mac

Mac OS X Trojan reported in the wild

On Thursday, security vendor SecureMac reported seeing new variants of AppleScript.THT Trojan horse in the wild affecting users of Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

The new variations exploit a vulnerability within the Apple Remote Desktop Agent, and can avoid detection by opening ports in the firewall and turning off system logging. The new Trojans can log keystrokes, take screen shots, take pictures with the Apple iSight camera, and enable file sharing, according to SecureMac.

The Trojans are using an AppleScript called ASthtv05 and/or may be bundled as an application. You must download and execute the … Read more

The 404 124: Where Fox News is giving us something good to talk about

In a follow-up to our newest "It came from Fox News" segment, actual Fox news anchor Clayton Morris drops by the studio today and dishes out his views on digital privacy in the workplace, making the switch, the perpetual woes of iPhone ineptitude, and the ancient practice of group shaving. If that isn't enough, we also conclusively prove that living well is the best revenge. EPISODE 124 Download today's podcast

One company's progress toward a Mac future

I talked a few weeks ago about how Alfresco has gone from Dell to the Mac in the space of one year (and dragged along Zimbra and other Mac-friendly applications to make the process more enjoyable). Two years ago, we had only one Mac (mine). Today, we have a majority of Macs.

Of course, it's one thing to talk about it, and quite another to see it. Here's a picture from this week's management meeting in London:

It only takes one...to create many converts. There is simply no credible reason to hold back on adopting the … Read more

'Red Paperclip' house up for bids

Two years ago, Kyle MacDonald acquired a house through a series of Web-chronicled trades that began with a red paper clip. Now he's ready to trade it away.

The asking price for the modest two-story house, located in Kipling, Saskatchewan? Nothing in particular, MacDonald says--just make it interesting.

"I'm looking for someone with an idea, something that would benefit the community," MacDonald told CNET News.com over the phone. Really, he says, it's about "finding the right person to trade with. I'm interested in the experience more than material gain."

He does … Read more

MacBook Air gets a leather catsuit

It's nice to see that someone is showing a little originality when it comes to cases for the MacBook Air. Until now we thought all of them would be some form of the inter-office envelope look, with the only variation being the occasional cowhide option.

Granted, Vaja's "Ivolution Leather Suit" does take the bovine route as well, but it's distinctly different from other models in some basic ways. Namely, it's meant to stay on at all times, hugging its charge like a wetsuit while allowing it to breathe through mesh vents sewn into the … Read more

Industry group to evaluate Apple's OpenCL as standard

The PC and mobile-computing industries are getting together to propose a standard for computing on graphics processors, and they are going to start their evaluation with Apple's OpenCL technology.

The Khronos Group, an industry consortium that already administers well-known standards like OpenGL, announced the creation of a Compute Working Group on Monday to develop an industry standard for allowing software developers to tap into the performance offered by graphics processors, or GPUs.

Many familiar names dot the list of founding members, including chip companies such as AMD, Nvidia, and Intel, mobile industry representatives such as ARM, Motorola, Samsung, and … Read more

Power your Air with the sun

A new solar panel kit for the MacBook Air will both charge and power the laptop at the same time.

QuickerTek, a Wichita, Kansas-based company that sells accessories for Apple devices, calls its new portable solar power gadget the Apple Juicz MacBook Air Solar Charger.

The Juicz comes in three size and power options and has a one-year warranty, QuickerTek said Tuesday. As usual with solar energy, all that "free" power is going to cost you.

The smallest 19-watt Apple Juicz, which takes 14 hours to recharge the laptop, will sell for $500; the 8-hour, 29-watt model is $… Read more

Vista's big problem: 92 percent of developers ignoring it

And to think Microsoft used to be popular with the developer crowd...

Not anymore. A recent report from Evans Data shows fewer than one in 10 software developers writing applications for Windows Vista this year. Eight percent. This is perhaps made even worse by the corresponding data that shows 49 percent of developers writing applications for Windows XP.

Such appreciation for history is not likely to warm the cockles of Microsoft's heart, especially when Linux is getting lots of love from developers (13 percent writing apps for it this year and 15.5 percent in 2009). The Mac? I don't have any equivalent data via Evans Data. But the Mac OS has rocketed by 380 percent as a targeted development platform, Evans Data told Computerworld.

The numbers don't get much better for Vista in 2009: 24 percent (compared with 29 percent for XP). That's a big step up from 8 percent, but is it a sign of momentum to come or just a temporary stopgap while developers wait until Windows 7?

Nor has Microsoft made it easy to develop Vista applications, according to an article in ITJungle.com:… Read more

Best iPod alternatives for Mac

Some Apple devotees wouldn't dream of questioning the Steve Jobs-sanctioned threeway between their Mac, iTunes, and their iPod. But the truth is that there are other fish in the sea when it comes to finding a Mac-friendly MP3 player (in fact, there are some great iTunes alternatives for Mac, too).

Maybe you're shopping for a player with an FM radio, a larger screen, better sound quality, or maybe you're just short on cash. Whatever your motivations, here's a roundup of our favorite non-iPod MP3 players for the Mac.