fscklog

iPod zum Spielen

Jeder (aktuellere) iPod bekommt schon vier kleine Spielchen mit auf den Weg gegeben, zusätzlich hat man sich bei XO Play die Mühe gemacht, ein reines Textadventure direkt für den iPod zu erstellen und damit als erster externer iPod-Spiele-Hersteller auf sich aufmerksam zu machen. Wer dafür allerdings wirklich 30 (!) US Dollar ausgeben will, der lese weiter auf Seite 21, alle anderen folgen dem düsteren Pfad auf Seite 7...
(via iPodlounge)

Update:
Und auf einmal kostete es nur noch 10 US Dollar...

WochendMacOrama

Kleiner aber feiner Tipp bei macsoxhints.com:

"In Safari 1.2, once you have downloaded a file, you can double-click on the icon in the Downloads window to open the file with its default application. Saves a step of clicking on the magnifying glass to display the file in a finder window before opening."
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Matthew Thomas berichtet von seinen ersten 48 Stunden mit Mac OS X, durchaus lesenswert, obwohl ich mich frage, wie man sich soviel Zeit nehmen kann, Unstimmigkeiten aufzulisten und dabei zu folgendem Schluß kommt:

"So, smartypants, why don’t you report these bugs to Apple?
Because in the long run, that would be a waste of time. Apple could employ their own quality assurance people and programming people and project management people who would make sure these sort of usability problems were fixed. And indeed they used to. An equivalent list of simple usability problems I found after using Mac OS 9 for three years would be less than half as long as this list I compiled after using Mac OS X for two days."
Da hilft auch kein Churchill Zitat am Textende...
(via Daring Fireball)
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Think Secret berichtet von den anscheinend immer noch bestehenden Geräuschproblemen bei etlichen PowerMac G5:

"Apple is aware of this noise and is willing to replace the power supply for customers who are dissatisfied," the document says. "The beeping is a normal function and will be reduced, but may not be eliminated, even if the power supply is replaced." However, Apple says, customers who do not wish to have their power supply replaced can change their processor's Energy Saver setting to Highest, which "may increase fan noise" but will reduce the noise level as well."
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AppleMatters bietet ein Interview mit Rick Ellis, CEO von pMachine:

"Do you see products like ExpressionEngine integrating more tightly with OS X? For example, Apple has introduced, through .Mac, the ability to use iBlog.
One of the benefits of a system like ExpressionEngine is that it is platform-agnostic. It will run on any web server, from OS X, to Linux, to Windows, and as a user, you can access it using any web browser on any desktop computer. This neutrality is the cornerstone of the web. As much as I love Apple, I'm ambivalent about embracing platform-specific tools. Of course if Steve Jobs wants to make us an offer, I'm all ears!"
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MacFixIt spürt weiter der 'Stromverlust bei gedocktem iPod an schlafendem Mac-Problematik' nach:

"As previously mentioned, Apple's documentation merely states that the iPod will not charge while the connected Mac is sleeping, not that the unit will discharge during this period of time. Knowledge Base article #61127 says "To charge iPod's battery, simply connect iPod to your Macintosh. The computer must be turned on, and iPod won't charge if the computer goes into sleep mode."
Most readers report that the iPod drains more quickly when it is connected to an off or sleeping Mac than if it is not connected and sitting idle (however, these measurements may be inaccurate - see below). Some have noticed that the iPod's hard drive sometimes spins while connected to a sleeping Mac. Thus it would appear that the iPod remains active while connected to a sleeping Mac, and is perhaps using more power to stay active than is being drawn from the FireWire port."
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Tom Yager freut sich in der Infoworld über seinen idealen PowerMac G5:

"For the work I do, the Intel x86/Windows platform has fallen out of step with my requirements. I need my desktops to move and process multiple mountains of data, located in various places inside and outside the system, while maintaining a smooth, rich, and responsive user interface. I expect that from clients and servers. In the months I’ve worked with the Power Mac G5, I’ve found that the hardware, Panther OS, and the quite remarkable Xcode development environment form an ideal combination of usability and performance. It’s the ideal Mac; Intel’s Xeon simply can’t compete. If Apple wants a competing architecture to worry about, it should set its sights on Opteron. I don’t want to look ahead too far, but the G5 architecture is going to make one hell of a server.

