• An improved look and feel, including a new Column Browser for easily browsing your artists or albums, movies, TV shows, and more.
• iTunes Store has a brand new look, with improved navigation for quick and easy exploration.
• iTunes LP and iTunes Extras create unique experiences that feature exclusive interviews, videos, photos, and more — available with select album and movie purchases on the iTunes Store.
• Home Sharing helps you manage your family's iTunes collection between computers in your home. iTunes can automatically transfer new purchases, or you can choose just the items you want.
• Genius Mixes are created for you by iTunes and play songs from your library that go great together.
• iPod and iPhone syncing now allows you to organize your iPhone and iPod touch home screens directly in iTunes. Syncing is now also more flexible, allowing you to sync individual artists, genres, or TV show and Podcast episodes.
• iTunes U items are now organized into their own section in your iTunes library.
• Sync with iPod nano (5th generation), iPod classic (Fall 2009), and iPod touch (Fall 2009).
• iTunes 9 also includes many other improvements, such as HE-AAC encoding and playback, more flexibility with Smart Playlists rules, simpler organization of your media files inside an iTunes Media folder, and more.

• Universal input HandBrake is no longer limited to DVDs: it will now accept practically any type of video as a source. This massive enhancement was achieved by tapping into the power of libavcodec and libavformat from the FFmpeg project.
• Video quality The x264 project has really come into its own this year, and HandBrake 0.9.3 integrates the latest improvements to the H.264 encoding library. Picture quality has enhanced dramatically through the use of psychovisual rate distortion and adaptive quantization, and there have been significant speed optimizations.
• Audio flexibility HandBrake now offers total control over multiple audio tracks.
• No more internal DVD decryption Yeah, we know, no one reading this is going "Oh wow, no more DVD decryption--what a great new feature!" but...deal. HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X. We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone.
• Persistent queues When queueing up a bunch of videos to encode, you need no longer fear a crash in HandBrake's graphical interfaces. Queued jobs are cached to disk for safekeeping between sessions.
• New, better organized presets (Be sure to run "Update Built-In Presets" from the Presets menu!) The presets are now "nested" in folders and have evolved. Notably, there is a new Apple "Universal" preset, designed to play and look good doing so on anything from an iPod Nano to an AppleTV. There have been many changes to most of them. Please be aware that most presets now use different settings. This means most of them are not suited for benchmarking 0.9.3 against 0.9.2. For example, the AppleTV preset is slower because it is now quality based, and produces much more efficient output. The Normal preset uses psychovisual rate distortion. The High Profile presets use psychovisual trellising. All of these setting changes can influence encoding time and output file size. For comparison purposes, there are several presets in the Apple->Legacy folder (the old iPod High-Rez, the old AppleTV, and the old iPhone presets) which remain unchanged since 0.9.2.
• Audio-video synchronization HandBrake should now keep lip-synch as well as a DVD player can.
• Decomb filter HandBrake now offers a decomb filter, in the style of AviSynth's. It is a deinterlacer that can be left on all the time without degrading picture quality, because it only deinterlaces video when it visibly needs to be.
• Multi-threaded deinterlacing The "Slow" and "Slower" filters, as well as the new decomb filter, will now take advantage of as many processors as you can throw at them.
• "Same as source framerate" really is the same as the source framerate HandBrake now, by default, passes through the exact video framerate of the source instead of smoothing to a constant rate, which could lead to frames being duplicated or dropped.
• Theora video encoding HandBrake now can encode video using the Theora codec.
• Updated libraries Besides x264, updated libraries include libsamplerate, libogg, xvidcore, libmpeg2, lame, faac, and ffmpeg's libavcodec, libavformat, and libswscale.
• Massive improvements to all interfaces As hard as it might be to believe, the changes listed above are only the tip of the iceberg. A much longer list is available, but even that is only a brief summary. There have been well over 600 changes to HandBrake's code base since 0.9.2, including hundreds of bug fixes.

