Oslo, Norway - September 20, 2005

Opera Software today permanently removed the ad banner and licensing fee from its award-winning Web browser. The ad-free, full-featured Opera browser is now available for download - completely free of charge – at http://www.opera.com.

"Today we invite the entire Internet community to use Opera and experience Web browsing as it should be," said Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "Removing the ad banner and licensing fee will encourage many new users to discover the speed, security and unmatched usability of the Opera browser."

Opera was previously available free of charge with an ad banner. Users had the option of paying a licensing fee to remove the ad banner and receive premium support.

"Opera fans around the globe made this day possible," said von Tetzchner. "As we grow our userbase, our mission and our promise remain steadfast: we will always offer the best Internet experience to our users - on any device. Today this mission gains new ground."

The current version of Opera is compatible with Mac OS X (10.2 and above).

Concerning my last post, it seems I was not alone in experiencing major problems after the recent Java update, although the issue doesn't seem very widespread, and we're not even sure how or if it's related to the update. Folks at MacFixIt and the Apple forums tried all the usual fixes (permissions repair, disk repair from OSX Install disc, DiskWarrior, OSX 10.4.2 Combo Update), stopping short of doing an Archive And Install of OSX. Thankfully, I came across a cause and a fix in a reply at MacFixIt.

Again, here's what's happening:

1. Web pages suddenly stop loading - sometimes halfway through a page
2. Applications (all of them) then refuse to launch, first bouncing in the dock for up to a minute and then simply having a stationary, inactive icon in the dock
3. After that, the system becomes completely unresponsive; switching between open applications works, but finder functions are unavailable (the dock doesn't work, menus are inaccessible, force quit key command does not respond).
4. Eventually, you're left with a spinning cursor and must shut down the machine using the power button.


Next, the cause (courtesy dshadow.com)

Lookupd is the lookup and caching daemon responsible for handling NetInfo, DNS, and other such requests. Applications typically do not access lookupd directly, but rather, use standardized library functions (such as gethostbyname for DNS) which access lookupd on the application's behalf.

Lookupd has a bug (rdar://3632865) in its cache cleanup code that causes it to randomly crash. CrashReporter, the system crash log agent, does not properly handle lookupd crashes, and as a result, when lookupd crashes, the process is not terminated. Since lookupd has not terminated, mach_init does not respawn lookupd. From this point, any application that attempts to access lookupd, either directly or indirectly, will hang.

Once lookupd stops responding, it becomes difficult, but not impossible, to recover the system to a usable state.

The fix, thanks to fmalloy1 at MacFixIt:

In the Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal), do this:

sudo mkdir /etc/lookupd
sudo sh -c "echo TimeToLive 300 > /etc/lookupd/hosts"
sudo sh -c "echo ValidateCache NO >> /etc/lookupd/hosts"

This modifies how lookupd works such that it works around the problem.

Restart, sleep, unplug your network cable briefly, or turn AirPort off then on. This will restart the lookupd service with the changes above.

So, my advice? Go ahead and do the Java update, but be sure to repair permissions before and after updating. For most, this has been an uneventful update, and things should be OK. But if you should have the issues described above, you'll know how to fix it.

Apple's recent java update seems to be causing trouble for some folks, me included. As posted at MacFixIt, here's what's happening:

1. Web pages suddenly stop loading - sometimes halfway through a page
2. Applications (apparently all of them) then refuse to launch, first bouncing in the dock for up to a minute and then simply having a stationary, inactive icon in the dock
3. After that, the system becomes completely unresponsive; switching between open applications works, but finder functions are unavailable (the dock doesn't work, menus are inaccessible, force quit key command does not respond).
4. Eventually, I am left with a spinning cursor and must shut down the machine using the power button.

If you have not yet updated, my advice is to wait. Keep an eye on the MacFixIt site for more information on this, and I'll try to keep this blog updated as well.

Adam Karneboge

On behalf of the IMUG Board of Directors, I want to thank Adam Karneboge, a Training Specialist from MacSpecialist in Villa Park, IL for his extremely informative presentation on OSX Tiger at our meeting on September 12. We had a very nice turnout, and I'm sure every person in attendance learned something that they hadn't known before.

