Stan's List

Microsoft Watch reports: Windows laptops are losing luster, as Mac notebooks make surprising gains. Netbooks will help reverse the trend, but too few ultraportables run Windows Vista. For now.

Then there is the question of Apple. Netbooks are but one new entrant in the low-cost laptop category. It’s the broader category, with its sub-$700 ASPs, that should concern Apple. Meantime, Apple has got bite, given its 35 percent dollar share at retail. But Microsoft is biting back. It will be interesting to see how Microsoft’s ‘I’m a PC’ commercials will affect Mac sales.

On the heals of 3.0.2, Mozilla has another update, which addresses a serious problem

What’s New in Firefox 3.0.3

Firefox 3.0.3 contains the following changes:

* Fixed a problem where users were unable to retrieve saved passwords or save new passwords (bug 454708)

Java for Mac OS X 10.4, Release 7 delivers improved reliability and compatibility for Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 and Java 1.4 on Mac OS X 10.4.11 and later. This release updates J2SE 5.0 to version 1.5.0_16 and Java 1.4 to version 1.4.2_18.

Learn more about this update here.

Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 2 delivers improved reliability and compatibility for Java SE 6, J2SE 5.0 and J2SE 1.4.2 on Mac OS X 10.5.4 and later. This release updates Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_07, J2SE 5.0 to version 1.5.0_16, and J2SE 1.4.2 to 1.4.2_18.

For more details on this update, please visit this website:

Firefox 3.0.2 addresses a number of security and stability issues

* Fixed several security issues.
* Fixed several stability issues.
* Official releases for Sinhala and Slovene are now available.
* Beta releases for Bengali, Galician, Hindi, Icelandic, Kannada, Marathi, Telegu, and Thai are available for testing.
* Fixed a number of minor issues with the layout of certain web pages.
* Fixed several theme issues that affected right-to-left locales.
* Fixed issue that caused some users with customized toolbars to have their Back and Forward buttons go missing (bug 426026)
* Add new Extended Validation (EV) roots to Firefox 3.0.2.
* On certain IDN sites, the password manager would not fill in username and password details properly.
* Fixed several hangs and crashes that occurred when using screen readers.
* Fixed Mac-specific issues.

Mac Spectrum has a good article on when you should consider moving to Leopard. Consideration must be given to hardware, but features, especially when Tiger reach, with 10.4.11, and a considerable level of stability. Tiger and Leopard are run side by side as the hardware requires it. A good read for anyone able to run either, or contemplating upgrading hardware.

In the week since Apple and NBC agreed to a new contract, NBC experienced 1 million iTunes downloads and a 30% share of the top episodes, including the “Saturday Night Live” spoof of Sarah Palin, the most watched episode ever, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Today Apple announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange program. Apple has determined that under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock. We have received reports of detached blades involving a very small percentage of the adapters sold, but no injuries have been reported.
The ultracompact USB power adapters were supplied with every iPhone 3G sold in the following countries, and may also have been purchased separately as an accessory:
* US
* Japan
* Canada
* Mexico
* Several Latin American countries

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, …) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols, and more

Changes between 0.9.1 and 0.9.2
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* Restored the old behavior of –sout-keep. It is now de-activated by default.
* Skins2 interface repaired on Windows.
* Multiple bugfixes.

changes from previous versions:

Note: There is already listed changes between 0.9.2 and 1.0.

What Apple Remote Desktop 3.2.2 Client includes:

* Improves reliability of the Copy Items command.
* Upgrade Client Software command now uses unicast packets for improved reliability on certain networks.
* Fixes to the “Force Quit All Applications” and “Copy Items to Computer Automator” actions.