Devoted to hardware, software, IT issues, and information technology management

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.

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.

 

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.

 

Jim Louderback had a day at Dell's Austin headquarters and even spoke to Michael  Dell and it looks like they are looking at the lucrative Mac OS market. Looks like  a good way to enrich their coffers. But would they be undercutting Apple's online  store and how much margin can they make ?

I recently spent a day at Dell's Austin headquarters, and ended up with a  conversation with Michael Dell – which I recorded. He does the usual CEO two step,  but also revealed some interesting facts – including how he'd really like to sell  PCs and laptops running OSX.

Dell Wants to Sell Mac OSX PCs site

 

Some news that’s not for the faint-hearted Mac OS X lovers. Just don’t forget to update your patches, your antivirus defs and your anti-spyware definitions before you sleep tonight. Best bet is just switch off your PC instead of leaving your Bit Torrent on all the time.

The SANS Institute warned of a steep increase in critical security holes in Apple Computer's Mac OS X operating system and in previously undiscovered ("zero day") vulnerabilities in Web browsers.

A booming cyber crime market is driving the growth in zero-day attacks, which are used against Web browsers and enterprise applications by Oracle, Symantec, and others to access sensitive data, SANS said.

 

Increase in critical security holes in Apple Computer's Mac OS X source

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.

It's quite usual to see worms and spyware on Windows systems but having them on the Mac OS X is something pretty unusual since its basically a Unix based system that's secure. A second worm attacking the Mac OS X system has been discovered over the weekend and basically, the OSX/Inqtana-A worm spreads between Apple Mac computers via a Bluetooth vulnerability. The new worm has appeared within days of the discovery of OSX/Leap-A, the first virus for Mac OS X.

Antivirus company Sophos says the first "real virus" that targets Apple's Mac OS X operating system has been spotted online, reports Forbes. Appropriately enough, it was a type of virus called a worm. A Mac rumors website first reported a sighting on Feb. 13, in the form of a file called latestpics.tgz, supposedly consisting of screenshots of the Leopard Mac OS X 10.5; however, despite displaying a JPEG icon when click on, it was an executable file.

The Inqtana worm, which may start at boot up, attempts to discover Bluetooth devices that will accept a file via the OBEX Push service (typically requiring user intervention). It exploits a vulnerability known as CAN-2005-1333 to spread itself to other vulnerable Mac OS X computers.