fit and great sound fromtheir headphones.
The controls are responsive and reasonably intuitive given the lack of adisplay (though, as I mentioned earlier, it can be difficult to place thetoggle switch on the back exactly where you want it on the first try). Iwouldn't mind seeing one more LED that makes the iPod's actions a littleclearer. But, given that the iPod shuffle was designed to be a "push playand put it away" device, most users won't find its limited communicationskills troubling.
As has been typical of the last few iPod models, Apple has againunderestimated playtime. The company claims at least 12 hours of playtimefrom a fully charged iPod shuffle. In tests where I pressed play and walkedaway (in other words, I didn't touch the controls once playback began), my512MB shuffle played for over 17 hours on a single charge. Impressive.
Macworld's Buying Advice
To appreciate the iPod shuffle you must abandon some notions of what amusic player must be. For example, if you demand that you be able to pickexactly the song you want to hear when you want to hear it, the iPodshuffle isn't for you. Instead, the iPod shuffle is akin to a radio stationthat you've chosen because you appreciate the style of music it plays. Youare the shuffle's programmer and if you don't care for what you hear, it'sbecause you haven't programmed it properly. Unlike with other iPods, thismeans that you must put some thought into your playlists. Some people willfind this burdensome and for those who do, Apple offers a load of otheriPods that provide far greater freedom of musical choice. But I imaginethat there are a lot of potential and current iPod owners who willappreciate the convenience of being able to easily throw a subset of theirmusic collection on a $99 or $149 device that doesn't skip, sounds good,and plays their favorite tunes with the press of a single button.
Summary:
iPod shuffle 512MB
Pros: Inexpensive; good sound; good battery life; easy iTunes controls.
Cons: No display; LEDs can be cryptic; connecting to some computersrequires add-on accessories.
Price as rated: $99 Best Current Price: $99.00 (via ProductFinder)
Company: Apple, www.apple.com
iPod shuffle 1GB
Pros: Inexpensive; good sound; good battery life; easy iTunes controls.
Cons: No display; LEDs can be cryptic; connecting to some computersrequires add-on accessories.
Price as rated: $149 Best Current Price: $149.00 (via ProductFinder)
Company: Apple, www.apple.com
For years, people have criticized Macs for being more expensive thanWindows PCs. Although at one time that was the case, those of us in theknow realized a couple years ago that when you look at comparably equippedMacs and brand-name Windows PCs-that is, once you add the hardware featuresand software to a Windows PC that come stock on a Mac-the differences inprice are much smaller, if they exist at all. This aspect of "pricecomparisons" has been lost on many tech pundits and analysts (as is thefact that Macs generally come with an excellent software bundle unmatchedon budget PCs).
Now, to be fair, one of the rebuttals to the above argument has alwaysbeen, "Well, what if I don't want all the extra features that come stockwith the Mac? What if I just want a cheap, limited computer?" And it was avalid point. But with last week's announcement of the new $499 (see BestCurrent Price) Mac mini, Apple undercut that argument something fierce. NowMac users, too, can get a stripped down computer for a lot less money.
But it was only a matter of time before someone would argue, "It's stillnot price-competitive with the cheapest Dell." And within days we've gotour first such columns and articles, all of which leave me scratching myhead, wondering if these guys are as bad at comparing products when theyshop for themselves as they apparently are when comparing products fortheir columns.
The first one I came across can be found at the popular online investmentsite The Motley Fool (fool.com); it includes this shot across the mini'sbow:
Mac fans who've been sipping Steve's Kool-Aid have often claimed thatprice-in addition to various Microsoft conspiracies-is the only thingkeeping the masses from switching to their favorite brand, but take heed.Even if that were true, a quick online check shows you can get acomparable, full Dell system for $450...I'm also pretty sure Ma and PaKettle can do the third-grade math that escapes the headline writers fornow, which shows the cheapest Mac system you can build around this thing isstill 78% more expensive than a comparable PC.
