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Firefox Dumps Adobe, Goes With New Open Source JAVASCRIPT PDF Viewer In Firefox 19.0
A Mac User's Impressions Of Windows 8
NiftyDrive - SD Card Based Custom Expansion For MacBook Pro (Now Including Retina) And 13-Inch MacBook Air
Security Updates Available For Adobe Reader And Acrobat
Ex-Rolls Royce Director Now Reportedly In Apple's Communication Driver's Seat For EMEIA Region
WinOnX 1.5 Upgrade Optimizes Performance to Run More Windows Apps on OS X
Firefox Dumps Adobe, Goes With New Open Source JAVASCRIPT PDF Viewer In Firefox 19.0
The Register's Anna Leach reports that Mozilla's Firefox web browser now includes a built-in PDF viewer - allowing users to ditch plugins from Adobe and other developers, noting that the new built-in document viewer is open source, and is written in JavaScript and HTML5.
Firefox's PDF.js emerged as a beta version in January, and on Tuesday was added to the latest version 19.0 stable build of Firefox. Ms. Leach notes that the new viewer is multi-platform and works across PCs, tablets and mobile phones - it should also work in other web browsers.
For more information, visit:
http://goo.gl/SHWlu
A Mac User's Impressions Of Windows 8
Low End Mac's Simon Royal has been checking out Windows 8, noting that he's used every version of Windows since 3.11 and despite being a prominent Mac user likes to keep currrent on developments in the Windows world, and being tech support for hos household, building, setting up, and maintaining Windows machines for other family members keeps him fairly up-to-date.
Royal says Windows 8 has a totally different look compared to previous versions, notably the new tile main interface, and takes a bit of getting used to. You can get back your semi-familiar Windows desktop, but will notice it has no Start Menu, something that's been there since Windows 95. Hovering your mouse to the left, where the Start Menu used to be, will pop up a thumbnail of your giant full screen tile interface, and clicking will bring it back.
In desktop mode you have access to your regular look OS with your taskbar at the bottom.
He reports that the first thing he noticed was how fast Windows 8 is - a rare instance of a new version of an OS being faster than previous ones. Royal notges that a lot of Mac users live and work in mixed OS environments. Intel Macs can natively boot Windows, and with Apple dropping perfectly good hardware from its new versions of Mac OS X, Windows might be an option for some.
Microsoft claims the minimum spec for Windows 8 is a 1 GHz Pentium 4 with 1 GB RAM for the 32-bit version (or 2 GB for the 64-bit version) and around 20 GB hard drive space. That covers Windows machines running back to the year 2000. He observes that running Windows on your Mac may not be ideal, but it does mean your Vintage Mac (a term used by Apple and MacTracker) can still run a new OS even if it is from the competition.
Of course you could dual boot this new version of Windows with Mac OS X Snow Leopard and boot to Windows when there is something unsupported in your version of OS X. And if Windows is your thing and you already have a Windows machine, Royal says he would recommend it, despite its childish look and peculiar new interface - worthwhile getting used to for the speed advantage.
However, he fails to see how all this will fit in to the corporate world, noting that Windows 8 doesn't look very professional, and he can see the tile interface getting in the way.
For the full review visit here:
http://lowendmac.com/wp-index.php/2013/a-mac-user-tries-out-windows-8/
NiftyDrive - SD Card Based Custom Expansion For MacBook Pro (Now Including Retina) And 13-Inch MacBook Air
The Nifty MiniDrive is an easy-to-use expansion device that allows anyone to quickly and simply increase the available data storage capacity in MacBook computers with SD Card slots, as well as providing a set and forget back-up solution.
The developers wanted to create an easy way to add memory to the MacBook Air, without having to rip it open with a Torx screwdriver.
The easiest way to do that is to use an external hard disk drive, but that's not a really the integrated solution that the MiniDrive is designed to be, solving problem via the often lightly-used SD card slot in the 13" MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
The front of the MiniDrive (the bit can be seen when the drive is inserted into the computer and is used for removal) is machined from high grade aluminium to ensure the fit and finish matches the MacBook.
The MiniDrive is really easy to remove from your computer by the traditional Mac media ejection method of sticking a paper-clip through the specially designed eyelet at the front of the device to pull it out. The first time you use a paper-clip, you can use the front of the drive to bend the paper-clip into a little hook - then you have your very own MiniDrive removal tool.
Or if you want to be fancy, the Nifty Tool is specially designed for removing your MiniDrive.
Note that pink and blue MiniDrives are special editions for the project's Kickstarter supporters, and will not be initially offered after the Kickstarter campaign.
