What's New - May 18, 2005

By: Mike Yocom - Revised: 2006-07-03 devin

Download Slides – PDF-File, 3.0 MB

Introduction

What's new for the Mac in the previous month:
  • General issues, workarounds and fixes
  • New Software and hardware
  • Software and hardware updates/patches


New Apple Software

Java Update for Mac OS X 10.3.9 — This update will correct issues affecting some Java users following the installation of Mac OS X v10.3.9 Software Update.

GarageBand 2.0.1 — GarageBand 2.0.1 updates GarageBand 2.0 and is recommended for all users.

Xsan Update 1.0.1 — Delivers overall improved reliability for Xsan and is recommended for all systems.

SuperDrive Firmware Update — Delivers updated SuperDrive firmware to improve reliability when accessing DVD and CD media.

Apple Remote Desktop 2.2 (Client and Admin — Delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability. Recommended for all users of Apple Remote Desktop.

QuickTime 7.0 — Capture video in a single click. Share movies with email or .Mac. Get QuickTime Pro today for these features and much more.

QuickTime 6.5.2 reinstaller — The QuickTime 6.5.2 reinstaller will remove QuickTime 7 from a Mac OS X 10.3.9 system and restore QuickTime 6.5.2.

Server Admin Tools 10.4 — Installs updated versions of the Mac OS X Server administration software.

Xserve Remote Diagnostics 1.0.3 — Xserve Remote Diagnostics 1.0.3 update.

Java 2 SE 5.0 Release 1 — Provides support for J2SE 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.4.

WebObjects Update 5.2.4 for 10.4 — WebObjects makes it easy to quickly develop and deploy your Java server applications.

Fibre Channel Utility 2.0 — Provides the ability to configure the Apple Fibre Channel PCI Card.

Common Criteria Tools for 10.4 — An international standard that helps to ensure the security of computer systems in a network environment.

Security Update 2005-005 (Client and Server) — Delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users

Bonjour for Windows — Bonjour (formerly known as Rendezvous) lets you create an instant network of computers and smart devices just by getting them connected to each other.

Standards Conversion 2.0 — A plugin package for Final Cut Pro that allows you to convert PAL to NTSC, NTSC to PAL and NTSC to 24p and more.

iTunes 4.8 — Includes support for iPod shuffle and other performance improvements. Also adds support for four, new, localized iTMS:
  • Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland
  • Brings total number of localized iTMS to nineteen
  • Prices for the new stores (converted to USD) range from $1.06 (Switzerland) to $1.38 (Denmark) per song.
DVD Player 4.6 (only for 10.4) — Delivers added support for DVD Studio Pro 4 authored HD DVDs. It is recommended for all users of DVD Player using Mac OS X 10.4.

Apple Intermediate Codec 1.0.1 — Delivers improved compatibility and reliability for Final Cut Express HD and iLife '05 uses. It is recommended for all users of Apple Intermediate Codec 1.0 who are using QuickTime 7.0.

Pro Application Support 3.0 (Mac OS X 10.3.9, Mac OS X 10.4) — This update improves general user interface reliability for Apple's professional applications. It is recommended for all users of DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Logic Express, Motion and Soundtrack.

Mac OS X 10.4.1 — Delivers overall improved reliability for Mac OS X v10.4 and is recommended for all users.

New Third Party Software

(Updates are assumed to be for Mac OS X, not much is being updated for Mac OS 9 nowadays…)

Anti-Virus Updates
  • Intego VirusBarrier X 10.1.5 — Tiger compatible
  • Sophos 3.93 — Tiger compatible
  • Symantec NAV 10.0 — Tiger compatible
  • Symantec NAV virus def May 12
  • Virex 7 DAT 050511
ATI Displays 4.5.1 — for all RADEON cards (incl. OEM/Apple). The new release adds VERSAVISION display rotation on Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) to select ATI OEM graphic solutions

BBEdit 8.2.1 — HTML and text editor. The new release includes now includes support for Automator, the new personal automation assistant in Mac OS X 10.4 ("Tiger") that simplifies repetitive or time-consuming tasks.

