MacBlogz - One Stop Apple News » Leopard

Snow Leopard to Feature Four Finger Gestures for Old MacBooks

Dave — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:26:01 +0000

A 9to5mac reader has noted that users of the older generation MacBooks and MacBook Pros will be able to make use of four finger gestures on the device’s trackpad.

This is said to be featured in the much anticipated release of Snow Leopard, where another 9to5 reader has made mention of a special version of Flash, and notes that not everything is currently 64-bit. The reader states:

“Well, i downloaded it (torrent), and it didn’t contain any malware. It gives you 4 finger multitouch for the older mbp’s early 2008, even though i hacked it in leopard. It also contains flash out of the box, pretty nice i guess, finder isn’t very stable, half the preference panes are still in 32 bit, furthermore not all the applications are in 64-bit yet. Also, updating it in snow leopard doesn’t seem to do anything because it didn’t start downloading the latest version. Furthermore the theme is changed very slightly, and that’s mostly it. It’s also faster than leopard if, but will be even faster since not everything is 64bit yet, and can take advantage of that.”

In case you missed it, a few builds of Snow Leopard had leaked onto a few torrent sites a while back.

Windows XP Downgrade Costs $21 More Than New Copy of Leopard

Aviv — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:17:05 +0000

Since the introduction of Windows Vista, Dell has been offering a downgrade option to Windows XP for its customers. The deadline for the downgrade option has been extended twice, and at this point costs more than a brand new copy of OS X Leopard.

Tgdaily points out that the Windows XP downgrade option is listed on Dell’s website with the Inspiron 1525 notebook and 530 desktops with a $150 price-tag. Dell however, did not hike up the downgrade option pricing on its Vostro desktops and notebooks. The price for the XP downgrade on those was raised in October and remains at $99.

Analysts are unable to determine whether this shows a declining or increasing demand for the operating system. Some believe that netbook demand (sub-$500, Linux based notebook) has taken the load off of downgraded PC options with Windows XP. According to Devil Mountain Software, a market research firm that collects “real-world” metrics from Windows computers, nearly one third (35%) of PC users that purchased a PC between February and August 2008, downgraded to Windows XP from Windows Vista.

Perhaps most interesting is that Apple sells brand new versions of Mac OS X Leopard for $129 (single user – family pack is $199). If you’re in a tax-free state like Oregon, that’s exactly $21 less than Dell’s Windows XP downgrade option. And even with all of the negative press surrounding Microsoft and its less-than-capable operating system, Dell continues to ship machines with Vista pre-installed, while charging customers for a Windows XP downgrade.

Microsoft is promising a lot with Windows 7, and the industry is waiting anxiously for anything to move it along after Vista. They are keeping strong with the focus of being fully compatible with as many existing device drivers, applications, and hardware configurations as possible. Unfortunately, early developer builds and statements from Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer himself lead us to believe Windows 7 may just be more of the same.

As Apple remains focused on delivering an increasingly refined version of OS X with Snow Leopard, healthy competition between the two operating systems has been rather difficult given Vista’s failures. For the sake of the industry, let’s hope Microsoft delivers something heavy with Windows 7.

Apple Moves to Dismiss Psystar Counterclaim

Dave — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:47:25 +0000

In accordance with yesterday’s deadline, Apple has filed a 23 page motion to dismiss Mac clone maker Psystar’s counterclaim instead of filing a response.

Along with yesterday’s motion to dismiss Psystar’s counterclaim, Apple had also filed a request for Judicial Notice with Exhibits. It is speculated that these Exhibits will be riddled with copies of case law in their favor, or possibly affidavits from industry veterans.

Apple’s End User License Agreement states that the Mac OS can only be used in Apple branded hardware, a violation breached by Psystar who had been advertising a $400 PC that shipped with Leopard installed. Back in July, Apple had brought the Miami-based company to suit for trademark and copyright infringement, which Psystar had subsequently countered accusing Apple of violating anti-trust laws.

Psystar, who has retained the services of law firm Carr & Ferrell, had made the claim that that Apple illegally “destroys” competition, violated Sherman antitrust rules and other U.S. laws, as well as bricking Mac Clones. Psystar had argued in official court documents that state:

“The countersuit is in response to a copyright lawsuit that Apple filed against Psystar in July. Psystar sells low-cost knock offs of Apple’s pricey Macs—including models that run the glitzy new OS X 10.5 “Leopard” operating system. Apple, in its original complaint, claimed that the clones violate its copyrights over the Mac OS and asked the court to order Psystar to discontinue sales.

“The Mac OS and Windows operating system are not merely different operating systems with no interchangeability but cultural icons representative of different lifestyles, markets, and that the computing devices of each environment are used for wholly different audiences.”

MacBlogz had previously spoken with an Intellectual Properties Attorney who had provided some detail for the fine print of Apple End User License Agreement which ships with every copy of Mac OS X that is sold.

[9 to 5 via World of Apple]

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.5.5; Bug Fixes Galore

Dave — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:46:18 +0000

Apple on Monday has officially released Mac OS X 10.5.5 to Leopard users, a recommended update that addresses over 100 bug fixes and numerous security improvements.

