Macs tend to be immune from the viruses that affect Windows PC, but a Trojan Horse, or a maliscious application masquerading as something else, can possibly be a threat. MacNN reports that a Trojan horse is out there, lurking in dubious websites. The RSPlug.E trojan will present a "VideoActive X Object Error" when accessing the website and the user then is prompted to download the "missing plugin." The downloaded file will be named "FlashPlayer.v2.348.dmg" or "FlashPlayer.v..dmg," and is really a disk image. The disk image contains files that, while not doing direct damage, are unneccessary and unwanted. This is a security breach, and evil doers "could" adversely affect your system in this manner. Mac users should always exercise care when installing downloaded files from the internet. Intego's VirusBarrier X has been updated to detect and block this trojan, and other antivirus makers will surely follow.

Macworld reports that Apple has removed a support document, referenced in yesterday's Jefferson Consulting blog post, that encouraged users to install anti-virus software on their Macs. "We have removed the KnowledgeBase article because it was old and inaccurate," Apple spokesman Bill Evans, told Macworld. "The Mac is designed with built-in technologies that provide protection against malicious software and security threats right out of the box.” The representative, however, did say that "since no system can be 100% immune from every threat, running anti-virus software may offer additional protection."

PCPro reports that after years of "boasting" (their words, not ours) about the Mac's near invincibility, Apple is now advising its customers to install security software on their computers. Apple - which has continually played on Windows' vulnerability to viruses in its advertising campaigns - issued the advice on November 21st, in a low-key message:

Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult. Here are some available antivirus utilities:
• Intego VirusBarrier X5, available from the Apple Online Store, License: commercial
• Symantec Norton Anti-Virus 11 for Macintosh, available from the Apple Online Store, License: commercial
• McAfee VirusScan for Mac, License: commercial

(Jefferson Consulting will be releasing a whitepaper on this subject soon)

MacUser reports that last night’s episode of The Simpsons featured not one, not two, but almost six minutes of gags aimed at our favorite computer company. In this episode the Springfield Mall gets a “Mapple” store full of myPods, myPhones, and, of course the myCube: "fueled by dreams, powered by imagination." There are a gaggle of Apple jokes for the savvy and even a special appearance by Mapple CEO, Steve Mobs. You can check out the key scene of this episode here.

We are closed Thu. 11/27 thru the weekend and Monday, reopening Tue. 12/2.
From all of us at Jefferson Consulting, from our family to yours, we sincerely thank you for your business and wish you a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving! Enjoy your holiday weekend! Don't eat too much turkey...save room for pie!

The History of Thanksgiving
The Mayflower Society
Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation 1863
Thanksgiving Recipes
Football

Macsimum News reports today that Apple has released iPhone Software 2.2, Pro Applications Update 2008-004 and iPod touch Software 2.2. iPhone Software 2.2 adds a Google Street View and the ability to download podcasts directly into the iPhone. The update is available thru the iTunes application. The Pro Apps update “addresses general performance issues and improves overall stability.” The update is free and available via Apple’s Software Update application.

Apple has released Safari 3.2 for Leopard, Tiger and Windows. This update is recommended for all Safari users and features protection from fraudulent phishing websites and better identification of online businesses. This update also includes the latest security updates.

Last week J.D. Power and Associates reported that Apple and the iPhone have placed first in a customer satisfaction survey targeting business users of smartphones. As reported on Electronista, the survey evaluated phone makers using a thousand-point score, with devices ranked in categories of descending priority; these included "ease of operation," "operating system," "physical design," "handset features" and "battery aspects." Apple scored customer satisfaction of 778, mainly due to the ease-of-use, design and feature criteria. Just behind Apple are BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, with 703, and Samsung, scoring 701. At the bottom of the list is Palm, earning just 644 on the back of its Treo smartphones. J.D. Power notes that a full quarter of business smartphone owners have complained of software problems. Of these people 44 percent complained about having to reboot at least once a week during the past year, while another 34 percent had apps break or freeze once a week.

President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed an Armistice Day in 1919, celebrating the signing of the document that ended World War I. An Act of Congress in 1938, made the 11th of November a legal holiday. In 1954 President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law a bill that expanded Armistice day to include all American veterans, and later that year Congress amended the act to replace the word "Armistice" with "Veterans." Today is the perfect day to thank your co-worker, friend or neighbor who may be former-military, for their service to our Country.

Department of Veterans Affairs
History of Armistice Day and Veterans Day
State of Delaware Veterans Day Ceremony

Mac Exchange in Dover, DE has announced a pre-holiday event Nov. 21-23. During this time, Mac Exchange is offering a free color printer, Mac Video Training disc, and free laptop carrycase (assuming laptop purchase) with any Mac purchased with AppleCare. Tax-free shopping before the holiday rush! For more info, contact Frank Mott at 302.735.2270.

Previously, we had not reported or commented on major electronics stores closing in the area (such as CompUSA), mainly due to editorial time constraints, but this news article caught our eye. Now that CompUSA has closed in our area, many Mac enthusiasts rely on Circuit City for peripherals, hard drives and accessories. The News Journal reports on an AP story today that Circuit City Stores Inc., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This move will allow it to hold off creditors and continue operations while it develops a reorganization plan. The retailer plans to stay open for the holiday shopping season.

Jefferson Consulting is closed today, as I am out of town teaching a class in Villa Park, IL. I mailed my absentee ballot last week, so my vote is cast. I encourage you to cast yours today.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification training at MacSpecialist in Villa Park, IL, the week of Nov. 3-Nov. 7.

Happy Halloween! Be safe, and don't eat too much candy!

