OS X 10.7.3 is huge, but what's in it?

Have you downloaded OS X 10.7.3 for your Apple Mac yet? If you haven't, let me warn you that it is a huge update. It is a humungous 1.34Gb, which has to be a third to half the operating system when you compare it to the size of the download when you get Lion from the Mac App Store. It makes you wonder what is in it doesn't it?

There is a page at the Apple website that lists all that is new in 10.7.3, but it is hard to see how it requires 1.34Gb. It seems to contain a lot of little bug fixes, some of which you may have come across, but others you won't. It contains Safari 5.1.3 and browser upgrades are always useful though.

Somewhat irritatingly, the update adds support for a collection of foreign languages you don't use. Couldn't foreign language support be an option? What is the point of OS X 10.7.3 adding Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian language support to my Mac when you don't use any of them?

You could always download the latest version of Monolingual and delete all those languages. The software doesn't say that it works with OS X Lion, only OS X up to Snow Leopard, but many people have tried it and report that it works fine. Some users say they have removed over 1Gb of foreign language files from their Mac. (Many applications contain foreign language support files, so it's not just OS X.)

A bunch of security updates are included in OS X 10.7.3 and you can see them here. When you think of security problems, you automatically think of Windows and how insecure it is, but if you read the security fixes listed in the Apple document it shows that the Mac has lots of security issues itself. For example, 10.7.3 fixes "Visiting a maliciously crafted website may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information," also "Viewing a maliciously crafted image... may lead to...  arbitrary code execution," and "Playing maliciously crafted audio content may lead to... arbitrary code execution," and "Viewing a maliciously crafted movie file may lead to... arbitrary code execution," and so on.

Basically, websites, images, music, movies and documents can all cause code, possibly malicious, to be executed on the Mac. This is just the tip of the iceberg and the page listing the security updates is long and detailed. It appears that the bulk of the 1.34Gb OS X 10.7.3 update is Apple fixing a large number of serious security flaws. Despite its large size, it is therefore well worth downloading and installing.

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Problems connecting to a shared printer

An odd situation arose yesterday regarding connecting to a printer attached to a computer on my home network. The computer was running Windows 7, the printer was an HP DeskJet 3050, it was plugged in using a USB cable and the printer was set up as shared in Windows 7. Everything was correct and working fine.

I wanted to print from another computer on the network, an old one that was running Windows XP. I went to Printers and Faxes in the Control Panel, clicked Add a printer, chose to browse for it on the network and the Windows 7 PC was there. The shared devices on the Win 7 PC could be seen and the printer was added. Fine.

The problem occurred because there were accounts on the XP PC for others in the household. You can't add a shared printer for everyone to use, you must log on to each user account and add it all over again. I logged off as me, logged onto my wife's account and tried to add the printer. Although I could see the Windows 7 PC, I could not see any shared devices. There was no printer. I logged off, logged back on as me and the printer was there, log off, log on to my wife's account and it wasn't.

I logged off and logged on as one of my kids. (Everyone's account is an administrator as is common in XP in case you were wondering.) I went to Printers and faxes, clicked Add a printer, selected browse on the network and there was the Windows 7 PC and the shared printer.

This was odd. My account and my child's account could see the shared printer and add it, my wife's account couldn't.

One of the strange things I have noticed with XP (and possibly Vista and 7) is that not all accounts are created equal. Here were three admin accounts, two of which were fine and one that wasn't. My account was the first one created and is the one I use when installing software. It has few problems and always seems better than the others. The question was, what was the difference between my wife's and my child's accounts?

One difference was that my wife's account had a password and my child's didn't. I took the password off my wife's account in Control Panel/ User Accounts and magically it could see the shared printer on the Windows 7 PC on the network.

Why would having a password on your account stop you from seeing and connecting to a shared resource on the network? That's bizzarre, but it's what happened and removing the password solved the problem.

Whenever you are doing anything that involves the network, such as connecting to shared resources, installing software that uses the internet and so on, you should always disable all security. The firewall is an obvious thing to disable of course, but it seems that you also have to remove the password on your account too. When everything is set up and working, you can enable the security again.

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iPad textbooks - not such a good deal?

In an earlier post I wondered why publishing companies would be so willing to sell $50 - $100 educational textbooks for $14.99. A post on Mashable explains why this isn't as good a deal as it seems.