Currently, I'm running my first T42 simulation. I was guessing I would get 7 years per day for this run. I was using a fairly linear CPU comparison with Gondwana, my older cluster, which uses 16 2 ghz Opteron processors, comes in just under 10 years per day. Well, initial performance results say that my calculations were way too low. The model produces a month of data every 7-8 minutes so far... that translates to a year-per-day range of 15-17. This result was far better than I anticipated!

• AFP Client
• AirPort
• CarbonCore
• diskdev_cmds
• fetchmail
• ftpd
• gnutar
• Help Viewer
• HID Family
• Installer
• Kerberos
• Libinfo
• Login Window
• network_cmds
• SMB
• System Configuration
• URLMount
• Video Conference
• WebDAV

• o Style support added to themes
• o Added support for lists
• o Snippets feature added
• o 6 completely new themes added
• o Publishing now shows more detail while uploading
• o Pages can now be dragged and dropped between documents
• o Added option to protect e-mail address in footer
• o Rel tag now supported when adding a link
• o Now supports JS page encoding
• o Added "Paste and Match Style" to edit menu
• o Added "Visit Published Website" menu item
• o Added a feature to enable code to be placed in the header
• o Custom page extensions, such as "php" are now carried over to sub pages
• o Duplicating a page now also duplicates the page's attributes, including the sidebar
• o Missing pages are now displayed with a missing page icon, instead of being removed from the Hierarchy
• o Code view now reports PHP syntax errors
• o Dock Menu now supports open and new file commands
• o Updated preferences window
• o Applying shadows and borders to images quality improved
• o Images are now much smaller as they no longer have a colour profile embeded
• o Non 72dpi images are now scaled correctly
• o The site logo is now used only once per site
• o Text views with lots of content are now much, much faster
• o Publishing and Export no longer use excessive amounts of memory
• o Implemented a crash reporter, handy if something bad happens!
• o Many, many other minor fixes and enhancements

• o English
• o French
• o German
• o Japanese

• o Added Tag support for posts
• o Archive posts by Year option added
• o Support for Multiple categories added
• o The title of the post is now linked to it's permalink page
• o Added support for inline comments on permalink pages using haloscan
• o A title can now be set for categories. e.g. "Filed in:"
• o Images added in the sidebar of the blog now display correctly in the archives
• o Scrollwheel now works in the Main entry field
• o Sidebar arrows now work in the Summary field
• o Custom iTunes tag fields no longer remain inactive
• o Now uses SEO frendly browser titles on permalink pages
• o Moved RSS link to the header so the page should now validate strict, even without using Tidy
• o Fixed a bug whereby the blog plugin would sometimes crash RapidWeaver when loading a document
• o Archived by date pages now use better file names, e.g mar-01-2007.html
• o Fixed issue with non localized versions of RW displaying null as the date
• o Many other minor fixes

• o Name is now included in the Email header
• o Now uses styled text fields for the sent and received messages
• o Added a footer text area

• o Now supports EXIF data
• o Completely new Flash Slideshow with Audio, Ken Burns Effect and much more
• o Added a square thumbnail option for tidier gallery pages
• o Images are now much smaller as they no longer have a colour profile embeded
• o No longer uses excessive memory
• o Fixed a bug whereby white lines were sometimes visible along the top of images

iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard's features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones. [Apr 12, 2007]

Recent users of OSX get an unpleasant surprise when they try to download a file from the internet that is not a .dmg or .zip archive. Apple no longer includes Stuffit Expander as part of the operating system, and actually, there is a large segment of the Mac population who have become increasingly more unhappy with the bloat that Stuffit has become. So, how to open these files? Enter The Unarchiver...

The Unarchiver is a much more capable replacement for Stuffit as well as "BOMArchiveHelper.app", the built-in archive unpacker program in Mac OS X. The Unarchiver is designed to handle many more formats than BOMArchiveHelper, and to better fit in with the design of the Finder. It can also handle filenames in foreign character sets, created with non-English versions of other operating systems. It is useful for opening Japanese archives, and should handle many other languages just as well.

