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 | This British Mac is dedicated to Beth who on a recent trip Liverpool discovered The Beatles, she's only 8 and now has made a coat hanger mobile over her bed of the fab four. Sit back and relax for an hour of Mac and Macca fun - ladies and gentlemen this is British mac
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| No Steve keynote
Apple announced on Wednesday that a team of Apple executives will delivery the keynote address to attendees of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), led by Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing.
WWDC is Apple’s annual gathering of Macintosh and iPhone developers and IT professionals from around the world. This year’s WWDC takes place from 8 - 12, June 2009 at the Moscone West conference center in San Francisco, across the street from the home of Macworld Expo.
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| 10.5.7 Update
Tuesday's release of OS X 10.5.7, the latest update to the Leopard operating system, weighed in at 449MB on my MacBook Pro; the combined updater (which will update any version of OS X 10.5 to 10.5.7) is a whopping 729MB. Even on a super-fast FIOS connection, it took about a few minutes to download the update, and quite a few more minutes to install - it seems that the “writing files” step takes longer and longer with each update.
After waiting through the install phase and requisite reboot, my machine came up in 10.5.7, ready for use. On the surface, there’s nothing visually different about this update. Apple notes only a few changes that may be noticeable at a glance - more RAW image support, better video playback and cursor movement on recent Nvidia-powered Macs, and the ability to grant non-admin users to add and remove printers via the Parental Controls System Preferences panel.
Most of the changes here are below the surface, and as you’d expect with a nearly half-gigabyte update, widespread. To see what Apple has modified, I dug into the update’s BOM file (for more on BOM files; see this older hint; in 10.5.x, you’ll find the BOM files in the /Library -> Receipts -> boms folder).
The list of programs touched by this updater is large, though not all get new version numbers (indicating the changes are very minor). Here’s what’s been updated, based on the BOM file, and the new version number if applicable; if not shown, it’s unchanged from 10.5.6: Address Book (4.1.2), Automator (2.0.3), Dashboard, DVD Player, Exposé, Front Row, iCal (3.0.7), iChat (4.0.8), Mail (3.6), Preview (4.2), Safari 4 Beta, Spaces, Time Machine, Bluetooth File Exchange (2.1.6), RAID Utility (1.0.3), Remote Install Mac OS X, System Profiler (10.5.7; this is updated each cycle), Terminal (2.0.2), and X11. Whew, that’s quite a list!
Note that if you have Safari 4 Beta installed, after upgrading to 10.5.7, you should run Software Update again. When you do, you’ll see a separate 31.8MB Safari 4 Beta update. Run this updater (which will require another restart) to patch Safari 4 Beta against these known security issues. After running this update, the build number of Safari 4 Beta (visible in the Safari -> About Safari dialog) will be 5528.17.
What’s most surprising about the number of modified applications is that very few of those are mentioned on Apple’s 10.5.7 notes page - only Dashboard, Time Machine, iCal and Mail are directly called out, but none of the rest. Although the BOM file makes it simple to see exactly which files were modified within an application, this doesn’t necessarily help figure out exactly what the purpose of the change was.
For example, the BOM file indicates that changes were made to iChat’s balloons, boxes, compact, and text view styles. But comparing those views on my 10.5.6 and 10.5.7 machines reveals no visible differences. I could, of course, use a program like diff (or FileMerge, part of Xcode) to compare the files - text files, at any rate—to see where the differences lie. But with 449MB worth of data, that would be a horrendously time-consuming project.
Instead, I launched each of the modified programs, looking for any visible differences in menus or preferences, as compared to the 10.5.6 version of the same program (running on a not-yet-updated machine). However, nothing obvious jumped out at me in the way of new features in any of these programs. Then again, I’ve only been able to spend a few minutes comparing each program, so perhaps I’ve overlooked something—if you spot any new features, feel free to post them in the comments.
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| Intel up to dirty tricks
The European Commission on Wednesday found Intel guilty of antitrust violations in the market for PC microprocessors and fined it €1.06 billion, around £947 million.
Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said that the antitrust action is primarily designed to protect consumers. "Intel has harmed millions of EU consumers," she said, adding that the large fine meted out should "therefore come as no surprise".
The main antitrust abuses involved paying rebates to system manufacturers and to Europe's largest IT retailer, Media Markt, in order to shut out Intel's closest rival, AMD. Although the rebates resulted in a reduction in retail prices, Kroes said that the harm to consumers stems from their not getting the choice of computers that they would have if AMD wasn't suppressed.
The Commission will monitor Intel's compliance with the ruling. Unlike in the Microsoft case, where it appointed a monitoring trustee, the Commission will do the job itself, said officials in the antitrust group.
Intel plans to appeal the ruling and takes "strong exception" to the Commission's decision, Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini said in a statement, saying the decision is "wrong and ignores the reality of a highly competitive microprocessor market."
"There has been absolutely zero harm to consumers," Otellini said.
The €1.06 billion fine is the largest antitrust penalty the Commission has ever levied against a single company. The size of the fine was calculated taking into consideration the duration of the antitrust abuse, the severity of the actions, and any mitigating circumstances the company could offer. Antitrust officials said that there were no mitigating circumstances in this case.
The fine dwarfs that against Microsoft which was fined €497 million for abusing its dominant position in the software market, plus an additional €1.2 billion for failing to respect the antitrust ruling.
The Commission investigation centered around charges that Intel illegally gave rebates to computer manufacturers in return for them buying the bulk of their x86 microprocessors from Intel.
The company was also accused of paying computer makers to cancel or delay the launch of machines using chips made by rival, AMD, and of selling its chips for server computers at below cost to large customers such as governments and universities.
Last year the Commission added fresh charges, accusing the chip giant of paying generous rebates to Media Markt, Europe's biggest chain of IT stores, in return for it de-listing all computers containing AMD chips.
Intel dominates the personal-computer chip market with share estimated at 81.9 per cent at the end of 2008, while AMD held 17.7 per cent, according to IDC.
Europe isn't the only region where Intel has run into trouble with antitrust authorities. In 2005 the company settled with Japan's competition office. Last year it was fined nearly $20 million in South Korea. Meanwhile, the company is under investigation in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission.
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| The Cloud Expo
20 - 21 May 2009 at the Barbican Centre
http://www.cloudexpoeurope.com/
Apple has entered Cloud
Free Exhibition & Confere
In January Apple announced it’s intentions re cloud computing at MacWorld 2009, see Apple Cloud Now you can find out what the cloud is all about.
As an example, let’s say you needed extra storage, what about if you could only pay for what you use? Storage as a service, over the internet, is just one of the myriad options available through cloud computing.
Basically it is utility computing, using applications and other services only when you need them, as much as you need for spikes in activity and paying for as little as you need when quiet.
Cloud Expo Europe is an exhibition with a free conference in London. You can get free entry by registering NOW at www.cloudexpoeurope.com where you will find more information.
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| David Hockney uses iPhone for art
Now in his 70's, critically acclaimed artist David Hockney has taken a new turn in his glittering career as a painter and all round art ambassador.
Hockney has began creating art using his Apple iPhone, a device he only discovered a few months ago. Reluctant to call it digital art, the artist even has a miniature easel to sit his iPhone on in his London studio.
Never a technophobe, previously Hockney has worked with computers, consumer cameras, fax machines, Quantel Paintbox and Photoshop, playfully experimenting with technology, exploring both the strengths and limitations each offer.
Now the Bradford born artist sees the iPhone as offering a new challenge, creating work on a small canvas that requires you to think about composition, texture and colour. It also offers the possibility to share artwork, work in progress and ideas instantaneously with anyone in the world.
"This is all new territory for art. Sometimes I lie in bed and send illustrated art lectures to friends and also my own iPhone paintings. No camera is involved," Hockney told The Evening Standard. "I like to draw flowers by hand on the iPhone and send them out to friends so they get fresh flowers. And my flowers last! They never die!"
