Re: A convert to Apple says thanks

I want to thank everyone who responded to my long list of
questions in the thread "A convert to Apple needs friendly
advice", and apologise for not replying earlier, but the
sheer volume of responses was a surprise to me. Clearly, Mac
users are as friendly as RISC OS users; perhaps more so. :-)
I have a few follow-up questions:

<aside>
Oh dear, I must apologise for what follows. I thought I'd only
respond to a few points and that this would more easily be
packaged into a single post. Halfway though I realised it was
getting too long and cumbersome, but by then it was too late.
Please just trim anything you're not interested in. Thanks.
</aside>


In article <gHlRe.99780$G8.63425@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Bob Wardrope <newsbybobwar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> AIUI you would hit the region change wall without hacking the drives
> firmware, which would probably invalidate any warranty, IMBTAUW.
[snip]
> I don't think bt is standard on all portables, IMBTAUWA.

I have a list of 1185 acronyms but cannot find IMBTAUW or IMBTAUWA
anywhere in the list. http://www.acronymfinder.com/ doesn't know
them either. Please would you enlighten me. Thanks.


In article <pan.2005.08.31.17.31.57.585295@xxxxxxxxx>,
Giles <usenet.giles@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 18:22:37 +0100, James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > Susie wants to be able to play DVDs (from various regions).
> > Will an iBook allow that, or is it limited to just one region?
>
> Pass. It used to be that you were limited to 5 changes.
> I'm not sure now, but there is an application called VLC
> player that doesn't care about regions.

Where can I get VLC?

> Scanners in particular are limited, you'd need to check
> with the manufacturer. However, scanners without existing
> drivers *may* be supported by an application called Vuescan.

Great. Do you have a URL for Vuescan?

> MP3 players? Tricky. Obviously iPods, I think the others usually
> load as mass storage devices, but no iTunes integration.

Not being familiar with iTunes, I'm not sure what "iTunes
integration" actually entails. Isn't it possible to upload
individual iTunes-sourced songs in MP3 format to any MP3
player of your choice?

> In my experience, Bluetooth is fine and usually easy to
> configure and use. Phones aren't all supported, at least
> as far as syncing address and calender details, there is a
> list on the Apple site under iSync,

Yes, I think I found the list you mean here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html
but it doesn't seem to list my phone (Samsung D500), or any
others by Samsung. Am I out of luck?
Maybe I can't sync addresses or calandar events, but surely
I can upload MP3s and download photos from the phone.
Can anyone reassure me, or guide me on this?

> > Can anyone claim success at getting VoIP to work, and how
> > tricky was it to set up?
>
> Skype. Very easy. There may be others, or audio over iChat

Skype isn't an open protocol, so I'm wary of it.
iChat would be better I think. Does iChat audio make a direct
and private connection between two end users, or does it
require the use of a server somewhere? How about typed messages?
Forgive my ignorance, I've never used IM, IRC, ICQ, AIM, or any
of those kind of things. In fact, I'm only just aware they exist.

> No spyware is known of in the wild.

Wow, those NSA and GCHQ hackers must be really good then. ;-)

> Graphics - Photoshop, but also GraphicConverter - superb
> shareware - and the Gimp via X11.

If I'm going to get the Macromedia Suite for my web development
work, I probably can't justify spending money on Photoshop given
that I shall have Fireworks. I've not used Fireworks before
but I assume it's equally capable.

GraphicConverter might be worthwhile though. What's the URL?

Does X11 come preinstalled on Tiger, or do I have to visit
Fink or Darwinports?

> Apache is included, but not Apache 2, that is an install away.

I'm not sure what Apache 2 would give me that the earlier
version doesn't. This probably means I won't need it.
Correct me if you know otherwise.