It is very simple to use and install - simply copy it into your Applications folder or whereever you prefer (I keep it in /Applications/Utilities), and then set archive filetypes to open using it. This can either be done the usual way, or by double-clicking the icon to show The Unarchiver's preferences.

Supported file formats include Zip, Tar-GZip, Tar-BZip2, Rar, 7-zip, LhA, StuffIt and many other more or less obscure formats. Support for so many formats is achieved by using the libxad unarchiving library.

The Unarchiver requires Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).

When Mac OSX was introduced in 2001, OmniWeb was the web browser of choice for many early adopters. This program has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, and is now the most full-featured web browser on the Mac platform. It is built on the same WebKit foundation as Safari (actually, a more up-to-date version of WebKit), and is a perfect example of everything OSX software should be; fast, stable, attractive, and intuitive. Normally going for $30, an OmniWeb license can be had for $9.95 during the month of November. So, if you've been intrigued by OmniWeb but couldn't justify spending money for a web browser when many other choices are available for free, the folks at OmniGroup have made it a lot more affordable. For more information: http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniweb/

Get it while it's hot. To see what's new, check out the updated release notes. There's been some unhappiness with the theme. Kevin Gerich has done a fantastic job with a visual refresh of his classic Pinstripe theme, with special attention paid to tabs. It really looks great (I use it here!), and you can get it from his website. If you're into more of a Safari-like look, look no further than Aronnax's Firefox Themes available from Takebacktheweb.org. Lastly, if you're looking for that little extra edge in speed you might get from a build optimized for your processor, Neil Lee's Beatnik Pad is the place to be. But please, be nice to Neil and read his site. He gets a little temperamental when asked the same questions over and over again. Just use and enjoy. Some of these site may offer suggestions for extension; I'll give you 3. Nightly Tester Tool is a must-have. This little guy prevents version upgrades from horking your extensions. Ad-block Plus with Rick's filter (now included as easy-filter), don't surf without it. Fasterfox makes some tweaks to some hidden preferences to optimize Firefox for speed. Does it work? Try it and see.

Try not to use too many extensions. An overabundance of these helpful little tools tends to slow down the browser and sometimes cause conflicts. If you start to see funky behavior from your Fox, start by removing extensions to see if you can nail down the problem. Oh, and one more for those IE only sites, pick up User Agent Switcher, it works (sometimes).

Get yours today via Microsoft AutoUpdate.

Coming soon, my thoughts on this past week's big announcements, and some other news that's been floating around. Have you read about the 8-core Mac Pro? See you next time.

In the early days of Mac OS X, their were very few choices as far as web browsers were concerned, and they all left a lot to be desired. Internet Explorer was the choice of most, as it came pre-installed with the operating system. Netscape had just spun off the Mozilla code, but the Suite was a big, bloated mess. All the cool people were using a browser called OmniWeb, not so much for it's functionality, but rather for its looks. OmniWeb was a cocoa application, built specifically for OS X. It gave us a taste of how nicely applications can blend in with the look and feel of the system, but eventually it had to be rebuilt from scratch, and added a $30 price tag as well.

Realizing that the newly open sourced Mozilla code and Gecko rendering engine had a lot of promise, two guys (and I believe former Netscape employees) named Mike Pinkerton and Dave Hyatt (Hyatt is now the lead Safari developer) decided to build a browser-only application, based on the Mozilla/Gecko rendering engine under the hood, but with a Mac interface. Originally called Chimera, this project has attracted a very passionate group of volunteer hackers and end users over the last few years. Hyatt eventually was recruited by Apple, but Pink and company have remained committed to building the best browser on the Mac platform, releasing version 1.0 earlier this year.

I've been a big fan of Chimera/Camino from the very beginning, testing nightly builds and reporting bugs. I even developed a work-around for a java-related bug that existed on OSX 10.1, not bad for a non-developer. But I always wanted to learn how to compile Camino myself, and thanks to a group of very patience folks from the Camino forum at Mozillazine, I've accomplished this feat.

