30 October 2001

iPod-Hack No 47 - Kaum jemand hat das Ding bisher in Händen gehabt, aber es entzündet die Phantasie.

Apple hatte in seinen FAQ zum iPod gesagt: "Synchronization only occurs in one direction, from your Mac to your iPod. This means you cannot transfer music, automatically or manually, from your iPod to a computer, and you cannot use iPod to copy a music library from one computer to another." Da das iPod aber gleichzeitig eine FireWire-Platte ist, kann man natürlich die Dateien beliebig hin- un herkopieren. Man muss sie nur finden:
[ MacFixit ]: "... after mounting the disk as a FireWire drive, find the invisible folder the player software stores the music in. Just use Terminal or ResEdit to make the folder visible and use the Finder to move the files."

Mac OS Rumors-Leser Peter Goodyear hat noch weitere Ideen zur Verwendung des iPod:

• You can boot a Firewire-equipped Mac off it
  
• If you are a consultant you can download just about anything you could need for testing and fixing Macs and carry it around in your pocket
  
• You can load in a complete standard environment for your companies' desktop Macs (OS and Applications) and set up a Mac in minutes
  
• You can download your DV camera into it, and then go and shoot more footage
  
• Is it possible to get a Firewire to USB converter? Then you could boot up (and back up) Macs via the USB port
  
• You can get an audio gadget which will connect from the earphone socket to a cassette emulator you put in your car stereo so you can play your MP3s on long trips"
  

iPod goes to the Movies - Was noch so alles geht - vielleicht...

[ MacGuardians ]: "Profi-Videofilmer aufgepasst: iPod mit Velcroband am Chassis des neuen Canon XL-1S DV-Camcorders befestigen und per Firewirekabel an den FW-Ausgang anschließen. Wenn ich das Bedienungshandbuch der Canon richtig gelesen habe, dann müsste die Canon parallel zur Aufzeichnung auf DV-Tape runde 20 Minuten DV-Video direkt auf das Plättchen schreiben. iPod abnehmen, in Powerbook einstöpseln und Clips ohne herkömmliches Capturing (!) direkt in iMovie oder FCP weiterverarbeiten."

Schon möglich, aber richtige Profis nehmen natürlich Gaffa-Tape zum Befestigen des iPod an der Kamera (191 Uses for Gaffa Tape) (October 28., 2001, )

Coolest Potential Hacks For iPod - [ MacSlash ]: WillAdams writes "The iPod does seem promising in some inobvious ways.

• Is it programmable? There's a blank line on the main menu just screams to have a menu entry for Games
  
• are there any FireWire data input devices yet? How 'bout USB -> FireWire Converters? Attach a barcode scanner and zap data / inventory counts in, etc.
  
• data display---it's got the screen and a control device, should be at least as capable as that PCMCIA-sized Franklin device for showing one one's schedule or contact list---surely it's got a clock in it.
  
• How 'bout a USB -> Firewire connection for a Microphone (or does it have Audio in?)
  (I'd love to know this too. Would make a quality interview recorder more stress-proof than the clumsy MD devices.)
  
• Anyone else envision car/stereo manufacturers adding a bracket / FireWire port to allow this to interface when on the road?

iPod, iTunes2, iDVD2 - The Device: good design, easy handling for maybe 400 Euro in shops

[ macminute ]: Apple introduces iPod, a digital audio player (MP3, MP2, more) with a 5GB hard drive (1000 songs). 20 minute skip protection. FireWire-equipped, first such music player. 10 hour battery, lithium-polymar ("most advanced battery; more advanced than laptop batteries"), takes 1 hour to charge. Size of a deck of cards: 2.4" wide, 4" tall, 3/4" thick. Backlit LCD display, playlist support, ID3 tag support, very fast and easy to go through list of songs and playlist. iPod doubles as a FireWire hard drive; an extra space not occupied by MP3s is mounted on the desktop as a FireWire drive. iPod will ship November 10. for 399 USD.
Interfaces with iTunes, which will be available as a free donwload in early November. MP3 CD burning (doesn't convert to AAIF audio CD format), cross fading, equalizer are the three main new features.

iDVD 2 will ship "early next month", sporting new themes, motion menus, support for soundtracks in slideshows and background encoding. It also enables users to make DVDs with up to 90 minutes of content, compared to 60 minutes for the current version.

