MacBook Air hacked first...

A hacker in a contest remotely took control of a MacBook Air when the computer was sent to a website run by the hacker. A Windows Vista machine was also hacked but it took longer. Apparently Vista on that machine had just been updated with a brand new Vista upgrade which surprised and held up the hacker.

I read some speculation that perhaps the MacBook Air was hacked first because it was very desirable. The hackers got to keep the computers that they took control of, and they were able to prepare before the contest, so it is possible that the hackers put in extra time preparing to hack the MacBook Air.

For anyone wishing to dig into this more, some computer experts (and non-experts) discuss it on TidBITS Talk: http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1928

Inexpensive Bootable Backups for Your Mac Now Possible

"Bombich Software has released Carbon Copy Cloner 3.1 (CCC), a notable update to the popular disk cloning and backup software."

This is very good news because a) it is very inexpensive, b) you don't have to pay unless you like it, and c) it has passed the tests for duplicating your hard drive exactly which makes it reliable for creating a bootable backup (you can start up your computer from the backup)--see the front page of their web site for details.

This article goes into more details and gives a link to the home page for downloads: http://db.tidbits.com/article/9524

Fortune Magazines says Apple is #1

Apple is #1 in Fortune Magazines most admired companies list.

http://db.tidbits.com/article/9488

Launchbar or Quicksilver

I use Launchbar which is a competitior of Quicksilver.

I haven't tried Quicksilver, but I sure love my Launchbar. As just one example of how I use it, if I want to go online to Wells Fargo Bank, I type Apple-Spacebar and then "well" and Launchbar opens Safari and takes me to the Wells Fargo log-on screen (regardless of what program I am using at the time). But what is really great is that I didn't have to teach it that shortcut. Launchbar learned it on its own.

I gather that Quicksilver is very similar. Quicksilver is free and Launchbar is $20 or $32 for 5 computers in a family.

Why pay money for Launchbar when Quicksilver is free? Well the way I figure it, if someone doesn't help to keep something there, after a while it won't be there. So I am helping to keep Launchbar there. Of course, you could probably donate to Quicksilver, and if you are a fan, I suggest you do that.

Launchbar:
macworld.com/weblogs/macgems/2005/12/launchbar4/index.php

Quicksilver:
macworld.com/weblogs/macgems/2006/01/quicksilver/index.php

Launchbar and Quicksilver compared:
http://blog.samdevore.com/archives/2006/04/26/launchbar-vs-quicksilver/

TidBITS Talk on Launchbar vs Quicksilver

Backing up your Macintosh computer

Recently, I ran into a lot of discussion on the subject of testing back-up programs for Macs.

Most of the programs tested didn't copy all the extra data associated with files in OS X (called metadata - creation dates, file types, etc., etc.).

The bottom line was that after a lot of testing by various people, Superduper! came out the best.

(So thanks Charlie for the good info on that.)

If you have an external hard drive, you can use Superduper to make an exact copy of your hard drive and that will allow you to get back up and running quickly if something happens to your computer. (If your external drive is a lot bigger than the hard drive in your computer, you might want to partition your external drive to make one of the partitions the same size as the one in your computer.) Just attach your backup drive to another Mac and restart from the backup.

Recently, a client's hard drive just suddenly up and quit working. Luckily there was a recent back-up made by Retrospect, but it took some time to get everything restored to normal. It would have been faster with Superduper!

So after hours of reading many web pages, for personal use, I am jumping ship to Superduper. (However I still recommend that people keep extra copies of financial files such as Quicken data in case the original gets corrupted (ie messed up) and have a copy at another location in case of fire, theft or computer meltdown such as a power failure just as your computer is backing up--an unpleasant thought I am sure. Also for backing up data from a number of computers on a network, I will still be using Retrospect.)

Lastly, do NOT backup Filemaker data if the files are open. I inadvertently did that one day and all the data disappeared. (Luckily I had a good backup.)

Saving money on color prints

At the last Los Angeles MacFair, I met a gentleman who was displaying a method for printing color pictures inexpensively using large bottles of ink attached to an ink jet printer. The quality was very good and the system worked with a number of Epson printers. He also sells laser cartridges. I would suggest contacting him for suggestions on what printer to get for your needs. (He doesn't sell printers as far as I know, but I'll bet that he can suggest a printer that works with less expensive ink or toner.)

His name is Don Baker and he can be reached at dbaker@klassicspecialties.com.

His web site is http://www.klassicspecialties.com

Comparing the cost of Macs and PCs

A recent price comparison of high-end computers found the new Mac Pro cheaper than a comparable Dell. See
http://www.macworld.com/2006/08/features/macproprice/index.php

That article also contains links to price comparisons on Mac laptops versus Dell's. When the machines are comparably configured , the Macs are priced about the same (although it wasn't possible to configure the two machines to be totally identical).
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/14/pricecomparison2/index.php

Admittedly, if you don't need all the features provided, you can leave out some features and get a cheaper configuration of a Dell.

However that is not the whole story. What is the "total cost of ownership" (TCO) of a Mac versus a PC as you go forward down the road. Here is a quote from an article on the subject by a security expert who uses both Macs and PCs:

"The results of this TCO astounded me. For my small enterprise, owning a WinTel box for three years costs twice as much as owning a MacTel. When I talked with several of our clients, I found that the burdened cost of ownership per PC - just for support - ranged from $1,300 to $4,000 per year."

You can read the rest of the article at this link and also download his spreadsheet and a pdf with suggestions and instructions on using the spreadsheet to calculate your own total cost of ownership.
http://www.networkworld.com/best/2006/022706bestbreaker-schwartau.html?page=1

Turns out that Macs are much cheaper to own when all costs are considered.

Doug

Stationary with Apple's Mail.app

One of the features that Eudora has which I enjoy is stationary. Recently I figured out a way to implement stationary with Apple's Mail.app.

1) Create an email and choose "Save as draft" from the File menu.
2) Close the email and go to your "Drafts" folder. (If you don't see your "Drafts" folder, go to the View menu and choose "Show Mailboxes".)
3) Click on your recently saved Draft and choose "Copy" from the Edit menu.
4) Choose "Paste" from the Edit menu to make a copy of your Draft.
5) Now when you want to use your "stationary", just double-click on the copy of the draft.
6) Make another copy the next time you need it.

MacWorld answers questions about Apple's move to Intel chips

As a Mac user, you may feel a little like the sky is falling--Apple is moving to Intel chips. Ah...

Well, in my opinion, the people at Apple have a lot more inside knowledge about their computers than I do, so I imagine that they are making the right decision. So how do we handle that feeling of panic which some may be experiencing. Whatever happens, do not run for the cliffs. Oh never mind...ah that's the lemmings that do that.

Okay, I read this nice article in MacWorld that helped. It has answers to numerous questions about the whole situation. Here is a link to that article.

http://www.macworld.com/2005/06/features/intelfaq/index.php

People, we will survive, the Mac will survive. It has to, because I don't want to live in PC world. :-)