Apple Mac MINI! DEAD-OR-ALIVE?

I have been thinking about buying another Mac MINI and set it up as my 'Media Center" in my Home office and I was waiting for the release of the 'new' Mac MINI. As soon I decided to get the machine, new rumors surfaced that Apple is about to discontinue Mac MINI (and shoot itself in the foot). This could be a grave mistake on the Apple's part! Why? Well, Mac MINI has been single handedly responsible for the renewed interest in the Macintosh line of computers in general and specifically the sales of all in one iMac. It all started with release of Apple iPod, of course, and then came Mac MINI - the first Apple low priced Mac ever. A large percentage of iPod owners decided they will have the low priced Mac as the perfect companion to their iPod. Most of these Mac MINI Owners have gone to upgrade their systems to iMac and or completely switched to Apple systems. So, in my judgement, discontinuing the Mac MINI will be a gargantuan mistake and Apple will suffer the consequences of it very quickly. Unless Apple has a replacement for MINI in the similar price bracket, otherwise they should keep MINI around. I guess I will wait for another week or two and then buy the existing one. Will let you know again. What do you know about this? Do you own a MINI? Did you switching to iMac because if your MINI?

Google - Microsoft - Yahoo Code of Conduct!

Google - MSFT - Yahoo have brought down their new "Code of Conduct Commandments" from the Mountain (Written on stone, no doubt) for operating in China! Is this not too little - damn too late? After all the cooperation that they all have offered to the RED COMMUNIST CHINESE government to track down normal people and collect information on them! Here they are - all three of them - talking about Code of Conduct for operating in China? Damn too late in my book. Do no Evil? Yea - right!

Google Adds KILL SWITCH to Android!

The nerve of these damn people! Unbelievable! Google included 'Kill Switch' in Android so they can kill Apps remotely on 'YOUR' phone! Just like Apple's remote erase switch! We pay for the Phone & rightly so we expect to be totally in control of our property and they control it remotely and at their discretion? What makes Google and Apple to be in charge of our property that we paid for? How can this be justified? We should never buy and item that we will not have total control of it. This is disgusting! We DESU Apple iPhone and Google Android totally!

Microsoft Office:mac 2008 and 2004 Updates

MSFT released security update for Office 2008 & 2004. So if you use any, then update. 2008 version weights at 154MB opening to 450MB! Why MSFT released Office:mac 2008 update of 12.1.13 (154MB) for manual update? If you check for updates thru Apps, you get no updates! This sounds very suspicious to me! Why would Microsoft do that? Why not make it available thru the normal update system? Does any of you know anything about this? Please let me know.

Microsoft to Introduce New Windows STRATA

Windows Strata is the name that could describes the new version of Windows to be released soon! Strata will be Core OS - Mesh as Application Control Layer? Microsoft? What will be the GUI? Will Mesh be also used as the MMI and GUI? Will Microsoft get a lesson from Apple and Create a great GUI like AQUA and run it over the STRATA? Remains to be seen. What have you heard? Share with the rest of us.

Apple sending out invitation for 14 Oct!

It is confirmed now! Apple is sending invitation for a "town hall meeting" in SF on 14 Oct for the release of the new Macbook and MacBook Pro notebooks! Looking at how long ago the MacBook and MacBook Pro were introduced, its about time! This will boost Apple's over sales high. Talk about waiting for the last min! Now what do we do? Buy a new set of MacBook Pros? hmmm! LOL! I guess so! How about you? Are you going to get a brand new MacBook or even a Pro? Are you due for an upgrade? Sound off!

Air Force Will Fight Online, Without Cyber Command!

USAF Cyber Command forming a force that will wage war online! It's about time! The Red Communist China has such force for 15 years. It is widely known that the Red Communist Chinese has been using Cyber Warfare against US-Canada and a select list of European Countries including Russia) 24/7. So this is great news that USAF is taking these matters very seriously and is planing to counter it with force. Every country on that list, should join and help USAF Cyber Counter Intelligence efforts to stop the RED communist Chinese menace and their illegal intrusions in to our lives! Go USAF!

SKYPE IS DIRECTLY HEPING CHINA EAVESDROP AND SPY!

After Yahoo and Google helping China Spy, now Skype admits helping China spy on the calls to and from China via Skype! Do no Evil? My AZZ! This is disgusting to me, but what do you think about this? How do you feel about Skype knowing that they help China spy? If they help China to spy why not other countries? Now we know, even Skype with all the encryption build in their system, are EVIL too.

AMD chips in Apple systems?

Does Apple has a exclusive deal with INTEL? If not, will Apple ever use AMD CPU and Chipsets in their upcoming systems? This will be so great, since Intel has to compete with AMD and traditionally Intel has to follow the AND trend, since they always cut the price and consequently Apple systems will be more affordable and they will hopefully sale more! What do you think, will they ever take this step? Will Intel allow this? I, for one, love to see this. What do you think? will you buy a MBP with AMD chip inside?

Microsoft is eying the Open Document format!

Will Open Document Format be taken over Microsoft. What is the strategy? Remember, MSFT just gave away Open Office Document format! What is the strategy? Will MSFT give away the Office Open XML Document format to open source and now they are eyeing this up and coming standard? Are they going to corner the market again and start using the Open Document format as the primary format for Office? Hmmm! As Mr. Spoke says: "The possibilities are endless!

ClickJacking - The Web Strikes Back!

After finding out about the huge hole in TCP that can sink any server with a rather low bandwidth with no need for Bot Fleets, now we hear about ClickJacking! A new attack that 'ALL' Browsers are vulnerable to! So, it makes absolutely no difference, which browser you are using. If yo get hit by ClickJacking - you won't survive, regardless of what server you were using at the time!