Shares of Apple were trading down nearly US$1.00 following today's iPod announcement. The device, presumably, was not as "breakthrough" as Wall Street had been expecting.

However we had fun catching reports from the web "live". Our sources, e.g. macminute, reported directly from the event, and we could fire up texts and images within seconds, working on two machines. (October 23., 2001, )

"Ah... it's time for the spy photos - what self respecting Apple announcement and speculation be without the obligatory Spy Photos of questionable authenticity..."


(October 23., 2001, )

[ BusinessWeek ]: "New XP features such as Windows Movie Maker, My Pictures, and the revamped Windows Media Player strike me as awfully similar to Apple's iMovie, Image Capture, and iTunes software.
All are part of Apple's new operating system, OS X, released in March. All comprise the heart of Apple's digital hub strategy, in which a computer serves as Grand Central Station, moving digital data across platforms and among various devices. It's a strategy, of course, that Microsoft also claims as its own. The real question isn't whether Microsoft has copied Apple innovations, but whether it matters. (...)

So go ahead, Microsoft. Mimic OS X to your heart's content. You'll only help showcase how superior the Mac is to a PC. " [ more... ] (October 23., 2001, )

Photos of "The Device" aka iCrate, iWalk, iPod? - Throw in your iDea, iDiot: the rumor mill is running at full speed

[ MacSpy ]: "The iWalk is a kind of PDA with a lot more features than one could have previously expected: It features a high-color TFT-screen with handwriting recognition (using former newton-technology so it's a lot better than current palm os recognition) and direct access to both data stored on local macs (using AirPort) or on iDisk-volumes (using either routing through AirPort or the built-in modem)." [ more... ]

Whatever it is, why they evidently photographed it in a lavatory will remain another mystery. Anyway, this photo seems to have been removed from the site and replaced with another on, not in a lavatory.

Meanwhile, MacOS Rumors knows: "it starts out as a moderately priced DVD/CD player combo -- but also has CD-R capabilities. It will have a full blown iTunes MP3 jukebox, with all the bells and whistles that go with that. I also expect some form of DVR (digital video recording) onto a hard drive, and a form of limited web access to preselected home entertainment related sites, including Apple's iTools." [ more... ] (October 22., 2001, )

Apple really is following the Number One Rule in showbusiness: NEVER be boring.

[ Mac OS Rumors ] has more dirt on the mysterious "Device" Apple announced for Thursday:"According to reliable Infinite Loop sources, Apple's groundbreaking new Digital Hub device will employ at least two of Apple's most secret technology projects that we have speculated on for some time. Notably, Apple's purchase last year of Raycer Graphics, a company that creates GPUs (Graphics Processor Units) for embedded and handheld applications is apparently key to this and several other of Apple's forthcoming Digital Hub devices. (...)
Additionally, Apple has been working on handwriting recognition/pen-input technology called InkWell and a new, high-performance version of Firewire (IEEE 1394b) that will be called Gigawire. Neither of these latter technologies is confirmed to be employed in the device we'll be seeing on Tuesday, but both are key to the Digital Hub strategy and will be heard much more about in the not-so-distant future."
(October 22., 2001, )

OS 10.1 Updates, New Problems and Solutions - We've done an update orgy yesterday on one machine with the recent firmware, OS 10.1, developer tools, the IE security update and finally the Apache Superscript. Here's what happened:

10.1 seems to copy flawlessly over an existing 10.04. All the files are in place, preferences seem to be intact.

The Apache Superscript discovered by Oliver Wrede worked excellent: it takes almost an hour to complete, than we have a complete working Apache/MySQL/PHP system. It overwrites the Apache httpd.conf, so this needs to be put out of the way.