(I'm assuming the "78% more expensive" comment refers to a system with a$999 Apple display and a $58 keyboard/mouse bundle, ignoring the fact thatthe Mac mini can also be used with the least expensive such peripherals onthe market-a savvy shopper could get a 17" CRT, mouse, and keyboard for~$70.)
Another, similar, comparison comes from InfoWorld's "Tech Watch" blog:
Let's look at the stats and see what you get and don't get.
Mac Mini, $499, 1.2GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 40GB hard drive,DVD-ROM/CD-RW...What you don't get are a monitor, mouse keyboard.
For $399 [from Dell] you get a 2.4GHz processor tower with 512MB RAM, 40GBhard drive, CD or DVD ROM drive, and a 17-inch monitor, a keyboard and amouse.
ExtremeTech puts it the most succinctly:
Let's not get too carried away about the "cheap" Macintosh. It's cheaprelative to past Apple systems, but you can still get a complete Wintelsystem for considerably less.
Can you? I decided to find out, using everyone's favorite budget PC maker,Dell, as a point of comparison.
First, check out the Mac mini's specs below-not bad. Then take a look atthe specs of the cheapest Dell desktop we can configure on the Dellwebsite, the Dimension 2400-currently "starting at $399 (after 10%discount)":
| Mac mini | Dell Dimension 2400 |
|---|---|
| $499 | $399 |
| 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 processor | 2.40GHz Intel Celeron processor |
| 256MB RAM (supports up to 1GB) | 256MB shared RAM (supports up to 512MB) |
| ATI Radeon 9200 (32MB dedicated VRAM) | Integrated Intel Extreme Graphics (uses system RAM for video) |
| 40GB hard drive | 40GB hard drive |
| Slot-loading Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CDRW) | DVD-ROM (read-only) drive |
| One FireWire 400 port | no FireWire |
| Two USB 2.0 ports | USB 2.0 (assumed--Dell doesn't list this in the specs) |
| 10/100BASE-T Ethernet | 10/100BASE-T Ethernet |
| 56K V.92 modem | 56K PCI Data Fax Modem |
| AirPort Extreme- and Bluetooth-ready | No wireless |
| Audio out | Integrated audio |
| Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3 | Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition |
| Software: Stock OS X apps, iLife '05, AppleWorks, Quicken 2005, Nanosaur 2, Marble Blast Gold. (Not to mention TextEdit, which has limited Word compatibility.) | Software: Internet Explorer, WordPerfect, Paint Shop Pro Studio trial, Photo Album Starter Edition, Dell Jukebox, Acrobat Reader 6.0 |
| One-year warranty | 90-day warranty |
| No display | 17-inch Dell E773c CRT display |
| No keyboard/mouse | Dell keyboard/mouse |
The Dell includes a monitor-worth $45, according to Dell-and a ~$20keyboard/mouse bundle. So let's take those away to make the Dell"equivalent" to the Mac mini and give it an even better apparent priceadvantage: $334.
Now, look hard at those specs-do these really look like "comparable"computers to you? Let's take a closer look at what $334 really gets youfrom Dell as compared to the $499 Mac mini:
Heck, the Dell doesn't even include antivirus software (a $62 option),which for Windows computers these days is like selling a car withoutbrakes-in both cases you simply turn it on and pray.
Once you take a hard look at the mythical "$400 Dell," it becomes clearthat to make it somewhat comparable to the Mac mini, you have to add adedicated video card, DVD/CDRW capability, FireWire, Windows XP Pro,anti-virus protection, a longer warranty, and some decent software. Ouch!The cheapest Dell is not so cheap any more.
Does the Dell have any hardware advantages? It does include 3 PCI slots forexpansion. But let's be realistic here: How many people in the market for asub-$500 computer are ever going to upgrade their computer via PCI cards?(Besides the ones who realize that they need a FireWire port to connecttheir video camera, that is. Did I mention that a FireWire port is includedon the Mac mini? Why, yes, I did.) Some might point to the Dell's "faster"processor, but it's a Celeron. Sure, the Mac mini's 1.25GHz G4 has beenaround for a while, but the Dell's got a Celeron. I call it a wash-boththese machines are underpowered for advanced users, but both will sufficefor their target market. (For those unfamiliar with the Celeron, it'sIntel's budget processor. It has a smaller Level 2 cache and slower busspeed, resulting in performance that's significantly inferior to the moreexpensive Pentium 4.) The only real hardware advantage for the Dell is thatit has a faster hard drive; whether the target market for this computerwill realize any benefits from this advantage is debatable.
