This is the Beginning of the End for the Optical Drive (Apple removed DVD

Shane Richmond says this is the beginning of the end for the optical drive. Apple last week removed DVD drives from its Mac Mini computers
Apple updated some of its computers last week. The MacBook Air and the Mac Mini both got significant processor upgrades and the addition of Thunderbolt ports. While the additions are interesting, it’s something that was removed that is especially telling.

It’s not the MacBook, though Apple did quietly retire its trusty old laptop from service, leaving just the Air and the Pro in the MacBook range. What’s gone is the optical drive on the Mac Mini.

That means neither the Air or the Mini have optical drives anymore. If you want to play a DVD or a CD - or to save data to one - then you’ll need a £66 SuperDrive. The MacBook Pro retains an optical drive for now but it's clear that Apple believes that the disc is living on borrowed time.

Many will argue that it is too soon to ditch the disc. Apple is familiar with that sort of reaction, however, and hasn’t been deterred in the past. There was an outcry, for example, when the iMac was launched in 1998 without a floppy disk drive. Apple's other computers gradually followed suit. Dell didn’t remove floppy drives from its machines until 2003.

If those who genuinely need an optical drive are not yet a minority then they soon will be. My MacBook Pro has an optical drive but I can’t remember the last time I needed to use it. At the end of last year I switched to a MacBook Air for day-to-day use and I’ve never wished that it had an optical drive.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">This is the Beginning of the End for the Optical Drive (Apple removed DVD"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2011/07/this-is-beginning-of-end-for-optical.html</a>

Apple Will Release new MacBook Airs & Mac OS X 10.7 Lion on Wednesday

Apple as early as Wednesday will launch two highly anticipated products: Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and new Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Airs, AppleInsider has learned.
According to people with proven track records who would be in a position to know, the new product launches are set to occur later this week. Specifically, one person said the products would be released on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
The latest details align with what AppleInsider was told earlier this month, when it reported that new MacBook Air models with backlit keyboards and Thunderbolt ports would launch the week of July 21.
Those details were reaffirmed late last week in a separate report that corroborated other details, including the fact that Apple is expected to do away with the entry-level 64GB solid-state flash hard drive option. Instead, the new MacBook Airs are expected to have a minimum of 128GB in capacity.
he new notebooks, according to Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, are also expected to come with 4GB of RAM as the standard. That extra memory will allow the systems to better run Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Apple's next-generation operating system, also said to become available this week.
Apple has been holding off on the introduction of new Mac hardware until it finally releases Lion. Apple has not offered a specific launch date for the operating system, only promising that it will become available on the Mac App Store for $29.99 at some point in July.
A few weeks ago, Apple began undertaking preparatory measures to unveil Lion. While it was initially believed that the operating system could have gone on sale as soon as last week, there have been rumors of last-minute holdups associated with the logistics and infrastructure related to Apple's switch to a digital distribution method through the Mac App Store.
The Golden Master of Lion was seeded to developers on July 1. The term "Golden Master" means that the software is viewed as a final build that will be identical to the software released to the general public.
While Lion and the new MacBook Air models are said to be set to launch this week, there has been no specific indication given regarding any other hardware. However, Apple provided its own evidence of a forthcoming refresh to its LED Cinema Display last week, when it posted images on its site showing a Thunderbolt-equipped display with the new part number "MC914."
Supply of Apple's white MacBook has also been severely constrained since late June, suggesting a change to the product could be forthcoming. However, AppleInsider has received no indication of an imminent hardware refresh.
That would leave just the Mac mini and Mac Pro as the only Mac hardware not updated in 2011. In June, CNet reported that Apple planned to update both the Mac Pro and Mac mini either at the end of July or the first week of August. The Mac mini was last refreshed in June 2010, while the Mac Pro was last updated a month later, in July.

-News Source (AppleInsider)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Apple Will Release new MacBook Airs & Mac OS X 10.7 Lion on Wednesday"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2011/07/apple-will-release-new-macbook-airs-mac.html</a>

Vulnerability in Apple MacBooks Which Could ruin Batteries

One prominent security researcher has discovered a vulnerability in the batteries of Apple's MacBook line of portable computers that could allow hackers to ruin the batteries or install malware on them that could corrupt a Mac.
Charlie Miller, a renowned white-hat hacker who works for security firm Accuvant, plans to reveal and offer a fix next month for a MacBook battery vulnerability he has discovered, Forbes reports. Miller uncovered default passwords, which are used to access the microcontroller in Apple's batteries, within a firmware update from 2009 and used them to gain access to the firmware.

