.Mac is Dead, Long Live Mobile Me

At WWDC 2008 Apple announced that they were overhauling their much-neglected .Mac online service and they’re renaming it MobileMe (http://www.apple.com/mobileme/). In fact much of .Mac remains, but some new interesting things have been added. Among them, the ability for information in calendars and addressbooks to seamlessly synchronize between Mac, iPod, iPhone, PC and web sites online. Apple calls this “Exchange for the rest of us”. It remains to be seen how well this works in practice since in the Middle East, as many of you know, the .Mac service has not exactly been fast most of the time.

by Magnus Nystedt

Online Backup with Amazon S3 and JungleDisk

Backup is something that we all know we should do, but that few of us actually do. When Steve Jobs introduced the Time Machine application in Leopard at WWDC 2006 he said that according to Apple’s research, only 26% of users backup at all, and only 4% said they use some kind of automated software to do this. And we know that burning DVDs or even copying to external hard drives, although easy to use, has the potential for failing sooner or later. Hard drives fail, as do optical disks such as CDs and DVDs.
In addition, our drives are becoming really huge. It’s now not uncommon to have a 250GB or 500GB internal hard drive and a few external drives of similar or larger capacity. It’s hard to see how such a large volume of data can be backed up in a simple way using traditional means.

Backing up online
Online backup and storage is something that has been around for a long time, but it has only become really big in the last few years. Now you even get 10GB of space with a .Mac account and using your iDisk is dead easy, although performance in the Middle East leaves much to be desired. Besides iDisk for backup, I’ve used various services but there’s always something that’s just doesn’t seem quite right about them. Either they’re too expensive, too hard to access, or they have other limitations. I like Box.net for some kinds of online storage and I use it regularly, but if you have a lot of data all you want to do is back up files then Amazon S3 may be a better choice.

Amazon S3
Amazon’s Simple Storage Service, or S3 for short, is a relative newcomer to the online storage arena. Started in 2006, it draws upon technological experience that Amazon has garnered while building the Amazon.com online store and other services. If you think about it, Amazon.com has been running a successful – now even profitable – online business for longer than most anyone else. And in order to accomplish this they’ve had to invest in research and development of various technologies needed for their operations, including storage. In recent years Amazon.com has launched into new projects allowing other companies and individuals to tap in to Amazon.com’s technologies. With S3 they have extended the use of Amazon.com’s storage system to others, and they charge a competitive fee for it. I guess from Amazon.com’s point of view, they’re thinking, “We’ve got the technology anyway, so why not let others use it and make a few bucks from it.”
As good as all this may sound, Amazon S3 is not the most user-friendly service. There are other online storage services geared toward regular users such as http://www.box.net, which I mentioned earlier, that make the process of storing and retrieving much easier. While it’s hard to beat S3 for value and flexibility, it suffers from not being user-friendly. In many ways it feels like S3 has been built by programmers for programmers – and not for the average user.

Buckets
Central to S3, and perhaps a bit hard for new users to understand, is the idea of a bucket. A bucket in S3 is basically a folder in which you can put files. The tricky thing is that a bucket has to have a unique name. Not only do your buckets have to have unique names but so do all S3 users. This means if someone else has already created a bucket called “Vacation-photos” you can’t create a bucket with the same name, even if you’re using a different account from the user who created the initial “Vacation-photos” bucket.
So think of buckets as folders in which you can put files, and give them unique names that act as a reminder of the files they contain. You can create folders inside of buckets, so I have a bucket called “Shuffle”: in which I have folders for “2006”, “2007”, and “2008”. After each issue is finished, I upload a zipped version of the complete issue with all the files to the correct folder.

