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The Apple Blog
The Apple Blog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
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Do Not Use iTunes to Make Bombs!

One of favorite random sites to read is Freakonomics. There is always something that I never thought of before on there, and today was no exception. They pointed out a clause in the iTunes license agreement that puts a damper on weekend plans. It says that you can’t use iTunes for anything illegal:

…including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear missiles or chemical or biological weapons.

I don’t really know how anyone would use iTunes to make a bomb. Maybe this means that you can’t listen to iTunes while you are making it. That makes sense.

The other warning they pointed out is that you can’t use iTunes in any system that is used to keep people from dying:

The Apple software is not intended for use in the operation of nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems, life support machines, or other equipment in which the failure of the Apple software could lead to death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage.

This is understandable because you wouldn’t want to have iTunes crash your life-support system and cause something to happen. I would be furious at the person who was rocking out to iTunes on the computer that was controlling a loved one’s life support equipment.

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Unpatched Flaw In Apple Remote Desktop Brings About Trojans & Community Fixes
Much ado has been made this week regarding the recent Apple Remote Desktop Root Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. The short story is that there is a flaw in a piece of software that Apple ships & installs with every Leopard instance which enables a local user to run scripts with root privileges (meaning they can do anything on the system).

As you may have read, this flaw is not capable of being exploited remotely, but multiple variants of a new Trojan (dubbed “AppleScript-THT”) are floating around the internets which wreak all sorts of havoc on your system once infected. Some install keystroke logging, usurp your iSight camera to take pictures or even capturing screenshots (some do much worse).

The Washington Post has a great blog post which gives a great amount of detail on the problem and even mentions a few solutions. The quickest way (until Apple releases a patch) to protect yourself is to open up a Terminal window and enter the following text:

osascript -e 'tell app "ARDAgent" to do shell script "chmod 0555 /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAgent"';

If that was successful, then you should not see “root” when you paste this into the Terminal window:

osascript -e 'tell app "ARDAgent" to do shell script "whoami"';

SecureMac has updated MacScan to account for these new beasts and DAT updates from other vendors are forthcoming.

Until Apple releases a patch and you install it be very careful what you download and execute, both from your browser or chat clients.

If you have any questions or concerns, please drop a note in the comments and I will monitor this thread closely over the coming days to try to help as much as possible. Watch for a TAB post when Apple issues a fix.

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To Pro or not to Pro?
At my day job, we are getting new computers for everyone, and I weaseled my way into a position to have some input on the process. I have heard nothing but rave reviews of MacBook Pros and I was sure this would be my chance to get one. There are other people in the company that have MacBook Pros and certainly do not use them as well as they could (one guy only uses his for Entourage and Internet Explorer:Mac)! As I sat down to start pricing it out, I knew that I would only be able to get the base model. So, I compared the MacBook Pro with a souped-up white MacBook to see if it was really worth it to get a Pro.

The first thing you need to do when preparing to purchase a new computer is determine how it will be used. That will go a long way in determining if it is worth it to buy the more expensive model. Besides the basic email and web surfing, I need a computer that can handle a large library of photos, music, and video. In addition, I will do a fair amount of video calling using Skype or iChat. I also use Delicious Library for managing all of my books and gadgets. I will do some video editing, but certainly not a lot.

Many of these needs are satisfied by any of Apple’s computers. I am not a photographer or videographer, and my livelihood does not depend on the speed and ability to handle 15 programs open at once. At the same time, however, I do a lot of presentations and I can’t have my computer freezing up because I have too much open.

When compared side-by-side, there is not much difference. Here are the things that are exactly the same:
- Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 3MB shared L2 cache
- 2GB (two SO-DIMMs) RAM standard expandable up to 4GB
- Hard Drive (they both can have 250 GB hard drives at 5400 rpm though the MacBook starts out at 160)
- 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- Built-in iSight camera
- Mini-DVI video out
- Built-in AirPort Extreme (802.11n)
- Built-in Bluetooth 2.0 (2.1 on MacBook Pro) + EDR
- 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
- Combined optical digital/audio out, combined optical digital/audio line in, microphone, speakers
- Two USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port
- Glossy screen
That is a lot of important stuff that is the same. What is better on the MacBook Pro?
- NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM compared to an integrated graphics card on the MacBook
- Resolution 1440 x 900 pixels
- Full-size, illuminated keyboard with ambient light sensor; Multi-Touch trackpad
- One FireWire 800 port, one ExpressCard/34 slot
- One inch thick
- Up to 5 hours wireless productivity (vs 4.5 hours on MacBook)
I am sure this list of things that are better is debatable, but I think most would agree with most of the items.

