- apple-list - University of Manitoba Mailing Lists

FYI: US-CERT announcement of OS X update
by billing 03 Aug '06

03 Aug '06

The US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team - http:// www.us-cert.gov/) has issued the following Alert. Obtaining the updates your machine requires is as simple as selecting "Software Update..." from the Apple menu. Wayne Billing IST ------------------------------------- National Cyber Alert System Technical Cyber Security Alert TA06-214A Apple Mac Products Affected by Multiple Vulnerabilities Original release date: August 02, 2006 Last revised: -- Source: US-CERT Systems Affected * Apple Mac OS X version 10.3.9 and earlier (Panther) * Apple Mac OS X version 10.4.7 and earlier (Tiger) * Apple Mac OS X Server version 10.3.9 and earlier * Apple Mac OS X Server version 10.4.7 and earlier * Apple Safari web browser * Apple Mail Overview Apple has released Security Update 2006-004 to correct multiple vulnerabilities affecting Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Safari web browser, Mail, and other products. The most serious of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. Impacts of other vulnerabilities include bypass of security restrictions and denial of service. I. Description Apple Security Update 2006-004 resolves a number of vulnerabilities affecting Mac OS X, OS X Server, Safari web browser, Mail, and other products. Further details are available in the individual Vulnerability Notes. This security update addresses vulnerabilities in a range of different components, including the handling of a number of different image file formats, ZIP archive files, and HTML web pages, among others. II. Impact The impacts of these vulnerabilities vary. For information about specific impacts, please see the Vulnerability Notes. Potential consequences include remote execution of arbitrary code or commands, bypass of security restrictions, and denial of service. III. Solution Install an update Install Apple Security Update 2006-004. This and other updates are available via Apple Update. Workaround Disable "Open 'safe' files after downloading" For additional protection, disable the Safari web browser option to "Open 'safe' files after downloading," as specified in "Securing Your Web Browser." Note that this workaround will not mitigate all of the vulnerabilities described in the Apple Security Update, only those which are exacerbated by the default behavior of the Safari web browser. Appendix A. References * Vulnerability Notes for Apple Security Update 2006-004 - <http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/byid? searchview&query=apple-2006-004> * Securing Your Web Browser - <http://www.us-cert.gov/reading_room/securing_browser/#Safari> * Apple Security Update 2006-004 - <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304063> * Mac OS X: Updating your software - <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106704> _________________________________________________________________ The most recent version of this document can be found at: <http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA06-214A.html> _________________________________________________________________ Feedback can be directed to US-CERT Technical Staff. Please send email to <cert(a)cert.org> with "TA06-214A Feedback VU#566132" in the subject. _________________________________________________________________ Produced 2006 by US-CERT, a government organization. Terms of use: <http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html> _________________________________________________________________ Revision History August 02, 2006: Initial release -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.1 (GNU/Linux) iQEVAwUBRNEIu+xOF3G+ig+rAQKbvwf+N6TRnpwqcmrlUfA7k1yuRCLCf3yo854x JVy2Uq7Zs5WEqWK1qusPl3thyUS5JYCZzzPQI6pKq5zOOzyu5dqmHLFzstoZAhaz pMTVX4PmMalFEFQV0o4pOi1/pGgu+2PXN8qo2LjSsFwr6xP9FfBQTI8Jov33cLsb WjQyfxj/J8+nMQnCUlL84p7CuK4TdPRwuMVNMGYb8b9pB3SQ1XJ0EFt4UvO8VNqp J32UCJw+LwSKpcBzjQRpw3ZBUpmFgOkZzLux/SiP8+1cyjmbWxxGjW21EfNExOXS C2UpM+CQmoPMLAhTTPbKWs18qSdwcmeRLTeOW4Ao3oUj0QRD5QCFpA== =RByX -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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FYI: Bootcamp loses keyboard
by billing 24 Jul '06

24 Jul '06

One of the more noticeable problems many people experience while using BootCamp is that the keyboard disconnects. It seems that this does not happen for everyone/every keyboard. If you are lucky enough to be in the "disconnect camp" the following may prove useful. In the BootCamp section of the Apple Discussion boards (http:// discussions.apple.com/) is the following suggestion: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2370138&#2370138 My keyboard would freeze, caps lock would light up and replugging the USB brought it back. Saw a thread here with these instructions: Go to Windoze > Start > Run > type "msconfig" > STARTUP tab > DESELECT AppleCDEject > OK > Restart This did the trick though i still get an annoying beep/alert every few minutes which now freezez my mouse until it ends (coupla secs, still annoying when I'm in the middle of a game). --------------------- The effect seems to be that, while the keyboard still disconnects occasionally, it automatically reconnects within a few seconds. Somehow, having the "AppleCDEject" routine loaded interferes with the reconnection. It should be noted that the real problem is the original disconnect which should not be happening but until BootCamp (or whatever follows it) fixes the problem, this may make life a little easier. I've tried it and it seems to work quite well. NOTE: following the above suggestion will disable your keyboard's "Eject" key while within Windows. CDs and DVDs can easily be ejected in Windows by doing a right click > Eject on the disk icon. ======================== On a related note, I'd be interested in hearing your Bootcamp or Parallels experiences...... Wayne

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INTEREST: Macs see growth spurt
by billing 20 Jul '06

20 Jul '06

...from: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6096211.html?tag=nl.e622 By Tom Krazit, CNET News.com Published on ZDNet News: July 19, 2006, 4:59 PM PT [...] Macintosh shipments were up 12 percent compared with last year, Apple Computer said Wednesday during its third-quarter earnings call. That's in contrast to a shipment increase in the second quarter of only 4 percent year over year--something that Apple described as a "pause" in buying activity. [...] Macs accounted for 55 percent of Apple's revenue during the third quarter, ended July 1, said Peter Oppenheimer, the company's chief financial officer. Notebook shipments and revenue both increased by 61 percent, and Apple believes it doubled its share of the notebook market in retail channels, he said, citing data from research firm NPD. About half the Macs sold at Apple's own retail stores during the quarter were bought by people who had never owned a Mac before, Oppenheimer said. That is roughly the same percentage that Apple has seen in recent quarters. Educational customers also helped Apple's Mac sales during the quarter, Oppenheimer said. The new notebooks were well-received by the educational community, which likes to make purchasing decisions by the end of the last quarter, analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies said. One downside of the Mac results was the performance of the desktop segment, which is tied to Apple's professional customers. The Power Mac desktop, used by creative professionals who need the most performance Apple can provide, has not been refreshed as of yet with Intel's newest chips. As a result, desktop shipments and revenue declined compared with last year. However, Apple is expected to fix that pretty soon, with the launch of Intel's new Core 2 Duo processor coming in a few weeks and Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference scheduled to visit San Francisco [August 7-11 http://developer.apple.com/wwdc]. Apple hasn't said whether it will use the Core 2 Duo or the Xeon 5100 processor in the new professional desktops, but it's likely to let its developers know before or during that conference. [...]

