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Safari 4: Startup Problems; Hotmail Issues
New Safari Browser Succeeds at Speed, Flops on Features
Apple Snow Leopard Plus Nvidia Equals What?
Macworld Reviews 17-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz
FireWire Target Disk Mode To The Rescue
Streamline Email With Gmail
Apple So Far Immune To PC price "Collapse"
Wu on Windows 7: "Headline risk" for Apple
Apple Tax On The Latest Mac Gear: 40 Percent
Mac Buyers Still Pay More Than PC Buyers For Same Hardware 'Guts'
Which Is Cheaper? Your Mac Or A PC? Does It Matter?
Vatican Vetos 'dot god' Domain
Installing Mac OS X on a Dell Mini 9 – The Easy Way
The ModBook Part 3: Installing Leopard, The Good and Bad of an Hackintosh NetBook
Boinx Software Invites Everyone To Free Live-Webinars
PC Mag: Facebook Challenges Twitter to Celebrity Deathmatch
The Mac Night Owl: Is Microsoft Ready to Lose the Browser Wars?
Safari 4: Startup Problems; Hotmail Issues
MacFixIt says:
Startup problems Some users have reported an inability to startup after installing Safari 4....
Hotmail problems continue As previously reported, some users are experiencing issues with Hotmail under Safari 4
For the full report, visit:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20090304210239339
New Safari Browser Succeeds at Speed, Flops on Features
Walter S. Mossberg says:
Apple's Safari browser has always been speedy and has introduced its share of innovations...
Last week, Apple released a new version 4 of Safari, for Mac and Windows, that it claims is the world's fastest browser, and that has a number of new graphical features Apple says will make it easier to navigate the Web. Safari 4 is labeled as a beta, and both the Windows and Mac versions are free downloads at apple.com/safari.
For the full report, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/bjauj9
Apple Snow Leopard Plus Nvidia Equals What?
CNET's Brooke Crothers reports:
Nvidia is in at Apple. So, what's the connection between Apple's graphics-fortified lineup and Snow Leopard OS X?
First a quick canvass of the state of Apple's graphics. Low-performance Intel integrated graphics have been booted from MacBooks, replaced by Nvidia. And, earlier this week, Apple updated the iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Pro with Nvidia graphics across the board and didn't mince words on its Web site: "Ultrafast Nvidia graphics" ad copy is prominently displayed for the iMacs.....
Then, there's this Snow Leopard blurb on Apple's site: "OpenCL (Open Computing Language), makes it possible for developers to efficiently tap the vast gigaflops of computing power currently locked up in the graphics processing unit (GPU). With GPUs approaching processing speeds of a trillion operations per second, they're capable of considerably more than just drawing pictures. OpenCL takes that power and redirects it for general-purpose computing."
So, what does this add up to?....
To read more, click here.
http://tinyurl.com/am36ru
Macworld Reviews 17-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo/2.66GHz
Macworld's James Galbraith reports:
The new 17-inch MacBook Pro arrived a little late to the unibody makeover party - most of Apple's laptop line switched to the thinner and lighter, precision-crafted aluminum design back in October 2008. But the new 17-inch laptop is not without under-the-hood innovation. The incremental updates that boost processor, system bus, and RAM speeds are all welcome, but the big news with the 17-inch MacBook Pro is its new battery design. Apple says the new laptop's battery is 40 percent larger than the battery in its 17-inch predecessor (), allowing the new 17-inch MacBook Pro to run for up to 8 hours on a single charge.....
For the full review visit here:
http://tinyurl.com/c4o7f4
FireWire Target Disk Mode To The Rescue
Macworld's Scott McNulty reports:
FireWire target disk mode has saved my bacon countless times. If you're not familiar with FireWire target disk mode it transforms a Mac equipped with a FireWire port (either 400 or 800) into an external hard drive. Simply hold down the T key when you boot up and the Mac in question, as long as it supports this mode, will boot into FireWire target disk mode. Connect it to another Mac with a FireWire cable and the disk mounts in the Finder like any other external disk would.
For the full report, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/bxnbun
Streamline Email With Gmail
Macworld's Joe Kissell says:
Of all the services you could use as a central e-mail repository, I prefer Google's Gmail for several reasons. First, Gmail lets you configure any number of additional From addresses - so you can send mail from, say, your me.com address through Gmail, and the recipient will never know the difference. Second, with a Google Apps account (available in free and premium paid editions), you can use your own domain with Gmail - something MobileMe, for example, does not offer. Third, Gmail offers outstanding spam protection that's far better than the filters built into Mail or Entourage. Gmail can also automatically check multiple POP accounts (MobileMe checks only one, and only manually). And finally, Gmail is free!
