Ivory Tower - January 2009

  

 

By Ted Bade

 

Several years ago I enjoyed reading an email list that was written by the somewhat famous Mac Enthusiast Guy Kawasaki. Perhaps you have heard of him. Back in the days when Apple was recovering from a string of several terrible CEOs and Mr. Steve Jobs was just taking back the reins of Apple, GuyÕs writings brought positive news to the Macintosh faithful. He called his list the ÒEvangalistÓ, since it brought good news and positive thoughts to the ÒMac FaithfulÓ! During that time, there were so many bad stories about Apple, the Mac, and the dwindling market share, that even a slightly good story was a breath of fresh air.

 

Eventually, Steve Jobs got Apple back on the right track. While no one will argue that some of his decisions annoyed a lot of people, ultimately he brought Apple back into the mainstream, and in a big way. the iMac moved computers from Geek tools to necessary home appliances; the iPod brought music into the digital age; AppleÕs willingness to boldly move into newer (and usually better) technology brought great things to all standard home computers, significantly faster then if Apple hadnÕt been willing to take the risks! It has been and continues to be an exciting ride.

 

As AppleÕs place in the computer world improved, Guy closed down the Evangalist. While I was sorry to see it go, I couldnÕt argue. Guy had done a terrific job of it and his stepping down provided a vacuum for others to so something similar. There were several people who wrote to fill the gaps, all serving to do the same thing, provide the people who really believed that that AppleÕs OS and computer philosophy were the best way to go, some hope. More then that, there were the Macintosh club leaders, the independent Apple store owners, and the vocal Pro-Mac people who shared their positive experiences with anyone who would listen. These people, (you probably can name a few yourself), have done much to the benefit of Apple, the Macintosh, and most importantly, the people who use them.

 

I would like to offer my appreciation to all these people. I donÕt believe that Apple and the Macintosh could have survived the dark days if it hadnÕt been for the people willing to look past market share, marketing, and who were willing to not be lemmings and follow the rest of the world into the sea. This is not to say that AppleÕs employees, from Steve Jobs down to the bottom, had nothing to do with it. All the positive feelings in the world could have done nothing if Apple hadnÕt gone ahead and created wonderful computers and other electronic marvels to woe and wow the markets with. It was definitely a team effort.

 

Trojans, we have Trojans! - Yep, it is official now, you can actually download malicious code onto your Macintosh. It is almost hard to believe. ☺.

 

Of course, you have to be a bit of a ninny to actually get infected. I expected this would be the case, because of the way Mac OS X works, in order to have this malicious code installed the user needs to give it permission! So letÕs take a look at how this would work, since a little education is worth a lot here.

 

First of all, presently the only way to get the code is to visit ÒpornÓ sites. But that doesnÕt mean other sites might direct you toward a seemingly benign site that does the same thing. So, if you know what happens, youÕll be ready to deal with it when that happens.

 

How the code gets transferred: You click on a link to view a video. The site responds with a window that explains you need a ÒdriverÓ to view it. The window has two choices, accept or cancel. Of course, the cancel button doesnÕt do anything! While you might think your only option is to accept, there of course is another option. You can try quitting Safari (or whatever browser you are using) and if that doesn't work, you can Force quit the application. No problem.

 

To add a level of security, in case someone using your Mac doesnÕt know how to quit or force quit, you can easily protect your Mac by turning off the automatically opening a ÒSafeÓ file. This feature includes opening an archive that the Mac thinks is safe. If this is off, the file might get downloaded, but since it wonÕt be opened, it wonÕt be installed. I am not experienced enough with other browsers to say if they have the same level of security as Safari.

 

Ultimately, just remember, donÕt install any software on your computer unless you know where it comes from. DonÕt trust sites that require you download something from their own site, unless it is a well known one (like getting Adobe Reader from the Adobe site). If you do indeed need a special driver, get the information from the site requiring it and go find it yourself. Apple provides information about QuickTime add-ons that might be needed. If QuickTime doesnÕt have the necessary features, consider using an alternative like VLC, which I found will handle many rarely used video formats. This is true for other media features. If the site says you need a driver to listen to an audio file or view a graphic file, or any other type of file, get the information about the file type, visit Apple or the people who have created the format type, and get the driver from a know source.

 

Be a smart Mac user and it might be quite a while before people can easily get a malicious piece of code onto your Mac!

 

Interesting feature for the iPod Touch - I was thinking about the iPod touch the other day. I donÕt have one, but a close friend has one and he finds himself using the wireless feature a lot. He sends emails from coffee shops all over the country as he travels for work. Its a real hoot!

 

But what if someone wrote a piece of code to let the iPod Touch use one of the Internet based phone services? With a wireless connection to the Internet, couldnÕt one then use it to call friends?

 

You can buy a earpiece set with microphone for the iPod Touch revision 2, Apple sells one. I believe this was even shown by Apple during the release demo. (using the microphone, not the Internet phone calls). Apparently the connection is pretty standard and other non-Apple earpiece/Mic sets works as well.

 

So with the proper applications, this could easily work! Doing a Google search on the topic, I found a CNET article called Turning the iPod touch into a Phone http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13549_7-10116553-30.html , and this article on the BBC World news http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7767055.stm . I am sure there is a lot more information out there. I just thought this was very interesting. People who buy the new Touch might just want to give this a try!

 

I will be giving it a try and will let you know how it goes!

 

More Macs at work - We mentioned it here before, but it appears that more and more businesses are willing to allow their employees to use a Macintosh. According to an article found on the ComputerWorld site, 68% of the 700 companies they surveyed would allow their employees to use Macs if they are asked for. This is significant, because only half that amount were willing when the same question was asked only eight months ago! To me this indicates an improved image in the business world for the Macintosh and Apple in general. This also implies a lack of or a loss of confidence with those system currently used.

 

You can read the entire article by visiting: 68% say theyÕll add Macs in Ô09. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123460&source=rss_topic123

Until next month, keep on using your Mac. ☺