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Request for feedback - iTunes-U 2nd
by Brian Lynch 18 Jul '06

18 Jul '06

Hello Doug: We are working on a distant relative of iTunes U that might be called "virtual conferencing". This involves podrecording of the audio component of conference talks, and linking with the accompanying slideshows [ppt or pdf]. We experimented with this at the recent American Chemical Society [ACS] meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, and at regional meetings of science educators in the Atlantic Provinces. Here is an account from the ACS: "The Division of Chemical Information (CINF) sponsored a session at the 231st National Meeting of ACS (held in Atlanta) in March titled: "Social Software and Chemical Information." There were eight speakers in the session, presenting on topics of blogs, wikis, podcasts, and more. These talks are now available as audio (MP3) files, with accompanying slides (PDF or PPT format) on the CINF website. To access these files, point your browser to http://www.acscinf.org, then select Meetings button, then click on either "Technical Session" or "Abstracts" for the Atlanta meeting. You will see PDF, PPT, and MP3 links for papers 1-8. Use any MP3 software (e.g., QuickTime or iTunes are both free to download) to listen to the audio files, either on a computer equipped with speakers, or on a portable MP3 player. The audio files are quite large, so may take a few minutes to download. On behalf of CINF and Erja Kajosalo and myself (co-organizers of the session), I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following folks: Brian Lynch and Lai Im Lancaster, who not only participated in the session as speakers, but who also recorded the audio files and provided technical advice; Rick Williams (CINF Webmaster), who loaded files and designed the web page for delivery of files; and finally, all of the session speakers who so graciously gave permission to be recorded and broadcast via our website. Please feel free to forward this message to other communities who might be interested, and feel free to contact me with questions or comments." We hope to be able to run another pilot at the meeting of the Canadian Society for Chemistry in Winnipeg next spring. The presentation in the USA received excellent publicity [see attached file] from the ACS and also the Royal Society of Chemistry's Chemistry World [see 2nd attachment]. We feel that the concept will enhance the value of typical large science conferences through making material available to those who cannot attend physically, and also solves problems for attendance associated with simultaneous multiple sessions. As per the ACS quote Please feel free to forward this message to other communities who might be interested, and feel free to contact me with questions or comments. Sincerely Brian Lynch Brian M. Lynch, M. Sc., Ph. D. [Melbourne], FCIC Senior Research Professor Department of Chemistry Room 3067, Physical Sciences Complex St. Francis Xavier University Antigonish, Nova Scotia B2G 2W5, Canada Tel: 902-867-0450 Fax: 902-867-2414

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MIDI Keyboard Demo
by Doug Hamilton 07 Jul '06

07 Jul '06

Hello Everyone: Just a quick note to inform you that Computers-on-Campus has placed on demo an M-Audio 49e MIDI keyboard to allow customers to play with GarageBand. http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Keystation49e-main.html Please feel free to drop by to try it out. 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: Apple technology brings World Cup updates to millions
by billing 26 Jun '06

26 Jun '06

...from: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/06/22/worldcup/index.php? lsrc=mwweek-0626 June 22, 2006 4:56 pm ET MacCentral By Jim Dalrymple Chances are if you’re watching highlights from the FIFA World Cup matches on television, you are seeing Apple technology hard at work. Highlights from the world’s most popular sport are being prepared using multiple Apple products and technologies. The biggest of the television networks using Apple products is the Host Broadcast Service (HBS), which is a collection of production groups brought together specifically for the 2006 World Cup. From its master control center to the dozens of cameras at each match, the production team is responsible for everything from managing the feeds coming back to the Munich headquarters to quickly delivering highlights to mobile phones within minutes of the action happening on the field. The HBS delivers its highlight clips to 50 networks around the world as the games are happening. To accomplish this the group is using four Power Mac G5s, PictureReady software and AJA Kona cards to DVCPRO HD 1080i50. The feeds from the games are recorded into a 20TB Apple Xsan. A total of three Final Cut Pro systems monitor the games currently being played and recorded—if the production team sees something highlight worthy, a 15-second clip is immediately edited and exported through QuickTime. These clips are then made available to its network subscribers. The Japanese television station NHK is also using Apple technology to produce its HD World Cup coverage. Using the same setup it used to broadcast the Torino Olympics, NHK is using five Power Mac G5s and PictureReady. The five feeds are recorded at at DVCProHD 1080i50 directly to a 36TB Xsan system. One Power Mac is being used with Final Cut Pro to create broadcast pieces and a second machine packages the content ready for broadcast. Finally, the second largest Mexican broadcaster, TV Azteca has adopted a slightly different approach using five MacBook Pros with Matrox MXOs and HDV footage to deliver packages from venues around Germany. Editors for TV Azteca shoot on location, edit the content in Final Cut Pro and then connect the Matrox MXO to an SDI or HDSDI satellite link that will send their final edit from the field to the TV Azteca operations center. The final step is when the operators output their HD sequence to their local VTR for archival and future HD broadcasting

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FYI: quick over view of Parallels - allows Windows or Linux to be run under OS X
by billing 22 Jun '06

22 Jun '06

...from: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/06/15/parallels/index.php? lsrc=mwweek-0619 June 15, 2006 10:19 am ET Parallels Desktop released for Intel Macs By Peter Cohen Parallels on Thursday announced the release of Parallels Desktop, its "virtualization" software for Intel Macs that enables them to run Windows and other operating systems while continuing to operate Mac OS X simultaneously. Parallels Desktop's full retail price is $79.99, though the company is offering the software for $49.99 for the next thirty days. Unlike Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop doesn't require Intel Mac users to restart their computers to run. And unlike PC emulation software, Parallels Desktop utilizes virtualization hardware on the Intel chip to run faster than you can using emulation -- at what the developers call "near native" speeds. Parallels Desktop allows you to run many different operating systems besides Windows XP [BootCamp officially supports only Windows XP Service Pack 2 and no flavours of Linux]. You can install earlier versions of Windows, for example, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, OS/2 and more. You can run several virtual machines at once; expand them to full-screen size, and cut and paste between Windows and Mac OS X. Parallels Desktop also includes Parallels Compressor, which compresses the space used on your Mac's hard disk for Windows. Compressor can shrink that virtual machine hard drive size by up to 50 percent or more. It's offered in Parallels' products for other platforms for $179.99, and is included for free with Parallels Desktop.

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Fwd: Upcoming Courses in Winnipeg
by Doug Hamilton 19 Jun '06

