Re: A convert to Apple says thanks

In article <1h3dh3h.11w4fnqrl5tlkN%usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Woody <usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> James Taylor <spam-block-@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Isn't it possible to upload individual iTunes-sourced
> > songs in MP3 format to any MP3 player of your choice?
>
> Indeed it is (unless they are from the applestore,
> in which case they wouldn't be mp3s and would be drm'd)

So, by implication, I deduce that there are other online music
stores that iTunes can tap into which do not supply the music in
a DRMed format. Why does anyone bother buying music from the
AppleStore if they are restricted in which MP3 player they can use?
Artificial limits are a dirty, almost Microsoftian, thing to do.
What are Apple doing?! ...apart from making money hand over fist.

> > Skype isn't an open protocol, so I'm wary of it.
>
> It does however work rather well

Yes, and its prevalence means I shall need it anyway, but it's
important to support open standards too.

> > 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?
>
> It is direct, allthough it isn't an open protocol either.
> you have to find eachother through the server though.

Which server? Or can either end client be configured as a server?

> > How about typed messages?
>
> through a server.

A particular server? Or any server supporting a particular
protocol? Which protocol? Can either client act as that server?

> > 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.
>
> http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/wireless/2003/12/18/wap.html

Actually, that makes no mention of the AES/CCMP encryption I'm
interested in. It doesn't even mention WPA2. However, after
searching, I did find this which seems to confirm what I needed:

http://wireless-starter-kit.com/airportblog/archives/2005/09/wpa2_support_in.html

> > 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?
>
> No.

Shocking! Not even a console based one?

> > I see that many of you are using MacSOUP; is this considered
> > the best newsreader? What others should I consider?
>
> Stepping on holy war territory there :-) We have that argument every
> month. To save the war, do a google group search over the last month
> or two and you will see the options.

Well, I was hoping you'd mention a few names so that I could know
what to search around for. I typed "news" and "usenet" into
VersionTracker and came up with the following list. I would be
very grateful if you could eliminate any that are clearly not
contenders for best news reader and leave me with just two or
three to focus my continuing research on. In particular, I would
prefer a good MacOS native GUI newsreader with plenty of
convenient mouse and keyboard shortcuts for speeding through
the large volumes of news I read. Thanks for your advice.

MacSOUP
Hogwasher
MaxNews-X
NewsWatcher-X
MT-NewsWatcher X
Newsflash
NewsHunter3
NewsHunterFREE
OSXnews
Unison
tin
iGrabNews
Mozilla


> > In article <BF3BB01E.EEB4B%chrisridd@xxxxxxx>,
> > Chris Ridd <chrisridd@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > 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.)
> >
> > Is the block within the DVD drive itself or in the player
> > software supplied with MacOS?
>
> The firmware of the physical player. The software in the player
> lets you change the region in the firmware until the firmware
> doesn't allow it anymore.

If the block is in the drive firmware, then surely VLC is going
to hit that too. How does VLC get around this?

> > 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.
>
> You are wrong. The left button is the button, the right button is
> the context menu and the middle button is application defined.

Well, I'm obviously not wrong if the behaviour is "application defined".

> The mouse driver isn't modifying keys, there mouse buttons are
> supported by the OS, with key modifiers that work as well.

Really, so right-click, ctrl-click, and ctrl-right-click are
three completely distinguishable input events as far as each
application is concerned?

> > In article
> > <1h2b5l0.gt4xniuz4rcoN%southend.unitedfc.5.lukebosman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> > Luke Bosman <southend.unitedfc.5.lukebosman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > 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.
>
> In which case you will need a separate application to configure the
> buttons, as that is not the standard behavior

Would that necessarily be USB Overdrive http://www.usboverdrive.com/
or might I need something else if I were using a Bluetooth device?

--
James Taylor, London, UK PGP key: 3FBE1BF9
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