SVMUG August 20, 2007

Introductions
=============

Host: Charles Gousha

Old TV commercial for the Datsun (Nissan) 280z features Steve Wozniak. It aired between 1978 and 1980.

New people:
Griffin de Luce -- Second Life mac user group

Remember to use the WiFi connection (42net) to join in the collaborative meeting notes, to be posted to the SVMUG web site.

News and Events
===============

-- New iMacs
aluminum and glass construction,
FW800 ports,
somewhat faster.
20 inch and 24 inch
Both wired and bluetooth keyboars, also in aluminum, super thin!
(unfortunately the bluetooth keyboard lacks a numerical keypad)
The key travel is also only half that of previous keyboards for
desktop machines, but similar to that of a laptop.

Buy now or wait for Leopard release? To get an upgrade, you must buy on the day that Leopard is announced or later. Waiting is probably a good idea -- so you can see what bugs need to fixed, and what application problems might occur. On the other hand, if you are ready for a new machine now, go ahead -- the cost of buying Leopard later is small compared to the hardware.

-- New Mac Mini's as well

-- New iLife '08

iPhoto has a new interface, and a new sorting tool: Events. Dave Ticzon reports that this feature is awesome.

iMovie completely revamped, with some people unhappy with new interface. Needs a G5 or better processor.

Garageband - also needs a G5.

-- dot Mac accounts upgraded with more space, new web widgets.

-- iWork - upgrades Pages and Keynote, and adds a spreadsheet "Numbers"

-- obsolete Appleworks

-- Apple stock went $150, then dropped with the market to $120

-- iPhone fix was issued to eliminate a possible hack route.

-- Apple quarterly results were the highest ever, with more Macs sold then ever before in a given quarter. Market share is 6% of web clients.
http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=5

Main Presentation
=================

VMware -- run alternate operating systems (including Windows) on a Macintosh. Run Windows applications as if such were actually Macintosh applications via Fusion.

Shawn Morel and Vinay Venkatesh

Fusion Product Overview
-- VMware has been in business since 1998, offering methods to run Windows under Linux.
-- Fusion will seamlessly run Windows on you Mac, without rebooting.
-- Native Cocoa user interface
customizable toolbars
-- run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X
-- Windows Easy Install takes the pain out of installing Windows
-- use an existing Boot Camp file if you wish
-- also supports Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD and NetWare as OS running side-by-side with Mac OS X, and in fact allows you to run as many of these together that you wish (or have memory available).
-- full integration with Mac
drag and drop files
copy and paste text
Shared Folders to access Mac folders in the virtual machine.
Automatic screen resize and full screen support.
-- support both 32 and 64 bit processors
-- in the Unity mode, the Windows OS is completely submerged, and the Windows applications look and act like Macintosh applications, running on Mac OS X.
-- snapshot the virtual machine, so that you can roll back to a previous state should something go wrong, e.g. a virus gets installed.
-- Faster than Parallels when running on a multiple processor Mac -- the Windows virtual machine has the benefit of the multiple processors.
-- Run DirectX games
-- use USB 2.0 devices
-- use the iSight camera with Windows applications
-- check battery status while in the virtual machine
-- migrate existing Windows PCs to virtual machines
by using the VMware Convertor Starter Edition
-- use existing VMware virtual machiens created with
VMware Workstation, server, etc.

Appliances: pre-configured virtual machines, for business solutions. Over 550 virtual appliances are available.

User cases: consumer, education, small business, corporate markets.

-- passed thru network connection from Mac OS X to the virtual machines (The Mac acts a router to the virtual machines).

-- some games require DirectX 9, which is not supported. However up to DirectX 8.1 is handled.

-- The Fusion memory overhead is up to a preference set memory limit.

Second Life Mac User Group
==========================

Second Life runs very well on Macintosh. SLMUG is about 9000 people who meet in Second Life. sundog suki

Break
=====

Next Month -- Power Googling

Second Presentation
===================

Centrify -- Active Directory based environment extension for the Macintosh.

David McNeely - Director of Product Management

Integrating Mac OS X Systems into Active Directory

Why? How? Centralized auditing, access control, authentication. A Mac can be made to look like a standard PC on the network, in so far as the IT administrators are concerned.

DirectControl for OS X and Group Policy
plug-in module

Group Q&A
=========

1. Mac Book Pro Duo -- sometimes it connects to WiFi automatically -- how do I prevent this?

There is a system preference for this. Also, it will try to restore last state after sleeping.

2. G4 17 inch laptop -- desktop text has lost its sharpness -- which display resolution is the native resolution?

Choose the max from the display settings -- this is the native resolution.

3. For G3 Macs, are there any free or inexpensive page layout programs, e.g. Print Shop?

iWork will NOT run (as you know). Print Shop may be the best option.

4. To get the password required on wake-up of the Mac, use the security system preference.

5. Mac Mail displays PDF files inline with the message. Can this be altered?

There is a setting in the Mail application settings.

Hawk Wings (hawkwings.net) has many helper utilities for setting mail displays.

6. Increase the responsiveness of the DVD drive, e.g. keep it spinning?

DVD drives will spin down to save power. This is often set in the firmware of the DVD drive, and thus can not be changed.

7. Xsan presentation would be appreciated.

The Apple Consultant Network may help.

8. CD and DVD discs are ejected all the way out, falling to the floor. Can this be fixed?

The felt around the slot has worn down or folded back. The Genius Bar can fix this.

9. iWork 08 text and templates are in a foreign language. Curiously the titles are in English

The Loren Ipsum is by design nonsense filler text. It is not a foreign language.

10. Will iWork 08 read legacy Appleworks files? It will not read versions earlier than Appleworks version 6.

A member has a means to migrate files and will help.

11. Random anormly: opening the internet, the mouse continues to work, but the keyboard stops. Unplugging the USB and replugging corrects the problem.

Several members observed the same problem. USB seems to be a flaky connection.

12. iTunes 7.2 vs 7.3 changed what?

We do not know.

13. Final Vinyl songs will not drag into the iTunes library. Any ideas?

We need to know more about the file format used.

Wrap-up
=======

September 17 - Nancy Blackman on power googling - Roger on storage solutions.