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ars technica posts

Filed under: Hardware, Airport

Ars Technica reviews the new AirPort Extreme Base Station


Clint Ecker at Ars Technica has produced a four-page review of Apple's new AirPort Extreme Base Station, digging into every nook and cranny of what's new in both the software and hardware. Ultimately, Clint really likes the revamped base station, giving Apple strong marks for a broad, powerful feature set and a slick new admin utility. A couple of major dings, however, come in the form of cost (lesser-featured 802.11n routers can of course be had for cheaper) and having to reboot the station after even some of the most minor configuration changes.

Still, it seems like Clint is joining others in welcoming Apple's refreshed base station to the market. After just picking one up myself a day ago, I'm offering two thumbs up as well, though I haven't even touched half of the features I'm planning to - yet. For me, the most exciting feature is AirPort Disk, as I plan on setting up automatic wireless backups for both mine and my wife's MacBooks.

Questioning the security of a closed FairPlay



Ken Fisher at Ars Technica thinks something smells fishy about Steve Jobs's claims that licensing a DRM system will lead to its defeat. By comparing the security track records of iTunes's FairPlay and Microsoft's rival and heavily-licensed PlaysForSure, Ken might also have a good point. As history goes, FairPlay has been cracked four times (including Real's own hack for their store), while PlaysForSure has suffered only one true crack in its time. Perhaps more significant than either of these numbers, however, is that none of these DRM breaches were the result of secrets being shared from the inside; they apparently were all spearheaded by creatives from the community who might not hold digital rights management in the highest of regards.

Of course, the issue isn't nearly this cut and dry. The iTunes Store's 800-pound gorilla-like popularity can help explain its greater number of breaches (however: wouldn't one be more interested in cracking the store that offers unlimited music via subscription?). In the end, Ken settles on revisiting the possibility of licensing DRM. Since Jobs already let the 'get rid of DRM' cat out of the bag, however, I'm thinking the public isn't going to put the idea to rest anytime soon.

Filed under: Macworld, Odds and ends, Interviews

Rogue Amoeba's Paul Kafasis at Infinite Loop

According to Paul Kafasis of Rogue Amoeba, about the same time as he sat down with our very own David Chartier for TUAW Podcast #18, he also gave an interesting interview to the good folks over at Ars Tehnica's Infinite Loop. They talk about Rogue Amoeba's focus on audio, the controversy our own Laurie Duncan helped to start over what Paul dubbed The Delicious Generation, and more. So if you haven't already, first go listen to the podcast then check out the interview and you'll have more than met your recommended daily allowance of cool Mac audio developer news.

Filed under: Software

Ars Technica reviews font managers for OS X

Ars Technica is known for their extensive reviews, and Dave Girard's review of OS X font management programs is no different. He takes a look at FontAgent Pro, Font Explorer, and Suitcase Fusion. Font Book, OS X's builtin font application, is not included in the review because isn't 'industrial strength,' so to speak.

If you have lots of fonts, or install lots of fonts, make sure to read over the entire article to get the skinny on the leading font management programs for the Mac.

Filed under: Software

My Dream App voting round 2



The second round of voting is under way over at My Dream App. Vote and let your voice be heard! Plus, when you vote you get a free copy of Mori, Hog Bay Software's document organizer.

This round's judges are the cream of the crop of Mac bloggers including John Siracusa of Ars Technica, John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. Oh, and somehow yours truly got invited to be a judge. Go check out the apps and vote for your favorite.

My favorite idea so far? Blossom, I've never seen an app like it and I sure hope it gets some votes.

Filed under: Humor, Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, WWDC, Apple

WWDC Bingo



John Siracusa is best known for writing in-depth and incredibly geeky pieces about Apple technology. Who knew that in addition to being a hardcore geek John can be a whimsical geek as well (I consider myself to be an uberwhimsical geek. It is a fact that I have never lost my child like wonder)?

Case in point WWDC Bingo. Simply print out (or play online) the Bingo card and mark an 'X' in the box whenever Steve does, or you think he does, what is noted on the card. I am certain that 'Boom' and 'Otomatic' are two squares that'll be filled early on.

Oh, and bonus points if you do this at the actual Keynote, just don't forget your lucky Phil Schiller Troll doll.

Filed under: Software

Ars reviews Parallels Desktop 1.0

The Intel chips really have ushered in a new Era for Mac users. No longer do you need to keep a crappy Windows box around for those tasks that require that other OS. Boot Camp, as you know, is Apple's utility that turns your Intel Mac into a dual booting dream machine.

But who wants to reboot their machine just to check their bank account? Luckily Parallels, virtualization software, is available for the Mac. The good folks at Ars Technica take the newly 1.0'ed software for a spin and they like what they see. The only drawbacks are the lack of support for burning CD/DVD's and you won't be gaming on your virtual Windows machine.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Reviews, MacBook

Ars Technica reviews the MacBook

Clint Ecker over at Ars Technica has given his new MacBook a through looking over and has written up his findings. Clint had a hard time finding any negative things to say about the MacBook (he points to the integrated graphics card, and the glossy screen as potential downsides).

The most interesting section of the review is how the new MacBooks perform as compared the the first rev of MacBook Pros. They are pretty much neck and neck for most of the benchmarks.

Filed under: Software, Reviews, Apple, Universal Binary

Ars on Aperture 1.1.1

You may recall that Ars Technica's Dave Girard wasn't a fan of Aperture 1.0. His lengthy review lambasted the product for failing to do the one thing that it claimed it was good at (i.e. RAW support). Now that Aperture 1.1 is out Dave takes a look at how Apple did at improving the application.

Dave's verdict is that Apple did an amazing job improving the software, and the lowered price was a very smart move. There is no way I can give justice to his review here, so just head on over and give it a read.

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