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It's not your average cult, really. It's more intellectual, with creativity winning out over conformity. Although its philosophy is rooted in the battle between good and evil, the group even criticizes its leaders on a pretty regular basis. But loyalty to the cause is never in question. It's "The Cult of Mac," and it's actually wackier than your average cult. Really. You can read all about it in Leander Kahney's new book from San Francisco's No Starch Press. Kahney, a scribe covering Apple for Wired News, embarked on his journey to chronicle the weird world of Mac addicts last year,...

I have a problem with my Apple G3 and after a day of pulling out my hair, It dawned on me that the best place to have my questions answered is right here. I had gotten my G3 when it was brand new, than gave it to my son, who after a few years gave it to my other son. The G3 having gone full circle I have it again. The problem is I can't get it to boot, I have OSX and the update to it. When I start the system with OSX the installer never comes up, when...

Apple Computer's rack-mounted storage system received a vote of confidence Monday, with database giant Oracle endorsing the Xserve RAID as part of an initiative to cut storage costs. Oracle has identified the Apple product as one of several storage systems that would make a good low-cost alternative to the types of high-end monolithic storage systems that have traditionally been used to store Oracle databases. Additionally, Oracle is using the Xserve RAID in its own technology department to store e-mail, voice mail and calendar information. Oracle is using the Xserve RAID for a task once reserved for pricier Fibre Channel-based disk...

By Joe Cellini Nothing’s Impossible. Documents arrive at Sir Speedy in virtually any shape or format, but Sir Speedy’s response is always the same: “We can handle it.” Even on a good day, quick printing is a tricky business. Any designer or production editor at Sir Speedy’s nearly 1,000 quick print centers can tell you a story about mismatched fonts or misbegotten files — like the 12-page, 4-color newsletter generated entirely in a customer’s favorite spreadsheet application.Documents arrive at Sir Speedy in virtually any shape, size, format, medium or condition — it’s a daunting business proposition. But Sir Speedy’s...

DESIGN 2004 - 25 Best Products of the Year: Electronics: iMac G5 An engineering marvel, the new iMac tucks the computer and speakers inside the expansive flat-panel display—"an advance as welcome as the day that VCR/DVD players were encased in the TV monitor box," says Thompson. Built-in wireless technology lets you use a cable-free keyboard and mouse. Designer: Apple. Price: $1,400; apple.com

Internet Explorer users are at least four times as likely to click on Web ads than Firefox users, a German advertising technology company said last week. The company, Adtech, found that during October and November, only 0.11 percent of Firefox users ever clicked on an ad, compared with around 0.5 percent of IE users. The percentage of IE users clicking on ads varied depending on which version of the browser was being used, the company said: from 0.44 percent of version 6.x users to 0.53 percent of version 5.5 users. The survey was based on 1,000 Web sites in Europe...

We love the sound of breaking, [Eva] Glass Ron Curry was formerly on the Intel Itanium team and said that he'd talked to software ISVs about the Itanium shortly after the firm announced its plans for the chip. He said a far more interesting thing too. According to Curry, Intel's "competitor" - that's AMD of course, took advantage of the work it had done. He said that the competitor announced its move into the 64-32 arena largely based on the work Intel had done.

Apple Computer on Thursday posted security updates for client and server editions of its Mac OS X that fix 17 vulnerabilities, the second patch in the last five weeks. The flaws range from several in the open-source Apache Web server that's included with the operating system, to bugs in the bundled Safari Web browser that can be used by hackers to disguise bogus URLs and spoof dialog boxes. Although Apple doesn't note the severity of vulnerabilities--as does Microsoft, for instance--security firm Secunia, which also posted an advisory detailing the problems and fixes, labeled it as "highly critical," suggesting it should...

I have experienced a slowdown after 10.3.6 - tearing my hair out not wanting to revert to 10.3.5. OnyX - ran it many times - no joy. Finally got a tip to run it in a different mode. About OnyX... • OnyX is a maintenance and optimization tool for Mac OS X. It provides access to some hidden features of the Finder, Dock, and Safari, shows the different logs, allows removal of certain files and folders that may grow cumbersome and more... • OnyX is Freeware, gratis and freely usable; you may copy and distribute it at will. You can...

Apple Introduces “Bodyless” iMac Computer by Staff Reports The iMac G5 sets a new standard for compact desktops When the original iMac was introduced in 1998, it was praised for it’s compact design and is often credited with saving Apple. There is no doubt that it revolutionized the computer industry, as witnessed by the copycat PCs that came out. It also spurred the USB industry, and influenced many new industries utilizing translucent cases, like the George Forman Grill. In 2002, Apple reinvented the iMac, basing it on an impressive flat panel LCD, lifted over a domed base by an inventive...

