Ivory Tower - January 2008

Welcome to 2008!

By Ted Bade

 

As I write this column for the January issue of macCompanion magazine, I am nearing the end of December. Visions of new Macs and electronic toys are dancing in my head. My New Year’s Resolutions this year are to buy a new Mac, spend more time helping my friends with their computers, and finally get my Level 61 Hunter up to level 70 in World of Warcraft. (I spend too much time working several other toons I have through their lower levels.)

 

Last month I was all wound up about Apple’s new Mac OS X, called Leopard. After having worked with it for a month now I can say that, beyond those things that I complained about, it works well. I still don’t like how the new “eye-candy” stuff gets in the way of Tiger’s near prrrfect functionality, but I am adapting. Check out Doc Babad’s article elsewhere in this edition. He answers a number of my complaints with shareware solutions.

 

I have heard a solid rumor that Apple will be releasing a relatively huge patch to Leopard. I hope that this patch will at least fix the major problems I have with Leopard and would be ecstatic if it fixes all of them. I don’t expect we will see the patch until after MacWorld.

Speaking of MacWorld Expo in SF, there are many rumors flying around about what Apple with bring to that show. I haven’t heard anything that I feel is even remotely solid. Actually, most of what I have heard are things I think people wish Apple would do, or think they should or need to do. For myself, I like waiting for the Keynote speech.

 

There is something of that old Christmas anticipation as Mr. Jobs unwraps the things Apple will offer! Knowing ahead of time is like peeking at your presents. It ruins the surprise and you still have to wait for them.

 

In the world of malicious software, there has been some noise about Apple. Apparently one ZDNet blogger is suggesting that Mac OS X is more vulnerable then Vista. You can check out his thoughts by visiting: Mac versus Windows vulnerability stats for 2007. It is a numerical look at things. I don’t know if his analysis or his sources are correct, but I can sense this is going to stir the pot a little! More then likely this is an attempt to get people to stop believing Apple commercials!

 

I am not the only one that feels that this might be a faulty analysis. The Electronista web site posted a note saying that the critical vulnerabilities are mostly in areas not typically used by Mac users while those of Vista are in very commonly used areas. Take a look at their analysis by visiting their site.

 

If your PC friends are annoying you by pointing out this article, consider some research by visiting the following links which give a more Mac related opinion of the problem. Mac/Slash

 

A really nice rebuttal on the MacDaily News site and more to follow.

It seems to me that most of this is just so much noise to stir the pot.

 

To put it bluntly, I have never reformatted my Macintosh because it had too much spyware or viruses and was too bogged down by other malicious stuff. I don’t think I have a friend that runs Windows that hasn’t had this happen at least once, sometimes more then once. In the practical arena, it only makes sense to stick with the Mac. Once all the viruses are actually there, then I will get concerned. Until then, stop whining!

 

I guess all those “I’m a Mac” commercials are really getting to PC makers! LOL. What a bunch of loosers!

 

Hope you have a great beginning to 2008.

 

Keep on using your Mac!