Apple Safari 4 beta - not for Windows 7

Safari 4 beta work only in Windows XP and Vista. Apple has released to public beta its Safari 4 web browser, and I thought I’d give it a hands-on spin to see what all the fuss is about. Here are my first impressions and review.

Installation

Quick and simple. The install file — offered with and without a QuickTime bundle, thankfully — is 25.5 MB. On install, three boxes are auto-checked: Desktop shortcuts, “Install Bonjour” and auto-update. I’m not a fan of auto-check tactics, so if you’re trying to avoid installing Bonjour, for example, don’t get too click-happy too soon. 

The Look

It’s slick. Not extraordinarily pretty, but Safari 4 does attempt to break up the monotony that is Windows with an updated interface that isn’t a complete Mac knockoff like Safari’s previous iteration (those who skin their PCs like Macs will be disappointed). 

The Interface

One thing I notice, at least using XP’s classic theme: the tab boundaries are pretty hard to differentiate. There’s just not enough of a strong visual boundary between them, especially considering how narrow they are horizontally. Otherwise, the tabs are nice, but they automatically expand to fill the entire title bar (no transition) which I don’t like. Some people don’t like the fact that Google Chrome doesn’t immediately auto-fill the tab space; I do, especially when there are only one or two tabs open in the window. 

Download:
Apple Safari 4 beta (link 1) 
Apple Safari 4 beta (link 2)

Trojan in Mac...!

I usually write about Windows only cause I use windows (I’ve used both Mac and Linux and like them both). PC users are usually sneered at by Mac users as virus don’t affect Mac. I’ve seen one Mac advertisement stating that there are 1 billion virus out loose but never on a Mac.

I don’t think this statement will hold true any longer, there’s a Mac trojan floating around inside a pirated iWork ‘09 release that has appeared on various torrent sites.

When installing iWork 09, the iWorkServices package is installed. The installer for the Trojan horse is launched as soon as a user begins the installation of iWork, following the installer’s request of an administrator password (in older versions of Mac OS X, 10.5.1 or earlier, there will be no password request). This software is installed as a startup item (in /System/Library/StartupItems/iWorkServices, a location reserved normally for Apple startup items), where it has read-write-execute permissions for root. The malicious software connects to a remote server over the Internet; this means that a malicious user will be alerted that this Trojan horse is installed on different Macs, and will have the ability to connect to them and perform various actions remotely. The Trojan horse may also download additional components to an infected Mac.

The Macintosh turns 25

24 January 2009, the 25th anniversary of the Macintosh. On that fateful day in 1984 Apple released a little toaster of a personal computer that went on to become the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a graphical user interface.

The embedded video above (YouTube) is Apple’s famous “1984? television commercial directed by film maker Ridley Scott. From my new book, Corporations that Changed the World: Apple Inc.:

Apple announced the Macintosh to the world with a television commercial (“1984”) that was directed by Ridley Scott, an alumnus of such films as Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator. The commercial, written by Apple’s advertising agency Chiat /Day, aired on January 22, 1984, during Super Bowl XVIII between the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Raiders. The ad featured a female character (played by Anya Major) wearing a white tank top, red shorts, and running shoes, running through an eerie, dark, futuristic world and throwing a sledgehammer at a huge TV image of Big Brother. The Big Brother character was giving orders to rows of people that looked like prisoners— a veiled reference to IBM. The commercial ended with a message read by Edward Grover: “On January 24, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.”

