Charlie Miller, also known for his iPhone hack, managed to walk away from CanSecWest’s PWN 2 OWN contest with US$10,000 and a MacBook Air after successfully hacking into the portable computer. Mr. Miller was able to successfully hack the laptop after the rules of the contest were relaxed to allow for more than remote attacks,…
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
Apple Releases AirPort Extreme Update 2008-001 for Tiger
Apple released AirPort Extreme Update 2008-001 for Tiger Thursday evening. Apple’s update notes are slim on details but do state “This update is recommended for all Intel-based Macintosh computers running Tiger OS and improves the reliability of AirPort connections.” The update requires Mac OS X 10.4.11, and is available via Software Update or as a…
Leopard: Screen Sharing Sans iChat
iChatis screen sharing option.
Moneydance 2008 Improves Leopard Support
The new version also improved matching for downloaded transactions, added a zoomable home page graph for exploring income and expenses, added undo and redo support for transaction modifications, and more. Moneydance 2008 is priced at US$39.99 and is available and the Moneydance Web site.
Adobe Launches Web-based Photoshop Express Beta
Photoshop Express beta
MediaEdit 3 Improves Video Editing Features
Version 3 also includes support for background rendering, multiple levels of undo, chroma keying, QuickTime, DV and MPEG4 export, and more. MediaEdit 3 is priced at US$89.95 and is available for download at the Mien Software Web site.
Apple Settles Display Color Lawsuit
The class action suit was filed last May by pro photographers Fred Greaves and Dave Gatley after the two bought Apple laptops based on the companyis claims that the displays can show millions of colors. The suit alleged “The displays are only capable of displaying the illusion of millions of colors through the use of…
AirPort Firmware 7.3.1 Restores AirDisk Support
The firmware update also includes other bug and security fixes. The update requires an AirPort Extreme (802.11n) Base Station, AirPort Update 2008-001, and Time Machine and AirPort Update 1.0. It is available via the Software Update application, or as a downloadable installer at the Apple Support Web site.
Analyst: Macintosh is Recession Proof
“So far, our sense is that the Mac business appears to be recession proof. We were already looking for robust Mac unit growth of 38 percent year over year, but now we think it may be closer to 42 percent,” Mr. Wu said. “MacBook Air sales, which saw a little bit of a lull after…
Safari 3.1 Adds HTML 5 Media Tag, CSS Animation Support
Safari 3.1 also supports CSS Web fonts, and Apple claims it loads Web pages 1.9 times faster than Microsoftis Internet Explorer 7 and 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2. The browser requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or higher, or Windows XP or Windows Vista. Safari 3.1 is free and available via Appleis Software Update application,…
One-click Access to Network Diagnostics
Most Mac users get at Network Diagnostics like this: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences to launch the System Preferences application. Select the Network Preference Pane. The Network Preference Pane is the normal route to Network Diagnostics.
Changing Icon Sizes in Leopard's Open and Save Dialogs
Hereis what to do: You need an Open or Save dialog open, so either choose File > Open, or create a new document and then choose File > Save in the application of your choice. Changing icon size in the Open/Save dialog.
Finder: The Joy of Undo
Just hop on over to the Finderis Edit menu and select the Undo option or use the Command-Z keyboard short cut. This will revert the most recent Finder action you performed on an item back to its original state, which is really handy if you accidentally move a file or folder and donit know where…
Sun VP: Java for iPhone Coming
Mr. Klein commented “Weire going to make sure that the JVM offers the Java applications as much access to the native functionality of the iPhone as possible.” He also expects that a large number of Java-based applications will be able to run on Appleis handhelds once the JVM is available. The company plans to distribute…
Calculator: More Than Meets the Eye
Appleis Calculator application.
Jobs: Apple to Stick with 10M iPhone Goal
Apple confirmed during its share holder meeting on Tuesday that it is still on track to sell 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008. COO Tim Cook also confirmed that the company plans on taking its combination iPod and smart phone into China and India. CEO Steve Jobs commented “There are plans in place…
Pick a Color, Any Color. Then Keep It.
You can store colors in the Color pane.
Jobs's Drive Put Apple, Investors at Risk
Sources close to Mr. Jobs claim that after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in October 2003, he chose not to pursue surgery because of his skepticism of mainstream medical science. Instead, he employed alternative treatment methods — including a special diet — for nine months before agreeing to undergo surgery to remove the tumor.…
Open Sesame (Street)
One of the things I love about creative conferences is that there are so many really creative people around. You never know where you’re going to find something interesting that totally captivates you, like maybe someone from Sesame Workshop. Nancy Stevenson from the Sesame Street Sesame Workshop spent a morning showing off how her crew…
Playing the Conference Game from the Other Side
Oddly enough, I packed as if I was presenting at the event. All of my usual presentation gear including video adapters, backups of important files, and printouts with critical data about the venues I’ll be at is safely tucked away in my carry on bag. Really. Some habits are hard to break. For all of…
Apple Continues "Offline Tuesday" Ritual
The Apple Store is down… again.
Services: Cleaning Up Ugly Text with WordService
Iim talking about WordService from Devon Technologies. Youill need to download and install this free Service yourself before you can take advantage of its reformatting and editing goodness. Hereis how: Download WordService from the Devon Technologies Web site. Expand the WordService archive and install the Service file. It goes in /Library/Services. Log out and re-login…
Quick-send Text with Mail's Send Selection Service
Hereis how: Select the text for any document that you want to include in your email. Select the text you want to send in an email message.