19 Jun '06

Hello, I thought that some of the members of this group would be interested in these courses (see below). 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/ Begin forwarded message: > Subject: Fwd: Upcoming Courses in Winnipeg > > Hi Everyone, > Just a reminder, we are getting closer to the following training > courses happening here in Winnipeg for the Prairie Region and > Winnipeg area for you and your staff to attend over the Summer Break. > > Below is the course information and assessment guides, along with > pricing and location of the training. > Please take a moment to read about the current training offerings > and think about who in your staff may benefit from this quality > training. > Seating is limited and we are filling up fast, so if you are > interested in attending or would like someone from your staff to > attend, please register for the courses online or by phone > (1-800-848-6398) ASAP. > > Please see below for more information, there are 3 courses being > offered: > > 1. Mac OS X Support Essentials > 2. Mac OS X Deployment > 3. Security Best Practices > > Please feel free to forward this information on to anyone that you > feel maybe interested in attending this event. > > I look forward to seeing you all there > > > ______________________________________ > > Mac OS X Support Essentials > ______________________________________ > > > is a three-day, hands-on course that provides an intensive and in- > depth exploration of troubleshooting on Mac OS X. This course is > designed to give you a tour of the breadth of functionality of Mac > OS X and the best methods for effectively supporting users of Mac > OS X systems. The course is a combination of lectures and hands-on > case study exercises that provide practical real-world experience. > > Who should attend? > ___________________ > > This class is for help desk specialists, technical coordinators, > service technicians, and others who support Mac OS X customers. > This audience could include technical support personnel in > businesses that use Mac OS X systems for general productivity or > creative design, service technicians who support Mac OS X > customers, and technical coordinators or power users who manage > networks of Mac OS X systems for their organization — such as > teachers and technology specialists who manage classroom networks > or computer labs. > > > What you will learn > __________________ > > Students learn how to set up and configure stand-alone Mac OS X > workstations to access network-based services > > > Prerequisites > _____________ > > Students should have the following prerequisite knowledge prior to > attending this course: > Basic Mac OS X knowledge > Basic troubleshooting experience > > Recommended Next Steps > > Demonstrate your knowledge by taking the Mac OS X Support > Essentials v10.4 exam (9L0-401) — US$150. > > The exam covers a practical knowledge of the features of Mac OS X > v10.3 and the basics of managing Mac OS X client systems running > Mac OS X v10.4. For specific exam objectives, see the Skills > Assessment Guide for the Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.4 exam. To > familiarize yourself with the type of questions asked in the exam, > see the Sample Test. The Apple Certified Help Desk Specialist > (ACHDS) v10.4 certification is granted on successful completion of > this exam. > > To register for the exam, call Prometric toll-free at 888-APL-EXAM > (888-275-3926) or register online at 2test.com. You are required to > have an Apple Tech ID number before registering for any Apple exam. > You can apply for a Tech ID by following the instructions at > certifications.apple.com. > > How to pay > ___________ > > Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.4 - > Business $1800 > Education $1620 or 3 Training Units > Course prices listed do not include applicable taxes. Courses are > subject to GST. > Payment instructions are available at: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > > > Course Date: June 28-30, 2006 > > Location: Red River Community College > 160 Princess Street, Winnipeg, MB > > Register now! > _____________ > > Seating is limited; reserve your seat today. To register, visit: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > > > > > ______________________________________ > > Security Best Practices > ______________________________________ > > The three-day Security Best Practices course provides system and > security administrators with the knowledge and tools necessary to > secure Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server against local and network > attacks. Solutions covered in the class include Mac OS X specific > features as well as third party tools for monitoring and analysis. > Students will design a security policy template in class to be used > as a starting point for their IT security decisions. This course is > a combination of lecture and hands-on case study exercises that > provide practical real-world experience. > > Who should attend? > ___________________ > This class is for anyone responsible for administering Mac OS X > computers or servers, and providing the proactive security measures > necessary for the integrity and confidentiality of all computer > systems and their data. Some understanding of file systems, > directory services, and networking is necessary. Command-line > options for graphical utilities are covered, so a familiarity with > terminal is also desired. > > > Training Units (http://www.apple.com/ca/training/units/) > > Register for this course by redeeming 3 Apple Training Units, or we > can bring the training to you for 36 Training Units. > > > What you will learn > ___________________ > > • To identify security needs and implement appropriately secure > Mac OS X computers > • How to configure Mac OS X Server Open Directory Masters to > provide secure authentication for an organization’s particular > clients > • How to protect Mac OS X Server Mail and Web services > • How to implement specific security configurations for mobile > computers > • How to audit security using Apple’s Common Criteria auditing > tools > • How to publish and maintain security policies > > > Prerequisites > _____________ > > Students should have the following prerequisite knowledge prior to > attending this course: > > • Experience with LDAP-based directory services > • Completion of Mac OS X Directory Services Administration and > Integration v10.4 (Client/Server) or equivalent knowledge > • Network and Internet topical knowledge > > > Recommended Next Steps > __________________________ > > The Security Best Practices v10.4 Exam (9L0-612) covers the > knowledge necessary to secure Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server against > local and network attacks. Solutions include using Mac OS X > specific features as well as third-party tools for monitoring and > analysis. Successful completion of this exam earns Security Best > Practices for Mac OS X 10.4 certification and also earns 3 credits > toward Apple Certified System Administrator (ACSA) certification. > For specific exam objectives, see the Skills Assessment Guide for > the Security Best Practices for Mac OS X v10.4 Exam. To familiarize > yourself with the type of questions asked in the exam, see the > Sample Test. > > To register for the exam, call Prometric toll-free at 888-APL-EXAM > (888-275-3926) or register online at 2test.com. You are required to > have an Apple Tech ID number before registering for any Apple exam. > You can apply for a Tech ID by following the instructions at > certifications.apple.com. > > > How to pay > ___________ > > Security Best Practices for Mac OS X v10.4 > $1800.00 Business > $1620 for Education customers or 3 Training Units > Course prices listed do not include applicable taxes. Courses are > subject to GST. > Payment instructions are available at: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > > Course Date: August 2-4, 2006 > > Location: Red River Community College > 160 Princess Street, Winnipeg, MB > > > > Register now! > _____________ > > Seating is limited; reserve your seat today. To register, visit: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > > > > ______________________________________ > > Mac OS X Deployment > ______________________________________ > > The Mac OS X Deployment course is designed for system > administrators who need to streamline the process of installing and > configuring Mac OS X on large numbers of computers. Hands-on labs > and lectures expose students to best practices and troubleshooting > methodologies, while providing detailed coverage of tools, tips, > and tricks for deploying and maintaining software on Mac OS X systems. > > Who should attend? > ___________________ > This class is for Mac OS X system administrators who are tasked > with installing and configuring a large number of computers running > Mac OS X. > > Training Units (http://www.apple.com/ca/training/units/) > Register for this course by redeeming 2 Apple Training Units, or we > can bring training to you for 24 Training Units. > > > What you will learn > ___________________ > > • Best practices for deploying Mac OS X > • How to create and script custom installation packages > • Effective use of various delivery methods for images and packages > • Testing and troubleshooting methodologies for images and packages > > Prerequisites > _____________ > > Students should have the following prerequisite knowledge prior to > attending this course: > > • Understanding of Mac OS X > • Experience with Mac OS X in a network environment > • Basic troubleshooting experience or Mac OS X Support Essentials > v10.4 > • Experience in shell scripting with a command-line editor, such > as vi > > > Recommended Next Steps > __________________________ > > Demonstrate your knowledge by taking the Mac OS X Deployment v10.4 > exam (9L0-609)—US$150. > > The exam covers the knowledge necessary to streamline the > installation and configuration of Mac OS X on large numbers of > computers, and to maintain software deployments on Mac OS X > systems. For specific exam objectives, see the Skills Assessment > Guide for the Mac OS X Deployment v10.4 Exam. > > Successful completion of the Mac OS X Deployment v10.4 exam > contributes 2 credits towards Apple Certified System Administrator > (ACSA) v10.4 certification. > > To register for the exam, call Prometric toll-free at 888-APL-EXAM > (888-275-3926) or register online at 2test.com. You are required to > have an Apple Tech ID number before registering for any Apple exam. > You can apply for a Tech ID by following the instructions at > certifications.apple.com. > > > How to pay > ___________ > > Mac OS X Deployment v10.4 - > Business $1200.00 > Education $1080 or 2 Training Units > Course prices listed do not include applicable taxes. Courses are > subject to GST. > Payment instructions are available at: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > > > Course Date: July 31- August 1, 2006 > > Location: Red River Community College > 160 Princess Street, Winnipeg, MB > > > Register now! > _____________ > > Seating is limited; reserve your seat today. To register, visit: > http://www.apple.com/ca/training or call 1-800-848-6398. > >

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Parallels Desktop released for Intel Macs
by Doug Hamilton 15 Jun '06

15 Jun '06

Hi Everyone: Parallels has just officially released their first retail version (ie. NOT a beta or RC) of their "Desktop" product which in their words: "... gives Apple users the ability to run Windows, Linux or any other operating system and their critical applications at the same time as Mac OS X on any Intel-powered iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook or MacBook Pro. ... Run any OS at the Same Time as Mac OS X" At present, this product is only available from the publisher (www.parallels.com) and is not shipping through retail channels. There is a promotional price for the next 30-Days of only $49.99-USD, regular retail will be $79.99-USD. Please keep in mind you'll still need to purchase MS-Windows (if that's the operating system you're intended to run), as Parallels doesn't include any operating system. Should you require pricing on MS-Windows XP Pro or Home O.E.M. versions, please contact me. 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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FYI: need to connect to Windows XP or Windows Terminal Server?
by billing 08 Jun '06

