Editor's Note: Some comments to this post suggest that TUAW is "giving advice to pedophiles" by reminding readers that sensitive information could be read or copied by service technicians when you bring your Mac in for repair. While one assumes (present example to the contrary) that people who keep illegal content, such as child pornography or evidence of other crimes, on their computers would already be alert to the possibility of discovery, in this case we are addressing the innocent Mac users who would prefer to keep their personal, legal information private rather than inadvertently sharing it with the Geniuses.

Another commenter objected to our publishing of the accused man's name; this information was revealed in the source article in the Stamford Advocate and we repeated it. The post has been edited to clarify the source of the name.

A Fairfield, Connecticut man took his Apple G5 desktop to the Genius Bar at the Stamford Town Center store complaining about some issues with his image file thumbnails. It seemed some thumbnails were overwriting thumbnails on other images and they didn't match up.

As reported in the Stamford Advocate, according to court documents, the Genius started examining the files, and allegedly found pictures of naked juvenile girls in suggestive poses.

The tech called a policeman who was stationed at the mall, and the customer Raymond Miller was promptly arrested and charged with possession of child pornography. If convicted, Miller faces a minimum of 5 years in jail.

Police also searched Miller's home, but found nothing illegal.

Remember, when you bring your Mac into a store for service the technicians will likely see whatever is on your machine in the course of repairing it.

The tech could have ignored the alleged porn, but that could likely make him an accessory under some state laws. Apple warns people to always have a good backup of their data when they bring something in for repair. It's also a good idea to remove anything you don't want anyone else to see -- financial data or home inventories, for example.

This incident is reminiscent of 2 cases in Florida where the Best Buy Geek Squad techs found illegal porn on computers brought in for repair. The employees reported the porn, and both men were arrested.

Then in an ironic turnabout, a three-month investigation by the Consumerist blog caught Geek Squad employees taking porn off a computer and sharing it with others. It was also alleged that some employees routinely stole music, pictures and other data from computers that were in for repair by copying the data off to personal thumb drives.

Via The Stamford Advocate and thanks to Doug for the tip.

There has been plenty of confusion over the continuing saga of Seagate hard drives with firmware problems that can lead to eventual failure and data loss. We've followed the story here and here.

It hasn't been pretty for either Intel or non-Intel Macs. It would have been nice for Seagate to provide a Mac OS X-native firmware updater for older machines. There must be an awful lot of hard drives out there just waiting to fail. Many people who don't follow tech news don't even know what pain might strike them.

Mac users who had written Seagate about their problems did not get much information, but now there are some more details sent in an email to customers about the bad news for non-Intel based Mac owners. Full email reproduced below:

If you are trying to update your drive firmware with a MAC, you must have an INTEL MAC to allow you to perform this action. If you do not have an INTEL MAC, you will then need to take the drive to a PC, or a MAC with an Intel Processor. If you do not have either, you may need to warranty the drive with Seagate, and the return drive should have the updated firmware upon receipt.

If you have an INTEL MAC, you would simply need to burn the ISO file to CD using the burning utility that you have installed on your system. Once you have the CD created, you will then need to reboot the system with the newly created CD in the CD ROM bay while holding the "C" key on the keyboard to tell the system to boot to the CD rather than the internal hard drive. Once you have booted to the CD, simply follow the onscreen prompts to complete the firmware update. Older Macs that are PowerPC (PowerMac G3,G4,G5, iMac G3,G4,G5) based can not bootup to the FreeDOS. FreeDOS is the operating system that is booted to when booting to the firmware update CD. Please keep in mind that you should always backup the data on the drive before doing the update in case there is data loss. In most cases, the data on the drive should remain in tack and unaltered; however, things happen, and its always better to be prepared in case we come across any obstacles with the integrity of the data on the drive.
Instructions for updating firmware on a Intel based Mac.
1. Download and burn the Firmware ISO that has been provided to you by Seagate for your drive/s
2. Burn the ISO to a CD (how to: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/en/8729.html)
3. Insert the freshly burn CD back in to your Mac.
4. Reboot
5. After the Chime press and hold the Option key on the keyboard.
6. Once you see the Apple with the spinning gear beneath, release the Option Key.
7. At this point the system will come to a screen with pictures of hard drives and a CD, the CD should be named Seagate.
8. Click on the CD
9. Click on the arrow pointing to the right.
10. At this point FreeDOS will boot and the on screen instructions should be followed.
Once again, I want to thank you for your business.. If you still need further assistance, or the information provided was not of good use, please feel free to contact Seagate Technical Support at 800-SEAGATE ( 800-732-4283).

Translation: You are well and truly hosed if you don't have access to a Mac Pro or a Windows PC that can update the firmware. People who have returned their drives to Seagate got a refurbished drive, even if a brand new one was sent in for exchange. Worse, there are some scattered reports that the replacement drive still had the bad firmware! Way to go, Seagate: if your Mac-owning user base didn't feel completely screwed over before this, we all probably feel that way now.