Simply put, ClickJacking is: "The basic description of the attack is that it allows the attack to trick the user into clicking on something other than what they thought they were clicking on. The two researchers who discovered the technique say that it "...gives an attacker the ability to trick a user into clicking on something only barely or momentarily noticeable." This click could be the gateway to many other kinds of exploits on your system." When you hear all this about the web, don't you feel sick? Don't you want to stop surfing? May be this is the ultimate goal of these people! To stop you being on the net - learn and fin out about the things that 'they' cannot hide for you anymore! Could this be the ultimate goal? Web certainly creates a lot of headaches for those that run the whole show behind the closed doors - faceless - nationless people that run our lives for us. Now we have tools that we can track them and find out instantly what they are up to and this by no means is acceptable to them! May be they want to corrupt the well and stop us all from come to web and find out what they are up to! The thought is plausible! Think about it! What do you think? Plausible or Conspiracy Theory?

Recived an Acer Aspire 5050 laptop

Well I guess this is the good luck week, knock on wood. Someone gave me an Acer Aspire 5050, which I promptly accepted, Since I don't have a small Dev machine running on WinXp Sp-3. My Laptop is Vaio that runs Vista Ultimate + Visual Studio 2008 Team and a bunch of other 2007 based apps. Sot this small dual core machine is a blessing for me, since I can run Windows XP-SP3 and Visual Studio 2005 Pro with the older version of Office 2003 on this machine. A nice addition to my bag-o-tricks! LOL!

Bought an iPod Touch 2.0 - 32GB model

Got an Apple iPod Touch 2.0 yesterday. Got 32GB version & it is nice! Not just an iPod-a net device! Sync nicely with my MobileME. Email and everything that you can think that you need on the net! The interface is well thought of - intuitive and fast! Apple's Man-Machine-Interface always has been great and they have maintained that tradition in iPod Touch as well. Now it's time to move some music in to this apparatus and find out how much better it is than my version 5.5 iPod 80GB. How do you like the audio quality of the new Version 2.0 as oppose to the previous one? Are they the same? Your comments, please.

Apple's teflon Halo protects it for ANYTHING?

Apple's 10.5.5 is giving headaches to some. Adobe Printing - Elgato Video rendering, et-al. We hear nothin!! Must be the teflon halo! Nothing seems to stick to it, even when Apple is totally in the wrong. If Microsoft did this, we would all scream for the head of those responsible! Won't we? I use Mac and PCs at work and at home. I develop for both platforms, so I am not biased! But we all treat Apple like it can't do any wrong and Microsoft totally as opposite! What do you think? Do you do that too? Do you hate Microsoft windows Vista and you have never every see it or run it? Do ya? Don't we all? Unfair? Yes - but reality of life.

NebuAd mess is really hitting the fan!

Well NebuAd mess is really hitting the fan now. To the point that the ISPs are calling "opt-in" Targeting Ad! When will they learn? I am really - when will they learn that they cannot force consumers to watch ads and worse than that, if they are able to force us, who would really appreciate what they are trying to sell us - much less than buying it! Why are the marketing and advertising companies that work on the net so dumb! Most of us are sophisticated enough to know if we are being ad-fed (what NebuAd tried to do in UK) and if it is forced upon us, then it is guaranteed that we won't buy, even tho the product might have been good! DuH! This the same stupid disease that the Spammer are suffering from! Change your ways guys - Forget about Ad-feeding us and definitely stop forcing the spam and ads on us! You might even be able to make money the right way! Do you feel the same way? Would you buy the product that <b><u>they forced its advertising</u></b> on you?

Ecto to WordPress Blog Page

Well, I am testing the Ecto as a tool too post blogs to my brand new WordPress site. I really like Ecto! If you have a Mac and you Blog, then I recommend it highly. Check it out.

The new MSFT's Ads: "I am a PC"

I just saw the new ad campaign from MSFT and it looked good! at least much better than the Seinfeld, by far! Well it seems that MSFT is regaining back it's spirit and wants to fight! Imagine if this monster with all it's money wakes up! It will kick azz so so bad! I use Macs and PCs for my work as well as personal usage. SO I am not biased to wards or another one. But it's time for Microsoft to come out swinging. What do you think? Do you like Microsoft to get a bit harder on it;s competitors? Like it used to be, or do you like the newer "gentler" Microsoft? Personally, I can't stand the new gentler Microsoft! It is like the old USSR. MSFT is bid - rough and tumble, with a lot of money and large enough boot that can kick any competitor's azz! But this is only my idea. What do you thing? Speak up!

Been away!

Hello, My Blog! I have been away far too long! But we started this new Project and it has been taking all my time. But this weekened I have a few new Blog entires that I will be publishing. Not to worry!

Building a L.A.M.P. Server on OS X framework - PART 1

For my L.A.M.P. project, running on an older machine and acting as a test server I was going to use an old Macintosh G4 (the Original Graphite), but decided against it. Why? Seems that a 512MB - G4 running at 400MHz machine might not be enough to do the job. So, I selected an iBook G4 (1GHz with 1.2GB of RAM), 14.1” screen. This also gives me the ability of taking my test server with me if I want to work on the road.

I will be downloading and installing the following software, which are freeware for the most part. There are many sites that actually have step-by-step instruction and how-tos that cover every aspect of the operation. L.A.M.P. stands for Linux – Apache – MySQL and PHP. This L.A.M.P. in reality will be an O.A.M.P., since I replaced the Linux with OS X. So here is a list of server software that is needed to setup a functioning L.A.M.P. Server:

1. Operating system: I chose Apple Mac Server Tiger (10.4.11) as the operating system of my new L.A.M.P. machine. I was going to use the Leopard server (10.5.4), but then I decided against it. The tiger version already is a strain on this hardware

2. MySQL: I downloaded the MySQL server from their site directly. I chose the version 4.1 that is used very widely because of its stability and bug fixes. As it is with the most UNIX and Linux program that you download, you have to recompile the whole thing locally and it is highly suggested that you compile the whole thing on the same machine that you want to run it on. I was thinking to compile the whole thing under my newer and faster Mac. But no cigar – must be compiled on target machine. This will be an overnight job. So tonight before I go to bed, I will setup the little iBook to compile the whole big-bad-wolf MySQL (poor iBook, talk about torture!).