I won't go into all the details because you can read it for yourself. A lot hinges on who owns the iPad and the textbooks. If schools had to buy an iPad for every student so that they could use textbooks purchased from the iTunes store then it would cost $27 billion, calculated by multiplying the number of students in the US by the price of the iPad. Bear in mind that iPads will last four or maybe five years, so this is a recurring cost for schools too. It seems unlikely to happen.

Who owns the textbook on the iPad? This is where it gets interesting. Apparently, a textbook has to be linked to a student's own iTunes account. So although the school may purchase it, only the student it is linked to can use it. This means that each year the school has to buy a whole new set of textbooks for the new students coming through.

With traditional paper books the student hands in the text book at the end of the year and the teacher hands them out next year to the next lot of students. This is why publishers can afford to sell iPad textbooks so cheaply. A paper book gets re-used year after year whereas an iPad textbook has to be purchased new every year. Over four or five years it can actually work out more expensive for schools to purchase iPad textbooks instead of paper-based text books.

I knew there had to be a reason why iPad textbooks were so cheap. It seems that publishers aren't so stupid after all. They'll actually make more money on textbooks than text books.

It will be very expensive for schools to buy iPads and textbooks, which could prevent them from becoming as successful as Apple would like everyone to believe. I think the main benefit will be for children of well-off parents with the money to buy iPads and textbooks for all their children. I can't see schools footing the bill.

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Why buying over the net isn't much fun

There are lots of great online stores offering a wide variety of goods from electrical goods to fresh food. Although there are many fantastic bargains to be found and savings to be made, the one major flaw with them is the delivery of the item you have purchased. It's a pain.

Today is delivery day and the item I have ordered, a new wireless router, is due to arrive. The company has given be a delivery time of 7am to 6pm. Does it really think I'm going to get up at 6.50am just in case it comes early or stop in the house for 11 hours on a weekday when I'm supposed to be working?

I can't change my routine just to please the delivery company. I have things to do, places to go, people to see and so on. If I'm in when it arrives then great, but if I'm not then it means the parcel will be taken back to the local sorting office. Tomorrow (yoiu have to wait 24 hours before going to pick it up) I'll have to drive all the way across town through the traffic to get it and then drive all the way back again. It's really frustrating.

This is why I often don't mind paying a few pounds more for some things and buying in the high street. At least I get the item there and then and don't have to wait two weeks only to be out when it comes. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to narrow down the delivery to a morning or afternoon?

Parcel tracking is only partly helpful and I know, for example, that it was logged as being in my town's postal depot at 03.59 this morning. It doesn't tell me when it will arrive at my home. It could be in a van and on its way by 8am or it could sit there for 12 hours and go out late in the afternoon. Who knows? I'm not going to sit at home and listen for the doorbell all day.

Is internet shopping really progress? I long for the good old days. If only the item had been available at the local computer store. It's a 10 minute drive. I could have been there and back in 20 minutes and have the device up and running in half an hour.

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Skype update brings new features

If you use Skype to keep in touch with friends, work contacts and distant relative you should check for updates because there are new versions for both Mac and Windows.

Version 5.8 for Windows and 5.5 for Mac were released a few days ago. There aren't any huge differences in the new versions and some features are only useful if you buy Skype credit, but it's always useful to keep up with the latest developments and every update is an improvement to this useful program.

The Windows version number is greater than the Mac one and it seems that new developments are always made on Windows first and then the Mac follows some time later. It's a bit irritating if you use the Mac and I was on 5.3 and have only just upgraded to 5.5. Even 5.5 on the Mac doesn't appear to have as many features as Windows 5.5 though. The interface is slightly different and the left panel in Windows has tabs for Facebook and recent activity, a Voicemail menu item and so on. Surely it wouldn't be difficult to make them the same? And why is Edit Profile and Edit Mood Message not on the Edit menu, but on the File menu? Surely the Edit menu is for editing things?

Anyway, back to the updates. The new Mac version has a slightly updated interface and it looks better and is easier to use than the previous version. Select Contacts and the tags are shown across the top and you can select them to show just those contacts, such as those online, your Facebook contacts, Address Book contacts, groups you have created yourself and so on. On the Home screen you can show Skype, Facebook or all contacts, and see Facebook posts. You can post to Facebook from within Skype making it easy to chat to non-Skype friends. Apart from the user interface tweaks, there is increased video stability and quality, the ability to accept voice or video calls, easier microphone control and more. They are all small tweaks, but they are useful.