MacMod.com has announced their honorees for the best mods on Macs that they saw last year, and you can see all of the hacks and mods over at their site right now. Most of the mods are case modifications, like the very slick iPhone custom, and the "Xbox G4," as seen above, which is a Powerbook G4 modded into the case of an Xbox 360 (with working ring of light!).

I find it interesting that despite all of the slick case designs and gadget melds, the winner ends up being a software hack (well, it's actually more than a software hack, but still, you won't find any neon tubing in this mod, just a beige case): Leopard running on a PowerMac 8500. The mod itself ends up being a fine trip over the history of Apple's current software, its past machines, and all of the gooey chips and hardware inside. Very cool. Kudos to all the modders for their work -- we can't wait to see what 2009 brings to the mod community.

Like virtually all mobile computer manufacturers, Apple recommends that users calibrate their laptop batteries every few months, as Scott pointed out a couple of years ago. Unlike many manufacturers, however, Apple does not include a utility to automatically perform a calibration. Given Apple's uncanny ability to make things user-friendly, this seems like a bit of a glaring oversight.

What are the benefits of calibration? Primarily the goal is to ensure that the microprocessor in your battery provides an accurate estimate of how much time you have left on the battery. Over time it can lose track of just how much juice your battery has in it, and calibration gives it a very accurate reading on the battery's health.

Older battery technologies also benefited from a process called conditioning, which was typically performed the same way as a current battery's calibration process. In a nutshell, you fully charge the battery, fully discharge it, then fully charge it again. It's unclear whether modern lithium batteries gain anything in an actual capacity perspective from this process, or if it is simply a calibration of the microprocessor for the purpose of providing accurate time estimates.

Is it time to finally put your HD mountain biking documentary on Blu-ray? Apple upgrade vendor MCE Technologies announced availability of a totally Mac-compatible Blu-ray recordable drive for Mac Pro and Power Mac.

The $499 (internal) drive is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5.2 and later, requiring no special drivers for burning -- just install it in your Mac Pro or Power Mac bay, pop in blank Blu-ray media, and you're ready to roll. The drive does both single-layer (6X BD-R or 2X BD-RE) and dual-layer (4X BD-R, 2X BD-RE) burning for capacities of 25GB or 50GB respectively. That's up to 50,000 photos, 12,500 music tracks, or 4 hours of HD video.

There's a $599 version bundled with Roxio Toast 9 and the Toast BD//HD Plugin, as well as an external drive with FireWire and USB 2.0 ports for $749.

To write professional Blu-ray discs that can play on set-top Blu-ray players or Sony PS3, you'll need Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 Encore along with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 or Final Cut Pro. Basic Blu-ray movies can be burned with Roxio Toast 9 and the BD/HD Plugin.

[via The Mac Observer]

It's common knowledge that Mac Pro is one of the most powerful pre-configured desktop computers out there, but who knew it was hung? With a little help from Sonnet Technologies, your Mac Pro or PowerMac G5 can hang elegantly from under your desk instead of taking up valuable floor real estate. The MacCuff Pro is made of solid steel and retails for a pricey $129.

While the idea of hanging a tower is cute, I'd be cautious to try it on anything but the sturdiest desks, and definitely only those made of solid wood instead of particle board.

[via CrunchGear]

With the Mac world all aflutter about the release of a Universal Binary beta of Photoshop CS3, the excellent Mac performance enthusiast site Bare Feats has some hard numbers comparing the CS3 beta on the Mac Pro to CS2 and CS3 on the Quad G5 PowerMacs of yore and the results are telling. Running native code the Mac Pro finally gets a chance to strut its stuff, with the Mac Pro handily beating the Quad G5 PowerMac on most tests. Rob Morgan's conclusion says it all: "We've waited many moons for the UB version of Photoshop. Mac Pro owners will love the dramatically improved performance that CS3 offers them. We understand the level of effort and investment required to accomplish this. Thank you, Adobe!"

[Via PowerPage]

Earlier today Apple announced their The Power Mac G5 Repair Extension Program which applies to Power Mac G5 systems that have "power-related issues as a result of a specific component failure within the computer's power supply." In other words, if your G5 isn't starting up and your serial number falls conveniently within ranges indicated, Apple will fix you up on the house. Apple says there are no known safety issues caused by this component failure. Having a G5 for a paperweight is overkill, however, so you might as well let them fix it.

From the info page:

The affected Power Mac G5 models were sold between approximately October 2005 and August 2006 and feature Dual 2GHz, Dual 2.3GHz or Quad 2.5GHz PowerPC G5 processors.
If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) determines that your Power Mac G5 computer is eligible as part of the program, the power supply repair will be covered by Apple for up to two years from the original date of purchase even if your Power Mac G5 is out of warranty. This worldwide Apple program does not extend the standard warranty coverage of the Power Mac G5.

Affected systems will exhibit one of the following power-related symptoms:

• System will not start up after the power button is pressed
• No LED activity
• Note: If your Power Mac G5 is not experiencing any of these symptoms, you do not have to contact Apple or any Apple Authorized Service Provider.

