Stan's List

Release notes state that this update contains the following enhancements:

* Improvements to product stability
* Added changes for Frisian locale (fy-NL)
* Several security fixes

mozilla.org also offers the following notes about potential problems with extensions and themes after applying this update:

* If after you run the Firefox 1.5.0.5 installer, the extension compatibility and update wizard does not appear, go to the Extension Manager and manually check for updates.
* If the Extension Compatibility and Update wizard downloads and installs extension updates but those updates are not applied, open the Extension Manager and manually check for updates.
* On Intel-based Macintosh computers, PowerPC-only binary extensions do not work unless users upgrade to an Intel-native or Universal version or turn on Rosetta. To turn on Rosetta, click on the Firefox icon, click “Get Info” and then check the “Run Under Rosetta” box.

The new release is available as a 16.1 MB standalone download.

In a Chicago Tribune article on faulty iPods, an Apple spokeswoman said that failure rates for the device are low, and that an iPod is designed to last four years. Apple’s Natalie Kerris said iPods have a failure rate of less than 5%, which she said is “fairly low” compared with other electronics. “The vast majority of our customers are extremely happy with their iPods,” she said. Rob Enderle, analyst at the Enderle Group, estimates that 15% of iPods will fail within one year of purchase. He said that’s comparable to other gadgets, such as cell phones. The Tribune article also cites a 2005 survey by MacInTouch, which includes reports from more than 4,000 respondents. The survey found that of the 9,000 iPods owned by the respondents, more than 1,400 of the Apple devices had failed. The survey reported a total failure rate of 13.7%, about half battery related and half hard drive related. More …

Single of the Week

Fink’s history is deep in electronic music, but he’s delved further into his own musicianship than ever before to produce a folky, acoustic and intimate sound. Our Single of the Week is the UK singer-songwriter’s sexy, simple heartbeat of a song, describing one man’s complimentary notice of a woman, Pretty Little Thing.

Discovery Download

With Deep Cuts, The Knife showed that they could do near-perfect electro-pop (need we remind you of the tune Heartbeats?). Now, as our Discovery Download track proves, the Swedish subversives can do corrosive, icy-white electro-freakiness just as well. Want to turn the dance floor upside down? Then throw on this twisted theatrical gem—We Share Our Mother’s Health.

Apple today announced its wireless Mighty Mouse. The buttons aren’t new, but the lack of wire is.

Four buttons. Or one. Your choice. Might Mouse (v. 2.0) is a claimed “20 times more sensitive than standard optical mice for better tracking on even more surfaces,” according to Apple. It employs Bluetooth 2.0 for wireless connectivity.

Mighty Mouse II takes either 1 or 2 AA batteries (auto switch off when not in use) and it can be used to launch OS X utilities like Exposé for quick access to all open windows. Or launch Spotlight or Dashboard or any application without taking your hand off the mouse.

The suggested retail price for Mighty Mouse is $69,

The only graphics company to build third party graphics cards for the Mac, ATI Technologies, is being bought by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for $5.4 billion, according to CNet.

What will this mean for the Mac?

Calling the school a low decile primary school in Aukland, New Zealand, OneNews reported that the school won the Judge’s Prize at the Computerworld Excellence Awards. What did they do? They have been making podcasts and have made them available on Apple’s iTunes Music Store, gaining an international audience. According to the article, making podcasts has transformed the students’ learning. More …

According to the Wall Street Journal, JupiterResearch surveyed technology decision makers at 258 medium and large businesses and projected that 33 percent would be running Macs next year, while only 21 percent were doing so now. More …

Apple has now officially posted a support document indicating that users noticing discoloration with their 13 inch white MacBook should contact AppleCare for service.

With BootCD not yet compatible with Tiger, tuaw.com has an article on how to create a bootable Apple Software Restore (asr) DVD. More …

Jupiter Research Analyst Weblog: Michael Gartenberg: First, this is an acknowledgement that Microsoft is clearly not happy with Apple’s dominance in digital music. I don’t think it is concern about new growth scenarios. It’s more a concern that Apple controls a key endpoint in the digital home and that Apple bits flow only to other Apple controlled bits or devices. More …