Davis Jefferson will be instructor for a Hardware Service Certification Boot Camp at BRI in Rhinecliff NY next week of 10/27. This is a a five-day intensive service certification immersion, covering the Mac OS, desktop and portable systems. Upon successful completion of the program, the attendees will earn the designation of Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.

Apple today unveiled the LED Cinema Display featuring a stunning 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display with built-in iSight video camera, mic and speakers in an elegant, thin aluminum and glass enclosure. Designed for the new MacBook family, the LED Cinema Display includes an integrated MagSafe charger, three USB 2.0 ports and the new Mini DisplayPort, making it easy for MacBook users to quickly connect and power their notebooks as well as use their favorite peripherals. The 24-inch glossy, widescreen display with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution uses LED-backlit technology to provide instant full-screen brightness and great power efficiency. Suspended by an aluminum stand with an adjustable hinge that makes tilting the display almost effortless, the new display includes a built-in iSight video camera, mic and speakers, making it ideal for video conferencing with iChat, listening to music or watching movies.

Apple today unveiled an all new MacBook family that redefines notebook design, and at the same time dramatically lowers the entry price for advanced notebook features including all-metal enclosures and pro-performance notebook graphics by $700 to make them far more affordable. The new MacBook and 15-inch MacBook Pro both have a precision unibody enclosure crafted from a single block of aluminum, resulting in thinner, more durable and incredibly beautiful designs. In addition, every member of the new MacBook family includes state of the art NVIDIA graphics, brilliant instant-on LED-backlit displays and new large glass Multi-Touch trackpads that offer almost 40 percent more tracking area and support more Multi-Touch gestures. The entire new MacBook family meets stringent Energy Star 4.0, EPEAT Gold and RoHS environmental standards, and leads the industry in the elimination of toxic chemicals by containing no brominated flame retardants, using only PVC-free internal cables and components, and using energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. The new MacBook family was announced at a special event hosted by CEO Steve Jobs.

MacFixit.com is reporting that several users are having issues with eBay site functionality in Safari. The most prominent issue is one in which Safari users cannot purchase items, receiving the error message: "Your web browser may not be compatible with eBay's checkout. Please try again with Mozilla Firefox." This issue may be restricted to UK and Canadian eBay sites, but MacFixit is tracking the problem.

AppleInsider reports that Apple has released iTunes 8.0.1 to fix several important issues with HDTV episodes, Genius playlists, and accessibility. The 58.5MB download, available through Software Update, primarily addresses a flaw in iTunes TV episode downloads which would inadvertently overwrite the HD versions of shows with the additional standard-definition copy meant for transfer to iPhones and iPods. There is also a corresponding update for Apple TV, available only via Software Update.

Flash Magazine reports that Sr. Director of Engineering at Adobe Systems Paul Betlem, confirmed that Adobe is indeed developing a Flash Player for the iPhone. The announcement came at the Flash On The Beach conference in Brighton, UK. According to Betlem, however, Apple calls the shots as to when it'll be available.

MacNN.com reports that Facebook has released version 2.0 of its self-named iPhone/iPod touch application. The software makes a number of significant changes, most notably to the News Feed, which now displays everything from the desktop edition of the site. In previous versions of the app, only status updates and mobile photo updates were shown. Users can now go beyond uploading photos to adding tags and captions, as well as posting pictures on the Walls of other people. The app should now also be more stable and permits the sending of friend requests. Facebook 2.0 is a free download from the App Store.

MacNN reports that Adobe has announced Creative Suite 4. CS4 contains refinements designed to make it easier to move content between applications and offers a consistent user interface across the entire suite. Adobe CS 4 includes 64-bit support for Windows but not yet for Mac OS X. Apple has switch from Carbon to Cocoa development frameworks, and because Adobe's apps are written in Carbon, the switch to 64-bit Cocoa would require a complete rewrite. However the addition of OpenGL support, allowing CS4 apps to make use of graphics processors, should provide significant performance boosts. Adobe CS 4, all 6 versions as well as the 13 stand-alone applications, should ship in early October.

AppleLinks reports that Apple has recalled the ultracompact USB power adapter that ships with the iPhone 3G.

"Under certain conditions the new ultracompact Apple USB power adapter's metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, creating a risk of electric shock. Users with ultracompact power adapters should immediately stop using them until they exchange them for a new, redesigned ultracompact adapter."

In the meantime, users should charge their phones via the USB cable only. Replacements can be ordered at this web address or at your local Apple Store, starting on October 10th.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor for Mac OS X Support Essentials 10.5 at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA. The class runs from Wed. 9/17 thru Fri. 9/19.

Apple has updated Mac OS X Leopard, bringing the current version of the operating system to 10.5.5 The update addresses 33 issues with the operating system. The combo updater on Apple's website is a whopping 601MB. For more details, check out this article from MacWorld. Note: you should backup your data before installing any update. Some third-party applications may not function as expected after an operating system update. If you are uncomfortable installing this update, please contact Jefferson Consulting for assistance. We are not planning to upgrade our own Macs for a few more days as we monitor bug reports.

MacsimumNews is reporting that Apple released iPhone Software Update 2.1. The update sports a variety of improvements, including fewer call set-up failures and call drops, improved battery life for most users, less time to back up to iTunes, better e-mail reliability, and a variety of bug fixes.

Our memory of September 11, 2001 is still very bright, even seven years later. Politics aside, let us take a moment and remember the lives lost in New York, at The Pentagon, and on the fields of Pennsylvania. Let us pray that their families remain strong, and that America remains strong, too.