Apple and other laptop makers use embedded chips in their lithium ion laptop batteries to monitor its power level, stop and start charging and regulate heat.
During the course of his tests, the researcher "bricked" seven batteries, rendering them unusable by rewriting the firmware. Of more concern is the possibility that hackers could use the vulnerability to install difficult to remove malware, or, in a worst case scenario, cause the batteries to explode.

“These batteries just aren’t designed with the idea that people will mess with them,” he said. “What I’m showing is that it’s possible to use them to do something really bad.” According to him, IT few administrators would think to check the battery, providing hackers with an opportunity to hide malicious software on a battery that could repeatedly implant itself on a computer.

Miller admitted that he hasn't tried to blow up any batteries, but he did say it might be possible. "You read stories about batteries in electronic devices that blow up without any interference,” he noted. “If you have all this control, you can probably do it.”
another researcher, Barnaby Jack, who works for antivirus software maker McAfee, also looked into the battery issue a couple years ago, but said he didn't get as far as Miller did.

Miller, who is a regular winner of security contests demonstrating Mac, Safari and iPhone exploits, has notified Apple and Texas Instruments of the issue. Despite requests from several other researchers not to proceed, he plans to unveil the vulnerability, along with a fix he calls "Caulkgun," at the Black Hat security conference next month.
"Caulk Gun" will change a battery's default passwords to a random string of characters. While the fix will prevent hackers from breaking into the battery, it would also block any future firmware updates from Apple.

In spite of the battery vulnerability that he uncovered, Miller believes Mac OS X security is better than ever before. According to him, Apple engineers made few security-related changes in the jump from Leopard to Snow Leopard, but they made substantial improvements in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, which was released on Wednesday.
"Now, they've made significant changes and it's going to be harder to exploit,” he said, as noted by The Register.
“It's a significant improvement, and the best way that I've described the level of security in Lion is that it's Windows 7, plus, plus,” said noted security consultant Dino Dai Zovi.
Apple offered security researchers, including Miller and Dai Zovi, an unprecedented early look at Lion in order to get their feedback.
According to researchers, Lion's biggest security improvement is Lion's support for Address Space Layout Randomization. ASLR randomizes the location of critical system components to reduce the risk of attack. Apple also added sandboxing security measures in Safari that will isolate potential bugs or malware. Finally, the newly revamped File Vault now allows an entire drive to be encrypted.

-News Source (Appleinsider)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Vulnerability in Apple MacBooks Which Could ruin Batteries"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2011/07/vulnerability-in-apple-macbooks-which.html</a>

Twitter Hires Renowned Apple Hacker Charlie Miller For Twitter Security Team

Twitter Hires Renowned Apple Hacker Charlie Miller For Twitter Security Team

It is almost impossible task for social networks to keep everything safe against hacks and other vulnerabilities. Hackers will constantly find their way around anything that you put in place. So they often deals with hackers & turn themselves to beef up the security level. Social networking giant Twitter exactly did the same thing. The micro-blogging network has hired the famous/infamous Apple hacker, Charlie Miller, to be a part of its security team. Charlie Miller, a popular figure among hackers, broke the news via his Twitter account, saying, “Monday I start on the security team at Twitter. Looking forward to working with a great team there!” Twitter issued a short statement noting that Miller’s title will be that of Software Engineer, but declined to discuss any further details.

Charlie Miller has a background as a Global Exploitation Analyst in the National Security Agency, and has hacked devices running on iOS, OSX, and Android. He is considered to be a white-hat hacker, which means that he hacks to expose vulnerabilities in a system in order to have those weaknesses fixed. Five year ago, Miller was said to be the first to hack the iPhone using the device’s browser, exposing the handset’s vulnerability to security attacks. Several months after this, he was likewise able to hack a MacBook Air in just two minutes. This feat allowed Miller to win the Pwn2Own hacking competition. Miller also showed a way to hijack iPhones through SMS in 2009. In 2011, he used the MacBook power adapter to implant malware on the laptop. In the same year, his license as an Apple developer got revoked because Apple found that he breached the development agreement. 