The 321MB update is available through your Mac OS X Software Update and addresses issues concerning Address Book, Disk Utility, iCal, Mail, MobileMe, and Time Machine. Some general details of the update include:

• Includes recent Apple security updates.
• Addresses stability issues with video playback, processor core idling, and remote disc sharing for MacBook Air.
• Addresses an issue in which some Macs could unexpectedly power on at the same time each day.
• Resolves a stability issue in TextEdit that could be found when accessing the color palette.
• Improves Spotlight indexing performance.
• Fixes an issue in which contacts might not sync properly with PalmOS-based devices.
• Improves iPhone sync reliability with iCal and Address Book.
• Includes improvements to Active Directory (see this article for more information).
• Improves Speech Dictionary.
• Fixes Kerberos authentication issues for Mac OS X 10.5 clients that connect to certain Samba servers, such as Mac OS X Server version 10.4.
• Includes extensive graphics enhancements.

More specific information about the update can be seen here as well as security changes here.

Snow Leopard Breakdown

Dave — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:06:39 +0000

While the 3G iPhone seems to be making the majority of the headlines, a rather tasty little nugget of informations seems to be looming along the sidelines. Apple has officially announced that Snow Leopard Server, the next-gen Mac OS X server, will be delivering software technologies to better connect business and well as unleashing the power of multi-core hardware. The forthcoming release, v.10.6, is taking a different approach, focusing on performance over features. It will provide “a new generation of core software technologies that will streamline Mac OS X, enhance its performance, and set new standards for quality”, says Apple.

Apple Insider reveals that “Like its Mac OS X Snow Leopard client cousin, the new version of Server will deliver support for multicore processors with “Grand Central,” a new set of built-in technologies that makes all of Mac OS X Server multicore aware and optimized for allocating tasks across Macs that ship with multiple cores and processors. Similarly, the software will also use 64-bit kernel technology to support up to a theoretical 16 terabytes of RAM — or 500 times what is possible today — and leverage OpenCL to allow any application to tap into the vast gigaflops of GPU computing power previously available only to graphics applications.”

Snow leopard will also feature iCal 2 Server, “a new version of the open standards-based calendaring and scheduling service that will include group and shared calendars, push notifications, the ability to send email invitations to non-iCal Server users, and a browser-based application that lets users access their calendars on the web when they’re away from their Mac.”

Businesses will now benefit from from Collaboration and Remote Access with the power of group collaboration through wiki, blogs, mailing lists and RSS feeds. Also introduced is My Page, giving users a “convenient place to access their web applications, receive notifications, and view activity streams.”

Additionally, new Address Book and Mail Services will enhance the user experience.

My Take: I think that all of the hype over the iPhone 2.0 has greatly overshadowed how powerful an upgrade Snow Leopard will be. Focusing on unleashing the true power of an expensive machine like the Mac Pro will undoubtedly be received in high regard from professional users. While many of these features, I must say, will go unused be me, just knowing that my Mac Pro will finally be able to reach its potential will help me sleep at night.

“Snow Leopard” chosen as big-cat for Mac OS X 10.6. Lion lovers have to wait.

Aviv — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:17:38 +0000

According to recent reports, Apple’s next major operating system (Mac OS X 10.6) will be called “Snow Leopard” and will drop Power PC support as Apple furthers their stake in Intel. TUAW has already grinded out some pretty major details such as a MacWorld (January 2009) release date.

Ars Technica also confirms the expected release date of January 2009.
Ars reports that:

“Snow Leopard is currently on track to come out during next January’s Macworld, and it will not contain major OS changes. Instead, the release is heavily focused on performance and nailing down speed and stability.”

“Something else that may happen is that Apple may eventually wrap everything in Cocoa—things that are currently only Carbon accessible will be no longer. This (which is reportedly not yet in stone) should make many Objective-C programmers happy, although those who are married to Carbon may get a bit bristly at the news. (Note: There may be some disagreement here as to what exactly “Cocoa-only” means, so take that into account when thinking about this. For example, Apple may only axe Carbon UI stuff.) Of course, it seems like 10.6 is all about making graybeards bristly, as PowerPC users will soon be left out in the cold too.”

We posted yesterday about rumors claiming that Apple may begin seeding Mac OS X 10.6 next week at WWDC. Either way, MacBlogz is eagerly waiting for Mac OS X 10.6, whether it be called “Snow Leopard, Lion or Cougar”.

[updates] Until Apple confirms anything, “rumors” will be just that. Nobody from Apple has commented in regards to “Snow Leopard.” People close to the situation may have indeed reported information they know (or have been told), yet this still remains entirely unconfirmed. (Snow Leopard could very well be an internal codename being used during the development stages)

The History of MAC OS X.
Date Released	Version #	Big Cat Name	Full Apple Operating System Release Name
6 officially released versions so far
March 24, 2001	10.0	Cheetah	Mac OS X version 10.0 Cheetah
September 25, 2001	10.1	Puma	Mac OS X version 10.1 Puma
August 23, 2002	10.2	Jaguar	Mac OS X version 10.2 Jaguar
October 24, 2003	10.3	Panther	Mac OS X version 10.3 Panther
April 29, 2005	10.4	Tiger	Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger
October 26, 2007	10.5	Leopard	Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard – current
January 2009?	10.6	Snow Leopard?	Mac OS X version 10.6 Snow Leopard?