3. Apache 2.2: This is an adventure by itself. Apple ships OS X server with the Apache 1.3. I am planning to use Apache 2.2+ in my L.A.M.P. But this is more complicated than it seems, since they suggest that you remove the older version first and then download and recompile the newer one. I am looking forward to this, since I have never removed Apache server in its entirety.

Here was what has been done up to now. In part two, I will go thru the details of installing and configuring the MySQL server.

How to save iPhone battery

How to save iPhone battery and make iPhone less functional than a Razr:

1. Turn off Push Mail!

The most important selling pitch that Apple made to the IT community was the fact that the new iPhone 3G and the new version of iPhone Firmware will bring Push Mail to the table. Now they suggest switching it off to save battery? Makes no sense to me, since if you turn off that feature, then how would a Server push email to that device! Hmmm! Strike one…

2. Minimize the use of 3^rd party Applications!

The second exciting feature in iPhone is the fact that Apple opened it up for the developers to build applications so we can easily download them via the AppStore, which in it’s own right is another exciting feature of the new iPhone 3G. Here they are now suggesting that we should not use this feature that we were so excited about was so exciting about. Hmmm! Strike two…

3. Turn Off 3G!

Another huge improvement over the original iPhone has been the addition of High-speed 3G systems. Faster Data – Video – and MMS (oops I forgot that iPhone has no video or MMS! LOL! Forgive me), suffice to say that 3G does all that much faster. Here they are now suggesting that the owners of the new iPhone 3G could turn this important function off to save battery? Hmmm! Strike three…

4. Minimize the use of Location services!

Yet another important functionality of iPhone is under attack for the sake of saving battery. GPS and Maps and location services are another important functionality that has been added to the new iPhone. To save battery we are suppose to turn this one off too? Hmmm! Strike four…

5. Turn off Bluetooth!

By Law, in most States and Provinces in North America, the use of hands free / Bluetooth is compulsory when driving! We know that this law has passed to minimize the loss attention from the actual driving that is brought about by a cell phone. Here we are again, being told not to use this Bluetooth, so we can save battery and quiet possibly cause accidents in our highways and byways! Hmmm! Strike five…

6. Turn off WiFi!

Another very useful feature of the iPhone is wireless 802.11G/N. This in it self is a very taxing feature on the battery. But if this service is available in the area, this could be the most useful feature of the phone. Since you have already turned off your Bluetooth, disabling this feature will totally deprive you of any type networking. Turning this feature of sometimes might be ok. But permanently – hmmmmm! Strike six…

7. Turn off that EQ!

This one truly takes the cake! EQ? How much battery could that use and how weak this batter is? I was under the impression that Nokia N95-8GB was bad with the battery. Seems it has direct and close competition, with one small difference; N95 has replaceable batteries!

When this phone was being designed and all these feature were included in to the design of this phone – wasn’t there even one hardware Eng. that could stand up to Mr. Jobs and state clearly that this battery won’t be able to handle all these features! Either provide a way to replacement batteries or come up with a more realistic design? And they say that software Engineers are kinda strange! One look at the hardware will tell you what we go thru to deal with it. I truly believe, if an iPhone owner follow all this advice – his/her iPhone will be functionally reduced to lower than a Motorola Razr.

iPhone is not the best phone in the world - how Apple Can improve it

To begin with, I would like to clear this out of the way; that I am a Sr. Software Designer who works on both PC and Macintosh platforms. Further more I am a Macintosh user and developer and I have many products that carry ‘Apple branding’. So the following ‘rant’ is coming from a person who is an Apple enthusiast as well as a Mac user and developer. Having said that, here are my thoughts concerning the reasons that prove that iPhone, though nice and sexy, is far from being the best Smartphone out there:

1.) The Missing Editing Features: Even though Apple Sells the iPhone as a Smartphone (PDA / Internet Device being part of it’s functionality), It still lacks the basic editing futures like “Copy – Cut and Paste, which in turn are very important when you have to do any text editing on a Smartphone! Why? Simple; who wants to keep using the small and awkward keyboard of any Smartphone? No one. This is where the Copy and paste comes very handy so you don’t have to retype text and possibly make other typos and spelling errors that will slow you down. So these functionalities, as rudimentary as they are in larger computers, become very important and useful on devices like a Smartphone.

2.) That Terrible Camera: When iPhone 1.0 hit the market my N95 provided a 5.5MP camera. The iPhone had a 2.0MP built in one. I said to myself, well it’s version 1.0 and it will change in the upgrade. Low and be hold, Apple turns around and includes the same camera (2.0MP) in the iPhone 2.0. Hard to digest and / or comprehend what Apple is doing here, but there you have it. The Camera should have been a 6.1MP. Apple didn’t even bother to include a small flash system to at least be used as a fill light and improve the quality of the pictures that is taken by the it’s ailing camera. I guess Apple decided “Who’s goanna take any pictures with that crappy camera”!

3.) Total Lack of Video: As it was the case with the version 1.0 of the iPhone – iPhone 2.0 has no ability to create or stream live videos! Is this a restriction imposed by Apple or AT&T? How does Apple want to compete against other Smartphone companies, when they have no video recording capability? Most new Smartphone can do HD recording, or at least soon that ability will be added to their flagship products.

4.) The Strange GPS: iPhone sports GPS can not provided turn by turn directions – but it can divulge your EXACT position to the world! Is that not a strange GPS? When it’s needed, it can’t help its rightful owner – but it can pinpoint your position for those that really want to trace you, legally or illegally! iPhone 1.0 also performs this task thru triangulation of the Cell towers that are activate, with an accuracy rate of one ± hundred feet (Your ISP will never admit to it).

5.) Unsatisfying Audio: Even though iPhone 3G has 2 small inbuilt speakers at the bottom of its frame phone, it still cannot play Music in Stereo! Nearly all the other Smartphone can perform this task with the higher models playing 3D Audio. May be Apple doesn’t want to give this functionality to it’s clients! In the name of Sam Hill: WHY NOT?