JungleDisk
JungleDisk (note the naming connection with “Amazon”) is a software application that lets you manage your S3 account as if it was a drive connected to your Mac. It’s a bit like your iDisk, in that it seems to first make a copy of what you want to upload and then actually uploads it. Then whenever you have an internet connection, JungleDisk uploads what you’ve copied to the local JungleDisk disk. It seems to work very well, and most of the time it just picks up from where it was and continues copying. You can also set up automated backups that enable JungleDisk to copy files to your S3 account on a set schedule.
JungleDisk costs $20 but this price includes all future updates and upgrades, and you still pay your S3 fee separately. It’s not the most Mac-like application: For example, it would make more sense from a Mac OS X perspective to place it as an icon in the menu bar or even as a System Preference pane. However, JungleDisk does the trick and does so very well all things considering. I’ve used it for about a month at the time of this writing, and I’ve had no problems with it at all. One very nice thing is that JungleDisk is available for Windows and Linux, as well as Mac OS X, so you can access your S3 account from various operating systems. I keep all three versions with me on a flash disk so I can run the appropriate version at all times. The speed of S3 with JungleDisk is not great. Uploading I got around 100-150kbps on a DSL connection, and up to 300kbps on a corporate connection. So far I’ve uploaded around 10GB of information to S3 – with upload space still remaining. Unfortunately at these speeds and amounts of data you have to almost dedicate a machine to the task of uploading, and it has to stay on 24/7 until finished. That’s a bit of a hassle, but for me it’s okay because I mainly upload to S3 the things I need to backup as well as other things that I would normally keep on an external hard drive (i.e. things I don’t need very often, if at all, but that I want to keep a copy of just in case).

JungleDisk Plus
There’s also JungleDisk Plus which allows you to get to your S3 files with a web browser. One shortcoming is that you can’t create new buckets with the Plus version. Also the interface is far from user-friendly, nor as advanced as http://www.box.net, for example, but it does the trick.

Public files
One really nice thing about S3 is that any file you place into a bucket on S3 can be made available to others via URLs. There is a bit of a caveat with Jungle Disk, though, as it seems that anything uploaded with JungleDisk goes into buckets that are not publicly available. What you can do is connect to your S3 account with Transmit (URL) and create a new bucket, and then put your publicly available files in it. That seems to do the trick. Try this example URL: http://s3.amazonaws.com/shuffle-test/jungledisk.png. You have to make the folder or files publicly readable. You can do that with Transmit or something like the Amazon S3 Firefox Organizer (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3247) which, incidentally, also serves as a good compliment to JungleDisk for uploading and downloading files.

Online backup is something that I think most users should consider. And even if there are services that make it easier than Amazon.com S3, for the price you pay and for the amount you can store (unlimited!) it’s hard to beat. There are different ways for you to upload your files to S3, but with a Mac one of the easiest ways is with JungleDisk. I hope this article can give you some ideas for how you could manage your backups with online storage.

by Magnus Nystedt

Questions and Answers: How To Protect My Wireless Network

Wireless technology is everywhere, look no further than the MacBook Air that was announced at Macworld Expo. And for the most part we benefit from not being tied down to cables. More and more of us have wireless networking, Wi-Fi, at work as well as home, with all the security and privacy implications that brings. Written as a question and answer session, this article is meant to try to clear up some common questions surrounding Wi-Fi.

Q: My friend told me he doesn’t pay for his internet broadband. Instead he is “piggybacking” on other people’s unsecured Wi-Fi networks within his apartment building. Is this possible?
A: Sure it’s possible. I think anyone who lives in an apartment building can attest to how many wireless networks there are, and that many of them are open and unprotected. Many who buy Wi-Fi equipment and set it up at home don’t secure their networks. And by default pretty much any Wi-Fi equipment is open and accessible to all. So unless you set some security on the Wi-Fi network, your neighbors can enjoy a free ride at your expense. Whether this is ethical or moral is a debate we’ll save for another time, but there are obviously security and privacy implications of having other people using your internet connection. And if that other person does something really bad while using your Wi-Fi, like hack into a bank and take money, then it’s quite possible you end up liable because they were using your connection. So besides protecting your information and equipment, you want to secure the wireless network so you don’t end up paying for what someone else has done.