Ironically, this same group of people were involved in trying to improve the Camino developer documentation, and sometimes it's hard for software developers to think like normal human beings. For every question I had, information on the wiki was added or adjusted based on the questions I was asking, resulting in what I believe to be fairly clear build instructions. As I became confident that my builds were stable for every day use, I decided to post them to my .Mac site so that other members of the Camino community could take part in the testing of these builds.

These builds are compiled on a MacBook Pro, and are for Intel processor machines only. They will not run on a PPC-equipped machine, so don't even try. They use a customized build configuration file with special (experimental) optimizations for the Intel processors. They are compiled every day, so the possibility exists that newly checked-in code can cause instability in the app. I always do some quick testing before uploading to make sure the app launches, renders some sites, and doesn't crash, so you can feel somewhat confident using it. I would recommend backing up your profile (~/Library/Application Support/Camino) though just in case. So, if you've got a new machine and like living on the bleeding edge, feel free to test these experimental nightly builds of Camino, and feel free to leave comments below on your experiences. Just click on the banner above to download, and be sure to choose the most recent build.

BTW, this reminds me of another subject, which is actually related. Camino, like the majority of software for OSX, is packaged in a file called a disk image. Disk image files end with the .dmg extension. When a disk image is downloaded, your browser hands this file off to an application called DiskImageMounter (unless you have turned OFF automatic opening of files in your browser prefs. In this case, you would double-click the .dmg file to mount it), and the image is mounted. An icon appears on the Desktop that looks like a hard drive (it IS a virtual drive), and usually a Finder window will open as well, showing the contents of the image (again, if a window doesn't open, double-click the drive icon). If the contents of the image is the application, installation consists of dragging the application icon from the image to your Applications folder. Do NOT double-click an application icon from inside a disk image. Once you have dragged the app to /Applications and it's finished copying itself, you Eject the image (either by clicking the Eject triangle in the Finder window, right-clicking the drive icon on the Desktop and choosing Eject, or by simply dragging the drive icon to the Trash). You can then trash the .dmg file as well and any other files that may have been associated with the download (i.e. - .zip files, .bin files, etc.).

There is an exception to this rule. If the contents of the image is an Installer (a yellowish package icon, a .pkg extension, or the words Installer), you can double-click and run from the disk image. But if you mount a disk image and you see the icon of the app you just downloaded, then just drag it to /Applications.

It's not often that I write about 3rd party software on this site, but Onyx is one of those programs that should be in every Mac users Applications folder. I've used Onyx since the early days of OSX, and this little utility has continued to grow and evolve, adding new features but always remaining simple to use and easy to understand. The developers have also maintained support for previous versions of X by providing separate versions of Onyx for Tiger, Panther, and Jaguar. Click on the logo above for download information, and be sure to read the reviews by fellow Mac users at both MacUpdate and Versiontracker, and see for yourself why Onyx is the ONE utility Mac users can't live without.

Security Update 2006-004 is recommended for all users and improves the security of the following components.

* AFP Server
* Bluetooth
* Bom
* DHCP
* dyld
* fetchmail
* gnuzip
* ImageIO
* LaunchServices
* OpenSSH
* telnet
* WebKit

REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4.7 (client or server).

Say hello to Roxio Toast 7.1, a FREE upgrade to current registered users. In my opinion, any Mac user who burns, copies, or otherwise creates media on disc should consider this program. Of course, that's my opinion. Here's all the update info:

About Toast Titanium
The best way to save, share, and enjoy a lifetime of digital music, movies, and photos on CD and DVD. Burn large files across multiple discs. Compress and copy DVD movies. Add over 50 hours of music to an audio DV with on-screen TV menus, shuffle play, and rich Dolby Digital sound.

Turn DivX files into DVDs. Create stunning multi-image HD slideshows with collages, motion effects, titles and background soundtracks. Enjoy HD playback in your living room today! Do it all with the fastest and most reliable burning software for the Mac OS - Toast.