6.) The Missing MMS: It seems that apple has never heard of MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Apple, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that iPhone users do not need nor want to use MMS under any circumstances. So, MMS, is totally alien to iPhone and iPhone 3G. MMS is mostly software based that in turn depends on the communication-service that your ISP provides

7.) The Missing Secondary Camera: Nearly all, 99% of the G3 phones sold in Europe are 3G phones capable video calling. It is the norm for these Cell phones using their secondary camera as the Video out device for the phone. The secondary camera can be used in conjunction with the primary camera to mix video and send it to the person you call. This secondary is conveniently missing from iPhone and Apple keeps ignoring the fact and stays quiet about it!

8.) Locked Out Flash – Air & SilverLight: In a very surprising move, apple has locked out Adobe Flash – Air and Microsoft SilverLight from running on the iPhone 3G or the upgraded legacy iPhone. Reason give is that Apple does not condone one company ruling the iPod entertainment desktop! By the same token, Apple is really restricting the iPhone users from accessing all the material that are encoded in these standards and, severely handicaps iPhone competing against ANY Smartphone on the Market that support Flash – Air and SilverLight.

9.) Half-assed Exchange Support: Despite what Apple promotional material says, the Exchange support seem to be incomplete, at best. iPhone supports IMAP as it’s email protocol. That is not the Exchange default protocol. The Exchange managers can enable IMAP at their Exchange servers, so their iPhone users are able to pickup their emails. By doing that, the iPhone client looses the benefit of Exchange’s ‘PUSH Mail’ ability. iPhone at this time does not support Microsoft Exchange’s ActiveSync, consequently the iPhone client cannot remotely access the Calendar & Contact databases. This will be a deal breaker for the IT people for the following Reasons:

1. IMAP is not their primary Email protocol and if used they will loose the ability to push email to iPhone Clients.

2. iPhone doesn’t support ActiveSync, so IT loose the ability to sync ‘Calendar’ and ‘Contacts’ with the iPhone.

1. IRumors are that Apple has licensed ActiveSync and in the next versions of iPhone. Let’s hope that will be in the NEXT release of the iPhone software update and would be available to both version of iPhone.

10.) A User Friendly Battery: As it was the unfortunate case with the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G’s battery is not accessible by the user and can not be swapped with a full charged one, when the main battery has ran out. Apple reports improved Battery usage over the older version of iPhone., but I see this as a deal breaker for the iPhone being accepted by the IT Depts. as a viable alternative to Blackberry and or other Smartphone’s that provide interchangeable battery system.

If Apple fixes the shortcoming that I noted in this ‘rant’, iPhone 3G can very well be ‘ONE’ of the best phones out there.

Users reporting failed Windows and Office validations

Well, this was the header a few days ago on most RSS feeds that I picked up! Now Microsoft is saying that all the offline validation has been fixed and there are not problems any more. The question for the users are this: Why, after all this time after the release of these apps, we still have problems with their validation, be it onLine of off?

iPhone 1.0 and 2.0 have no 'Cut & Paste'!

This is beyond me - way beyond me. What is the harm of having 'Cut & Paste' on a phone that has editing capabilities for text - email and chat or any other App that might need it! How did, Apple in it's infinite wisdom, came to this conclusion that iPhone needs no 'Cute & Paste'? Sometimes Apple does things that makes no sense to anyone, except to itself. Do remember, at Apple, the ultimate decisions are made by Steve Jobs and his very small trusted inner circle. So here I am, trying to understand, what was the motive behind this decision. You see, if we can understand how these decision makings are done in Apple, may be we can understand Apple as a whole and happier with their products. Transparency and Informativeness are usually more powerful than decrees. Apple has always been more about the Steve Jobs Decrees than transparency and informativeness. May be, once Steve Jobs departs Apple (if he ever), then Apple will be more about being informative as suppose to be decretive. Amen!

Rogers the Robbers! When enough is REALLY enough!

Well I guess this picture has no need to be captioned! This is how most of Canadian Customers think and feel about Rogers the Robbers, the one and only distributor of Apple iPhone in Canada! This is coming from as a direct side effect of Rogers-the-Robbers insatiable Greed of this company and it's treatment of they clients! But some how - to this date they are still maintaining that with the 2GB data plan, they are offering a huge amount of data and that is exactly what bothers people the most! The assumption of the Canadian Customers are totally dumb. We we are not and we are much more savvy than Rogers-the-Robbers credit us with. We will not buy the iphone with this high rates and we will not accept the lack of UNLIMITED Data Plan. Rogers and companies like it, should learn that the consumer sets up the success abd promote it - No matter what they do!

Rogers has done it again! No UNLIMITED Data plan for iPhone

Well Rogers has done it again, showing it's yellow monopolistic teeth! 2GB of Data per month with the $115 Package? This is highway robbery! Are these corporate bloodsuckers for real?

All this is stemming from he fact that there are no competition for Rogers in Canada! No other GSM Service Provider! I was planning to at least buy 3 iPhone 3Gs, but I changed my mind! No iPhone till Rogers stops this draconian pricing for their data plan! What is hard to understand is this: Why Rogers has such a problem with DATA? Why? At least can they stop issuing decrees and actually explain to their clients why they are so stingy with their data bandwidth? May be also explain to us why the majority of Service Providers selling iPhone can sell their phones with an unlimited data plan?

Only 2GB a Month? This is a disgrace and it shows what Rogers really thinks about their Canadian Customers! They truly think that we are stupid & ignorant and that we neither know - nor are we capable of learning anything! Well I have news for you, Rogers: WE ARE NOT! I am canceling my plans for purchasing 3 iPhone 3G, until they offer UNLIMITED Data Plan! I am sure that most people, after finding out what Rogers is really doing, will cancel their plans as well. So I guess it was all for nothing to wait a full year for the arrival of iPhone to Canada! :(

Knowing about Rogers underhanded decision not to offer UNLIMITED data plan, Apple should have NEVER given iPhone sells rights to Rogers in the first place! Unlimited Data has been the cornerstone of Apple's agreement for allowing a Service Provider to sell iPhone. Rogers held out for a full year, knowing that they have the monopoly on GSM market, and Apple gave up, which is very uncharacteristic of Apple. I guess Apple doesn't care about their it's Canadian Clients either!

