Stan's List

Mac users rarely backup, even if they have the ability. It stems from the supposed invulnerability of the Mac. What 8 year old PC could run Vista? Well, a such a Mac can run Mac OS X 10.5, and very well. MacNewsWorld takes a look at Time Capsule. Network backup is a convenient way to automatically accomplish back ups.

The problem with Time Machine is, that with daily back ups, a Terabyte or two would not be enough. Do you know that Carbon Copy Cloner includes the ability to sync to another hard drive?

Totally in response to the recent and damaging hacks, Macs do not look so expensive when compared to how little they are attacked. Also, the UNIX core makes it easier to lock the Mac down against attack. Thursby Software is developing software that will enable the Mac to use the security keycard-reading system known as Common Access Cards system, or CAC, used by the military. This would remove the main hurdle to Macs being a real alternative. More …

TrustedReviews tests whether the high price of original manufacture is justified by comparing the output from HP, Epson, Cannon and Lexmark, by comparing original manufacturer with third party ink and paper. Paper played an important part in the results. The article is in 12 parts, with multiple ways of going forward and back. More …

Wired News, in its Cult of Mac column, reports that the world may be noticing something most Mac users have realized for most of their Mac experience.. Wired has links to articles which show how sudden this change in opinion has been, under the following captions:

Macs will save you money
Macs are good for business
Less is more
Closed is good
Apple is the darling of Wall Street
Macs can run more applications
More …

I have sold 4 Macs over the last 15 years, always for more than it would cost for a new equivalent PC. All my Macs were “open”. MY first Mac, a IIsi, had a SE30 compatible bus slot in which I put a Applied Engineering FPU riser card that also had a right angle bus slot , to which was fitted a Micron 24 bit video card providing millions of colors long before that was popular (Sony 1304 25 dpi 24 inch monitor). I sold one of my children for scientific experiments. I was the first on my block to swap out the crystal to bump it to 25 MHz. Every Mac thereafter I modified. I could’ve run LinuxPPC, BeOS or Mac OS. Now you can run anything x86 on your Intel Mac, if not in a virtual environment. I have always bought 3rd-party hard drives, mice, and optical disc drives for a lot less. Now Intel Macs can swap almost anything.

Apple has released a patch to unlock the 802.11n features in it’s Core 2 Duo systems. Now all that high speed video streaming goodness can be yours…for a nominal $5 $2 fee. If you purchase a new Airport Extreme Base Station you will get the drivers thrown in for free, but if you want to use your own 802.11n router then you have to purchase the driver update from Apple.

Why do you need to pay for a driver to unlock a feature your wireless card already has? Apple says, “the company believes that if it sells a product, then later adds a feature to that product, it can be held liable for improper accounting if it recognizes revenue from the product at the time of sale, given that it hasn’t finished delivering the product at that point.”

I sure am glad Apple is so astute about its accounting practices.

Parallels Desktop 2.5 Build 3094 has been released, brining USB 2.0 support to the software for running Windows operating systems concurrently with Mac OS X.

The new release also improves “coherence” mode — functionality that allows users to run Windows applications in a manner that appears seamless — i.e. no Windows desktop is displayed, Windows apps reside in the Dock, etc. Improvements to this function include:

* Use Command+tab to cycle through Windows and Mac applications simultaneously, and ‘hide and show’ Windows applications just like you would with Mac applications
* View the Windows Command Console in Coherence mode
* Use Coherence in Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista!

Download

In an article entitled “Mistakes Made On The Road To Innovation,” BusinessWeek online cites Apple as the example of how to not to make them.

Apple Computer (AAPL ) shows how it’s done. Here’s a company that was trapped in an ever-dwindling niche of the PC business. Then came the iPod, a must-have device for music fans, and iTunes, an online music shop that turned music downloading into a profit-making business. By making iPod and iTunes work with Windows PCs, Apple broke out of selling only to its niche of loyal fans. But its transformation is even more profound than that: In essence, it switched from being a great designer of computer products into a great designer of consumer experiences delivered via devices and services. Now music represents 44% of Apple’s revenues, and an even larger share of profits. More …

A Star-Ledger articles asks “Where is the cheapest and safest place to purchase an Apple iPod nano?” and concludes “Buying any Apple product from the company’s own online store is the safest because it’s easier to make a return or get prompt help in case you happen to get a dud or maybe push the wrong button. More …

5 Tips For Getting The Best Deal on Apple Purchases

Apple Matters has some pointers for getting better deals on Apple hardware this holiday season. “The day after Thanksgiving Apple discounts everything they make for one entire day. More …

Consumer Reports writes in its latest piece that consumers will spend a mind-boggling $1.6 billion on extended warranties for portables, TVs and other consumer electronics and appliances. But the real story is that it’s the vendor or retailer that makes real money out of the warranties – up to 50% of the value of the warranty. More …

Ed Siebel, an attorney in private practice for 33 years in Newport Beach, CA, uses a Mac in his law practice because “…they just work.” According to Mr. Siebel in his Law.com article,

Since 1988, I’ve been using Apple Computer Inc.’s Macintosh computers. I’ve stayed with Macs for a single reason — they just work. Simply, consistently and at a high quality. They help me work solo or in a small office without worrying about my computer, essentially without the need for tech support. By and large, my Macintosh, like my telephone or desk lamp, is a reliable and unremarkable working tool. It’s just there and does its job. More …