CNET reports Apple's Let's Rock Event at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, next to the Moscone Center, brings some new announcements:

• iTunes 8 is out....new feature is a music discovery service.
• NBC content is back on the iTunes Store.
• The iPod Classic gets trimmed size, capacity bump: 120GB iPod for $249
• New Nanos are longer, slimmer, with curved edges. They come with an accelerometer and start at $149 for 8GB.
• New, "more sophisticated" in-ear headphones will sell for $79.
• New iPod Touch: slimmer, with multitouch technology, starts at $229 for 8GB.
• iPhone 2.1 software will fix a lot of bugs related to dropped calls, battery life, and crashing applications.

You can watch the entire event video here.

On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City. Twenty thousand workers marched in a parade up Broadway. After the parade there were picnics all around the city. Workers and celebrants ate Irish stew, homemade bread and apple pie. At night, fireworks were set off. Within the next few years, the idea spread from coast to coast, and all states celebrated Labor Day. In 1894, Congress voted it a federal holiday. Jefferson Consulting will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day, and we wish our clients and friends a relaxing and safe holiday weekend!

Comcast has revealed a 250GB-per-month download cap on residential users' Internet connections as of October 1st, as part of an effort to combat illegal peer-to-peer exchanges of software and rich media. According to Ars Technica, Comcast is offering the "extremely large amount of data" to users, and would actively warn top downloaders who exceed the limit to cut back. While 250GB should be plenty for most users, active Netflix or iTunes video rental customers could chew through their cap fairly quickly. Comcast has not mentioned if there are charges for going over the 250GB limit. For more information, read Comcast's FAQ.

Reports of Steve's demise are greatly exaggerated! Ars Technica reports that yesterday afternoon, Bloomberg accidentally published an obituary for Steve Jobs. Investors were naturally spooked. Steve is not dead, and Bloomberg has since retracted its obituary with the following statement:

Story Referencing Apple Was Sent in Error by Bloomberg News — Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) — An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc. was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 p.m. New York time today. The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted.

The BBC reports that "a computer virus is alive and well" on the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has confirmed that laptops carried to the ISS in July were infected. The infected laptops were used to run nutritional programs and let the astronauts periodically send e-mail back to Earth. Apparently no command or control systems of the ISS were at risk from the malicious program. Hmm....maybe NASA needs to send up some Macs?

It's been a busy August with training in New York, Connecticut and a short vacation. I appreciate your patience while I was out of town for pretty much the whole month.
I'm back in the office now, playing catch up with all your emails and phone calls. If you have any support needs for your office or home, please do not hesitate to contact Jefferson Consulting, and I will be happy to schedule an appointment!
Davis Jefferson - President, Jefferson Consulting Associates

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard Service Training at at The Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC) in Elmsford, NY, the week of August 25. This will be a 2-day course on Mac OS X troubleshooting for service technicians.

Another iPhone annoyance, existing since iPhone 2.0, is that email settings for SMTP servers keep changing with every iTunes sync, and email sync is not even selected as an option. Specifically, my email authentication settings will automatically change from "Password" to "MD5 Challege-Response," and then I cannot get any mail from my ISP. Sometimes it takes several attempts to change back and have the settings stick. And then, they don't stick for long. We are still investigating this one. Also, while some are reporting iPhone Apps not launching, I have apps that launch fine but will freeze during use. Some report that this only happens for apps downloaded and installed from the iPhone, not from iTunes and then synced to the iPhone. We are investigating this as well.

Thanks to Kurt Tappe for the heads up on this one: Four new ads are out. Per Kurt,

"Calming Teas" is well done, and "Off The Air' pretty much rocks. "

(Insert Harold Faltermeyer's theme from Fletch here). Formerly with WebProNews, SecurityProNews and other tech business news sites, David Utter is now a freelance reporter with his own site. David was recently featured on NPR, as mentioned on our blog. David has always been on the cutting edge of tech, security and small business news, and we look forward to following him as his writing career continues. Best wishes David!

TV comedian Jerry Seinfeld will appear as a pitchman in an upcoming $300 million Microsoft ad campaign, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal. Seinfeld will receive $10 million for his participation in the effort, which will also star Bill Gates, the WSJ reported.

Editor's note: What? We realize that Mr. Seinfeld has bills to pay, but really now, who will take this seriously? Every self-respecting geek remembers that scenes from Seinfeld's NY apartment featured a Mac conspicuously displayed on his desk by the window. Diehard Apple fans will remember that Seinfeld even starred in one of Apple's famous Think Different ads.

Apple had released iPhone 2.0.2, an update to the operating system on the iPhone, for all iPhone and iPhone 3G users. While some claim that iPhone OS 2.0.2 delivers “improved communication with 3G networks” in an attempt to fix widespread reception/connectivity issues, users are mixed on the subject; some report slightly enhanced 3G reception, a minority report worse 3G reception, and most report no change.

Editor's note: my personal unit is last year's model, affectionately referred to as the iPhone 2.5G. So no 3G improvement for me, but the apps do seem to respond more quickly (when they are not crashing). Previously there was a lag when launching apps, even the built-in ones like SMS and Maps. I am, however, getting reduced signal strength on my cellular connection, 1-2 bars where it was 2-3 bars pre-update. I get 1 bar in my house where I used to get 4 bars. So whats up with that?

Just got this email from the Mobile Me team:

MobileMe Update--We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension. This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of. We know that MobileMe's launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around. Read this article for more details. --The MobileMe Team

Jefferson Consulting will be closed the week of August 18.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that there was a fire at at Apple's headquaters. The blaze that damaged a building on the tech giant's Cupertino campus Tuesday evening may have sparked quite a commotion, but no firefighters or Mac-savvy employees were injured. The fire, which started about 10 p.m., caused significant damage to a 120,000-square-foot building located at 20705 Valley Green Drive. CNet News interviewed Deputy Chief Hal Rooney is this video posted on YouTube.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard Service Training at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, the week of August 11. This will be two 2-day courses on Mac OS X troubleshooting for service technicians.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification training at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT, the week of August 4.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification training at The Lower Hudson Regional Information Center (LHRIC) in Elmsford, NY, the week of July 28. LHRIC is a nonprofit consortium providing educational and administrative technology services to 62 school districts in Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties. It is one of 12 Regional Information Centers in New York that are part of the BOCES system.

