August 2007 - apple-list - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

iMovie HD 6 as download with iLife '08
by tdubins＠cs.umanitoba.ca 20 Aug '07

20 Aug '07

Apple offers iMovie HD from iLife '06 as a download for iLife '08 owners: "Apple is allowing iLife '08 owners to download iMovie HD 6 for free, which may appease a crowd of upset Mac users gathering on various forums across the internet to protest the company's removal of important editing functionality in iMovie '08." Rest of the article: <http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/08/09/imovie.hd6.joins.ilife.08/>o The iMovie HD 6 download link: <http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html> -- Tom Dubinski Phone: +1.204.474-8841 Fax: 474-7609 Computer Science, E2-596 EITC CompSci General Office: E2-445 EITC University of Manitoba E-Mail: tom_dubinski(a)umanitoba.ca Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~tdubins/

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FYI: Nokia battery recall
by billing 14 Aug '07

14 Aug '07

...from: http://www.nokia.com/batteryreplacement/en/ This is a product advisory for the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006. This product advisory does not apply to any other Nokia battery. Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia is working closely with relevant local authorities to investigate this situation. Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries that have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. There have been approximately 100 incidents of over heating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported. Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery. According to Nokia's knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device. Concerned consumers may want to monitor a mobile device while charging that contains a BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory. While the occurence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offer to replace for free any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory. The BL-5C batteries which are subject to the product advisory were used with the following Nokia models or separately as accessories: Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60 To determine if your battery is in the recall, proceed to the above link and follow the battery identification procedure laid out there.

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INTEREST: Sun's ZFS compared with Windows 2003 Server NTFS
by billing 12 Aug '07

12 Aug '07

Sun Microcomputer's latest data management technology (the Zettabyte File System or ZFS) seeks to address the vulnerable areas of current disk management systems: vulnerable to silent data corruption, difficult to manage, and slow. Many current microcomputer OSs fall into this "vulnerable, difficult, and slow" category. Both Apple Inc. and Sun Microcomputer have announced that ZFS is coming to OS X. This Sun white paper (http://www.sun.com/software/whitepapers/ solaris10/zfs_msft.pdf?cid=920608) compares ZFS abilities with a current server OS: Windows 2003 Server. http://www.sun.com/software/whitepapers/solaris10/zfs_msft.pdf? cid=920608 One example from the paper deals with the integrity of data on disk and how to ensure that this data does not suffer any "silent" corruption: "File systems such as Microsoft Windows Server 2003 NTFS permit on- disk data to be inconsistent for varying amounts of time. If an unexpected system crash or reboot occurs while the on-disk state is inconsistent, the file system requires repair during the next boot cycle using a combination of utilities such as CHKDSK and metadata logging that requires a log replay. On the other hand, Solaris ZFS provides consistent on-disk data and error detection and correction, ensuring data consistency while maintaining high performance levels. "File system corruption can be caused by disk corruption, hardware or firmware failures, or software or administrative errors. Validation at the disk block interface level can only catch some causes of file system corruption. Traditionally, file systems trust the data read in from disk. However, if the file system does not validate read data, errors can result in corrupted data, system panics, or more. File systems should validate data read in from disk in order to detect downstream data corruption, and correct corruption automatically, if possible, by writing the correct block back to the disk. Such a validation strategy is a key design goal for Solaris ZFS."

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INTEREST: less cell time means more face-to-face... who knew?
by billing 04 Aug '07