OS X Snow Leopard and Windows 7 = Same Apporach!!

Well I seem to have been right, again (if I may say so). As I said, in my short blog, the next version of OS X will be the same Leopard – just it will be really massaged – debugged and optimized and turbo charged! Do you draw a similarity with the Microsoft approach here? Windows 7 will be Vista - just it will be really massaged – debugged - optimized and turbo charged! Sacrilege! Apple following Microsoft in to the den of lions, no way! Well yes way!I guess this step on behalf of both companies is the nest logical step. They both have a great OS, and now after all this time, they will step back and improve their respective Operating Systems. Microsoft can go far in fixing the grievances that exist against Vista and make it what PC Users are looking for. They have a great and brand new Code Base that they can modify – fix and optimize to hell, especially in the area of Multi tasking – SMP – Threading and Thread Management. They can also improve the Thread_to_Core development tools in Visual studio 2009 or as a service pack to VS2008. This will also help other Software Engineers to develop that type application, that will certainly makes a better User experience. Apple on the other hand can improve on 64 bit version and in fact make it the de facto of OS X, that can run 32 Apps as well. In time all the Developers will recompile their applications in 64 bit format. Apple has a lot of work to be done on the improvement of her the XCode. In comparison to Visual Studio, XCode is very basic and primitive. So this will be time well spend to set Visual studio as a starting point and then deliver Visual Studio as a minimal delivery cornerstone and surpass it by a long way. Mind you this will prove to be very hard task to achieve, since Visual Studio 2008 is totally amazing. But is great in under promising and over delivering. May be both companies can admit that they have great Operating Systems that is in dyer need of optimization and improvements. Yes Stranger things has happened, but would this also happen? Hard to believe!

Router crashes blamed on Windows XP SP3?

Been having problems with your broadband router rebooting unexpectedly? Windows XP SP3 has been named as the culprit?

Broadband modem/router maker Billion says XP SP3 has been causing its BiPAC 5200-series routers to go into a constant crash and reboot cycle.

The company has produced firmware upgrades that solve the problem. Although Windows XP SP3 has been available for manual download from Microsoft since May 6, it has just hit Windows Update as an automatic upgrade, which will cause unexpected problems for owners of “unpatched” Billion BiPAC 5200 routers, and possibly other brands or models of router. No this is a load of crap if I have ever heard one! How the hell SP3 of the XP causes the crash of a Router! This is the best example of: "BLAME IT ON MICROSOFT! This is really going overboard! Billion clean up your act and stop blaming your tech problems! the best part is: Billion doesn't even bother to explain how they have come to this conclusion as to why SP-3 has caused the problem or show any proof! Not bad, just point Microsoft and scream!

New D-Link coax cable home networking tech to hit 175Mbps

The D-Link Coax Ethernet Adapter Kit (DXN-221) is targeted at the home network. This isn't a router though, and it's not meant for everyone. D-Link is targeting home users that already have coaxial wiring in their home, promising to put it to good use in their existing network. In a way, the move makes perfect business sense for D-Link since most new homes and apartments come wired with coaxial. Homeowners want their satellite and cable signals everywhere throughout the domicile, and the same goes for their home network and Internet connection.

MY QUESTION IS THIS: At this time that Cable & DSL companies and trying to 'cap' the amount of bandwidth that consumers can use per month (First and worse Videotron Cable company), is this not a true contradiction in term? We give you a modem that can run at 175Mb/s and at the same time we will cap your usage to a minimum. So bad, that at that high speed, you can burn thru your Monthly quota in matter of few days. So this shows that ISPs want to kill Net Neutrality one - and two start metering and over charging the North American consumers. The business model that the European ISPs were using for nearly 10 years and now they have given it all up and took metering out of the big pictures, since the European Government forced them to do so.

Some pity for the North American Consumer, since we do not have governments that would get involved on the side of the Consumer battling the evil intentions of large and monopolizing corporations. In Canada our last hope hangs with CRTC. May be they would challenge the ISPs on the mater of Net Neutrality and Metering and over charging Data Related Services.

Is iPone 2.0 really coming in June 9th WWDC08?

I never bought the iPhone last year when it was released! Wy you say, because Apple and AT&T had it wrapped so hard that nothing was open or modifiable by the owner that I decided to go with N95-8G which has been working great for me for the past several months. Now there is talk of the new iPhone, possibly version 2.0. I am not convinced that the next release is truly version 2.0. If I deem it to be version 2.0, then I will place my order right there and then. But until then, I reserve judgement. Tho, I am excited...

Office mac:2008 Review

I have been using the Microsoft Office mac:2008 for the past 4 months and it seems to be good. I have been using Entourage and Microsoft Word Exclusively and they seems to work great! I will have an in depth work knowledge of the apps and I will be reporting on them soon. Stay tuned!

Ecto is actually working with BlogSpot!

Well, this is the first time that I see that a Blogging program is actually is accessing my account on the Blogger! Well we will see if it can actually post to it and if I can, I will be blogging more often. That is for sure! I also added a picture too.

Bill Gates warned....

Testifying before Congress, Bill Gates warned that the United States risked falling behind in high-tech innovation unless it revamped its education and immigration systems.

Canadian-built Dextre robot set for delivery to space station

It may be not be the only bot on the block for long but, for now at least, the Canadian-built Dextre robot has the spotlight to itself, with it set to blast off Tuesday on board the shuttle Endeavor for delivery to its new home on the International Space Station. What is mrnoe important is the fact that it is THE first one - just Like Canada Arm was. Go Canada Go!

New iPhone Software Update at a glance

Well here we go: Apple has released the latest software release for iPhone and that truly has pushed it on the top and we are THIS close to iPhone Version 2.0 (and that is the time that I will buy mine and not sooner. Here is the outline of the additional functionality with the application of this update from Apple:

1.) Exchange Server ActiveSync

2.) Push Email direct from Exchange server

3.) Push Contacts direct from the Exchange server

4.) Access to Global Address list

5.) Support for Certificates and Identities (great for Corporate based systems)

6.) Wireless 802.1x and support of WPA2 (great security)

7.) Enforcing Server based Security Group Policies

8.) Remote setup and configuration Tools

9.) Remote Wipe ( this is great incase someone looses the phone

This is in addition to all the functionality that is already built in to the device. Wake makes it so much nicer is the fact that all these new additions are built in to the existing application and there are not steep learning curves. A Well thought of step on Apple's side.