The transition from Dot Mac to the push-based Mobile Me has been a little rocky. Apple's Mobile Me team sent an email to all subscribers this past Wednesday, with a status update, and apology, and a 30-extension on all accounts:

...Another snag we have run into is our use of the word "push" in describing everything under the MobileMe umbrella. While all email, contact or calendar changes on the iPhone and the web apps are immediately synced to and from the MobileMe "cloud," changes made on a PC or Mac take up to 15 minutes to sync with the cloud and your other devices. So even though things are indeed instantly pushed to and from your iPhone and the web apps today, we are going to stop using the word "push" until it is near-instant on PCs and Macs, too.We want to apologize to our loyal customers and express our appreciation for their patience by giving all current subscribers an automatic 30-day extension to their MobileMe subscription free of charge. Your extension will be reflected in your account settings within the next few weeks...

Editors Note: I spent several hours trying to get calendars and mail to "push" and was unsuccessful. Calendars kept showing up with blank data, extra calendars I did not create, and an email send at noon did not arrive until 4:00pm. I have not given up yet! It could have been another server glitch, no ISP is immune. Mobile Me push is attractive not only for the "push," , but also because of SSL support, for more secure email communications on publish networks. SSL capability is often an added cost with many other ISP's email setups.

On this day in 1969, Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first human beings to set foot upon The Moon. As reported by the BBC:

The astronaut stepped onto the Moon's surface, in the Sea of Tranquility, at 0256 GMT, nearly 20 minutes after first opening the hatch on the Eagle landing craft. As he put his left foot down first Armstrong declared: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He described the surface as being like powdered charcoal and the landing craft left a crater about a foot deep. The historic moments were captured on television cameras installed on the Eagle and turned on by Armstrong. Armstrong spent his first few minutes on the Moon taking photographs and soil samples in case the mission had to be aborted suddenly. He was joined by colleague Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin at 0315 GMT and the two collected data and performed various exercises - including jumping across the landscape - before planting the Stars and Stripes flag at 0341 GMT. They also unveiled a plaque bearing President Nixon's signature and an inscription reading: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind."

David Pogue, tech columnist for the New York Times, posts this week on the iPhone App Store.

"You’re probably as sick of reading about the iPhone this week as I am of writing about it. But we’re not quite done. The App Store–oh, man, the App Store. It’s a candy store, dude. It’s 550 free or cheap add-on programs that make the iPhone (or the iPod Touch) do absolutely amazing things…stunts a cellphone has no right to perform."

Walter Mossberg, tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal, has posted on his blog the results of his overview of the new iPhone Apps Store. According to Mr. Mossberg,

"These first applications range from serious programs for doctors and pilots to silly parlor tricks that take advantage of the iPhone’s motion sensors. One, called PhoneSaber, merely displays an image of a Star Wars-like light saber and makes varying light saber noises as you wave the phone in the air."

Editors note: I am enjoying the new PhoneSaber toy, as well as the Facebook and AIM apps. I also plan to check out the voice recorder optioning and other available business apps.

We need to shut down long enough to take the Mac OS X Server Essentials 10.5 course and get Leopard Server Certified. Back next week! Call and leave a message or send an email to info@jefferson-consulting.com. We will be back next week with limited availability (appointments are stacking up).

The "Mobile Me" subscription-based service from Apple is now official. Push email and calendar sync with iPhones are now available and we gain additional online storage, but there are some things that have been taken away. Such as, no more iCards, no more webspace. Is this a big deal? Probably not, but time will tell....Check it out for yourself at http://www.apple.com/mobileme/.

MacWorld reports that crowds, activation delays hit iPhone launch, as demand for the phone with 3G internet speeds, MS Exchange Support and GPS capability reaches a fever-pitch.

MacWorld reports that Apple has officially released the iPhone OS 2.0 software update. The file weighs in at 225MB and is available as a free download via iTunes for owners of the original iPhone; it also comes pre-loaded on the new iPhone 3G. iPod touch users can also download the iPhone OS 2.0 update via the iTunes Store at a cost of $9.95, which also brings with it the features added in the iPod touch software update in January.

Davis Jefferson will be instructor for a Hardware Service Certification Boot Camp at BRI in Rhinecliff NY next week of 7/7. This is a a five-day intensive service certification immersion, covering the Mac OS, desktop and portable systems. Upon successful completion of the program, the attendees will earn the designation of Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.

Jefferson Consulting is closed today in observance of Independence Day. We wish our clients and friends a relaxing and safe holiday! And we send out a heartfelt "Thank You" to my little bro, Lt. Samuel P. Jefferson in the US Army Corps of Engineers, and all men and women serving our country and protecting our freedom...

Declaration of Independence webpage at the National Archives.
America's Independence Day Celebration-PBS
The Fourth of July Celebrations Database-American University

MacWorld reports that Apple on Monday released Mac OS X 10.5.4 fixing several issues with iCal, AirPort, Safari, and Spaces & Exposé. The update is available from Mac OS X Software Update or directly from Apple’s Web site.

