You may not remember the name of the security software that
played a huge role in The
Net, the 1995 Sandra Bullock thriller, but our own Dan Bashur
did, posting a note about it to our Facebook page
last weekend. Maybe you've guessed by now - it shares a name with a new
OS X 10.8 feature: Gatekeeper.
Instead of providing security against malware, the fictional
Gatekeeper instead provides a back door to any computer on which it is
installed, as intended by the cyberterrorists behind it. I'm sure that
Apple's choice of a name is merely coincidental. I certainly hope it
is!
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News & Opinion
News & Opinion
It's Relatively Easy to Install Mountain Lion on
Unsupported Macs
Hardmac's Lionel reports that he's successfully installed OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on a Core 2
Duo MacBook that is officially unsupported based on Apple's list, using
a a procedure similar to
the one described by Jamie Cruickshank and used for the Mac Pro
2006.
Lionel cautions that with the lack of drivers for the GMA X3100
graphics processor, there is no accelerated graphics, but he will try
to find some workaround, possibly grafting in the driver from Lion, and
if that works he'll publish the procedure in detail.
Publisher's note: OS X Daily has a
report of Mountain Lion installed on an even older MacBook, one
with GMA 950 graphics, along with instructions on how to do it
yourself, stating, "Not only does OS X 10.8 run on the old MacBook, it
reportedly works very well and with full graphics acceleration." You do
need a supported Mac to make this method work. dk
Link: It's Relatively
Easy to Install Mountain Lion on Non-Supported Mac Models
Dropbox: 'A Feature, Not a Product' (but What a
Useful Feature!)
Yankee Group blogger Pim Bilderbeek notes that the late Steve Jobs
told Drew Houston, founder and CEO of Dropbox, "You're a feature, not a
product."
Dropbox was a feature Jobs very much wanted, but Houston turned down
his offer, so Apple went on to create iCloud, which Apple positions as
a feature. But, says Bilderbeek, "Dropbox is a product for those that
want their cloud content synchronized independent of device, operating
system and browser vendor."
Editor's note: I am a big Dropbox fan. I can't imagine how I managed
without it, and it's become a structurally key element of my workflow,
by which I synchronize and access work in progress among my three Mac
laptops and my iPad 2. iCloud, not so much, although that's a partly
vicarious observation. My iPad will support iCloud, but I've been
sticking with OS X 10.6
Snow Leopard on my newest (Late 2008) Intel Mac laptop,
and the other two are PowerPC machines running OS X 10.4 Tiger. While iCloud
requires OS X 10.7 Lion or
iOS 5, Dropbox supports all four devices, including the two ancient but
still very useful and serviceable Pismo PowerBooks from 2000, and
it works reliably and flawlessly on all four. cm
Publisher's note: I'm in the same boat. My production Macs are a
2002 Power Mac G4 running
OS X 10.4 Tiger, a 2001 Power Mac G4 running
OS X 10.5 Leopard, and a
2007 Mac mini - my only
Intel-based Mac - running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Thanks to
Dropbox, not only can I sync files on these three Macs, as well as
others should I feel the need, but I can also make old freeware and
shareware apps and utilities available for download that are otherwise
difficult to find. All this for free and with no need to deal with
OS X Lion. Even though I can't use Apple's iCloud feature on my
Macs, since I have no need for Lion, I can use Dropbox. dk
Link: You're a Feature,
Not a Product
Mountain Lion Will Be Available Only at the Mac App
Store
Pocket-Lint's Stuart Miles says Apple has confirmed that OS X
Mountain Lion, will be available only via the Mac App Store when it
goes on sale this summer.
That means Apple has finally abandoned all forms of hard media to
distribute its operating systems and is likely to spell the end of the
CD or DVD for software in the future as well. Miles notes that the Mac
App Store is now the home for all Apple software, as well as for
software from companies such as Adobe and Intuit, and that Apple has
confirmed to Pocket-lint that customers were not remotely interested in
the USB drive offering, commenting , "It was an interesting test, but
it turns out the App Store was just fine for getting the new OS."
The new OS, which has been released as a developer preview, is
expected to be available for customers at a yet unspecified date
sometime over the summer.
Editor's note: D'ya think the failure of the USB drive Lion
installer might have been due to it costing costing twice as much as
the download? cm
Link: OS X Mountain Lion
Will Be Mac Store Only, Apple Tells Us USB Key Will Not Be
Available
Messages Beta Available for OS X 10.7.3
PR: OS X
10.7 Lion users can download Apple's Messages beta and get a taste of
what's coming in OS X Mountain Lion. When you install Messages, it
replaces iChat. But iChat services will continue to work. And Messages
brings iMessage to the Mac, just like on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
running iOS 5.