Here’s another fun “Macintosh” anecdote by The Father of the Macintosh, Andy Hertzfeld, again from Corporations:

How the Mac Was Almost a Bicycle

The name Macintosh was originally selected because it was Jef Raskin’s favorite type of apple, but the Mac almost wasn’t an Apple at all. When Raskin took a leave of absence in February 1981, Steve Jobs and Rod Holt made the decision to change Apple to something else. They felt that the name Macintosh was just a code name and that a name change was in order to reflect the change in regime.Holt decided on Bicycle as the new name that would replace Raskin’s Macintosh for the duration of the project and presented it to his design team. When they balked, Holt insisted that all references to Macintosh be changed to Bicycle, telling them that it shouldn’t really matter “since it was only a code name.” The Bicycle name originated from an ad that Apple had placed in Scientific American magazine. The ad featured quotes from Steve Jobs about computers, including one about how personal computers were “bicycles for the mind.” The logic was that humans could run as fast as other species, but a human—on a bicycle—could beat them all. Rod’s edict was never obeyed. Somehow, Macintosh just seemed right.

My story goes like this: I received a 128k Mac in the summer of 1984 as a birthday gift from my Mom and spent an entire summer at my grandparents cottage obsessively learning MacWrite and MacPaint. The rest, as they say, is history.

I remember attending an early Macworld Expo (1985?) where the smell of solder was wafting down the hotel hallway from all the backroom Mac 512k upgrades that were being performed. I still have a working 128k in the garage (in the original beige Apple bag, natch) and a MacPortable in the attic, although it’s not the backlit one.

What’s your Mac story? Tell us about your Mac museum in the TalkBack. (C’mon, you know you have one. :)

Aside: Fun BBC video of a Mac 128k booting faster than a modern Windows notebook.

source: blogs.zdnet.com

Six reasons OSX will not go mainstream

Apple has a great consumer OS on its hands. Its sleek, it's easy to use and it will not ever make it to mainstream America.

There are 6 reasons why we will never see Apple take more than a third of the market share. For the sake of this article, mainstream will be referred to as greater than 33% of all computers.

Reason #6: The corporate world won't adopt OSX. Look around your office, more than likely you're looking at a Windows based environment. While it's true that not all companies run Windows, it is safe to say that the majority do in some form. Why wont corporations switch? Its simple, companies invest millions of dollars to keep up a Windows based infrastructure. The only thing costlier than maintaining thousands of computers is to replace them all, all with OSX.

If we can't convert our companies to OSX then we stand little chance in convincing institutions of higher education to do the same. The idea is based on a waterfall principle that we need a major change on one front to affect the rest. The problem is that the world revolves around money and it costs money to replace current infrastructures with OSX. While corporations are not the only user of computers they have a massive trickle down effect. The average person can pick up and use a Windows computer without a problem no matter what version they use; it's a 'comfortable' operating system. The same can not be said about OSX, while it may be easy to use, not nearly as many people have used OSX as compared to Windows. If our corporations use Windows our schools will teach upon it, how many people have taken a Windows based course before?

Reason #5: Software. Let's take a simple look at the available software titles out there for each platform. Regardless of the topic Windows based programs dwarf the OSX competition with ease. If your looking for a program to do a certain task you will, without a doubt, have more options on Windows PC. If you're a hardcore gamer there is no option but to have a copy of Windows at your disposal if you care to keep up on the most current titles.

If you're into business software the options for OSX are dismal at best. While it's unfortunate that Microsoft commands so much power, the latest versions of Microsoft Office always come out on Windows before OSX. While not a deal breaker for the home user it can be for reason #5.

Reason #4: Apples Image. Apple has built the image that it is modern and un-Microsoft. While this is working out great for Apple in the short term it also limits its user base. Take a look at any OSX vs Vista advertisement. It's always the cool kid making fun of the suit Vista. While this is great for the college student looking to get a computer it doesn't work so well with mom and dad who very well may see themselves as a 'suit' in that picture. Look around your dinner table and more than likely your father or mother is a suit at work. Professionalism is key to many adults and Apple has steered itself away from be the professional option. Good for poor college kids not so good for the hard working suit.

Reason #3: OSX is a closed platform. Want to build a custom computer with OSX; don't even try (legally). Apple has limited the configurations that OSX can be implemented on. This works well for Apple's business model but anyone who wants to construct a custom built computer is not able to use OSX (legally). If you're trying to build the ultimate computer with bleeding edge technology for your need, OSX is not an option. Lock the platform and you lock out consumers.