That’s not conjecture. I ran all of my performance tests on the Server edition of the Panther OS without bothering to disable Panther’s long list of services. With low latency, fast transfer rates and few noticeable I/O bottlenecks, the Power Mac G5 is suited to both distributed and isolated environments."
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Tim listet seine sehr sinnvollen Wünsche für die nächste NetNewsWire Version auf, wobei ich insbesondere hinter 1. und 2. her bin:

"1. Disabling a subscription via a check box would make much sense if you want to discontinue following a certain feed temporarily. Good examples would be: cvs logs, overly active feeds. Apart from reducing the number of "unread" items, it might also help using less bandwidth.
2. Being able to reorder weblog accounts in the preference pane and weblog editor list would be helpful if you are managing a lot of weblogs. Alphabetical sorting just doesn't honor the importance you give to individual blogs. For reordering, dragging should be possible."

Mediale iPod mini Attacke

Die Über-Berichterstattung dauert an, iPodlounge verlinkt drei weitere aktuelle Artikel, die Editoren der Macworld freuen sich ebenfalls:
"The iPod Mini doesn't come with a wired remote control (for shame!), but it works just fine with the same remotes that work with the third-generation iPod. The included belt clip seems okay, but I'm sort of excited about the optional arm band, which you can use as a tourniquet in case you're bitten by a snake while you're out running with your Mini."

Genauso wie Michael Gartenberg, Analyst bei Jupiter Research:
"As for the market issues about the capacity, we discuss in our portable media player report about the number of songs in most consumers digital collections and based on that data, the mini should be MORE than enough for the vast majority of users. Overall, this is an amazing device and Apple is going to have a hard time keeping up with the demand."

Apple erklärt in der Knowledge Base, wie sich der iPod abgleichen lässt auch wenn die iTunes Library größer ist als die Kapazität des iPod (was seit dem iPod mini sicher erheblich an Relevanz gewonnen hat).

IT&W über den ersten iPod mini in Deutschland:
"Kurz - Felix hat zwei Videos und einen Haufen Photos vom Verkaufsstart des Apple-Soundzwergs in Big Apple mitgebracht. Und einen iPod mini natürlich, der als vermutlich erstes deutsches Exemplar heute um 10.20 Uhr in Frankfurt eintraf. Felix' erste schnelle Beurteilung, wieder zu Hause: "if it wasn´t for the small harddrive, i´d definitely prefer the mini over the original".

iPod mini Video und Auspackgalerie finden sich hier im fscklog verlinkt.

Apple hat überwiegend zufriedene Support Kunden

Bei einer Umfrage des Consumer Reports zur Supportzufriedenheit konnte Apple kräftig punkten, während Dell Schwächen zeigt, mehr bei CNET:

"The March issue of Consumer Reports, which came out last week, included a survey of 4,100 consumers, who gave Dell 62 points out of a possible 100 for its support on desktop PCs. Although it still managed to top competing brands Hewlett-Packard and Compaq, which scored 54 and 51, respectively, Dell's rating represented a decline from the magazine's last desktop support survey, published in June 2003, in which it received a 64.
Apple Computer led the pack, with 74 in the recent survey, while Gateway scored 61. A score of 80 would mean that respondents were very satisfied, while 60 is described as fairly well satisfied."

iPod-Chip ist WMA tauglich

DanceFrontDoor vermeldete gestern:
"Chip manufacture Portal Player in San Diego US build the embedded PB5502B-C chip in Apple's IPod.
This is the chip that allows the playing of AAC and MP3 - However what is interesting is that the chip firmware by default also allows the playing of WMA.
It looks like for some reason this is locked by Apple.
The Portal Player chip is used in other Mobile Media Players and by default allows all three formats."

Nun verwundert es erst einmal nicht weiter, wenn ein Chip, der bekanntlich in einer Reihe von MP3-Playern verwendet wird, natürlich entsprechend verschiedene Formate unterstützt und so erscheint es nicht weiter überraschend, dass der jeweilige Hersteller das ihm geneigte Format zulässt und alles weitere entsprechend 'deaktiviert'. Man könnte aus dem oben zitierten Artikel leicht den Eindruck bekommen, Apple wäre hier der limitierende Bösewicht, allerdings wird von den anderen Herstellern, die den genannten Chip verwenden, statt WMA eben entsprechend AAC 'deaktiviert'.

