Meeting Notes - Sep 18, 2002

By: Mikio Moriyasu - Revised: 2006-10-05 devin


What's New by James Reynolds

New Apple Software
Bluetooth 2.1 is a preview driver for the wireless technology. In the new version, 2Byte characters are preserved when transferring files, and the ability to pair with devices other than phones is added.

Security Update 2002-08-20. The new release provides "increased security to prevent unauthorized access to applications, servers, and the operating system," including an updated version of OpenSSL.

Security Update 8-23-2002, exclusively for Jaguar, has been posted to Apple's servers. The update includes revisions to OpenSSL, Security, and SunRPC.

Xserve Update 1.0, which provides updates and enhancements to the serial port, ATA hard disk drivers, server assistant, and server monitoring functions of Xserve.

Software Notes
Adaptec might only have one engineer left doing Mac stuff part time. Adaptec, however, says they are not dropping Mac support.

Final Cut Pro 3 is not compatible with QuickTime 6 .

New Hardware
New PowerMac G4s ("Buick") with dual-processors ranging in speed from 867 MHz to 1.25 GHz. Prices start at $1599 and scale up to $3299. Read more.

Iomega offers 750 MB Zip USB 2, $180, backwards compatible with 250M disks, but can only read 100M disks. Read more.)

Problems
Several Microsoft security "lapses". Serious hole affecting us: SSL certificate broken in Office for Mac, Internet Explorer for Mac, and Outlook Express for Mac. No patch yet.

ISO standards body will take the unprecedented step of withdrawing the JPEG image format as a formal standard if Forgent Networks, a small Texan company, continues to demand jpeg royalties on a seventeen-year old patent.

Mozilla 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.1 and probably older versions as well give the wrong referrer URL, which is a security problem if you visit www.happyhacker.com and a bookmark of an online banking session in succession ...

General News
iTools (.Mac) will no longer be free at the end of this month.

RealNetworks has announced a new version of its software that can distribute audio and video in a range of formats, including Microsoft's own proprietary Windows Media.

Products using the 802.11a standard are expected to hit the market this year, with more products expected in 2003. The standard is not backward compatible with 802.11b. The IEEE said it intends to finalize the 802.11g standard by May 2003. The standard is backward compatible with 802.11b.

Apple announced it will open-source Rendezvous. At the Apple Expo in Paris, Philips, Canon, Xerox, Sybase and World Book announced support for Rendezvous in current or future products, joining previous Rendezvous adopters Hewlett-Packard, Epson and Lexmark.

Upcoming Events
O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference
September 30 - October 3, 2002 in Santa Clara, CA
ADC Select and Premier exhibitor discounts.
http://conferences.oreillynet.com/macosx2002/

James' entire presentation including a complete list of new Apple and third-party software since March, new Apple hardware releases, Apple retail news, and other Apple related topics can be found on the main Mac Managers web site at: http://www.macos.utah.edu or you can click here.

QuickSilver G4 Custom Speaker Grille By Mikio Moriyasu

With the introduction of the "QuickSilver" series of Power Mac G4's, Apple debuted the first major revision of its award winning case design. The new Power Macs now fit Apple's 21st Century product design philosophy, they were powerful, sleek, and uncluttered. Unfortunately, they also now possessed a design shortcoming that has become a problem for anyone managing these machines in an open environment near children, or childish adults. In simplifying its appearance, Apple eliminated the durable speaker grille that was once a standard feature on all Power Macs. As a result, users have direct access to the speaker transducer inside the G4's front panel.

Mikio's presentation is based on a larger, more detailed project that he did for Student Computing Labs. His complete report is available for viewing on the main Mac Managers web site at: http://www.macos.utah.edu or please click here.

Sarcos Research & Development and Apple Technology by Tony Jacobs

Tony Jacobs has been an engineer for Sarcos for over 15 years.

Sarcos is one of many engineering based companies spun off from the U of U Center for Engineering Design. Originally started by its first director, Steve Jacobson, who is also director of other CED based companies.

As an organization devoted to research and development, Sarcos’ primary mission is to come up with an idea and then take it all the way to production. To this end, they have over 100 patents and have published numerous technical papers.

A short list of list of worldwide companies they have worked for include: Merck; Pfizer; Disney; Universal Studios; AT&T.

Their various projects have encompassed robotics, medical systems, medical subsystems, defense/military related applications, and engineering processes.