Cocktail 3.6.1 — (Tiger Edition) general purpose system modify/repair utility. The new release has support for Automator actions, and interface improvements.

Defaulter 1.1 — Preference management and backup app. The new release allows copy and paste of defaults commands and xml.

Deja Vu 3.1 — Schedule backups, clone your system and sync folders. The new release has Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) compatibility, and support for versioned backups.

File Buddy 8.1.4.1 — extensive desktop and file/folder editing and task tool. The new release makes a change to address a crash when closing an Info window in Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).

FileSalvage 3.0 — Recovers deleted or lost files from your drive. The new version has speed increase.

FireFix 1.3 — Download client for Firefox nightly builds. The new release is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).

GraphicConverter X 5.6.1 — view, edit, convert most image formats. In the new release, Mac OS X 10.4 Core Image Filter support has been added.

Intego NetBarrier X3 10.3.6 — Software firewall for net security. The new release includes Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Compatibility.

Intego Personal Antispam X3 10.3.4 — Spam tool for Mail or Entourage. The new release includes Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Compatibility.

Intego Personal Backup X3 10.3.9 — Backup, sync, cloning tool. The new release includes Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Compatibility.

IPNetMonitorX 1.6 — Monitor and troubleshoot net connections. The new release adds IP stats.

IPNetRouterX 1.1c2 — Router, firewall and network management utility. The new release fixes a possible kernel panic for pullup of non-ip datagram.

IPNetSentryX 1.3c2 — Watches for and blocks suspicious network behavior. The new release removes seq list overflow messages from the log.

iStumbler 93 — Find AirPort networks and discover Bluetooth devices. The new release fixes a GPS serial bug with Bluetooth phones.

Metrowerks CodeWarrior Development Studio 9.5 — Development tools. The new release has support for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

Net Monitor 3.8.1 — Graph network activity of local/remote computers. The new release adds a server menu to the regular window (the window will auto expend to include the menu if remote client is turned on).

PGP Desktop 9.0 — PGP disk and messaging security for IM, email, disks

PGP Universal 2.0 — Automatic email encryption/signing

Printer Setup Repair 5.0 — (Tiger edition) repair printer setup utility and cups problems. In addition to Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility, the new release adds the option to repair the root user if problems are found.

SpamSieve 2.3.1 — Bayesian spam filter for most email clients. The new release is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).

TecTool Pro 4.0.4 — Hardware/software diagnostic tool. The new release has Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) Compatibility, corrects reported issues with eDrive creation, and corrects the iMac G5 Main Memory information drawer layout.

Timbuktu Pro 8.1.1 — Remote control, file transfer and collaboration tool

TinkerTool 3.4 — Adds functionality and options to many Mac OS X features. The new release has support for Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger".

Toast Titanium 6.1 — disc recording software. Following discussions with Apple, this version will no longer allow customers to create audio CDs, audio DVDs, or export audio to their hard drive using purchased iTunes music store content. The new release also resolves an issue where Custom Hybrid format fails to write temporary partitions under Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and an issue where Mac Volume format results in "error -36" under Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger).

Software Notes

Tiger Compatibility Issues. The following programs are incompatible in some way with Tiger (they either don't work, or have problems):
  • Windows Media Player
  • Virtual PC
  • Cisco VPN
  • DAVE
  • Virex
  • Oracle 10g
  • Photoshop CS
  • Dreamweaver
  • NUTD
  • SPSS
  • Office 2004
Virex and Tiger — Virex can cause slow overall performance, slow performance in specific application, or trigger constant fan noise in Tiger. Apple has a knowledge base article with instructions on uninstalling Virex.

Safari 2.0 and Browser Plug-Ins — some browser plug-ins are incompatible with the new Safari 2.0. Incompatible plug-ins can be disabled by removing them from ~/Library/Safari/ or ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/.