Q: What type of security should I have on my wireless network?
A: The short answer is WPA with a good password. But let’s try to expand that answer a bit. Generally you have a choice between WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). WEP was for a long time the only protection available for Wi-Fi networks, but fortunately we now also have WPA to choose from with most access points and clients. WEP encryption is fairly easily broken, but WPA with a good password is much harder if not practically impossible to crack. We should point out that if you have older wireless equipment it may not support WPA, in which case you have to stick with WEP.
The SSID (Service Set Identifier) is the name of the wireless network. You typically set this in the wireless settings section of your access point (see next question). You can choose between broadcasting the SSID or hiding it. If you hide it, someone who casually passes by will not “see” the wireless network. This offers very little protection, as the wireless signal is still broadcast and with just some knowledge a person can still access it. So don’t broadcast the SSID if you like, but don’t think it protects you in any way.
Every device that connects to a network has a MAC address (Media Access Control). It’s a unique identifier that’s used to make the network traffic find its way to the proper destinations. With most Wi-Fi base stations you can select to only accept certain MAC addresses with which to connect. Even if others can see the SSID, they can’t connect unless they use an approved MAC address. A problem with this approach is that it’s fairly straightforward to spook (fake) a MAC address, so it offers little real protection.
All this security is no good unless you also have a strong password. Having “password” as a password, for example, I think we all realize is a really bad idea. The password should be as long and as random as possible. Let a random password generator (such as the one at http://www.pctools.com/guides/password/) generate a password for you, and your password will be as secure as it can be. If you make up your own password try to stay away from anything that may appear in a dictionary, and mix characters and digits.

Q: How do I access and change my wireless settings?
A: This is usually done by going to a specific URL with a web browser. So once you’re connected to the wireless network you would browse to something like “http://192.168.1.1”. Note that the specific URL may be different for you, depending on who makes your Wi-Fi base station. The first time you enter that URL there is probably not a password, but you need to set one as soon as you can. If you don’t, anyone else can connect and change your settings. Follow the above advice about passwords. It’s different with Apple wireless base stations: To administer an Airport Extreme or Express base station you have to have the Airport Utility, which comes on a disk when you purchase the equipment.

Q: I sometimes use my MacBook when I’m out and about, like at coffee shops. I’m worried that someone can access my private files. What countermeasures should I take to avoid this happening?
A: Public access points such as Etisalat’s iZone in the United Arab Emirates are generally wide open and not secured. This means the information is sent unencrypted and the guy sitting next to you, although he looks innocent and harmless, may be saving all the information sent on the network. If you got to a web site that uses “https” then you’re secure, but most of the time sites don’t use encrypted connections and it’s rare the email does, so be careful. If you want to make really sure that you’re safe, you have to use something like a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection.

Q: I went to my local electronic store looking for a wireless router. There were so many names and numbers to choose from that I walked away totally confused. Please could you advise me on the best choice for a home-based wireless network?
A: It can be quite a jungle and it’s hard to know what’s good and what you need. Generally speaking I would stick with the major brands, such as Linksys, NetGear, 3Com, Buffalo, etc. One thing to check first is the speed. That’s the “802.11”-something. The latest standard is 802.11n, but not all devices support it yet. If you really want to be on the safe side, 802.11g is the way to go, and it’s rated at 54Mbp - which should be plenty for everything but the heaviest of file-copying. If you have something that’s 802.11b, be aware that it is outdated technology and only rated at 11Mbps. And know that if you use any 802.11b device on an 802.11n network, the network speed will not go over the 802.11b specifications. It will always follow the lowest common denominator. Also consider whether you need a DSL modem. There are many combined DSL modems and Wi-Fi routers to choose from, which of course is convenient because it’s all-in-one. Apple currently doesn’t sell any product that works as a DSL modem, so if you have Apple wireless gear such as an Airport Extreme you still need the DSL modem part in the form of another device. At home we use a 3Com Wi-Fi router/modem, but we only use it as a DSL modem and we have an Airport Extreme working as the Wi-Fi access point. The combinations are almost endless.

Q: Any final piece of advice?
A: Wireless technology has come a long way in a few years. Problems that were common before have now gone away and overall devices are much more reliable than they used to be. It’s wonderful not being tied to cables, and Apple is clearly setting a trend with the MacBook Air and Time Capsule - saying that wireless is the way to go. I think once you’re wireless you wonder how you could ever have done without it before. Good luck and have fun. Any further questions or problems, remember that we’ll do what we can to help at http://www.emiratesmac.com.

Answers by Magnus Nystedt

Profile of a Mac Seller

Name: Faisal A. Al Dekhayil
Title: Store Manager
Store: Global Store, Riyadh, KSA

Q: When did you start working for Global Store?
A: Fifth of February 2006.