Here are the features you can expect with Messages:
- Send unlimited iMessages to any Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch
running iOS 5.
- Start an iMessage conversation on your Mac and continue it on your
iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
- Send photos, videos, attachments, contacts, locations, and
more.
- Launch a FaceTime video call and bring the conversation
face-to-face.
- Messages supports iMessage, AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, and Jabber
accounts.
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.7.3 or later
Link: Messages
Beta
Messages Beta Will Stop Working When Mountain Lion
Launches
The Register's Anna Leach reports that the beta build of Apple's new
Messages app for Macs, released as a free download last Thursday, will
self-terminate unless you buy Mac OS X Mountain Lion when it comes out
in the summer.
"So," Ms. Leach warns, "don't get too used to it if you're not going
to upgrade your operating system," noting that a French blogger spotted
the beta app's expiration date in the software code of the
download:
"Thank you for participating in the Messages Beta program. With the
inclusion of Messages in OS X Mountain Lion, the Messages Beta program
has ended. To continue using Messages, please visit the Mac App Store
and purchase OS X Mountain Lion."
Link: Apple's Messages
Beta Will Self-Destruct on Mountain Lion Launch
Gatekeeper in OS X Mountain Lion Is Cause for
Worry
AppleTell's Patrick Lutz says if
you've checked out the new features to be included in OS X Mountain
Lion, you know about Gatekeeper, the new security system that prevents
users from unintentionally installing malware. This new system
basically keeps apps that weren't downloaded from the Mac App Store or
an identified developer outside of the App Store from launching unless
users change Gatekeeper's default settings to allow them.
Lutz observes that with Gatekeeper, Apple is ramping up emphasis on
having OS X apps distributed more within the Mac App Store rather than
through outside sources - albeit in the name of security - noting that
Apple will be imposing these limitations (and your ability to change
them) within System Preferences under Security & Privacy, in which
you'll be able to manage all of Gatekeeper's settings.
Users can bypass the Gatekeeper check (for now, at least, as
Mountain Lion is only in developer preview and Apple can easily change
this), but while Lutz appreciates Apple's efforts to fight against
malware in OS X, he wishes they'd take a different approach, contending
that telling users that they want them to only go through Apple's
approved channels for their software is a pretty scary move that has
him a bit worried.
Editor's note: Me too. cm
Link:
Gatekeeper in OS X Mountain Lion &emdash; Why It Has Me
Worried
Security Experts Suspicious of Gatekeeper
The Register's John Leyden notes that security watchers are
expressing reservations about whitelisting security that Apple plans to
integrate with OS X Mountain Lion this summer with a feature dubbed
Gatekeeper that restricts installation of downloaded applications based
on their source.
Leyden notes that while that's a laudable aim from a system security
perspective, there may be less palatable consequences, notably that
Gatekeeper could be a step along the road to making OS X as closed to
unapproved developers as iOS is already, making it, ironically, a bit
of a Trojan itself in another, more traditional context. To wit,
extending the garden wall to surround OS X by stealth.
Leyden cites F-Secure security advisor Sean Sullivan commenting that
it's not much of a reach to imagine revoking third-party peripheral
drivers in order to "secure" the Apple user experience on Macs, and
observing that while Gatekeeper is being touted as offering "More
control for you" - "I keep reading it as: more control over you.
By 2014, I expect somebody out there will be jailbreaking their
Mac."
And apparently Gatekeeper "security" is pretty leaky as well.
Link: Security Biz
Scoffs at Apple's Anti-Trojan Gatekeeper
The Tools You Need to Repair a Mac mini
Amsys' Russell Harris says that one of the most important day-to-day
tasks for Apple Certified Macintosh Technicians (ACMT) is making sure
you have the correct tools to carry out repairs at hand. With the vast
range of models, knowing what tools to set out for each repair isn't as
easy as it sounds. Over the coming weeks, Harris will take brief looks
at the list of tools required for Qualified Technicians to repair each
Mac model, starting with the Mac mini.
He notes that most of the tools needed are available from most
hardware/DIY stores, although a small range are Apple specific tools
that can be purchased direct from Apple.
You may find the need for some additional tools, which are optional,
but Harris lists the minimum required to do the full range of
repairs
Publisher's note: The Mac mini has some very small, easily lost
screws. Be sure to keep track of them! dk
Link: How to Repair a
Mac mini: The Tools You Need
Apple Extends Mac App Store Sandboxing Restriction
Deadline to June 1
AppleInsider Staff report that Apple yet again extended the deadline
for developers to make their applications compliant with the new Mac
App Store sandboxing restrictions, moving it back to June 1. The
previous deadline was March 1.
Link: Apple Extends Mac
App Store Sandboxing Restriction Deadline to June 1
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