For the full report, visit:
http://www.macworld.com/article/138836/2009/03/streamlineemailgmail.html
Apple So Far Immune To PC price "Collapse"
Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt says:
Apple is the exception to what one analyst describes as a "permanent and structural" collapse of PC pricing and revenue triggered by the onset of the recession and the rise of low-cost netbooks.
... TBR analyst Ezra Gottheil documents a 13% drop in average selling price (ASP) and an 18% decline in PC revenues in the fourth quarter of calendar 2008....
"Apple's a special case in that not only are its ASPs much higher than the others," Gottheil explains, "but also they have been amazingly flat over the eight years of data that I have, while the others have showed a steady erosion. The differences have only gotten wider over the years."
For the full report, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/ambk7s
Wu on Windows 7: "Headline risk" for Apple
Apple 2.0's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports:
Microsoft's new version of Windows is probably still a couple quarters away from official release, but Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu is already trying to measure its negative impact on Apple.
"With the potential release of Windows 7 in either 3Q or 4Q of this year," he writes in a report to clients issued Thursday morning, "we believe we could finally have a Windows operating system worth upgrading to."
It may be hard for Mac users to appreciate how much this matters to IT managers. In the Mac world, an upgrade from say, Tiger to Leopard, is relatively painless....
Not so in the world of Windows. As Wu writes: "From a cost-benefit analysis, it has proven time and time again that it is cheaper for consumers and enterprises to purchase new hardware with the new operating system as opposed to buying the new OS and running on old hardware."
That's why Vista's tepid reception was such bad news for PC makers.....
For the full report, visit:
http://tinyurl.com/aoaczo
Apple Tax On The Latest Mac Gear: 40 Percent
TG Daily's Christian Zibreg says:
.... [A] ComputerWorld report cited IDC analyst Richard Shim who observes that despite hardware refresh Apple's $599 Mac mini still costs up to 40 percent more than comparably outfitted Windows PCs. Many have hoped, including many here at TGdaily, that Apple would shave at least $100 off the Mac mini price to bring the system in the sub-$500 category -- but obviously that wasn't meant to be....
For the full report, visit:
http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-41629-135.html
Mac Buyers Still Pay More Than PC Buyers For Same Hardware 'Guts'
Are Apple Computer's Intangibles - OS, Design And Coolness Worth The Extra Cost?
Computerworld's Eric Lai says: :
A decade ago, it would've been hard for anyone but loyalists to argue in favor of the Mac. The PowerPC's clock speed lagged the Pentium and other x86 CPUs. Meanwhile, components and peripherals for the Mac such as graphics cards and CD drives were limited and pricey because of Apple Inc.'s proprietary designs.
Back then, "for every dollar you spent on a PC, you had to pay about $1.60 to get the same-performing Mac hardware," said Ian Lao, an analyst at In-Stat Inc.
But after Apple switched to Intel processors three years ago, Mac hardware immediately made up a lot of ground against its PC counterparts.....
A quick Computerworld analysis found that Macs continue to cost a bit more than PCs, though premiums vary....
For the full commentary, click here.
http://tinyurl.com/amu78l
Which Is Cheaper? Your Mac Or A PC? Does It Matter?
Mac360's Bambi Brannan says:
....One age old question which remains an arguing point for many is, "Which is cheaper, Macs or PCs?"....
What brings up such a stupid topic again and again? Blame it on Computerworld and writer Eric Lai this time, in another sordid, twisted, and corrupt article about how much more expensive Macs are than PCs.
The real problem here isn't the price differential between Mac and PC. We can argue that until the cows come home and leave again, and not much will be resolved. The real problem is an article designed to attract web site hits instead of providing insightful analysis....
For the full commentary, click here.
http://tinyurl.com/akdelk
Vatican Vetos 'dot god' Domain
The Register's Kevin Murphy reports:
The Pope has called on ICANN to keep religion out of the domain name system.
The Vatican warned the internet address-making body of the "perils" of allowing new internet domains such as ".catholic, .anglican, .orthodox, .hindu, .islam, .muslim, [and] .buddhist".