As I talked about early in the meeting, the Comments section is enabled below. Feel free to let us know what you thought about the meeting, as well as any suggestions or requests for future presentations. You can leave questions as well, and we'll do our best to get you an answer as soon as possible.

Also, if you know of other Mac users out there, or even Windows users curious about the Mac or looking to be enlightened tell them about our group. Point them to this website. Bring them to the next coffee or regular meeting. Young or old, all are welcome!

Firefox 1.5 Beta 1 is now available for download. This is the first Beta release of the next generation Firefox browser, to be released later this year, and it is being made available to the developer and testing community for compatibility testing and to solicit feedback.

Note: This is not the final release of our Web browser, it has been made available for testing purposes only, with no end-user support. If that sounds scary, you'd probably be better off with the latest version of Firefox 1.0.

What's New:
Version 1.5b1:

* Automated update to streamline product upgrades.
* Notification of an update is more prominent, and updates to
* Firefox may now be half a megabyte or smaller. Updating extensions has also improved.
* Faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.
* Drag and drop reordering for browser tabs.
* Improvements to popup blocking.
* Clear Private Data feature provides an easy way to quickly remove personal data through a menu item or keyboard shortcut.
* Answers.com is added to the search engine list.
* Improvements to product usability including descriptive error pages, redesigned options menu, RSS discovery, and "Safe Mode" experience.
* Better accessibility support including DHTML accessibility.
* Report a broken Web site wizard to report Web sites that are not working in Firefox.
* Better support for Mac OS X (10.2 and greater) including profile migration from Safari and Mac Internet Explorer.
* New support for Web Standards including SVG, CSS 2 and CSS 3, and JavaScript 1.6.
* Many security enhancements.
* List of notable bug fixes since Deer Park Alpha 2

Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

Apple's been busy the last couple of days.

Apple on Wednesday introduced iTunes 5, an updated version of their popular music jukebox software for Mac and Windows.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced iTunes 5 at a special event in San Francisco on Wednesday morning. The new version of iTunes features a refined user interface and new features like a new Search Bar tat lets users look through their own music, the iTunes Music Store library, podcasts and audiobooks.

Playlists can be organized into folders, and a new “Smart Shuffle” feature lets users change the “randomness” of shuffled songs. “We’ve got a lot of people saying our shuffle is not random,” said Jobs during the special event.

Parents who let their kids buy music through the iTunes Music Store can now restrict the sale of music with explicit lyrics. Album reviews are also added in this release. Apple says the iTunes Music Store now features more than 2 million songs, making it the largest online music catalog in the world.

iTunes 5 is available for immediate download from Software Update or Apple’s Web site and is free. System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.2.8 or later, though Apple recommends Mac OS X v10.4.2 or later.

Apple on Wednesday also released QuickTime 7.0.2, an update to their core multimedia software. The new version “delivers numerous important bug fixes and compatibility enhancements,” according to Apple, which highly recommends the update for all Quicktime 7 users. It’s available for download through the Software Update system preference pane.

System requirements call for a G3/400MHz or later, 128MB RAM and Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later. General information about QuickTime 7 is available from Apple’s Web site.

And last but not least, Apple on Wednesday introduced the iPod nano, its replacement for the enormously popular iPod mini. The portable music player is available in 2GB and 4GB capacities for US$199 and $249 respectively, and is also available in both black and white designs.
iPod nano

The iPod nano weighs 1.5 ounces and is thinner than a standard #2 pencil, according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who spoke at a special event on Wednesday morning. Unlike the iPod mini, the nano features a color screen, but uses the Click Wheel familiar to iPod mini users and newer iPod users.

It also features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, making the nano compatible with more than 1,000 accessories designed for the iPod. Featuring “Auto-Sync” technology, the iPod nano can keep up to date with changes to your digital music library, podcasts and digital photos. The color screen enables users to view album art, photo slideshow and play built-in games in color. Apple estimates the rechargeable internal battery lasts for 14 hours at a stretch.

Other new features include a world clock, stopwatch and lap timer and screen lock application. System requirements for the iPod nano call for Mac OS X v10.3.4 or later and iTunes 4.9; it also supports various flavors of Windows.