OS X "System Migration" assistant -- new feature

MacFixIt - New Power Mac G5 models include "System Migration" feature

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Introduced with the newest G5s. In the old, old days moving between a Mac took only a few minutes. Moving between DOS machines was about as hard. Moving between Win 3.1 machines became interesting, moving from an XP machine is an ordeal. If anything, an OS X machine migration may be worse.

This is way overdue.

iPod 3G - disable calendar alarms to increase battery life?

Mainctouch iPod (Part 26)

I had the same problem as Nicolas, regarding my 3G iPod being almost completely discharged after just sitting for maybe 2 days. After hunting through several web pages, the unlikely suggestion of making sure ALL the iPod alarms were set to off greatly restored my battery life.

I can't remember what alarm it was, but it was nothing I was using (or hearing). Apparently, it defaults to on.

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The only thing I can see that looks like this is the calendar alerm which defaults to "beep" and can be changed to "off".

Schneier: Witty worm was pretty bad

The Witty worm: A new chapter in malware - Computerworld

Witty was the first worm to target a particular set of security products -- in this case Internet Security System's BlackICE and RealSecure. It infected and destroyed only computers that had particular versions of this software running.

A few things we learned from this worm:

Witty was wildly successful. Twelve thousand machines was the entire vulnerable and exposed population, and Witty infected them all -- worldwide -- in 45 minutes. It's the first worm that quickly corrupted a small population. Previous worms targeting small populations such as Scalper and Slapper were glacially slow.

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Close all your firewall ports. Don't buy firewalls from companies that have let backdoors be inserted (NetGear, Linksys, others?). Use a Mac.

gPhotoShow - simple and elegant

gPhotoShow - Slide Show Maker and Photo Screen Saver Creator

My longtime favorite, I prefer the free version.

Alcohol software: put kid's CDs on server

Alcohol Software is DVD / CD burning software. CD & DVD burner, recorder and ripper

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Presumably the main use is illegal duplication of CDs, but I'd just like our kids to access their CDs from the file server, rather than messing with the discs. I don't know if the CD images include unused space, if they don't it may be possible to put all the kids CDs on a single 160GB drive and access them over the net.

David Shayer on OS X disk editors

TidBITS#732/07-Jun-04

... Some people put several partitions on a hard disk. The partition map tracks the various partitions. I damaged the partition map. As with the bad sectors, I performed this test on a real hard disk, since disk images don't have partition maps. Tech Tool Pro didn't detect the problem. Of the other utilities, only Norton Disk Doctor even noticed this problem, although it couldn't fix it....

... Of the 15 damaged disk images, Tech Tool Pro repaired 9 of them perfectly or well enough, and did pretty well on the last disk. That stacks up against DiskWarrior with 12 fixes, Norton Utilities with 11, Drive 10 with 9, Disk Guardian with 5 and Disk Utility with 4...

... I stick with my earlier recommendation for dealing with damaged disks. Try Apple's Disk Utility first (since it's free and isn't likely to create any additional problems), and if Disk Utility fails, hand the damage over to DiskWarrior, which has the best chance of fixing whatever ails your hard disk. And please, keep good backups!

DiskWarrior is $80. At that price I'm tempted to rely on backups and Disk Utility first, then buy it on need.

More startling to me was that nothing can repair partition defects on an OS X disk. I'd gotten the feeling that OS X and Apple doesn't really test multi-partition configurations that heavily ... I'd avoid partitions ...

Best of the Bags

It's in the Bag - Which carry-on bag is best? By Seth Stevenson

Samsonite Ultra 3000 XLT Sideroller Carry-On Upright Suiter, $139.99 at Ebags.com.

Nothing flashy here. Completely generic, Samonsite-y looks. Yet it's a great value for its price. In terms of functionality, it's not appreciably different from the high-end bags. The Samsonite features oodles of useful pockets inside and out and is again well-appointed with accessory bags and a tri-fold hanger. The wheels are rollerblade style and feel strong. The main compartments are quite spacious. And here's the kicker: Separate, tiny wheels let you crabwalk the bag sideways, to create a narrower profile when you need to squeeze through a tight space. I tested this out in my simulated airplane aisles and was impressed. I could easily picture the Samsonite slipping untouched through a slalom of obese airline passengers, their fat haunches spilling under armrests and into the aisle. The little sideways wheels aren't all that strong and don't roll as smoothly, but they'll do the trick for that mad jaunt from the jetway to your seat. Granted, if the Victorinox and the Samsonite were the same price, you'd want the Victorinox, but the cost difference is way too much to be overcome. Unless you're talking about a bag like …

Tumi Vestry 22-inch Wheeled Packing Case, $295 at Tumi.com.

In the luggage brand senior yearbook, Tumi was voted "Most likely to be stowed in a Phnom Phen airport locker, bulging with stacks of non-sequential U.S. currency." Tumi designs are always sleek, modern, and just a little bit dangerous. The Vestry model is no exception, with its bold, black, streamlined look. It also excelled at each challenge I set for it. It rolled more smoothly than other bags in the walking-around test; did not leak when subjected to the rainy-day test; fit comfortably into my simulated aisles in the fake-airplane test; and seemed to almost chuckle dryly as, during the butter-knife test, I feebly attempted to injure its thick and muscular hide. You can feel the solidity of the construction—the unbreakable zippers and unbendable handle. With its excellent layout of compartments and pockets—including dedicated shoe slots—the Tumi is delightfully packable. It's lightweight, too.

And so we have a winner. One look at this bag and you'll long to strut confidently through foreign airport terminals, Tumi rolling alongside. A tad expensive? Yes. But remember Eddie Murphy's farsighted wisdom. A bag like this will stay with you for life—and that's exactly what you'll want.