Intel has decided that for its own employees, Windows Vista just won't cut the mustard. According to the New York Times, "Intel information technology staff just found no compelling case for adopting Vista."
Ouch. Intel's IT staff arrived at their decision after a lengthy cost-benefit analysis.
Intel has 80,000 employees worldwide, and could be seen as a bellwether for large companies still on the fence about upgrading to Vista. Since Microsoft has been a tight partner with Intel for years, it remains to be seen what kind of pressure Intel will get from top Microsoft management.
According to a recent MacRumors posting, Apple might be working on a "next generation" high definition iSight camera. This comes after a reference in the localization strings file for QuickTime shows "iSight HD" as one of the import devices.
You can see the localization strings for "iSight HD" by opening the following file in either QuickLook (space bar) or by opening it in TextEdit: /System/Library/QuickTime/QuickTimeUSBVDCDigitizer.component/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Localizable.strings
Once you have the file opened, you can clearly see where Apple has placed the following bit of code: /* Next Generation USB iSight */ "iSight HD" = "iSight HD";
We should note that while this code has been found, it doesn't necessarily mean that Apple will release a new iSight product, but this does give us hope.
QuickTime 7.5 was released earlier today via Software Update. According to Apple, this update "...improves application compatibility and addresses security issues."
Often, Quicktime updates coincide with iTunes updates. Since we know that the 3G iPhone will require iTunes 7.7, we suspect that's what the "application compatibility" refers to. Apple recommends this release for all QuickTime 7 users. Note that a restart is required. Thanks, MarkAbre!
Recently, Apple posted a new online seminar (linked from enterprise Apple Store pages) entitled "Best Practices for Integrating Mac OS X into Active Directory." This seminar will show registered participants how to deploy machines running OS X into existing Active Directory setups.
Apple lists several things that are shown in the online seminar, some of which include:
Integrating an Active Directory environment into Mac OS X
Using the Active Directory plug-in in Mac OS X
Configuring home directories (includes how to do this with mobile users)
You can watch this free online seminar by going to Apple's seminar website and registering. You will then be able to stream the video using QuickTime Player, or download an iPod-compatible file.
Over on the Handbrake forums a contributor has released an interesting tool called Muxo that allows adding soft subtitles to MP4 that are supported on the iPhone. Soft subtitles are those that can be turned on and off, rather than being actually encoded into the video with tools we've mentioned before like Submerge and RoadMovie. Entropic designed Muxo as an accessory to Handbrake, allowing you to add SRT subtitles to a fresh DVD rip. Once you load them on your iPhone you'll get a menu button that lets you turn the subtitles on and off.
In addition to the iTunes update, Apple also released an update to QuickTime tonight. Version 7.4.5 promises "fixes that enhance reliability, improve compatibility with third-party applications, and address security issues."
You can download this update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update).
Please note that after installing the iTunes update, you will be asked to install the QuickTime update for best video playback in iTunes.
Today, Apple updated QuickTime to version 7.4.1. Apple says that this update fixes security issues and "improves compatibility with third-party applications." They recommend this update to all QuickTime users. Ars Technica is reporting that this update also fixes some AfterEffects rendering issues that cropped up in the last QuickTime update.
You can get the update by opening Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by clicking one of the links above to download the software installer package from Apple's support downloads website.
After Effects 7 users, take note: there have been some interesting and unfortunate developments with the recent release of the QuickTime 7.4 update. Apparently, it disables After Effects 7 and will not permit users to complete rendering videos. There have been some arguments about what is causing this error, with some claiming it is related to DRM issues (let's hope not), while others claim it is nothing more than a preferences bug.
Nevertheless, you can not revert back to a previous version of QuickTime once you have updated. In short: After Effects 7 users, beware! Avoid the QT7.4 update at all costs, unless you want to deal with a major headache.
US-CERT and Information Week are reporting a new vulnerability in QuickTime's handling of RTSP streams, which has been demonstrated to crash QuickTime Player on Windows and may also affect the Mac version. See the writeup by researcher Luigi Auriemma, who first announced the flaw.
