Apple Releases Security Update 2007-004 and Aperture 1.5.3

Apple Releases Security Update 2007-004 and Aperture 1.5.3
04.19.2007

Security Update 2007-004
Security Update 2007-004 (10.3.9 Server)54.1MB
Security Update 2007-004 (10.3.9 Client)37.6MB
Security Update 2007-004 (PPC Mac OS X 10.4.9)9.3MB
Security Update 2007-004 (Universal 10.4.9 Client and Server)16.1MB

Security Update 2007-004 is recommended for all users and improves the security of the following components:

AFP Client
AirPort
CarbonCore
diskdev_cmds
fetchmail
ftpd
gnutar
Help Viewer
HID Family
Installer
Kerberos
Libinfo
Login Window
network_cmds
SMB
System Configuration
URLMount
Video Conference
WebDAV

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798

Aperture 1.5.3 Update129.5MB
Aperture 1.5.3 addresses issues related to overall reliability and performance.
Apple ID and valid Aperture serial number is required for manual download

What’s New in this Version
Aperture 1.5.3 addresses issues related to overall reliability and performance in a number of areas, including:

  • Generation of thumbnails for adjusted images
  • Entering and exiting Full Screen mode
  • Working with large sets of keywords in the Keywords HUD
  • Restoring from a vault

Among the specific issues that have been addressed:

  • Previews now update properly when images are sent to an external editor.
  • Leaf Aptus 22 and Aptus 75 images are now imported with the correct orientation.
  • When folders are imported as projects, the folder structure is now correctly preserved when identically named subfolders are included in the hierarchy.
  • Reconnecting referenced images that have been externally edited now works more reliably.
  • Setting the ColorSync profile in the Aperture Print dialog now correctly suppresses color management settings in the Mac OS X Print dialog.

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads

Apple: Leopard is Delayed Until October in Favor of iPhone

Apple today released a statement regarding iPhone and Mac OS X 10.5 codenamed Leopard.

The “Good” News
iPhone will be released in late June this year.

The BAD News
Leopard will be delayed until October.

According to Apple, the iPhone development has taken its toll on Leopard. Apple has been reallocating Mac OS X engineers to the iPhone project thus Leopard will not be released on WWDC 2007. Apple will reveal all the features of Leopard during WWDC and release the “near final version” of Leopard to the developers.

Apple Statement:

iPhone has already passed several of its required certification tests and is on schedule to ship in late June as planned. We can’t wait until customers get their hands (and fingers) on it and experience what a revolutionary and magical product it is. However, iPhone contains the most sophisticated software ever shipped on a mobile device, and finishing it on time has not come without a price — we had to borrow some key software engineering and QA resources from our Mac OS X team, and as a result we will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned. While Leopard’s features will be complete by then, we cannot deliver the quality release that we and our customers expect from us. We now plan to show our developers a near final version of Leopard at the conference, give them a beta copy to take home so they can do their final testing, and ship Leopard in October. We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we’re sure we’ve made the right ones. [Apr 12, 2007]

Read more:
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/

——-

Editorial: RANTS! (updated)
It is a bad move for Apple to prioritize the iPhone over Leopard. My initial reaction was totally disappointed at Apple and tought that it was a bad move for Apple to prioritize the iPhone over Leopard. There are numbers of Mac users waiting for Leopard and holding off on the purchase of new Macs. I too am holding off from buying new Macs until Leopard is released. June is not too far away, but now Leopard won’t ship until October. Six months away from today, and I don’t think this will bode well for Apple, at least for the time being. (in response to the comment by Jon below)

Is Leopard the new Vista? I hope not, but its delay is somewhat comparable to Vista.

I know that I will get the iPhone, and I have been waiting since its official announcement at MacWorld. So far, I have gone through 3 old phones just waiting for the arrival of the iPhone. I am stoked that June is not too far away and the iPhone is coming. One thing that somewhat ruined my day is to know that Leopard has been delayed.

In a way I have grown impatience waiting for Leopard. OK, actually I need an excuse to buy a new MacBook Pro. I have the first generation Macbook Pro (15-inch with Core Duo) and it has been great. I do believe that it is better to have a solid product at launch rather than a buggy one. Probably Apple believe that the iPhone project can make or break Apple’s future.

I need to renew my Apple Developer subscription really soon so that I won’t miss the “near finish” Leopard to be distributed starting at WWDC 2007.

Once again, I am not happy with Leopard delay. Many others feel the same way I do. The iPhone cannot edit audio and video. One bad Apple move can ruin the whole damn bunch

Can you spot the spots on the Leopard? NOPE! Not until October.