08 Jun '06

The newer versions of Microsoft Windows include a capability called "Remote Desktop" which allows you to connect to your Windows desktop from a remote computer - including from your Macintosh running OS X. The client on the Macintosh is called "Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection" and it also allows you to easily copy files between your Macintosh and Windows machines over a network connection. To connect to a Windows-based computer, you need network access and permission to connect to the computer. In addition, the Windows-based computer must be running Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Services. The following Windows products support Remote Desktop connections: - Windows XP Professional - Windows Server 2003 - Windows 2000 Server - Windows 2000 Advanced Server - Windows 2000 Datacenter Server - Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition For more information on the Remote Desktop connection procedure or instructions on how to copy files between your machines, please see: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx? pid=remotedesktopclient

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Apple Storage Seminar - Brief Summary
by Doug Hamilton 08 Jun '06

08 Jun '06

I attended the Apple Storage Seminar today, it was well attended. Topics that were covered included: -Methods for storage provisioning -Types of storage solutions for small and medium enterprise -Implementation of zero down time solutions and minimizing single points of failure. Interesting items of note about the Xserve RAID: -Some configurations of Apple Xserve RAID are pre-configured as RAID-5. Thus for some installations, it can be connected and in use in the amount of time it takes you to pull the equipment of the box, put it into the rack and connect the cables. -The Xserve RAID is able to internally format its drives faster than 2Gb Fibre Channel can feed the drives with data. Therefore, it is possible to configure the RAID in the manner your installation requires and start using the RAID in about two minutes after sending the build request via your favourite SAN software. As opposed to waiting the 36 hours it will actually take to fully build the RAID. -The Xserve RAID, when connected via a serial cable to a UPS, will stop using and clear its RAID Controller Cache automatically when its detects that the RAID is being powered off the UPS. This will omit one possible source of data corruption due to power loss. -If the Xserve RAID isn't connected to a UPS but is configured with a Cache Battery Back-up, the battery backup is rated to provide power to the Controller Cache for up to 72 hours. Product links: http://www.apple.com/xserve/raid/ http://www.apple.com/xserve/raid/certifications.html http://www.apple.com/xsan/ http://www.apple.com/xsan/compatibility.html If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. 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: how at risk is your personal data?
by billing 02 Jun '06

02 Jun '06

Many of the security breaches exposing personal information stored on computers happen in the United States - at least that's how it seems from media reports. The most recent of these reports being of the possible exposure of the information for over 25,000,000 American veterans who were discharged since 1975 including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth which were stolen from a VA employee's home. Here's a quick overview of this month's "State of the Exposure"...... ...from: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/ChronDataBreaches.htm A list of security breaches exposing individual's information starting with the ChoicePoint incident near the beginning of 2005: The data breaches noted [on this page] have been reported because the personal information compromised includes data elements useful to identity thieves, such as Social Security numbers, account numbers, and driver's license numbers. A few breaches that do NOT expose such sensitive information have been included in order to underscore the variety and frequency of data breaches. However, we have not included the number of individuals affected in such breaches in the total because we want this compilation to reflect breaches that expose individuals to identity theft as well as breaches that qualify for disclosure under state laws. [...] May 22, 2006 Dept. of Veterans Affairs (Washington, DC) Data of all (26,500,000) American veterans who were discharged since 1975 including names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth was stolen from a VA employee's home. The employee was not authorized to take the files home to work on a data collation project. The data did not contain medical or financial information, but may have disability numerical rankings. ================= ...from: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Ou/index.php?p=238 June 1, 2006 300+ Bank homepages hacked and redirected Posted by George Ou @ 12:11 am Goldleaf Technologies, a unit of Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc. which provides homepage services for financial institutions and banks had one of its servers hacked last Thursda, May 25th. I was initially alerted to this by a concerned customer who received an email notice from his bank that ALL customer passwords had been reset to their default password. Several news outlets covered the story by merely posting the Goldleaf official press release verbatim which characterized the breach as a "phishing incident" so the details were initially murky. The AP Wire was one of the few that characterized the incident as a security breach and were quoted by a Goldleaf spokesperson that 150 to 175 sites were affected. When I asked Goldleaf's spokesperson, he characterized the AP information as wrong and told me that a little more than half of the 600 hosted bank sites were modified to redirect traffic which puts the total number of Banks affected at over 300. The homepages of those banks were modified so that they would direct all online banking traffic to a malicious site in Madrid Spain to collect login credentials from unsuspecting customers. [...] In Goldleaf's defense, their security administrators noticed and stopped the malicious activity within 90 minutes of the initial compromise and they immediately notified the authorities and all of the banks that they were hosting. [...] ================ ...from: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=3128&tag=nl.e622 June 1, 2006 Massive, under-reported online banking breach raises serious disclosure and remedy questions Posted by David Berlind @ 11:57 am [...] The disclosure that has so far followed leaves much to be desired. According to a press release from GoldLeaf (one that was regurgitated word-for-word by news outlets such as Forbes under the heading of news and analysis): Goldleaf Chief Executive Officer, Lynn Boggs, said, "We have identified and corrected the problem. We have fully restored our Web site, remote deposit and ACH services. In addition to contacting our customers, we have communicated with our vendor partners, regulators and law enforcement authorities. We are fully operational and will remain diligent in our security efforts." What exactly was communicated isn't known. What we do know is that most of the information that has so far been made public is at best misleading and at worst, wreaks of spin control. The problem starts with the press release's headline which reads Goldleaf Technologies Responds to Phishing Attempt. That's an interesting choice of words to describe what happened here. If it was a phishing attempt, Goldleaf could easily escape any blame by deferring some of it to insecure client software (emails, browsers, etc.) and the rest to a lack of best practices on the end user's behalf. Phishing is a form of email-based social engineering that dupes users into clicking on links (in email) that they wouldn't otherwise click on. eBay is a frequent target of phishers. Even when such phishing attempts are successful, it's hardly eBay's fault. Neither email nor phishing played a role in this exploit. End users were not social engineered. They entered their credentials as they normally would, into Web pages that were served from the domains they should have been served from. At the very least, Goldleaf needs to redisclose so that (a) it's absolutely clear that it's services were hacked and (b) phishing played no role in this attack. [...] Some banks, the ones we know of, notified their customers by both regular mail and email. First State Bank, one of the affected banks, sent two separate notices. The first one, signed by First State E- Banking offficer Christa Walton, has the audacity to include a link that points people to a remedy Web page that isn't even within First State's domain: an absolute no-no that is exactly the same trick used by phishers. Says that first email: …..In an effort to ensure that all customers are aware, this same communication was mailed via US Postal Service. If, at receipt of this mailed communication, you have already obtained access to your accounts through our new Online Banking site, located at <URL masked by ZDNet>, there is no need to take any further action….. [...] ...a second mailing reads: ...On Thursday, May 25, 2006, First State Bank became aware of an apparent attempt by an unauthorized party to gain access to our third- party website host and thus to our Online Banking site……Although there is no current evidence that customers information has been accessed, this incident may have increased the probability of your information being used for fraudulent purposes……Your Online Banking password has been defaulted back to your original password; when you established your Online Banking service….you may not have access to your original login information, First State Bank has established a help center that you may contact at 1-800-527-6335 or by email at info@first-state.net…..A temporary Online Banking login website has been established at <URL masked by ZDNet>. This temporary site is safe…… ===================== ...from: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/privacy/0,70804-0.html Microsoft Is Pushing for Privacy? By Kevin Poulsen| Also by this reporter 12:30 PM May, 03, 2006 [...] "The states have enacted a flurry of legislation [for privacy legislation], a flurry of action," said Daniel Solove, an associate professor at the George Washington University Law School. "Industry is scared because the states are actually doing something." The main prong of the state approach was pioneered by California's anti-identity-theft statute, SB1386, which requires companies to warn consumers of a data breach in which their information "is reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person." Microsoft prefers that customers be notified only when a company determines there's a "reasonable risk of a material harm happening to a consumer," said Hintze. "If the trigger is too low ... people will get notice fatigue. People will get notices all the time." Solove argues that regardless of the language, codifying an inflexible federal standard that overpowers any state laws would be bad for consumers. "I think we're going to see a kind of net loss for privacy protection." [...]