Zusätzlich handelt es sich bei der Nicht-WMA-Unterstützung des iPod um eine firmenpolitische und weniger eine technische Entscheidung, die für Apple sicher sinnvoll ist und bleibt, solange das Gespann aus iTunes Music Store und iPod den unangefochtenen Marktführer darstellt. Zwar ist Napster momentan auf dem absteigenden Ast, allerdings wird im Laufe des Jahres Microsoft mit extremer Marktmacht ins Musikdownload Geschäft drängen und für entsprechenden Wirbel sorgen...

Mehr zur aktuellen iPod WMA Diskussion mit weiteren Links bei IT&W und beim kritischen Weltentummler.
Mehr zur alten iPod WMA Diskussion im Rahmen des HP iPod:
WMA auf dem iPod? Wohl kaum.
HP dementiert WMA-Pläne für den iPod
Mehr zu Portal Player und einer möglichen Zukunft des iPod hier im fscklog.

mi2g: Mac OS X sicherstes Server-Betriebssystem

Macworld UK schreibt über einen Bericht der umstrittenen IT-Sicherheits-Berater mi2g:

"The security firm's Intelligence Unit has run a comparitive study of the variety of operating systems available today. It states: "The world's safest and most secure online server Operating System (OS) is proving to be the Open Source family of BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) and Mac OS X based on Darwin."
It's also claimed that Linux has become the most breached online server OS in the government and non-government spheres for the first time, while the number of successful hacker attacks against Windows-based servers have fallen for the last ten months.

To arrive at its conclusions, mi2g analysed 17.074 successful digital attacks against servers and networks. It states: "With Linux accounting for 13,654 breaches, Windows for 2,005 breaches followed by BSD and Mac OS X with 555 breaches worldwide in January 2004."
The group discounted the recent wave of worms, viruses and other attacks that have affected Windows systems worldwide. It confined the study to overt digital attacks by hackers."

Update:
Ist inzwischen (natürlich) bei /. gelandet.

Apple: iSight 1.0.2 zum Download

Per Softwareaktualisierung: iSight 1.0.2, 920 KB, mindestens 10.2.8.
"The iSight 1.0.2 update provides improved auto exposure and auto white balance functionality, enhanced IIDC compliance and better overall performance. The iSight 1.0.2 update is recommended for all iSight users."
Oder auch bei apple.com/isight.

DonnerstagsMacOrama Teil II

Für 2-Monitore-benutzende-2-Mac-Besitzer: Teleport, begeistert beschrieben bei What Do I Know:

"Currently a public beta, Teleport easily installs as a System Preferences pane. You install it on your main machine and any Mac you wish to control. After activating the app on both my PowerMac and 12” PowerBook, I requested permission from the PowerMac to control the PowerBook. The PowerBook popped up a dialog box asking if that was alright (so you can’t grab control of a coworkers’ Mac without permission). After clicking OK, I then moved back to the PowerMac and selected which side of my primary screen I’d like to use as my exit door to the PowerBook. From there it was go time — I could easily move the mouse over to my PowerBook’s screen, move windows around, type emails, and browse in Safari.

I didn’t have a third Mac to test this with, but from the looks of the interface you could easily set a second area of your main monitor to use an exit door to another Mac. So if you have three, four, five, or more Macs all within sight, there doesn’t appear to be anything standing in your way."
Ich hoffe, das in den nächsten Tagen mal testen zu können...
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Business Week vermeldet zwar sehr positives, konnte die genannten Zahlen allerdings nicht nachvollziehen:

"The big resurgence in capital spending lifted tech companies sharply, as corporations began investing again in information technology. Earnings for the computer industry soared 210%. Apple Computer Inc. recorded the largest increase for the group, a 552% jump in annual profits to $137 million, thanks to strong sales of its computers and the iPod."
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Interview mit Jan Sperlich bei den MacGuardians:

