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Al Jazeera International, the English version of the leading Middle East broadcaster, has switched to Mac. The broadcaster has deployed a swathe of Apple products across its organisation, covering editing, post-production and archiving solutions. It has reached a deal with Arab Business Machines to deploy a major installation of Macs: 41 MacBook Pros (with Final Cut Studio) for journalists; a 70TB Apple storage solution using ten 7TB Xserve and RAID systems; 14 Xsan licences; 12 PowerMac G5 Quads; two Power Mac G5 Dual Cores; and 19 23-inch Apple Cinema Displays. Based in Doha, Qatar, Al Jazeera International has the status...

TECH BEAT - When it comes to IT investments by businesses large and small, it's all about the numbers. After the dot-com boom went bust, many CEOs started to question ballooning IT expenses. In place of conversations about being on the leading edge of technology, companies started talking about cutting their IT costs. But there are other numbers beyond the sticker price business executives need to think about, particularly when making decisions about the next upgrade cycle. Known as total cost of ownership, such approach often leads companies to realize that higher-end computers offering more benefits than low-end machines because...

Though Apple Computer updated its latest OS this week to solve a security problem with widgets, worries persist that the small applications still pose a potentially serious risk. Widgets, or small programs that automatically install after downloading, were introduced in Tiger for the Dashboard, which overlays the desktop. An attacker could write a malicious widget for Mac OS X 1.4 Tiger that would run invisibly in the background and hijack a user's "sudo," or administrative, privileges on a system, according to an alert distributed on the Full Disclosure mailing lists late Wednesday. With administrative privileges, the attacker would have full...

Apple Computer Inc. has retaliated against the publisher of an upcoming unauthorized biography about chief executive Steve Jobs by removing dozens of other technology books sold by the publisher from Apple stores around the world. Apple removed the books last week from all 104 of its stores after failing in a monthlong attempt to persuade John Wiley & Sons not to release "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business," which is to go on sale within the next six weeks, the publisher said. The book-spurning is only the latest attempt by Apple executives to crack...

Back when Apple was settling a lawsuit with the Beatles and agreeing not to switch from the computer industry to music, the idea of Apple Computer being in the same business as Apple Records seemed a bit silly. And yet today, computer technology has advanced so rapidly that today there’s no telling where computers stop and music begins. The result is a potentially cataclysmic clash of special interests, and Apple’s right in the middle of it. As a technology company, Apple is in the business of creating innovative products and selling them to you and me. But today, a lot...

While the Apple spotlight has been on the overwhelming and continued success of its iPod, Apple’s albeit “mini” but growing share of the computer marketplace, developers continue to spawn some new and “renewed” products. Here’s a few I’ve been working with that you may want to consider for your Mac’s arsenal. Virtual PC 7 After having purchased Connectix almost two years ago, this past fall Microsoft’s Macintosh Business Unit once again has shown its commitment to the Mac OS platform, by releasing under its own brand, Virtual PC 7 (VPC7). Virtual PC, in its various flavours allow you to run...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Hacker attacks on Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh OS X operating system, thought by many who use the Mac to be virtually immune to attack, are on the rise, according to a report from anti-virus software vendor Symantec Corp.

This is a 'blog for Mac and Apple stuff. IOW, not a 'blog for how wonderful and innovative Dull and Windulls is.

A couple of weeks after its unveiling, the budget-priced Mac mini has begun shipping. Targeted at would-be switchers and “adders,” the mini is easily the lowest-priced Mac desktop ever. There are always Mac owners who are looking to upgrade older equipment or looking to own a small form factor Mac. Many of those have snapped up Mac minis. However, some of the new Mac mini owners are Windows or Linux users who have always wanted to fool around with Mac OS X, but have been turned off by the Apple’s price structure. A dual-CPU G5 tower will set you back...

Bowie State Univ. launches XSEED Xserve cluster Bowie, Md.'s Bowie State University has launched a new 224-node High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster based on Apple's Xserve G5. Called XSEED, the system won't just be used for mathematics and computer science -- its administrators plan to see the system used campus-wide, for arts and sciences. The 224-node cluster utilizes 112 individual Xserve G5s, each equipped with two 2GHz processors, 2GB of RAM and 80GB hard disks. The system uses a Myrinet 4GB/sec switch for internode communication. Apple's Xsan storage area network technology is also being used; Matties estimates XSEED has about...