What’s New in this Version
- Now a Universal Binary
- Previewing Apple Lossless audio files in Audio CD format no longer causes a -50 error.
- Resolves QuickTime Movie video export issues — related to the QuickTime 7.1 update.
- Resolves menu button highlight issues on Toast authored DVD-Video discs — related to the Mac OS 10.4.6 update.
- Canceling the User Authentication step during the Toast Setup Assistant no longer causes a -60007 error.
- Many more enhancements.

Mac OS X 10.4.7

Meet the most advanced operating system. Again. Instantly find what you are looking for. Get information in an instant with a single click. Mac OS X Tiger delivers 200+ new features which make it easier than ever to find, access and enjoy everything on your computer.

Learn more about Mac OS X

What’s New in this Version
- The 10.4.7 Update is recommended for all users and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes for the following applications and technologies.
It includes fixes for:

- sharing using AFP, SMB/CIFS, NFS and FTP file sharing protocols
- reliable access to Open Directory, LDAP and Active Directory services
- login and authentication in a variety of network environments
- file access and byte range locking with AFP file sharing
- network access when using proxy server automatic configuration files
- connecting to Cisco VPN servers using IP/Sec and NAT
- AirPort and Bluetooth wireless connectivity
- RAW camera support, including updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers
- usability of Dashboard and widgets
- searching iWork '06 and Microsoft Office documents with Spotlight
- saving Word documents automatically when using a network home directory
- viewing of QuickTime streaming media behind a firewall
- audio playback in QuickTime, iTunes, Final Cut Pro, and Soundtrack Pro applications
- ensuring icons are spaced correctly when viewed on desktop
- determining the space required to burn folders
- synchronizing contacts, bookmarks, and calendars to .Mac and mobile phones
- mounting and unmounting iDisk volumes
- time zone and daylight savings for 2006 and 2007
- Address Book, AppleScript, Automator, Dictionary, Font Book, iCal, iChat, DVD Player, Keynote, Mail, Preview, Safari, and Stickies
- Disk Utility, Keychain Access, Migration Assistant, and Software Update
- compatibility with third party applications and devices
- previous Mac OS X updates and standalone security updates

Quicktime 7.1.2

QuickTime 7.1.2 addresses an issue previewing iDVD projects. This update is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

iTunes 6.0.5

iTunes is the easiest way to organize, share and listen to music on your computer. Find new favorites. Manage your growing library. Enjoy the best friend an iPod ever had. Download iTunes 6 free for Mac or Windows.


System requirements
iTunes 6 requires Mac OS X version 10.2.8 or later for music, and Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later plus QuickTime 7.0.3 or later for purchased videos (Mac OS X version 10.4.2 or later is recommended). Support for mobile phones with iTunes requires Mac OS X version 10.3.6 or later.

Nike + iPod requires the Nike + iPod Sensor and Receiver Kit, an iPod nano with software version 1.2 or later, Nike+ compatible shoes, and iTunes 6.0.5 or later. To see your workout data on nikeplus.com, you must have an Internet connection and a free Nike.com account. For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/nikeplus/.

AirPort Express with AirTunes requires an AirPort or AirPort Extreme card, Mac OS X version 10.3 or later, a compatible stereo system or powered speakers, and iTunes 4.6 or later. Playing your music with one or more AirPort Express base stations requires iTunes 6.0.2 or later plus AirPort Express Firmware 6.3 or later. Some ISPs may not be compatible with AirPort Express. For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/.

Make sure you have the latest update of Mac OS X, QuickTime, and iLife. To get the latest updates, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Software Update, and then Update Now or Check Now. After you install an update, it's a good idea to click Update Now or Check Now again to make sure you have all the latest versions. To get the latest upgrade to Mac OS X, visit http://www.apple.com/macosx/.

To create audio or MP3 CDs with iTunes, your Mac must have an Apple combo or SuperDrive. To back up your music to a DVD, your Mac must have an Apple SuperDrive. Some third-party CD-RW and DVD-RW drives may also work.

If you plan to listen to music previews or buy music from the iTunes Music Store, a DSL, cable modem, or local area network (LAN) Internet connection is recommended.