04 Aug '07

...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/04/business/04network.html? pagewanted=2&th&emc=th What’s Good for a Business Can Be Hard on Friends By ANGEL JENNINGS Published: August 4, 2007 A month ago, Brandy McDowell sat down with her longtime friend, Kezia Chandler, and told her she had switched cellphone carriers. Their relationship has not been the same since. Now, they barely speak. Ms. Chandler rushes Ms. McDowell off the phone when she calls during her lunch break. And long conversations about schoolwork and relationship woes have been reduced to sound bites. Maybe they should blame the cellphone carriers. The carriers, after all, set up plans that encourage subscribers to talk mainly to people in the same network. The companies say they are simply trying to recruit and retain customers. But what was set up as a purely business strategy is having an unintentional social effect. It is dividing the people who share informal bonds and bringing together those who have formal networks of cellphone “friends.” That is most true for people younger than 25 because they are the ones who see the cellphone as an extension of themselves. They are constantly sending text messages, making calls, checking the time, scheduling appointments, calculating math, taking photos, playing games or looking up something on the Internet. Those who talk the most on the phone are ages 18 to 24, according to a study of cellphone use by Telephia Inc., a San Francisco research firm that follows cellphone trends. In the first quarter of 2007, this group sent and received on average 290 calls a month, the study found. Text messaging was highest, Telephia said, among 13- to 17- year-olds, who averaged 435 messages a month. By contrast, cellphone users 45 to 54 years old spoke on the phone 194 times, on average, a month and sent only 57 text messages. David S. Hachen, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame who looked at cellphone use and its effects on people’s relationships, said he had found that cellphone networks tend to be a reflection of friendship networks. “Friendship networks,” he said, “tend to be larger in younger groups, but they have weaker ties with those they talk with. But as they get older, the networks are smaller and they have stronger ties.” Some experts worry that cellphones will replace face-to-face contact, said Scott Campbell, who teaches communication studies at the University of Michigan. But after he conducted research on the impact of cellphones on social networks, Mr. Campbell said he concluded that cellphones actually enhanced the bonds between users. “Who young people talk to says something symbolically about who they are tied to,” Mr. Campbell said in an interview. “And who they are talking to the most are their close friends.” Rich Ling, a sociologist at Telenor’s communication research institute in Norway, who wrote a book on cellphone use called “The Mobile Connection: The Cellphone’s Impact on Society,” added that cellphones blur the lines of when an encounter starts and when it ends. “Young people are not just talking for two hours, but they are continually connecting through the day,” he said. He cited the young couple who send text messages and call each other all day to set up details of a date. “When does the date start, or does it start when they are sending messages back and forth?” Mr. Campbell describes text messaging as the equivalent of passing notes in class, though they are more fragmentary and more frequent. “A lot of people think these messages are meaningless, but they are actually symbolic gestures of friendship,” he said. Unlike traditional landline telephones, which once made callers distinguish between local and long distance, cellphone carriers divide the world into in-network and outside. And because basic plans from the three major cellphone carriers, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T, are all about the same price — under $60 a month — the deciding factor for young people, in particular, is what network friends are on. Carriers are giving customers more options to stay connected with people outside their network. This year, T-Mobile introduced a plan that allows customers to choose five telephone numbers outside its network that they can call free at any time. Sprint offers night minutes that start at 7 p.m., two hours earlier than competitors. “We are trying to avoid restricting customers to just people on their network,” said a Sprint spokeswoman, Emmy Anderson. But while these plans may allow callers to talk free, the person receiving the call is still using daytime minutes. Steve Bufford, 24, of Manhattan, said he constantly monitored his out- of-network minutes. And he had to cut back on conversations with a few of his friends — “until the weekends, then we become the best of friends in the world,” he said. As for Ms. McDowell and Ms. Chandler, the two who rarely talk on the phone now, they say they visit each other more. “We used to talk every day all day,” said Ms. McDowell, a 21-year-old student at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “Now I only hear from her after 9 p.m. so she doesn’t use her minutes.” In the cellphone world, minutes mean money, a lesson young adults say they quickly learn when they move off the family plans and sign their own contracts. While they once talked freely when their parents paid the bill, they become penny pinchers when they have to pay their own way. Elisa Joris, 23, of Walled Lake, Mich., said that was exactly what happened to her. She became a Sprint customer in high school when her mother added her to the family plan. Now, seven years later, she stays with the carrier because the people she talks to the most — her brother, her former boyfriend and best friends — are all on the network. Ms. Joris said that because she no longer shared minutes with her parents, she signed up for the plan with the lowest cost even though it had the fewest minutes. For $30 a month, she gets 300 daytime minutes, but it is the free calling within the network that makes the plan a real bargain. In June, she used only 200 of those peak-hour minutes. But, she said, she spent more than 800 minutes on the phone with other Sprint customers. “I have seen bills where I have used 1,500 minutes,” she said. “I try not to talk to those who don’t have Sprint. I don’t have minutes to waste.” And while her attitude has yet to affect her relationships in a negative way, Ms. Joris said it had brought her closer to someone she now considered a friend who might have been an acquaintance if she were on another network. “One reason she talks to me more than her other friends is because we both have Sprint,” she said. Some cellphone users say they have found a way to change carriers without losing touch with friends. As they switch to new companies, they try to encourage their friends to move with them. Ms. McDowell said she followed her friends as they hopped around. In high school, she said, all her friends had the T-Mobile Sidekick — the sleek, palm-size phone with a full keypad. So she signed a two- year contract with the cellphone provider so she could send them text messages at no cost. Then in college, she said she and her friends switched to Nextel so they could “chirp” to each other on their walkie-talkie phones. Last month, she returned to T-Mobile after everybody in her circle migrated back for the new Sidekick 3. Her friend, Ms. Chandler, got lost after the second move. She still has Sprint, now part of Sprint Nextel, but she said she planned to leave once her contract expired. Ms. McDowell persuaded her to move to T-Mobile. “As soon as I can, I am on my way,” Ms. Chandler said.