Nearly a decade ago, just a few months after Microsoft shipped Windows 95, I asked Bill Gates if it was a conscious decision in the development of that product to give Windows more of a Mac look and feel. Of course I knew he'd say it wasn't, but I couldn't resist asking. "There was no goal even to compete with Macintosh," Gates proclaimed. "We don't even think of Macintosh as a competitor." That was a crock, so I pressed the issue a little. I asked him how he accounted for the widespread perception that Windows 95 looked a lot like...

Jef Raskin, the human-computer interface expert largely credited with beginning the Macintosh project for Apple Computer, died Saturday at age 61. Raskin, the author of The Humane Interface, died of cancer, according to a man who answered the telephone Sunday at Raskin's Pacifica, Calif., home. Raskin joined Apple in January 1978 as employee No. 31, but left the company in 1982 amid a well-documented dispute with Steve Jobs. The Macintosh was launched in 1984. Reskin was an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego, and a visiting scholar at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in the 1970s when...

AJA Video Systems Inc. announced Friday that a Power Mac G5 equipped with Apple's Final Cut Pro HD software and AJA's KONA 2 video cards is helping Fox Sports broadcast this year's NASCAR races, beginning with the recent Daytona 500 on February 20, 2005. Similar configurations have been used by Fox Sports to help broadcast last year's World Series games and this year's Super Bowl. AJA says that Fox Sports will use the Power Mac G5 throughout the NASCAR 2005 - 2006 season. The rig is being used as "a tool for live television," according to Fox Sports Vice President,...

APPLE SECURITY UPDATE: Available for: Java 1.4.2 CVE-ID: CAN-2004-1029 Impact: Updates Java to address an issue where an untrusted applet could gain elevated privileges and potentially execute arbitrary code. Description: A vulnerability in the Java Plug-in may allow an untrusted applet to escalate privileges, through JavaScript calling into Java code, including reading and writing files with the privileges of the user running the applet. Releases prior to Java 1.4.2 on Mac OS X are not affected by this vulnerability. Further information is available in Document ID 57591 from Sun.

This is the "early 2005" version of what is consistently one of our most popular reports. I was recently invited by San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) and WhisperPC to help test a Dual 3.4GHz Xeon system and a 64 bit "3500+" (2.2GHz) Athlon system. They were trying to choose a high end PC to use as their recommended workstation for themselves as well as for those remote scientists wanting to run the custom visualization software produced at SDSC and commercial applications (like Maya). Though the G5 Power Mac wasn't being considered by SDSC, I thought it was a perfect time...

Apple to rename Rendezvous as part of copyright deal Friday, February 18, 2005 @ 3:30pm In the coming months, Apple will change the name of its Rendezvous networking technology to "Bonjour," according to documents shown to AppleInsider. Last year, Tibco Software entered into a trademark dispute with Apple over its use of the Rendezvous name, alleging that the Apple technology, used in products such as Mac OS X and the iTunes Music Store, infringed on its exclusive rights to the Rendezvous name. In July 2004, the two companies agreed to end the dispute through a mutual out of court settlement....

have no idea what this means

Apple releases Mac OS X v10.3.8  Technology - MacCentral Apple on Wednesday posted Mac OS X (news - web sites) v10.3.8. The new version of the operating system is available for download directly from Apple's Web site as a 27.7MB file, and through the Software Update system preference pane. If you don't find it right away through Software Update, be patient, as its distribution is spreading. According to Apple, key updates in this release include improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers; improved file sharing and directory services for mixed Mac and PC networks; improved compatibility for...

A malicious script that spies on Apple Mac users was discovered over the weekend. The malware, which has been dubbed ‘Opener’ by Mac user-groups, disables Mac OS X’s built-in firewall, steals personal information and can destroy data. Security experts say these traits are common among the thousands of viruses targeting Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system but are virtually unheard of amongst the Apple Macintosh community. Paul Ducklin, Sophos’ head of technology in the Asia Pacific, told ZDNet Australia that the malware, which Sophos calls Renepo, is designed to infect any Mac OS X drives connected to the infected system and...

Last week, I wrote an article comparing the Mac mini to a “$399” Dell. Although I assumed it would generate some discussion, I wasn’t quite prepared for the reaction: A bunch of “letters to the editor,” scores of direct emails, and over 180 responses (and counting) in the related discussion thread in the Macworld forums. It seems people are interested in how the Mac mini stacks up against budget Windows PCs. [Before I continue, I just have to say that the article, which I thought was reasonably fair to both sides, generated a good number of less-than-friendly replies from apparent...