As someone who has embraced, and occasionally abandoned, many working methods Hockney's love for the iPhone doesn't seem like it will end in tears any time soon. "BlackBerries are for secretaries and clerical workers while the iPhone is used by artistic people."
A new David Hockney exhibition, 'Drawings In A Printing Machine', opened this week at the Annely Juda gallery, along Dering Street, just off New Bond Street, London. The show features work created on the iPhone and computer including photo manipulation.
"Whoever would have thought that the telephone would bring back drawing?" adds Hockney who recommends stroking the iPhone screen "very softly" to achieve the best results. "I happen to like the way that an iPhone has a sense of the absurd about it and is therefore close to life."
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| Sting ads to Garageband
Several new artist lessons to its GarageBand Lesson Store on Wednesday, bringing the total number of lessons available for purchase to 13.
With the latest update, Apple added two new Sting songs - "Message in a Bottle" and "Fragile" - and Sarah McLachlan's "Angel".
A couple of other lessons have been added since the feature was introduced with GarageBand '09. John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son" and Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Goin Down".
GarageBand '09 was introduced as part of the iLife '09 suite of applications in January 2009. In addition to adding the Lesson Store, Apple also put quite a few new features in the application for guitar players.
The new lessons are available for $5 and can be downloaded from the GarageBand Lesson Store.
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| Applescript on 2 Fat ladies
Is the BBC brushing up on AppleScript, Apple's powerful, easy-to-learn, easy-to-use automation for Macs?
That's what Macworld reader Chris Murray wondered watching the BBC's Saturday Kitchen cookery marathon last weekend. During a repeat performance of the Two Fat Ladies, Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson found themselves sharing screen time with the distinctive voice of Apple's Sal Soghoian.
Soghoian is widely touted as the "AppleScript Guru" and a driving force behind the continued expansion and acceptance of AppleScript.
"I was surprised to hear the unmistakable voice of Sal Soghoian - Product Manager of Automation Technologies at Apple - start to talk over the top of the recipe," said Chris Murray. " What could the Saturday Kitchen team have needed to know so urgently about AppleScript one wonders?"
Below you can see both the Two Fat Ladies clip, While the AppleScript tutorial they were watching is here.
Sal Soghoian recently spoke with a small UK based blog site about the power of Apple’s Automator in education.
“Every Apple computer running Mac OS X, comes with two powerful automation tools pre-installed: Automator and AppleScript. Automator is an application that enables you to create “automation recipes” (called “workflows”) through a simple drag-and-drop process,” explains Soghoian in the DigMo! blog post.
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| Government drops Super Database
Home secretary Jacqui Smith has cancelled plans for a super-database of all phone calls, emails and Internet use in Britain, following public outcry over the proposals.
Acknowledging that the public was "rightly concerned" about the original proposals, she said the government will monitor the communications in other ways.
Under new proposals, communications companies such as BT, Virgin Media, O2 and others will record all contacts, including Facebook and Twitter usage, but not the content of messages or calls.
Communications firms will be obliged to retain and structure all the data for up to 12 months and hand it to the police when required. This will enable the police to link suspicious activity to specific users, PCs and mobile devices.
Around £2 billion of taxpayer money will be spent on the new plans, as communications firms expand the information they store and organise it. Some of the money may be given to the communications companies to help fund their investment, but it is not known how much.
Original plans for the central database were last month lambasted by a report from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, which called them "almost certainly illegal".
The new plans came as the government today published a public consultation paper, 'Protecting the public in a changing communications environment' . It argued that communications data was vital in solving cases and prosecuting criminals.
Arguing that "to do nothing is not an option", Smith said: "Advances in communications mean that there are ever more sophisticated ways to communicate, and we need to ensure that we keep up with the technology being used by those who would seek to do us harm."
But she added "there are absolutely no plans for a single central store" of data. While the consultation document states that a single database "could be the most effective technical solution ... the government recognises the privacy implications of a single store of communications data and does not, therefore, intend to pursue this approach".