What’s New in this Version
- With iTunes 6, you can preview, buy, and download music videos, short films, and hit TV programs on the iTunes Music Store, and sync your music and purchased videos with iPod to enjoy on the go.

iTunes 6.0.5 allows you to sync your Nike + iPod workout data to nikeplus.com, where you can easily track your progress, set training goals, challenge others, and much more. Visit the Nike Sport Music area on the iTunes Music Store to download workout mixes, Athlete Inspiration playlists, Nike podcasts, and more.

Note: After purchasing music from the iTunes Music Store with iTunes 6 or later, you also need to upgrade your other computers that purchase music from the iTunes Music Store to the latest version of iTunes.

iPod Updater 2006-06-28

About iPod Updater 2006-06-28
iPod Updater 2006-06-28 includes:

-New iPod Software 1.1.2 for iPod
-New iPod Software 1.2 for iPod nano
-New iPod Software 1.1.4 for iPod shuffle

iPod Updater 2006-06-28 contains the same software versions as iPod Updater 2006-03-23 for all other iPod models.

To learn how to use your iPod with step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow movies, see the iPod tutorials at http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/howto/.

Click Learn More in each tutorial to see more great tips and instructions.

And be sure to check out iPod 101, our fun, free series of online courses that'll teach you everything about using iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Music Store.

For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/support/ipod101/.

Note: If you aren't sure which iPod you have, and you want to find out if your iPod needs updating, follow the directions below to use iPod Updater 2006-06-28. If the software on your iPod can be updated, the Update button in the updater application will be available.

iPod Updater 2006-06-28 delivers the following software:
Features of iPod Software 1.1.2 for iPod:
-Bug fixes

Features of iPod Software 1.2 for iPod nano:
-Nike + iPod support
-Bug fixes


Features of iPod Software 1.1.4 for iPod shuffle:
-Volume limit
-Bug fixes

Note: iTunes 6.0.5 or later required to set a maximum volume limit for iPod shuffle. For information about how to set the maximum volume limit, open iTunes and choose Help > iTunes and Music Store Help.
System Requirements

To install and use iPod Software 1.1.2 for iPod, you need:
- An iPod
- A PC with a USB port or card (USB 2.0 recommended)
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 6 or later
- Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Elements 3.0

iTunes is included on the iPod + iTunes CD. To ensure you have the latest version of iTunes, go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/.

Note: iTunes versions earlier than 6 are supported for music, photo, and podcast syncing only and will not sync videos properly with iPod.

To install and use iPod Software 1.2 for iPod nano, you need:

An iPod nano
A PC with a USB port or card (USB 2.0 recommended)
Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
iTunes 4.9 or later
Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Elements 3.0

To install and use iPod Software 1.2.1 for iPod with color display, you need:
-An iPod with color display
-A PC with a high-power USB 2.0 port or card, or a FireWire port or card
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 4.7 or later
- Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Elements 3.0

Note: iTunes versions earlier than 4.9 are supported for music and photo syncing only and will not sync podcasts properly with iPod.

To install and use iPod Software 1.1.4 for iPod shuffle, you need:
- An iPod shuffle
- A PC with a USB port* or card
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 5.0.1 or later

Note: iTunes versions earlier than 4.7.1 are not supported and will not sync music properly with iPod shuffle.
*Some computers require either the optional iPod shuffle dock or a USB cable extender (sold separately).
To install and use iPod Software 1.4.1 for iPod mini and iPod Software 3.1.1 for iPod with Click Wheel, you need:

- An iPod mini or an iPod with Click Wheel
- A PC with a high-power USB 2.0 port or card, or a FireWire port or card
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 4.7 or later

Note: iTunes versions earlier than 4.9 are supported for music syncing only and will not sync podcasts properly with iPod.