We have to also acknowledge that Apple has had the full cooperation of Microsoft in all this and they have helped a great deal to facilitate these new developments.

Been Away!

Well I have been away much too long and been neglecting my Web-log - but with good reason! We are going through integration of our software system and I - unfortunately - been responsible as the integration specialist! We are nearly done, so I will be back to full Web-Logging soon!

Apple doubles capacity of iPhone and iPod Touch

The next step towards iPhone 2.0 and a new iPOd. A 32GB iPod and a 16GB iPhone. The new iPhone will have more memory than my 10GB Nokia N95-8G. This also can be the next step to the resurrection of a new version of Newton. Could it be? Hard to believe Jobs will change his mind about Newton. After all it was Steve Jobs that killed Newton. But even in his case, Hell Froze over and he used INTEL chips in his beloved Macs. Can this hell Also freeze over? Anything is possible...

Remembering the Coleco Adam

Remembering an Old
Computer

Coleco Adam
Released: 1983
Price: $750
OS: Elementary Operating System (EOS), OS-7
Processor: Zilrog Z80A at 3.58 MHz
Memory: 80k bytes, expandable to 144k bytes
Display: Attaches to TV; 256x192 resolution
Storage: One 256k byte cassette drive, optional second drive ($200)
Industry legend states that Coleco named its first (and last) foray into the home computer market "Adam" because the system would take a bite out of Apple Computers. This of course wasn't the case. But the name did prove Biblically accurate in that both Adams were massive disappointments to their creators.  But you have to remember the Printer that came with the system.  It was a Typewriter quality and it was totally amazing at the time that Dot Matrix Printers ruled.  The printer was text only though and you could only do ASCII graphics with it - No Dot Addressable facility.  A time Gone by - A time of adventure - A time of wonder - long gone.

Microsoft Acquiring Yahoo - Sanity check!

Microsoft Friday unveiled a bid of 44.6 billion dollars for Yahoo in an effort to merge the world's biggest software company with a major Internet player to take on the Google juggernaut. Yahoo said it was examining the "unsolicited proposal" and added that its board "will evaluate this proposal carefully and promptly in the context of Yahoo's strategic plans and pursue the best course of action to maximize long-term value for shareholders."
The move comes as Yahoo is losing ground rapidly in the Internet space to Google, the search leader which has been able to cash in on the growing market for online advertising.
Google is truly taking over the internet market and Microsoft feels the threat and wants to encounter it with any desprate move. Yahoo is in rapid spiral decline against Good and MSN, and we all know that it will be nothing but trouble for Microsoft.  On the other hand Google is becoming an irresistible force that no one can encounter or even imagine to take on.  Sacrilege!  Of course MS will take over all those heads that are using yahoo at this time - but this will be a simulated addition and not a true one.  I also predict that if Microsoft buys Yahoo, the Yahoo decline will speed up and the migration to alternate system will intensify.  I guess we have to wait and see. In my opinion, MS might benefit from this merge in the short run - but shall register a huge loss in the long run.  Another point to consider will be this: Is yahoo worth $45B?  Hard to say, but I feel it is not - at least not in the long run.

Microsoft confirms Office for Mac 2008 security risk

Office for Mac 2008 offers a security headache for many users, Microsoft has confirmed.

Office for Mac 2008 incorrectly assigns ownership of some files, Microsoft has confirmed, creating a potential security problem for businesses installing the new application suite.
[Microsoft] moved to Apple's Package Maker (.pkg) installer files, good news for the enterprise, [but] unfortunately they've created all the packages to install nearly all the files with the owner set to 502." Office 2008's ownership assignment means that a user who wasn't supposed to have complete control over those files actually does. In other words, whoever is assigned user ID 502 has full read/write access to Office's files.

Well this is an installation problem and your ID 502 will not kill the system just because it is has access to some files! LOL! Not to worry to much!

Preliminary MacBook Air Tests By MacWorld

Well some of the Early results are in and it seems that you the Slow 1.6GHz Processor of the MacBook Air and the 4200rpm drive makes this machine THE slowest MacBook Out there. The Standard MacBook seem to be at least 20% faster than the Air and MacBook Pro proves to be closer to 30%-40% faster. So it seems that this is a thinest Mac ever - granted - but no match for it's siblings. As I said in my last post - this is a machine for executives - students and some Mac heads that buy an Apple product that comes to the market, no matter what it is. But damn it! Is it ever sexy. Now that is a laptop that gets you laid. In other words; if Air can't get you laid - you are hopeless! J/K

Apple’s Macworld Conference & Expo 2008

Macworld
Conference & Expo

After 3 years absence from the Apple’s Macworld & Expo, this year I had the opportunity to be there and see the whole thing first hand for myself. It was a huge gathering much larger than the years past and it was extremely vibrant! You could feel the electricity in the ‘Air’. Expectations were high and every one was looking forward to the fact that their prediction and or wishes might come true.
At the end of the Keynote event, I must admit that not everyone was satisfied, which is the normal thing. Seems that people expect a Product of the caliber of iPod – iPhone or migration to INTEL, every time that Steve jobs takes the podium! Well no one can do that – not even Steve “the magician” Jobs! So it’s time for a reality check. Products like iPod and iPhone comes once in a career and Steve jobs has had many of them – but we can not expect a new and better one every time that he takes the podium!