When restoring httpd.conf, we found that" Pseudo" stopped working due to the IE security fix - indeed annoying, no solution:

[ MacFixIt ]: "Security Update "disables" Pseudo. Zach Pincus found that, while the Security Update fixed the problem of getting root access without a password, it broke the useful feature that allowed you to run applications as root with a password. He writes: "Specifically, both Pseudo and the command-line equivalent ('sudo open -a {application}') no longer open applications with root privileges after you type in your password. This is annoying for those of us who liked to be able to edit system configuration files from GUI apps like TextEdit or BBEdit."

BTW, here's another tutorial how to get Apache up and running with PHP, MySQL, SSIs, CGIs, Symbolic Links, and other goodies. This note is also in the features section.

Discovered by chance: to get a file path into the terminal, drag and drop the file from the Finder into the terminal window. Cool!

Numerous other changes for those who can stomach code are found at http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn/tn2029.html

(October 21., 2001, )

Apple's New Toy - ... is expected to be not a Macintosh. Yet everything else. For sure, Apple remains the most entertaining computer company.

[ÊWired ]: "The device -- called the iPod -- can be synched with the computer using a high-speed cable connection"
[ MaCNN ]: "...the device Apple is due to unveil on October 23rd will be dubbed "iPod" and consist of a portable hard drive for music"
[ OS Opinion ]: "Some are speculating that Apple's new device is a digital music product for its iTunes software, while others think Apple may unveil a PDA, a Web pad - or even a set top box."
[ The Register ]: "Even Apple's own staff don't know just what kind of "breakthrough digital device" the company is going to launch next week - on the same day that Microsoft will officially unveil Windows XP, interestingly enough."

"The device" will be unveiled to Apples stuff on Monday 22., and to the world on Thursday Oct. 25.
(October 20., 2001, )

MacFixIt now states that "readers report overall success with the update, fixing the audio problem and even an apparent increase in performance speed." So this one seems to work. (October 20., 2001, dj)

Firmware Update Back Again - After pulling the update due to sound issues earlier, Apple has reposted the Power Mac G4 Firmware Update 4.2.8.

[ MaCNN ]: "...which will run on G4 Power Macs with an AGP graphics running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local hard disk. The update provides improvements to starting up Mac OS X from the local hard disk, FireWire target disk mode, network startup, gigabit networking (on systems with gigabit hardware), and system stability as well as support for additional security options that allow the Open Firmware to be password-protected. [1.2 MB]" (October 19., 2001, dj)

Apple's "revolutionäre digitale Vorrichtung" - Es klingt, als ob Apple das Radio neu erfunden hat.

[ Reuters ]: "Der Computerhersteller Apple will in der kommenden Woche eine "revolutionäre digitale Vorrichtung" (Glückwunsch zur hervorragenden Übersetzung, d. Red.) präsentieren, von der Apple-Fans vermuten, dass es sich um ein neues digitales Musiksystem handelt. "Ein Hinweis: Es ist kein Mac", kündigte der Macintosh-PC-Hersteller an."

[ Bloomberg ]: "The product may be a device used to manage music collections by connecting stereo systems with Macs on wireless home networks. Other analysts have speculated that Apple may develop hand- held computers."

[ÊMOSR ]: "...the company's first Digital Hub device. This is expected to be a music-focused device, and will not be a stand-alone computer; instead, it will be powered by Mac hardware and software but will be targeted as an accessory for the Mac-based digital home. Integrated tightly with a new version of Apple's iTunes jukebox software, the device will be low-cost and is expected to be announced late next week." (October 18., 2001, )

A Bad Day for Open and Save dialoges - A number of lamenting articles about OS X most fanciest frustration

[ All OS X ]:"It looks like a bad day for the Open and Save dialog boxes. Gene Steinberg mentioned them in his list of frustrating features but Matt Neurburg unloads with both barrels in his article Apple's Dirty Little Secret.