The BBC points out that the Tuguska Event occurred 100 years ago today. At 7:17am on June 30,1908, an immense explosion tore through the forest of central Siberia. Some 80 million trees were flattened over an area of 2,000 square km (800 square miles) near the Tunguska River. The blast was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and generated a shock wave that knocked people to the ground 60km from the epicentre. The cause was an asteroid or comet just a few tens of metres across which detonated 5-10km above the ground, and eyewitnesses recalled a brilliant fireball resembling a "flying star" ploughing across the cloudless June sky at an oblique angle.
For more reading: Tunguska Home Page, Bologna, Italy.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor for Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification at a private high school in New York City, the week of June 23.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification training at MacSpecialist in Villa Park, IL, the week of June 16-20.

I worked with Frank Mott many years ago when we were both in IT sales. He is a good guy, genuine, hard worker. He takes care of his customers, and he loves Macs. Frank has bought the store formerly known as Delaware Computer Exchange. Now with new management and a new name, Mac Exchange is having a coming out party!

Jefferson Consulting's office will be closed this Wed 6/11 through Friday 6/13.

Today Apple announced a new Internet service called MobileMe - taking the best of .Mac and adding a host of new features. Current .Mac members' accounts will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe in July. For a closer look, watch the MobileMe Guided Tour and read below for an overview of this new service.

Mac integration you know and love.
With MobileMe, you'll continue to enjoy features that take advantage of seamless integration with Mac OS X and iLife - Back to My Mac; access to your iDisk in the Finder; Mac-to-Mac syncing of Dock items, preferences, and more; iWeb site publishing; and photo and movie sharing directly from iPhoto '08 and iMovie '08.

New web applications for when you're away from your Mac.
MobileMe features a suite of web applications at www.me.com that have the familiar look and feel of the applications on your Mac. Because these web applications stay in sync with your Mac and other devices, you'll have the same information wherever you go. Here's what you'll find at me.com:

• Mail, the anchor of the new suite, is even better with a refined interface.
• Contacts has a new three-pane interface, contact groups, maps integration, search, and photo support.
• Calendar is a brand-new web application that feels just like iCal, featuring multiple calendars, click-and-drag event creation, and more.
• Gallery lets you manage your collection of shared photos and movies from anywhere. You can now upload photos, rearrange their order, and set sharing preferences, all from a browser.
• iDisk now has the familiar look of the Mac OS X Finder. It features drag-and-drop filing and an easy new way to share large documents, by sending an email with a link for downloading the file.
• Account lets you manage settings such as storage allocation.
• To use the new web applications, make sure you have one of these browsers: Safari 3, Internet Explorer 7, or Firefox 2 or later.

Push email. Push contacts. Push calendar.
In addition to Mac-to-Mac syncing, MobileMe now keeps your iPhone, your iPod touch, and even a PC in sync. MobileMe pushes new contacts, calendar items, and bookmarks to your Mac or PC, and over the air to your iPhone or iPod touch. For example, if you add a calendar event on the web, the change will automatically be pushed to your Mac and iPhone. New email will be pushed to your iPhone in seconds, eliminating the need to check for messages manually.

Keep your Dot Mac Email address.
As a MobileMe subscriber, you can continue to use your mac.com address for email. You will also be issued a me.com address with the same user name that you can use if you prefer. The choice is yours.

Double the online storage.
To give you plenty of space for your email, photos, and other files, MobileMe doubles your storage from 10GB to 20GB for an individual subscription.

Apple is promising to update us when the new service goes live. In the meantime, if there are any questions about the upcoming transition from .Mac to MobileMe, please visit the MobileMe FAQ.

Introducing MobileMe. A new service for your iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, and PC. "The simple way to keep everything up to date." As one blogger put it, this is "Exchange for the rest of us."

Apple's World Wide Developer Conference kicked off today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Steve Jobs gave the keynote presentation and discussed the iPhone 2.0 SDK (software development kit), new third party apps for iPhone, enterprise "push mail" and "push calendar" capabilities, and the new iPhone 3G, featuring GPS and faster internet speeds.

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor for Apple Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard Service Training at BRI in Rhinecliff NY on 6/9 and 6/10. This is a two day intensive course for service technicians who support Mac OS X 10.5 users. The course is excellent preparation for the Mac OS X v10.5 Troubleshooting Exam (9L0-061), which is one of the two exams required to earn the designation of Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.

Lt. Samuel P. Jefferson, Citadel graduate and US Army platoon leader is leaving for Iraq tomorrow, with the Bravo Company, 46th Engineer Combat Battalion. Godspeed Little Bro. Yellow ribbons until you come home safely!

The following is from a press release on Delaware-based Hostmysite.com's website. This information was also sent to all Hostmysite customers. We host our website with Hostmysite.com and we have recommended this company to our clients in the past. We view this as a positive move and will continue to recommend Hostmysite.com.

Newark, Delaware, June 3, 2008 - Wachovia Capital Partners (WCP) announced today that it has acquired HostMySite, Inc. . Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. HostMySite.com is a leading hosting provider, delivering highly scalable hosting solutions including managed hosting, dedicated hosting, virtual private servers, and shared hosting. Wachovia Capital Partners partnered with experienced industry executives Art Zeile and Joel Daly earlier this year with a goal of acquiring and building a leading managed hosting company. With this acquisition, the executives will assume the roles of CEO and COO of the company.

Lou Honick and Neil Heuer founded HostMySite.com in 1997. With over 250 employees, 4,000 servers and state of the art datacenter facilities, the founders have built a highly successful business with a strong service culture. Following the transaction, Lou Honick will become the Chief Strategy Officer.

“With greater access to financial capital, HostMySite.com will continue as a leader in our industry. We believe that we have great prospects for growth and can further expand our reputation for quality of service, deep expertise, and solid execution,” said Mr. Honick. “We value the breadth of industry experience that Wachovia Capital Partners brings to the table having invested in hosting services companies for over a decade. We believe in this market and our opportunities are significantly enhanced with the backing of a strong financial partner."

