What's New - Jun 15, 2005

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

Download Slides – PDF-File, 3.1 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

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

Xserve RAID Driver 1.0 — The Xserve RAID Driver Update should be installed by all Final Cut Pro users using an Xserve RAID. The update reduces I/O WRITE latency by overriding behavior to periodically force the Xserve RAID to write its buffer cache to the hard drives. Lower I/O WRITE latency improves performance during video capture and is required to avoid dropping frames regardless of the video resolution used.

Keynote 2.0.2 — Security update, addresses isolated issues that may have affected reliability for some customers.

Pages 1.0.2 — Addresses isolated issues that may have affected reliability for some customers and resolves an issue related to deleting complete pages.

QuickTime 7.0.1 — Installation of QuickTime 7 will disable the QuickTime Pro functionality in prior versions of QuickTime. If you proceed with this installation, you must purchase a new QuickTime 7 Pro key to regain QuickTime Pro functionality.

QuickTime 6.5.2 Reinstaller for QuickTime 7.0.1 — Will remove QuickTime 7.0.1 from a Mac OS X 10.3.9 system and restore QuickTime 6.5.2.

As part of last week's WWDC 2005 Keynote, it was announced that a preview of QuickTime 7 for Windows is now available.

Xserve Remote Diagnostics 1.0.4 — This version is required if Mac OS X Server 10.4 (Tiger) is being used on a Xserve G5 that will be diagnosed. This version is required if a Xserve G5 that will be diagnosed uses 2GB memory DIMMs. This version adds additional memory tests, and other improvements.

Security Update 2005-006 (Mac OS X 10.3.9 and Mac OS X 10.4.1) — Delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users.

Desktop Video Update 1.2.1 — Addresses an issue with Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 and Final Cut Express HD 3.0 when using Digital Cinema Desktop Preview (Main).

Mail Server Update 10.3.9 — Delivers overall improved reliability and is recommended for all systems running mail services on Mac OS X Server version 10.3.9.

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 Jun 9
  • Virex 7.6
VooDooPad (and VooDooPad Lite) 2.1 — Spotlight support, categories, unlinking, tables on 10.4, improved HTML export, and other improvements.

VueScan 8.2.19 — Powerful scanning program that works with most scanners to produce high-quality scans that have excellent color fidelity. It takes advantage of the advanced hardware capabilities of most scanners on the market today, and helps you do batch scanning while at the same time producing color-balanced and cropped images.

Software Notes

Virex 7.2.1 is the newest version of Virex that is compatible with Tiger. Later versions (including the new 7.6 update) are incompatible with Tiger. The forthcoming 7.7 update is reported to restore Tiger compatibility.

Apple's US website lists the PowerBook G3 "Pismo" as being Tiger compatible, but the Pismo is missing from the compatibility list on the Apple Canada site.

Some enterprising developers are offering an iRecompile service for those interested in outsourcing Universal Binary (binaries that run on both PowerPC and the forthcoming Intel Macs) development.

Hardware News

Although it was rumored in such sources as the Wall Street Journal days before, Apple's announcement that they will be switching to Intel processors caught many by surprise. The transition will begin sometime in the next year, and is expected to be complete by the end of 2007. Apple cited Intel's much better performance per watt roadmap as compared to IBM's PowerPC roadmap, difficulty meeting expectations (the lack of a promised 3.0 GHz G5, the inability to make a PowerBook G5), and that Intel's processors (especially future processors) will better meet Apple's product needs as the main reasons for the switch.
  • First Intel-based Macs by June of 2006
  • Transition complete by the end of 2007
  • PowerPC to be supported "for a long time to come"
  • Mac OS X and all Apple software already runs on both PowerPC and Intel processors (and have since Day 1)
  • Java, Widgets "just work", Cocoa apps work with minor tweaking and a recompile, Carbon apps made with Xcode work with more tweaking and a recompile, Carbon apps made with Metrowerks need to be moved to Xcode, tweaked, and recompiled
  • 3.6 GHz Pentium 4-based Developer Transition Kit available now to ADC Select and Premier members for $999
  • DTK must be returned by end of 2006, no production Intel Mac will have that configuration
  • DTK to be used to make "Universal Binaries", which will run on both PowerPC and Intel Macs
  • Rosetta emulation layer will allow PowerPC code to run on Intel Macs
The low-end, single-processor Power Mac has disappeared from the Apple Store, suggesting the model may have been discontinued.