Hardware News

Power Mac G5 — Apple recently refreshed the Power Mac line, offering slight performance boosts, more memory, video memory, better optical drives, and better video cards. The three, dual-processor models were specificially updated and the low-end (single-processor, 1.8 GHz) model remains unchanged.
  • Dual 2.0, 2.3, and 2.7 GHz (up from Dual 1.8, 2.0, and 2.5 GHz)
  • 1.0, 1.15, and 1.35 GHz front-side buses (maintaining the 2:1 CPU-to-FSB ratio)
  • All have 512 MB of RAM
  • The 2.0 and 2.3 models are configured by default with the ATI Radeon 9600 with 128MB of VRAM, the 2.7 model is configured by default with the Radeon 9650 with 256MB of VRAM
  • 16x SuperDrive with Dual-Layer Support
  • The internal modem is now a build-to-order option (instead of a standard component)
  • 400GB hard drives are now available as build-to-order options
  • Dual 2.0 GHz, 160GB HDD, 1 999 USD/1 799 USD education
  • Dual 2.3 GHz, 250GB HDD, 2 499 USD/2 299 USD education
  • Dual 2.7 GHz, 250GB HDD, 2 999 USD/2 699 USD education
Cinema Display Prices — For the second time this year, Apple lowered prices on the Cinema Displays — the 20″ and 23″ models, anyway.
  • 20″ — $799 USD/$699 USD education (down $200)
  • 23″ — $1 499 USD/$1 299 USD education (down $300)
iMac G5 — The iMac G5 was also refreshed this month, offering a modest speed boost, more memory, video memory, better video cards, and improved communications options.
  • 1.8 (17″) and 2.0 GHz (17″ and 20″) (up from 1.6 and 1.8 GHz)
  • 600 and 667 MHz front-side bus (maintaining the 3:1 CPU-to-FSB ratio)
  • All have 512MB of RAM
  • ATI Radeon 9600 with 128MB VRAM
  • Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR standard
  • 17″ 1.8 GHz, 160GB HDD, Combo drive, $1 299 USD/$1 199 USD education
  • 17″ 2.0 GHz, 160GB HDD, 8x SuperDrive DL, $1 499 USD/$1 399 USD education
  • 20″ 2.0 GHz, 250GB HDD, 8x SuperDrive DL, $1 799 USD/$1 1699 USD education
eMac — The eMac was also quietly refreshed with a modest speed bump — putting it at Freescale's official maximum speed for the PowerPC 7447A, meaning any future speed bumps will require overclocking (presumably what's being done to get 1.5 and 1.67 GHz PowerBooks), switching to a G5-class processor, or the release of Freescale's announced e600-core processors (PowerPC 7448, 8641, and 8641D). More importantly, the video cards were upgraded to cards that support Core Image in GPU.
  • 1.42 GHz (up from 1.25 GHz)
  • ATI Radeon 9600 with 64MB VRAM
  • 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD, CD-ROM, $649 USD education only
  • 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, Combo drive, $799 USD/$749 USD education
  • 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, 8x SuperDrive DL, $999 USD/$899 USD education

Retail News

Henrico County Public Schools Switches to Dells — In 2001, Apple won a four-year contract to provide iBooks for a one-to-one program in the high schools in Henrico County, Virginia. This year, when that contract came up for renewal, Apple lost the contract to Dell. Dell outbid Apple by $4 million USD, by promising up to five percent of the total number of laptops as loaners to minimize downtown when machines break, and by including Microsoft Office on all machines.

Is Another DTP Revolution Coming? — Andreas Pfeiffer in Publish magazine believes a second desktop publishing revolution is coming. The first was ushered in by the combination of the Macintosh with its GUI, the first page layout software, and the PostScript laser printer. He believes the second will be triggered by the combination of digital imaging, high-speed networking, high-capacity storage, and greatly enhanced design software, specifically Adobe's Creative Suite.

