mac

China censorship workarounds: 'To post or not to post?'

This blog is often faced with the question of whether to post methods of accessing sites that are inaccessible from China because of government controls. I want to turn the question to readers, who I hope will have some opinions. Help me decide whether to reinstate a workaround for Chinese Wikipedia.

The argument for posting: I tend to believe it would be selfish to keep circumvention methods to myself when others who are less habitually engaged with technology news would also appreciate a way around the blocks. For instance, before the BBC News site was unblocked, I posted information on … Read more

Thin Intel Netbook to vie with MacBook Air?

During a keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai, an Intel executive brandished a Netbook that looked Air-thin. Will inexpensive Linux Netbooks be a poor man's MacBook Air?

Most of the photos to date of upcoming Netbooks are ho-hum designs, engineered to be inexpensive yet practical for users such as young schoolchildren. But some upcoming designs look intriguing--and extremely thin. (See close-up photo here--PC Watch.)

"This Netbook is running Linux...As you see, this doesn't mean an ugly design. It's a really nice-looking, stylish design," said Dadi Perlmutter, executive vice president and … Read more

MacBook Air verdict: Seminal computer, five reasons

The Apple MacBook Air is a seminal computer. There I said it. I'm not going to pretend that my opinion is the final word (or anything close to it) but I will weigh in by saying it's a ground-breaking product. After using it for about two months, here's why.

(Note: I am not a Mac enthusiast. This is the first Apple I've ever owned.)

This is not a CNET review. The CNET review is here.

1. Very thin, very light but comparatively fast. That's no mean feat. Subnotebooks I've had in the past (e.… Read more

Next Photoshop will get 64-bit boost--on Windows only

Adobe Systems has shared the first scrap of information about its next version of Photoshop, CS4, and it's a doozy: there will be a 64-bit version of the photo-editing software, but only for Windows and not for Mac OS X.

Adobe generally keeps features in the Windows and Mac versions at a level of parity, but that wasn't possible this time around because of a change Apple made last year to the Mac's programming underpinnings, John Nack, Adobe's product manager for Photoshop, said in an interview.

"We're not going to ship 64-bit native for … Read more

MacBook Air major annoyance--when sleep doesn't mean sleep

My one major pet peeve with the MacBook Air is that no matter what I do, it seems that this machine never goes fully to sleep. Somehow the battery is being drained (albeit at a slower rate) when I set the computer to "sleep" or when I close the lid.

This has become an incredible annoyance as my main purpose for this laptop was to be able to use it on the fly. Lately I've found that I have run the whole battery out in about 8 hours with less than one hour of actual usage. At … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 694: Know your zombies

It's zombie-preparedness day, and may we suggest you also prepare yourself for a barrage of rumors of the eBay and Blu-ray variety. Also, today, Amazon reaches right inside Molly's brain and launches shopping via text-message (hello, impulse purchase heaven!), and one listener defends the sacred honor of the Chevy Nova. Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 694

Voicemail - Dark Zombie Preparedness Day!

Judge to RIAA: You can’t sue over songs ‘made available’ via P2P http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9908353-38.html

eBay’s power sell: Skype to Google? http://www.news.com/8301-13577_3-9908959-36.html

Amazon launches … Read more

Macs: They're not for everyone

Yesterday, Computerworld brought us 5 reasons to ditch the Mac and return to PCs (tip o' the antlers to John Gruber via e-mail). And, sadly, they weren't April foolin' us.

Listen, then, Mac user to the tale of one "Mac fan" who switched... back! (Please shoot the Macalope now.)

So while Apple's sales continue to grow, Keanini decided to buck the trend, and gave up on his most recent Apple machine, an Intel dual-core based MacBook Pro.

That seems like kind of a waste since he could have just used Boot Camp to run Windows on … Read more

Ubuntu Linux: Unhackable. The Mac? Safari proves its Achilles Heel

A recent contest pitted Mac OS X, Windows Vista, and Ubuntu Linux against each other in terms of security. It took all of two days to hack the Mac (via a web browser exploit). Ubuntu Linux? Three days into the contest, it still hadn't been hacked.

It's very possible that the Mac was the first targeted because everyone wanted the prize: A spiffy new MacBook Air. But that's not the point. Using Firefox may well have resolved the problem, rather than sticking with Apple's Safari browser.

No, the point is that no one could hack Linux.… Read more

Five things I love/hate about the iPhone

I've had my iPhone for a week now and am amazed by how much it has changed the way I use a mobile device. My Blackberry was all work: I used it for email and to read stories on Arsenal. (Yes, that counts as work these days.) The iPhone is much different. There is so much to do with it. I find that I use it far more, but for less drudgery and more fun.

A bit like how I use my Mac.

I thought I'd compile a list of the five best things about the iPhone, and the five worst. It's not a perfect device by any means. It's interesting to see that some of the iPhone's greatest strengths pave the way for its greatest weaknesses.

But first, the good:

The typing on the iPhone is lightning fast. I never would have guessed this, but it's true. I was pretty fast on my Blackberry 8700 and then 8800, but I'm at least 25 percent faster on the iPhone. I worried about the lack of tactile feedback, but the iPhone gives visual feedback (the key you're about to hit enlarges to meet your finger) which is arguably superior. In addition, it's very, very smart about correcting misspellings. Often I'll keep typing, even when I know I made a mistake, because I know the iPhone's software will correct my mistake for me. It usually does.… Read more