The Mac Night Owl offers a list of frustrating, missing features in OS X: the inability to print a Finder window, the lack of power in the open and save dialogs, the Classic confusion, and the trash can in the dock."

(October 17., 2001, )

Tatsächlich - Apple wertet Notebooks auf - Wie bereits heute früh gemeldet, gibt es neue iBooks und PowerBooks. And don't forget - you've read it here first ;-)

Das neue iBook:

[ Apple ]: "Wir haben leistungsstärkere Prozessoren eingebaut, den Arbeitsspeicher in allen Konfigurationen auf 128MB erweitert, den Systembus beschleunigt und die Festplattenkapazität erhöht. Doch werden Sie vermutlich zuerst bemerken, dass das iBook nach wie vor gerade einmal 2,2 kg wiegt, nur 28,5 cm breit, 23 cm tief und 3,4 cm flach ist." [ weiter... ]

Und das neue Powerbook:

"In jedem neuen PowerBook G4 ist wahlweise ein 550MHz oder ein 667MHz PowerPC G4 Prozessor mit Velocity Engine installiert. Der 256KB On-Chip Level 2 Cache arbeitet mit der Geschwindigkeit des Prozessors. Das Resultat ist eine extrem hohe Gesamtgeschwindigkeit des Systems. Um die Leistung noch weiter zu steigern, besitzt das 667MHz PowerBook G4 jetzt einen schnelleren Systembus mit 133MHz, um ein Maximum an Bandbreite zwischen Arbeitsspeicher und Prozessor bereitzustellen." [ weiter... ] (October 16., 2001, )

[ MacUser ]: "The sources suggest that the new iBooks will have 600MHz G3 processors replacing the current 500MHz chips. (...) The new PowerBooks will reportedly have 667MHz G4 processors with CD-RW drives replacing the current DVD-ROMs, though it is possible that there may be an option to have DVD-ROM."

What do you bet? (October 16., 2001, fw)

Mac plus Unix is nirvana - This is a shell script that will compile and install Apache, MySQL, and PHP on Mac OS X.

Michael A. Peters' script needs the Mac OS 10.1 developer tools installed when installed on 10.1. The dev tools from 10.0.x will not work.
The install will replace the existing Apache httpd.conf file, but will back it up before doing so. The mod_dav module for Apache will be compiled and installed by this script by default if. PHP will include MySQL support, either using the MySQL libraries on your system, or using php's built in MySQL functions. The version of the various software packages is hard coded into the script in only one location. If, for example, there is a newer version of MySQL and PHP than the script builds, it is very easy to update the script to grab the newer version.
[ via WebDev ]

This webmonkey article offers further insight into "the process of getting an Apache webserver up and running. We'll use not only the tools Apple provides, but the alternatives: those available to seasoned Unix command-line veterans as well as third party commercial solutions. I'll also show you how to get the most out of Mac OS X by setting up or taking advantage of the freely available Perl, PHP and MySQL software."
(October 15., 2001, )

The "Mac-ness" of Mac OS X - The legendary ease of use of the Macintosh in a fight for its life against the power of UNIX. A thorough report about the improvements, the reimplementations, and the blunders that come together to make Mac OS X what it is today.

[ Applelust ]: "Apple in the present day is a mixture of people from two camps. There are the dyed-in-the-wool Mac people, who believe fervently in the design principles of the original Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines ÷ an almost mythical document authored in Apple's early days by (among others) Andy Hertzfeld, a giant in the field of human interface design. And then there are the Avie Tevanian-led engineers and designers from NeXT, Steve Jobs' characteristically roguish computer company whose purchase by Apple sparked the Jobs-led renaissance of the Mac platform that we've all been enjoying lately, as well as the technological wonder that is Mac OS X. The coexistence of these two traditions within Apple's walls has definitely produced some amazing things: Cocoa, Carbon, Quartz, Aqua, and all the other Mac OS X buzzwords with which we're by now so familiar." [ much more... ]
(October 12., 2001, )

Tenon announced today a public beta of its new Apache Administration tool iTools 6.1, which adds a new Aqua-based GUI for setting up and configure Apache directly on the desktop. (October 12., 2001, )

Apple für den Kopf - Selten zu hören - und noch seltener zu finden: Apple Radio Werbung.

