Martin Gordon's Blog

Two very important people are leaving Microsoft. First is Bryan Lee, former VP in the entertainment and device division, who oversaw the Zune launch. Second is Jim Allchin, former Co-President of the platform and services division. The latter had an excellent blog post on a day in his post-Microsoft life. Neither are going to competitors, however, instead both are going to "pursue personal interests," as the Reuters article linked above puts it.

In other Microsoft news, a so-called "vulnerability" has been found in Vista. The vulnerability involves having voice commands from a third-party being played over speakers and doing nasty things to a PC. I don't really see this is as a new problem, as it could have been done on any other OS that had voice recognition (e.g., XP or OS X). The easy solution is to disable voice commands (who really uses them anyway?), but a more long-term solution for people who do want voice commands is to have it require a passcode to be said before the OS runs a command.

Technorati Tags: Microsoft, Vista, Jim Allchin, Bryan Lee, Zune, Windows, vulnerability, voice recognition, voice commands, sound, voice

Mac Pro
Apple announced the Intel-based PowerMac replacement today, the Mac Pro. The case is the same as the old PowerMacs, so the entrance banner I posted a few days ago was actually displaying the Mac Pro. Now that the space-heater G5s are gone there's a lot more room inside the case for expansion. The Mac Pro features four SATA drive bays, 8 RAM slots, 4 PCI-Express slots (one being double-wide), room for two optical drives and even two Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Something different for Apple is the fact that all the machines are Built-to-Order. You start out with the pretty hefty base config of Dual 2.66GHz dual-core Woodcrest Xeons, 1GB RAM, a 256 MB GeFore 7300GT, a 250GB hard drive, and "only" one SuperDrive. From there, the only downgrades available are Dual 2GHz Xeons and a 160GB hard drive for $2,124 ($2,029 edu). A fully loaded Mac Pro, with Dual 3GHz Xeons, 16GB RAM, 4×500GB hard drives, Quadro FX4500 512MB, 2×30" displays, and 2xSuperDrives goes for $17,134 ($15,246 edu). The max config (with OS X Server licenses, Apple Modem, etc) is $18,481 ($16,137 edu). New XServes based with similar configs were also announced.

Whereas the PowerMacs were a reasonable option for any "prosumer" (ugh, hate that word) Mac user wanting a decent, upgradable Mac, these Mac Pros are just overkill. There's an $800 difference between the high-end iMac and the low-end Mac Pro, and a $1,700 difference between the high-end Mac mini and the low-end Mac Pro (not to mention the HUGE performance gap). So will we be seeing a headless mid-range Conroe-based Mac anytime soon? I would surely hope so.

(more…)

Rumors are running rampant in the hours leading up to Steve Jobs' Worldwide Developers' Conference keynote. The image I posted on Flickr last week got mentioned in places, but only to show how overzealous Apple fans can get. It was pretty clear to me that nothing new would be shown on such a prominent banner, I just wanted to tag it so others could see the same. In any event, two pictures of Leopard banners from inside the Moscone Center have popped up; one reads "Introducting Vista 2.0" and the other reads "Hasta la Vista, Vista".

No live video feed is available, but MacRumors (among others, I'm sure) will be providing live coverage from their MacRumors Live website. The keynote starts at 1PM EST/10AM PST.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Steve Jobs, keynote, Leopard, OS X, Mac OS X, WWDC, Worldwide Developers Conference

Amit Singh, author of the upcoming Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach, has posted an uncut version of the Intro chapter of the book. About 70% of the chapter, which details the history of the Mac OS from the Apple I OS to the current OS X, was cut from the already-huge 1,680-page print version of the book. Because of all the research Amit put into the writing of the chapter, he didn't want it to go unread and so he posted the 140-page uncut version on his website.

The uncut chapter and for that matter the rest of the book isn't for everyone, though, as he states on the site:

I hope you enjoy reading this document and the book. Just as this document provides a super-detailed history of Apple's operating systems, the book itself is super-detailed on the internals of modern day Mac OS X. It is not at all a book about using Mac OS X—it is about the system's design and implementation. Therefore, I expect it to appeal to all operating system enthusiasts and students.

Technorati Tags: Apple, history, Apple I, Mac OS, Mac, Mac OS X, books, online, technical, operating systems, computer science, ebook

David Morgenstern of eWeek speculates on which Macs will be allowed to run Leopard. His main two differentiating factors: G3s and VRAM.

The last G3 Mac released was the last round of iBook G3s in the fall of 2003. The last Mac released with <32mb of VRAM was the iBook G3 700 way back in 2002. Those are probably surefire cutoffs, and making one a requirement effectively makes the other one a requirement, except for the case of PowerMac G3s with upgradable video.

David also speculates that the G4 and/or <64mb VRAM could be left behind, but this is unlikely since Apple released iBooks with G4s and 32mb VRAM back in May. I think it's a definite possibility for Apple to leave behind all PowerPC processors for 10.6, which should be released sometime in 2008-9, at least two years after the Intel transition is finished (assuming Mac Pros at WWDC).

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac OS X, Mac, Leopard, Intel, PowerPC, G3, G4, G5, Intel Core Duo

Now that my iMac can boot Windows and I'm spending more time in general away from my computer, I'm looking for ways to synchronize my data across OSes. The easiest way, I've realized is to do everything on the web.