About Security Update 2005-001 for Mac OS X This document describes Security Update 2005-001, which can be downloaded and installed via Software Update preferences, or from Apple Downloads. For the protection of our customers, Apple does not disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until a full investigation has occurred and any necessary patches or releases are available. To learn more about Apple Product Security, see the Apple Product Security website. For information about the Apple Product Security PGP Key, see "How To Use The Apple Product Security PGP Key." Where possible, CVE IDs are used to reference the vulnerabilities for...

Steve Jobs is so enigmatic. A couple weeks ago at MacWorld, he introduced the 2.9 lb. Mac Mini and the reaction was so great it was like he had re-invented the PC. Readers are all excited by the little box and have been asking me for my take on it. Like everyone else, I had to scratch my head a bit and ponder what this thing is really for. I know, I know, it is for all those PC drivers who bought an iPod and are now supposed to trash their Windows PC for a Mac Mini. Yeah, but what's...

For years, people have criticized Macs for being more expensive than Windows PCs. Although at one time that was the case, those of us in the know realized a couple years ago that when you look at comparably equipped Macs and brand-name Windows PCs—that is, once you add the hardware features and software to a Windows PC that come stock on a Mac—the differences in price are much smaller, if they exist at all. This aspect of “price comparisons” has been lost on many tech pundits and analysts (as is the fact that Macs generally come with an excellent software...

2005: Apple's 1984? Leader ZDNet UK January 18, 2005, 13:50 GMT With the iPod selling in the tens of millions and the Mac mini exciting the interest of millions more, Apple may be poised on the edge of true populism. The launch of the Mac mini could also reignite the old hostilities between Apple chief Steve Jobs and his old nemesis Bill Gates. If ever there was a computer aimed squarely at replacing Microsoft on the desktop, it's this one. Newly minted Mac converts don't have to move any furniture or even rearrange their desks to make Apple part of...

24 June 2004Mac OS X security myth exposedAnd thousands of other products and OSes given security rundown. By Matthew Broersma, Techworld Windows is more secure than you think, and Mac OS X is worse than you ever imagined. That is according to statistics published for the first time this week by Danish security firm Secunia. The stats, based on a database of security advisories for more than 3,500 products during 2003 and 2004 sheds light on the real security of enterprise applications and operating systems, according to the firm. Each product is broken down into pie charts demonstrating how...

Web site leaked inside details on new products Cambridge, Mass. -- Nicholas Ciarelli was not even old enough to shave when he started getting under Apple Computer Inc.'s skin. As a 13-year-old middle-schooler, the New Woodstock, N.Y., native built a Web site in 1998 and began publishing insider news and rumors about Apple, using the alias Nick dePlume. Three years later, Ciarelli's Think Secret site was first to report that the company would introduce a G4 version of the PowerBook laptop series. The product was released soon thereafter, boosting Think Secret's reputation among Apple fans, generating millions of page views...

HREE years ago, liquid-crystal-display computer monitors were mostly sleek, expensive novelty items. Now, of course, every cash register and home computer package comes with one.But the changes in the world of flat-panel displays go beyond affordability. The panels' physical advantages (smaller footprints, lighter weight and lower power consumption) have been matched by technical advances that make them a better choice than traditional monitors for many of the most demanding computer users. Advertisement Roy S. Berns, a scientist who studies color reproduction and theory at the Munsell Color Science Laboratory at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said he would not have...

Apple Macs: Objects of devotion By Stephen Evans BBC North America business correspondent It's tempting to think that Steve Jobs is some sort of religious leader rather than the chief executive of a rather successful computer company. And you could be forgiven for thinking that his Apple products are objects of religious devotion rather than mere pieces of plastic enclosing silicon chips. The Cult of Mac does have some rational basis. There seems little doubt that the products are very good. Its strong attractions are usability and good looks (though not usually price until this week's announcement of a...

Apple's dead, it'll never make it.....etc...

Think different.  Here's to the crazy ones.    The misfits.     The rebels.      The troublemakers.       The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules.    And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,   disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.     Because they change things. They invent.    They imagine.     They heal.  They explore.     They create.    They inspire.       They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else...

For all us Windows fans who felt Macs were just too pricey, now there is good news. Apple has released the "mini Mac" for $499. While the $499 model doesn't come with a keyboard or mouse, standard USB keyboards and mice (including two button wheel mice) will work with the unit. See http://www.apple.com/macmini/ for more details.

