I have two computers in the same room, about five feet from one another. One is an iMac acting as a media center for playing music, videos, etc. and the other is a MacBook Pro that I use to work on. After I got the iMac hooked up and bumping my tunes, I very quickly realized that I was going to need the remote to control the volume, pause, and play. The only problem was the remote was controlling both my iMac and MacBook Pro, so I had to disable the remote on the MacBook Pro.

To disable the remote control:

1. Open “System Prefences”
2. Click “Security”



3. Check the box “Disable remote control infrared receiver”

• iPod Linux… HELP!
• MacBook Pro Battery
• iWeb and FTP
• Best way to create a website?
• iPod Touch Adapter

The fine folks in Redmond have released Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.1.2 update which includes stability and performance enhancements for Office 2008, Office 2008 Home and Student Edition, Office 2008 Special Media Edition, Word 2008, Excel 2008, PowerPoint 2008, and Entourage 2008. In addition, this fixes several vulnerabilities, some of which may allow an attacker to run code on your machine if you open malicious document. The download is 160MB and is available at the aforementioned URL (English direct download here) or via the Microsoft AutoUpdate agent.

Microsoft has stated that you should have installed the 12.1.1 Update prior to installing 12.1.2.

In similar fashion, Office 2004 has been updated to 11.5.1 which also has security, stability and performance fixes for Office 2004 Standard Edition, Office 2004 Student and Teacher Edition, Office 2004 Professional Edition, Word 2004, Excel 2004, PowerPoint 2004 and Entourage 2004. The 15MB download (English direct) is available via similar channels as the Office 2008 update.

Microsoft has stated that you should have installed the 11.5.0 Update prior to installing 11.5.1.

For what it’s worth: no problems on my end for Office 12.1.2, but I have not had an opportunity to do extensive testing. Since these updates do include security fixes (have I mentioned just how annoying it is when vendors mix security patches with other fixes?) you should install this immediately (after testing, if you’re in a more formal/larger production/working environment).

AutoUpdate should engage at some point today (it has not been populated as of this writing) and the direct links to the info-pages have not percolated to all of Microsoft’s web farm yet.

Let TAB readers know your post-update praises or woes in the comments!

I thought Daylite 3.7 by Marketcircle was just another PIM, kind of like Microsoft’s Outlook or Entourage. Daylite is not just another PIM; it is a business tool that organizes your data better than any other application I have ever used.

Currently, I am part of FiniteComedy.com, a small video production company that makes video for the web. Creating and producing video content creates tons of projects that require plenty of attention.

My Old System

I had been using a kludge of applications to keep myself organized. I regularly used a combination of Google Calendar + iCal integration and GMail and its Contacts feature. I’ve experimented with 37signals and its Highrise web application — Highrise is an online address book, contact manager, task list web application; I don’t believe it has a calendar. It is a fine web application, but for some reason it never stuck with me.

I have also had a lot of past experience using Microsoft Outlook, but hardly used Entourage.
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• Favorite iPhone Apps?
• Apple Loyalty
• Advice re: Upcoming mbPro Purchase
• Deleting … files? how to do it!!
• “The Application Superdrive……”

I’m in the middle of building an iPhone app (for eventual distribution in the App Store) and, given what happened recently with NetShare, I took a moment to step back and see just how much control Steve & Co. have over the potential livelihood of iPhone developers. It turns out, being part of the iPhone Developer Program is a bit like tuning in to the Outer Limits.

Apple Controls The Horizontal

The iTunes App Store is the main venue for developers to purvey their wares to the masses. Apple has complete control over what gets in and when an app gets in to the store and whether it stays in the store (e.g. NetShare). Despite all the hard work that may have gone into developing a killer application, Apple may reject it outright or significantly delay the release. And, because there is no competition (jailbreak/Installer.app does not count), there really is no recourse.

The same is not true in traditional app development & distribution as you, the developer, have much more control over where you can sell your app and when you make releases available.

