shownotes_20060704

Opening
  Opening Music
    Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
    Mandaandthemarbles.com
News
  French iPod law adopted in stripped down form
    Original law would have forced companies like Apple to open DRM restrictions on media and make files compatible with other players and devices
    The new law was amended in the Senate and allows companies to argue that measures to restrict the technical compatibility of songs or films sold online were undertaken at the request of the authors.
    Apple could still choose to pull iTunes Music Store out of France, but of course Apple adds DRM at the request of the Music studios and publisher. Under French law Apple needs to show DRM is wish of the owner of the copyright.
  Apple reports stock option irregularities to SEC
    Apple discovered issues with some of its stock option grants made between 1997 and 2001. Some of those options were granted to Steve Jobs
    An outside law firm has been hired to investigate and Apple has reported the issue to the SEC
    Jobs options were cancelled and he did not gain from it financially
    On a side note, Jobs has declined to be paid the US$65,000/yr. salary for serving on the Board of Directors at Disney. Jobs currently receives a salary of $1.00/year as Apple CEO.
  Run Windows applications on Intel Macs without Windows
    Codweavers is bringing it's CrossOver technology to Intel Macs this summer
    Run select Windows applications in OS X for $60 USD
      Microsoft Office applications, Access, Project, Vision, Lotus Notes, Quicken, FrameMaker and other products.
      The company is working on adding support for a limited number of games such as Half-Life 2 and appears to be working on DirectX and OpenGL support.
    Powered by "box within a box" technology. Actually WINE ("WINE Is Not an Emulator).
      WINE Project
      Porting Windows APIs to other platforms like Linux, Unix and OS X
    More secure because there is no Windows
  Apple officially recognizes MacBook stain issue
    Softpedia claims that Apple is now admitting the issue is due to a defect in the plastic and offering replacement to cases to effected MacBook owners
    I cannot find confirmation of this story on Apple's support site.
  Apple releases revises 10.4.7 update for Intel
    There is a newer version of the 10.4.7 update for Intel Mac. PowerPC Macs are not effected.
    The newer version is said to have some missing updates related to OPen GL performance. All security updates are the same in both packages
    You can determine which version you have by checking the SHA1 checksum of the installer.
      Original checksum: "2a25ed61d586b71ba7282fb896b2c910785ff358"
      Newer checksum: "10aa57dfccd63accb0939a894cea202a8910fb45"
  OS X Security flaw once again over-hyped
    The flaw was found in the "launchd" daemon (OSX.Exploit.Launchd), which is what replaced cron jobs for running scheduled tasks among other things
    Symantec even issued an alert regarding a "new" Mac OS X trojan. dubbed "
    There is a "proof of concept" exploit, but it was developed after the release of 10.4.7 which had information about and fixed the flaw.
  Apple offers new retail configurations on MacBooks
    According to AppleInsider
    A white 2.0 GHz MacBook with 1GB RAM (2x521) and an 80GB HD for USD$1449.00
    "MacBook Ultimate", same as the current black model, but with 1GB of RAM for USD$1599.00
    The new MacBook models are currently being sold exclusively at Apple retail stores
Feedback, Comments and Commentary
  MacCast One Minute Tip #17 - Screenshots
    Play MacCast One Minute Tip
    One Minute Tip Podcast
  Parsley is Atomically Delicious
    Its atomically, not automatically.
  Review of SlimDevices Squeezebox
    Had a chance to see one at the MacGathering and get a review unit
    SlimServer Open-source software, gives complete access to all MP3 and non-DRM AAC files in iTunes (MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis)
    Large display can be read from across the room. Connect to stereo or just add powered speakers.
    Supports multiple units with independent or synchronized streams
    Supports Internet radio, Live365, SHOUTcast or your own using software like NiceCast from Rogue Amoeba.
      Can also access services like Pandora, via SqueezeNetwork
    Tons of feature enhancements with plug-ins. Add RSS feeds, stock tickers, games, etc.
    Virtual Squeezebox to access your SlimServer from anywhere in the world.
    Black or White with brushed aluminum. USD$249.00 wired or USD$299.00 Wireless
    New NAS bundle with 2 wireless units and a Terrabyte of storage for USD$1499.00
  Slow Parallels performance, check memory allocation
    From the MacCast forum. WizGold points out that if your Parallels memory is set above 1048 MB, performance gets slow.
  Take advantage of login items
    Mount shared volumes. Tip from Jasonium
      1. Connect to the shared volume. Enter login when prompted and check the 'Save in Keychain' option if you don't want to be prompted again at startup.
      2. Open your system preferences. Click on Accounts. Click on YOUR ACCOUNT in the left column. Click on Login Items tab. Click the "+" symbol at on the bottom of the pane to add an item. Now select the mounted volume.
      3. Quit the preferences and you are done. Next time you login the volume will auto mount.
    With login items you can also launch applications or scripts at startup
    It will slow down the startup process the more items you add.
  Using Keychain Access. What is it good for?
    Apple's Keychain is a secure store for certificates, passwords, or any small bits of information to be kept private (known as secure "notes")
    Single password access. You can have multiple keychains, but most people just have the default one which is the same as their login so it can be unlocked at login. Keychain aware applications can access the keychain data.
    Data stored in the keychain is encrypted with strong encryption.
    Be aware of what applications ask for access to they keychain. Once access is granted the keychain is open to that application. Usually a checkbox in a dialog.
    Applications-->Utilities-->Keychain Access lets you manage your KeyChain
      Change the default settings, Edit-->Change Settings for Keychain 'login'. Turn on lock when sleeping and you may want to set a timeout (Lock after X minutes of inactivity). Inconvenient, but at least now one can access your keychain if you set away from your Mac.
      Add secure notes. Good for storing little bits of info like hard to remember passwords or pins. Can only access by entering your password. File-->New secure note item... TIP: create a new Keychain for notes like this and keep it locked.
      Can manage and control all aspects of KeyChain items, like which applications have access to an item.
      In preferences you can turn on the Keychain menu item so you can quickly see which keychains are locked or unlocked.
      KeyChain First Aid to verify and repair keychains.
    Security risk in an Applications handling of the keychain. Once it has permission to the pass-phrase who knows if it is storing that pass-phrase safely. Also you need to make sure you use strong passwords.
Closing
  Visit the website
    Show notes.
  Keep emails coming. More audio comments.
    maccast@gmail.com
    206-222-2788 (20-MACCAST-8)
      PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
    MacCast Forum
  "Stars and stripes forever" by John Philip Sousa
    Performed by the US Marine Band
    Artist web site
    From the Library of Congress