Macking 132

10.4.7 Successful, Maybe
I read the news, noted the problems others had with Apple's latest updates, and installed them all on my black MacBook. I had to go get an update to PithHelmet, the shareware ad blocker for Safari, but otherwise everything I have works, even the somewhat-buggy Suitcase X1 (since replaced by Extensis with Suitcase Fusion, their current font manager) which I still use.
Also included was an update to QuickTime 7.1.2 and iTunes 6.0.5. As yet, Apple still allows CD burning of iTunes items.
Not fixed: This beast still runs hot and a half. Playing an iTunes video podcast sent the temp to 164, but the fan came on and dropped it 30 degrees. I will see if the fan works better than before; playing videos would boost this to the 170s before the fan would start.
The heat is still reduced when I unplug and run from batteries. Even though I am doing the same thing, and the CPU usage and processor speed are identical, I see temps as much as 40 degrees cooler. No word from the blogs about that yet. Since the only time you would be using this on your lap would be on battery (in most cases), the heat shouldn't burn your skin but I still recommend a lap stand.
Not to say things are perfect, however. There are little glitches here and there that I did not experience on the G4 PowerBook. More times programs will unexpectedly quit that were formerly rock solid, like Eudora and Spamfire. Safari seems better, though; I could count on it always quitting when I control-clicked on a link to download it to disk instead of playing it in a window. Now it works as well as Firefox; hasn't crashed yet while running the ad-blocker "PithHelmet" which I am sure introduced a measure of instability in older versions.
Basically, don't expect perfection if you go Intel. It works, but only pretty well. Still, the MacBook is such a great machine it's worth a few glitches and it will only get better over time. (Note: See Macking 133 for a report on how my 'Book got so bad I had to return it to Apple for service.)

Easy access to Utilities
This is the best tip I have read in some time. To access your Utilities folder just type command-shift-U! A Macintouch reader mentioned it during a report on the 10.4.7 update. Just switch to the Finder and hit the command and your folder will pop right up.
I love shortcuts like this. It was sitting right under the Go menu, along with command-shift-A, which opens your Applications folder. Since I hardly ever use the Go menu, I didn't even notice it all this time. See, no matter how much you think you know, you learn something new every day.

It Dies, It Lives, It Dies Again
The endlessly-delayed, on-again, off-again Northwest Apple Store slated for NW 23rd Avenue is on "indefinite hold" due to decisions by the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission. Even though the building Apple would replace is considered non-historic and worth demolishing, they objected to Apple's proposed modernistic design. Apple did not attend the last meeting so it looks like the newest store is an undone deal. There is currently no Apple or Mac dealer in the downtown or Northwest area, except for the mall store in the basement of Pioneer Place, next door, as usual, to Victoria's Secret.

Don't Put Vista on your IntelMac
According to press releases and PC blogs, Windows Vista will allow the unauthorized installation of ActiveX controls by corporate web sites. Because of complaints of excessive intrusive requests from those sites, Microsoft will be allowing enterprises to bypass this basic security.
This is akin to a corporation being able to install an application on your Mac without your permission, by simply visiting the site.
Now many people believe that a corporation would never do anything wrong, just like some believe that the government would never do anything wrong. (You can stop laughing now.) Even if this were true, this is the kind of security hole that malware writers revel in.
This is what happens when Marketing makes decisions that terrifies Engineering. Yet another reason to keep your Mac Microsoft-free.

Satellite Internet
Can't get broadband any other way? It's expensive, but you can get HughesNet for any site that can see the southern sky. You gotta pay $600 in front and $60 or $70 per month (15 month contract) but if you live in the country and can't get it any other way beyond a staggeringly slow dialup, at least it's now possible. Totally Mac compatible. There is a scheme to avoid the $600 by paying $99 a month instead.

No More Apple CRTs
Apple has officially left the CRT business by dropping their last picture-tube display model, the eMac. Replacing it will be an Education Configuration model of the 17" Intel iMac listing for $895. Price includes an 80-gig hard drive, AirPort, Combo drive (reads CDs and DVDs, but burns only CDs), built-in iSight camera and the usual insufficient 512Mb RAM. If you buy one, be sure to order it with a gig of RAM and AppleCare; otherwise it's a complete unit.

I Like Mighty Mouse
I didn't when it first appeared, but since I have spent more time with it, I think it is a good one. I never have problems discerning between right click and left click, and the little scroll ball works perfectly. No clients who have one have contacted me with complaints about the ball sticking, and the mouse is new enough so nobody is suffering the usual frayed wire connection that plagues all of Apple's other no-button mice. (Hint: Make sure when you move the mouse, the wire end never bangs into anything on your desk. Give it plenty of room. Repeated bends and flexing is what causes it to fray, and there is no fix but to replace it.)
This mouse is included with every Mac sold now, except for laptops and the Mac Mini. A recent hint from The Unofficial Apple Weblog says that the little ball can get dirty, so to clean it take a lint-free cloth, turn the mouse upside down and roll the ball around on the cloth. Don't press to hard or it will break the mechanism.

Your iSight Sees You
Visit this site if you have Tiger and an iSight camera. It's a learning experience to discover that someone can turn on your own camera and display the image on their web page, even if you're the only one seeing it. For now. Of course, the Bureau of Internal Security can see you, but they always could.

Charts Is Coming
Not a grammatical error: Charts is the rumored name of the rumored spreadsheet program coming from Apple next January, to be added to the iWork suite. Once this is in place, Apple will be 3/5 of the way towards replacing all the functions of AppleWorks, although with much more features and capability. I wouldn't hold my breath for a simplified version of FileMaker, though.

Yahoogroups Getting Bloated
Too much corn syrup? Simple one-line text messages sent through a Yahoo group bloats to 13K thanks to an embedded logo and dozens of three-line html links, all of which pollute the bottom third of a message. The upper third is an equal waste of space and excess coding. This mess began in late June and affects all Yahoogroups.
Time for someone to start up a list service to compete. It could be called, oh I don't know, egroups.com? (That's the company Yahoo took over a few years ago and still holds the domain.) Naturally there is no place to complain to Yahoo about this, except in a general comments and problems area that is probably immediately sent to dev/null.

No Microsoft products were used in the production of this column.

email mp at moonmac dot com. (I took out the mailto link because that's how the spammers find me.)