Mar
31
Listen to today’s show here! 
MC20050330.mp3 [19.8mb (43:21) 64kbps]
A podcast about Macs done by a Mac geek for Mac geeks. Show 43. DVForge response to Mac virus challenge, Gartner Dataquest warns of Mac spyware, HP renews interest in iPod, New 10.3.9 and 10.4 builds relased Tuesday, rumor of iTunes Australia soon, more iPod crime in NYC and AppleInsider rumors of new consumer Macs. Listener review of ElGato’s EyeHome, PlayPod issues and updating bookmarks, correction on educational discounts for high school students, Mac’s support for microphones and recording and a bonus review of the Sony Playstation Portable. New music from Se La by Neto. You should hear this. Shownotes in HTML or OPML
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Symantec’s AntiVirus product goes for $69.95. So what is it; a box full of nothing? Wouldn’t the software code have to contain specific information in it’s “virus definitions” that a knowledgeable programmer could analyze?
Adam,
First of all a really great show, that you don’t need a degree in computer science to follow.
I wanted to comment on the Mac Virus issue. I’ve been using Mac’s (Powerbooks and an iMac) for just over two years, and first software I install on any new hardware is Norton AntiVirus.
You might think I’m a little paranoid, but over the last two year I’ve had around a dozen hits, that Norton has notified me of.
Now I’m not a big peer to peer user, and all the hits have been while surfing the net.
I did a little research into the viruses that Norton scans for and here’s the results (taken from the virus info list in Norton)
34 Macintosh File Infector, 19 Macintosh Trojan Horse, 2 Macintosh Worm, out of a total of 32205 viruses and 69279 virus definitions.
I also note that Apple as part of the .Mac account provides Virex® by McAfee®.
On the other hand OS X is unix based and as such you would need at least the admin password if not the root password to do any serious damage to the operating system itself, so if a Mac does catch a virus, it should be limited to just the user files of the current user.
I believe Norton reverse engineers these virus, to find out how to detect them, so at least according to Norton there are at least 55 potential problems out there for Mac users.
Mac users need to smell the coffee, Mac Viruses are a reality now.
Having said all that, Macs are just the greatest machines in the world, stable, reliable, tough and they look cool. I had to retired by 12″ Powerbook recently (I bought a 15″ Powerbook) after 44,000 miles around the US and 25,000 miles here in the UK, when the hard drive crashed. But even after that, I still use it with a external drive as a PVR.
I would never use a Windows machine again if I had the choice, but unfortunately I don’t as I have to use them at work and provide tech support for over a dozen Windows machines for friends and family.
But I’ll always have my Macs
Anyway thanks again for a great show.
Martin J Turner
Hey Adam. Just listening to this show and thought I would point out that the PlayStation 2 USB Headset works quite well for voice chat on the Mac. I would recommend to your listener Alex that he pick up that product if voice chat is his main goal, simply because using a mic and an external speaker instead often causes a feedback loop.
Al
A couple of corrections to the mic-in solution mentioned in this show. If you use a mixer then you don’t need the iMic…you can run the tape outs or line outs or line outs form the mixer straight into the line-in on the Mac with a standard adapter cable.
If you have a mic with a 1/8″ mini plug then the iMic is more portable alternative to the mixer. It’s also essential for Macs that don’t have a line-in. A dynamic mic with a 1/4″ plug does not work on the iMic with an adapter, however.
Finally, the MicPlug from DVForge does not plug directly into the USB port…it plugs directly into a XLR mic and then connects to your computer with a standard USB cable.
Craig
Want to comment on the Mac virus issue. The reason I installed NAV on my Mac was not because I’m really worried about OS X viruses but because I don’t want to be a carrier. In other words I don’t want to infect my Wintel friends’ computers. NAV has found several viruses on my PBook but they’ve all been Windows viruses. My Mac might be impervious but a Windows user wouldn’t be too happy receive a virus via an email I sent. Of course any Windows user would know better than to run a PC without an anti-virus program.
Last but not least check out my new podcast at ww.kobe-beef.blogspot.com.
Terrance
Great podcast again, Adam. I picked up a PSP on the 24th as well as Need For Speed Underground and enjoy it alot. I have a PC and a Mac Mini, so I benefit from all the great software coming out. I use PSP Video 9 on the PC, a free program for video conversions. One tip for all your listeners, I view my videos using Quicktime before transferring it to the PSP. It helps to view the finished product before connecting the PSP, just in case the video had problems in the conversion.