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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 140. Apple and Nike team up for iPod shoes. XCode 2.3 released to developers. MacBook Developer tools include Widget Maker. PowerMacs lose ‘Power’ when going Intel. Apple Sells PowerSchool to Pearson. Star Wars Clone Wars now on iTunes. Listener review of the MacBook. Tons of Apple Fifth Avenue Store feedback and pictures. Backup strategies and the story of The Lion and Ants. Closed Intel kernel report was just speculation. How to turn off just iMac screen. Review of Podcasting USB microphones. Powering your MacBook on a plane continued. Developers tap MacBook motion sensor. Apple overturned on appeal. Rumor sites are safe. Something missed in iWeb update. Using iWeb on more than one Mac.

New music, Reign of Error by Sudden Death

We are fugitives of the law. Idiocy is our only option. — Outbreak (1995)

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Hey Geeks. Well I know it has been a week now since the last “true” MacCast. I have a show in the works, but it just seems to be taking forever to get it together. As I sit writing this it is 1:00 AM Friday morning and I am now just ready to record. The trouble is when I am this tired it takes me a lot longer to get the recording done (like 3-5 hours). The quality level goes way down and I just seem to mess up a lot more. Funny, you’d think sleep depravation would improve mental awareness. *sarcasm*. Anyway, if you don’t mind I am going to get some sleep. Look for a “Super Sized” MacCast to be out sometime Saturday morning.

If you really need a fix, we finally recorded another episode of the MacRoundtable Podcast, so you can listen to me and the other guys over there.

Nite.

We have all heard (and even been a part of) the rumors that the MacBook Pros heat issues are stemming from the amount of thermal paste applied. Not too long ago an image was released from Apples service manual that pictured approximately 10-20 times too much thermal grease being applied to the CPU in a MacBook Pro and this was all we were going on. I had my suspicions then that this was simply a pictorial and had nothing to do with the actual amount applied (I still believe any Genius worth their position would not apply, or leave applied, that amount of thermal grease). It would seem however that it is true.

That is to say the amount of thermal grease being applied is far too much, but not that it is making the difference. I just ran across James Duncan Davidsons experiment over at MacDevCenter and it is certainly interesting.
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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Special edition. Interview with Jan Jannink the CTO and founder of iMeem. iMeem is an online service that takes a whole new perspective on social networking. We all have friends and family we are connected to and most of us already have those people in our chat buddy lists. Instead of putting ourselves alone into a social network and then trying to make connections to the people we know, iMeem leverages the power of your chat list and creates an instant relevant social network from people you already know and like. In this interview I talk with Jan about iMeem and the technology behind the service. Enjoy.

I’m pondering the immortal words of Socrates who said, “I drank what?” — Real Genius (1985)

Show Links
iMeem
Mono Project

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The Truth is Out There

So ask yourself how you would feel if overnight you were suddenly hated and villified by an entire community just for speaking your mind on a few Mac forums and blogs (the MacCast included)? Well, that is exactly what happened to Jason Tomczak. If the name sounds familiar you probably think you know him as the guy who brought a lawsuit against Apple for the scratching issues with the iPod Nano. If so, you would be correct in the fact that his name did appear as lead plaintiff in the suit brought forth by David P. Meyer & Associates Co. LPA and their representative firm, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. But, according to Jason, that is the only fact you would have correct. A name on a sheet of paper.

Jason recently posted an Open Letter to the Mac Community and, according to him, he never wanted to be part of any lawsuit against Apple. He claims the law firm contacted him and asked for his “insight into the problem” which he provided. He also maintains he did so with the understanding that he wanted no part in any case they may file as a result of his opinions. So after months of remaining silent and after becoming a target for the hatered and loathing of many Apple fanatics, Jason took action and is revealing his side of the story. He hopes his letter will finally clear his name and expose what he considers to be the truth behind the lawsuit. I hope you all take a moment to read it. It offers a great perspective directly from a main player in the story and goes far beyond all media bites we heard last October. I am sure if I go back and listen to my comments at the time I am probably guilty of perpetuating the hype and guilty of letting my pro-Apple bias prevent me from peeking behind the media curtian. One thing is for sure, Jasons story serves as a reminder to be careful about what we say and, even more importantly, to be careful about who we say it to.