In more recent times, Miller had been working on Android devices. In June, he was able to overcome Bouncer, Google’s security program. He has furthermore experience in using Near Field Communications to control Samsung and Nokia handsets with a simple wave of another phone that is within the vicinity. 

While talking about Charlie Miller, we must have to take another name and that is Nicholas Allegra, the world-famous hacker known as "Comex", creater of JailbreakMe.com; who later has been hired by Apple itself . In case of Twitter we must have to say, apart from Miller, Twitter also hired Moxie Marlinspike, a hacker who specializes in SSL and VPN encryption.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Twitter Hires Renowned Apple Hacker Charlie Miller For Twitter Security Team"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2012/09/Twitter-Hires-Renowned-Apple-Hacker-Charlie-Miller.html</a>

Apple Releases iOS 6 With 200+ New Features & Mountain Lion 10.8.2 With Facebook Integration & Game Center

Apple Releases iOS 6 With 200+ New Features & Mountain Lion 10.8.2 With Facebook Integration & Game Center

As expected, here comes double bang from Apple. Apple has also released  iOS 6 along with OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 and made available for public. In case of users of recent iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch models can obtain the update either by connecting their devices to iTunes and clicking the "Check for Update" button or checking for over-the-air updates on their devices. iOS 6 adds over 200 new features, including Apple's own Maps app, Facebook integration, Siri improvements, Apple's new Passbook digital wallet app, and more. iOS 6 is compatible with the third-generation iPad, iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and fourth-generation iPod touch. It will also ship on the iPhone 5, which launches on Friday, and on the fifth-generation iPod touch launching next month. The operating system arrives as the golden master build 10A403 for existing devices, and Apple has also posted a special 10A405 build for the iPhone 5 and a 10A406 build for the upcoming fifth-generation iPod touch.

With iOS Apple quietly pushed out 10.8.2, the second minor update to Mountain Lion since it was released in July. The update is currently available via the Software Update functionality in the Mac App Store. The update includes a number of enhancements, most notably Facebook integration and Game Center. It also includes support for several features integrating with iOS 6, such as Passbook passes and  iMessage/FaceTime access via phone number. 

This update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users, and includes new features and fixes:

Facebook 

• Single sign on for Facebook

• Adds Facebook as an option when sharing links and photos

• See Facebook friends' contact information and profile pictures in Contacts

• Facebook notifications now appear in Notification Center

Game Center

• Share scores to Facebook, Twitter, Mail, or Messages

• Facebook friends are included in Game Center friend recommendations

• Added Facebook "Like" button for games

• Challenge friends to beat your score or achievement

Other new features

• Adds Power Nap support for MacBook Air (Late 2010)

• iMessages sent to your phone number now appear in Messages on your Mac

• You can now add passes to Passbook (on your iPhone or iPod touch) from Safari and Mail on your Mac

• FaceTime can now receive calls sent to your phone number

• New shared Reminders lists

• New sort options allow you to sort notes by title, the date you edited them, and when you created them

• Dictation now supports additional languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Korean, Canadian English, Canadian French, and Italian

• Dictionary app now includes a French definition dictionary

Sina Weibo profile photos can now be added to Contacts

* Requires iOS 6

General fixes

The OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2 update also includes general operating system fixes that improve the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac, including the following fixes:

• Adds an option to discard the changes in the original document when choosing Save As 

• Unsent drafts are now opened automatically when launching Mail

• Receive Twitter notifications for mentions and replies from anyone

• URLs are shortened when sending tweets from Notification Center

• Notifications are disabled when AirPlay Mirroring is being used

• Adds SSL support for Google searches from the Smart Search Field in Safari

• Adds a new preference to have Safari launch with previously open webpages

• Resolves an issue that may cause the "Enable Autodiscover" checkbox to always remain checked

• Enables access to the Mac App Store when Parental Controls are enabled Support for @icloud.com email addresses

• Resolves a video issue with some VGA projectors when connected to certain Mac notebooks

• Addresses an issue that may prevent Active Directory accounts from being locked out

• Resolves an issue that may cause the policy banner to re-appear prior to logging in

• Improvements to SMB

• Addresses an issue with NIS users when auto-login is enabled

• Addresses an issue in which the Keychain may not be accessible

• Ability to pre-authenticate a FileVault protected system

• Addresses an issue that may cause Xsan to not automatically start after migrating from Mac OS X Snow Leopard 

Direct downloads of OS X 10.8.2 is also available through Apple's site form the following links-

OS X Mountain Lion Update v10.8.2 

 OS X Mountain Lion Update v10.8.2 (Combo) 

-Source (Apple & MacRumors)                             

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Apple Releases iOS 6 With 200+ New Features & Mountain Lion 10.8.2 With Facebook Integration & Game Center"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2012/09/Apple-Releases-iOS-6-and-Mountain-Lion-10.8.2.html</a>

Is upgrading to Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard still sensible??