Davis Jefferson will be the instructor at Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification training at Ridley School District in Folsom, PA, the week of June 2.

WDEL.com reports that hackers took over and defaced Comcast Corp.'s web portal for several hours overnight. They left a cryptic message on the site that the company's 14.1 million subscribers use to access e-mail, news and technical support. According to postings at BroadbandReports.com, the front page of Comcast.net went down shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday and was replaced with a note saying the hackers had "RoXed" Comcast. Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury says the hijacking has been reversed, but some users on Thursday morning were still unable to access Comcast.net and Web-based e-mail. Comcast says there is no indication that e-mail or other private information was compromised by the attack. Khoury says Comcast has alerted law enforcement authorities and is working with them.

MacNN reports that Apple has posted Mac OS X 10.5.3 to Software Update. This relatively major release addresses a number of issues existent in previous editions of Mac OS X 10.5.x, including problems with AirPort, Time Capsule, Mail, iChat, iCal and more. With regard to general fixes, the update addresses a font issue that could result in Helvetica Narrow being used in applications instead of Helvetica and also addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices. It also fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up in the Finder.

In observance of the Memorial Day holiday, Jefferson Consulting will be closed Monday May 26. We ask you to...Thank a veteran. And pray for our troops. We wish all our clients and friends a safe and enjoyable weekend!

National World War II Memorial

The National D-Day Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial Homepage

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Page

U.S. Memorial Day History and Information on U.S. War Memorials

PBS: National Memorial Day Concert

Davis Jefferson will be instructor for an Apple Hardware Certification class at ComputerTree in Winston-Salem, NC the week of May 19. The course includes troubleshooting theory, take-apart labs (where students completely disassemble and reassemble Mac computers), and the Apple Macintosh Service Exam (9L0-006). Students will also have the option to take the Mac OS X v10.5 Troubleshooting Exam (9L0-061). Upon successful completion of both exams, the attendees will earn the designation of Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.

Pop-tech website Gizmodo has posted a very creative music video featuring The Bird and the Bee song "Again and Again" demo-ing 40 Mac OS X features! Thanks to Jody Wexler for telling us about this!

Davis Jefferson will be instructor for a Hardware Service Certification Boot Camp at BRI in Rhinecliff NY next week of 5/12. This is a a five-day intensive service certification immersion, covering the Mac OS, desktop and portable systems. Upon successful completion of the program, the attendees will earn the designation of Apple Certified Macintosh Technician.

MacNN reports that AOL on Tuesday unveiled AOL Desktop for Mac, a brand new portal software for the company's internet services, representing the first such major release in five years. The client offers email, messaging, and web browsing services, as well as access to the company's various content channels. AOL includes easy transition tools, which allow users to quickly import AOL favourites and mail from the former Mac OS X client. AOL Desktop for Mac is available from the company's website. The new application brings with it a new web browser, based off the same open source project as Safari.

In order to meet the payment needs of our business and corporate customers, Jefferson Consulting is pleased to accept the American Express Card.

MacObserver reports on a recent ruling by a U.S. Court that allows border patrol agents to inspect and search a notebook computer or other digital device without limitation. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), travelers and their employers are increasingly concerned that Custom and Border Protection agents could compromise sensitive information, trade secrets and private attorney-client communications. Currently, travelers have several options. They can leave their computers at home. Or they could travel with a sanitized computer intended to only create content that is later encrypted and transmitted back to their employer's offices. Another tactic is security through obscurity -- hope that the border agents aren't too curious. However, if they do become curious, the CBP has the authority to detain the traveler or seize property. A federal court has ruled that the password doesn't have to be divulged, but declining to provide that information could mean confiscation of the computer.

The BBC reports that spam - the scourge of every e-mail inbox - celebrates its 30th anniversary this weekend. The first recognizable e-mail marketing message was sent on May 3, 1978 to 400 people on behalf of DEC - a now-defunct computer-maker. The message was sent via Arpanet - the internet's forerunner - and won its sender much criticism from recipients. The sender of the first junk e-mail message was Gary Thuerk and it was sent to advertise new additions to DEC's family of System-20 minicomputers. Despite Mr Thuerk's pioneering spam it took many years for unsolicited commercial e-mail to become a nuisance. It was 1993 before it won the name of spam - a name bestowed on it by Joel Furr - an administrator on the Usenet chat system. Mr Furr reputedly got his inspiration for the name from a Monty Python sketch set in a restaurant whose menu heavily featured the processed meat.

Apple announced today the immediate availability of new iMac models with faster Intel Core 2 Duo processors and improved graphics on Monday. The new iMac models maintain their familiar aluminum and glass style with a glossy display, and are available with processor speeds ranging from 2.4GHz up to 3.06GHz. All but the base 20-inch 2.4GHz model include 2GB of 800MHz DDR2SDRAM, all can upgrade to 4GB of RAM. Faster video processors are also new, with VRAM options up to 512MB.

MacObserver reports that after moving GoLive out to pasture after the release of Creative Suite 3, Adobe finally moved the Web site design application to the digital dustbin on Monday. Adobe stated that it chose to stop GoLive development and support "so we can instead focus our development and sales resources on our market-leading web design and development application, Adobe Dreamweaver." After purchasing Macromedia, Adobe replaced GoLive with Dreamweaver when it released Creative Suite 3. Adobe continued to offer GoLive as a digital download, but stopped promoting the product, and even made it difficult to find on its Web site. Even though GoLive maintained a strong and loyal following in the Web design community, it did not share Dreamweaver's level of popularity. Adobe is offering GoLive users special pricing when moving to Dreamweaver at US$199 for retail and government users, and $99 for educational users.