To install and use iPod Software 2.3 for iPod with dock connector, you need:
- An iPod with dock connector
- A PC with a high-power USB 2.0 port or card, or a FireWire port or card
- Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 4.7 or later

To install and use iPod Software 1.5 for iPod with touch wheel or scroll wheel, you need:
An iPod with touch wheel or scroll wheel
A PC with a FireWire port or card
Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later, or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
iTunes 4.7 or later

Using iPod Updater 2006-06-28

To install and open the iPod Updater:
1. Open iPodsetup.exe on the iPod + iTunes CD or from the web download at www.apple.com/ipod.
2. Connect your iPod to your computer. If you are using USB, make sure iPod is connected to a high-power USB port on your computer. Be aware that USB keyboards and non-powered USB hubs generally do not have high-power USB ports.
3. Run iPod Updater 2006-06-28.exe from Start\All Programs\iPod\iPod Updater 2006-06-28.
4. When iPod Updater opens, click Update or Restore.

Choosing Update or Restore

iPod Updater 2006-06-28 has two functions, Update and Restore.
Update: If you choose Update, the software on your iPod is updated with the new version of software. Songs and other data on iPod are not affected. If your iPod already has up-to-date software, the Update choice is not available. Restore: If you choose Restore, the entire contents of iPod are erased, all iPod settings are reset, and new software is installed.

WARNING: Choosing Restore erases all of the music and other data on iPod.

All descriptions and graphics courtesy of Apple Computer, Inc. ©2006

Meet the newest addition to the family: the MacBook, Apple's brand new line of consumer portables. Available in white or black, these babies sport Intel's speedy Core Duo processors in speeds of either 1.83GHz or 2.0GHz, 13.3 inch widescreen displays supporting resolutions up to 1280 X 800, 512MB of RAM, 60GB or 80GB hard drives, and Combo or Super Drives.

That leaves only the pro level desktops to be upgraded. Patent applications in both New Zealand and the US show Apple intends to call the PowerMac replacements "Mac Pro", with Apple placing greater emphasis on the Mac brand.

Mac OS X 10.4.7 is said to be in the pipeline. Developer state that the next update to Tiger will concentrate on Safari and Mail, as well as iChat and synching. Reports from AppleInsider also state that there are to be "over 60" bug fixes since 10.4.6.

We hope to see many of you at the next Coffee gathering on June 5 at the Library. These informal get-togethers are a great way to stay in touch with fellow members during the summer. The Library has free wireless internet access, so bring along your laptops if you wish. I plan on attending (I missed last month due to being out of town), so if you want to see a MacBook Pro running Windows and Ubuntu Linux, be there!

Apple Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS X or Windows XP. Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August.

Boot Camp simplifies Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple graphical step-by-step assistant application to dynamically create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, to burn a CD with all the necessary Windows drivers, and to install Windows from a Windows XP installation CD. After installation is complete, users can choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restart their computer.

Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows.(1) Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.

Boot Camp burns a CD with all the Mac-specific drivers for Windows:

* Graphics
* Networking
* Audio
* AirPort wireless
* Bluetooth
* The Eject key (on Apple keyboards)
* Brightness control for built-in displays

However, dual-booting into Windows is not the only option.

It’s here! Parallels is proud to launch the Beta program the first virtualization solution specifically designed to work with Intel-powered Apple computers! Parallels Workstation 2.1 Beta2 for Mac OS X is NOT simply a "dual-boot" solution; rather, it empowers users the ability to use Windows, Linux and any other operating system at the same time as Mac OS X, enabling users to enjoy the comfort of their Mac OS X desktop while still being able to use critical applications from other OSes.

And if that wasn't enough:

Darwine allows Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows applications. The Darwine project intends to port and develop WINE as well as other supporting tools that will allow Darwin and Mac OS X users to run Windows Applications, and to provide a Win32 API compatibility at application source code level. Wine on Mac OS X/x86 is not yet fully functional. Current work on x86 is being done by CodeWeavers.

In other words, these are very exciting times in the Mac world. Hold on tight, it's going to be quite a ride!

Camino (formerly known as Chimera) is a web browser for Mac OS X that has a Cocoa user interface, and embeds the Gecko layout engine (the same rendering engine Firefox uses). It is intended to be a simple, small and fast browser for Mac OS X.