Tiger Presents New Opportunities for Developers by Derrick Story 11/16/2004 I recently had a good phone conversation with Chris Bourdon, the senior product line manager for the Tiger project at Apple Computer. A few days later he was the opening speaker at the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference. In his feature presentation, "The Tiger Project," Chris provided an inside look at where the Tiger project stands now, and discussed some of its most promising technologies. For those of you who weren't able to attend the conference, I'm going to cover the highlights from his talk, plus incorporate some additional...

Deep study: The world's safest computing environment news alert London, UK - 2 November 2004, 02:30 GMT - The most comprehensive study ever undertaken by the mi2g Intelligence Unit over 12 months reveals that the world's safest and most secure 24/7 online computing environment - operating system plus applications - is proving to be the Open Source platform of BSD (Berkley Software Distribution) and the Mac OS X based on Darwin. This is good news for Apple Computers(AAPL) whose shares have outperformed the benchmark NASDAQ, S&P and Dow indices as well as Microsoft (MSFT) by over 100% in the last...

OCTOBER 26, 2004 (MACCENTRAL) - Virginia Tech's all-Mac OS X supercomputer at the university's Terascale Computing Facility made headlines last year when it was determined to be the third-fastest supercomputer in the world. System X has been upgraded to Apple Computer Inc.'s Xserve G5 server and now runs even faster, with a sustained speed of 12.25 trillion operations per second -- 19% faster than before. Apple debuted the Power Mac G5 in 2003 -- the first computer from the company to feature a 64-bit PowerPC 970 chip manufactured by IBM Corp. -- and a few customers who placed early orders...

Weird things are happening these days. The Red Sox win the World Series (in four games, yet!)—and hackers hit the Macintosh. It’s hard to say which is the stranger event. The Apple community has—since its inception—been largely immune to nefarious hackers bent on spreading harm. If you are a Windows user, as I am, you know the routine. You complain about the latest spyware or virus attack, and Apple devotees respond with good-natured teasing—they don’t have worry about such nonsense. Well, now they do. That’s not true anymore. Predictably, posts on various Apple-related message boards have been offering varying levels...

Weird things are happening these days. The Red Sox win the World Series (in four games, yet!)—and hackers hit the Macintosh. It’s hard to say which is the stranger event. The Apple community has—since its inception—been largely immune to nefarious hackers bent on spreading harm. If you are a Windows user, as I am, you know the routine. You complain about the latest spyware or virus attack, and Apple devotees respond with good-natured teasing—they don’t have worry about such nonsense. Well, now they do. That’s not true anymore. Predictably, posts on various Apple-related message boards have been offering varying levels...

PlanetOut Network SUMMARY: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (news - web sites) signed a hate crimes bill on Wednesday that includes crimes motivated by a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a hate crimes bill on Wednesday that includes crimes motivated by a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. It was the second time this month that Schwarzenegger, a Republican, signed legislation that protects the rights of LGBT residents in the state. He signed a law on Sept. 13 that required insurance companies to provide coverage to registered domestic partners. Known as the Omnibus Hate Crimes...

Apple's digital audio player becomes a fave around the globe as its functions grow For a maverick computer company struggling to survive in a world dominated by Windows-armed PCs, Apple has a smile on its face these days. The reason: The Apple iPod, the portable digital audio player that has become a colossal hit throughout the world. The iPod has become both a fad and fashion statement for music lovers everywhere, especially Generation Xers who have embraced MP3 technology and who delight in downloading music from the Internet. Recognizing the iPod's potential for data storage and its popularity with young...

I am writing these words on the most elegant desktop computer I've ever used, a computer that is not only uncommonly beautiful but fast and powerful, virus-free and surprisingly affordable. This machine takes up no more space on a desk than a flat-panel monitor. In fact, the entire computer is contained behind a flat-panel screen in a space just 2 inches thick -- thinner than most flat-panel monitors alone. Yet it houses one of the most advanced processors on the market; a roomy hard disk; a CD or DVD recorder; wired or wireless Internet connectivity; and a full complement of...

When we first saw the previous-generation iMac, with its dome base and trick swing-arm, we thought "wow." The latest incarnation of Apple's design standard-bearer, the Apple iMac G5, is no less sublime, but a lot more subtle. An iPod writ large, this self-contained iMac G5 will have you nodding your head and saying, "It's about time they designed a computer like this." Since PC Magazine's publshers, in their infinite wisdom, will not allow the posting of articles on FreeRepublic, I will just tease you with the above quotation and point you to the entire article. Five Star Review of Apple...

It has been a good year for Apple. Since the beginning of 2004, I've discussed GarageBand, AirPort Express and the latest iPod. If you go back 12 months, you can probably even throw in iTunes Music Store, the original G5 and the official release of iChat AV. This isn't favoritism, I'm just impressed. Rather than spend money on its silly "Switch" ad campaign, the company has spent it inventing actual reasons for people to switch from Windows to Mac, not least of all personal style. The iMac G5 is super suave, but it's also a pretty good deal. If you're...