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FYI: new tech reference trial at UofM
by billing 31 May '06

31 May '06

...description from the home page of this trial resource: Safari Tech Books Online is a joint venture of the two large IT publishers, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. and The Pearson Technology Group. Together, they deliver over half the IT books published. Safari Tech Books Online covers the technologies most essential to users including certification, enterprise computing, Java, Linux/ UNIX, Web development, Windows, XML, and more. Safari Tech Books Online is a reference resource, with simultaneous searching of hundreds of top IT titles for quick and reliable answers. ------------------------------------------------- From: Mark West To: 'Libraries Staff All' ; 'Daniel Beaulieu' Sent: Monday, May 29, 2006 10:36 AM Subject: internet resource trial - Safari Tech Books Online This message is to announce the following internet resource trial: _________________________________________ Safari Tech Books Online _________________________________________ For access and information: http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/elibrary/itrials/ ________________________________________ If you would like to evaluate the Trial or send comments, please use the Trial Feedback Form at the bottom of each Trial web page. Thank you! Mark West Head, Electronic Resources (ER) University of Manitoba Libraries 204.474.6556 Voice 204.474.7581 Fax ================ Here's a sample search page: http://www.sbolui.com/custfiles/all/SampleSearchResult.htm While searches can be done by Author, Title, ISBN, publisher, etc., the resource also allows browsing by the following categories: Applied Sciences Artificial Intelligence Business Certification Computer Science Databases Desktop Applications Desktop Publishing E-Business E-Commerce Enterprise Computing Graphics Hardware Human-Computer Interaction Internet/Online IT Management Markup Languages Multimedia Networking Operating Systems Programming Security Software Engineering

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Free Seminar - Apple Storage Products
by Doug Hamilton 29 May '06

29 May '06

Hello, Even with ISTs expanded capacity, the search for more storage always seems to continue. To that end, I thought that there might be some members of this group interested in seeing this seminar (see details below). This would be an excellent opportunity to ask questions of someone with a wealth of experience. Winnipeg Jun 8, 2006 09:00 AM - 11:00 AM Delta Winnipeg APPLE STORAGE PRODUCTS - FOUNDATION FOR STORAGE SOLUTIONS For General Audiences This free seminar will provide an update on Apple's storage products and capabilities. Presented by Bruce Hough, Senior Consulting Engineer - Apple Inc. For more details: http://seminars.apple.com/goToEvent.html?id=49663&s=300 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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Vista support under BootCamp?
by billing 25 May '06

25 May '06

...from: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/05/18/vista/index.php Microsoft announces Vista minimum requirements By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service Microsoft Corp. has launched a Web site outlining the minimum hardware requirements for the next version of the Windows OS, Windows Vista. Apple hasn't announced its intentions for Vista and Boot Camp, but preliminary indications suggest that Intel-based Macs will make the cut. The move comes less than a week before the company will host its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle. At the show, which kicks off Tuesday, Microsoft and hardware manufacturers are expected to show how Vista will run on a variety of machines, as well as showcase add-on technology built to enhance the OS. On the Microsoft “Get Ready” Web site, the company has outlined the requirements for running both low-end versions of Vista or higher-end versions that take advantage of the OS’s new Aero graphical user interface capabilities. The company differentiates between the two by calling the former a “Windows Vista Capable PC” and the latter a “Windows Vista Premium Ready PC.” Hardware requirements for a Vista Capable PC are a modern processor with a speed of at least 800MHz, 512MB of system memory and a graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable. A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC has a good deal more requirements. It must have at least a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1GB of system memory, 128MB of graphics memory, 40GB of hard drive capacity with 15GB free space, a DVD-ROM drive, audio output capabilities and Internet access capability. It also needs a graphics processor that runs Windows Aero, which Microsoft defines as a DirectX 9 class graphics processor that supports a Windows Display Driver Model Driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware and 32 bits per pixel. The graphics processor for Aero also must meet the following requirements for graphics memory: 64MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels; 128MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels; or 256MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels. Windows Vista system requirements have become a matter of particular interest to Mac users since Apple released Boot Camp, a beta program that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP. Apple has yet to comment on its future plans for Boot Camp, but it’s widely assumed that the software will be updated to run Vista once Microsoft releases the new operating system — enterprising users have already gotten development versions of Vista working on the Mac. (http:// www.macworld.com/2006/04/features/winmacfaq/index2.php) The hardware specifications outlined by Microsoft are consistent with Apple’s Intel-based Macs, however. Both ATI and Intel, who manufacture the graphics systems used in the new Intel-based Macs, indicate that their graphics hardware is Windows Vista-compatible. A Mac with upgraded RAM also falls in line with Microsoft’s specifications for a Windows Vista Premium Ready PC. Visit Macworld’s Windows on the Mac: What you need to know for more details about Boot Camp. Microsoft began working with hardware partners several months ago to prepare customers for Vista’s release. In April, PCs with stickers saying “Windows Vista Capable” became available in stores, letting customers know what hardware can be upgraded to Vista once it is available. Microsoft does not plan to do the same with the Windows Vista Premium Ready designation, recommending customers ask a retailer or manufacturer about PCs that meet those requirements. On the Get Ready Web site, Microsoft stressed that purchasing a Windows Vista Capable PC does not mean customers will get discount vouchers for Windows Vista. They still must purchase an edition of the OS for full price when Vista is available. In March, Microsoft said the consumer release of Vista would be delayed until January 2007, though business customers will have access through Microsoft volume licensing to the OS before the end of the year. Since Microsoft is missing the busy Christmas holiday shopping season with Vista’s general release — which had been an important target for selling the new OS — analysts are predicting that the company may release Vista even later than January. --------------------------------------------------- ...and from: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=66&tag=nl.e622 Vista Beta 2, up close and personal Posted by Ed Bott @ 4:39 am Up in Redmond, Microsoft developers proudly talk of dogfooding the software they write. Running beta software is the only way to learn what works and what doesn’t. A copy of Windows Vista running on a test machine in the corner isn’t likely to get a serious workout. To find the pain points – another popular Microsoft expression – you have to run that beta code on the machine you use every day. In that same spirit, I’ve spent the last three months running beta versions of Windows Vista on the PCs I use for everyday work. February and March were exasperating. April’s release was noticeably better, and the Beta 2 preview – Build 5381, released to testers in early May – has been running flawlessly on my notebook for nearly three weeks. Yesterday, at WinHEC, Bill Gates officially unveiled Windows Vista Beta 2, which means you’ll get a chance to see for youself what all the fuss is about. (The public download should be available within a few weeks... What’s really in Windows Vista? Why should I care? [...]