The affected Power Mac G5 computers have serial numbers where the first 5 digits fall into the ranges noted below. The Power Mac G5 computer's serial number is located inside the case directly below the air deflector, along with other configuration information.

Serial Number Ranges

CK539xxxxxx - CK608xxxxxx
G8539xxxxxx - G8608xxxxxx
YM539xxxxxx - YM608xxxxxx
RM539xxxxxx - RM608xxxxxx

By the way, if you've been bitten by this bug and already paid for out of warranty repairs that would now qualify under this program, Apple or the AASP that did the repair should be contacting you about starting the reimbursement process - but you might want to contact them first to get the ball rolling.

If you're a G5 owner, leave us a comment and let us know if your system is one of the ones affected!

Most of our Rigs of the Day are about fun, but this one is all about business. Creative business, perhaps, but it is business nonetheless. Powerd by a 2.0Ghz G5 PowerMac pushing pixels to a 22 inch and 23 inch Cinema display and a bunch of video gear, this rig is impressive.

IMG_0672 by Joel Smith

If you'd like to see your own rig featured here, simply upload photos into our group Flickr pool. We select one image to highlight each week day, and crown a Rig of the Week on Sundays.

Have you been searching for an exhaustive review of the Mac Pro that compares it, inside and out, with the PowerMac G5? Search no more! Those wacky kids from AnandTech have gotten their hands on a brand new Mac Pro and put it through the paces. The 20 page review includes many pictures comparing the Mac Pro to the PowerMac and vice versa. As you might expect the Mac Pro came out on top (shocker, I know), and AnandTech says that this powerful machine is a good buy.

Get yourself a beverage and read the whole thing.

Today Intel took the wraps off their 10 chip Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors. Expect fast processing and lower power consumption to be hallmarks of these chips that have a host of technologies with names like 'Intel Intelligent Power Capability,' and 'Intel Smart Memory Access.'

Here's hoping that some Core 2 Extreme processors find their way into the PowerMac's replacement.

I suppose we'll know soon enough.

[via Engadget]

ThinkSecret is saying that Apple will announce the Mac Pro and a newly designed enclosure at its World Wide Developers Conference next month. The Mac Pro is the rumored name of the Intel machines that will replace the PowerMac G5's.

According to the rumor site, the new Mac Pro's will come in configurations similar to the PowerMac G5, including single and dual processor systems. I suspect the new machines will be sporting the newly released Core 2 Duo Intel processors, however, what I am having a hard time visualizing is what Apple will do to the enclosure. With the MacBook and MacBook Pro, Apple has continued to distinguish their pro machines by their shiny aluminum exteriors. Will Apple stay with the monolithic cheese graters, or will they go with something more subdued and refined? Only time will tell.

Imagine waking up one morning to find that a glowing green goo was dripping from the cheese-grater bottom of your shiny Power Mac. Horrible even to imagine, I know. Unfortunately, this has become a reality for some owners of recent liquid cooled Power Macs.

According to reports, the leaks stem from malfunctioning Delphi radiators that shipped in early versions of the systems. If you have an early 2.5 GHz liquid cooled machine, it might be worth sliding off the side panel to check for leaks. Naturally, if you do come across a bit of Macintosh incontinence, stop using the machine right away, and schedule an appointment at the nearest genius bar. As is always the case with product failures and Apple, there is discussion about weather whether the issue will be covered by some sort of extended repair program for machines out of warranty. For now at least, it seems Apple is choosing to fix most machines that come in with the problem.

Eureka! After all this MacBook/Intel Mac news lately, we finally come across some news about the good ol' faithful PowerMac, or to be more specific: 600 of them. Taking a cue from Microsoft Vista naming conventions, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is releasing a James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD Collection, in which every 007 film has been remastered and digitally enhanced for that oh-so 21st century gleam. The remastering was done by DTS Digital Images using 600 PowerMac G5s, or what I like to refer to as "more PowerMacs than you or I will ever see in a lifetime".

Mike Inchalik, DTS Digital Images vice president of strategy and marketing, stressed the renowned reliability of PowerMacs as a key factor in this undertaking. The company had to process 42 miles of film and scanned each frame at a resolution of 4,000 x 3,000 pixels in preparation of higher-resolution releases in the future. Ultimately, over 700 terabytes of storage were required for the project as each single frame of film is a whopping 45 megabytes. Apple, if you're listening, I think you're gonna have to boost your MacBook Pro hard drive capacities for movie editors. Just a hunch.

Check out the full details on this project's undertaking, as well as some hints at future portable (iPod) video technologies, at Macworld UK.

[thanks Yak!]

Apple is currently running a promotion (which goes until September 16, 2006) that many college students will like. Buy a Mac and an iPod to qualify for a $179 dollar rebate. Apple is advertising this as getting a free iPod nano, but the rebate can be applied to any iPod model you might have your eye on. Sounds like a good deal, though I never remember to fill out those rebate offers.

[via MacMinute]