Open Letter to the Mac Community
The Truth Behind the iPod Nano “Scratch” Class Action Suit

Well you can’t blame them for trying and at least they have a sense of humor about it. SanDisk has launched a new anti-iPod campaign and web site at iDont.com. In a huge case of reversed roles they accuse Apple lovers of being followers, remember the “Lemmings” ads? In SanDisks “manifesto” they ask all “free thinkers” to break the shackles of the “iTatorship” and reject the sybol of opression; white earbuds. I got to hand it to them the concept is funny and cleverly done. Too bad they just don’t realize they already lost the war.

Following “Security Update 2006-003” ( for both Intel and PPC) many Mac users have reported that their computers will not boot and instead simply hit a blue screen or hang somewhere during the boot process. It has become apparent that there are two possible reasons for this:

1. Adobe Version Cue (comes with Creative Suite among other Adobe software products)

2. Apple Remote Desktop

For now most users are finding the simple fix is to boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift while booting up) and removing the conflicting application (usually Version Cue due to peoples “need” for Photoshop). Removing AdobeVersionCueCS2 from HD>Library>StartupItems should be a fix that doesn’t trouble Intel Mac users since Version Cue isn’t yet Universal and it is the one exception to the statement “all PowerPC apps will run under Rosetta”.

Navigate to HD>Library>Startup Items and remove the items AdoveVersionCueCS2 and AppleRemoteDesktop

Removing AppleRemoteDesktop from the startup items in Safe Mode has the same effect and should allow booting in normal mode. Apple have not yet released any information on the conflict, however there is an in-depth thread over at the Apple Discussion Forums.

Well, I asked and you delivered. MacCast listeners were all over the grand opening of the new Apple Store Fifth Avenue in NYC and they are sending in the pictures to prove it. Thank you to everyone who send these in and for those of us who couldn’t be there in person check out the gallery and you can live vicariously through others. Enjoy.

Many (including myself) have reported that side by side the iBook G4 had a better reception and range of wireless networks than the PowerBook G4. This was reported to be the case due to the construction material of the machines. I have not read any reports about the MacBook Pro but it’s being reported that the MacBook has the best range of all tested Apple notebooks, even the iBook G4.

Apple have redesigned the wireless antennas on the MacBook which they have placed horizontally on the left and vertically on the right, specifically for that model. The reception and range is reported to be such an improvement that some users are picking up networks they didn’t even know existed using other models in the same area.

Officially Apple say the MacBook only supports the wireless standards of 802.11b and 802.11g, however it appears to be connecting flawlessly with 802.11a also.

Microsoft has released the required system specifications for running Windows Vista. Does this really effect Mac users you may ask? Well yes, possibly. Since the introduction of BootCamp there has been a lot of talk about compatibility with Vista on a Mac and finally we are getting somewhere in the discussion.

There will be two different levels, according to Microsoft, of Vista compatibility; “Vista Capable PCs” and “Vista Premium Ready PCs.” Most modern Macs fall into the latter category barring the x86 processor and of course we now have that covered with all the new Intel Macs.

The specs are complex however and some believe Macs may not be “Premium Ready” due to the integrated graphics and RAM modules used. To be Vista Premium Ready Microsoft lists the basic specs as being:

• 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 GB of system memory.
• A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero.
• 128 MB of graphics memory.
• 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
• DVD-ROM Drive.
• Audio output capability.
• Internet access capability.

More information can be found here.

Still the question remains; would Microsoft want to sabotage Windows on Mac? Also would Apple want to sabotage Vista on Mac. I really don’t think either company can see a benefit in that and think Vista will run on all compatible machines as soon as Microsoft can ship it.