Q: What did you do before working at Global Store?
A: I was studying Computer Science at Riyadh Teachers College.

Q: When was the first time you used a Mac and what your first impression?
A: When I was working in Saudi Research and Publishing Co. as cooperative designer. At that time we were using Apple computers and Mac OS X Panther as the operating system. Mac is, indeed, a significantly superior machine - especially in the set-up. Things seem to be designed to go faster.

Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: When I see the satisfaction of people after having switching to Mac.

Q: What is your favorite Apple product and why?
A: Everything that is produced by Apple has the nice design style, but I prefer the iMac because it’s a distinct desktop with not only nice design but also powerful performance.

Q: What is the most challenging part of your job?
A: Trying to find the best solutions for our clients, and making the Mac a good environment for all requirements.

Q: Do you have a funny story about something that has happened in your job?
A: Once when I was with a client and we were discussing specs and the differences between computers. I was playing with a rubber band in my hand when suddenly the rubber band slipped of my hand and flew off straight into the client’s face. I apologized to him while he laughed.

Q: Is there any particular product you wish Apple would release?
A: Yeah sure - a lot of things starting with tablet laptops, mini Mac Pros, new displays and iPhones for the Middle East.

In the Spotlight: Ummah Films

We have been following Ummah Films short clips on YouTube for quite some time (www.ummahfilms.com). When we asked the guy behind the films, Ali, about how he put them together and how he got started, we found out that he’s a Mac user. Since we also know that many of you watch his films and enjoy them, we wanted to be able to bring you closer to Ali and what he does.

Q: Tell us about Ummah Films. Who’s involved? How did it get started? Where are you based?
A: The CEO of Bridges TV invited me to do a 1/2 show on cable about my game, Mecca to Medina. During my stay there I notice they were using simple Macs to make television content for their shows. I figured if they could do it, then anyone could do it. So when it came down to doing the Reminder, I figured to keep it simple and focus on content and, Alhamdulillah (all praise belongs to God), the rest is history.

Q: Is this your full time job? If not, what do you do to pay the bills, so to speak?
A: I’m actually in IT. Pretty much chained to a desk doing mostly uncreative work, so that is one reason I enjoy making these videos. It’s an outlet to be creative.

Q: Many of us have seen your videos on YouTube and laughed hard as well as learned a lot. How did that series of videos get started, and what do you want to accomplish with them?
A: My goal with the Reminder series is to remind others and of course myself about things that many of us already know. There are many situations where we want to say something, but because we don’t want to be an outcast or to be politically incorrect, we don’t say anything (i.e. show-off weddings). In other situations we can’t really say anything (e.g. telling people to stop talking about Jummah) so I decided to make a video series where some random guy on the internet says what’s on everyone else’s mind and no one can take it personally because I’m talking to everybody, starting with myself. Of course, I try to use my sense of humor so the medicine doesn’t taste bad, but for those who get past the comedy flavor, there is a message behind it and that is what is most important.

Q: As I said, many of us both laugh and really think hard about your videos. You seem to accomplish a rare balance between being funny and serious at the same time. Is this intentional, or something that just happened?
A: What you see in the videos is not a character but rather it’s me. It’s my mind and how I think. Given the fact that I’m sitting in the room by myself and I edit my own videos, I have control to make sure things come out right. Many of friends are immune to me but once in a while they still laugh when I give them my two cents on a specific issue.

Q: What has the response to the videos been around the world?
A: Alhamdulillah, it has been really positive thus far. I’m actually surprised by the large number of non-Muslims who watch the videos and by messages I get from them. I get emails from a wide range of people from all around the world who enjoy the videos. Alhamdulillah.

Q: Has there been any controversy over any of your videos?
A: Some of the videos have issues that are sensitive to people. For example, the Hijab video is an issue that is rarely addressed by men since it deals with the improper versus the proper way of wearing Hijab, but I didn’t let that stop me from doing the video because I think its the way you present the ideas that makes the difference. Alhamdulillah, I think about 90% of the response from the sisters has been positive so it looks like that approach worked.

