MacCast 05.19.2006 - Show #139
Media/Links
V Opening
V Opening Music
* Music is Say Anything by Manda and the Marbles
* Mandaandthemarbles.com
www.mandaandthemarbles.com
V News
V New Yahoo! site currently lacks Safari Support
* Yahoo! is offering a seek peek at it's new home page design, but Safari users will need to use a different browser like Firefox. The site also does not work in OmniWeb, Opera, or Camino.
* A spokesman for Yahoo said they might get Safari support added during the preview period, but expressed that support for all major browsers (Opera, Safari, Firefox and Internet Explorer) would be in place when the new design officially launches this summer.
V Apples XTel kernel is not Open Source
* Apple has closed the source of the Intel version of the Mac OS X kernel (called XNU) due to piracy concerns. It has actually been closed since 10.4.3, but a recent article in InfoWorld brought media attention
* The PowerPC Kernel, the rest of the Core OS, known as Darwine and other technologies like QuickTime Streaming Server and Bonjour zero-config networking remain open source
V FinalCut Express 3.5 released, adds Intel support
* In addition to Intel support the update adds Dynamic RT support, Soundtrack 1.5 improved multitrack audio editing and single and multiple take recording, LiveType 2.1’s new animated graphics, including 70 new animated objects, 15 new textures and 60 new customizable preset effect and vector technology that allows animated text styles to be scaled to any resolution including HD.
* Costs US$299.00 or is available as an upgrade for US$99.00
V Indie Music publishers sue Apple and others
* A small group of independent music publishers have filed a lawsuit against 16 online music services including Apple's iTunes Music Store.
* Euro Tec Publishing, Bruce Caplin, Prestoons Music and related companies filed the suit and say the online services did not follow the proper procedures to license previously recorded and released songs.
V Apple sues Creative
* On the same day Creative sued Apple over alleged infringements to its "Zen" patent Apple filed suit against Creative
* Apple, alleging that Creative has infringed on four of Apple's patents.
* This is shaping up to be quite a battle. Stay tuned.
V Apple firmware update cools MacBook Pro
* SMC Firmware Update release for Intel Macs seems to have had a chilling effect, literally.
* Apple claims the firmware was to address intermittent boot issues
* Almost immediately after install many users reported the fans being used more and that the books were running cooler. Diagnostics show an 8 degree drop in temp.
* There are mixed report on if the update fixed the "whine" issue.
V Feedback, Comments and Commentary
V Clarification of "lost space" on hard drives
* Play comment from Robert
* We are talking about 2 different things.
* Spotlight meta data.
* Better explain the 1000 byte vs 1024 byte issue
V What are Swap files and why do I care?
* Files used for your Macs virtual memory
* Each one is ~80Mb and depending on how you use your system you may end up with more than one.
* There are utilities like Cocktail available for cleaning them out or you can simply reboot your Mac
Cocktail OS X
* in the /var/vm directory
* Once way to increase performance is to move the swap to a dedicated volume or partition. Not for the faint of heart and you can find instructions on line. There is one good article for doing this in Tiger on OS X hints.com
Moving Swap file
V New MacBook decision is not Black and White
* It is amazing how much a color means to some people
* Black finish is matte
* Black comes with white cables?!!
* The "Black tax" also exists in other appliances. I paid $20 more for a black fridge.
* Stop your complaining and pony up. I will not support petitions as this is capitalism at it's finest. This is classic supply and demand.
* The best way to fight it is to not pay it. If you don't buy it the price will go down.
V collaboZOT! Clue
* the Zot! starts Monday and will be a mystery package valued at over $150.00
www.maczot.com
* Over the next week or so there will be clues in different Podcasts as to what software is included in the Zot! Visit the website to see when and where you can hear clues.
* The earlier you buy the lower the price.
* To get the first clue is to search Flickr.com for "MacZOT Widget"
V Closing
V Visit the website
maccast.com
* Show notes.
V Keep emails coming. More audio comments.
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V 206-222-2788 (20-MACCAST-8)
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* MacCast Forum
forum.maccast.com
V "Middle Earth Bragging Song" by Marc Gunn
* On the PodSafe Music Network
music.podshow.com
* Irish Celtic folk singer who loves cats
* Band web site
www.marcgunn.com