SVMUG January 15, 2007 - Post MacWorld Expo Meeting

7:00 PM - Introductions

New person - Len invited a person he met in the Keynote line! Another new person - Richard - looking for interesting tales from the Expo.

Be sure to ask one of our volunteers for instructions on SubEthaEdit or getting on the web site.

7:05 PM - News and Events

It appears all but one or two of our members got to the Expo!

The iPhone has been introduced. Will this save the entire cell phone industry? The keynote is available as a Quicktime streaming movie on the Apple web site.

iPhone: cell phone with WiFi and Edge, and iPod capabilities. Runs Mac OS X with widgets. At moment, we really do not know that much about the capabilities, as it will not be actually sold until the FCC issues an approval, likely in June.

The iPhone trademark is under dispute by Cisco. Cisco has an VOIP phone of the same name. It is noted that even if Apple changes the brand, people will still remember it as the “iPhone”. The crowd also notes that no one really has an informed opinion on this issue.

The phone should be upgradable, as the system is entirely “soft”. However the base memory is only 500 MB. The serial storage is flash based, and only 4 to 8 GB.

Like many high tech, it is obsolete before release. For example, it is not a true 3G phone. However, it is an interesting, perhaps attractive mix of features. The most compelling feature is the GUI, and especially the “visual voice mail”.

Is Cingular a good choice for the carrier? Cingular has a multi year exclusive deal, to be the sole service provider for all models of the iPhone. It is noted that this might be viewed as a continuation of the previous agreement with Cingular for the Motorola iTunes enabled phone, which was a big flop.

Will this kill Palm? How about Blackberry? The respective stocks dropped 8% upon the announcement. (and of course, Apple stock rose by 7%)

Will the touch screen be a liability? There is no tactile feedback. It is said that the prototypes do not enable easy text entry. On the other hand, some columnists said the interface is actually pretty good.

Will the battery recharge cycle be inconvenient? Can you turn off (or put into sleep mode) the cell phone to conserve power? Of course that is just like the existing iPods. On the other hand, a cell phone can be a critical communication link, not like the iPod which is just an entertainment device.

The connector is a regular iPod connection (dock) — any iPod chargers will work with the phone.

How durable is it? Phones get more abuse than iPods.

We must wait patiently for more information.

By the way, Cingular is now rebranding as AT&T. 58 million subscribers. They are the biggest GSM provider in the USA.

Apple TV - a box that straps to your TV set (HDMI, component or composite). Using the WiFi “n” protocol, it downloads music, videos, and photos from your computer. These are then displayable on your TV and playable via your stereo.

A new “n” WiFi base station has also been introduced. When the base station is installed, it will also update the computer WiFi firmware to the “n” level. This base station can also provide for a network storage device, by plugging in a hard drive.

Where are the iLife, iWorks, Leopard, and Beatles announcements? We know stuff is in the works.

Other news: Jam is now merged into Toast 8. DVD authoring has been added, along with the DVD burning capability. It provides DVD authoring on the level of DVD Pro. BTW, you can decode TiVo files, but not edit such.

—- Maybe a member will like to show Toast applications next month? —-

CrossOver Mac 6.0 is another virtualization tool. It runs Windows applications, without needing a copy of the Windows OS. However the compatible applications are limited. Graphic intensive stuff is problematic.

The Mod Book is a modified Mac Book, adding a touch sensitive graphic screen.

Miglia is offering an analog/digital hybrid television device. TV mini HD+. El Gato has a similar tool, the iTV Hybrid. However, note that this device needs software compression of the data.

Many members feel that this was a great show, though Charles feels the “Golden Age” of the Mac was better. [Which years was that?]