Q: How do you produce the videos? What equipment do you shoot, edit with, etc?
A: I film the videos using an Canon XL2 camera in a small room with a few softbox lights. I edit the videos using Final Cut Pro on a Mac. I’m a big Apple person and since I moved over to the Mac side, I have no ambition to ever move back to PC.

Q: How do you select what to cover in your videos?
A: Since I’m not an actor or writer, I can only base it on what is going on with my reality. I can’t just take submissions and write about something and make it good unless I have experienced it or know someone close to me that has been through it. Often times, its based on what I have gone through and that is why I think people can relate. Many of us share similar experiences.

Q: Do you write any script before shooting your videos?
A: The first two videos were more outlined and that caused a little confusion from the viewers. I realized that what I say can be misunderstood so it’s best not to freestyle. So starting by the third video, I starting putting down my words so I can make sure things don’t get misunderstood.

Q: In April 2007, you had “An Evening With Ali” at the Imperial College in London. What was that like? Is it something you’d like to do again, perhaps in the UAE?
A: It was my first time doing a full show by myself so I was nervous. I’m not a comedian by any means so I wasn’t sure what people were expecting. I’m just Ali and that’s it. So I gave them Ali. I stood up and spoke my mind and showed some videos and, Alhamdulillah, the event went really well. I don’t deserve any credit though because that credit goes to the brothers and sisters who organized the event.

Q: You publish your videos to the web. What special steps, if any, do you take to make your videos suitable for the web?
A: I use Compressor for Final Cut Studio pro to export it in the high quality H.264 format for Quicktime 7.

Q: If one of our members want to get into making movies, perhaps for the web, what advice do you have for them?
A: I would recommend they would take advantage of the web. Web sites like www.izzyvideo.com will teach you how to film and other sites like www.vtc.com will teach you how to use almost all software applications involved in making films, including both Adobe Premiere and Apple’s Final Cut Pro. The internet can be a great tool if its used properly. We recently launched a forum section where Muslim film makers can collaborate, share ideas and network, and it’s free (www.ummahfilms.com/forums).

Q: Can you tell us something about your future plans?
A: I hope to do one final Season of the Reminder series and then move on to my next project, Muslim Poetry. Words are very powerful and can cause people to think, so my goal is to make people think because that is the first step towards changing our situation for the better, InshAllah.

Q: You write on your site that you provide provide “a Halaal (Islamically permissible) alternative form of entertainment with a positive message.” Could you tell us more what that means to you?
A: I don’t believe that you should compromise your “deen” (principles of Islamic faith) for the sake of entertainment or making films. I think just like everything else in life, Muslims have rules and as long as we abide by those rules, then we can be creative and still get some very good work done. I didn’t want to work on a project for the sake of making a cool video but rather I was attracted to the ideas of film making because I think we can put out a positive message while still keeping our Islamic values. The goal is to raise the bar and to show other Muslim filmmakers that we can make a difference with our creativity and our cameras - but we must keep our intentions pure, InshAllah, because once our intentions go astray… so do we. Thus, the success of all things are only in the hands of our Creator, and without Him, there is no success. So if you want to be successful, then He has to will it.

Q: Have you ever been a part of an Apple User Group?
A: No I haven’t.

Q: Do you have any advice for the EmiratesMac Apple User Group in terms of what we do for the Apple community in the Middle East?
A: Apple products are top notch and very powerful. Take advantage of them and use them to benefit this Ummah InshAllah.

Q: You have a lot of fans in the Middle East and around the world. What would you like to say to them?
A: JazakAllah khair (May Allah reward you) for all your support and kind words. No matter how successful this project becomes, the success is in Allah (swt) hands and I deserve no credit. Many people may laugh at the idea of one person making a difference so I hope the evidence of the Reminder series (written, filmed and edited by one person with no film background) is proof that YOU can make a difference. Make du’ah and put in the effort InshAllah.