In article <1h268ps.1xpddyq9rn1gfN%NEWS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Roger Merriman <NEWS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > What about wireless ethernet (Wi-Fi)? Which 802.11 standards
> > are supported? Is there anything proprietary or even just quirky
> > about MacOS Wi-Fi? Can I assume 11g frequencies and speed are
> > fully supported, or is it still only 11b? Are the 11X
> > authentication mechanisms supported, and the 11i encryption
> > protocols such as TKIP and especially CCMP (AES)? If not, how
> > soon can I expect these standards to be supported?
>
> yes apples airport ie wifi supports wpa2 ie so TKIP and AES
> encription its whats i have running here on my wee network.

You're the first person to confirm that MacOS X Tiger supports
AES encryption (a.k.a. CCMP encryption). Nobody else I've asked
has been able to answer that question. TKIP is usually the best
encryption available because it will work with the RC4 processor
implemented in hardware on most current 802.11 interface cards.
Only if the Airport Extreme built-in to the iBook has a hardware
AES processor can the much better CCMP encryption be used at a
sensible speed. How certain are you that this is the case?

I've asked two Mac owning friends of mine to check whether
CCMP/AES encryption is supported, but neither of them were
able to find any reference to either of these acronyms where
they expected to find them. When I visited the Apple Store
I also failed to find them in the system settings, but then
my unfamiliarity with the system may mean I was looking in
the wrong place. Where do you set the encryption to use?

One of my friends said that they never changed any settings
on the Mac when they set up their home wireless network.
They simply turned on wifi and accessed their router's
config via a web browser. They claim the Mac did the rest
automatically. I find this hard to believe, though, because
surely the pre-shared key would have to be entered on the
Mac somewhere, and the Mac must have a setting for which
encryption protocol to use. If it didn't, then someone
could just set up a rogue access point providing WEP only,
and thus capture any sensitive traffic they desired.
I cannot believe that Apple would have left such a gaping
security hole, so there must be a setting for it.

I am in the final stages of choosing an ADSL wireless router.
CCMP support seems to be quite a new thing and thus still quite
rare on these devices. I need to know whether it's worth
struggling to find one that *does* support CCMP. If MacOS
doesn't currently support it, and the iBook's built-in
Airport Extreme doesn't even have the hardware AES processor
necessary, then I might as well go for the nicest TKIP
supporting router as they are more widely available and
full featured at a reasonable price.

Can anyone help me find something concrete to confirm that
the iBook actually does support CCMP/AES encryption?
Either something in writing on Apple's site, or the precise
location of the appropriate setting in MacOS itself. Thanks.


In article <slrn.2005-08-31.17-20-02@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Ben Shimmin <bas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > I am a London based Linux and RISC OS user who is in need of a
> > new laptop and I've heard good things about MacOS-X.
>
> For what it's worth, I have a very similar background

Cool. Several people have said they are ex RISC OS.
I feel like I'm joining an old boys club.

> I bought a Mac because I was tired of running Linux on
> crappy x86 hardware and fighting to get things working; I
> didn't have the time to be the true computer hobbyist which
> Linux demands, I just wanted things to work.

That's exactly where I am right now.

> The Mac offered the best of both worlds for me: a pretty GUI
> and modern hardware which just works on top of a rock solid
> unix which allows me access to all the software I've been
> using for years and years. I still run Linux on my server,
> but I am happy just to use Macs as my desktop machines now.

That exactly where I hope to be soon.

> There're also ports of a huge amount of open source software.
> See <URL:http://www.darwinports.org/> <URL:http://fink.sf.net/>
>
> The former is slightly more BSD in concept, the latter
> more Linux (you can even use apt-get). Both more or less
> work, though, despite my Linux tendencies and the fact
> that fink should feel like Debian, I generally find
> Darwinports works better for me.

Can you elaborate on that a little? What is it about
Darwinports you prefer?

> There's nothing to stop you having both, though, since
> they install stuff in different places.

Is that because they deal in different classes of software, or
are there some bits of software you can get from either source?
If so, then doesn't the fact that they install in different
places, mean there is an incompatibility between them? Can you
help me understand the subtleties please?

> On top of that, you can just compile stuff and it'll work.
> I read mail and news in mutt and slrn, just like I have for
> God knows how long, and both of which compiled out of the tin.