Unlike the RTSP bug patched in QuickTime 7.3.1 last month, this vector works by overflowing an HTTP error buffer sent when the RTSP port 554 is closed on the malicious server, and the QuickTime client tries to switch to port 80. Sneaky.
Since we're almost certain to see iTunes 7.6 and possibly QuickTime 7.3.2 at Macworld anyway, expect another rev of QuickTime to close this hole after those versions ship -- since Apple wasn't notified in advance of this hole, it's unlikely to be caught in the pending updates, as commenter Nicholas points out (unless Apple found the vector independently).
Apple has just released QuickTime 7.3.1 which addresses that nasty RTSP vulnerability recently discovered (and discovered with zero day exploit code no less!). This update also fixes 2 other security problems with QuickTime. It looks like Flash is being handled in a safer way, and a heap buffer overflow has been fixed. Apple suggests all QT 7 users install this update.
As reported, the RTSP vulnerability in QuickTime was accompanied by working exploit code, accelerating the process of malefactors and miscreants turning it into actual malicious payloads. Symantec & other outlets have since reported that the QuickTime exploit has been seen in the wild; the exploit causes Windows clients to download a secondary malware package.
The Second Life exploit starts to veer disturbingly towards Snow Crash territory. I don't want to spoil Neal Stephenson's brilliant breakthrough novel for those who haven't read it, so go read it. For the rest of us, doesn't the idea of a 'virus video' that attacks anyone who watches it seem awfully familiar?
Over the weekend, securityresearchers announced a vulnerability in QuickTime's handling of the RTSP streaming protocol, and Windows-only exploit code is already circulating. The flaw allows attackers to craft specially formatted RTSP responses that cause a buffer overflow, and as a result they can execute arbitrary code in the context of the logged-in user. Unfortunately, there are plenty of ways to get someone to click a malicious RTSP link, including sending it in email or including it on a website. While Symantec notes that IE and Safari for Windows appear to be resistant to the exploit code, opening a malicious RTSP link in current versions of Firefox or in QuickTime Player would allow the exploit to run.
For now, there is no Mac version of the exploit (cold comfort to the millions of iTunes for Windows users); hopefully there will be a QuickTime security patch on both platforms before any additional exposure occurs. Rich Mogull at TidBITS has some helpful tips for securing your network, including blocking the RTSP protocol both at the firewall and for outbound connections via Little Snitch. Update 10:30 am Thursday: Commenter Moulles points out that a cross-platform exploit for the RTSP flaw, which could target either PCs or Macs, has now been published.
Fire up Software Update, gentle TUAW readers, because a new version of iTunes and QuickTime awaits.
iTunes 7.5 adds the ability to activate an iPhone where ever it is available, and support for Phase which is a new iPod game. The usual bug fixes are also in there.
QuickTime 7.3 brings support for iTunes 7.5 (shocking) as well as an updates the export option for iPhone web content and fixes numerous bugs and security updates. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
Yes, it's that time again folks. Our friends in Cupertino have released two small (and by small we mean 'single sentence release-note' small) updates to OS X 10.4.10, namely Compatibility Update for QuickTime 7.2 and a much-desired Keyboard Software Update 1.2.
The updates are available to users via the trusty Software Update option in the Apple Menu, or via the Apple Support Website (Keyboard Update / QuickTime Update). Let's hope it brings enlightenment to those of us who experienced issues with the Aluminium Keyboards, and were unable to fix them.
Intel has decided that for its own employees, Windows Vista just won't cut the mustard. According to the New York Times, "Intel information technology staff just found no compelling case for adopting Vista."
Recently, Apple posted a 
In addition to the 
After Effects 7 users, take note: there have been some interesting and unfortunate developments with the recent release of the 
Yes, it's that time again folks. Our friends in Cupertino have released two small (and by small we mean 'single sentence release-note' small) updates to OS X 10.4.10, namely Compatibility Update for QuickTime 7.2 and a much-desired Keyboard Software Update 1.2. 
