ctriv writes "digitalchain.com has a real interesting article about the making of the iPod." Gosh, I am glad I am a software designer, not a hardware designer.

Les writes "Mac insider site Think Secret has its scoop on what Apple CEO Steve Jobs will announce at Macworld Expo in New York next week. The site says that Power Mac G4s won't be updated until August, but we'll instead see a 17" flat-panel iMac and a demo of OS X 10.2 Jaguar."

redmoss writes "I just saw this exploit for Software Update on Bugtraq. Quoting the discoverer Russell Harding: 'Mac OS X includes a software updating mechanism 'Software Update.' Software Update, when configured by default, checks weekly for new updates from Apple. HTTP is used with absolutely no authentication. Using well-known techniques, such as DNS Spoofing, or DNS Cache Poisoning, it is trivial to trick a user into installing a malicious program posing as an update from Apple.' Looks like people using Software Update need to be careful, as there is currently no workaround." Well, one workaround for this particular exploit is to not share a LAN with someone who would do that sort of thing.

Billy_D_Goat writes "Talk about control, Apple has now decided it can block users from recieving media passes at MacWorld Expo It blacklists these users by deciding if they run "rumor promoting" publications. This includs the webmasters of sites which have little to do with rumors or speculation such as Graphicpower.com/." Probably just bitter cuz Steve's thunder seems to get stolen at every show, and their lawyers can't seem to stop it ;)

unspec writes "For those looking for cheap Macintosh DVD authoring, Zettabyte Solutions have a press release describing the SuperDrive-equipped eMac they will soon be offering." I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to convert your own eMac to a "SuperDrive," but I don't really know.

AnamanFan writes "Microsoft has released version 5.2.1 of Internet Explorer for Mac OS X. The only notes I have been able to find on the update is that it 'provides all the latest security and performance enhancements for Internet Explorer 5 for Mac OS X.' Be warned that the installer forces all other running applications to quit, but does not require a reboot and (seems) to not change your Internet browser settings, in case you're using another browser." Also released was MSIE 5.1.5 for Mac OS, which "resolves all security vulnerabilities in previous versions of Internet Explorer 5." Heh.

scatboy writes "Tex9 has software for using an iPod (yes, another iPod story) on Linux. It uses a graphical drag-and-drop interface through xtunes, their version of iTunes on Linux. They are looking for beta testers of the xpod software now. I have a dual boot box that has only gone into Windows lately to load my iPod with the betas of XPlay. I held out on making the final purchase of XPlay due to rumours of Apple coming out with their own Windows software at MacWorld New York. This is an even better reason to wait. I am very excited about a chance to measure uptime in months again!"

Spock the Baptist writes "A big plate of, fresh from the oven, homemade chocolate chip cookies to the person or persons who dreamed up this send-up of Cousin Bill via a spoof of the current crop of Apple commercials. Gotta love it!" Sure, why not? It's Friday! Also included are commercials with the You're Gettin' a Dell dork and Big Brother from the 1984 commercial.

ranger8x writes "Apple has submitted Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server to the U.S. government's National Information Assurance Partnership to evaluate various security features. It seems Apple is looking for some respect by the government, and to 'get more exposure.'"

Warlock7 writes "CNET has an article that discusses the 'early' release of Mac OS X 10.2, codename Jaguar. The article says that Jaguar should be ready for release in August, more than a month earlier than the analysts expected."

Dark Nexus writes "The Register has a response (actually FROM Microsoft this time) in the continuing soap opera surrounding support for Hebrew (and other right to left languages) in Microsoft products for the Mac."

Phunky Monkey writes "The Divx.com codec for Mac, version 5.0a2, has been released. New features include a completely new AVI doctoring app, and the Divx 5.0.2 decoder core (same as the most recent PC version). This version also introduces a new technique of fixing AVI files that allows them to be played as well on Macs as on PCs using the same file. Download it, and read the details about all the new features." I just wish QuickTime 6 came wih DivX and AC3 decoders included. Durnit.

Pahroza writes "Xinet has released their 2002 benchmark configurations, with tests including output generation and AppleShare file serving. Xserve was only bested by machines sporting at least twice as many CPUs as the two it was using. MacCentral is also running a story on the results, and you can download a PDF of the benchmarked configurations."

sapporo writes "Apple has apparently bought Emagic, developers of Audio Logic, music production software used by 200,000 people worldwide. Emagic will operate as a wholly owned division of Apple, and the Windows versions of their software will be discontinued on September 30, 2002. Whoa!"

payote writes "Security Update July 2002 includes the updated components, Apache v1.3.26, mod_ssl v2.8.9 and OpenSSH v3.4p1, which provide increased security to prevent unauthorized access to applications, servers, and the operating system." It's not in my Software Update window, because I'm still on 10.1.4 (having heard rumors that RtCW doesn't work on 10.1.5). But it is indeed out, and any Mac OS X machine whose webserver or ssh server is open to an untrusted network needs to upgrade.

Curious Geek asks: "I'm in the market for a good, cheap laptop. Primarily I'm looking for something that is relatively rugged, has a LONG batter life, and that is *nix friendly. I'd primarily use it for Perl, PHP and Java coding either on client sites, in front of the TV, or on the train. It would also be nice if I could run dummy websites from it and let it take care of customer invoicing (again, this is all going to be Perl/PHP/Apache stuff) At the moment, the best bet looks like an apple iBook, it has a 5 hour battery life, ships with OS X (although I could use mac linux or YDL) and is rugged enough that loads of spotty yoofs have been given them at school. It also has the ability to house an internal wireless LAN card, which is pretty groovy. Can anybody recommend anything better? My price range is limited ~$1400 USD. I know that for that price I could get an X86 laptop - but do any of these have a battery life as good as the iBook?"

foobar104 asks: "Macintouch posed an interesting question: is there any MPEG-2 streaming client software for the Mac, either for OS 9 or OS X? According to Kasenna, maker of the MediaBase streaming video platform, there isn't. You'd think Quicktime 5 would be able to stream MPEG-2 content, but sure enough the data sheet lists MPEG-1 only. Is Kasenna right?"

meanie writes "Mediafour, a company which specializes in cross-platform software introduced the XPlay software to link up your iPod with Windows. Looks like a solid product, but since I didn't buy an iPod due to lack of a Mac, I haven't been able to check out the software. Anyone try this yet? I might just buy an iPod now."

Warlock7 writes "Apple has made the 1.8.3 version of AppleScript available. You can get the update through Software Update." It's available for both Mac OS and Mac OS X, though, as usual, a detailed list of changes is hard to find, though some are in the accompanying About AppleScript file. It appears they've fixed bugs with coercing Unicode text (now I can fetch and use text from iTunes via Apple events), and Apple says it provides increased stability of scripts, and runs applications created with the latest version of AppleScript Studio.

Justen writes "Nielsen is expected to release a new set of ratings for media players on July 1. Apple lobbied the firm to use new methods to form usage statistics. The new methods are expected to dramatically increase the reported market share of QuickTime. Nielsen says it doesn't reflect a dramatic jump in actual installations, just a more accurate picture of what's been there all along. The article also mentions the new beta of QuickTime 6 and its support for MPEG-4, ahead of Real and Microsoft."