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  • Ouch

    Multicoloured Macbooks?

    By Ouch, in OSx86,

    Bored of Apple's bland ivory colour scheme, the new macbook may be just the Intel notebook your looking for:
     
    Source: The Register
     
    " Apple's upcoming Intel-based iBooks - now firmly believed to ship under the MacBook brand - may see the company once again offer the product in a range of coloured cases not seen now four more than four years.
     
    It's highly likely that the MacBook will debut in shiny white, but sources cited by AppleInsider suggest the machines may come in other hues too.
     
    Apple's flirtation with colour began in May 1998 when it launched the original iMac. At the time it was only available in blue and white, but the following January, Apple launched a range of colours, and subsequent versions of the all-in-one, CRT-equipped computer sported new shades, until Apple introduced the all-white LCD model in January 2002. "
     
    Full Story
  • Swad

    The (Virtual) Reality of VMware

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    This may just be the hype of a CEO, but the head of VMware says that the company is testing VMware for the Mac… and it’s done. At least in the labs. In an interview with USA Today, CEO Diane Greene had this to say:

    "We'd like to let anybody run any operating system (OS) on any machine," Greene says. "You'll be able to buy any application you want and not worry what OS it runs on."
     
    Apple's Boot Camp only takes that so far. It makes it easier to run Windows XP on a Mac, but you'd have to restart your computer to get from one to the other. There is software on the Web that can make a Mac run another OS, but it's difficult to use.
     
    Virtualization software tricks the computer into thinking each OS is the only one on the machine - so multiple operating systems can run simultaneously but not get in each others' way.
     
    VMware has plans to roll out virtualization for consumers over coming years. "We can run it on the Mac OS in our labs already," Greene says.
    This goes right along with previous rumors about VMware for Macs, although stating that they have it running in the lab doesn’t mean much at all.
     
    Will “VMware Mac Edition” be the next big topic in our Virtualization forum? Will you be waiting in line for your copy?
  • Swad

    MacBook On Its Way?

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    ThinkSecret is reporting that Apple should be releasing its “MacBook” – the replacement for the iBook – within one to two months. From the article,


    Apple has begun manufacturing its new MacBook and should have the laptop in consumer hands in the next 30-60 days, sources report. The MacBook—and it will indeed be called the MacBook, sources have confirmed, as Apple will be dropping the iBook moniker—is being built exclusively around a 13.3-inch widescreen display with a 1280x720 WXGA resolution, as previously reported.
     
    The MacBook will likely share internals with Apple's recently revamped Mac mini, meaning a Core Solo processor can be expected in the low-end and a Core Duo in the higher-end MacBook. In doing so, Apple will position the 13.3-inch MacBook as both an entry-level laptop and as a replacement for Apple's 12-inch PowerBook G4.
     
    Apple will discontinue the 14-inch iBook G4 immediately upon release of the MacBook but sources expect the company to continue to offer the 12-inch iBook G4 in limited quantities for a period of time.
     
    The article goes on to say that the 17” MacBook Pro (I’m a little sad that I’ll now have to tack on the Pro to specify which computer I mean) may be coming soon as well.


    Sources have added that a 17-inch MacBook Pro, being built by Quanta, could also arrive in tandem with the release of the MacBooks. The 17-inch model will pack a brighter display than its predecessor but specifics are not expected to diverge significantly from the high-end 15.4-inch MacBook pro.
  • Swad
    Has the day actually arrived? In all my recent geek letters to Santa, my computing wish list included running OS X (preferably on a fast RISC chip - we can dream, right?) while using Windows in a fully native virtualized environment. It appears that my wish is coming true (and proving that yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus).
     
    Talk about Parallels – the new “VMware for OS X” app – has been brewing for a few days but reached critical mass as our forum members have hammered out its benefits… and rough edges. (Don’t miss our upcoming article this weekend why you haven’t read about it on the blog yet! It’s a great, although highly annoying for the author, story about the woes of PC support.)
     
    According to the Parallels website,
     
    Parallels Workstation is a hardware emulation virtualization solution. This stable, trusted technology maps the host computer’s hardware resources directly to each virtual PC’s resources, allowing each virtual machine to operate identically to a stand-alone computer. Parallels Workstation’s sophisticated virtual machine engine enables each virtual machine to work with its own processor, RAM, floppy and CD drives, I/O devices, and hard disk – everything a physical computer contains.
     
    Parallels Workstation 2.0 is the first desktop virtualization solution to include a lightweight hypervisor, a mature technology originally developed in the 1960s to maximize the power of large mainframes. Hypervisor technology dramatically improves virtual machine stability, security and performance by using a thin layer of software, inserted between the machine’s hardware and the primary operating system, to directly control some of the host machine’s hardware profiles and resources. It not only makes Parallels Workstation-powered virtual machines secure, stable and efficient, but also empowers users to immediately realize the benefits associated with Intel VT hardware virtualization architecture.
     