Now there are surely numbers in this comparison with which an ardent Dellfan-or a Mac fan, for that matter-might quibble, but the point is clear:When you attempt to configure even the cheapest Dell comparably, it's nolonger cheaper than the Mac mini; in fact, it may even be more expensive.
And then there are the intangibles the Mac mini has in its favor: Noviruses; no spyware; easier setup of peripherals; a much smaller, moreattractive, and quieter enclosure. And if you want wirelessconnectivity-AirPort or Bluetooth-you can order your Mac mini with thesecapabilities built-in; with the Dell, you're stuck using USB dongles andadapters. Aren't these "features" worth something?
To be clear, I don't advocate a Mac for everyone. As much as I'd like to,there are people whose needs would be better served by getting a Windows PC(although their numbers are shrinking every day). And even though the Macmini is a stripped down Mac, there are going to be some people who don'tneed the extra functionality even the Mac mini has over the cheapest Dell;these people may be satisfied with the even-further-stripped-down Dell fora bit less money. But for everyone else, the Mac platform deserves aserious look, not half-baked "comparisons" that aren't, well, comparable.
More to the point: Articles that criticize the Mac mini by comparingApples and oranges serve no one. The next time you see a tech writer makingsuch comparisons, send him or her the URL to this article; maybe we canconvince them to compare Apples to apples, instead.
[Endnote: When I was writing this article, I also looked at the bargainmachines from other Windows PC vendors. As I browsed these companies'websites, something popped out at me: The different ways in which Apple andthe Windows PC vendors (including Dell) "strip down" their low-end models.The Mac mini is stripped down externally-no mouse, keyboard, ordisplay-while still being a full-featured machine internally. Windows PCmakers generally take the opposite approach: You get a monitor, keyboard,and mouse, but limited hardware features and little to no software. Andspeaking of software, why do so many Windows writers neglect to include thevalue of bundled software, monetary or otherwise, when they "compare"computers? I suppose it's because the "free" software that comes with mostWindows PCs stinks-in the budget PC world, if it comes with the computer itmust not be very good. Tip to Windows writers: You've been led astray. Thesoftware that comes with a computer can be free and great.]
See more about Mac mini at Macworld's Mac mini page.
http://www.macworld.com/hot_topics/macmini/index.php
(Updated 1/18 at 4:00 PM PT, adding specific verification from Apple thatopening the Mac mini doesn't void your warranty unless you break it whileopening it.)
Other links:
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/11/macmini/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/news/2005/01/22/shufflemini/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/news/macminihandson/
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/reviews/macminireview/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/2005/01/news/macminifaq/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/macminiinside/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors/2005/01/miniapplesandoranges/index.php
http://www.macworld.com/products/apple/complete/cpu_detail1_00035.php
ToCBy Dan Frakes
URL: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1038.html
The 10.3.8 Update delivers improved compatibility and reliability forMac OS X v10.3 "Panther" and is recommended for all users.
