curious.corn writes "I may be a fool (and a happy Christmas Mac OS X newbie ;-) but it seems that this morning's software update brought a really cool cadeau to Mac OS X. How 'bout Ogg file integration in iTunes? Yesterday evening I could only play them in QuickTime (after downloading a component somewhere) this morning I updated iTunes and am enjoying my old Linux playlists. Buon Natale a tutti voi Edo."

NeptalTim asks: "I've recently started using the Mac as my primary computer again after a hiatus of several years. All 'switch' jokes aside, I'm liking it very much, except for the decided lack of good P2P software. I always used Kazaa on Windows, but the best app I've found for the Mac is Limewire, which is a tad slow to say the least. What do Slashdot readers in the Mac community use for P2P?" I've been using iSwipe for a short amount of time and have found it useful. It's no WinMX, but it works. What other P2P programs have you found that you like?

BoomerSooner writes "Apple has released a Win32 to Mac OS X Porting Guide for C/C++ developers. This Guide is to get you started porting an existing procedural Win32 application written in C or C++ to Mac OS X. It looks like Apple is getting a bit more aggressive toward Microsoft."

Liedra writes "After announcing Mac OS X software surreptitiously within its main section for the past several months, freshmeat has now launched a section totally devoted to the platform. Read the article by scoop and visit the section directly." Since I switched my primary laptop to OS X, I'm glad to see scoop do this. (Note, Freshmeat & Slashdot are both owned by OSDN.)

DrC writes "Apple has released a preview update to the venerable Script Editor, rewritten using Cocoa. It looks like an impressive upgrade." The preview release is included with the Dec 2002 Developer Tools as a separate install, too.

SkeeterMac writes "Apple today released the December 2002 developer tools, available for download for ADC Members. Among the list of updates is Project Builder 2.1 with 'better CVS support' -- maybe this one will let me specify the CVSROOT!"

Niels Provos writes in that he has added Mac OS X support for Systrace, a sandboxing/application confinement tool that can be used to increase application and service security. It installs a new kernel to support /dev/systrace and the Systrace application, and a Cocoa frontend.

justzisguy writes "Apple has released Mac OS X 10.2.3 for Jaguar via the Software Update utility. The update 'delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for the following applications, utilities, and technologies: AppleScript, Classic compatibility, Disk Copy, Disk Utility, Image Capture, Mail, OpenGL, Print Center, and Rendezvous. It provides audio, disc recording, graphics, printing improvements, as well as AFP and WebDAV networking improvements. The update also provides updated security services and includes the latest Security Updates.'"

DaytonCIM writes "TechTV has a great article by Kevin Rose on how to build your own Mac: 'When it comes to PCs, geeks usually make a decision between buying a prebuilt computer or building one, component by component. This isn't true when it comes to Macintoshes. You're stuck with whatever Apple has to offer, with only a few measly dollars differentiating the products from retailer to retailer.' It will be broadcast on The Screen Savers today."

booboothefoo writes "A former Apple Computer contract worker in Sacramento has been slapped with both civil and criminal charges for allegedly leaking Apple's trade secrets on the Internet." I think the real message here is "don't trust contractors." Or maybe "rumor sites are evil." Or maybe "Setec Astronomy."

Johnny Mnemonic writes "MacSlash is reporting that the Gnu-Darwin ports project has taken issue with some of Apple's current policies, to the extent of: 'GNU-Darwin will not support or distribute any software which links to proprietary libraries, and that includes Cocoa, Carbon, CoreAudio, etc. There will be no native package manager from GNU-Darwin (pkg_add suffices). Second, we will be moving our operations to x86, and we are putting the ppc collection into maintenance mode.' Astonished reaction on MacSlash, and recognition of the Fink alternative. Is this a worthy principled stand, or is it more like Kruschev banging his shoe in the UN? Will this help or hurt Apple's adoption of GPL technology?"

An anonymous reader asks: "I paid $50 to convert my iTools account to a .Mac account, yet it seems that I can almost never use the service. The web pages are constantly down and the support for the service tells nothing about to handle the frequent outages. I am not the only person to get these errors. The forums are filled with complaints about the down time. I have e-mail Apple numerous times, but nothing has been done to fix these errors. What options to I have? Is there a way to get my money back for this lousy service? Can I get compensated for the down time? What can I do to show Apple that I am not happy with their service?"

k-hell writes "It seems like Apple's QuickTime 6 is becoming standard on some 44 million Japanese mobile phones. Apple and many other companies are pressuring hard to make MPEG-4 the industry standard for video-on-demand services in 3G cellular networks, and to keep Microsoft and its proprietary Windows Media out of the mobile phones market."

gl1ched writes "PocketMac 2.0 is finally here with support for Jaguar (the previous version only supported up to Mac OS X 10.1.5). For those who have not seen it yet, PocketMac gives users the ability to sync PocketPCs with their Mac OS X computers, finally giving Mac users an alternative to a Palm Pilot."

acaben writes "MacSlash has posted what Jordan Hubbard says will be his last interview for Apple. Apple's Engineering Manager for the BSD Technology Group talks about the new BSDPorts initiative, his thoughts on working for Apple and Apple's Open Source strategy, and how Mac users new to Open Source can get involved and contribute to the community. He also gets delightfully geeky in comparing the differences between Darwin's VM envirnoment and FreeBSD's and explains that Darwin was built with things like working with Final Cut Pro in mind."

An anonymous reader writes "Everybody seems to enjoy accessorizing their iPods, most of all coming up with ways for it to stand up on its on feet. Unstatisfied with commerical offerings, some intrepid souls are making their own iPod stands, using everything from foam core, to LEGO bricks, to a simple CD case, to a converted picture frame!"

limpymac writes "MacScan public beta was announced to the public short minutes ago. MacScan will detect, isolate and remove spyware on the Macintosh. Currently it will detect trojan horses and keystroke loggers without a hitch. The application is for Mac OS and Mac OS X and is created by the folks at SecureMac.com. I found a keystroke recorder on my Macintosh I installed a year ago and forgot to remove; hah, I have a year's worth of logs!"

OS24Ever writes "A future high school history teacher, Jason Eric Smith, sold an 867MHz PowerBook G4 on eBay right before finals. He found out the hard way that people are out there to rip you off, and he went to great lengths to catch this guy with the help of Mac heads everywhere. A great read and agreat way for us little guys to get back at these scammers."

An anonymous reader writes "Film Gimp, the most popular open source tool in feature motion picture work, has released its first Macintosh version. Film Gimp is now available for Mac OS X, Linux, and SGI Irix. Film Gimp is a frame-by-frame retouching tool used by motion picture studios as an alternative tool to Adobe Photoshop. Film Gimp was used on the movies Scooby-Doo, Harry Potter, Stuart Little, and other productions."

danamania writes "Apple's latest promotion is a gimmick with Madonna, Tony Hawk or Beck's signature, or a No Doubt logo, on an iPod. It seems Apple's really pushing the iPod as a too-cool fashion accessory as much as a too-cooler MP3 player... is Maddie's signature worth an extra USD49 over the standard iPod?" Instead of $50 for the engraved signature, you can spend $20 to print "Madonna's Signature" in beautiful Helvetica.