While it might seem to some like buying a ticket to the ball game after the seventh-inning stretch, in a helpful article this week, MacFixIt's Topher Kessler advises a qualified "affirmative" to a number of readers still running older Intel Macs that came with OS X 10.5 Leopard or even 10.4 Tiger and are wondering whether they should upgrade to version 10.6 Snow Leopard. Kessler thinks that even with Apple's release of Mac OS X v10.7 Lion not far off, the OS 10.6 Snow Leopard upgrade—available on DVD for upgrading from Leopard or Tiger installations at a modest $29—is still a good idea. I agree unreservedly.

Kessler presents several good reasons why one should still upgrade to v10.6, not least of which that Snow Leopard may be the earliest OS version supporting a direct upgrade to the new OS. He also notes that for MobileMe users, it's a no-brainer. A couple of points in favor he didn't mention are that upgrading to OS v10.6.6 and later will also give you immediate access to the Apple Mac App Store, if that appeals. Also, compatibility with a number of newer software applications for which Snow Leopard is a minimum system requirement already, and there will be even more in the future.

Another point is that Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard upgrade DVDs will likely not continue to be available from Apple for long, if at all, after the v10.7 Lion release, at least if past history is any reliable guide. Therefore, it might be a good idea to snag an uprade disk for possible future reference even if you don't install it right away.

The minimum Mac hardware for installing Lion has not been announced by Apple yet, but it's pretty safe to surmise that some early Intel Macs—possibly models with single-core processor silicon—will be bumped off the bottom rungs of the ladder of Mac OS X v10.7 support. So, for some, Snow Leopard will be the end of the Mac OS upgrade road and a requirement for future-proofing for at least a few more years.

Consequently, for $29, the Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard upgrade is a pretty sweet deal if you have a Mac that will support it; especially an older model. The only downsides I've noticed compared with Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard is that Snow Leopard makes my 2.0GHz unibody MacBook run somewhat hotter, resulting in more cooling fan cycling.

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Is upgrading to Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard still sensible??"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2011/04/is-upgrading-to-mac-os-x-v106-snow.html</a>

Mac OS X Lion Said Good-Bye to Analog Communications (Modem)

Mac OS X Lion has killed off a number of things including, but not limited to Rosetta, visible scrolls bars, Quicken (see Rosetta), and unnatural scrolling. Now another casualty is the venerable analog modem.
According to users on MacRumors Forums it is true that Apple has killed off support for the analog Apple USB Modem in Mac OS X Lion since the device is no longer working after they upgraded from Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
When you will try to plug your Apple USB Modem into an available USB port on your iMac and MacBook Air (both running Mac OS X Lion) we will receive the following error message.
"You can not use Apple usb Modem withn this computer"
The problem is being blamed on two issues: the required modem drivers are missing and the drivers only work when your Mac kernel is running in 32-bit mode. Since Lion generally runs in 64-bit kernel mode by default the drivers will not work unless you boot your machine into 32-bit mode. A lively discussion about 32 vs. 64-bit mode can be found here.
The forum discussion included a work around that required modification of your system files and instructions on starting your Mac in 32-bit kernel mode. Unfortunately at press time I wasn’t able to get the suggested work around to work on either of my Macs.
One person, HellDiverUK, on the forum made a comment that I can agree with when they asked, “Modem?” followed by “Last millennium is calling, it wants its outdated technology back. ”  We think Apple agrees and that they are telling you that it looks like it is time to say good-bye to the analog modem and look to alternatives like encrypted email, zip files, PDFs, or secure FTP.

For more information and help to resolve this click Here

-News Source (Culture Of Mac)

SHARE OUR NEWS DIRECTLY ON SOCIAL NETWORKS:-
<a href=">Mac OS X Lion Said Good-Bye to Analog Communications (Modem)"https://www.voiceofgreyhat.com/2011/08/mac-os-x-lion-said-good-bye-to-analog.html</a>