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INTEREST: Collision course for Symantec and Microsoft
by billing 25 May '06

25 May '06

...from: http://ct.zdnet.com/clicks?t=2395402-78b1eba5077eeb7815f1ec73cf855414- bf&s=5&fs=0 By Joris Evers, CNET News.com Published on ZDNet News: May 22, 2006, 12:09 PM PT Symantec's trade secret lawsuit against Microsoft is a sign of heightened competition between the two companies, but it's not a declaration of war, analysts said. Last week, Symantec sued Microsoft, accusing it of misappropriating intellectual property related to data storage technology. It is the first time that the Cupertino, Calif.-based security specialist and the software giant have been on opposite sides in a legal case. In the past, the companies have teamed up to take software pirates to court. [...] Symantec is asking a court to bar Microsoft from further developing, selling or distributing software, including Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn," until all of Symantec's intellectual property is removed. Microsoft has described Vista as one of the most important Windows releases in its history. [...] Symantec CEO John Thompson has repeatedly said his company won't compete by going to court or complaining to antitrust regulators. Thompson said it would instead rely on its security wits and reputation to beat Microsoft. "That hasn't changed, said Michael Cherry, an analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft. The lawsuit is over a contract dispute that Symantec inherited when it acquired Veritas Software, he noted. "Symantec owes it to its shareholders to vigorously protect its intellectual property. I don't think there is a wider significance to this," Cherry said. The complaint involves Symantec's Volume Manager product, which allows operating systems to store and manipulate large amounts of data. Microsoft licensed a "light" version of Volume Manager from Veritas in 1996. In its lawsuit, Symantec accuses Microsoft of violating the license. [...] The analysts agreed that Symantec would not have brought this action if it had not felt sure that it had a case and there was no other way to resolve the dispute. "I don't believe Symantec is the type of company that tries to compete via litigation," Gartner analyst John Pescatore said. ...from: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6074778.html?tag=nl.e622 Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer doesn't expect Symantec's lawsuit to delay Vista, a next version of its Windows operating system. Asked whether the case would have any effect on the Vista launch, Ballmer told Reuters: "I wouldn't anticipate any, but that will go to the courts now." Ballmer, speaking in Beijing after a news conference, did not elaborate. [...] But in response to another question about Vista's delay, Ballmer said: "Ultimately, I am the CEO. I am accountable." Vista, Office 2007 and Xbox 360 are central to Microsoft's efforts to revive a stock that has underperformed every major index since the beginning of 2002.

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INTEREST: Intel updates
by billing 12 May '06

12 May '06

...from: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6065708.html?tag=nl.e540 Intel to get widespread restructuring By Candace Lombardi, CNET News.com Published on ZDNet News: April 27, 2006, 8:11 AM PT CEO Paul Otellini said Thursday that Intel will undergo a complete restructuring. "We are taking a tight look at spending and structure," Otellini said at the chipmaker's shareholder meeting. "We are going to restructure, resize and repurpose Intel to adjust to the business realities of today and tomorrow." There was no mention of layoffs. [...] Three new chips, one for each of the Core market segments, will be part of the rollout: Woodcrest for servers in June, Conroe for desktops in July, and Merom for notebooks in August. Because Intel sees the server market as its weakest link, Woodcrest will be launched first, Otellini said. The company is also releasing Broadwater, a new desktop chipset, in an effort to attack a bottleneck of chipset inventory. "Broadwater will be the fastest chipset ramp-up in the company history," Otellini said. Intel's expenses are out of line with its revenue and profit, compared with those of its competitors, TechKnowledge Strategies analyst Mike Feibus said. "Intel is coming off a time when nobody got fired for buying Intel. Their hardware sold at a premium," Feibus said. "We've been watching prices drop like falling rain over the past two years. But the company has a cost structure like the good old days." Feibus said Otellini is making the right move by making cuts now rather than postponing them until problems worsen. "You've got to give Otellini credit for taking the bull by the horns and understanding the environment today," Feibus said. Feibus expected job cuts across the board at Intel, saying design, marketing and other teams all are disproportionately large compared with those of competitors. More info on: Intel's upcoming Core™ microarchitecture: http://www.intel.com/ technology/architecture/coremicro/

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FYI: from Microsoft: Help keep your Windows computer under your control
by billing 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

[NOTES: 1) all of this information comes from Microsoft and is aimed at Windows OS users but the information lays out good computing practices which really should be followed regardless of which operating system you use. 2) Step (4) below is "Subscribe to industry standard antivirus software and antispyware software, and keep them current." At the UofM, IST has licenced anti-virus software for all faculty and staff who use the Microsoft Windows OS. The anti-virus software that has been licenced is called Trend OfficeScan. This software, which is provided and updated free to all faculty and staff for office and home machines using Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP, can be found at: http://www.umanitoba.ca/computing/ist/security/index.html Once on this page, just click on the appropriate link for "On-campus location" or "Home install or laptop". Due to the nature of laptop use, they are treated as "Home" machines for anti-virus update purposes. In addition to installing Trend OfficeScan onto your Windows OS partition, you should also, as laid out in step (3) below, make sure your newly installed Windows OS is kept up to date with patches released by Microsoft, usually on "Patch Tuesday", the second Tuesday of the month. (For more "Patch Tuesday" info see http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patch_Tuesday). I'm assuming you're already doing that for OS X using the built-in "Software Update" feature. ::-= ------------------------------------ ...from: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/ zombies_and_botnets.mspx Zombies and botnets: help keep your computer under your control Published: March 28, 2006 Online criminals can use a virus to take control of large numbers of computers at a time, and turn them into "zombies" that can work together as a powerful "botnet" to perform malicious tasks. Botnets, which can include as many as 100,000 individual "zombie" computers, can distribute spam e-mail, spread viruses, and attack other computers and servers, and commit other kinds of crime and fraud. Botnets are highly valued by online criminals, and have become a serious problem on the Internet. Two major [Windows OS] viruses (netsky and bagel) were created to compete for control of a large botnet, and botnet-controlled zombie computers have even been found in places such as the United States Department of Defense. How to tell if your computer has been infected The virus that is used to make your computer into a zombie might cause your computer to slow down, display mysterious messages, or work in an unexpected manner. These viruses usually do not disable your computer, because zombie computers must be plugged in and connected to the Internet in order for the botnet to work. [Read detailed information about how to tell if a virus has infected your computer at: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/ intro_viruses_signs.mspx] What to do if your computer is infected If your computer shows symptoms of virus infection, first make sure that the software on your computer is up to date. Then, run current antivirus and antispyware software to scan your computer and remove unwanted software. Read detailed information about how to help remove a virus. 5 ways to help keep your computer from becoming a zombie 1. Never open attachments in e-mail, instant messages, or mobile messages unless you know exactly what the attachment is, even if it's from someone that you know. Attachments can contain e-mail viruses. 2. Use an Internet firewall. Note: Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) has a firewall already built-in and active. 3. Stay up to date. Visit Microsoft Update and turn on Automatic Updates. Note: If you've installed Microsoft Office 2003 or Microsoft Office XP, Automatic Updates will also update your Office programs. If you have an earlier version of Office, use Office Update. 4. Subscribe to industry standard antivirus software and antispyware software, and keep them current. 5. Use licensed software products. Botnets are often comprised mostly of computers that run illegally copied versions of operating system and productivity software. Unlicensed software can be more susceptible to viruses, and can even come with viruses already installed without your knowledge.