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Fwd: [C-REPS] Mac OS X 10.5 - obtains UNIX 03 Certification
by billing 02 Aug '07

02 Aug '07

Apple all along has been very clear about OS X, "It is true UNIX *not* Linux nor any other form of *NIX". Pedigree and various other things have been quoted by Apple to "prove" this but having a certificate of authentication from a recognized body will definitely help if there's ever a court battle. Some of the members of the certifying organization include: - IBM - who make and sell a real UNIX - Intel - HP - who also make and sell a real UNIX - NEC - who sell UNIX machines - AT&T - who invented UNIX and own (owned?) it - SUN Microsystems - the company was founded on selling UNIX. - Carnegie-Mellon - whom you'd assume would kinda know something about UNIX - MIT - ditto - Motorola Should any customers ask about indemnification in case of being sued by someone about OS X violating patents (let's use as an arbitrary example, Microsoft) all Apple need do is reply, "UNIX does not violate any 3rd party patents." (which pretty much everyone, even Microsoft, agrees with) followed by, "Apple's OS X is certified as UNIX." Done. No indemnification necessary. Makes life in the courtroom a whole lot easier. Wayne Begin forwarded message: > From: Doug Hamilton <doug_hamilton(a)umanitoba.ca> > Date: August 2, 2007 2:12:17 PM CDT (CA) > Subject: [C-REPS] Mac OS X 10.5 - obtains UNIX 03 Certification > > Hello, > > As of version 10.5 (shipping in October of this year) Mac OS X is > will be on par with Solaris, HP-UX and IBM-AIX as a true UNIX OS > development environment. Apple has just achieved the UNIX 03 > Certification for its Mac OS X 10.5 operation system. This > certification covers, "libraries, system calls, terminal > interfaces, commands and utilities, internationalization and the C > language." > > Link to the InfoWorld article (very short). > http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2007/07/ > leopard_gets_un.html?source=rss > > > Regards, > Doug > > ------------- > Doug Hamilton, BA, MA, APP > Senior Computer Consultant > Computers-on-Campus; Univ. of Manitoba > 204-474-6196 (Ph.) > 204-474-7556 (Fax) > http://www.umanitoba.ca/bookstore/

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Office 2008 - Delayed - Mid-Jan.2008.
by Doug Hamilton 02 Aug '07

02 Aug '07

Hello, Many of you have heard that the Macintosh Business Unit (MBU) inside Microsoft is busy creating "Office 2008 for Mac". Originally, Microsoft had stated that the release window for this product as second half of this year. As of today, they pushed their release window out to mid-January 2008 for quality assurance reasons. While we still do not have a fixed release date, we have gone from a six month release window down to 30 days. For more details please see the following MacWorld article. http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/08/01/msftoffice/index.php?pf=1 Regards, Doug ------------- Doug Hamilton, BA, MA, APP Senior Computer Consultant Computers-on-Campus; Univ. of Manitoba 204-474-6196 (Ph.) 204-474-7556 (Fax) http://www.umanitoba.ca/bookstore/

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INTEREST: especially for you iPhone owners in Toronto...
by billing 01 Aug '07

01 Aug '07

Well, OK, maybe there aren't too many of you that fit into that category but, just in case: ...from: http://boingo.com/pr/pr160.php BOINGO GIVES IPHONE USERS FREE WI-FI AT 13 MAJOR AIRPORTS IN AUGUST Today’s Coolest Smartphone Gets Free Access to the World’s Hottest Network SANTA MONICA, Calif. – August 1, 2007 – Boingo Wireless, Inc. today announced that iPhone™ owners can enjoy free Wi-Fi as they travel for business or pleasure through 13 North American airports during the month of August. This special limited time offer is available to all iPhone owners who access the Wi-Fi networks with their iPhone, giving them an introduction to the world’s largest aggregated Wi-Fi network. iPhone owners who like what they see can sign up for and use a Boingo® account to access hundreds of partner networks comprising 100,000+ hotspots. With Boingo Wireless, users of Apple Inc.’s sexy new smartphone can enjoy the full spectrum of coolness available via the iPhone’s highly integrated functionality and multimedia applications while powered by Boingo’s broadband networks. It’s the ultimate iPhone adventure. “iPhone users are searching for Wi-Fi options that will keep the device’s coolest features and content functioning at lightning speeds when on-the-go,” said Dawn Callahan, Boingo’s vice president of consumer marketing. “With our extensive hot spot coverage, choosing Boingo is a no-brainer for iPhone users who are looking for public access options beyond EDGE. This free promotion is a great opportunity for iPhone users to see for themselves.” To enjoy complimentary Boingo Wi-Fi on the iPhone, follow these four easy steps: Connect to the “concourse” SSID with an iPhone in any of the identified airports; Launch your iPhone Safari™ browser and connect to a web page on the Internet; Enter your e-mail address in the special promotional page; Click on “Go!” During August, iPhone owners can receive free Wi-Fi access at the following airports: AZO – Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport BNA – Nashville International Airport, BWI – Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, EWR – Newark Liberty International Airport, JFK – John F. Kennedy International Airport, LGA – LaGuardia Airport, MDW – Midway International Airport (Chicago), MSP – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, OKC – Will Rogers World Airport (Oklahoma City), ORD – O’Hare International Airport, STL – Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, and YYZ – Toronto Pearson International Airport.

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