Apple says it will launch a new 'Mac Mini' computer. It will cost between $499 and $599 according to Reuters. More soon.

Preliminary info from MacWorld Expo - Jobs introduces Mac mini. New member of Mac family including a slot-load Combo optical drive, FireWire, ethernet, USB 2.o, both DVI/VGA output. It plays DVDs, burn CDs, and is very quiet and tiny. Its height is half the size of an iPod mini. Jobs calls it "BYODKM" -- Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, Mouse. Will come in two models: 1.25GHz 256MB/40GB for $499. A second model with a 1.4GHz, more memory and larger hard drive will sell for $599. Mac mini will ship on January 22. Ships in a box smaller than the regular...

Apple fans will learn what the future holds for the firm on Tuesday when boss Steve Jobs unveils his vision for 2005. Speculation is always rife ahead of Jobs' annual speech at MacWorld, in San Francisco, but recent legal action to prevent leaks has fuelled expectations. Several unconfirmed reports speculate that Apple is on the verge of releasing a sub-$500 (£266) Macintosh. In January, Apple sued a website after it published what it said were specifications for the new computer. A sub-$500 Mac? It sounds too good to be true. Leander Kahney, Wired.com There have also been reports - for...

I am posting this as a vanity because it doesn’t quite fit other categories. Apple still has a link to tsunami relief contributions (via Red Cross) on their home page. Another way they are helping is by facilitating access to tsunami pictures. Several FReeper threads about the tsunami have included or linked to DigitalGlobe’s “Before and After" satellite pictures which can also be found at: http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/9.html As much as some FReepers hate Apple, the following link may also be of interest: http://homepage.mac.com/demark/goodnews.html .Mac Security warned the poster that the satellite images on his .Mac HomePage are very popular and are...

About a month ago, I compared the cost for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) desktop, server and laptop products to their nearest Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) equivalents (see Macs Are More Expensive, Right?) and discovered that Macs generally cost less than comparable PC products. That was a bit of surprise, but the truly astonishing thing that came out of the comparison was that Dell's product line extends marginally below Apple's at the low end, but has nothing to stack up against Apple's 17-inch Powerbook, X-Serve/X-RAID combination, or Cinema displays at the high end. Bottom line: when you upgrade the PCs enough to allow...

NeoOffice/J is a fully-featured set of office applications (including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing programs) for Mac OS X. Based on the OpenOffice.org office suite, NeoOffice/J has integrated dozens of native Mac features and can import, edit, and exchange files with other popular office programs such as MicrosoftTM Office. Released as free, open-source software under the GNU General Public License (GPL), NeoOffice/J is fully functional and stable enough for everyday use. The software is actively developed, so improvements and small updates are made available on a regular basis. December 21, 2004: NeoOffice/J 1.1 Beta is released. With this release,...

December 28, 2004 - With iPod-savvy Windows users clearly in its sights, Apple is expected to announce a bare bones, G4-based iMac without a display at Mac Expo on January 11 that will retail for $499, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret. The new Mac, code-named Q88, will be part of the iMac family and is expected to sport a PowerPC G4 processor at a speed around 1.25GHz. The new Mac is said to be incredibly small and will be housed in a flat enclosure with a height similar to the 1.73 inches of Apple's Xserve. Its...

In 2005, IBM plans to bring a significant feature from higher-end servers to the next generation of its PowerPC 970 processor line used in Apple Computer machines and Big Blue's own blade servers. The next-generation chip will have technology that lets it run multiple operating systems simultaneously, said Karl Freund, vice president of IBM eServer pSeries. Doing so allows a computer to handle more jobs at the same time and to be used more efficiently. The technology, called partitioning, relies on a concept called virtualization that breaks the hard link between an operating system and the underlying hardware. Partitioning is...

About Mac OS X Update Mac OS X is the world’s most advanced operating system, blending the power and stability of UNIX with the legendary simplicity and ease-of-use of the Macintosh. Mac OS X version 10.3 “Panther” contains over 150 new features and provides significant enhancements to its modern, UNIX-based foundation. What’s New in this Version The 10.3.7 Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for Mac OS X v10.3 “Panther” and is recommended for all users. Key enhancements include: - improved AFP support for saving documents with long file names - improved OpenGL technology and updated ATI and NVIDIA...

It's not your average cult, really. It's more intellectual, with creativity winning out over conformity. Although its philosophy is rooted in the battle between good and evil, the group even criticizes its leaders on a pretty regular basis. But loyalty to the cause is never in question. It's "The Cult of Mac," and it's actually wackier than your average cult. Really. You can read all about it in Leander Kahney's new book from San Francisco's No Starch Press. Kahney, a scribe covering Apple for Wired News, embarked on his journey to chronicle the weird world of Mac addicts last year,...