OK, I should end the rant here. One thing for sure I’ll be getting an iPhone, and it will at least distract me from waiting for Leopard for a while. I’ll be writing a lot as soon as I got the iPhone.

Skype 2.6 Beta for Mac and Skype 3.2 Beta for Windows are Available

Skype 2.6 Beta for Mac

Version 2.6.0.72 for Mac. April 11, 2007
Skype_2.6.0.72_BETA.dmg (Size: 30 MB)

What’s New:

  • See when others are writing a message with typing indicator
  • Join public chats
  • Call any Skype Prime premium services provider and seamlessly pay with your Skype credit
  • Use DTMF tones during Skype-to-Skype calls

http://share.skype.com/sites/mac/skype_for_mac/

Skype 3.2 Beta for Windows

Beta release. Version: 3.2.0.82. Release date: April 11, 2007
File name: SkypeSetup-Beta.exe File size: 22 MB

What’s New:

  • Send Money with PayPal
    Send money to friends and family direct from Skype.
  • Video snapshot
    Update your profile picture with photos of yourself.
  • Who’s on Skype?
    Invite friends from Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail for a call.
  • Simple account management
    Manage your account and pay for your favorite products.

http://www.skype.com/go/windows-beta

Boot Camp 1.2 beta and Windows Vista on MacBook Pro – Part 2

Previously, I installed Boot Camp 1.2 beta beta on my 15-inch MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.0GHz. Unfortunately I didn’t have large enough partition to install Windows Vista Ultimate on it. I had an existing 8GB partition with Windows XP Pro installed, and it’s recommended to have a minimum of 12GB partition. I currently have another MacBook Pro to work on. It’s a 15-inch MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz. I am going to reinstall Mac OS X Tiger on this computer, but in the meantime I’m gonna install Windows Vista Ultimate for testing.
I will update this post in the next few days.

The MacBook Pro specs:

To be continued!

Download Boot Camp 1.2 beta
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Windows Cursor Patch, Bonjour, and HP LaserJet 2015

Microsoft released the “Windows cursor patch” on Tuesday (04.03.2007) a week ahead of their usual “Patch Tuesday.” There has been reports that the patch is incompatible with some Realtek device drivers.

For some reasons, a number of computers running Windows XP are no longer able printing to a networked HP LaserJet 2015DN through Bonjour. The rest of the computers in the same office running Windows 2000 (through Bonjour), Mac OS X (also through Bonjour) and Linux (through LPR) can still print to the same printer.

Not sure if the Windows cursor patch caused this, but the the problem started after the update was applied.

I’ll figure out what really went wrong.

I have been using HP LaserJet 2015DN for about six weeks now, and liking it a lot. I’ll post a review about it later on.

VMware Fusion Beta 3 for Mac is Released

VMware Fusion Beta 3 for Mac is released.

VMware Fusion Beta
Beta Version | 4/5/07 | Build 43733 | 134.5 MB
VMware-Fusion-e.x.p-43733.dmg

From VMware:

What’s New and Improved with VMware Fusion Beta 3

  • Improved performance: Option to turn off debugging features in VMware Fusion
  • Support for Boot Camp: Run Windows XP side-by-side with Mac OS X off your existing Boot Camp partition
  • Windows Easy Install
  • Virtual machine packages: Move your virtual machines to another hard drive or Mac simply by copying a file.
  • Enhanced virtual machine management
  • Improved international support: European and Japanese Apple keyboards now work properly in virtual machines.

For more information and download:
http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/fusion/

Boot Camp 1.2 beta and Windows Vista on MacBook Pro – Part 1

I installed Boot Camp 1.2 beta on my 15-inch MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.0GHz. I previously had an 8GB partition with Windows XP Professional installed on it. I started Windows Vista installation since Boot Camp 1.2 beta now supports it. It took about 20 minutes for Windows Vista Ultimate to install on my MacBook Pro; the installation went smoothly. After first log-in, I found out that I only had 6.5MB of free space on the Windows partition. At this point, there’s no way I could install the Macintosh Drivers provided by Boot Camp 1.2 beta.

Ah well, I had to repartition my hard drive. This time I will create a 12GB partition for Windows Vista. This will take a while since I don’t think Boot Camp can cleanly create a 12GB partition on my MacBook Pro hard drive.

I will post more on this.

My MacBook Pro specs:

  • 15-inch MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.0GHz
  • 2GB DDR 667MHz (PC5300)
  • 100GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
  • Radeon X1600 256MB VRAM

To be continued!

Boot Camp 1.2 beta
http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/