Apple Controls The Vertical

If you manage to get into the program, there is another way to get your app into the hands of iPhone users via a deployment method that allows for performing limited distribution (ostensibly for engaging beta testers). Apple could effectively kill this venue (and also the App Store venue at the same time) by simply revoking the certificate of the developers of the application. Since Apple forces all legitimate iPhone apps to be signed, if the certificate is on the “revocation list” no apps signed with that certificate will run anywhere. This would come as quite a shock to your paying customers.

This code-signing is an integral part of the development and deployment processes. Apple has not made it easy to get right and it is easy to see why they chose to go this route: control.

Feature Blackout

Finally, there appears to be a “kill switch” lurking within – at least – the API that allows access to iPhone location information. This URL: https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps is embedded into the firmware and contains, for now, an “empty” file of blacklisted iPhone applications:

{ "Date Generated" = "2008-08-10 04:34:00 Etc/GMT"; "BlackListedApps" = { "com.mal.icious" = { "Description" = "Being really bad!"; "App Name" = "Malicious"; "Date Revoked" = "2004-02-01 08:00:00 Etc/GMT"; }; }; }

This appears to be a separate means of ensuring “bad” applications cannot “play” on Apple’s turf, but there is no mention of this anywhere in official Apple documentation (that I have found). Developers have no real idea what their app can do to get on or, more importantly, off this list (though it may have something to do with abuse of location data information, given where this URL is found in the firmware).

While this entire article dances on the perimeter of the NDA, it would be interesting to get even some anonymous perspectives on how you feel about iPhone development, especially if you have developed for other, more open, platforms before. If you started developing, but then abandoned it due to the associated headaches and requirements, definitely let TAB readers know you story.

Just this week I was posing the question of where are all the (no-jailbreak-required) ssh/terminal apps for the iPhone? While not the best platform for such a tool (the keyboard would – and does, as you will see – eat up some serious real estate), the platform has enough processing power to handle such an app and there are definitely times when it is handy to get ultra-portable access to your systems.

As if they were listening for my request, Instant Cocoa released pTerm, which provides support for SSH, Telnet and taw TCP client connections from your iPhone. pTerm is based on PuTTY, one of the more stable & well-known ssh client suites (OS X users can grab that via some ports).
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Create free ringtones for your iPhone using only iTunes and songs you already have on your computer (This method only works with songs that are DRM free. To create ringtones using DRM protected songs please use this method). This method has been tested and works with iTunes 7.7.1 and iPhone 2.0.1 firmware.

To create custom ringtones using only iTunes:

1. Right click on the song you are going to make into a ringer and select “Get Info.”
2. Go to the options tab and go down to the “Start Time” and “Stop Time” check boxes. Check both boxes and input the time you want your ringer to start/stop. The ringer has to be 30 seconds or less. Click OK when you’re done.
3. Right click on your newly “clipped” song and select “Convert Selection to AAC.” The song will be re-encoded using the start and stop times determined (If your menu item does not read “Convert Selection to AAC” and reads “Convert Slection to MP3″ (or some other format) please go to iTunes > Preferences > Advanced > Importing and change the “Import Using” drop down menu to “AAC Encoder”).



4. After the song is done encoding navigate to your iTunes Music folder, locate your song, and drag it to your desktop. After the song is on your desktop go back to iTunes and delete the clipped version from you iTunes library (It won’t delete it from your desktop, it will only remove it from iTunes).
5. Go back the song on your desktop and right click on your song and chose “Get info.” Go to the name and extension section and change the extension from .m4a to .m4r (or you can just change the extension right from your desktop)
6. After the extension is changed simply double click on the file to add it to your iTunes library under the ringtones section. Sync your phone with iTunes and you’re done!

Remember to go back into iTunes and uncheck your custom start and stop times for the original version of your song.

I recently wrote Null River to inquire where the iPhone application NetShare went (For those of you not familar with the NetShare story: NetShare is an iPhone tethering application that allows users to use their iPhone’s internet connection on their personal computer. It was originally posted in the application store on August 1st, was removed by Apple without warning, was readded later that day, then a few hours later it was removed and never seen again). Here is the response I received:

Hello,

Thank you for your inquiry, a lot of users are wondering what’s going on with NetShare.

