Macking 135

by Michael Pearce
Also published in Computer Chips, November, 2006

My MacBook Is Back
Is it fixed? I don't really know. It seems to be working after a month, but I am still getting weirdness from Temperature Monitor and CoreDuoTemp. It was giving me processor temperature readings of 59F and 48F which is lower than the ambient room temperature. Not possible. If I did a restart, I would get temperatures of 125.6 and 118.4. (There are two numbers because it is measuring CPU Core 1 and Core 2.) I can lower those temperatures by closing the ’Book and letting it cool off in Forced Sleep mode (which it won't do if I just walk away and let it sleep because I have Energy Saver set to Never Sleep the computer, just turn off the display backlight) but if I just let it sit, opening and closing programs and running videos, the temperature never updates.
Since the 95-degree days are over I can no longer see how it performs under the stress of a hot day. Performance-wise it is behaving itself so I have not had to do the dreaded Erase and Install to clear out any chance of its problems being software-caused. I still cannot recommend the MacBook to anyone just yet, though, until I hear that the problem has stopped occurring in so many other people's units, and it never returns in mine. Wait for the next generation if you can. If you really want one, be aware that you might have to send it off to AppleCare for a few weeks, so hang on to your old Mac for at least four months, if not forever.
In fact, the problem is so widespread that a number of MacBook owners are organizing a class-action suit. See the article here. Also visit AppleDefects.com who have been tracking this issue. They have photos of how certain wires are actually melting onto the surface of the heat sink, causing the Random Shutdown Syndrome that I and others experienced. There's even a web domain devoted specifically to this problem. Press deadlines being what they are, you will be reading this in print a month after writing, so I would advise you to check in with Macintouch.com and Macfixit.com to see what has happened lately.
One of my problems turned out to be software, though. It was the Application Enhancer by Unsanity, which is really sad because they make very cool programs, including one that brings back the old Window Shade effect abandoned after OS9, and the other a way of making the Dock background clear instead of milky white. I sent them off a bug report about this. As of deadline time they issued an update to WindowShade, so I will try that out shortly.
I can do without accurate temperature monitoring, if I no longer experience any problems caused by normal heating. I am certainly stressing it enough; putting together a complex InDesign document while also running Word, Photoshop 7, Safari and Eudora all at the same time, along with several smaller utilities. This is exactly how it's supposed to work!

Fan Control for MacBooks
At last! Here on deadline day I finally read about an application that lets the user set the fan threshold so your MacBook can run cooler. I just downloaded and installed it on the spot.
I have been waiting for this. Apparently it only controls the minimum speed of the fan, not the temperature at which it comes on. But the users rate this as having cut the operating temperature by 20 degrees, making it into a "laptop" again.

How To Use Tabs
I love web comics. I use Safari's Tabs feature (which you must enable in Preferences) to open 33 comics at once. To do this, you first create a folder in the Safari Bookmarks area under the header Bookmarks Bar. Call it Comics. Then start going to comic sites and choose Add Bookmark. When the dropdown menu appears, move to this folder using the popup Location menu, and, if necessary, change the name in the first field. Usually there is some overlong title like "Seattle Post-Intelligencer presents Safe Havens." Delete everything but the actual strip name. Then move to the next comic site and repeat the process. When you are done you will have a folder in the Bookmarks Bar with all of the sites listed, and at the bottom you will find the menu item "Open in Tabs."
Almost every strip you find in your daily paper can be found here, although some run a two-week delay. Most are in color. There are others, however, that don't appear anywhere but the Web, and these are among the best. Here are some of my own favorites for you to check out:

Others: I also get a lot of mainstream strips that run in this and other papers, or did run and were dropped. Between Friends, Frazz, Herman, Bizarro, Brevity, Close to Home, Over the Hedge, Sylvia, Safe Havens, Brewster Rockit Space Guy, Tom Toles, Shoe, Rhymes with Orange, Cats With Hands, Mister Boffo. All of these can be found either at GoComics, United Media, or Comics.com.

