Time off

Macinblog will be in relax mode for the next two weeks. We're taking a break, and flying off to Greece on Sunday. Time to pack our swim suits, sun tan lotion and to bid you farewell.

Thank you for your time, and for reading Macinblog. Take care, and store those tips and hints for when we return.

New releases

Just picked up a couple of new releases on VersionTracker

• DiskWarrior 3
  A killer app. The previous version saved my day on numerous occasion. Can't wait to get the upgrade. Fully Mac OS X compatible. Full versions can be downloaded, upgrades are shipped on CD (3 to 4 weeks backordered).
  22:16 CET: their secure server is currently overloaded - can't place my upgrade order, or download a full version. Victim of their popularity ?
• Eudora 6
  This is also a longtime favourite of mine. I uses almost every version since 1.0. I finally gave it up when I switched to Mac OS X fulltime (10.1), and favoured Entourage until the Jaguar version of Mail - which I still use. Nevertheless, I still feel emotionally tied to Eudora which is a great product. This release might prove to be more Mac OS X mature, and certainly full of interesting features. such as spam fighting tools (opened to third party plug-ins), content concentrator, which gives you streamlined view of your email by sorting out the threads of replies, and mailbox drawers that are accessible from any mailbox window.

Enjoy..

Mac OS 10.2.6 is available

We didn't have to wait long for this update (well done Apple!).

Mac OS X: About the Mac OS X 10.2.6 update

• Addresses an issue for Mac OS X 10.2.5 in which a kernel panic message may appear if certain USB hubs or devices are connected.
• Improves printing compatibility for PostScript OpenType fonts.
• Improves compatibility for Maya Auto Paint and Paint Effects features.
• Addresses an issue for Mac OS X 10.2.5 in which English is the default language and Asian language scripts are not be available in the International preference pane, if a script's font is not available.
• Improves compatibility for MacSoft Unreal Tournament 2003 on computers with GeForce 2MX and GeForce4MX graphic accelerator chipsets.
• Address Book now supports the Sony Ericsson T610 phone.

Use your Software Update to download and install the 6.1Mb update.

End the 10.2.5 kernel panics

Posted on MacOSXHints on Friday, this tip help us out too. You can address the kernel panic problem that appeared for a lot of us by downgrading the USB drivers (kernel extension).

The USB kernel panic in 10.2.5 seems to be a pretty universal problem. No word from Apple yet that I can discern, except the instruction to disconnect the offending hub. However, hope is at hand. Buried in the iMac (Flat Panel) discussion group at apple.com is a comment by A. Brody that the USB kernel panic issue in 10.2.5 can be fixed by retrograding the IOUSBFamily kernel extension. You can download the IOUSBFamily installation software to install an older version of the driver.

iTunes 4 streaming protocol and more

You can access your shared iTunes playlists through a protocol named "daap" (Digital Audio Access Protocol) on port 3689/tcp.

Type daap://host.domain.name and hit return, and iTunes 4 will launch and attempt to connect to the remote server. A nice way to bookmark your music servers.

Another interesting protocol is itms that links directly to Apple's iTunes Music Store search function.

itms://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSearch.woa/wa/
advancedSearchResults?artistTerm=U2&albumTerm=All that

Where search term can be any term below in any order:

songTerm - song title
artistTerm - artist name
albumTerm - album name
composerTerm - composer name

(orig. MacOSXHints)

An Apple KnowledgeBase Article confirms that you need to save your purchased tracks to an external media (sic).

Be sure to make regular backups of your music files (in your iTunes Music folder) by copying them to an external hard disk or other media. If your hard disk becomes damaged, or you lose any of the music you've purchased, you'll have to reimport all your songs and buy any purchased music again to rebuild your library. You can also make an audio CD of the songs you purchase so you can listen to them in a consumer CD player.

The copyright notice at the end of the article is well worth a smile,

If you are uncertain about your right to copy any material, you should contact your legal advisor.