For the past two months I've been testing a new 17-inch MacBook Pro and have come to prefer it over my 15-inch MacBook Pro in almost every way....

The system I tested was decked out with the optional high-resolution glossy widescreen display..... it's the fastest, most powerful and most capable notebook I've tested.

But while performance was impressive, the thing that really blew me away was its high-resolution glossy display.

All I can say is, "Wow!"

I would replace my 15-inch MacBook Pro with one in a heartbeat - if I could only afford it.

It's not like we didn't see this coming, but it was clear when Apple switched to Intel chips that PowerPC Macs would end up left behind by future software development. Perhaps it came a little sooner than we might have thought, but here it is.

If you use a Mac with a G3 processor, "Tiger" (Mac OS X 10.4) is the highest version of OS X that you can use, and not all G3 Macs support Tiger. If you use a G4 or G5 processor, "Leopard" (OS X 10.5) will be the highest version of OS X that you can use, and not all G4 Macs support Leopard.

And if the rumors are true, "Snow Leopard" (OS X 10.6) will only run on Intel Macs.

This isn't to say that somebody couldn't hack something somehow, but the end is nigh for PowerPC Macs. The handwriting is on the wall.

Seriously, the biggest advantage of the Mac system is the matching of Mac hardware and software. The reason that Windows has compatibility issues is the huge number of software and hardware configurations that have to be taken into consideration. It is perfectly normal for Apple to want to maintain its competitive advantage in this area. Time moves forward despite our nostalgia for the past.

While overclocking tools are quite common in the Windows PC world, Macintosh owners haven't had the same luxury.

However, ZDNet's German site has developed a utility, ZDNet Clock, to change all that. Using the tool, ZDNet says, a Mac Pro using a 2.80 GHz processor can be overclocked to higher performance than the fastest 3.20 GHz model, saving $1,600 under Apple's current price scheme.

I recently had a bit of a quandary - I wanted to send an MP3 player to a music-deprived friend. I wanted it to work with both Windows and Macs. And I wanted it to cost under $100.

The iPod shuffle (C$55-$75) wasn't going to do the trick; shuffle mode is a fun way to randomly bring up tunes, like a radio station that only programs songs that you like. But I wanted my friend to have the option of shuffle mode when he wanted it - and of being able to play specific albums, artists, or songs when he wanted that too. And I wanted him to be able to tell what song was playing. You can't do that on an iPod shuffle either.

The iPod nano (C$159-209) would do everything I wanted except fit in my budget. In fact, unless I was prepared to buy a secondhand iPod, none of Apple's models would fit my needs.

Other MP3 player manufacturers don't exactly spend a lot of time marketing their products to Mac owners - they've pretty much concluded that if you own a Mac and are shopping for a music player, you're probably going to buy an iPod.....

Some other models, however, use a connection standard known varyingly as UMS or MSC; these models, when connected, appear to be an external USB drive - on Windows, Linux, and Mac systems. As a result, they can be used without requiring any additional software or drivers on any of those systems - just drag music files to the Music folder, and you're in business.

Apple has coughed up 25 security updates that come bundled with yesterday's release of Mac OS X 10.5.4.

The firm said its latest Leopard release addresses operating system and application performance issues and fixes a heap of security flaws.

The most significant thing about what's changed in OS X 10.5.4 may be what hasn't changed with Monday's release of the OS X update. The ARDAgent security hole—discovered just a few weeks ago - remains unplugged. This actually isn't all that surprising - if the chatter around the Internet is to be believed, Apple has been working on the 10.5.4 update for quite a while, predating the discovery of the ARDAgent issue....

As for new things introduced in OS X 10.5.4, I dug around a bit in the bom files, as I did with May's 10.5.3 release. This latest update is much smaller than 10.5.3, and I didn't find anything nearly as interesting as I did last month, other than the non-fix for ARDAgent. There are a slew of extension updates, though it's tough to figure out exactly what changes those may entail.

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.5.4. with reliability, performance and security being the main attractions. A fix for a file corruption issue affecting Adobe Creative Suite 3 users when saving documents to a server is a key feature, among some other important tweaks.

While the underlying problem with CS3 had been around for some time, the release of Mac OS X 10.5.3 appeared to make it a more widespread cause for concern among Photoshop users. According to Apple officials, the operating system update released overnight "resolves" the issue.

Mac OS X 10.5.4 delivers a relatively small number of changes.

Judging from initial accounts, the next version of the Mac OS X, named Snow Leopard, will be aimed squarely at business and enterprise users, signaling a formal push by Apple to take Windows head on outside the consumer and education markets. "Apple is taking the Mac OS one step closer to the enterprise," says Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research.

Apple declined to comment on its plans for the new Mac OS, other than to reiterate the sketchy details it released at the recent Worldwide Developers Conference. Snow Leopard—the numerical version is not yet set—is slated to ship in summer 2009, six months or so before Windows 7's scheduled debut.