Angie's List Is Now Fee-Based
Remember Angie's List? This is the service that you go to for member-rated repair services, roofers, plumbers, dry cleaners... and computer repair. It's been good for me because I have received good ratings from my clients who belong. It has been free up to now but as of October 1, you have to pay to join up and use their service.
Cost is $4.95/month plus $10 signup fee, or $59.40 + $10 yearly (no savings for yearly signup). You can save the $10 signup fee by calling their phone center at 503-220-4100. Those who joined the free service will get a renewal notice 11 months after they signed up. There are almost 80,000 members in the Portland area. I knew they would eventually have to come up with a way to pay for those daily ads in the Oregonian and everything else they do. For more information visit http://www.angieslist.com/ but don't join there or you will have to pay the extra $10.

Be Glad You Can't Run Windows Media
According to an article in TheInquirer.net, the new version 11 of Windows Media Player completely shreds all rights or pretence of rights you have when buying their DRM-infected files. Thought iTunes was bad? Under WMB 11, you can't move the files from one PC to another, you can't back them up, you can't move them to an iPod or other player without specific tools and authorization from Microsoft or even use TIVO-like recording. Files are deleted after three days without any way for you to prevent it. Furthermore, it will be illegal to do anything at all to circumvent these limitations and, believe me, Microsoft and their partners will be invading your computer to check up on you.
Even if you rip your own CDs, WiMP will take your rights away too. If the "Copy protect music" option is turned on, their 1984-esque wording states, "If the file is a song you ripped from a CD... you might be able to restore your usage rights by playing the file. You will be prompted to connect to a Microsoft web page that explains how to restore your rights a limited number of times." This says that it will keep track of your ripping externally and remove your rights whether or not you ask it to. Can you think of a reason you would need to connect to MS for permission to play the songs you ripped from your own CDs? How long do you think it will be fore a service pack, masquerading as a 'critical security patch" takes away the optional part of the 'copy protection'?
"WiMP11 represents one of the biggest thefts of your rights that I can think of. MS planned this, pushed the various pieces slowly, and this is the first big hammer to drop. Your rights, the promises they made, and anything else that gets in the way of the content mafia making yet more money gets thrown out. Why? Greed. Your rights? History. You were dumb enough to let it happen, so don't say I didn't warn you."
Time for you PCPeople to give up on MicroShaft forever and get a Mac. Soon you will be able to use a variation of WINE called CrossOver Mac to run your Windows-only applications without having to install Windows at all. Don't ever buy anything that requires WMV. If you really, really dislike the MacOS, then join with the millions of others who are keeping their PCs and switching to Linux. You will have to work harder to educate yourself in its ins and outs, but you will be helping to put an end to this kind of Micro-shafting once and for all.
Oh, and don't buy a Zune. It is also riddled with DRM that is so intrusive, so destructive, that if you wirelessly transfer a music file from one Zune to another (a much-touted feature) that file will get deleted after 3 plays, even if what you transfer is licensed under creative commons and is 100% legal to share.
Speaking of Windows Media, the blogs are all ranting about the ludicrous license requirements and limitations of Windows Vista when it's released. First, only the two most expensive versions are authorized for use on a Mac under Parallels (BootCamp is okay), but the others aren't. Second, you are permitted to move it to another computer only ONCE. Dead hard drive or fried motherboard? Too bad for you. Go rebuy it.
Crazier still, when you are running it under Parallels or any other "virtual machine" setup, you are specifically prohibited from using it to view WMV protected media content.
Microsoft is simply losing it. I mean it; do whatever it takes to quit using ANY of their products. Line up in droves to stay away from Vista.

Letter
JMB writes, I wonder if Apple understands the large gap they have created by not producing a new version of Appleworks. Today my wife told me that the school district where she works as a media specialist (aka librarian) is going to purchase MS Office for Mac because Appleworks is increasingly out of date with every new OS update. Pages does not have the flexibility of Office as it lacks spreadsheet and data base functions.
The problem with MS, as I'm sure you know, is that purchasing an institutional license allows them to literally come on site and inspect the inner workings of your computers. They threatened the school district with this about 2 years ago but backed down.
I'm very sorry to see this happen. I think the district won't consider other alternatives because they are not that well known or widely used. From their point of view, I'm sure they think Nobody Doesn't Like Microsoft..

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

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