Reason #2: The Apple Tax. To get a computer running OSX you must buy a computer from Apple. Apple computers have a higher cost than a traditional PC from Dell or HP. Also it has to be mentioned that there is no low-cost option. The cheapest option is the Mac-mini which starts at $599.99. For someone looking to buy a budget PC, Apple is not an option.

Reason #1: Steve Jobs. To become a major competitor you must remain strong for the foreseeable future. Many people don't like to buy into a product that doesn't have a long life ahead of it. Regardless of how well OSX runs, how cool it looks, it can all be attributed back to Steve Jobs; he is the master of sales and marketing. Much of Apple's recent success can be attributed to his skills. Steve Jobs will not live nor want to work forever. When Steve passes the buck to the next person in line will his horde of followers accept this?

source: neowin.net

Turn your PC into a Mac!!

Here is a bonus how-to for you this week. After becoming obsessed with a story on Wired News from last month about people getting their Windows PCs to have the same look and feel of Mac OS X, we convinced Aqua-Soft.org staff member Kurt Williams to give us the lowdown on how we could do it ourselves:

So, you wanna make your ugly Windows XP interface look like Mac OS X, huh? It's really not all that difficult to do, and with a little luck, you'll be able to convince all but the most die-hard Mac users that you run an Apple computer. First, here's a list of the programs you'll need:

• StyleXP or WindowBlinds (skins the Graphical User Interface of your operating system)
• ObjectBar (the white Finder bar on the top of Macs; has File, Edit, View, etc. on it.)
• ObjectDock, YzDock (discontinued), or MobyDock (The dock on the bottom of a Mac that contains icons and shortcuts to programs)
• Trillian (chat program that can be skinned to resemble iChat)
• YzToolbar (skins the toolbar icons in your Windows windows)
• YzShadow (puts a lovely drop shadow under your windows á la Mac OS X)
• Rainlendar (popular skinable desktop calendar)
• Rainmeter (skinnable desktop system statistics)
• Samurize (like Konfabulator for the Mac; can display just about anything, such as clocks, uptime, and the weather)
• iTunes for Windows (self-explanatory)
• Icons (The pretty little pictures on your desktop that point you somewhere. There are millions out there, but try the link provided for over a 1,000 lifted from Mac OS X 10.3 aka Panther)

That's pretty much what you'll want for starters. You don't need all of these, and in fact, you really only need a few to get a reasonably good looking OS X facsimile, but if you're gonna do this you might as well do it right. Now on to the guide.

This guide assumes that you have either downloaded/purchased the programs listed and 0that you know your way around a computer, at least to a reasonable extent.

1) I use StyleXP for my visual style, so that's what I'll detail here. WindowBlinds isn't that different, but if you prefer it, be my guest. The first thing you'll need to do is download a skin. I recommend Kol's website, StudioTwentyEight for some excellent skins, but feel free to look around for any others that might interest you. Download your ZIP, and extract it to C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes. Open up StyleXP and load up that baby. Your windows should now look like the skin you downloaded. If you chose Panther (an excellent choice) then they should look somewhat like this:

2) Time to find a good ObjectBar skin. I'd suggest crni's website for some excellent themes. Download the one you like best and extract it to your ObjectBar folder. Open the new folder in there (named something like the theme you downloaded) and double-click the .OBTHEME icon. The top of your screen should now look something like this, depending on your theme (Milk for me):


3) Next up is the dock. Open up whichever version you settled on downloading. This is pretty easy to set up. Basically all you need to do is drag shortcuts or executables to the dock and ta da, you have a shortcut. To change it's icon, right-click and select "change icon" or some variation. To get new icons to select, make sure you put them in the icons subfolder (for YzDock) or the main dock folder (for ObjectDock). Easy as pie. When you have the icons and programs you like, it should look something like this:

4) For those that don't know, Trillian is a nifty chat program that sticks AIM, MSN, ICQ, and IRC into one program. If you don't use it, you should if for no other reason that it can look a lot like iChat. You may or may not need the Pro version to get the skin to work. I've heard mixed reports, but if it doesn't work right, I'd say you need the Pro version. An excellent choice for skins are Danimator's iChat skins. Extract it to your Trillian skin directory, open up Trillian's preferences, go to skins, and select the new skin you want to use. You can follow the readme for some more precise directions to get it looking perfect. When you're done, it should look like this:


5) YzToolbar and YzShadow are pretty self-explanatory. Just install 'em and run 'em. You can find good YzToolbar skins on the net: I'd recommend Aqua-Soft or AquaXP. Depending on skin (Milk, for me) and settings, it should look something like this:

6) Rainlendar and Rainmeter are also pretty easy to install and set-up. Just run the installer, and find a good skin. Again, there's many to choose from. I'd suggest searching the forums at the aforementioned Aqua-Soft and AquaXP. Here's the Rainlender skin I use.

7) Samurize is a bit complicated, so if you're going to try and use it, be forewarned that it can be a very big hassle, if it works at all. I'm not even going to try and explain it in this brief overview, but if you are serious about it, check out the Samurize forums at Aqua-Soft and AquaXP. Here's an example of what it can do:

8) If you listen to music on your computer, no Aqua-fication can be complete without the authentic iTunes for Windows. Apple provides plenty of documentation on how to install and use it, so I'll leave that part to them. If you want to make it look more like iTunes for Macintosh, check out localhost's multi-plugin.

And the final result:

So that's pretty much all there is to it. Good luck!

Run Mac OS X on non apple PC

People have long wanted to run the Mac OS operating system on PC hardware, specifically on Intel and AMD architectures. But despite pleas and prayers, that wish remains unfulfilled.

Although running Mac OS natively on PC hardware is not possible, there is another option--running Mac OS X on an emulator. In this article, I will show you how to install and run Mac OS X Panther on your PC using PearPC, a free, architecture-independent PowerPC platform that runs on PCs. To check out PearPC's features, go to the PearPC-PowerPC Architecture Emulator web site.

Here are the steps you'll take to use PearPC to install Mac OS X:

1. Download the PearPC PowerPC Architecture Emulator.
2. Obtain hard disk images for use with PearPC.
3. Obtain images of your client OS installation disk.
4. Configure PearPC to use the hard disk image and the OS images.

Downloading PearPC

Download the PearPC PowerPC Architecture Emulator. Once it's downloaded, extract its content to a folder, say, [Desktop]:\PearPC. This is the folder that is going to contain all of the files you'll see in the next couple of sections.

Note: [Desktop] refers to the path of my Windows desktop; that is, C:\Documents and Settings\Wei-Meng Lee\Desktop\.

Hard disk images

To install Mac OS X on the emulator, you need a hard disk image. You can download preformatted hard disk images from http://pearpc.net/downloads.php. Two disk sizes are available: 3GB and 6GB. If you plan to install the full Mac OS X, then use the 6GB image. If you have limited disk space on your hard drive, use the smaller, 3GB image. Be aware that the default install of Mac OS X takes up a little more than 3GB, and so you need to unselect certain components during installation if you use the 3GB image.

The disk images come in two formats: BZ2 and RAR. I used the 6GB RAR disk images. You need to uncompress the disk image before you can use it. To uncompress the RAR image, I used WinRAR from http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm. Uncompress the image and save it in the [Desktop]:\PearPC folder.

Making images of your client OS

To install Mac OS X on your hard disk image, you need to make copies of your Mac OS X installation disk in ISO format. You can use Nero or any other disk utility to save CDs or DVDs in ISO format. In my case, I have saved the images in the C:\PearPC folder. I have named the first disk Panther1.iso.

Note: You need to purchase Mac OS X in order to run Mac OS X in PearPC.

