One of the week's top Mac stories has to do with iPhoto 11, which is
sometimes messing up people's photo libraries or even losing them.
iPhoto 11 has also removed the easy email feature for sharing images.
We have a special section for iPhoto 11 coverage
this week.
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News & Opinion
iPhoto 11
News & Opinion
Apple Drops to 9th in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener
Electronics
Thinq's Stewart Meagher reports:
"Greenpeace has just published its quarterly Guide to Greener
Electronics and, on the surface, it looks pretty bad for Apple."
"Apple gets a big green tick when it comes to toxic chemicals with
all products now free of PVC and brominated fire retardants (BFR). But
the company's refusal to supply information about some of the materials
it uses and its supply-chain communications continues to irk Greenpeace
which seems to think it has a god-given right to know everything the
Cupertino company is planning in the future."
Publisher's note: Despite having the same 4.9 score as last time,
Apple moves 5th place to 9th this time. Apple has a lower rating than
Nokia, Sony Ericsson, HP, and others not because its electronics are
any less green, but because it has not taken a public stance on some
subjects dear to Greenpeace. Greenpeace is rating electronics
companies (and whether or not they openly advocate for certain
policies) more than electronics products; it's misleading to
call the report a guide to greener electronics - and it's misleading
for Thinq to say that "Apple has got dirtier" when Apple's score
remains the same. dk
Link: Apple Has Got
Dirtier, Greenpeace Says
Link: Guide to Greener
Electronics
Microsoft Is a Dying Consumer Brand
CNN Money's David Goldman says consumers have turned their backs on
Microsoft, and a company that once symbolized the future is now living
in the past. Goldman notes that Microsoft has been late to the game in
crucial modern technologies including mobile, search, media, gaming,
and tablets, and it has even fallen behind in Web browsing, a market it
once ruled, with all of the major browsing innovations of the past few
years (like tabbed browsing and add-ons) coming from outside Microsoft.
He includes a rundown of Microsoft's major consumer projects - Zune,
Windows Phone 7, Internet Explorer, Bing, Tablet PCs - and finds
trouble in almost all of them. Even Windows and Xbox show weaknesses,
according to Goldman.
Link: Microsoft
Is a Dying Consumer Brand
Mac, iPad, and iPhone Invading the Enterprise
Channel Insider's Jessica Davis says:
"Businesses are interested in Apple's
iPad, whether as a laptop replacement for busy executives, a tablet
for doctors accessing electronic medical records or a customer
interaction tool for retailers. Apple CEO Steve Jobs said of iPad's
business momentum: 'it's being grabbed out of our hands.'
"iPad for business? Just ten years ago the idea of a significant
Apple computer presence in the enterprise would have been scoffed at
and quickly brushed aside, but those days seem to be ending. More and
more, employees are bringing their iPhones to work, requesting to work
with Mac instead of Windows computers, and that is translating to more
requests for the iPad as well.
"It's a trend that took even Apple CEO Steve Jobs by surprise."
Link:
Apple's Mac, iPad, iPhone Invading the Enterprise
Apple No Longer Bundling Adobe Flash Player
The Guardian's Charles Arthur reports that as of this week, none of
Apple's products will ship with a Flash player plugin. Mac users who
want Flash player will be obliged to to download it (link below), a
process that Apple has not made easier by including "click to install"
links.
Oracle's Java is also tagged as likely to require a user install
beginning with OS X 10.7 Lion, and Flash has already been banished from
Apple's iOS devices
Arthur asks: "Is it the next step towards the future of the web, or
insanity?"
Editor's note: My take is the latter explanation seems more likely.
cm
Link: Apple Stops
Bundling Adobe Flash Player on Macs 'for Security'
Link: Adobe Flash
Player
Adobe: Apple's Flash Concerns 'Ridiculous'
V3.co.uk's Iain Thomson reports that complaints by Apple's Steve
Jobs that Adobe Flash is too buggy and power hungry have been dismissed
as ridiculous by Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayen, observing at the Adobe
MAX 2010 conference that no-one else has a problem with Flash and
demonstrating Flash working on a variety of tablets, including RIM's
Playbook and Android devices from Samsung and Malata.
Link: Adobe
Boss Slams Apple's Flash Concerns as 'Ridiculous'
For a counterpoint, see Laptop's
Mobile Flash Fail: Weak Android Player Proves Jobs Right
(2010.08.18) - "...I'm sad to admit that Steve Jobs was right. Adobe's
offering seems like it's too little, too late."
Switching to OS X: Just Use It
AppStorm's Matt Reich says:
"I've been a Mac user now for about a year and a half, give or take.