Mac OS X 10.6 to be seeded next week ? Released January 2009 ?

Aviv — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:35:46 +0000

Following rumors that Apple will be releasing Mac OS X 10.6 later this year, recent reports have trickled in stating that an early build of OS X 10.6 will be seeded to developers next week at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference.

Although Leopard was a smash success, hype has already begun for Apple’s next major operating system release. TUAW believes that Mac OS X 10.6 will ship in January 2009, roughly 15 months after Leopard’s release in October 2007. In the past, Steve jobs has commented about how pleased he is with Apple’s long standing ability to stay on a 12-18 month releasing schedule for its major operating systems.

Current Mac users are urged to be using Leopard build 10.5.3, which is the latest stable and secure update issued by Apple. Recent reports by our neighbors Apple Insider claim that Apple is set to serve up the first builds of Mac OS X 10.5.4.

We’ve recently written a post (in good humor) about how it was time to get excited for OS X 10.6. Guess we weren’t too far from the truth.

If you have a moment, vote below.

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The History of MAC OS X.
Date Released	Version #	Big Cat Name	Full Apple Operating System Release Name
6 officially released versions so far
March 24, 2001	10.0	Cheetah	Mac OS X version 10.0 Cheetah
September 25, 2001	10.1	Puma	Mac OS X version 10.1 Puma
August 23, 2002	10.2	Jaguar	Mac OS X version 10.2 Jaguar
October 24, 2003	10.3	Panther	Mac OS X version 10.3 Panther
April 29, 2005	10.4	Tiger	Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger
October 26, 2007	10.5	Leopard	Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard – current
January 2009?	10.6	Lion? Cougar?	Mac OS X version 10.6 Lion? Cougar?

Mac malware a good thing?

Dave — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:06:08 +0000

Malware target at Macs as opposed to the more conventionally threatened Windows-based PCs, can now be seen in a positive light, that is at least in Apple’s eyes.

The mere fact that cybercriminals are beginning to focus more attention on the Mac OS can be a sure fire sign of its industry success. The ever growing popularity of Macs has led to worthwhile supply of victims from which criminals can now see fit to target.

Analyst Mike Davis of Ovum states, “It is a simple truth that the bigger a dartboard the more people that are likely to throw darts at it and by implication hit it. The fact that OS X is now on the radar of both the security vendors and the bad guys indicates that the OS has become a ‘worthy’ target.”

This comes in direct correlation to Apple’s recent 10.5.3 update, which addressed some rather major security flaws. While Apple still holds a rather meager 7.8% of the global operating system market, a rapidly growing user base will surely stir up more interest among the seedy under-belly of the internet community.

Mac Users Urged to Apply Fix

Dave — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:00:44 +0000

Security experts have issued some strong encouragement to install the Mac OS 10.5.3 update, as it may be critical for protective measures. Graham Cluely, Senior Technology consultant for Sophos has stated, “Even if you have been keeping up to date with the latest patches on your Apple Mac, this update to Mac OS X 10.5.3 can still mean an eye-watering 420MB download per computer… however, businesses and home users would be wise to upgrade their Mac systems to avoid leaving themselves open to potential hack attacks in the future.”

While Macs have not been typically subjected to cybercrime, there have been some recent pieces of malware written for the Mac OS. To save your self time and frustration, I would highly suggest taking a moment to update.

Fall in love with your menubar.

Aviv — Fri, 23 May 2008 06:24:16 +0000

Apple’s Leopard operating system is one of the best operating systems in the world, if not the single best. However, it’s not perfect, there are still some things left to be desired. For me personally, it’s the lack of customization in the menubar. I hate a cluttered dock, but I don’t want to add a new dock icon in order to organize my other dock icons. I would just create a stack for that. But, none of these solutions are really perfect. Nor do they offer a unique solution, or increase productivity within my work-flow.

In case you haven’t seen this little webpage. Super OS X menubar items is a catalog of small, specific applications that allow you to fully utilize your menubar to its full potential. Some of the applications are completely free, while others may offer a free demo and a fee to use.

This is a roundup of all the many applications you can find at the Super OS X page.

An application that I personally love to use is called TigerLaunch, and its absolutely free for everyone. TigerLaunch inserts a little paw icon into your menu bar and allows you to access and launch applications directly from within your menubar.

This is what TigerLaunch looks like when its active inside your menubar.

Yes, I know the name TigerLaunch is a little old. So just pretend its called LeopardLaunch. This is a wonderful application for anyone who loves organization and needs to clean up their dock a bit. If you are not in need of TigerLaunch, head on over here, you’re bound to find something you didn’t know existed, or something to massively increase the convenience of your work-flow.