IBM Deskstar 75GXP Class Action Lawsuit — An ongoing, class-action lawsuit against IBM for defective Deskstar 75GXP hard drives is underway. This affects anybody in the United States who, between March 15, 2000 and March 4, 2005, purchased a qualifying Deskstar or a pre-assembled computer that contained a new Deskstar as a component (including a number of Macintosh models). The website for the suit includes a utility to check (by serial number) if your Deskstar qualifies.

Issues

ATI RADEON X800 XT ROM Update — The April 2005 ROM update (v107 of the ROM) for the Radeon X800 XT caused booting issues on certain models of Mac. ATI has released a fix as part of the May 2005 (v108 of the ROM) ROM update.

Tiger Issue Roundup on MacFixIt — MacFixIt has a roundup of all known issues with Tiger, including a list of notable software with compatibility issues, Classic problems, Safari 2.0 problems with some plug-ins, AFP not being supported over AppleTalk, slow-downs, etc.

Mac OS X in Brief

Apple "in denial" about security? — Manek Dubash writing for Techworld feels that Apple has "shrugged off security concerns". The only support offered in the article is that it Mac OS X 10.3.4 didn't include the most recent (at the time) security update, and that it took Apple three months to fix a major security hole in Java. To be fair, a check on Secunia's website showed, as of noon on May 17, that there was only one unpatched, public security hole in Mac OS X, and that hole had only been public for a week, while there were thirteen in Linux 2.6, some of the non-critical ones even being a year old, and twenty-three in Windows XP, some of which are three years old, and a highly critical one that's over a year old.

Macintosh News/Reviews
  • Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has once again given Apple the thumbs-up in Tiger Leaps Out in Front
  • John P. Mello Jr. in LinuxInsider thinks Tiger's Dashboard Brings Widgets to New Dimension
  • James Derk of the Detroit News says "'Tiger' a shot across the bow of Microsoft"
  • Seb Janacek in Silicon.com believes that Apple may be about to capitalize on the "iPod Halo Effect" with new, Switch-style ads.
  • David Frith of The Australian writes that many people in the Windows world are very interested in Tiger.
  • Darren Waters writing for the BBC looks at the core features of Tiger.
  • On the other side of the coin, Dwight Silverman from the New York Times gave the Mac mini a try and switched back to Windows after ten days.
  • Chad Dickerson of InfoWorld says Using a Mac? Good Luck. His argument is that Macs won't ever achieve deep penetration in business because of the lack of corporate IT support, that the only people that would use a Mac in business are those that know enough about computers to support themselves.
In How Long Can You Fly Under the Malware Radar? Larry Seltzer claims that Mac OS X isn't more secure, it's just got too small a share of the market to be attractive to malware makers.

General News

The oxygen generator on the International Space Station, after months of constant attention, has completely broken down. Fortunately, the station still has a five-month oxygen supply.

Game Console Wars Heat Up
  • Xbox 360 — powered by a PowerPC derivative
  • Playstation 3 — also powered by a PowerPC derivative
LowEndMac recently posted an article on the Mac's prehistory: The ill-fated Apple III and Lisa.

Humor

Joy of Tech
  • Jim Allchin
  • eMail Worse than Marijuana
  • Genius Bar Therapy
  • Sacred Ceremony

Events

MacEnterprise Webcast: Cancelled
  • Presenters: None
  • Moderator: Fred Reynolds, Apple Computer
  • Date: Cancelled
EXPO 2005 Aichi, Japan
  • ("World Fair")
  • Location: Aichi Prefecture (between Tokyo City and Sedo City)
  • Dates: March 25—September 25, 2005
  • Registration Information
WWDC
  • Location: San Francisco, CA
  • Dates: June 6—10, 2005
  • Registration Information
  • Sessions
ISCB
  • Location: Detroit, MI
  • Dates: June 25—29, 2005
  • Registration Information
  • Sessions
Macworld
  • Location: Boston, MA
  • Dates: July 11—14, 2005
  • Exhibitor List
  • Speaker List