Key updates include:
Download Details
| Version: | |
| Post Date: | 02/09/05 |
| License: | Update |
| File Size: | 27.7MB |
For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website:
For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website:
TidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
On 25-Jan-05, Apple released Security Update 2005-001 to patch severalreported vulnerabilities in both desktop and server versions of Mac OS X10.2 and 10.3. The update affects Mail and Safari, the SquirrelMail webmailsoftware incorporated in Mac OS X Server, the Unix command-line tool at,ColorSync color profile software, and the libxml2 and PHP libraries. Withthe update, Apple also started a new naming scheme for security updatesthat uses the year and a sequential update number rather than a full datethat could sometimes cause confusion when it didn't match with the releasedate.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300770>
The newly patched Mail client no longer uses each Mac's identifiable uniquenetwork hardware address in constructing the Message-ID header in outgoingmessages, and Safari now prevents a malicious pop-up window from appearingto be from a trusted site. (If Safari's Block Pop-Up Windows feature isenabled, the issue doesn't occur.) Details of the other patches areavailable on Apple's Web site. The free updates, 18 MB for 10.2 users and 7MB for 10.3 users, may be downloaded via Software Update or from the AppleDownloads Web site. [MHA]
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/>
ToCTidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
Apple on 27-Jan-05 released iMovie HD 5.0.1, which fixes unspecified audioand video synchronization issues. According to Apple, you should apply thepatch if your iMovie HD projects include "DV Widescreen assets [16:9footage], titles, transitions, or video effects" ...which describes prettymuch any iMovie project. The update is available as a 2.4 MB download viaSoftware Update. [JLC]
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300731>
TidBITS#764/31-Jan-05
Alf Watt has released iStumbler 90, a Mac OS X tool that scans for Wi-Fi(AirPort and AirPort Extreme) and now Bluetooth and Rendezvous networks.Scanning for Bluetooth networks is a new hobby among those who want to findother similarly minded people and, sometimes, mess with their minds bysending them strange messages or even taking over certain devices when auser is unwise enough to accept a Bluetooth-sent attachment. The Rendezvousor multicast DNS (mDNS) scanning is also useful given how widely Apple hasdeployed the technology. iStumbler lets you browse for mDNS services andconnect to them through a single interface instead of needing to usedifferent programs, such as a Web browser and the Finder, to attach todifferent kinds of services.
This version also improves the scanning and display of Wi-Fi networks,which system administrators will find useful when trying to pinpoint signalproblems or glitches, including a Widget-like transparent window showingsignal strength on a time-based chart for any one network you choose.iStumbler is free and open source, but the developer is soliciting smalldonations to continue his work. [GF]
ToCTidBITS#765/07-Feb-05
Apple last week released iPhoto 5.0.1 via Software Update to address avariety of bugs in the company's photo management software. In particular,iPhoto 5.0.1 improves the process of upgrading iPhoto 4 libraries, makesdragging of albums into folders work better, solves some crashing problemswith books, and addresses issues with importing of MPEG-4 movies. Theupdate is 2.7 MB and Apple is recommending it for all iPhoto 5 users. [ACE]
<http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/>
ToChttp://www.cybernetman.com/default.cfm/DocId/602.htm
ToCreported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
January 20. 2005 - President Rollins began the meeting with a requestthat those who have yet to renew their memberships please do so.
Kevin Hisel then spoke about moving the CUCUG Starship Forums to the ISPnamesecure.com. Kevin stated that he is taking on the duties of theadministrator. Phil Wall made a comment on how the forum is currentlyworking. Kevin said he would look into the particular problem Phil noted.Kevin than stated that since we now control our own domain, we can havecucug.org mail accounts for those members who would like them. In closing,Kevin informed everyone the new Forums address ishttp://www.cucug.org/starship or you can get to them by going to the club'smain page and click on the link on the left hand side of the page.
Jerry Feltner brought in some more of his excellent printing paper forthose who would like some. Thanks Jerry.
Tom Purl asked about a mail program he wishes one of his clients wouldn'tuse. It's called Incredimail and is loaded with animated "dancing crap,"but no one had anything on the program to warrant its discontinued use.
There was a discussion about Microsoft's new anti-virus and anti-spywarerelease. Showing their usual route to "innovation," they bought GiantSoftware and the "new" product is Giant's previous work. Kevin Hisel saidit works well, but there is a substantial performance hit if you leave itrunning all the time. He said you should probably just run it when you wantto do a check.
There was a further discussion of the crushing load of adware and spywarethat is adversely effecting nearly everyone and seems to be getting worsein the last few months.
George Krumins asked about web board in connection to his work. Mark Zinzowwas very helpful, saying that listserv has the archive feature George waslooking for and you can also read the postings with a web browser. He saidall the major "good" software does both email and web access, but he isparticularly familiar with LSoft's listserv. It was also noted that thereis POP on Gmail.
