macOS Archive

Apple takes Java to the next level with the latest, certified release of the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.4.1 for Mac OS X. This release incorporates over 60% more features than the previous release, 1.3.1. Improvements include support for new native I/O, XML and Web Services technologies, more security APIs, Unicode 3.0 support and more.

"Over the past year and change I've worked on porting quite a few projects to OS X. At first, it's a pretty scary ordeal, but most of the issues you'll run into are easily solved if you know how. To save yourself the trouble of figuring this out yourself, read on..." The article is located at Advogato. More porting tips at Fink's site.

"So here we are, more than a year and a half later , and only a handful of audio applications have placed both feet firmly on the good ship OS X. Hardware drivers and plug-ins also remain a crapshoot. While the rest of the Mac world has been moving to OS X with only minor hiccups, most audio-related companies have lagged far behind. What's the holdup? The answer, as you might expect, depends on whom you ask." This is an interesting article over at 'Electronic Musician' regarding MacOSX from the pro-audio point of view, and its audio application base status today.

Earlier this week, Apple seeded pre-release versions of the v10.2.4 update to Mac OS X, both client and server. Both seeds of 10.2.4, known internally as "Jaguar Pink," were numbered build 6I13. Apple also has been writing drivers for a number of popular sound and video cards. With the release of 10.2.3, support was added for SoundBlaster Extigy, and as of last month, work was nearly complete on Audigy and Audigy 2 drivers. As for video cards, Apple is planning to support several workstation-quality graphics cards in 10.3, that weren't previously supported, including full support for NVidia Quadro 980, 900, and 750XGL. Support will also be added for ATI's top-end Fire GL series.

"I've got 1GB of memory in my 867MHz PowerMac. But at 15,500 tracks, iTunes is starting to become difficult (not quite impossible) to use. It hums along fine if I don't touch it. But simply selecting a track can result in 20 seconds of spinning beachball. Editing an ID3 tag can take more than 30 seconds. Dragging tracks to a playlist, same. iPhoto is even worse. At around 800 images, it started to bog down on me." Read Scot Hacker's editorial at OReilly NetWork. The book writer (mostly known for his 'BeOS Bible' book, now a MacOSX convert) finds scalability problems on the famous iApps and suggests these to be fixed before adding new features.

Apple released the December 2002 Developer tools update today, available for download for ADC Members. Among the list of updates is Project Builder 2.1 with "better CVS support".