Q: Finally, if anyone reading this is a big fan of yours, what can they do to support you?
A: Make du’ah for us InshAllah. I would like to continue with going beyond the Reminder to my next project but unfortunately all these projects require funds so please support Ummah Films by buying our shirts and DVDs. JazakAllah khair.

by Magnus Nystedt

Amazon.com offers non-DRM MP3 downloads

On September 25 Amazon.com launched a new music download service. So what’s so special about that, you may wonder, and rightly so. Amazon has f ollowed in Apple’s footsteps and offer music files for purchase and download that are without DRM (Digital Rights Management). You probably know that when you previously bought music from the iTunes Store - and this still applies to most music on iTunes - you were restricted in what you could do with that music. You could only put it on certain number of Macs and iPods, for example. Apple had basically encrypted the files so they could control what you can and cannot do with the files. Now Apple sells select songs on iTunes that are not DRM’d and now Amazon is as well. This is good news for consumers because we don’t want to get locked into a particular service. You may be happy with Apple and iTunes today, but tomorrow you may want to go to some other service. If your music is then DRM’d, you’re obviously restricted in what you can do. The selection on Amazon seems pretty limited for now, but I’m sure it’ll grow eventually. You can play a short clip of songs before buying. Most albums cost around $9 but there are albums at $4 and even lower. I tried Amazon’s service and it worked well. You pick what you want to buy, put in your credit card details (UAE credit card added to an Aramex Shop & Ship PO Box in the US worked well) and then you have to download and install a small application, the “Amazon MP3 Downloader”. When your purchase is complete, you download a small “.AMZ” file from Amazon.com. Then you open that file in their downloader application and your music is downloaded to your hard drive. Once finished it can be automatically added to iTunes. And the files are regular, unprotected MP3-files, so you can take them to any other software or service. In conclusion, Amazon’s new music download service is not as smooth and integrated as iTunes, that’s for sure. But it’s also not too bad, and perhaps it’ll improve in the future. Something to be excited about is that it’s non-DRM’d music and you can purchase it with your Middle East-based credit card.
by Magnus Nystedt

Switcher Interview

Name: Sumudu Gunaratne
Job: Airline Manager
Mac: iMac 17-inch Intel
Switch date: March 8, 2006

Q: Why did you switch?
A: A friend at work had talked to me briefly about Mac Mini and so I fancied the idea of trying some thing new and different. So one evening I went over to Apple Store in Ibn Battuta Mall and bought my self a iMac.

Q: How did you find the Mac to start with?
A: Setting up was a piece of cake ! Just taking my iMac out of the box and connected the keyboard & Mouse. Once powered it up and turned on the’ fashionable & sexy thing’ for the first time, I was taken through the Mac OS X set up process to set up my user account painlessly. Plugging up my ADSL router, automatically detected router’s settings and configured itself to hook on to internet.

Q: What were the best things about it?
A: Simply, it’s a sleek, lovely and beautiful looking machine with an innovative OS. It has always been a pleasure and fun to work on my iMac. You got everything (software) you’d need coming with it for your family computing and home entertainment & stuff.

Q: What did you find difficult?
A: Well, in the beginning, it was mainly to get used to keyboard short cuts and that was it!

Q: Do you still use WIndows at all?
A: I have been using Mac for all my computing needs at home, including my nine year old daughter Stephanie. I don’t have PCs at home. However, at work; yes I use windows.

Q: Would you ever switch back?
A: I’ve been a home PC user since mid 90’s and discovered the Mac only last year and I wish it had been a much earlier; so I don’t think I’d go back.

Q: What would your advice be for other Windows users considering switching?
A: Just go for it ! I’ve had my lovely iMac since March last year and in the beginning I purchased and installed antivirus software, because of my unpleasant experiences with Windows previously. With Mac, I can’t believe no viruses, no trojans, no adware and no spyware. I think, this alone should be reason enough to switch from Windows to Mac!

Review: All in one server with iTools 8

iTools from Tenon Intersystems is an all in one server package for Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server. Tenon says it’s “web hosting control panel software”. In iTools you find everything from Apache web server, PHP, Perl, MySQL 5, PHP5, Tomcat, WordPress, and more, all accessible through a control panel like interface. There is so much I can’t list it all, but rest assured, that pretty much anything you would need for a web server is in iTools. We installed iTools 8 on a G4 Mac mini with 1GB RAM and it installed without problems. Since there is so much software and options, we focused on setting up some basic MySQL and PHP functionality. Getting that up and running was really easy, and configuration is a breeze too with everything available in a nice interface. You can download iTools and try it for free for 14 days which should be enough to find out if it’s a solution that fits you. The different system and applications in iTools are open source and freely available. Then you may ask “why should I pay money to Tenon?” I think the simple answer is to save you time and effort, and thereby money. What Tenon has done is put this selection of various applications together, made an interface for it all, and made it accessible. I could download all these applications individually and configure them individually. Undoubtedly that would give me more control but it would also take more time. I think there’s a definite niche for iTools, and in the price of iTools is included help and support from Tenon to get you up and going, but for some potential customers, the price is going to be too high. Tenon provided a temporary license for iTools for this review.