    The only downsides? 1) It’s a beta and 2) the full version will set you back $49.99. The beta is free.
     
    Forum users who have been checking it out have said that the beta represents just about everything they’d ever wanted in a Mac – OS X with the option to run Windows in real time. There are still a few technical issues such as driver sluggishness and huge RAM usage, but reports are generally positive.
     
    So we have to ask – have we reached the best of both worlds? The ability to use Windows (generally believed to be the most annoying but universal OS) and OS X (generally believed to be unbelievable) at the same time represents a huge shift for the computing industry.
     
    On the one hand this development, when practical, means that there are no longer excuses for not buying a Mac on the grounds of compatibility. However, there is always the chance that software developers – most likely the small time shops – will finally be able to use the “Oh, Mac users can just use the Windows version virtually” excuse for ignoring Mac users.
     
    What say you? In the opinion of this writer, the days in which we’re living right now are the most formative the computing industry has seen since the 1980’s. The lines between PC and Mac were initially blurred with the Intel transition and have continued to disappear as the barriers to running both operating systems have disappeared. Did you ever think you'd see the Apple website stating "Windows running on a Mac is like Windows running on a PC?"
     
    What will be the historical shockwaves, if there are any, of these new announcements? Are we seeing the birth of the ultimate computer?
     
    [Digg it!]
  • Swad
    Apple today launched a shot across Microsoft’s bow with Boot Camp, the beta version of its solution to let Mac users boot Windows on their Macintels. While at first I thought I could see Steve Ballmer throwing a chair across the room at the news, I realized that with Apple’s semi-cozy relationship with Microsoft, this news isn’t likely to be a surprise to any of the major players. (There have been rumors in the past of a tacit OS agreement between the two companies) As Apple continues to regain market share against PCs, I doubt they want to risk an all-out war with Windows.
     
    But why should there be a conflict anyway? Microsoft ships more units of XP and, at some unforeseen date, Vista. Apple picks up new customers who would love to move a Mac but can’t leave Windows behind for various reasons. It seems like a win-win situation for all.
     
    Apple’s move also answers those who continue to ask why anyone would want Windows on their Mac. Why? Because it’s possible. Because, for the corporate environment, it makes business sense. And because now it’s simple.
     
    But there are larger implications for the announcement of Boot Camp. The largest is that it marks Apple’s first true strategic use of the switch to Intel. EFI was a smart move and the speed benefits are obviously nice, but the ability to dual boot Windows (and - likely - use it within OS X in Leopard via virtualization) is probably the trump card Apple was waiting to use. If they can get PC users to buy a Mac to use both operating systems, they’re betting that eventually those “switchers” will rely solely on OS X. But even if they don’t, another Mac has been sold.
     
    Should Microsoft be concerned? Maybe. But in the mean time, I have the feeling it’ll be a lot more acceptable to be toting a MacBook Pro around Redmond.
     
    [Digg it!].
  • Swad
    In what has to be one of the most earthshaking announcements the technology industry has seen in years, Apple today announced its Boot Camp system for dual booting OS X and Windows XP. From the Apple site:
     
    More and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include technology in the next major release of Mac OS X, Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP operating system on your Mac. Called Boot Camp (for now), you can download a public beta today.
     
    Boot Camp lets you install Windows XP without moving your Mac data, though you will need to bring your own copy to the table, as Apple Computer does not sell or support Microsoft Windows. Boot Camp will burn a CD of all the required drivers for Windows so you don't have to scrounge around the Internet looking for them.
     
    For your convenience, Boot Camp burns a CD with all the Mac-specific drivers for Windows:
     
    Graphics
    Networking
    Audio
    AirPort wireless
    Bluetooth
    The Eject key (on Apple keyboards)
    Brightness control for built-in displays
     
    This is obviously Apple's move to ensure that they maintain control over the booting environment of their computers and it shows that they are listening to the huge numbers that are asking for a simple dual boot solution.
     
    So check out the Boot Camp and let us know what you think in our dedicated Dual Booting forum! As always, our community is fast - don't miss the technical discussion going on here!
     
    EDIT: Here is Apple's FAQ for the beta of Boot Camp.
  • Metrogirl
    In today's Security Focus article by Mark Rasch, it is revealed that Takedown Notices served under the hated DMCA are increasingly being generated by automated systems, or "Lawyerbots".
     
    The article, although written in a light-hearted style, carries a sinister message. Lawyerbots abound. They trawl the internet on the behalf of copyright owners, searching for any potential infringement, and they issue Takedown Notices whenever they find one.
     