Just finished a great week as instructor for MacSvc 300: Apple Certified Technician Training and over the weekend, MacSvc 61: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Service for Technicians. Class was held at BRI in Rhinecliff NY. Thank you to my students and good luck with your careers!

One of my students from this class is the lead guitarist and harmonica player for a rock band named TENET, a five-man band based out of Hartford, Connecticut. Their sound covers a plethora of musical genres ranging from pop rock to funk jam. They have been compared to styles in the vain of Matchbox 20, 311, and Maroon 5, with vocals diversifying soulful, raspy emotion. Check out TENET on their MySpace page!

MacObserver reports that along with Final Cut Studio 2, Apple introduced Final Cut Server during a special event on Sunday Final Cut Server is a media asset management application designed to work with Final Cut Studio 2 for post production and broadcast professionals. It includes a cross-platform client, supports content browsing, review, and approval on a local network or over the Internet, and automatically catalogs asset collections. Final Cut Server supports simple keyword searches as well as complex searches that include IPTC, XMP and XML metadata, includes customizable templates that fit typical broadcast, post production, and educational environments, and includes controls for defining user permissions on an asset or project basis. It also supports monitoring assets through the production process and can automatically send project status alerts to editors. Final Cut Server will be available this summer and will be priced at US$999 for the server and 10 concurrent client licenses, or $1,999 for unlimited client licenses.

MacObserver reports that Stan Flack, the founder of both MacCentral and MacMinute, passed away Monday. According to Macworld, which purchased MacCentral in 1999, Mr. Flack died of natural causes -- from complications to a pre-existing condition -- in his home in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
As the founder of MacCentral, which launched in 1994, Mr. Flack was an influential founding member of what eventually went on to be known as the Mac Web. Two years after selling MacCentral to Macworld magazine, Mr. Flack started the Mac news site MacMinute.

MacObserver reports that Apple released a handful of firmware updates for the MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and aluminum keyboard Tuesday evening. The updates address several issues including stability, and the keyboard update addresses an issue where extra characters appeared when typing. iMac EFI Firmware Update 1.3, MacBook Air EFI Firmware Update 1.0, MacBook EFI Firmware Update 1.5, and MacBook Pro EFI Firmware Update 1.5 all address issues related to overall stability. The Aluminum Keyboard Update 1.0 is available for both the wired and wireless versions of the keyboard. The updates are available via the Software Update application, or as downloads at the Apple Support Web site.

Jefferson Consulting recently completed a database project for a large corporate client in the healthcare diagnostics field. The client had a legacy PowerPC-6100 based Mac with Mac OS 7.5 and a very old Filemaker Pro database. They needed the database migrated to the Windows platform. Fortunately Filemaker Pro has a WIndows XP version, so a total database re-write was not required. The challenge was getting the database from the legacy Mac filesystem over to Windows without corrupting the file or breaking any of the custom scripts. We were successful! The client is now using their database on a platform supported by their IT department, and while we'd like to see them use Macs, we know we must choose our battles!We previously worked with this client in 2005 to assist their product literature group which used Macs. In that case the group was migrating from legacy PowerPC G3-based Macs and Mac OS 8.5 to new PowerMac G5s running Mac OS X 10.3. The challenge was to get their several gigabytes of data off of an aging Novell server and migrate to a Windows 2003 Server. Macs can access files from Windows servers, but in this case these were legacy Mac OS files which could easily corrupt (split into datafork and resource fork) when moved to a Windows file system. The solution was to implement GroupLogic's Extreme Z-IP product on the Windows server, essentially making the sharepoints for this group available as AFP volumes. Very fast and transparent to the user! Mission Accomplished! They were happy customers, and so they called us back for the recent Filemaker project.

Jefferson Consulting recently assisted a publishing company with updating their MYOB AccountEdge software. The networking edition of the MYOB product is the only multi-user network Mac-based accounting system on the market at this time. Intuit's Quickbooks Pro for Mac will allow a user to access the accounting file from a server but does not allow multi-user access. Whereas Quickbooks Pro may be a good solution for a company where a single person is responsible for accounting, in this case several people needed access to accounting data. We are onsite with this client at least once per-quarter to assist with maintenance and upgrades. In the first quarter of every year we assist them with updating their accounting software so it will remain current (for tax reasons and support reasons). This involves installing updates on their Mac OS X Server, converting the data file if necessary, and installing the client-version of the software on each workstation and testing network access. We will also verify the backup software operation at this time.

MacNN is reporting that Research firm Piper Jaffray reports that Apple's worldwide computer marketshare expanded from 2.4 percent in 2006 to 2.9 percent in 2007. Notably, enterprise sales represented 70 percent of the growth in 2007. Consumer marketshare is especially impressive, now at 10 percent worldwide, and 21 percent in the United States. This is in face of fierce competition from PC makers such as Dell and HP, and a myriad of smaller companies such as Acer and ASUS. Apple must also fight the popular perception that Macs are 20 to 30 percent more expensive, when the difference is only 16 percent for desktops and 9 percent for notebooks.

Just finished up an onsite Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification course at beautiful University of North Carolina - Wilmington. UNCW now has 7 newly Apple-certified techs on staff. Thanks to all my students and best wishes in your careers!

Palm had the single strongest quarter ever of phone sales in its company history, the company said on Thursday afternoon. Over 833,000 phones were sold by the California designer in its February quarter, which represented a full 13 percent boost over the same period a year before. The company attributed this primarily to the success of the Centro, which launched with Sprint late last year as well as AT&T in February and is widely believed to have brought in more users with a lower $99 price and a more home-oriented focus than the more professional but struggling Treo line. Source: MacNN

Just finished up 3 days of a 5-day Hardware Service Certification Boot Camp at BRI in Rhinecliff, NY. Thanks to all my students and good luck with your careers!