[ cupertino.de ]: US-Radiospots für iMac, PowerBook, PowerMac G3 und OS 8.5. Wirkt auch zwischen den Ohren, genau wie unsere neue Mac-Abteilung..


(October 11., 2001, )

AppleScript goes major league - AppleScript Studio promises script applications that look, feel and act just like Mac OS X applications.

[ workingmac ]: "One of the greatest limitations of AppleScript has been its tool set. Now, the same tools that you use to create world-class GUIs for Objective C and Java can be used for AppleScript! Apple finally is giving you a tool set that's as powerful as you could ever want it to be, and this is going to change AppleScript's use in a major fashion.
But as our old friend Mr. Popeil likes to say, "Wait there's more...". You can also finally script the Terminal application."

[ web entourage ]: "BlogScript v0.9. This script uses the built in XML-RPC and AppleScript functions of Mac OS X.1 to post to Blogger powered sites." (October 7., 2001, )

PalmCopy for OS X - PalmCopy is a MacOS X (cocoa) native application that allows you to syncronise you Palm Handheld device with a Macintosh Running MacOS X

(October 6., 2001, )

OS 10.1 tidbits - We've installed 10.1 on the Dual G4 yesterday to prepare the Maya review. Here are various upgrade hints 'n links for your convenience.

First of all, 10.1 does not behave like the Beta any more it really was. We've been running Maya, Word X and Cinema 4D, all really now benefitting from the massive dual processor speed. We had slight problems with the Maya installation until we discovered that Alias|Wavefront had given us a wrong licensing number...

Other OS X.1 news: Apple has released a 400 page manual for OS X.1 server in English, German, Japanese and French as a pdf file.

The Fink project modifies Unix software so that it can run on Mac OS X and Darwin. 390 packages in 20 sections are avaliable. This page gives a quick overview of Fink's compatibility with Mac OS X 10.1.

stepwise lists the warts which you'll need to be aware of when you move to 10.1: Apache breaks upon update, so a line in the httpd.conf needs to be changed. You will need to upgrade to the 10.1 developer tools, avaliable here (187 MB download, registration required). The command line tool wget has been replaced with curl. PHP version 4.0.6 is included in OS 10.1 and simply needs to be enabled in httpd.conf. There are some other items in the list, but all in all this isn't too bad.

JulienÊJalon's DNSUpdate is a OS 10.1 client for the DNS hosting service provided by DynDNS.org.

Tenon's iTools have not not been updated so the 6.1 version seems to do well on OS 10.1.

(October 5., 2001, )

Gerüchte über neue Powerbooks - Die Powerbook-Bestände scheinen bei vielen Händlern zu Ende zu gehen. Die Gerüchteküche beginnt zu brodeln:

[ MacOSRumors ]: "... history has shown us that when an item begins to show up as End-Of-Lifed in many point of sale systems around the world, it is likely to be replaced within a month's time....typically, much sooner. (...) Expect Apple to begin some very strong moves toward a successful future indeed with a short-notice Apple Event sometime later this month or in early November." (October 4., 2001, )

Maya - das fängt ja gut an... - Die Post hat das Paket mit Maya verschlampt.

Das Rezensionsexemplar für MacUp ist weg: die Redaktionsassistentin hat es verschickt und ist in Urlaub gefahren. Da es seit 2 Wochen weder bei MacUp noch hier aufgetaucht ist, hat jetzt wohl ein Glücklicher ein komplettes Maya, wenn auch ohne Seriennummer, die nur auf einen einzigen Rechner passt (nämlich unseren Doppel-G4). Gottseidank hat der kreative Redakteur eine Kopie gemacht. (October 2., 2001, )

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