Temprorary assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and head of the Police Central e-Crime Unit, Janet Williams, gave her support to the proposals. She said communications data was "integral" to solving crime, as it enabled the police to see how co-conspirators were linked.
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| WWDC sold out
Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2009 is sold out. The company posted a note on its Web site Tuesday afternoon with the news.
WWDC is Apple's conference where developers gather in San Francisco to hear the latest news on development tools.
Typically developers get the latest updates from Apple in both software and best practices when writing software.
Of course, iPhone OS 3.0 will be a hot topic at this year's conference, as developers figure out what tools they have available to make the next round of cool apps.
A list of conference sessions is available from Apple's Web site.
WWDC takes place in San Francisco from June 8-12, 2009. Videos will be available for purchase shortly after the conference ends, so if you can't go, you can still get the news and training.
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 | The British Mac Pussy Cat Club
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| Say hello and introduce yourself
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| Hi all,
I live in Sidcup in Kent and I've been listening to the podcast since I switched to the Mac about two years ago. In fact I think I listened to a couple of episodes *before* I switched so I could gain some insight to help me make the decision (to switch that is). Oddly enough it didn't put me off and I bought a 20" iMac with s 2.16GHz processor, 2GB of ram and a 500GB hard disk! I also have a 60GB iPod, an Apple TV and a 16GB iPhone all of which work together beautifully. I've since upgraded from Tiger to Leopard and have stuck in another 1GB of ram, and it's always a pleasure use it. I don't think I've ever sworn at it either, something that was a common occurrence with the PC's I owned!
I also love he fact that my Mac has UNIX at it's core as I've been a UNIX sysadmin for many years, although for the last 2, I've been more on the engineering side and spend much of the day programming in perl, bliss 
Anyway, keep up the good work with the podcasts, just toasting you now with a pint of Chiswick Ale, chin chin!
Mark
P.S. Will, perhaps you could try different ales each week instead of that cheap plonk (I did laugh last episode when you choked on that Echo Valley!). I recommend Fullers Golden Pride, a fruity number and 8.5%!
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| Hello folks!
I'm Joe from sunny Wales on the coast 
I've been listening to British Mac since about episode 80. Always makes me chuckle and very informative.
I've only had a MacBook 2.4ghz since January and since the switch will never EVER buy a Windows computer again, I'm not sure I could take the problems any more. I have turned into a bit of an Apple fanboy since now owning an iPhone too along with my trusty iPod classic.
I suppose that is all I have to say for now other than keep up the great work in the podcasts and keep British.
All the best
Joe
P.S. I'm not sure I'd have called Echo Falls evil but it's pretty cheap! Try some classy Wolfblass or a trusty pint of Thatchers gold!
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| Hello all my name is Paul and I'm a web designer & affiliate from Lancashire.
The first Mac I owned was possibly one of the worst ever Macs produced, the PowerMac 4400. It ran Mac OS 8 and despite being extremely slow still convinced me that Macs were the way to go.
Over the years I've owned -
Beige Desktop Power Mac G3.
eMac.
indigo Clamshell iBook.
12" PowerBook G4.
And I currently use -
A 24" iMac - one of the older ones with the white plastic casing, and a 15" MacBook Pro - the old design. Plus in my part time day job I use a Power Mac G5.
Looking forward to reading and contributing to the forums.
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| Jeremy
I don't think I've ever said hello here. I've been a listener since episode 2 and not missed one since. (that must make me the longest suffering of all British Mac listeners eh Will?) Not only have I been there but I also have the British Mac T shirts! Who remembers them?
Anyway my work is nothing to do with macs or any computers.
My first and still my everyday Mac is a G4 12" powerbook, though we also have a G5 20" iMac for family use.
I'll get an intel mac when one catches my eye and can justify the outlay.