Robotics:
  • Disney: Sarcos has constructed some 95 robots for Disney theme parks including the original Lincoln figure. This project encompassed retrofitting the original animatronic with sensors so that the mechanism would not shake itself to pieces. These sensors detect when the mechanism is reaching its maximum point and sends the information to the controller which holds the motion back. The result is a smoother and faster running machine that more closely mimics human motion.
  • Universal Studios: Their association with Universal Studios started with retrofitting the large King Kong with with sensors so that its would not break down each day. They would later develop and manufacture all of the robotic dinosaur figures for the "Jurassic Park" attraction. These robots used a "sensor suit" (a suit that records the movement of an actor" to create "motion captures" for the dinosaurs movement
  • Ford Motor Company: For one of Ford's auto show appearances, Sarcos created "Sarcos Man", a robot controlled by an actor/comedian off stage. The robot had cameras and a speaker built into its head allowing the actor to interact with visitors. Ford eventually had the robot turned off because people stopped looking at the cars
  • Mayan Restaurant: For this local themed restaurant, Sarcos created, a "Teleoperation robot" in which the robots (life size replicas of tropical birds and other animals) were operated off stage by a human controller. Hidden cameras and microphones allowed the controllers to monitor public reactions to the robots and interact accordingly.
  • Las Vegas Bellagio Fountains: In addition to 22 robots, Sarcos developed the various mechanisms used to make the choreographed water jets at the Bellagio "dance"
Medical Systems/Subsystems:
  • Utah Arm: The Utah Arm is a life-like-in-appearence prosthetic arm that is controlled by the users existing nerve pathways. The electrical impulses that once controlled muscles are detected by sensors and used to operate the gears, pulleys, cables, or motors within the prosthetic.
  • Drug Delivery System. This is an in-home drug pump in which the drug is ionized and is delivered through the skin.
  • Catheterization: Sarcos has developed a micromachined tube that can be inserted into and reopen small blood vessels that have collapsed.
Government Applications:
  • NASA: Sarcos designed and built a robot that acted as a space suit tester and evaluator to put wear and tear, as well as collect operation data, on their suits.
  • Naval Oceans Systems Center: They developed one of their most complicated robots ever. It possessed full realistic body, arm, and head movement.
  • US Military: In addition to stand-alone robots, Sarcos has been developing exoskeletal robots that would augment human strength, speed, endurance (Remember the cargo loader Ripley used in Aliens to fight the mother alien). They have also been developing sensor suits designed to be used in full immersion battle simulation systems.
Engineering Systems:
  • Master/Slave: As part of its robotic's programs, Sarcos developed the user inputs, a glove or other user input device (The Master), which controls the robot (The Slave).
  • Force Reflection: One feature of these Master/Slave combinations is the use of built-in "force reflection" technology in which the robot will sense resistance forces being applied to it and then transmit that force information back to the controller.
  • Component Development: As part of its R&D function, Sarcos has had to design and build their own hydraulic or pneumatic valves, sensors, actuators, and motors because what they sometimes need is simply not commercially available. Some of these specialty components include railroad car track sensors, 6 degree sensors that would be used in a robot "foot", and magnetic wobble motors.
In creating and developing these products, Sarcos has used Apple systems and software. A few quick examples include:
  • Claris Cad - Drawing engineering blueprints
  • Office Applications - Accounting, Resource Management, Personnel Management, Process Flowcharting, Individual Project Databases.
For additional information regarding Sarcos, please visit their website at: http://www.sarcos.com

Apple Higher Ed Sales & Service Reorganization by Mark Linnell

In 1983, Mark Linnell had 17 people to start off with when the Utah office opened. In the years since, his group has grown to cover approximately 90 mac labs in educational institutions in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho

Last month, Apple reorganized its sales divisions. As a result, Larry Anderson, Apple Sales Representative for Higher Education, was let go. Since then, Dan Sinema, The Utah and Nevada K through 12 representative as well as the regional support systems engineer/networking specialist, is taking over both the K through 12 as well as Higher Ed sales.

Before working for Apple, Dan worked for the Alpine School District as a server operator. During his time with Alpine, he became well versed in the operation of Mac, Cisco, Netware, and Windows 2000 server and server related hardware.

Any additional questions or comments can be addressed to Mark at mlinnell@apple.com or Dan at <dsinema@apple.com>

Xserve Overview By Dan Sinema

Dan's presentation covered the specs, design, administrative operation, and architecture of the Xserve, Apple's rack mounted OS X server.

Designed from the ground up, Xserve combines breakthrough performance and ease of use into a server whose hardware has been optimized to run OS X. The Xserve design is so powerful that several of its software/hardware management features have been incorporated into the latest generation of dual processor Power Macs.

The primary focus of Dan's presentation was the use of terminal command line tools for remote server administration.

Most of what Dan discussed afterwards regarding the Xserve is available in greater detail at Apple's dedicated Xserve website which can be found at: http://www.apple.com/xserve/:
  • For information regarding the Xserve's specifications, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/specs.html
  • For information regarding the Xserve's basic design, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/design.html
  • For information regarding the Xserve's architecture, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/design.html
  • For information regarding the Xserve's data storage options, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/storage.html
  • For information regarding the OS X Server v 10.2, please visit: http://www.apple.com/server/
  • For information regarding the Xserve's remote management tools, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/management.html
  • For information regarding the Xserve's AppleCare support options, please visit: http://www.apple.com/xserve/support.html

Other Issues

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