His work inspired two movies, the names of some spacecraft, an asteroid and even a species of dinosaur. Read More...

MacNN reports that Roxio has released Toast 9 Titanium, the latest version of its disc burning software for Macs. Price will be $80.00. The new version brings with it a number of upgrades; among these is Blu-ray support, including the ability to copy both computer files and raw video across multiple discs; some compatible video sources include TiVos, EyeTVs and AVCHD camcorders. HD video can also be burned to standard DVDs.

MacNN is reporting that Apple has officially updated the AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n Wi-Fi. The technology is claimed to be as much as five times faster than the 802.11g used on the previous generation of AirPort, with twice the range. The update compliments 802.11n upgrades to other Apple products, including the AirPort Extreme router and its most recent Mac computers.

Just finished up Apple Macintosh Service Technician Certification Training at Ridley School District in Folsom, PA. Thanks to all my students and best wishes in your careers!

MacNN is reporting that the MacBook Air's thin design is causing some confusion for the "technically ignorant" or "less informed", according to one blogger who says that the ultra-portable caused him to miss his flight. When going through the TSA airport security checkpoint, blogger Michael Nygard was held up as security staff gathered around his MacBook Air, trying to make sense of the slender laptop. One of the less technically knowledgeable staff pointed out the lack of standard features as cause for alarm.

Just finished up a Mac OS X Support Essentials 10.5 at Ridley School District in Folsom, PA. Thanks to all my students and best wishes in your careers!

iPodNN reports that Apple today announced that it is implementing ActiveSync for Exchange mail support on its iPhone. The word came today during a planned meeting at the company's Cupertino campus, where Apple promised to discuss the future of software on the iPhone. ActiveSync for Exchange mail support, or 'push' mail, comes alongside promises of improved security for the mobile handset, according to phonemag. Stanford University has already purchased hundreds of iPhones for faculty and students, according to Apple, and the Cupertino-based company promised built-in Cisco IPsec VPN capability with certificates and identities with WPA2/802.11x. The forthcoming changes will see Exchange support built into the iPhone, directly in Mail and Calendar as well as contacts. Syncing is almost immediate, according to Apple, and the software allows users to toggle contacts as well as calendar and email on or off. The latest release will also allow IT managers to perform a 'remote wipe,' effectively deleting all data in the event that the iPhone is lost or stolen. Numerous enterprises have avoided widespread adoption of Apple's iPhone since its release in June of 2007, with many firms citing the device's lack of 'push' email support as the most significant barrier. The upcoming iPhone 2.0 software also includes a configuration utility that allows IT administrators to easily set up numerous iPhones, including password policies, VPN setting, installing certificates, email server settings, and more. Once the configuration is defined it is easily and securely delivered via Web link or email to users. To install, users need only authenticate with a user ID or password, download the configuration and tap install. Once installed, the user has access to all corporate IT services.

MacNN reports that Apple today provided development details for native third-party applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. The company has created a development kit that uses the same programming language and interface used by Apple itself and now includes Cocoa Touch, an API designed to add touchscreen input. Programmers can now use a modified version of Xcode that is not only used to write programs for the iPhone but to manage them as well, including designing the visual interface, source control, and debugging. Developers can also test the final results in an environment known as the iPhone Simulator, according to Apple. Apple's Phil Schiller explains that the environment is possible due to the similarities between desktop and mobile versions of Mac OS X.

Responding to criticism from groups such as Greenpeace, Apple has implemented a new recycling program designed to reduce the damage of mass consumption. In addition to products like iPods, people can now also recycle cellphones, produced by any manufacturer. There are two main options for sending devices to Apple: they can either be delivered in person at an Apple Store, or else mailed to a central location. Source: MacNN

MacNN reports that DriveSavers has unveiled an iPhone recovery service offering users the opportunity to save essential data from a malfunctioning iPhone that was not backed up. The service is able to recover pictures and critical data, once all other possible recovery alternatives have been exhausted. DriveSavers advertises a five to seven day turnaround for the recovery service, and costs anywhere from $500 to $1400, depending on the quality of the recovery.

MacNN reports that Mark/Space today released The Missing Sync for iPhone 1.0.1 alongside an updated version of SyncTogether. The Missing Sync for iPhone allows users to quickly load and archive data on an iPhone. The software supports syncing calendar, contacts, photos, and more from another cellular handset to an iPhone while allowing users to archive SMS messages as well as call logs and notes. The Missing Sync for iPhone 1.0.1 is priced at $40, with crossgrades available for $25. The application requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later. SyncTogether provides .Mac-style Mac-to-Mac syncing for up to three Macs, requires Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later, and sells for $49.95.

MacNN reports that despite today's unveiling of the Xsan 2 file system, Apple quietly discontinued the Xserve RAID platform, with any references to the hard drive system absent from the online store. The only mention of enterprise-level RAID hard drive products is that of the Promise VTrak system, for which Apple is also selling a number of service parts as well. The VTrak RAID systems range from 4.8TB to 16TB, and are configured with either SATA or SAS drives. It is unclear if Apple is making another approach to the RAID system, or if it is just simplifying its offerings.

Macminute reports that Apple today introduced Xsan 2, which the company says is the first major upgrade to its easy to use, high performance, enterprise class Storage Area Network (SAN) file system for Mac OS X. Xsan 2 makes it easier for first time users to set up and quickly deploy a SAN; introduces MultiSAN, allowing users on a single workstation to access multiple SANs at the same time; is fully integrated with Mac OS X Leopard and Mac OS X Server Leopard and is now qualified to work with third-party RAID storage. Xsan 2 is available through the Apple Store and t