As is common, I'm completely happy I took the plunge and will never
look back. There is very little I dislike about my MacBook and
OS X. If you're looking to convert yourself I'll tell right now,
you won't regret it. The rumors are true. It is a fantastic experience
overall.
"But there are certainly some possible areas of frustration. As an
advanced Windows user, I found many aspects of OS X to be
overly-simplified, and really quite alien. Today, I'll be outlining a
few of these examples - and explaining the best way to deal with this
source of frustration!"
One of Reich's most interesting observations is that in his
estimation it is easier for a novice Windows user to learn Mac
OS X than a power Windows user, with the Mac OS appearing just too
logical and too easy without there being some sort of catch. The best
advice he can offer to someone coming over from the Windows world is to
forget everything they've learned and just use the machine.
Link: Switching from
Windows to OS X: Just Let It Go
70 Apps for Advanced Mac Users
AppStorm's Julia Altermann says:
"Early in August, we helped to get you started with your Mac by
introducing
50 Essential Apps for OS X Beginners. Today, we will take you to
the next level with an incredibly comprehensive list of 70+ apps geared
towards advanced users.
"These apps are a mix of free and paid for software, and in order to
provide you with as much information as possible, we've included
multiple apps for similar tasks if available. This list is by no means
complete, but it should help you to unlock some more of your Mac's
great potential!"
Link: Mac Software for
Advanced OS X Users: 70 Apps
iLife 11 Leaves PowerPC Macs Behind
ZDNet blogger David Morgenstern observes that the clock keeps
running down for PowerPC Macs, with Apple's recently released iLife '11
content-creation suite only supporting Intel. Morgenstern observes that
the last PowerPC Mac was discontinued in the summer of 2006 - ancient
history in the personal computer context, although many PPC machines
are still working away.
Editor's note: Three of them still in active service in your
editor's family fleet. cm
Publisher's note: We have three G4 Power Macs in regular service at
Low End Mac headquarters. dk
Link:
Apple iLife '11 Orphans PowerPC Macs
Also see Dan Bashur's iLife 11: Another
Nail in the PowerPC Coffin.
Boonana Trojan Targets Macs
A SecureMac Security Bulletin says:
"SecureMac has discovered a new trojan [sic] horse in the
wild that affects Mac OS X, including Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6),
the latest version of OS X. The trojan horse,
trojan.osx.boonana.a, is spreading through social networking sites,
including Facebook, disguised as a video. The trojan is currently
appearing as a link in messages on social networking sites with the
subject 'Is this you in this video?'
"When a user clicks the infected link, the trojan initially runs as
a Java applet, which downloads other files to the computer, including
an installer, which launches automatically. When run, the installer
modifies system files to bypass the need for passwords, allowing
outside access to all files on the system. Additionally, the trojan
sets itself to run invisibly in the background at startup, and
periodically checks in with command and control servers to report
information on the infected system. While running, the trojan horse
hijacks user accounts to spread itself further via spam messages. Users
have reported the trojan is spreading through e-mail as well as social
media sites."
Link: Boonana Trojan Horse
trojan.osx.boonana.a
iPhoto 11
In Depth with iPhoto 11
Thinq's Stewart Meagher takes a thorough look at Apple's new iPhoto
11 image organization and editing software, which he notes is all about
simplicity on the surface as well as sophistication if you want to dig
a little deeper. Meagher observes that there is very little different
in iPhoto 11 when compared to the previous 09 iteration, pointing out a
few highlights and lowlights.
Link: In Depth
with Apple's iPhoto 11
iPhoto 11 Ate My Library
The Register reports that Apple fans upgrading to the latest version
of iPhoto are finding that their photo albums are being reordered,
messed up, and in some instances apparently eaten up, either in part or
completely.
Link: iPhoto 11 Ate
My Library, Say Users
Apple Working on iPhoto 11 Photo Loss Fix
AppleToolBox says:
"A fix for an issue in which photo libraries are blank or missing
after the update to iPhoto 11, and all of the contained images are
apparently deleted, is reportedly imminent."
Link: Apple Reportedly
Working on iPhoto 11 Photo Loss Fix
How to Downgrade to iPhoto 09
AppleToolBox says:
"Several users who are dissatisfied with new iPhoto 11 feature
changes, or who are experiencing problems with third-party add-ons or
other issues may seek to downgrade to iPhoto '09. There are two methods
for doing so."
Link: How to Downgrade
iPhoto '11 to iPhoto '09
Workaround for iPhoto 11's Loss of Easy Way to
Email Photos
AppleToolBox says:
"Several users have lamented a change in functionality under iPhoto
11, in which the ability to easily email photos as attachments is
gone."
"There are a few ways to workaround this issue."
Link: iPhoto 11 Loses
Easy Emailing of Photos; Workaround
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