Price $349
From Tenon Intersystems
Distributor Tenon Intersystems
Web http://www.tenon.com/products/itools-osx

by Magnus Nystedt

Review: Airport Extreme Base Station 802.11n

Arguably the most important news about the updated Airport Extreme Base Station is that it now supports 802.11n, making its top speed a lot faster than on the previous model. According to Apple, it boasts about five times the speed and double the range of the previous model. To get the better speed you obviously have to have an all-802.11n network. Even though it is 802.11n, it’s backward compatible with earlier Airport (802.11b) and Airport Extreme (802.11g). The look of the Airport Extreme has changed, and it’s now reminiscent of the Mac mini and Apple TV but with an all white plastic case. On the back we find the connection for the networking connection, and three 10/100MBPS Ethernet ports to which you can attach additional computers. There’s also a USB port which can be used to share an external hard drive or a printer, over a local network. The hard drive sharing is the easiest way yet from any manufacturer to share storage over a network, but it’s an all-or-nothing sharing. You cannot control the access to and sharing of individual folders. When it comes to security the new Airport Extreme supports WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2 encryption methods, as well as older WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). We recommend you stay away from WEP when at all possible. The 802.11n upgrade of the Airport Extreme Base Station is a very solid upgrade to what was already one of the best wifi access points on the market. With faster networking, disk sharing, and more, this is a highly recommended product. Yes, there are cheaper 802.11 base stations from other manufacturers, but Apple has the most stylish one, and arguably the easiest to set up and administer.

Price 899Dhs
From Apple Inc.
Distributor Apple IMC ME
Web http://www.appleme.ae

by Magnus Nystedt

What is Bonjour?

Bonjour is Apple’s name for something called Zeroconf, short for Zero Configuration. It’s what’s referred to as a service discovery protocol and it’s widely used in Mac OS X and applications running in Mac OS X. Zeroconf technoloy is used by devices and software to enable them to automatically discover one another on a local network. This enables users to set up and configure networks and services without having to first set up servers.

Among the most common uses is for computers and printers to find one another and for computers to establish file sharing between one another. It is also used by common applications like iTunes to shared music, iPhoto to shared photos, iChat to chat, and more. Also, Safari uses Bonjour to see if there are any web servers on the local network. If we put it in simple terms, Bonjour makes it possible for computers and other devices connected to a network, to be automatically configured for that network, “see” each other, and connect and communicate. With traditional networking technology, a knowledgeable user had to configure the connection, set up special servers, like DHCP and DNS, or set up each computer’s network settings by hand, which is a tedious task. With Bonjour that’s not necessary because it automatically create a usable IP network without configuration or special servers. This allows non-expert users to connect computers, networked printers, and other items together and they should work automatically. This is a very Apple-like technology, making something complicated totally transparent to users. And really all Bonjour does is announce to the local network what devices and services are available, it doesn’t add any new services to your Mac, for example. Whatever networking services that are already enabled are with Bonjour more easily found by other devices and users. Something Bonjour doesn’t do is announce your Mac to the internet. Bonjour’s original nameback in 2002 was “Rendezvous”. In 2003 a company sued Apple for trademark infringement which led to a settlement in 2004 and in 2005 the new name was announcement. Another thing that’s really good is that Bonjour works on other operating systems than Mac OS X. Apple made the source code of the core components of Bonjour available as open source. From that users can build the required software to “speak” Bonjour for a wide range of platforms, including Mac OS 9, Linux, BSD, and Windows. In fact, Apple provides a user-installable set of services called Bonjour for Windows. You can read more about Bonjour on Apple’s web site (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/bonjour) where you can also download the Bonjour client for Windows (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/bonjourforwindows.html).

by Magnus Nystedt

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