What is better on a MacBook? (Again, these are probably debatable, especially the screen-size.)
- Smaller screen means I am not opening up a monster on my lap in a meeting
- Lighter weight (5.0 lbs compared to 5.4, not much lighter, but still) because of smaller screen
- Personally, I like the keyboard better
I will be purchasing iWork ‘08 and a MobileMe subscription. When I priced these computers out, the price came to $2197 for the MacBook Pro and $1547 for the MacBook. The biggest thing that stands out as making the Pro better is the video card. However, I just don’t know if that video card is worth the $650 price difference. Multi-Touch would be nice, but again, not worth the price tag. Would I pay more for battery life? Maybe, but I don’t think the battery life is drastic enough for it to be a major player. In addition, even if I upgrade through Apple to 4GB RAM, the MacBook is still $450 less than the MacBook Pro. That may be a better place to spend my (employer’s) money.

So, unless there are some compelling reasons that you have, I don’t see how it is better to get the Pro for my needs. What do you say? Would you persuade me one way or the other? Also, are there any other killer features that I may have missed?

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How to Transfer Firefox Bookmarks and Other Settings
If you are switcher with one foot still in the proverbial grave and haven’t entirely let go of your PC, this article is for you.

In my profession, I tend to change computers a lot. Thankfully, I get Macs. We gave away our PC to a friend, and needed to save my wife’s bookmarks on my MacBook, until we get a replacement. On a Mac, it is very easy to transfer all of your personalized preferences from one computer to another. Going from a PC to a Mac takes a few more steps, and you can’t transfer everything as easily.

I usually only want to save my preferences when I get a new computer, just because I like fresh installs of all my software. I know it is a lot easier to use Apple’s Migration Assistant, but this is how I roll.

To get everything from one Mac to another, all you do is go to [username]/Library/Application Support/Firefox and copy the entire Firefox folder to your new computer. You can do this with any application you have on your computer. It copies all of your information, preferences, plugins, and history. Very slick.

From a PC to a Mac, I could not find a way to export everything from Firefox to my Mac. I can export the bookmarks, but that is it. My wife wasn’t too happy about that. All she really cared about were her bookmarks, though. When you tell Firefox to import from the file menu, it only asks to import all your preferences from Safari. You can do that if you have been using Safari, but it is better to go to the Bookmarks menu, choose “Organize Bookmarks…”

You will want to click the “Refresh Favorites” or settings button, and choose import HTML. Choose your bookmarks.html file, and it will import the PC Firefox bookmarks.

Or, just as easily, use the File->Import Bookmarks in Safari and import them into Safari, and then you can get all your Safari bookmarks and your PC Firefox bookmarks in one fell swoop.

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Review: Replug
I recently got my hands on an interesting device, the Replug. The design of the Replug is meant to work much like a MagSafe connector does - give it a pull, and it pops out safely. But this is a headphone adapter. If you’ve ever had your computer yanked to the floor by a tangled headphone cable, or had a jack or port damaged by abuse, you can see the wisdom of this product.

How it works

The peanut-shaped design has a small bit of rubber in the center, which can easily flex in many angles and directions, allowing for easy movement. The real trick comes when you put significant stress on the plug - at the point where the metal plug is attached to the rubber body - this snaps apart, and safely breaks away.

Design

Unlike the MagSafe, which is obviously magnetic, you’ll notice the Replug uses a mechanical design. It’s hard to describe, other than to say a series of prongs on the metallic plug snap into matching rings (in the green part). It has more resistance to overcome than the MagSafe in order to remove it (their web site states “1.5 pounds of lateral pressure”). I personally think the MagSafe is too loose and easy to detach at times, so it’s probably a good balance for most situations. I would have liked to have seen a magnetic design of replug, but I can understand how the magnet could pose harm to other nearby devices.

The problem I had was not with how it breaks away (that’s not an issue), but with how to reattach it. When I “fiddled” with it, it was fun to break apart, but I irritated my fingers (and my patience) trying to push it back together again. If anyone who has a Replug can give me a tip on how to do this quickly and easily, I’d be grateful.

All in all

I’d say if you’re a clumsy type, and want to make sure you don’t have an accident involving the headphone port, it’s a useful device. It’s also incredibly useful to people with pre-3G iPhones, as there is a version of the Replug which can make a great adapter. If you’re interested in an extension cord with the same trick, they have some 6-foot long ones available sometime before the end of this month.

Replug sells them retail, as well as through their online store. It will set you back about $18.

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