Retail News

Apple and 7-Eleven have teamed up to offer an iTunes Music Store promotion. This promotion runs until the end of July, and applies to specially-marked Slurpee cups. Approximately eight million songs will be give away.

The Enquirer is reporting that Korean U-Power is offering a Pentium-M based CPU upgrade for Windows users interested in running Windows, instead of Mac OS X, on a Power Mac G4 Cube. This is aimed mainly at those who want the style of the G4 Cube, but don't want to run Mac OS X.

Kamar Aulakh has resigned as CEO of Quark. This follows Quark's extended period of losing market share to Adobe's InDesign package, reports of dissatisfaction with Quark's customer service, and the long delayed Mac OS X port of Quark XPress.

El Dorado County in Kansas has extended a One-to-One laptop initiative to its ninth and tenth graders. The program was piloted last year with the eleventh and twelfth graders.

Issues

Apple is offering a recall of iBook and PowerBook Batteries. If you bought an 12″ iBook, 12″ PowerBook, or 15″ PowerBook from October 2004 through May 2005, remove your battery and check the model number and serial number on the battery to see if you qualify for the recall.
  • 12″ iBook: Model A1061, Serial Number range: HQ441 — HQ507
  • 12″ PowerBook: Model A1079, Serial Number range: 3X446 — 3X510
  • 15″ PowerBook: Model A1078, Serial Number range: 3X446 — 3X509

Mac OS X in Brief

A few days before the public announcement of Apple's decision to switch to Intel CPUs, Intel CEO Paul Otellini was quoted in the Register as advising people concerned with security to buy Macs instead of Windows machines. This article is worth a read in light of Apple choosing to switch CPUs.

Ars Technica has Part I of an interview with Larry Yaeger, who helped create the handwriting recognition software for the second generation Newton (not the flawed, first-generation software) and Mac OS X's Inkwell.

The technology news media has been stirred up by Apple's announcement that it would be switching CPUs. Opinions range from "this will kill Linux" to "this will kill Microsoft" to "this will kill Apple", speculation on which Intel CPUs will be used for which model, and what will happen to Open FirmWare, is rampant. A sampling is presented here:
  • Ars Technica: John Siracusa
  • Ars Technica: John "Hannibal" Stokes
  • Ars Technica: Speculation that Apple will use Intel's LaGrande to ensure that Mac OS X only runs on Apple's machines
  • John C. Dvorak: This will harm Linux
  • Robert Cringely: This will kill Microsoft
  • Fortune
  • Motley Fool
  • The Register
  • Wall Street Journal: Walt Mossberg

General News

A "cryovolcano" spewing methane has been discovered on Titan. This source of methane could explain the presence of Titan's thick atmosphere (unusual for any moon in the Solar System) and the now dry liquid methane-carved channels that have been found.

NASA has announced that it intends to return to the Moon in 2015, hopefully to establish a permanent base. At this time it is unclear what vehicle would be used, as the aging and disaster-prone Space Shuttle is set to be retired in 2010.

New.com reports that half of Windows PCs in businesses still use Windows 2000, four years after Windows XP was released. Some take this as a sign that Microsoft will have a hard time getting people to adopt Longhorn when it is released sometime at the end of next year.

A Magnitude 7.2 earthquake was recorded off the coast of northern California yesterday. A tsunami warning was put into effect following this underwater earthquake, and was later canceled.

Humor

Joy of Tech
  • Eating Right
  • Five Stages
  • Bronze Age (What happened to the Copper Age?)
  • Intel Inside

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
ISCB
  • Location: Detroit, MI
  • Dates: June 25—29, 2005
  • Registration Information
  • Sessions
NECC
  • Location: Philadelphia, PA
  • Dates: July 27—30, 2005
  • Registration Information
  • Sessions
Macworld
  • Location: Boston, MA
  • Dates: July 11—14, 2005
  • Exhibitor List
  • Speaker List