If you use the MiniDrive Air in the MacBook Pro or iMac, there will be a small gap either side of the SD card slot. The MiniDrive Pro is designed to fit completely flush.
If you use the MiniDrive Retina in the MacBook Pro or iMac, the drive will stick out from the body of your computer by 1mm.
Note that the MiniDrive does not come with a MicroSD card, which must be bought separately and can be easily acquired online or at almost any consumer electronics retailer. While a normal SD card sticks out by about 1cm from the body of the computer when fully inserted, the MiniDrive is designed to sit completely flush with the body of the MacBook, becoming a semi-permanent part of your computer. By utilising standard micro SD cards the MiniDrive can add plug in and forget memory to your computer.
One of the cool things about Micro SD cards is that they are practically indestructible - in fact a major manufactuer of them claims their cards can survive under the sea for over 24 hours, withstand 1.6 tons of force, and are impervious to magnets and X-rays. Therefore, when combined with the Nifty MiniDrive, this makes them perfectly suited as a primary back-up disk.
As the Minidrives are designed to stay in your computer without getting in the way, a daily back-up of your critical files may be set up and then happen automatically without having to remember to plug anything in.
Then if you happen to spill coffee on your computer or drop it down the stairs, or some other disaster strikes you will not be forced to re-do days, weeks or even months worth of work, or even worse lose memories in the form of photos, or videos that may be irreplaceable.
All 13-inch MacBook Air and All Pro computers from the mid 2010 refresh onwards have a Secure Digital Extended Capacity, or SD XC card reader in their SD card slot. Note that 11.6-inch MacBook Airs do not.
Almost all of Minidrive manufacture and assembly is done in the UK, using high quality local expertise in machining and manufacture. The exception to this is the circuit-boards which are printed and assembled in China by a UK-based company.
Shipping is currently projected for the end of October/start of November.
For more information, visit:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1342319572/the-nifty-minidrive
Security Updates Available For Adobe Reader And Acrobat
Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI (11.0.01 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh, X (10.1.5 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh, 9.5.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh, and Adobe Reader 9.5.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Linux. These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.
For full details on downloading the updates, see:
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb13-07.html
Ex-Rolls Royce Director Now Reportedly In Apple's Communication Driver's Seat For EMEIA Region
Many of us consider Apple devices to be the "Rolls Royces" of computer hardware. Now TheNextWeb's Matt Brian cites a PR Week report that Apple has bolstered its communications team covering Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA), by hiring Rolls-Royce's Josh Rosenstock as its new director of corporate communications.
For the full report visit here:
http://goo.gl/IM4ag
WinOnX 1.5 Upgrade Optimizes Performance to Run More Windows Apps on OS X
Mac users have made WinOnX one of Apple App Store's top 10 best-selling productivity apps of all time. Why? Because its the easiest way to run Windows programs on OS X.
NES Software today announced a major performance overhaul for WinOnX, the application that lets Apple Macintosh computers run Microsoft Windows software quickly, easily and affordably. Now, WinOnX users can run more Windows applications, more effectively than ever before. WinOnX 1.5 is available now for $4.99 in Apple's Mac App Store via:
http://www.winonx.com
Rather than tweak the user interface, WinOnX 1.5 boosts the user experience with under-the-hood performance enhancements that include:
• Greatly enhanced compatibility
• Encrypted data transfer improvements
• Improved 3D display with OS-X 10.7.5 and 10.8.2
• Better support for filenames with non-ASCII characters
• Improved handling of LNK Windows files
• Better error handling and reporting
"Mac users have made WinOnX one of the Mac App Store's top 10 best-selling productivity apps of all time," says Hisham El-Emam, CEO of NES Software. "In response, we're giving our users better performance and broader support for even more Windows apps. And for Windows apps we dont yet run, we now provide detailed information on what went wrong and, in many cases, how to fix it."
Bottom line, WinOnX 1.5 users will be able to run 80 percent of all Windows applications and run them more effectively than ever before. And for applications that dont run due to missing Visual Basic or other runtime components, for instance, WinOnX 1.5 gives users detailed information on what went wrong and, in many cases, how to fix it.
WinOnX takes just minutes to download and install and then lets Mac users run compatible Windows applications by double-clicking an applications icon. Alternative solutions, meanwhile, require that users purchase and install a copy of Microsoft Windows and virtualization software if they want to run Windows apps and Mac apps at the same time.
View WinOnX demo video at:
http://www.winonx.com/video
System Requirements
• WinOnX requires Apple Macintosh OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later and at least 400 MB of free disk space to install.
WinOnX 1.5 is priced at $4.99 and can be found in the Apple Mac App Store via:
http://www.winonx.com
Or driectly at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/winonx/id421346233?ls=1&mt=12
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