Usenet is an important resource for me, and it'll only get
more so as I start using a Mac and bumbling my way around.
Is there a nice GUI newsreader supplied preinstalled with MacOS?
I see that many of you are using MacSOUP; is this considered
the best newsreader? What others should I consider?


In article <BF3BB01E.EEB4B%chrisridd@xxxxxxx>,
Chris Ridd <chrisridd@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > Susie wants to be able to play DVDs (from various regions).
> > Will an iBook allow that, or is it limited to just one region?
>
> All commercial DVD playing software limits you to one region.
> (The software lets you switch regions a maximum number of 5
> times, and that's that. You can often find unofficial firmware
> updates on the net that get around this limitation.)

You say "software" and then you say "firmware" which leaves me
confused as to where the code to block region changes is actually.
Is the block within the DVD drive itself or in the player
software supplied with MacOS?

> > Are the 11X authentication mechanisms supported,
>
> The 802.1X config panel lists these authentication mechanisms
> (it calls them protocols): TTLS (MSCHAPv2, MSCHAP, CHAP, PAP),
> TLS, LEAP, PEAP and MD5.

I'm pretty sure that's *all* of them. :-)

> > And now for a philosophical question: Coming from a RISC OS
> > background with some experience of Linux, I am acutely aware
> > of the importance open source, open file formats, and open
> > protocols. I naturally *hate* Microsoft
>
> Ugh, you're an open source zealot.

Sorry, but I like to have control of my own data on my own
computer, and I don't like to see anyone locked in to a monopoly.
I especially dislike having my hackerish nature suppressed by
having to work in a closed system, so I'm always careful to make
technology choices that give me the greatest freedoms.

> MS *can* make good software.

Yes, I expect they do, at some level anyway. But my objection to
them has more to do with their business practices and technology
lock-in rather than the objective quality of their software.


In article <1h26f9z.pfh569l088mcN%peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Peter Ceresole <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > I've heard that it is possible to get a three button mouse
> > for the Mac but I imagine that the assignments of these buttons
> > are not well integrated into the operating system or applications.
>
> All three button mice work absolutely fine in the Mac.
[snip]
> The integration into the OS is absolutely seamless.

Well, RISC OS had a clear standard usage assigned to the three
buttons from the inception of the GUI and this meant that all
applications supported the same set of responses. I suspect that
this consistency isn't quite as prevalent on MacOS given that all
applications must work with one button mice with various modifier
keys. The mouse driver then has to emulate the modifier keys, but
some applications will use different modifiers for different
purposes. I may be wrong, but this sounds like a potential mess.

> Many of us will be at MacExpo later this year. If you fancy the idea,
> come along. We tend to meet in the morning, yawn, have a coffee, slob
> around the show, break for a local noodle bar and complaints about
> Apple, then have a proper look at the show, more coffee, solve the
> problems of the world with special reference to Macs with a sideswipe
> at the Problem of Consciousness, then go to a (probably Persian) local
> restaurant.

Sounds perfect! It would be good to put faces to names too.
What date and where is the expo?

> Keep looking here for details and cellphone numbers for the day.

I haven't been able to keep as close an eye on the group as I
would have liked. Have any plans been made so far?


In article <1h2b5l0.gt4xniuz4rcoN%southend.unitedfc.5.lukebosman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Luke Bosman <southend.unitedfc.5.lukebosman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor wrote:
> >
> > is it more like RISC OS where nobody can remember the last
> > time a virus was even seen?
>
> Hey, I can. My A3000 was infected by a virus in 1996.

And the virus was probably written back in the eighties.

> I configured my three-button mouse such that the middle
> button was a control-click (brings up contextual menu) and the right
> button was a command-click (selects multiple, non-contiguous items).
> That suited me, as an ex-RO user fine.

Sounds just right for me too. Thanks for the tip.

--
James Taylor, London, UK PGP key: 3FBE1BF9
To protect against spam, the address in the "From:" header is not valid.
In any case, you should reply to the group so that everyone can benefit.
If you must send me a private email, use james at oakseed demon co uk.

.