August 22nd, 2008
If you’re interested in having a website which runs on OS X, having full control of the server with multiple fail-safes and redundencies, and a very large pipe to it, then you might want to consider the offerings from MacMiniColo.net.
These folks are part of a larger operation run by Switch Communications in Las Vegas, Nevada. Switch runs one of the biggest high-speed data centers in the country.
MacMiniColo specializes in running MacMini servers with OS X server. You can send them your MacMini, or buy one from them. The monthly costs start at $35, and go up from there depending on what add-on services you require.
While you can certainly get hosting packages for less then this, remember that your site will be the only one on your server. Also, these guys offer a very fat pipe to your server.
Check them out: http://www.macminicolo.net
August 7th, 2008
I’ve done web design and development for over 10 years. In the past, it was done in the typical way: I design and develop the site for a client, and deliver and launch the site. Then, typically, every time an addition or change is needed, the client must come back to me because they don’t want to invest the time into learning DreamWeaver, CSS, XHTML, PHP, etc.
This was expensive for the client, and not very interesting work for me once the original site was complete.
So I’ve been working on a new model of site design for small businesses which uses opensource (free) software and allows website owner (or staff) to easily login and make changes or additions to the site. I’ve developed a design technique and process, using all opensource software, which allows me to design smart looking sites that are easy to navigate, have a high level of functionality, and have a simple backend user interface for maintenance.
This translates to considerable savings for the business over the long run, more internal control of the website for the business, and it allows me to focus on site design and development rather than site maintenance.
I am putting together this process with a training component for small business owners who want to create a website.
Please email me if you are interested in this model for your business.
June 26th, 2008
A new survey conducted by Yankee Group Research Inc. of more than 700 senior IT administrators and C-level executives revealed that nearly 80% of businesses have Macs in-house. This number is up from the last survey in 2006 which indicated that 47% of businesses had in-house Macs.
Two interesting details of this survey are:
- 21% of the firms surveyed reported having delpoyed more than 50 Macs (some ranged into the thousands)
- 28% of the firms reported running Windows in a virtual machine on the Macs
Clearly, virtualization software has helped catalyze this trend towards Mac delpoyment. The two leaders in virtualization software are VMware Inc. (their product is Fusion) and Parallels.
In business and in education, there is an increasing trend towards making the Mac the platform of choice. The one unfortunate side-effect from this trend may be the increased (although minimal) exposure of the Mac OS to hackers’ efforts.
June 20th, 2008
I usually refrain from posting “theoretical” OS X exploits since they rarely pose any real threat to Mac users. However, several sources are now reporting multiple Mac Trojan horses in the wild. These Trojans exploit a root vulnerability in Apple Remote Desktop Agent in Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.
This exploit has been rated as “critical”, but it does require that a user download and open the Trojan file.
Pay attention, folks. We knew that Macs would come more and more into hackers focus as market-share grew.
See more information at the SecureMac site.
June 19th, 2008
Apple announced OS X 10.6 named Snow Leopard as more of a performance release rather than a feature release.
Some of the announced changes include a smaller footprint (giving back some hard drive space), Microsoft Exchange support, extended 64-bit support to allow a theoretical 16TB of RAM, faster clock speeds with the multicore “Grand Central” technology, and QuickTime X which includes optimized support for the latest codecs.
It’s not known yet whether Snow Leopard is the beginning of dropped support for PowerPC by Apple. Several developers are reporting that their developer preview copy runs only on Intel machines.
The rumors are that this will be a free upgrade, but that hasn’t been announced yet.
June 17th, 2008
It’s been around for awhile now, but I don’t see much mention of it. GOOG-411 is a great 411 service that is free and convenient.
From any phone you dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411), when you connect to the system you say out loud the city and state. Then you say the name of the business or the business type. The system quickly returns the top listings, letting you choose one. Then it automatically dials the number for you.
Like most of Google’s services, it’s simple, elegant and very useful. GOOG-411 is on my iPhone’s favorites and is a service I use often.
For more information, check out their site and the quick video: GOOG-411
May 21st, 2008
It appears that identity theft has hit Apple’s iTunes store.
ComputerWorld is reporting in their article Phishers point scam at Apple’s iTunes that some people are receiving email messages telling them that a problem must be corrected in their iTunes account. The email contains a link to a bogus iTunes billing page, requesting the user re-enter their information, including credit card number, security code, and other information for identity theft.
iTunes Store users beware.
May 21st, 2008
Several sites are now reporting that Apple will launch the 3G iPhone sometime in June, 2008.
This is really no a great surprise since rumors of the 3G iPhone have been around since before the last iPhone release. The interesting buzz is about the possibility that AT&T may offer subsidies of as much as $200 on this phone for a two-year contract. If that’s the case, this would bring the 8GB down to $199 and the 16GB down to $299.
The other buzz is that the new phones will have a slightly different form factor. Early rumors suggested the phone would be slightly thicker. But more recent rumors suggest the new iPhones will be 9.2mm thick, compared to the current 11.7mm thickness. So, I guess this means that they’ll either be thicker or thinner. Such is the nature of rumors.
Unfortunately, I just bought my 16GB iPhone a few months ago. So. I’ll not likely be getting one of these next generation iPhones this year. Perhaps it’s better to first hear reports of the 3G network, and determine whether or not it will make a difference in my area.
May 8th, 2008
The cover story on last week’s Business Week was about the Mac’s growing presence in the corporate world.
While this trend is not particularly surprising to most seasoned Mac users, it’s notable for the fact that Apple has spent very little resources directly targeting this market. And yet, March, 2008 sales for Macs exceeded all forecasts, climbing 51% over the previous year. The article points out that combined Mac, iPhone and iPod sales grew from $5.2 billion in fiscal 2002 to $24 billion in 2007. Apple’s share price has risen 2,300% over the past 5 years.
It appears that a number of factors are at work here, including cross over from iPod and iPhone sales. However, one major factor may be the troubled Vista operating system, which seems to have been a dog from the start. Microsoft’s own Steve Ballmer calls Vista a “work in progress.”
May 6th, 2008
As most of you know, the Mac OS is a UNIX-based operating system. UNIX systems have a way of maintaining themselves through scheduled maintenance routines that clean up a variety of system logs and temporary files. These automated scripts generally run in the wee hours of the morning (somewhere between 3am and 5am). However, if your Mac is turned off or in sleep mode during these hours, these maintenance routines will not run.
A healthy Mac is a regularly maintained Mac. So if you don’t leave your Mac on and awake over night, it’s best to run these maintenance routines on a regular basis.
You can do this manually by typing the following into a Terminal session:
sudo periodic daily weekly monthly
Using Maintenance Applications
There are a number of 3rd party applications that do this work (and more) for you. Some of these are free, some cost. Check them out:
My current preference is Cocktail, which has a free version and a paid version.
I’d like to hear from folks who have other opinions and experience with these types of applications.