ICANN, frequently accused of mission creep, could find itself having to decide who gets to represent an entire religion on the internet, His Holiness pointed out, in a letter from Monsignor Carlo Maria Polvani....
For the full report, visit:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/05/pope_domain_name/
Installing Mac OS X on a Dell Mini 9 – The Easy Way
The Apple Core's Jason D. O'Grady says:
If you're looking to get a notebook to install Mac OS X on, I recommend the Dell Mini 9. It's one of the best, no-compromises platforms according to the BoingBoing compatibility chart for netbooks running OS X...
In this post I'm going to detail the easiest way to install Mac OS X on the Dell Mini 9....
A note about Hackintoshing: Apple doesn't like it and may send the black helicopters from Cupertino to visit you if you follow the instructions....
For the full report, visit:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=3258
The ModBook Part 3: Installing Leopard, The Good and Bad of an Hackintosh NetBook
AppleMatters' Hadley Stern says:
In part one I covered why I was experimenting with hacking a NetBook, in part two I covered the purchasing process and now, in part three I will cover the actual installation process.
This isn't going to be a guide on how to install OS X on an Acer, Google will help you with that. Rather it is going to be an analysis of what the experience was like, and what the pros and cons are.....
For the full commentary, click here.
http://www.applematters.com/article/the-modbook-part-3-installing-leopard/
Boinx Software Invites Everyone To Free Live-Webinars
[Press Release]
Munich, Germany's Boinx Software is one of the first Mac software companies to offer free interactive web seminars and FAQ sessions to help users get the most out of BoinxTV, FotoMagico and other Boinx Software products. Beginners and Pros alike can talk directly with product managers and developers to ask them questions and learn about advanced techniques to make their own workflow more efficient and productive.
It's easy for everyone with Internet access to tune into a Boinx "Live-Webinar" from their computer at home, or at the office, to follow the activities on the presenter's desktop. The next two Live-Webinars from Boinx take place on March 10, 2009 at 5pm UTC (5pm GMT, 1pm ET, 10am PT) and 11pm UTC (11pm GMT, 7pm ET, 4pm PT, 8am Tokyo) respectively.
"Talking with people who use our products is the most exciting thing for me. The success of our very first webinar, in February, made us realize that they are a very good way to bring people closer, allowing attendees to speak directly with the designers and developers of the products," says Oliver Breidenbach, CEO of Boinx Software. "Doing it in a larger group means everyone benefits from all the questions and ideas raised by other attendees."
Watch and Learn:
It's easy to participate in a Boinx Live-Webinar. Click on the big "Join Webinar" button on the Boinx Webinars web page and follow the instructions to set up an account. Give feedback, raise your virtual hand to ask your questions via audio, and chat with other users during the live presentation. All Live-Webinars will be recorded for later distribution and are free of charge for all attendees (data rate fees from your local Internet provider may apply).
Scheduled Live Webinars:
March 10, 2009, 5pm UTC (5pm GMT, 1pm ET; 10am PT)
"The Magic of FotoMagico"
Meet the developers of FotoMagico and get some valuable hints and tips to make your slideshows even more compelling.
March 10, 2009, 11pm UTC (11pm GMT, 7pm ET; 4pm PT; March 11th, 8am Tokyo)
"The Secrets of BoinxTV"
The first half hour of the free BoinxTV webinar is dedicated to beginners, the second half hour is for experienced users.
Boinx Software:
http://boinx.com/
Boinx Live-Webinars:
http://boinx.com/webinars/
Download Products:
http://boinx.com/download/
Media Files:
http://www.boinx.com/press/media/
PC Mag: Facebook Challenges Twitter to Celebrity Deathmatch
Twitter's success, ease of use, and The_Real_Shaq drove Facebook to push celebrities, athletes, and brands to full profiles.
To read more, go to:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2342503,00.asp
The Mac Night Owl: Is Microsoft Ready to Lose the Browser Wars?
All right, the European Union wants Microsoft to give customers a choice of browsers. Rather than just bundle Internet Explorer, they ought to be able to select from among popular contenders, such as Firefox, Safari and even Opera.
Here's the URL for today's commentary:
http://www.macnightowl.com/2009/03/is-microsoft-ready-to-lose-the-browser-wars/
Notes: You can also access our new RSS feed, available at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/rss
Or our new Atom feed at:
http://www.macnightowl.com/atom
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