Apple has been very good to people recently. For instance, offering firmware upgrades to the Airport Extreme Base Station that now give it the ability to use Time Machine with an AirPort Disk attached to it - something many people said would never happen as “greedy” Apple would want people to buy their Time Capsule hardware.

So, what have people turned to in order to get outraged with Apple? Well, it’s Apple pushing Safari onto poor, innocent Windows users.

When I ran Apple’s update application on my wife’s Windows PC, it came up with the option to install Safari. It wasn’t forced on me - just suggested. I know my wife would still be using Internet Explorer if I hadn’t downloaded Firefox for her years ago. So, assuming that there are many Windows users like my wife, who wouldn’t even consider looking elsewhere for an alternative to Internet Explorer, I think it’s totally fair for Apple to suggest one.

The people they are offering Safari to are already Apple software users (iTunes/QuickTime) and with the iPhone using Safari too, one could argue that the more people who are given the opportunity to use Safari, the better.

So, how do you feel on the matter? Why not leave a comment on the Mactropolis Forums and let the community know.

written by Mike Bradbrook \\ tags: Apple, iTunes, Quicktime, Safari, Windows

As a former PC guy (I had used PC’s for many, many years) I thought I should write a little article on why I appreciate the mac so much. Below are the top 10 things I appreciate most about the mac setup.

1. The Products Work
I’m no tech genius, and have never claimed to be. For years I had worked in a PC environment with other techs that would help solve problems day in and day out. I was getting tired of it. I wanted to be able to solve my own problems, but better than that, I wanted a system that wouldn’t produce these problems in the first place! I found that with my first mac. Turn it on and it works.

2. Troubleshooting Isn’t For Geeks Anymore
Almost anyone can troubleshoot a mac. Why? Because setup and installation of absolutely everything is easy. If something goes wrong, just refer to your user guide that came with the software or hardware. You’ll find that over time and you become more proficient with the mac, you can do more and more things as well. ‘Cool’ things that are not necessary for the average user, but once you learn them you might want to give them a try!

Continue reading »

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Cinema Displays, Time Machine, Windows

With Macs getting more popular and Apple recently announcing that 50% of people buying from an Apple Store are buying their first Mac, there’s great opportunity for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) over whether the Mac OS is a safer platform than Windows. I have lost count of the number of people who cannot believe Macs aren’t plagued with spyware and viruses.

To me, that sounds like a great opportunity for companies to prey on that FUD and sell overpriced products that cannot compensate for bad human behavior such as opening email attachments and visiting “dodgy” websites (e.g. porn, piracy, gambling and serial-number providing ones).

Yes, the Mac’s inbuilt firewall is crap but does that mean we need to spend loads on a third party software firewall? Maybe, if you are often out and about and therefore not being protected by an encrypted wireless network, but otherwise a hardware firewall such as a router is what you should be using anyway.

Do we really need to spend money protecting from Mac viruses and spyware when there are none? We have a couple of trojan horses out there, but remembering to only download from reputable sites and not running as admin will protect us from them.

This subject has sprung to my mind because of the release of SubRosaSoft’s FileDefense. Maybe we need this type of product but with their website linking to “relevant press articles” such as CNet’s “OS X security just not there yet” and the Washington Post’s “Anti-Virus On A Mac?” I get the strong impression they are just feeding on people’s FUD.

Your thoughts?

written by Mike Bradbrook \\ tags: Antivirus, Mac OS, Spyware, Trojan Horse, Windows

Apple recently alerted iPod Video owners about a discovery they made. They discovered that less than 1% of Video iPods available for purchase after September 12, 2006 left the manufacturer carrying a Windows virus.

The virus in question is RavMonE.exe, and only effects Windows computers.

All iPod Video units (and all other products in the iPod family) are now shipping virus free.

Even though the number of infected iPod units is quite small (only 25 cases have been reported) this is still quite surprising to me. You’d think this kind of thing would be caught by someone down the line before the product hits the shelves.

For more info and for virus removal instructions, click here.

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPod Video, Virus, Windows