"Bildung ist also ein Thema für Deutschland - auch für Apple Deutschland? Aber ja, lautet die Antwort, ein erfolgreiches zumal. Vor ein paar Tagen schon haben die MacGuardians berichtet: In West-Europa konnte Apple seinen Anteil am Bildungsmarkt auf über 10 Prozent steigern. Und Jan Sperlich war mit der didacta zufrieden. Jan Sperlich? Nun ja, eben der "Education Sales Manager bei Apple Deutschland", wie es so schön im Management-Titel-Sprech heißt."
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Audio-Interview mit Stan Ng, Director Product Marketing - iPod, bei Inside Digital Media.
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Interview bei TMO:

"Matt Golombek PhD, JPL planetary geologist and Mars exploration rover landing site scientist, was the man responsible for choosing the landing sites for the Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit. In order to determine the best sites for these ground breaking spacecrafts, Golombek and his colleagues used the fastest desktop Mac available, in these cases a new G5 with dual 2 GHz processors running 8 GB of RAM."
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MGM ist anscheinend ebenfalls an Pixar interessiert:

"Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. hopes to convince Pixar Animation Studios it would be the best distribution partner for Pixar's animated films.
"We have spoken to Pixar and we do intend to speak with them again very soon," Chris McGurk, MGM vice chairman and chief operating officer, said Wednesday during a conference call to discuss the company's fourth-quarter results. "We would love to be in business with them."
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Bei MacFixIt:

"A MacFixIt reader recently sent us a very thorough report on an issue that has occurred across several different iPods and a number of long conversations with AppleCare support representatives. The overall conclusion is that leaving an iPod in its dock (or, presumably, connected directly to a Mac via the dock/FireWire cable) while the Mac is asleep can drain the iPod's battery."
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Mac-Sightings. Heute: The Sopranos.
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10% Rabatt auf Digitalkameras in den Apple Retail Stores (bis zum 31.03.04) für .mac Kunden.
Schöne Geschichte, fehlen nur noch weitere Apple Stores in Europa...
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Computer Times über den Apple Singapore Chef Mr. Edward Fun:

"Initially, he wasn't sure about joining Apple. Would he want to join a company that had a global or local market share in Singapore of less than 10 per cent?
After some research and conversations with friends, he decided to take the plunge.
'Apple is a growing company, the products are changing. It is the only company in the IT world which is, and has been, changing the landscape for so many years. There was the Classic Mac, which came out 20 years ago. But many of us remember the colour iMacs, which were so innovative. They came with no floppy disk and were the first with FireWire. And of course, iMacs came in several colours."
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Google Suchanfrage des Tages: Feuerwarndraht (hätte ja nicht gedacht, dass danach wirklich mal jemand sucht...).

Beinahe HP-Napster statt HP-Apple

Offensichtlich hatte ursprünglich Napster geplant, vorinstalliert auf die unzähligen HP Desktops und Laptops zu gelangen, wie aus einem Artikel bei MercuryNews.com hervorgeht:

"But in the days leading up to Napster's re-launch in late October, HP suddenly -- and without explanation -- returned Napster's $250,000 check and canceled the agreement to install a link to Napster's online music service on its computers. Worse, in January HP announced a surprise partnership with Napster rival Apple Computer to feature the iTunes Music store on HP computers and sell Hewlett-Packard branded iPod music players.[...]

And while Napster can legitimately claim it's the second most popular online music service, information provided by insiders at two of the major music labels shows it sells only about a quarter the number of downloads from their artists as Apple's market-leading iTunes store. Napster refused to release download figures."

Mehr zur HP-Apple Allianz hier im fscklog.

10.3.3 (7F32) geht an die Entwickler (Update)

Think Secret berichtet:

"The seed is labeled build 7F32 and is Apple's second widespread seed of the Panther update. In a seed note, Apple provided a brief list of "major areas of change." The list of updated components included Core OS, Carbon, Cocoa, Printing, USB, Graphics and Imaging, and High Level Toolbox.
Apple also recommended that developers focus their testing efforts on FireWire, USB, audio/sound, and graphics, including OpenGL games."

Update:
AppleInsider würzt ein wenig nach:
"Mac OS X 10.3.3 is rumored to include support for a number of new product offerings that the company is expected to debut between March and April, sources said."