Davao Mac User has moved again

On July 21, I moved my blog to a new server.

So www.davaomacuser.com no longer points to davaomacuser.wordpress.com.

I've already got a few new posts over there so please, come over to www.davaomacuser.com.

I hope you'll join me there. Thanks!

I'm moving

When the new year started (officially, my new year started Monday, January 26) I decided to give blogging another whirl. One of the reasons why I stopped blogging in the first place was I felt I didn't have enough original content for the two blogs that I was maintaining, Brain On Ink and Davao Mac User.

I vowed to try much harder to come up with original posts rather than just echoing news stories from the webosphere. I also decided that maintaining two blogs is way too easy. If I couldn't maintain two blogs, then maybe adding two more will prod me to do better.

Prod me with a cattle prod, that is. ZAP!

Anyhoo, I'm not sure if I have any readers out there but if there are any, I wish to sincerely thank you for taking the time to drop by and read my posts.

My renewed energy and vigor to blog also made me decide to move to a new playground. I will now use Wordpress as my blogging platform.

So, starting February 1st davaomacuser.blogspot.com will no longer be updated. Instead, davaomacuser.wordpress.com will be the new home of the Davao Mac User blog. I want to try something new and at the same time, Wordpress has a native app for the iPod touch; Blogger doesn't.

I do hope you'll join me there.

Ciao!

MacTracker helps identify your Mac

Christopher Breen of Macworld magazine got a Mac 911 question from a reader who wanted to know what is the maximum amount of RAM his MacBook can hold.

"It depends on which MacBook you have," Breen replies, and recommends a free utility called MacTracker. He then briefly outlines who to use MacTracker to check for the maximum amount of RAM a given Mac can hold.

Aside from the above tip, MacTracker also lets you check your Macs general info, specs, and history. The catalogue is not restricted to just Macs; it also lets you check other Apple devices like iPods, iPhones, Apple TV, displays, etc...

MacTracker is one nifty app and a very good reference utility for those interested in knowing most, if not all, of the products that Apple has made.

Again, MacTracker is free and the author, Ian Page, is asking for donations to support future development.

[source: Macworld]

Apple's iLife '09 Hardware Up-to-Date Program

The iLife '09 Hardware Up-to-Date Program lets you upgrade to iLife '09 for only $9.95 if you have purchased a qualifying computer on or after January 6, 2009, that does not include iLife ’09."

Program ends on March 28, 2009.

More at Apple's iLife '09 Hardware Up-to-Date Program site.

[Source: TUAW]

13-inch White MacBook updated; better processor and graphics chip

Last week, Apple quietly updated their most affordable MacBook, the 13-inch white polycarbonate MacBook. It now sports the same processor and graphics chip with that of the $1,299 (Php71,990.00 at the Philippine Apple Online Store) 13-inch aluminium unibody MacBook. The white MacBook also had a RAM upgrade; default is now 2GB from what used to be 1GB.

The $999 (Php55,990.00) white MacBook is an excellent option for those who are looking to save $300.

Though the white MacBook now has the same 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo and NVIDIA GeFroce 9400M chips with that of the unibody MacBook, it doesn't mean the latter is not worth considering.

MacWorld's Peter Cohen in his article cites the differences between the white and aluminium MacBooks:

The more expensive aluminum-clad MacBook features faster memory—1,066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, compared to 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM. It also has a hard disk drive that’s one-third larger than the drive on the $999 model—160GB, versus 120GB. You also have the option of getting a Solid State Disk (SSD) drive on the aluminum MacBook, something you can’t buy for the $999 model. And that Mini DisplayPort interface is compatible with Apple’s new 24-inch LED Cinema Display, which won’t work with the white MacBook.

But the white MacBook does have its advantages:

...especially for Mac users who have already made an investment in some camcorders and external storage devices: It’s the only MacBook in Apple’s lineup that still has a FireWire port. The white MacBook features a FireWire 400 connector, making it compatible with myriad standard-definition camcorders, hard drives and other devices that have shipped since the late 1990s. The white MacBook also features a mini-DVI jack, meaning that connecting it to a DVI or VGA-equipped display is markedly less expensive than having to buy the Mini DisplayPort adapter required for the aluminum MacBook. Apple sells the mini-DVI adapters for $19 each, while its Mini DisplayPort equivalents are priced at $29.

If you are planning to get a Mac portable, the white MacBook is worthy of consideration. With the money you can save by foregoing the unibody MacBook, you can buy an external drive or buy a 2.5-inch drive to make up for the 40GB difference. The other differences, the faster memory, SSD, and MiniDisplayPort, are in my opinion, of lesser importance. The new graphics chip, as shown in previous benchmarks, will perhaps be more than up to the task when it comes to photo editing and some movie making using the new iMovie '09.

The updated $999 MacBook is a worthy buy.

[Source: Macworld]

Pirated Photoshop CS4 for the Mac also has trojan

About four days ago, I posted a story about pirated copies of Apple's newly released iWork '09 were found to contain a trojan.

Intego, makers of Mac security software, reported that the trojan it calls "OSX.Trojan.iServices.A" were packaged into pirated copies of iWork '09. What the trojan does once installed into a Mac is to allow somebody else to gain access into the system to possibly download more components into the infected Mac.

Another trojan, a variant of the one found in illegal copies of iWork '09, has been found to be infecting pirated copies of Adobe Photoshop CS4. The trojan called "OSX.Trojan.iServices.B" also allows a malicious user to gain access to an infected Mac to perform various actions or downloads remotely.

How do you protect yourself against these trojans or malwares?

Simple.

Do not download and install software or applications from untrusted sources, especially from torrent sites or peer-to-peer networks. It doesn't pay to pirate.

[Source: AppleInsider]

iPhone Software update version 2.2.1

It has been a busy week for updates from Apple.

Aside from the iDVD update today, Apple also released iPhone Software update 2.2.1.

The 246MB iPhone Software update improves stability of Safari and fixes an issue wherein images saved from mail do not display correctly in the Camera Roll.

An iPod touch update includes the fixes to Safari and Camera Roll as well as a fix to an issue that causes some Apple Lossless (ALAC) to skip during playback.

Version 2.2.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch can be downloaded via iTunes.

[Source: AppleInsider]