Configuring PearPC

Once you've taken the previous steps, you're ready for the final step: configuring PearPC to use the all the relevant disk images. To do it, you need to create a configuration file. You can find the instructions on how to create one manually at http://pearpc.net/guides.php?guides_id=2. Or you can download a Windows application that does all the hard work for you. In my case, I used the PearPC Control Panel to help me manage my Mac OS X emulation.

Launch PearPC Control Panel and click on the Create New Configuration File icon. You will see the first screen as shown in Figure 1. Click on Continue to proceed to the next step.

Figure 1. Using the Create Configuration File wizard

In the next screen, you have to supply a few pieces of information (see Figure 2). First, specify the location of the PearPC emulator. In my case, it is [Desktop]:\PearPC\ppc.exe.

Next, specify the location of the hard disk image; that is, [Desktop]:\PearPC\macosx_6gb.img.

Note: Be sure to replace [Desktop] with your own desktop path.

Also, set the amount of memory you want to set aside for Mac OS X. (I have allocated 255MB.) Click on Continue.

Figure 2. Creating a new configuration file

In the next screen, you have the option to specify the screen resolution and color depth to use. Click on Finish when done (see Figure 3).

Note: I tried to enable networking, but I never got it to work. Also, use G3 and not G4 CPU emulation.

Figure 3. Specifying additional options

Give a name to the configuration file and save the file in the location specified (see Figure 4). Name it Mac OS X Panther and save it in the location [Desktop]:\PearPC\macosxpanther.cfg. Click on Finish.

Figure 4. Completing the wizard

You should now see the icon for your Mac OS X Panther in the PearPC Control Panel (see Figure 5). You need to complete one final step before you start installing Mac OS X on your PC--check the "CD-ROM device is installed" option and specify the location of the Mac OS install disk image. In my case, it is [Desktop]:\Panther1.iso. This is the image that will be used to boot up the emulator.

Figure 5. The completed configuration file

Figure 6 shows the files in my [Desktop]:\PearPC folder. The important files are highlighted.

Figure 6. Files in the PearPC folder

That's it! Double-click on the Mac OS X Panther icon and you should see the PearPC 0.3.0 window pop up (see Figure 7). Your Mac OS X installation should start soon afterward.

Note: It took me quite a while to get my Mac OS X to install. I encountered a number of failed attempts--when I booted into Mac OS X, it prompted me to restart my machine. But after several attempts, it worked.

Figure 7. Installing Mac OS X

Once the OS is installed, you will be asked to restart the machine. For subsequent attempts to run Mac OS X on your emulator, you should uncheck the "CD-ROM device is installed" option so that it can boot directly from the hard disk image. If the installation is performed correctly, you should see something like Figure 8 when Mac OS X boots up.

Figure 8. Mac OS X booting up

Figure 9 shows I am having fun with my newly installed Mac on my PC.

Figure 9. Running Mac OS X on a PC!

And if you still doubt if I am really running Mac OS X on my PC, Figure 10 will prove it to you.

Figure 10. Running Mac OS X in my Windows XP PC

Summary

Before installing PearPC and using Mac OS X, you need to keep several things in mind:

1. You need a license to run Mac OS X. That is, you need to buy a copy of Mac OS X.
2. The installation process takes time. Don't install Mac OS X on a slow machine; I tried the steps outlined in this article on three different machines--933MHz, 1.7GHz, and 3.0GHz, all equipped with 512MB of RAM. The 3.0GHz machine installed significantly faster compared with the rest, but it still took me several hours to get all of the installation done. Also, make sure you have lots of free hard disk space. The hard disk image itself takes up 6GB, and the additional installation disk images are going to take up a few more gigabytes.
3. Even though the installation process is painfully slow, once the system is installed it is actually quite responsive. While you won't be able to fully experience Mac OS X as if you were using a real Mac, the emulation provides a good way for you to try out Mac OS X before you head to the nearest Apple shop to get the latest iMac.

Have fun, and let me know if PearPC works for you.