I have a problem with my Apple G3 and after a day of pulling out my hair, It dawned on me that the best place to have my questions answered is right here. I had gotten my G3 when it was brand new, than gave it to my son, who after a few years gave it to my other son. The G3 having gone full circle I have it again. The problem is I can't get it to boot, I have OSX and the update to it. When I start the system with OSX the installer never comes up, when...

Apple Computer's rack-mounted storage system received a vote of confidence Monday, with database giant Oracle endorsing the Xserve RAID as part of an initiative to cut storage costs. Oracle has identified the Apple product as one of several storage systems that would make a good low-cost alternative to the types of high-end monolithic storage systems that have traditionally been used to store Oracle databases. Additionally, Oracle is using the Xserve RAID in its own technology department to store e-mail, voice mail and calendar information. Oracle is using the Xserve RAID for a task once reserved for pricier Fibre Channel-based disk...

By Joe Cellini Nothing’s Impossible. Documents arrive at Sir Speedy in virtually any shape or format, but Sir Speedy’s response is always the same: “We can handle it.” Even on a good day, quick printing is a tricky business. Any designer or production editor at Sir Speedy’s nearly 1,000 quick print centers can tell you a story about mismatched fonts or misbegotten files — like the 12-page, 4-color newsletter generated entirely in a customer’s favorite spreadsheet application.Documents arrive at Sir Speedy in virtually any shape, size, format, medium or condition — it’s a daunting business proposition. But Sir Speedy’s...

DESIGN 2004 - 25 Best Products of the Year: Electronics: iMac G5 An engineering marvel, the new iMac tucks the computer and speakers inside the expansive flat-panel display—"an advance as welcome as the day that VCR/DVD players were encased in the TV monitor box," says Thompson. Built-in wireless technology lets you use a cable-free keyboard and mouse. Designer: Apple. Price: $1,400; apple.com

Internet Explorer users are at least four times as likely to click on Web ads than Firefox users, a German advertising technology company said last week. The company, Adtech, found that during October and November, only 0.11 percent of Firefox users ever clicked on an ad, compared with around 0.5 percent of IE users. The percentage of IE users clicking on ads varied depending on which version of the browser was being used, the company said: from 0.44 percent of version 6.x users to 0.53 percent of version 5.5 users. The survey was based on 1,000 Web sites in Europe...

We love the sound of breaking, [Eva] Glass Ron Curry was formerly on the Intel Itanium team and said that he'd talked to software ISVs about the Itanium shortly after the firm announced its plans for the chip. He said a far more interesting thing too. According to Curry, Intel's "competitor" - that's AMD of course, took advantage of the work it had done. He said that the competitor announced its move into the 64-32 arena largely based on the work Intel had done.

Apple Computer on Thursday posted security updates for client and server editions of its Mac OS X that fix 17 vulnerabilities, the second patch in the last five weeks. The flaws range from several in the open-source Apache Web server that's included with the operating system, to bugs in the bundled Safari Web browser that can be used by hackers to disguise bogus URLs and spoof dialog boxes. Although Apple doesn't note the severity of vulnerabilities--as does Microsoft, for instance--security firm Secunia, which also posted an advisory detailing the problems and fixes, labeled it as "highly critical," suggesting it should...

I have experienced a slowdown after 10.3.6 - tearing my hair out not wanting to revert to 10.3.5. OnyX - ran it many times - no joy. Finally got a tip to run it in a different mode. About OnyX... • OnyX is a maintenance and optimization tool for Mac OS X. It provides access to some hidden features of the Finder, Dock, and Safari, shows the different logs, allows removal of certain files and folders that may grow cumbersome and more... • OnyX is Freeware, gratis and freely usable; you may copy and distribute it at will. You can...

Apple Introduces “Bodyless” iMac Computer by Staff Reports The iMac G5 sets a new standard for compact desktops When the original iMac was introduced in 1998, it was praised for it’s compact design and is often credited with saving Apple. There is no doubt that it revolutionized the computer industry, as witnessed by the copycat PCs that came out. It also spurred the USB industry, and influenced many new industries utilizing translucent cases, like the George Forman Grill. In 2002, Apple reinvented the iMac, basing it on an impressive flat panel LCD, lifted over a domed base by an inventive...