Apple's plans for Snow Leopard mainly involve improving application performance, as well as bringing Microsoft Exchange Synchronization into the OS itself, so Apple's iCal, Address Book, and Mail will be Exchange-enabled out of the box.

What may not even be the final version of Firefox 2 was officially released this morning, after an extensive testing process during which newer security issues were apparently addressed.

Despite the fact that Firefox version 3 is well under way, the Mozilla organization maintains a commitment to older versions, often for an unspecified length of time. So it is that the fifteenth security and integrity rebuild of Firefox 2 was released this morning, though obviously without the fanfare of last month's record setting download.

AOL will increase fees for dial-up subscriptions.

The company began to notify customers in June that their rates would increase $2 to $11.99 per month, unless they decide to give up technical support by phone. The notices and rate increases are scheduled in coordination with customers' billing cycles. All subscribers are expected to pay the higher rate by July 27, unless they opt out.....

Customers who are willing to pay $2 more will receive unlimited dial-up service and unlimited live technical support - via e-mail, chat, and phone - around the clock. They also receive virus protection, security software, parental controls, spam and pop-up blocking, and 5 GB of Xdrive online storage for photos, music, and files. Subscribers on the $11.99 plan can create up to seven screen names and maintain unlimited e-mail storage.

Until a week ago, I did not own a pair of shorts, but I did have two plaid flannel shirts and a drawer full of thick woolen socks. I say "to-more-owe," not "to-mah-row," and I went to "university," not "college." I have a full beard in the heat of summer. My passport reads United States of America, but I haven't lived here in four years. Yes, I was living in Canada, who today celebrates the peaceful unification of the Eastern provinces in 1867. Our northerly neighbo(u)rs were always kind to me, providing cheap higher education, affordable healthcare and a government that didn't totally suck balls. I loved living there, and haven't ruled out moving back. Yet beneath its placid exterior, there is a deep, dark secret threatening the life and liberty of its people: It absolutely blows to be a gadget nerd in Canada.

Last Friday, I wrote about what I thought the sociological message was that could be taken home from Disney/PIXAR's newest animated film "Wall-E" based on the premise that technology--like that from Apple, Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios--is a tool that helps, has helped, the human race advance to where they are today. (Duh, again, you say).

The problem with that is, one, I inadvertently left that point out of my story, and second, I hadn't seen the film yet to make a solid judgment. But since last night, I did, let's fix this, shall we?

This week marks another first in the 33-year history of Microsoft - life without Billg. The company and the man who co-founded it and rose to become the world's richest geek have parted ways. Bill Gates is no longer chief software architect and will be checking in only as company chairman.

Gates is hailed as the visionary who changed our lives by delivering on the vision of a PC in every home. Certainly, Gates and Microsoft came along at the right time. Ken Olson, former chairman and president of computing pioneer Digital Equipment Corp (DEC), is famed for saying in 1977 he saw no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home. It was also IBM's lack of interest in building software for PCs that gave Microsoft its first break.

Had it been left to companies like DEC and IBM, computing today would likely be a different, analogue, green-screen world.

The challenge of Gates, though, is to put him - and Microsoft - into context. The dictionary defines a visionary as someone "given to fanciful speculations and enthusiasms with little regard for what is actually possible" or "a person with unusual powers of foresight".

Apple's Macintosh computers will now be promoted on the marked by a group of five software companies which created an alliance for this purpose. The Macs will be promoted in corporate environments managed with Microsoft Windows.

Macs to be promoted in corporate environments managed with Microsoft Windows

The alliance consists of Atempo, Centrify, Group Logic, LANrev, and Parallels. All these companies deal with technology which provides interconnection and operability between Mac OS X and Windows.

The alliance with start its activities with education works to show that Macs are not difficult to use in Windows environments.

The companies hope that take advantage of the growing number of Mac users in the world.

Apple has filed a lawsuit against a Michigan iPod repair company, iPod Mechanic, alleging that it misused Apple's "Pod" and "iPod" trademark through the name of the business and its accompanying web site.

Today's IT managers face tough choices. PCs that run fine today have an uncertain upgrade path, now that Microsoft has chosen to discontinue Windows XP. Upgrade costs associated with Vista, coupled with the ever-escalating cost of application licenses, make switching to desktop Linux an increasingly attractive option.

For many businesses, however, it's difficult to know where to begin. The Linux market is broad and thriving, with myriad options to choose from. Most organizations will want to phase in Linux gradually, which in many cases will mean supporting a heterogeneous computing environment for the first time. As a result, it can be hard to predict where software incompatibilities might affect critical business processes.

Fortunately, the future of Linux on the business desktop has never been brighter. Bolstered by contributions from some of the biggest names in IT, today's Linux offers a rich, highly functional user experience to compete with any proprietary OS......

Next Article: Mac OS Posts Another Market Share Gain In June

Previous Article: Applelinks iPhone News Reader - Wednesday, July 2, 2008

	Print this page is sponsored by www.MyMacStore.com For all your iPod, iPhone and Mac Gear