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When my wife visited Googleplex at Silicon Valley last month, she noticed quite a few people using Macs. Looks like there are fans out there in Google land and they now have an official Google Mac Blog. Created by Ryan Brown, an engineer on the Mac team, this site showcases all of the Google applications for the Mac. Check out what Google has done for Macs and let's hope this blog does not get hacked too!

Microsoft’s next-gen Office suite for the Mac is being given a top-to-toe refit in readiness for its debut in the third quarter of 2007. It will adopt the native XML file formats in the new versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint while adding functionality is its core being rebuilt as an Intel-friendly Universal Binary application. I wonder if Mac users will love the ribbon interface of Office 2007 for Windows, which was aimed at removing the reliance on deeply-nested menus and making existing features more ‘discoverable’ to users.

This new APCstart article has got the lowdown on the new Office 2007 for Mac slated for Q3 2007.

As is convention for the Office family, at this early stage the product is known only by its version number as ‘Office 12?. Last month, they completed the transition to Apple’s Xcode, which forms the basis for the Universal binaries that are compatible with new Intel-based Macs as well as older PowerPC machines.

Apple Computer Inc. completed its shifting to Intel Corp. microprocessors and previewed its next-generation operating system on Monday. CEO Steve Jobs, speaking to thousands of engineers at the company's Worldwide Developer Conference, showed off Intel-based Macs for professional users and servers for businesses and so ends the realms of PowerPC chips built by IBM Corp. and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Steve also previewed the upcoming Mac OS X release, dubbed "Leopard," slated for spring 2007 and this should give delayed Vista a run for the hills.

The Intel Xeon Core 2 (Woodcrest) based Mac Pro features two of the newest Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors. 2GHz, 2.66GHz, and the 3GHz version, goes up to 2x faster than the Power Mac G5 Quad.

The fastest Mac Pro ever made has memory storage that goes up to 16GB of RAM, slots for 2 SuperDrives, four PCI Express slots, and more I/O ports than a hardware shop.

Apple unveils Intel-based Macs and Leopard at Worldwide Developer Conference source

I find the process of booting Vista and OS X on a Macbook pretty suicidal. Why go on such a trip and make your life difficult when having Windows XP is good enough. Well, if you are wondering how it can be done, then here's the link to a great post that shows you how it can be done. Be warned though that backup is essential when you follow the dark path..



Windows Vista comes with a new boot manager, that is very flexible. I thought it would be nice if I could use that to specify an entry for Mac OS X. However, the technology is new and I cannot find many documentations about it. The FAQ in Microsoft's web site does not tell you how to create a boot loader for Mac OS X. It only tells you how to create a boot loader for legacy systems like Windows XP. I then found out that people are using a chain0 file with Vista's boot manager to dual boot OS X and Vista for the OSx86 project. I tried that, but it did not work. The problem is that the chain0 file is not for booting Mac OS X on MacBook. What I really need is already on my MacBook. It's called boot.efi and it's under /usr/standalone/i386/ . The file is hidden from Finder. You will need to use Terminal application to copy it. Here are the steps.

The Avery(r) Mac Label Expert is the newest desktop tool for all your labeling needs. You can create labels, cards, CD/DVD labels and more on your Mac with the Avery Mac Label Expert. Features include a new user interface, templates for all Avery printable products, support for both printer fonts and Mac fonts, and mMail merge from Excel, Word, ClarisWorks, FileMaker and AppleWorks. Where was this when I had a Mac 5 years ago ?

Suitable for small or large businesses and homeworkers, the software guides you through a series of simple steps for formatting and printing onto all Avery printable products, including Addressing and Identification labels, Business Cards, IndexMakerTM Printable Dividers and CD and DVD labelling.

By clicking on the Avery(r) Mac Label Expert, users can select their desired Avery product template, add their own text and graphics, type on the template manually and format the text.  Not only that, you can preview your project and then print it out.

Free Avery(r) Mac Label Expert Software For Apple Mac Users source

 

Widget World is a website with tons of nifty Mac OS X (Tiger OS) Widgets. With Apple Mac OS X Tiger, it has the fabulous Dashboard and its handy tools called dashboard Widgets.
 

I believe there will be 2 parties in Widgets. One that finds it complete nonsense and bulging running javascripts that are totally doubling all that is available in the Operating System already. And another group that finds it fantastic to have many  utilities and handy tools at the click of one button (F12) with the option of filling up your 24 inch LCD monitors.
 

So check out Widget World where active members can upload, post and edit the newest and latest Dashboard Widgets for all to use.

 

A security program manager at Microsoft Corp. has ticked off rival Apple Computer for claiming that its security updates is at par with Microsoft's. Well, for me, Microsoft has had its fair share of security incidents and that's because they charge money for reporting bugs too.  Basically , dear old Microsoft is referred as Mickeysoft by my friend and this is what I call a mouse calling his rival "smelly" story. Keep your opinions to yourself before you clean out your backyard.

Stephen Toulouse, a program manager for the Microsoft Security Response Center and often the MSRC's spokesman, has used several entries in his personal blog to take Apple to the woodshed.

By YC from the Technocrat Soapbox,
Guest Blogger

One would think that this would be the logical partnership for Apple. After all, AMD has consistently produced the highest-performing CPU (the Athlon 64 FX-60 was released yesterday) in the market for over 3 years now, and with a 'nonconformist' mentality to go with Apple's "Think Different" philosophy, who would be a better suitor?


Apple and AMD.
Just perfect, like milk and Oreo cookies.
But alas, this is not to be.

Sadly, it all boils down to Economics.

Apple dominated the PC Market in the first decade of the last 30 years, differentiating itself from its competitors by delivering creative and even fashionable products like the Apple ][, the Lisa, the Macintosh, and the Newton MessagePad.

But Apple's arrogance and political infighting culminated to the exodus of its spiritual leaders (Jobs was ousted in a boardroom coup and Wozniak resigned in frustration). The once proud and mighty operated in the red for almost another decade, withering down to a single-digit market share today (despite Jobs' eventual return in the mid-90's).