As of writing it is not available in any country on Apple’s AppStore — Apple has removed it from sale temporarily. Apple is working with us to get NetShare back onto the store as soon as possible. We will be posting updates on this at our web site: http://www.nullriver.com

If you use an RSS Reader such as Apple Safari or Apple Mail you can also keep subscribe to our RSS News feed here: feed://www.nullriver.com/rss

–

NetShare can be used with any software that supports SOCKS 5 Proxies. This includes Mac, Windows XP, Vista, Linux and many other operating systems and devices. We are working on guides to help setup with common configurations. In general however, most configurations are already covered online.

For help with Windows XP:
http://falaris.com/?p=154
http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-connect-netshare-to-win-xp-to-use-your-iphone-s-3g-web-225037/

For help with Vista:
http://www.shahine.com/omar/HowToTetherYourIPhoneToVistaIn5EasySteps.aspx

And for Mac OSX Users Apple Insider have put together a 10 step guide:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/01/ten_step_guide_to_sharing_your_iphones_connection_with_netshare.html

We have a support section on our website which we hope to expand to cover more issues in future:
http://www.nullriver.com/support/contact/faqs?supportProductId=netshare

Based on NetShare’s answer it is fairly obvious that AT&T simply does not want users to have the ability to tether their phones. I’m sure in the next few weeks the app will make a re-apperance, and all users will have to pay AT&T some exuberant fee to be able to use the tethering feature (AT&T users who have other model phones that support the tethering ability have to pay an extra $30 a month to be able to use it).

NetShare’s story brings up a few interesting points including Apple’s ability to completely control which applications users can and cannot use on their phones (whether or not the application violates Apple’s & AT&T’s terms of use as NetShare DID NOT). Not only can Apple remove applications without warning from the store, but they can also remotely disable apps that are already installed on your phone. If anyone was able to snag NetShare before it was pulled, I’d love to know:

1. If it still works
2. If it does not work, did you get reimbursed?

What more can I say, the fact that this application is live in the App Store proves Apple couldn’t possibly do more than have a drone sitting in a cubicle hitting “Approve” on new apps for the App Store.

I present to you I Am Rich.

I think the big problem here is that Apple has touted the fact that they will only let “quality” applications in to reduce the possibility of the App Store getting overrun with crap. If this isn’t crap, I don’t know what is.

UPDATE: It seems this useless app was pulled from the store. Thank goodness.

Sun Microsystems posted a beta version of StarOffice 9 today (based on OpenOffice). The 183MB download gives you a disk image that contains an application you just copy into your Applications folder (no icky/cumbersome installer). Upon first launch, it prompts you to read the license agreement and asks for some basic user information. Unfortunately, it also stalled on me and required a Force Quit and relaunch before I could start testing it out.

All-in-all, there are some pretty neat enhancements, including:

• support for Microsoft Office 2007 OOXML files
• a much improved presenter interface (for slideshows)
• the ability to import and edit PDF files (via an extension)
• PDF/A export support along with PDF encryption options
• much better integration with MySQL databases
• a calendar extension (requires Thunderbird), finally providing StarOffice with the beginnings of an Outlook competitor
• a blogging & wiki publishing components (additional extensions)
• charting and “Solver” additions to Calc
• a new extension framework (allowing you to roll your own)

I had time to try the Microsoft document support and enhanced PDF import & export and was greatly impressed. You edit PDF files in Draw (kinda makes sense) and can do minor manipulations very easily (though the formatting may not always carry over 100% in the beta). I wanted to try the weblog publisher, but it kept hanging StarOffice each time I tried loading the extension (I can, as a result, report that document recovery works perfectly!).

Since it’s beta, Sun would appreciate feedback you can post your experiences/problems to:

• General Discussions for feedback about all findings around StarOffice 9 Beta
• Installation for feedback about StarOffice 9 Beta Installation issues, and
• Extensions for feedback about StarOffice 9 Beta Extensions

StarOffice 8 is currently listing for $69.95USD, so we can probably expect version 9 to be around that price (which is substantially cheaper than Microsoft Office).

If any TAB readers are heavy Calc users or manage to try out the new Impress or blogging/wiki/Outlook features, drop a note in the comments! TAB should have a full review of the finished product once it’s released.

This evening Apple made iPhone OS 2.0.1 available via iTunes.