Richard Rollins talked about his experience with the G5 iMac. He wasspeaking so positively about it that Kevin Hisel brought up the Apple website and began filling out an order form for Richard to buy one. He didn'thave to be forcibly stopped, because once Richard saw what he was doing,he couldn't continue because he was laughing too hard.
Emil Cobb stated that he has ordered a 1 GB iPod Shuffle and will show itoff once it arrives.
Kevin Hisel went to Google and brought up the site for Picasa, Version 2 ofwhich he was quite impressed with. It looks like a PC version of iPhoto andit's free. Recommendation enough. See it at http://www.picasa.com. Tom Purlwas intrigued enough to pepper Kevin with all sorts of questions about theprogram and its functionality.
David Noreen asked about a problem he was having printing to his HPLaserjet 2P Plus.After some discussion, he was advised he'd have to programhis BIOS to an older protocol for his PC to talk to the printer.
Richard Rollins had the latest Fry ad for anyone who would like to look atit. Wayne Hamilton said it comes out each week in the Chicago Tribune.
ToCreported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
The January meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday,January 25, 2005, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing toattend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number areboth in the book). Present at the meeting were: Emil Cobb, Kevin Hopkins,Kevin Hisel, Rich Hall, and Tom Purl.
Emil Cobb: Emil reported that at the meeting the Mac SIG looked atGarageband. He noted that both the PC and the Mac SIGs are hurting fordemonstration programs. He concluded by reporting seventeen members were inattendance at the meeting.
Tom Purl: Tom said he had several ideas for programs for the Linux SIG:Python (an object oriented scripting language), Ruby On Rails (a frameworkfor building web applications), Delicious (social bookmarking, storingbookmarks online), Flickr.com (a site for storing photos and sharing them),Automated Unit Testing (automated testing of programming code), Eclipse IDE(a free, cross platform, integrated development environment), and Wiki(editable web pages, like Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>).Next month the Linux SIG will be looking at Python.
Rich Hall: Rich noted that he wasn't able to attend the last meetingbecause it was his wife's birthday, so he thanked Kevin Hopkins fortransferring the membership information and funds collected in his absence.Rich noted that he has already filled out the club's tax forms for thislast year - we had a net loss of $40 - so we will owe no taxes.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin had nothing new to report.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin reported the successful migration of cucug.org tonamesecure.com. The CUCUG Starship forums have likewise been moved tonamesecure.com from their birthplace and the loving care of MikeLatinovich. Thanks Mike. Kevin said he wanted to maintain everything asbefore with one policy change: a stricter enforcement of the "members only"forums - you have to be a member to use them. Other than that there will bevery little moderation and no other major changes.
ToCMeetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at theFirst Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The FBC-CS is located at1602 N. Prospect Avenue in Savoy, on the NE corner of Burwash andProspect. To get to the the First Baptist Church from Champaign orUrbana, take Prospect Avenue south. Setting the trip meter in your carto zero at the corner of Kirby/Florida and Prospect in Champaign(Marathon station on the SW corner), you only go 1.6 miles south.Windsor will be at the one mile mark. The Savoy village sign (on theright) will be at the 1.4 mile mark. Burwash is at the 1.6 mile mark.The Windsor of Savoy retirement community is just to the south; BurwashPark is to the east. Turn east (left) on Burwash. The FBC-CS parking lotentrance is on the north (left) side of Burwash. Enter by the doubledoors at the eastern end of the building's south side. A map can befound on the CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html. TheFirst Baptist Church of Champaign is also on the web at http://www.fbc-cs.org .
Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at midyear.
Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. Allrecent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user groupexchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. Asa matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after threemonths of no contact.
For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, orcontact one of our officers (all at area code 217):
President/WinSIG: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Vice-Pres/MacSIG: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Richard Hall 344-8687 rjhall1@uiuc.edu Corp.Agent/Web: Kevin Hisel 352-1002 submitcomments.html Linux SIG: Tom Purl 390-6078 tompurl2000@yahoo.com
Email us at
912 Stratford Dr.
Champaign, IL
61821