    The problems are obvious. They don't always get it right. They don't stop until the perceived infringement disappears (remember the Terminator?). If it comes back, so do they. They create all the correct legal language, complete with dire threats, which can prompt an ISP into taking action out of proportion to the real issue.
     
    The DMCA is very clear on Takedown Notices. The ISP has to notify the alleged content owner of the notice, and if no response is received by a certain time, the content must be removed. Some ISPs will remove the content immediately to avoid problems, awaiting a complaint or explanation from the person responsible. Suspending that person's account is common.
     
    Naturally, the Lawyerbots don't need wages, they don't get tired and they don't go home at night. It is trivial to set one up and sit back while it generates thousands of Takedown Notices.
     
    What usually happens when litigation is threatened by a big company in the US? Joe Public can't afford to pursue true justice, so he packs up and gives in to the lawyers. Once again innovation and creativity are stifled by a law which has gone way beyond its original intent.
     
    As for OSx86, you can be certain that Apple is not in the dark about Lawyerbot technology. To date their Takedown Notices have apparently originated from real men and women in real offices, but who can be certain?
  • Swad

    30 Years: A Retrospective Look

    By Swad, in OSx86,

    This weekend marks 30 years since the beginning of Apple's contribution to computing history... and what a contribution it has been. The impact of Apple's innovations has been treated by much more capable writers than I, but I think this weekend marks a good opportunity to look at what has changed in the past 30 years.
     
    I wasn't around to experience the thrill of early computing, although I did grow up playing action-packed monochrome spelling games on an Apple IIe. A visit to the British Science Museum in London helps us place these things in perspective, however - with an Apple I sitting a few feet away from the Babbage Differential Engine, it becomes clear that we are living in the formative age of computing.
     
    The community that this site is built on is a highly technical one; most of us are self proclaimed geeks and proud of it. Not only can we readily recite our high scores in the MMORPG of your choice, we can do it in binary.
     
    But are we truly better off than we were 30.1 years ago? I love my computers as much as the next person. I've built them, torn them apart, ruined them only to save them at the last moment. But it's a Faustian bargain - with the enjoyment of trying out the latest Linux distro comes the incessant barrage of emails from coworkers demanding my attention. At times exciting and annoying, it seems I am tied to my technology.
     
    Are we as a society better as a result of the PC? It's a question to consider. Two good opinions on the issue can be found in this Guardian article on the subject - they represent the Angels and Demons (not of the Dan Brown sort) on my shoulders.
     
    So Happy Birthday Apple! Thank you for your innovation and - more importantly - your infectious, innovative philosophy. Let's take this opportunity to ensure that we are responsible stewards of your creation.
     
    [Digg it!]
  • Deetman

    IRC is BACK!

    By Deetman, in OSx86,

    As many of you probably noticed, our IRC network has been down for approximately a week now and all of us here at the OSx86 Project truly apologize for this. However, we have taken this time to build a completely new, more robust network than we had before. Our network is now distributed across four servers and will include another shortly. As a result of this, our MacSpeak IRC network should never have any major downtime again.
     
    Please join us today to celebrate Apple's 30th anniversary on our new network! To connect, join irc.macspeak.net which will connect to one of our servers in the United States or Europe. (Thanks go to DrX from area86 for the Europe server). We look forward to chatting with you!
     
    - OSx86 Project Staff
  • Metrogirl

    Internet Jackass Day

    By Metrogirl, in OSx86,

    Internet Jackass Day
     
    April the 1st is almost upon us. This forum hasn't been around quite long enough to have experienced the lunacy that tends to go on on All Fools' Day, particularly on the internet. Yet.
     
    CNET News has a timely warning in today's article by Daniel Terdiman, detailing some of the more - and less - amusing goings on with the internet on this great day for jokers, pranksters and those with less benevolent motives. The author of Waxy.org, a popular technology culture blog, dubs it "Internet Jackass Day"
     
    It's all fun, of course, and most people can spot a spoof, but I'd like to add an extra note of caution which wasn't in the article. The malware authors, pharmers and phishers never miss any opportunity to catch more victims, and links to 'amusing spoof stories' will probably abound. Be extra vigilant in what you read tomorrow, and for the next few days, since propagation is not always instant.
     
    I'm sure none of our worthy members will be posting bogus stories here, will they? If you're tempted to post a spoof, you might want to stop to consider the impact on some of our newer users.
     
    BBC Stories Used as Bait.
     
    In another breaking story on CNET today, a concerted effort to exploit an unpatched Internet Explorer vulnerability using BBC News stories as an enticement to click on a link to a site dropping trojans or Phishing for personal information. Aren't you glad you're using Safari?
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