8:15 PM - Break

8:30 PM - Presentation

RUNNING WINDOWS XP ON A MACINTOSH (INTEL PROCESSOR) LIVE DEMO USING PARALLELS DESKTOP

Presented by Len Walther, e-PRO, GRI, Broker RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Silicon Valley Macintosh User’s Group January 15 2007

Ways to run Windows on a Macintosh For PowerPC based Macintosh computers Microsoft Virtual PC (Not compatible with Intel processor Macs) The old, VERY, VERY slow way! See this URL: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx?pid=virtualpc

For Intel processor based Macintosh computers
    Dual boot solution (Boot either into Mac OS X or into Windows)
    Apple Boot Camp 
    (now in public beta, to be released with Mac OS X Leopard)
    See this URL:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Apple Boot Camp currently has the best driver support and is the fastest, especially for processor intensive applications, such as for games and CAD (Computer Aided Design)

    Virtualization solutions 
    (runs Windows simultaneously with Mac OS X, 
    using virtualization feature of Intel Core Duo 
    and Core2 Duo processors)

    Parallels Desktop 
    (New version to be released in 1-2 weeks)
    See this URL:

http://www.parallels.com/

Today’s DEMO is of Parallels Desktop v. 2.5 Release Candidate 1 (Build 3120) Winner of MacWorld Magazine’s “Best of Show” award at MacWorld Expo 2007. Probably the best virtualization solution to run Windows.

VMware Fusion (Beta until Summer 2007)

http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/fusion.html

VMware applications have long been popular with Windows users. They are new to the Macintosh.

Codeweavers CrossOver Mac 6.0 http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/

Runs Windows applications using the Wine Project (NOT our favorite beverage) without needing a copy of Windows.

Drawback: Applications must be customized to run, so only very popular software (i.e. not real estate specific software) is likely to be supported. PC users can also run multiple operating systems (except Mac OS X) using virtualization feature of Intel Core Duo and Core2 Duo processors.

Parallels Workstation for Windows and Linux http://www.parallels.com/en/products/workstation/

VMware has offered very popular products for years http://www.vmware.com/

Why? If your currently have a stable production environment under Windows XP, but are interested in trying Windows Vista, you could simultaneosly run both. This way, you could try out the unproven Microsoft Vista operating system, without jeopardizing your functioning business running under Windows XP.

One study concluded that a similarly configured MacBook Pro was MUCH less expensive than a similarly configured Dell Precision notebook computer. http://news.softpedia.com/news/MacBook-Pro-vs-Dell-Precision-38988.shtml

DISCLAIMER: THIS HANDOUT IS INTENDED TO BE EDUCATIONAL IN NATURE. IT IS NOT INTENDED AS TECHNICAL ADVICE FOR YOUR BUSINESS. USE YOUR OWN COMPUTER CONSULTANT TO DETERMINE WHAT COMPUTER SOLUTION BEST MEETS YOUR NEEDS.

Demonstration

The most important preference to set for Parallels is the “keyboard” setting. You need to select the appropriate mouse mapping and ‘special’ key mapping.

Windows is easier to install on a Mac than on a PC, because Parallels includes an “express” installation feature. You merely provide your Windows product ID, and Parallels does the rest.

However, you might need other settings than the defaults. This may require using the manual method of Windows installation.

Actions permit stopping, suspending, pausing, or resetting the Windows environment.

Two finger scrolling continues to work, when running Parallels in a Mac Book, Mac Book Pro.

8:45 PM - Group Q&A

1. Should I run anti virus software?

Virex 7 and 7.51 are not compatible with Mac OS X tiger.

Also, experts seen to feel that in most cases, it is not necessary. An exception is for professionals dealing with client files, for example a Law Office.

ClamAV is recommended and it is free. But keeping it up to date may be problematic.

If you wish to use AV software, use a package that has “push” technology for the updates. (Integral, for example)

1. What should I use for an external drive for back up purposes?

Cheap solution: get an Adaptec case, and an inexpensive ATA drive. Virtually all drives come from one of half dozen manufacturers, regardless of the brand name.

1. Got a spinning pizza of death during an installation of software from CD-ROM.

Try downloading the software from the web.

If the normal “force quit” does not work (cmd-option-esc), try the menu version, and vice versa. If you skilled with the terminal, you can use terminal commands.

1. Some flash drives are no longer readable by my digital camera. The drives are “Smart Media” (SM) type.

We have no good suggestions. All you can do is to reformat the card using the camera menu.

1. Can graphic intensive games be run on the Mac Book, as opposed to the Mac Book Pro?

The Mac Book is not recommended for games like Sims, Quake, Doom.

1. Spotlight seems to fail to find obvious files. Why?

The Spotlight database may be corrupt, which requires a deletion and reconstruction. There are some utilities that do this. It can also be done manually, using the terminal.

9:15 PM Wrap up

10:00 PM - post meeting at BJ’s

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