Frequently Apple doesn’t include a lot of information on what software updates actually fix, but this could be on of the most cryptic of all.

This update simply says the update includes “Bug Fixes”…247MB of “bug fixes” to be exact.

Now that isn’t an additional 247MB of space that will be docked from your storage space, but it is quite a hefty download nonetheless.

So far I haven’t noticed any issues from the update and if anything interactive feels a bit snappier.

Give the download a go and let us know if you notice it fixing any specific issues or if you run in to any new problems with the download.

With this I’m assuming you have a bit of familiarity with the iPhone SDK - you can download it for free from Apple’s site, and follow along here. We’re going to build an RSS feed reader for a simple feed (from The Apple Blog, no less).

Let’s get started

1. Open Xcode and choose the “File” menu, in which you’ll click the “New Project…” item.
2. Click “Application” under “iPhone OS” in the list at left.
3. On the right, choose “Navigation-Based Application”. Then click the “Choose…” button. You’ll be prompted to pick a name and location. Type in the name “TAB RSS reader”.
4. Save it wherever you wish.

The Xcode project window will appear, with the standard 3 panes - I recommend pulling the horizontal divider on the right side all the way to the top, since you’ll need that editor area and all the real estate you can give it.
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• Shapes and CSS?
• Cuil - can it tackle Google?
• Trouble getting the iPhone 3G
• How to clean un-used downloaded items
• Yet another Macbook vs. Macbook Pro thread…

Apple’s Security Update and iTunes minor update received the bulk of the attention this week, but there were a few other post-worthy items as well:

• Sequence - 1.0.1 - The now $19.00USD innovative screen capture utility fixes a bug in video compression. I had not noticed the “é” in the name now (I believe that came with the actual 1.0 release) but am happy to report that QuickSilver still brings it up after hitting “se”. 10.5 only, tho, as it makes extensive use of a number of Leopard-only features.
• CLIX - 1.8.1d - After just mentioning it CLIX gets an update which adds built-in command-group sharing (.clix files) from within the application (sends an e-mail with an attachment, but thankfully does not open up Apple Mail to do so). It does incorporate address book lookups and enables you to choose from all available Apple Mail accounts (for the sending part). Again, it’s free and works on 10.4 & 10.5 (Intel & PPC).
• QuarkXPress - 8.0 - I do not do much desktop publishing at all these days, and – when I do – Pages provides most of what I need. Back in the pre-OS X days I used to be a QuarkXTension developer and still attempt to use Quark shortcuts in apps where I am doing more publishing-like activities. The app link goes to their 60-day demo (warning: 517MB, but pretty quick over cable modem) download where you can try some of the web features (Flash and Web Authoring Tools) and enhancements to tools that I cannot believe took this long to get into the program. I realize both Quark & Adobe use the “it’s for professonals” and “piracy” excuses for their software prices, but $799.00 seems a bit much, even for this highly extensible program. 10.4 & 10.5 compatible (Intel & PPC)
• Centre - 2.14.1 - This is a server-side app which requires a number of other components, but it can be setup on either OS X workstation or server and is a full-featured, web-based student management system that incorporates significant functionality into an open source program. I had not fully tried it on OS X prior to this release (I’ve done most of the installs on Linux), but this release works great and may be something institutions on a budget may want to investigate before the new school year starts. Free!, and OS X 10.1+
• Citrix ICA Client - 10.00.601 - A minor update (fix for XenDesktop connections) to this mostly-enterprise tool for running Windows apps remotely (you need the Citrix server software for this to work). Free and 10.3.9+
• Flip4Mac WMV - 2.2.1.7 - Telestream fixes a security vulnerability in their substitute for Windows Media Components in QuickTime and also improves some existing features. My installed version did not find the update (even with a manual check), so you, too, may want to grab this on your own and update manually if you use it. 10.3.9+ and pricing starts at free!
• Flip4Mac Drive-in - 1.0.0.72 - Flip4Mac has another app out (in beta) that requires a full review, but you need to go and grab this beta soon if you want an easy way to get DVD’s (that you own!) onto your system and also want to avoid the full price of $59.00USD for the finished version (users who activate the beta prior to 2008-08-15 are eligible to purchase for $19.00USD). 10.4 & 10.5 (Intel & PPC)
• VMware Fusion - 2.0b2 - Again, this is an app that requires a full review to do it justice, but if you are a VMware Fusion user you really should kick the tires with this pre-release as it significantly improves so many aspects of running virtual machines on your system (and not just Windows). 10.4 & 10.5 (Intel-only) and $79.99USD (but you can often find great deals with much more palatable prices).
• Accordance - 8.0.4 - This great Bible search & reference tool (exclusively OS X) releases a minor update to fix bugs in 3D map processing. They support a wide range of Mac operating systems and pricing really varies depending on the packages you want (all related to license fees).
• OmniPlan - 1.6 beta 2 - I dislike Microsoft Project, but have enough large projects on my plate that I wound up grabbig OmniPlan when it first came out just to help keep things in some semblance of order. It is less complex than Project (which is Windows-only), runs on OS X and has all the features I need. This beta fixes bugs, but I encourage OmniPlan users to give it a spin and provide feedback to the Omni folks since they are a solid bunch of developers who do a great deal for the Mac community. 10.4 & 10.5 (Intel & PPC)