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INTEREST: one author's view of Apple's "Boot Camp" Windows environment
by billing 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

(...from: http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/ More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta today.) ...from: http://www.macworld.com/2006/04/firstlooks/bootcampfl/index.php? lsrc=mwweek-0410 Signing up for Boot Camp Apple software simplifies XP installation By Rob Griffiths One word kept coming to mind Wednesday, as I sat down to install Apple’s Boot Camp public beta on my Mac mini Core Duo—simple. Using the software to install Windows XP on my machine? A very simple process. Choosing which OS to boot? Also simple. Installing the necessary drivers? At the risk of repeating myself, simple, simple, and did I mention simple? [...] From start to finish, while working on the daily hints [column] updates at the same time, the whole process took me maybe 40 minutes. I spent most of that time in the XP installer; the preparation steps took only about 10 minutes. Most important, you don’t need access to a PC in any way to do this; that alone makes installing Windows XP on a Mac much more doable for many people. [...] Native video support The difference in XP’s speed with native video drivers is very noticeable. You can quickly drag windows—their contents display and scroll very quickly, and the overall interface just feels more responsive. But nobody cares about the user interface. What everyone really cares about is gaming, of course! With DirectX and OpenGL support, the whole world of PC gaming is suddenly available for Intel- based Mac users. I installed a few games from my PC collection to see how they’d fare on my 512MB Core Duo—I had to return the 2GB RAM upgrade I had previously installed for replacement, so I was testing a worst case scenario for the Core Duo. This is especially true for games that require a ton of texture memory, as that would have to come from system memory, dragging down the whole system. Here’s a summary of what I found: - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006: This game was basically perfect running at 1280x1024 resolution. The frame rate was more than fast enough to keep up with the animated water, moving trees, and in-flight ball tracking. - Far Cry: This first person shooter was Game of the Year back in 2004, due to its amazing visuals, set amidst lush jungles and islands surrounded by animated, semi-transparent water. It puts quite a load on a machine and was just barely playable at 1,024-by-768 on the mini. I suspect that performance will improve greatly when I get the mini back up to 2GB, as Far Cry’s visuals require a lot of video card RAM. - Combat Flight Simulator 3: In addition to seeing how well this game played, I wanted to make sure Windows XP worked with my Saitek flightstick. Sure enough, I plugged it in, and the Game Controllers Control Panel saw the stick and let me calibrate and test it. Everything worked fine. The frame rate in the game was fine, but I had an odd problem with the graphics sort of “jumping” around. It was sort of like a minor visual earthquake was constantly occurring, displacing things just enough to be annoying. And making it very hard to shoot an enemy plane down. Given enough debugging time, I think I could resolve this issue. - Motocross Madness 2: This highly unrealistic game was one of my faves on the PC. It's older, sure, but it’s still a hoot to play. And on my Core Duo mini at 1,280-by-1,024, it works amazingly well. I connected my gamepad, which also worked as expected, and was very impressed with how smoothly Motocross Madness ran. Frame rates were very high, and the audio was perfect. Overall, I was impressed with how well the mini handled games on the built-in graphics chip. I intend to do more testing, especially once I have the system RAM back up to 2GB. But machines like the MacBook Pro and iMac, which have better graphics cards and faster CPUs, should make even better gaming platforms. [...] Installing XP on an Intel Mac is no harder than installing it on a new PC yourself—you might even say that it’s simpler. Other related articles: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/04/05/bootcamp/index.php? lsrc=mwweek-0410

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INTEREST: U.S. government DARPA funding "rootkit" research...
by billing 26 Apr '06

26 Apr '06

1) what is a "rootkit"? ...from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit A rootkit is a set of software tools frequently used by a third party (usually an intruder) after gaining access to a computer system. These tools are intended to conceal running processes, files or system data, which helps an intruder maintain access to a system without the user's knowledge. Rootkits are known to exist for a variety of operating systems such as Linux, Solaris and versions of Microsoft Windows. A computer with a rootkit on it is called a rooted computer. The word "rootkit" came to public awareness in the 2005 Sony CD copy protection controversy, in which Sony BMG music CDs placed a rootkit on Microsoft Windows PCs. 2) why should I know about rootkits? while the incidents of exploits by viruses, trojan horses, malware, and rootkits is low in the OS X world, with the advent of Apple's BootCamp (http://www.apple.com/ macosx/bootcamp/) in addition to such "virtualization" software as Parallels (http://www.parallels.com), more Macintosh users will also be running Windows operating systems - the target of most exploits these days. Without the proper due diligence (keeping updates current, great caution with email attachments, etc.) any operating system can be exploited. [NOTE: simply put, "virtualization" in the computer world refers to "the ability to run more than one operating system at a time". For example, you could be simultaneously running OS X and it's available applications, Windows XP and it's available applications, as well as LINUX and it's available applications. For more information on "virtuallization" please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Virtualization.] ------------------- Now, having given some background, forward to the DARPA related article.... ...from: http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,1952802,00.asp Symantec's LiveState product combines with CoPilot and Gamma to restore the system to its original state. Government-Funded Startup Blasts Rootkits By Ryan Naraine A startup funded by the U.S. government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is ready to emerge from stealth mode with hardware- and software-based technologies to fight the rapid spread of malicious rootkits. Komoku, of College Park, Md., plans to ship a beta of Gamma, a new rootkit detection tool that builds on a prototype used by several sensitive U.S. government departments to find operating system abnormalities that may be linked to malicious rootkit activity. A rootkit modifies the flow of the kernel to hide the presence of an attack or compromise on a machine. It gives a hacker remote user access to a compromised system while avoiding detection from anti- virus scanners. The company's prototype, called CoPilot, is a high-assurance PCI card capable of monitoring the host's memory and file system at the hardware level. It is specifically geared towards high-security servers and computers. Gamma, meanwhile, is a separate, software-only clone of CoPilot that will target businesses interested in a low-assurance tool for protecting laptops and personal computers. Komoku launched quietly in 2004 with about $2.5 million in funding and rootkit detection contracts from DARPA, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Navy. The company has its roots at the University of Maryland, where computer scientist William Arbaugh worked on what he calls a "unique approach" to finding rootkits. Microsoft says it is becoming impossible to recover from sophisticated forms of malware. Click here to read more. "Security technologies depend on the correctness of the system they're actually checking," said Arbaugh, who now serves as president of the five-employee outfit. "If something changes the system at the operating system level, it can't be reliably detected via the OS itself or through applications running on the system," he said in an interview with eWEEK. "We have this notion of what the operating system is supposed to look like and we look for deviations [from] that. We aren't initially looking for the rootkit; we look at the side effects of the infection." Komoku has partnered with security vendor Symantec to handle disinfection and restoration after rootkits and other sophisticated forms of malware are detected. Jamie Butler, a renowned rootkit researcher who works as Komoku's chief technical officer, said Gamma will have limited clean-up capabilities because it is software-based and susceptible to direct attack, much like any application running on the operating system. "Clean-up is a very difficult goal while maintaining a running system. When you find a rootkit, you essentially have several choices. The easiest choice is to halt the system. But, that means that you'll lose any evidence that might be in memory. It also means that the services provided by that system are made unavailable," Butler explained. Another choice might be to eliminate the effects of the rootkit, but this could be very difficult because of the complicated nature of an operating system. A third choice would be to allow the rootkit to remain active while you attempt to discern its motives, Butler added, noting that both Gamma and CoPilot will allow all three of these choices. The plan is to have both the hardware and software versions collect forensic data when a compromise is detected. Butler said products are able to capture hidden malware in memory and send it back to a central management station where the products are running in enterprise mode. -------------------------- ...for more information on rootkits and efforts being undertaking for their detection, please see: http://www.phrack.org/phrack/63/ p63-0x08_Raising_The_Bar_For_Windows_Rootkit_Detection.txt

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Official Support for booting MS-Windows XP
by Doug Hamilton 05 Apr '06

05 Apr '06

Today Apple announced a pubic-beta of a software package "Boot Camp" which can facilitate the booting of MS-Windows XP on Apple's Intel based computers. See this link for details: http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp Its a good thing they didn't release this software on their 30th Anniversary (April 1st), nobody would have believed them. 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/

2 1

FYI: treating your ATA hard drive S.M.A.R.T.ly (pardon my grammar)
by billing 03 Apr '06