Version 5.8 for Windows brings group screen sharing which allows up to 10 people to view the same screen, although you do need Skype Premium rather than the free version. This means that you can share photos and presentations more easily with the updated version. You can hide offline Facebook contacts and just see who is online, there is support for full HD video calling, support for video and audio calling in Facebook, and support for Bing Bar. There is also push-to-talk. Game players asked for this feature, so when you are playing a multi-player game you can press hotkey to turn the microphone on and say something to your mates.

 Go and get Skype, it's free.

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2012 security threat report

Sophos has posted an interesting item on its website, the Security Threat Report 2012 and it is worth spending a few minutes reading it. Apparently commercial software kits are available to create malware and the increasing availability means that people are more easily able to create viruses, Trojans, rootkits and other undesirable infections.

Everything we do these days involves the web and so criminals are increasingly using this to target people. Sophos reckons that there were an astonishing 30,000 new infected URLs every day in the last half of last year.

The Conficker worm is thought to have infected 11 million Windows PCs, but the main reason for this is that people aren't using Windows Update to download and install all the latest updates and security patches. Update Windows, install a decent security program and you're protected. How hard is that? Yet millions of people don't and that's partly why Windows malware spreads so widely and so fast. If you think you may have this infection then there's a free removal tool here.

Fake anti virus programs used to be rife, but they are in decline. When you are browsing the web you may see a page or a pop-up that says your PC may be infected with a virus or it might offer a free scan, which then says you're infected. You are then offered an anti virus program that will clean up your PC - for a fee. Never install any anti virus program this way, you'll regret it. The fall in numbers of these may be due to successes in catching the perpetrators or maybe people are just getting wise to this con trick.

Sophos said, "In June of 2011, the FBI busted a cybergang that tricked nearly a million people into buying its fraudulent software. The fake antivirus software ranged from $49.95 to $129 apiece, and the scam netted more than $72 million."

Last year the Rustock botnet was taken down. It had the capacity to send out 30 billion spam emails a day! That's an incredible number. When it was shut down spam dropped by 30%. It was sending out emails trying to sell Viagra and other pharmaceuticals.

There are many more interesting fact and figures in the Security Threat Report 2012 so go and take it look. It's worth a read.

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What's wrong with Facebook timeline?

Facebook timeline is basically a new way of displaying the information you have posted on the social networking website. Up until now only the most recent messages, comments, status changes, photos and other wall postings could be viewed. You could see the last dozen or so and then there was a link at the bottom of the page to get another dozen. It was possible to go back a week or even a month, but it wasn't practical to go back any farther and see what had been posted. Timeline lets you browse your whole Facebook history so you can view anything from any time since you joined the service. What's wrong with that?

It's actually a nice idea in theory and the timeline is able to chart and document every major event in your life and Facebook becomes a sort of digital diary. It could become a valuable resource that you could look back on in years to come. Or maybe not.

The problem is that there is too much on Facebook that in years to come you will wish wasn't there. Just think, you meet the love of your life and plan to settle down and get married. Your partner will be able to browse your Facebook timeline and see every previous partner you ever had, what you did, where you went, the fun you had and so on. We all know our husband/wife had previous relationships, but it's best not to think about them. We don't want it fully documented in photos, comments and so on for all to see on Facebook.

That's just one example, and there are many more. It's not a good idea to post comments about your employer on Facebook in case the management gets to see them and doesn't approve. If you leave a job you aren't happy with you might then be tempted to say what an awful place it was to work and how you're glad you got out. A potential employer might browse your timeline and see comments like this and they might not want to take on someone that posts negative comments about the company they work for.

And every drunken party, holiday, bad haircut or fashion faux pas will be documented and stored by Facebook for everyone to see. In a few years time you may have completely changed, especially if you are young and we all change a lot from teens to 20s. You might regret all those postings in five years time.

A story in the Telegraph reports that a survey of 4,000 Facebook members found that only 8% liked the upcoming compulsory change to the timeline view, and 51% were worried by it. People have a short time in which to delete anything they don't want made public.

I would prefer a facility to delete all postings over a certain age, such as one or two years. Facebook is useful, but I would rather it displayed current content rather than things I posted years ago that might be embarrassing today. There isn't a facility to do this and you would have to do it manually. It would be a pain if you post a lot on Facebook, but it's the only way. I think I might start having a monthly clearout session where I delete everything over two years old and keep everything current.

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