Apple Archive

Apple Remote Desktop 3, Part 2: Interacting with Users

After you have Apple Remote Desktop installed, you can use it to interact with users by text chat or one-way messages and alerts. Find out how to respond to user problems, observe one or more remote computers, and take control of Mac workstations remotely to improve security, enhance classrooms, and improve teacher/student interaction or help desk operations. It's all part of Ryan Faas' series on learning how to use and get the most out of the robust features of Apple Remote Desktop.

Running Vista on a MacBook Pro

ComputerWorld checks out Vista RC1 on a MacBook Pro. "I can say at least this much about Vista: I've had fun using it so far. Yes, Vista is still a work in progress and there are some annoyances that go hand-in-hand with running Windows - the User Account Control window, for instance, pops up a lot. But so far there have been no show-stoppers. To paraphrase the praise usually reserved for Apple's Mac OS X, it just works. And on Apple hardware, it just works exceptionally well."

Apple III Chaos

"The Apple III was meant to be Apple's bold entry into the business market; it ended as Apple's first commercial failure and put the company into financial uncertainty. It was also responsible for sprouting both the Lisa and Macintosh projects, efforts that would save Apple."

Mac Performance: From G3 to Xeon

"Since we released Geekbench 2006 on July 10th, we've received over 4800 Geekbench results; over half of those results are from computers running Mac OS X. I took a look at the results, and found that we've received results for almost every computer model Apple's shipped in the past six years, from the iMac G3 to the Mac Pro. Since we love us some benchmarks here at Geek Patrol, I thought it'd be interesting to put together an overview of Mac performance over the past six years."

Google CEO Schmidt Joins Apple’s Board of Directors

"Apple today announced that Dr. Eric Schmidt, chief executive officer of Google, was elected to Apple's board of directors at their meeting today. Eric also sits on Google's board of directors and Princeton University's board of trustees. "Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple's board of directors," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric's insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead."

Apple Leads Industry in Customer Satisfaction

Newly published data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index show that Apple leads other personal computer manufacturers, beating out Dell, HP and others. On a 100 point scale, Apple merited a score of 83, according to the ACSI, a 2.5 percent year-over-year increase and a 7.8 percent increase from 1995, the first year the ACSI measured the PC industry. The annual ACSI is sponsored by the American Society for Quality and University of Michigan's M. Ross School of Business. It's derived from phone interviews with customers contacted by using digital-dial telephone samples. More than 70000 consumers are identified and interviewed annually.

Quad Xeon 3.0GHz Mac Pro vs. Quad G5 2.5GHz Power Mac

BareFeats updated its Mac Pro test page with results from the 3.0Ghz version. Should you make the leap to the Mac Pro? "Should you buy a new Mac Pro or a closeout or refurbished Quad-Core G5? If cost is a factor and you use non-UB pro apps, then we think the Quad-Core G5 is still a valid choice. If you are running Universal Binary apps, can handle the cost of the new Mac Pro plus the expensive memory, and can tolerate the hidden gotchas of 'version 1' of the Intel towers, then you would benefit by making the leap to the Mac Pro. The main frustration in the short term will be the 5 week wait for the optional Radeon X1900 XT or the scarcity of correct memory from upgrade sources."

Why Open Source Matters to Apple

"The open source revolution has shaken the slowly crumbling foundations of closed source software, and while it hasn't taken over completely just yet, the tide is beginning to turn in its favor. Your normal everyday user may not really understand or appreciate what open source means, but that doesn't mean that they're not experiencing the effects of it."

Review: Mac Pro

Ars does its usual thorough stuff on the new Mac Pro. According to Ars: "The interior layout is a big win for Apple. Four drive bays is adequate for a pro tower, and the fact that each drive is on its own bus is a smart design decision. It's also great having room for a second optical drive. In terms of performance, it's good news - with a caveat. While the fully-buffered memory, the screaming-fast Xeon 5150s, and the 1333MHz FSB are all great, Apple's video card choice is most definitely not. It doesn't fit, and it detracts from the overall experience. Despite that, the Mac Pro is a very solid graphics or video editing workstation. When all the major 'pro' applications have made the transition to Universal Binaries, the PowerPC years will be little more than a memory."

The Mac Pro Value Equation

"Apple has done something really different with the Mac Pro, and it's taken a few days to put it all in perspective. Instead of three different models with several build-to-order options, Apple has a single model with a host of build-to-order options. With so many options - Apple says there are millions of possible configurations - it's not easy to come up with a simple value equation for the Mac Pro."

Redmond, Start Your Photocopiers?

Yesterday, Steve Jobs of Apple held his usual keynote speech at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference at the Moscone Center, San Fransisco. I usually thoroughly enjoy Jobs's keynotes; they are a well-planned piece of theater, complete with drama, comedy, and even action. In between, of course, some new products are announced, and some meaningless figures are given (classic example of spin doctoring: use only the figures of your strongest market, in Apple's case, the US laptop market; ignore the rest). However, this time, the theater part seemed to far outweigh the new-products-part. And that's a shame. Note: The, Tuesday Eve Column.

Apple Previews Mac OS X 10.5, Launches Mac Pro, Intel Xserve

At the 2006 WWDC in San Fransisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced several new products during his opening keynote speech. Read more for a chronological summary of the keynote-- including the much-debated preview of Mac OS 10.5, Leopard, which, according to Steve Jobs, will ship this spring. Update: Apparantly, a similar feature to Time Machine already exists in Linux. It is called 'Dervish'.

‘Forget About Open Source at Apple’

"We all cheered when Apple began experimenting with community-driven, open source development for its flagship operating system. But if those experiments are now drawing to a close, should anyone really be surprised? In his columns earlier this year, InfoWorld's resident Mac aficionado Tom Yager noted how Apple seemed to be backpedaling away from open source. Seen through that lens, last week's news that the OpenDarwin Project would be closing its doors looks like just another sign of the times."

Apple May Need to Restate Historical Financial Statements

Apple Computer has discovered additional evidence of irregularities relating to past stock option grants and will likely need to restate its historical financial statements as a result, the company said on Thursday. In late June, Apple proactively announced that an internal investigation discovered irregularities related to the issuance of certain stock option grants made between 1997 and 2001.