03 Apr '06

What is S.M.A.R.T.? =============== ...from: http://pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1879485,00.asp By Bruno Sonnino 10.31.05 S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) is a technology, developed by major hard disk manufacturers, included in most modern hard disks. This technology monitors and logs many events while the disk is running. Analyzing the data allows us to know the drive's reliability and predict its [possible] failure. [...] When we talk about failures, we must differentiate between two types: predictable and non-predictable. Predictable failures are those that don't happen suddenly, they can be caused by failure in the disk mechanics or damaged disk surface. The problem gets worse, until the disk crashes. Non-predictable are those failures caused by sudden events, like a sudden power surge or an electronic failure. S.M.A.R.T. can only help to detect predictable failures. How does this help me? ================= There are two ways of checking your ATA drive's S.M.A.R.T. status (Note: S.M.A.R.T. is not currently available on fireware, USB, or SCSI connections. For more information, see the SMARTReporter documentation listed below.): use Apple's Disk Utility or use a freeware utility called SMARTReporter. If you launch Apple's Disk Utility it will automatically check the S.M.A.R.T. information and report on it. SMARTReporter is a freeware utility that will launch on log in and periodically (every 60 minues by default) check your ATA drive's S.M.A.R.T. information. SMARTReporter puts in icon into the menu bar: green drive, OK; grey drive, S.M.A.R.T. info is non-deterministic of drive status; red drive, S.M.A.R.T. status shows drive may fail shortly - back up information and report problem to drive manufacturer. SMARTReporter can also be configured to send an email message to an address you specify indicating a problem may be about to occur. Regardless of which utility you use, if the S.M.A.R.T. information indicates a possible failure, the drive's manufacturer should replace any on warranty drives. Apple's Disk Utility can be found on any OS X installation in the Macintosh HD:Applications:Utility folder. The latest version of SMARTReporter along with documentation and a FAQ list can be downloaded from: http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/

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FYI: your iPod and your ears...
by billing 03 Apr '06

03 Apr '06

...from: http://www.apple.com/sound/ http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2006/mar/29ipod.html Apple Provides Volume Limit Setting for iPod Sound travels in waves, produced when an object — such as a stereo speaker — pushes on the air around it, causing small changes in air pressure. To describe sound waves, acoustic experts refer to concepts such as frequency and amplitude. [...] Sound and Your Ears You can hear because your ears convert the vibrations of a sound wave in the air into signals that your brain interprets as sound. When the vibrations of a sound wave enter your ear, your eardrum and a set of tiny bones in your ear (the well-known hammer, anvil, and stirrup) amplify those vibrations. In your inner ear, these amplified vibrations move tiny hair cells that then convert the vibrations into nerve impulses sent to your brain. Your brain then interprets these nerve impulses as sound. If you expose your ears to excessive sound pressure, you can harm those small hair cells in your ears. And if harmed, those hair cells can lose the ability to transmit sound to your brain. As a result, you could experience noise-induced hearing loss. Symptoms can include distorted or muffled sound or difficulty understanding speech. While you can experience noise-induced hearing loss as a result of a one-time exposure to an extremely loud sound — like a gunshot — noise- induced hearing loss can also occur as a result of repeated exposure to loud sounds over time. CUPERTINO, California—March 29, 2006—Apple® today announced a software update for the iPod® nano and fifth generation iPod, allowing customers to easily set their own personal maximum volume limit. The software update also gives parents the ability to set a maximum volume limit on their child’s iPod and lock it with a combination code. “As the leading provider of digital music players, Apple continuously brings iPod customers innovative and easy to use solutions,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. “With the increased attention in this area, we want to offer customers an easy to use option to set their own personal volume limit.” The new software update 1.1.1 is available immediately as a free download for the iPod nano and the fifth generation iPod from www.apple.com/ipod/download. The new Volume Limit feature works with any headphone or accessory plugged into the iPod headphone jack as well as the iPod Radio Remote. For further information on safe listening with iPod, please visit www.apple.com/sound. [...] Press Contacts: Tom Neumayr Apple (408) 974-1972 tneumayr(a)apple.com Natalie Kerris Apple (408) 974-6877 nat(a)apple.com

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INTEREST: Australia forces ISPs to attack spam; US government intercedes for Microsoft
by billing 31 Mar '06

31 Mar '06

...from: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6055378.html?tag=nl.e622 By Will Sturgeon, Silicon.com Published on ZDNet News: March 29, 2006, 8:32 AM PT Australia, which already has antispam legislation in place, has introduced a code of practice that will force Internet service providers to be more proactive in stamping out unsolicited bulk e-mail. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is building on the relative success of the country's 2003 Spam Act to ensure that businesses and consumers are protected from a deluge of unwanted e-mail. "The phenomenon of spam...continues to materially impact on e-mail as a communications medium," states the conduct code document, released on Wednesday. Although many countries have recognized spam as an issue, few have been able to react to it effectively. However, it's long been suggested that Internet service providers, which carry much of the e- mail, could solve the problem of spam overnight. "Since senders of spam require the services of service providers in order to send their spam, enlisting the support of those service providers has the potential of being an efficient and also a more proactive way of addressing the spam problem," according to the code document. As such, ISPs serving the Australian public must proactively scan traffic for open relays and botnets, networks of compromised PCs used for sending spam. In addition, spam filters must be offered and clearly advertised by each Australian ISP. ISPs must include clauses in all contracts that allow them to disconnect a user if they are knowingly or unwittingly relaying spam, once the ISP has taken "reasonable steps to notify the subscriber of the breach and (provided) reasonable assistance," the code says. They must also restrict inbound connections to any service that allows forwarding of e-mail on behalf of third parties. [...] ========================== ...from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/business/worldbusiness/31soft.html? th&emc=th U.S. Asks European Union to Be Fair in Microsoft Case By PAUL MELLER Published: March 31, 2006 BRUSSELS, March 30 — The United States government has intervened in Microsoft's antitrust dispute with the European Commission, urging it and the 25 national governments in the European Union to be fair to the company, American diplomats and European officials said on Thursday. Microsoft has complained frequently in recent months that it has been denied the right to a fair defense in the continuing antitrust case with the European Commission. It has also accused the commission of collaborating with its rivals in the software industry and denying it access to what it contends are vital documents it needs to prepare its defense. A memo written by unidentified government officials in Washington stated that Microsoft's complaints raise "substantial concerns" about the way Microsoft is being treated, according to a person close to the commission who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the memo. The memo was distributed this week through embassies in Europe and through the United States mission to the European Union in Brussels. United States diplomats visited the offices of three European commissioners earlier this week. Jonathan Todd, the spokesman for the competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, confirmed that her close aides met American diplomats this week and received the memo. He declined to comment on its content. [...]

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Request for feedback - iTunes-U
by Doug Hamilton 22 Mar '06

22 Mar '06

Hello Everyone: Apple will soon be rolling out iTunes-U (iTunes-University) in Canada. To learn about iTunes-U, look here: http://www.apple.com/education/solutions/itunes_u/ For an example of a iTunes-U implementation in the U.S.A., look here: http://itunes.stanford.edu/ In preparation of this eventuality, I'm initially looking for feedback just from our apple-list subscribers about that type of content they would like to see available from any proposed University of Manitoba iTunes-U (e.g. lectures, supplemental course material, Faculty of Music events / recitals, etc). Keeping in mind that I'm also looking for people in Administrative/Faculty and IT positions who would like to be apart of the initial informational meeting(s) with Apple Canada. This proposed meeting(s) is for the dissemination information only. I feel that it will be advantageous to better understand what the University's potential needs/uses of this proposed service might be prior to involving the senior administration. 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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