We just discovered that there is a bug in the firmware now whilst playing with our new iPod classic and iPod nano. If you have the “Volume Limit” set on, play a song and then go play a game. When playing the game the volume limit will be deactivated and the song becomes much louder. When you quit the game it becomes active again.
Update: When we said “OS X” iPods, we meant the new range with the iPod touch which does have OS X on it. Guess we should clear the title up.
Security researchers have said the first virus to strike Mac OS X operating (discovered Thursday) doesn’t cause any damage, even though it can be annoying because it can potentially spread to hundreds of machines. The virus named “Leap A” or “Oompa” spreads through the iChat instant messaging systems on Apple’s Mac computers by forwarding itself as a file to contacts on the infected user’s buddy list. If the malicious file is clicked on and unzipped, the virus tries to spread to other contacts on the user’s buddy list. The virus has been categorized as a Trojan horse because of the way it disguises itself in order to infect users. What’s most surprising however is a statement by Mr. Coursen (senior technical consultant with Kaspersky Lab) he estimates “there are about 200 viruses for the Mac compared to more than 150,000 viruses for the PC”, where did he pluck that figure from? But this is only the start. Experts believe that because of Apples switch to Intel, coders will find it easier to attack Macs.
Apple has silently updated the iPod nano design in response to scratching outcry. With the new 1GB nano, there is a slightly raised rim around the entire iPod, thus preventing the entire iPod face touching the surface when laid on its face. iLounge reports that because of this dip several cases and invisible shields do not fit correctly.
Update: Now it seems that the LCD screen on the new 1GB iPod nano is dimmer than the other nanos. Oh Apple…
On Wednesday Apple Computer confirmed the fact that the new iMacs experience video playback problems. An article at Information Week states that video sometimes has random horizontal lines, ghosting, video tearing, and other problems. These do not occur when playing movies in QuickTime, rather in iMovie and in alt-tabbing circumstances. Consumer Machine takes a good look at what exactly is wrong. They say that most cases are not software related, pointing the finger at ATI. An excerpt from a company email reads:
Apple is aware of this issue and is looking into it, If a customer has any technical issues, they should contact AppleCare.
At least 34 errors have been found in Intel’s new Core Duo chips, used by Apple in the new iMac and MacBook Pro. Apparently this is quite normal so nothing to worry about, the old Pentium 4 has 65 known errors and Intel have no plans for correcting them either.
So first we had the issue last week when we discovered that iWeb produced ugly code. Today we find that iPhoto’s new Photocasting feature gives ugly code as well. Steve told press at his Keynote: “We use industry standard RSS so that anyone can subscribe. You do not even need a Mac”. But early tests showed that the feature fails to work with some feed readers because it deviates from common RSS practices. Get your act together Apple!
Reports have come in that the reason the MacBook Pros are shipping in February is not because of delays in Intel lead times, but in fact there are some nasty software issues still to fix. First off, putting the MacBook into sleep mode causes the mouse pointer to freeze upon awakening and you’ll need to do hard reset. Second, although the battery for the MacBook is at over 6000mAh, it would appear the battery life is worse than that of the Powerbook G4 which was 4600mAh. Let’s hope Apple gets fixing these errors - otherwise can we expect a March release?
The MacBook Pro won’t be available to the public until February, but it also seems that even Apple couldn’t get their hands on one. The following images from the MacBook Pro image gallery clearly show they in fact used a Powerbook G4.
On the first pic, Apple has added the infrared and not included it in the reflection. Has anyone checked if this is even a 15.4″ screen?
Secondly, you can clearly see the Powerbooks hinge whereas the new MacBook Pro uses a magnetic system.
Last week as we were all getting ready for Christmas, Symnatic announced there was a serious security flaw in 40 of their products. This includes all versions of Norton AV. Symantec calls this a ‘high risk’ vulnerability that could allow a remote user to gain control of a computer, even a Mac, that’s running any of their affected software. The ZDNet Australia article where the problem was reported, poses an important security question:
“As the owner of a Powerbook I am faced with a dilemma. Do I pay AU$118.15 for a flawed ’security’ application that is designed to protect me from threats that do not seem to exist; or do I take sensible precautions like keeping my computer behind a firewall and staying up to date with OS X patches?”
Honestly though, who actually performs virus checks on their Mac… We sure don’t. There doesn’t seem to be a fix for the problem yet.
Security researcher Tom Ferris has posted details on a security vulnerability that affects the latest versions of Apple’s iTunes and QuickTime software. A specially crafted .mov video file could cause a heap overflow and potentially give an attacker the ability to execute arbitrary code. Ferris first reported the problem earlier this month and says he notified Apple at that time. He says both Mac OS X and Windows machines are affected, as are older versions of iTunes and QuickTime. Security firm Secunia has rated the vulnerability “moderately critical”.