I've taken the first step today by deactivating POP access for GMail in Mail.app. That way I can manage all my GMail email online. If Google decides to offer IMAP sometime, I'll turn it back on. Until then, I need my email to be the same everywhere and that place is online. My school email is IMAP/Exchange, so there's not much of a synchronization issue with that, except that Mail.app's IMAP isn't too good and the school only gives us 50 MB of storage. Exchange Webmail is as good as Outlook if you're using IE, but in anything non-IE (e.g., any Mac browser) it reverts to an old version of Outlook Web Access which is terrible. Once I can spend a bit more time with Parallels, I can decide if running it 24/7 for just Outlook is worth it. If it's not worth it, I don't know what to do. Is there any way to push 3rd party email accounts through the GMail interface?

I was never a big fan of iCal and the lack of Exchange over HTTP on the Mac kept me from using Wharton's Exchange calendar, so I haven't really used an electronic calendar. Instead, I've been resorting to text files and post-its. Until Google Calendar showed up. Google Calendar has everything I need in a calendar (save Tasks), and with text messages to/from GVENT and RSS feeds, I can access my calendar away from the computer or offline.

I am still in search of a decent online RSS reader as I have yet to find something that can replace NetNewsWire. I like having a desktop client because I can read feeds offline if I have no connectivity. There is always NewsGator's multiplatform syncing solution, but I'd rather save myself the $50-$80 ($30 each for a Mac client, Windows client and $20 for the online reader) if there's a free solution available. My main requirement if I do decide to stick with NetNewsWire is that any online reader has to be able to do status syncing. I don't want to have to go through 100+ posts deciding what I've read and haven't read. This wouldn't be so much of a problem if I can find an online reader that is fast and fits my workflow (is that readflow?).

I listen to a relatively small number of podcasts and I'm so far behind that I don't need a cross-OS sycning solution. I'm backed up enough that I always have something fresh to listen to on my iPod even with only syncing once every few days. I haven't had a chance to set up iTunes in Windows yet, but I think with MacDrive I'll be able to share libraries between OS X and Windows without a hitch.

My other main concert with "going online" is that I won't have access to anything if I'm without an internet connection. There were many a time where I would be on-the-go with my Powerbook and still have my RSS feeds to read. I have no idea how good my internet connection will be in the new apartment, but if it's spotty then I'll be in trouble. Another issue is backup. Can I really trust Google and Mr. Online RSS Reader to hold my data for as long as I want it? What are my backup options for GMail/GCal, etc?

Technorati Tags: online, RSS, GMail, GCal, Google, Google Calendar, OS X, dual boot, Windows XP, Google OS, NetNewsWire, Exchange, synchronization, sync

The first tidbit belongs to Joel Martinez of Community MX, who has posted Part 1 of his Deconstructing MySpace series on what goes on behind the scenes at MySpace (albeit from an outsider's perspective) and how to build your own social networking app. This first part focuses on setting up the database that will drive the application and future installments will focus on other details of implementation.

The second piece comes from Luke Wrobleski's notes on a SxSW 2006 panel entitled, "Behind the Scenes: Developing OS X and Longhorn". What struck me most about the two operating systems was that Windows development appears to be more democratic in the sense that multiple people decide what goes in and what doesn't. At Apple, it was Steve's way or the highway. I suppose that may have to do with Apple being a smaller company, but with every decision going through Steve, it would seem like OS X would turn out to be a lot smaller than Windows, but it feels on par with it (in the most general sense).

Technorati Tags: MySpace, social networking, tutorial, development, database, SWSW, SXSW 2006, OS X, Longhorn, Windows, Vista, Apple, Microsoft, operating systems

A day after Apple releases Boot Camp, Parallels releases a beta of their virtualization software for ICBMs (Intel Core-based Macs). This software has similar functionality to Microsoft's VirtualPC, except that no processor emulation is necessary so apps should run at near full-speed (barring the overhead of having run two operating systems at once).

This looks like a good solution for those wanting to limit the time they spend in Windows, either for malware concerns or religious reasons.

It should also be noted that both this solution and Apple's Boot Camp allow other operating systems, not just Windows to be run on ICBMs. As OS X is already based on Unix, being able to run Windows is perhaps the biggest concern for most users.

[via Engadget]

Technorati Tags: XP on Mac, Boot Camp, virtualization, Apple, Mac, OS X, MacIntel, Intel, Microsoft, Windows, Windows XP, emulation

Apple BootCamp showed up on the Mac OS X site today. It does practically the same thing as the hack released a few weeks ago, but in a much nicer fashion.

BootCamp is an OS X application that lets you non-destructively partition a drive for Windows use. It will also create a drivers CD for use with Windows. At reboot, you select the partition to use (like the previous hack) and you're set.

I'm curious as to why Apple waited to announce this after the third-party hack was made available. I can't imagine them using any of the code provided by the project, since this seems much more elegant. With access to OS X and EFI's deepest layers, Apple probably had an easier time developing this than the third-party hackers did.

I can't wait to see some test drives of this software and how it compares to the previously-mentioned hack. This appears to be more elgant but I wonder if the hack is more flexible.

Did Apple have this in mind all along? If they have, then those hackers cashed in right on time.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac OS X, Microsoft, Windows XP, XP on Mac, BootCamp, dual boot, operating systems

Mac OS X turns five today. John Siracusa of Ars Technica has an article chronicling its history.

For me at least, the success of OS X is due to the "How did I live without this?" feeling I get every time a new OS upgrade comes out. I'm not talking about just features wise, because who knows the last time I used the Dashboard or Smart Folders was, but also performance-wise and UI refinement (pinstripes anyone?). Siracusa sums it up nicely:

A side-by-side test-drive of Mac OS X 10.0 and 10.4 is shocking. The eternal debate is whether this gap exists because 10.4 is so good, or because 10.0 was so, so bad.

Technorati Tags: Apple, Macintosh, Mac OS X, Ars Technica, operating systems, Tiger, birthday