I am bang into photography and have been so for over 30 years. I still use film (35 mm and Medium Format) not digital.
drive a Land-Rover Defender, have 2 kids and a wife (not in order of importance there necessarily haha, but then again...)
speak french, enjoy cycling and football, both playing and watching (Manchester United), favourite film director is Jean Jeunet, Music taste too eclectic to name them all here
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| Your desktop - maybe upload wallpapers with Calendars?
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 | Uncle Mac's Retro mac Moment
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| Alice - Through the Looking Glass
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| The new iPhone game was created by the Mac game’s original designer, Steve Capps. It’s described as “a new, extreme take on the one-and-only game Apple sold for the original Macintosh.”
The concept of AliceX is to maneuver Alice around a board filled with chess pieces. This isn’t a strict game of chess, though. The goal is to help Alice capture all the pieces on the board. Alice plays with the capabilities of one of the chess pieces, starting out as the queen and eventually at higher levels restricted to the moves only a pawn can make.
AliceX features 96 levels in four speed groups; there are also different piece designs, including “Classic” Alice pieces, “Hip Hop” pieces and “Bush Memorial” pieces.
If you want to get a sense of the game before spending your $2, you can try a “lite” JavaScript based version on the AliceX Web site.
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| Greetings and welcome to Macintosh Garden. The interest for abandonware is increasing everyday. One reason is that the emulators keep getting better and there are quite a few great emulators that runs the MacOS. Another reason is that people realize that all these new "cool" 3D games already have been made. And usually the original is more fun to play. :)
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| The Case of the Missing Application
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| Assassin's Creed - Altair's Chronicles
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| Will, if you make the Beatles the next BM Icon on the podcast, you'll have a devoted fan for life. We recently toured Liverpool and did the Beatles story etc. Since then, my 8 year old has watched Help at least 20 times and a Hard Day's Night almost as many. She has downloaded pictures from the internet and made a mobile out of coat hangers to suspend the Fab Four over her bed at night.
She is also constantly nagging me to find out if we can "blow the bloody doors off" - so the combination of BM and the Beatles would be paradise for her. Give her a namecheck, Will - she's called Beth.
Wierd-o-stomps
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| Hi Will,
just a quickie to let you know:
1) I've added a link to revamp sub-section behind left hand door on entry and home pages.
2) Updated list of pages on sitemap to include orphaned pages + revamp pages.
3) added link to Website Waffle on all pages within revamp sub-section.
All the best,
Darryl
ps. Mabsey turned up on the forum today!
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| Will
The opening of this weeks show is the best you have ever done - I'm still laughing!
Just bought a pay as you go iPhone on o2. The data plan is free unlimited for a year which makes the overall cost very cheap for me because I never make calls. After the first year, it's £10 a month for unlimited data.
Cheers
Darren Hendley
Sent from my iPhone
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| Hi Will,
I know you are a Filemaker expert. I would be very interested to hear on the podcast your thoughts on Bento in general and Bento for Iphone, which has just come out.
Best regards,
Tom Langley
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| Dave
I remember through the mists of British Mac time that you once recommended a screen reading application that would also save files to audio. It sounded great and really useful for me because I have trouble processing text on a screen. Can you remind me what it is so I can download it?
Will
I set the ~ key to activate it.
If you then want to make an audio file use AudioHijack! Volla!
Also you can use the script:
After reading this hint on macosxhints about how to create an audio file from text, I figured the process could probably be streamlined a bit. So, I created a Service (that appears in the Services menu) that operates on selected text. Select the plain text in your source location (text file, web page, email, etc.) and then select Services » Speak to iTunes Audiobook to speak the text into a track that will appear in the Audiobooks section of iTunes. Just remember to set the encoder quality beforehand in iTunes, because it's not configurable through AppleScript (I recommend using 'Spoken podcast').
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2008050623341520
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| Thanks to Jollup, Bruno Edwards, JackcwSpencer, The Vinnies, Pilgrim Bob for taking the time to review British Mac in iTunes (uk only) in April
and BillyBooBearsDad and Martin for reviewing in May
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