Having said that, here is my assessment of the Apple’s Macworld Expo:

Here is a list of new stuff that was announced at the Expo:

• iPhone / iPod touch Software
• Microsoft Office 2008 Universal
• Time Capsule / Airport Extreme 802.1N
• iTunes Movie Rentals
• MacBook Air

1. iPhone / Pod software upgrades:
• iPhone is one step close to the version 2.0. when it will truly ready for “human consumption”. Home screen now can be customized and show what you really use every day and not what Apple thinks that you will be using. Come to think of it, we had this option released with Motorola’s revolutionary T720 nearly 6 years ago which you could customize the menus and screens and from there on, you could find this functionality on just about every phone. Other improvement and bug fixes were also made to the iPhone software. Steve Jobs did mention that the SDK for iPhone will be released very soon – so we can all rest that Jobs Demons are not at work anymore – if they were we would never get an SDK to develop any type of applications for iPhone.
• iPod Touch software upgrade was every more significant, adding 4 new Apps to it’s general functionality. Mail.app was a great new addition to the iPod Touch, especially for those that use WiFi function of the iPod. I feel that is a better idea than owing an iPhone and use it as PDA / iPod and endanger loss of communication due to lack of power, since we know that we can not change the battery. So it would be great if you have your phone and an iPod Touch 16GB. A good enough PDA - a great iPod and in worse case scenario if it runs out of your battery, your phone is there safe and functioning. I am using a Nokia N95-8G and I am planning to add an iPod-Touch to my arsenal. Like this; I have a PDA - iPod and my Smartphone. A thought that might benefit many of you out there.
• The new software for both iPhone and iPod-Touch will be released with every new iPhone and iPod that is sold from today. The fortunate thing is this the update for the existing iPhones are available free of charge. The owners of the iPod-Touch can download all the updates and the new Apps from Apple for $20.
• Recommended (especially for the iPod-Touch, since the iPhone update will be Automatic)

2. Microsoft Office 2008:
• Microsoft Released Office 2008 with no fanfare and that we very surprising for me. I was really looking forward from some remarks from Mac-BU of MS. Bit no one was there. I have ordered a copy of the Office at the show and I received it this morning and I just installed and it looks good. Same components of the 2004 (I think Microsoft will never port the Access Database to OS-x), but the most important thing is the fact that the entire office now runs in Universal mode and no more Rosetta emulation to run on my MacBook Pro! I am planning to install it on an old PowerBook Titanium and see how it works there. One thing is for sure: It runs much faster now that is running x86 native code on my machine. I think the Standard Edition will be enough for most of us and the Students / Teachers have the opportunity to enjoy their traditional discount. The top package is about $100 more expensive and facilitates Media environments. The update is $299.
• It still remain a mystery as to why Microsoft Mac-BU VP was not present at the MacWorld Expo for the kick off of such an important product.
• Recommended (if you have to use it because of your work, it is a worth update)

3. Time Capsule / Airport Extreme 802.1N:
• Time capsule is basically an update to the software only TimeMachine that was introduced with the release of Leopard (OS X 10.5). Time Capsule makes sense because of a few reasons:
o Set it and forget it back up
o Wireless and now computer necessary to handle the backups
o An upgrade to your existing 802.1 B-A-G.
o Large hard drive backing up DATA only from all your systems
• I certainly am considering one for my home system, as soon as it will be clear if it can back up PCs as well as Macs, since I am using both and a backup solution must cover both.
• Recommended

4. iTune Movie Rentals:
• Well this has been in the pipes for a long time now and Apple tried to get all the partners on-board, before announcing it. Well it seems they have been successful and it is a great idea on the part of Apple. Now if Apple could do what they did with music with movies then they stand to make a lot of money.
• But there is pricing problem. Apple announced the following prices:
o $2.99 for Library titles
o $3.99 for New Titles
o $4.99 for HD
• I’d say this steep and Apple might not sell as much as they think. I suggest that prices should have been:
o $1.99 for Library titles
o $2.99 for New Titles
o $3.99 for HD
• There is also a timeline problem. You have 30 days to start watching the movie that you downloaded – which is great. But when you start watching the movie, you have 24 hours to finish it and after that, just like Mission Impossible, the movie will self destruct. Of course this is the same as Dish Network and Bell Express view as well as old DVD / VHS rentals. But if Apple would have priced it lower and instead of 1 day they would have giver their clients a maximum of 3 days, they it would have brought them much more business than the present setup. I know that most of this has been dictated to Apple by the RIAA and Movie companies. But still…

MacBook Air:
• Well it is “impossibly thin and light”, yet it has a full size screen and Keyboard! It is a huge achievement on part of Apple Computer Inc. No other company have achieved this – at least up to now. Amazing screen – Good speed. But IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE! The biggest problems that I see with it are as follows:
o No Ethernet connection. So if you are stuck in an environment that has not Wireless connection, then you have no connection. Of course, Apple will sell you a $30 Dongle thaqt gives you Ethernet capabilities via USB. But as we know, USB take 5%-15% of the CPU time and that in a small Laptop like is indeed a lot. But at least it can prove to be a life saver.
o No Replaceable Batteries. So if you use your laptop a lot, and on the battery, then this is not the laptop for you. The battery is internal and can not be swapped. It reminds you of iPhone / iPod. Foot prints of Mr. Jobs of closed is better mentality all over this machine.
o No Internal Optical Drive. So if you are not close to home base, so you can share their optical drive to Wirelessly installing software from it, then you are up a creek-without-a-paddle! So install ‘everything-that-you-ever-need’ on this machine before leaving your home base. But you have the option to buy an external Optical drive for it (I am not sure if it actually burns CD/DVD) but certainly reads both formats and it’s a USB Device that you can use on a one and only USB port that this machine comes with! Not that great. If you plan to use an external Mouse and Keyboard, make sure that you get them with Bluetooth option, so you can leave this single USB port alone. If not, then think of investing in a Powered USB Hub (4-Port, at least).
• Having said all that – I can also add that the machine is amazingly sexy and unique. Of course, on the first glance, it reminds you of executive machines. But consider this idea: if you are a college student that you run around your campus and need to have a small machine to carry around for your notes and references and class materials, then the small size of this laptop will be a blessing to you. Also Perfect for executives and people that do a lot of presentations.
• All in All a very impressive package that you need to improve with a few essential / optional additions:
o Get a small, but powered USB Dongle (essential)
o Get an USB -> Ethernet dongle (essential)
o Get an Apple USB Modem for Dialup internet and FAX (Optional)
o Get the Apple External SuperDrive that for $99 is a great bargain. Cheapest External DVD burner could be as much as $149. (Essential)
o More to say about the performance of the Air, as soon as we get one in the office. I am sure it will be soon. People want to test the software that we produced on such system too.  Wink wink!