With gas prices costing an arm and a leg these days, people have found that carpooling is a great way to cut down on costs. Trouble is, it’s not always that easy to find a group of people that are traveling to your general destination.

Thankfully, with the iPhone’s location aware capabilities and the release of Carticipate, you can now make that task easier!

Carticipate helps you find other’s in the area (who also are Carticipate users) so you can find a buddy to carpool with. Simply drop in where you are going and when you want to go there and you will find others in your area that are on that same route so you can work out some traveling options.

Obviously this app only really works if there are other people in your area using Carticipate, but the potential here is really great.

One big thing going here to help with adoption rates of this app is that it doesn’t cost a dime. Yep, completely free! So if you’ve got an iPhone, be sure to download the app and see how it goes. Who knows, you might be able to reduce your gas bill a bit this month.

This weekend was the 2nd annual iPhoneDevCamp held, mostly, in San Francisco. iPhoneDevCamp is a 3 day event where iPhone/iPod touch developers get together to learn and develop with other developers and this year seems to have churned out one of the most highly requested features for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Andrew Mager posted a video that shows Copy and Paste in use on the iPhone.

The video does not give many details on it but it seems, at this point, that the copy functionality basically copies all the text of a document/webpage/etc and then allows you to paste it in an input area. The video does not showcase any sort of “Select” functionality (such as selecting partial text) but regardless this would be a much welcomed addition to the iPhone/iPod touch.

John Gruber makes a great point in that Apple most likely will add a copy/paste feature but just hasn’t gotten to it yet. You can’t have everything all at once or you’d never get the product launched.

Growing up, my Game Boy was probably one of my favorite gaming devices. I have every single add-on you could get for that thing to the point where it was about the size of a volleyball…completely negating the point of a small handheld device. All of those add-ons included flip out speakers, a light, a magnifying glass, a joystick and more.

If only Nintendo had figured out how to record music from my cassettes onto it…

Over the years people have found all sorts of creative ways to house their iPods (including this legit wooden case). But I have to give major props to Ryan for the best I’ve ever seen. He managed to rig up an old Game Boy to house and fully control his iPod.

Say hello to the iBoy.

What are some other creative case mods you’ve seen for Apple products?

Apple released Security Update 2008-05 which contains fixes for:

• an Open Scripting Architecture (CVE-2008-2830) privilege elevation issue [10.4/10.5 Workstation & Server]
• a filename handling issue in CarbonCore (CVE-2008-2320) which may lead to an application Denial of Service (DoS) or arbitrary code execution [10.4/10.5 Workstation & Server]
• a web-exploitable CoreGraphics issue (CVE-2008-2321) that could lead to application DoS or arbitrary code execution [10.4/10.5 Workstation & Server]
• another CoreGraphics issue (CVE-2008-2322) with PDF rendering, leading to application DoS or arbitrary code execution [10.4/10/5 Workstation & Server]
• an issue with DataDetectors (CVE-2008-2323) where maliciously crafted content could lead to an application DoS [10.5 Workstation & Server]
• a really cool permissions issue with Disk Utility (CVE-2008-2324) that would have allowed local users to act with system privileges [10.4 Workstation & Server]
• an issue with OpenLDAP (CVE-2008-2952) where an attacker could have created an application DoS [10.4/10.5 Workstation & Server]
• another DoS potential in OpenSSL (CVE-2007-5135) if maliciously crafted bad packets are processed [10.4/10.5 Workstation & Server]
• five PHP 5 fixes [10.5 Workstation & Server]
• a QuickLook issue with Microsoft Office documents (CVE-2008-2325) causing either an application DoS or arbitrary code execution [10.5 Workstation & Server]
• two rsync vulnerabilities that may result in data access outside the module root [10.4/105 Workstation & Server]

The “big daddy” of this update is a fix for the DNS cache poisoning problem that has been in the Apple and general tech & security news recently. This is a pretty severe issue as DNS is the backbone of how systems & application get IP addresses from host names (so they know where to send you on the Intenet), and the ability to corrupt those databases means you really cannot trust where your network packets are going. Apple is the last major vendor to release a fix for this flaw and rightfully deserves some flack for it since they could have deployed the patch on July 8th with the majority of the other vendors, but chose to wait until this update bundle was ready to release.

OS X Server is the most likely candidate for actually running BIND (the process that manages DNS on a system) and you need to patch IMMEDIATELY if you are using it. It takes a bit of work to do this on plain-old Mac OS X, but you should run the update as soon as possible as well (especially for some of the other fixes).

A gaping hole still exists in OS X 10.3 and below you will need to do a bit of work (download, compile & install the package from the ISC by hand) if you are still running those systems and hosting DNS . While supporting older operating system releases presents a real challenge to companies like Apple & Microsoft, it is not unreasonable to expect there to be a decent number of 10.3 systems in the wild that need tending to and Apple should have done more to ensure coverage for those installations (or at least have provided a series of steps one could take to fix the issue).

Apple clearly dropped the ball here and has called into question their true commitment to security on their OS X platform or at least their ability to react quickly given all of the efforts they have in play. One also needs to remember that a version of OS X runs on the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch and it is unclear whether the issues with CoreGraphics and DataDetectors exist on those platforms as well. It is much more difficult to both issue firmware updates and ensure decent update coverage with those mobile devices and Apple may need to come up with a way to deploy critical security fixes over-the-air directly to them rather than force consumers to do a full sync/update to remain secure.

The security update should show up in Software Update and is also available via direct download from Apple.

Let TAB readers know your take on how Apple handled this situation by dropping a note in the comments!

As mentioned in the previous installment, there is a very useful command buried deep within the confines of your OS X terminal. This command - lsof (LiSt Open Files) - is like the Swiss Army knife of utilities, proving information on files, directories, volumes and even what is happening on the network. Unlike iftop, lsof does not require any downloads. Simply open up a Terminal.app session and enter: lsof.

Give that command a minute to run and prepare to be overwhelmed with information in a cryptic, textual, tabular format. The command, used in that way, is actually pretty useless (from an interactive standpoint). Its true power becomes unleashed with the proper command-line options, execution privileges and when grouped with some other command-line-fu. After the small primer in this post, you should be well equipped to figure out what applications are talking on the network, what files your applications have open and what is keeping your volumes from being able to be ejected.

Before we begin, it may be a bit confusing when a utility that claims to list open files can provide information on network traffic. You have to remember that in OS X (UNIX-like systems in general) an open file may be a regular file, a directory, a block special (enables communication with device drivers) file, a character special (facilitates communication with a device one character at a time) file, a library, a stream or a network file (i.e. a network connection).

The examples in this post also make heavy use of CLIX (Command Line Interface for OS *X*). As you’ll see, lsof output can be a bit much for those just getting started with Terminal.app and CLIX provides a nice wrapper around the OS X command line utilities and allows you to keep similar commands organized with a much friendlier output window than the Terminal. It comes with an amazing set of pre-built command libraries that are well worth the time to go through. You will come away with a great education on the innards of OS X.
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