Considered one of the fastest Web browsers on Mac OS X, Camino also integrates tightly with the platform, adopting the refined style, user-focused interface, and cutting-edge technologies that are hallmarks of the Macintosh experience. The project's development philosophy embraces these ideals, so Camino includes built-in technology to block pop-ups and ads, allowing users to view the Web as it was meant to be seen -- annoyance-free.

WHAT'S NEW
Version 1.0:

* Universal Binary - Camino is now a universal binary, allowing it to run natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs.
* New Tab Bar Appearance - The new tab bar appearance allows for easier usability.
* Download Manager Pause/Resume - The download manager now supports pause and resume and has been highly optimized and revised for better performance.
* Annoyance Blocking - With built-in ad- and pop-up blocking, Camino now allows you to ignore the things you hate most.
* Certificate Support - The addition of certificate support yields better security.
* Java Embedding Plugin - JEP improves Java performance immensely.
* Form Fill from Address Book - Form fill from Address Book makes filling in those pesky web forms much easier.
* History Searching - Finding past web pages is even easier with history searching built-in to the History Manager.
* Support for More Web Standards - Thanks to the Gecko rendering engine, Camino now supports SVG

REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later.

Our thanks to Patrick Stinson of MacSpecialist for his predictions on MacWorld. From some of the reports I've read in the past couple of weeks, some of the new product announcements were pulled at the last minute. It sounds like iPod- and Mac Media Center-related announcements will be forthcoming in the not too distant future. I think everybody had updates to iLife in their crystal balls, however, the new Intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro caught many by surprise. While MacWorld 2006 was exciting, I think it left a lot of people hanging. These upcoming months look to be exciting times for our favorite computer maker from Cupertino.

Well, I finally got the time I needed (after a straight-A semester at school :D ) to download and play around with the latest version of Rapidweaver. I discovered at least one bug related to podcasts, but other than that, this seems like a fantastic upgrade. More and easier user control over themes and how they display is probably the most obvious change. Better control over images (resizing and renaming, ALT tags, etc), blog categories and a whole lot more find their way into this version. It also integrates well with a .Mac account and has FTP capabilities built in as well. Anyone looking for a website authoring solution without a steep learning curve and that won't take a giant bite out of your wallet should take a close look at Rapidweaver.

The following is from Microsoft:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR MICROSOFT INTERNET EXPLORER FOR MAC USERS

In June 2003, the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit announced that Internet Explorer for Mac would undergo no further development, and support would cease in 2005. In accordance with published support lifecycle policies, Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31st, 2005, and will provide no further security or performance updates.

Additionally, as of January 31st, 2006, Internet Explorer for the Mac will no longer be available for download from Mactopia. It is recommended that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari.

The folks at MacWorld have also weighed in on this topic.

QuickTime 7.0.3 delivers several important bug fixes, primarily in the areas of streaming and H.264 video. QuickTime 7 Pro users also gain the ability to create video and audio files that can be played back on compatible iPods. This update is highly recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

iTunes 6 lets fans purchase and download over 2,000 music videos and six short films from Academy-Award winning Pixar Animation Studios for just $1.99 each. Also, in a landmark deal with Disney, iTunes is now offering current and past episodes from two of the most popular shows on television, "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," as well as the new drama series "Night Stalker" and the two most popular shows from Disney Channel, "That's So Raven" and "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," for just $1.99 per episode. Customers can now purchase and download their favorite television shows from iTunes the day after they air on TV, watch them on their Mac¨ or PC, and Auto-Sync them onto the new iPod¨ for viewing anywhere.

Requirements:
Macintosh Requirements:

* Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later
* 500MHz G3 processor or better
* QuickTime 6.5.2 or later
* 256MB RAM
* Combo/Super Drive to burn CDs
* Broadband Internet connection (DSL/Cable/LAN) for buying and streaming music

Additional Video Requirements:

* Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later
* 500 MHz G4 processor or better
* QuickTime 7.0.3 or later
* 16MB video RAM

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).

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 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.