I am looking forward to this years WWDC08.  I am hoping that I am the one that will be going to that conference.  See you there...

Been away in Tinsel Town doing my duty - Not Forgotten My Web-Log!

Well I have been away for the past couple of weeks in Tinsel Town (A.K.A. Los Angeles) and been working hard on the integration of Software Package that we are putting together. I am also working on a Long and detailed report of the Apple's Macworld and Expo which I will shortly post here. Be back soon.

Can Microsoft Really Save the Zune?

In late 2006, Microsoft released its first generation Zune, a digital media platform comprised of a portable digital media player, Windows-based software, and an online service. But at least the company had a reason for this inactivity: It was prepping a revolutionary Zune 2.0 release comprised of new players, new software, new online services, and new capabilities all around.

I see it this way: No matter what MS might or might not do about Zune, until this Social thing is there Zune is a dead product! Get rid of the stupid "Social" (as Microsoft should get rid of WOW in Vista) and then allow people to put anything in their Zune - MP3 - AAC, etc. and then may be something would come off of this prodcut! Until then NADA!

'First' iPhone Trojan rolls into town

Hackers have created Trojan horse malware targeted at Apple's much-hyped iPhone device.
The package - more of a prank than a threat - poses as an "important system" upgrade supposedly needed prior to upgrading to version 1.1.3 of Apple's firmware. The "iPhone firmware 1.1.3 prep" seems to lack malicious purpose. Problems kick in when users try to uninstall the package.
Well we were waiting for it and now it is here! Is is a right thing to provide a device like a phone or PDA with a complete and powerful OS like OS X or Windows Mobile? Can you imagine what damage that can be brought about to corporate and governmental Information Systems by a compromised Smartphones and/or PDAs? Is it time to think about Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware on Smartphones - PDAs and Tablets? I can hear more 'cha-chink' in Norton pockets!

Samsung intros Spinpoint M6 500GB standard height laptop drive, Hitachi be damned

Hitachi had to hack it to produce a 500GB 2.5-inch laptop drive, adding another platter (and a few millimeters thickness) that make their new 5K500 impossible to install in most standard laptops and enclosures -- but not Samsung. The Spinpoint M6 500GB drive brings a half terabyte at the standard 9.5mm height, and should land some time in March, meaning your current laptop -- and not just those new Asus machines -- should be able to accommodate one or two of these massive mothers.
This is amazing! 500GB in a 2.5" laptop drive! Are these new advancement in memory and hard drive leaving the desktop in the dust? Is it time to buy Laptops only? The jury is still out on that one. But you can use another 500GB external drive with your laptop and have a cool Tera Byte carrying it in your laptop case. Is anyone thinking about how these huge storage devices has to be backed up? If I owned a hard drive company, I would assign 30% of my workforce to work on the backup devices. Like this, the hard drives are sold and everyone would also buy my backup devices. Does not make sense? If it does - why we don't hear of such devices being developed in conjunction with large hard drives.

D-Link MediaLounge PC-on-TV DPG-1200 ready to send web content to your TV

Just because media shifting is totally last year doesn't mean D-Link's MediaLounge PC-on-TV DPG-1200 isn't welcome, even if that model number is a bit of a mouthful. The product can ship YouTube, Google Video, Veoh content and plenty more that the internet has to offer over a wired or wireless connection to your regular ol' TV. There's no special player involved, the product just mirrors your PC display, so virtually anything you can see on you PC you can see on your TV, including all sorts of media and even DVDs. The remote includes a trackball for controlling your PC remotely, and the 1280 x 720 resolution and 30 frames per second should offer enough fidelity to keep up with the action. No word on price or availability yet, but we should be finding out more next week when PC-on-TV hits CES.
This is a long time coming! Will they be able to pull it off this time? No one knows! For some reason people do nto accept the intrusion of Web - or internet for that matter - into their TV. If DLink pull this off it will be a miracle!

Microsoft readies Hal 9000

The corporate lie detector!!!!
Judging from a recent patent application, Microsoft hopes to build some sort of "activity monitoring system" that keeps an eye on worker productivity using various "physiological or environmental sensors." These sensors would track everything from heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, facial expressions, and blood pressure to brain signals and galvanic skin response.Redmond sees this system as a way for companies and, um, governments to monitor "group activities." "In particular, the system can monitor user activity, detect when users need assistance with their specific activities, and identify at least one other user that can assist them," the patent application reads, in classic patent speak. "Assistance can be in the form of answering questions, providing guidance to the user as the user completes the activity, or completing the activity such as in the case of taking on an assigned activity."

Microsoft - all the Billions that you make, is not enough and now you have to get on screwing the masses? Stop already! This is another tool that you are providing the Corps to get enough excuses and outsource more and more of their work with the pretense of low productivity and high salaries! NOW YOU REALLY are showing your colors! You are already the most hated Corp out there an now you are getting in worse situation with the Hal-9000?

Apple Creating iMac-like Docking Station

Rumor has it that Apple is working on a iMac Shell that works as a docking station for a Pen based Mac that transforms to a Desktop! Now could this be the hand held device that we were all waiting for? Is this the Son of Newton?what do you think about the concept. You can carry it around, and when you get back to your Home?office you just shove it in a dock station that closely resembles the iMac with a larger HD as well as faster 1Gb networking and also ability to connect external devices (i.e. External Drives - Printers, et al. the Optical drive also is stationed in the Doc. But here is the twist: what if this was a intelligent Dock and the portable unit could be in touch with it's docking stating (hence all devices that are connected to the Doc). WOW! I am just speculating - but would you not love an Mac like that? For that matter - 'A' computer like that?