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Autodesk, Inc. has announced AutoCAD for Mac software. This version of AutoCAD, one of the most widely used software for professional design and engineering, runs natively on Mac OS X and will increase choice of hardware for millions of users around the world. Autodesk also announced the AutoCAD WS mobile application, a new app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch that will allow users to edit and share their AutoCAD designs in the field. The news follows recent announcements from Graebert that its ARES Commander software is available for Mac, and Dassault Systemes' free Draftsight software, which is powered by...

Camino 1.6 Beta 4 Released! Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 2:00pm PDT by Samuel Sidler You might recall that we released Camino 1.6 Beta 3 only two days ago. Unfortunately, we discovered a crash related to clicking on Camino 1.6 Beta 4 contains the same enhancements as Camino 1.6 Beta 3; you can read all about those features in the Camino 1.6 Beta 3 post. Camino 1.6 Beta 4 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or higher.

The Following looks to be a fair head-to-head comparison of equivalent the new MacBook Pro 17" Laptop with a custom configured (to match the stock Apple as closely as possible) Dell Inspirion E1705 17" Laptop. Read the System Shootout FAQ before proceeding! • All images and logos are copyright (c) 2004 the respective companies. Date Configured: 4/24/06 Best of Field(in my opinion) Apple 17" MacBook Pro (stock model) Dell Insprion E1705 (with add-ons) Dimensions: 160 cubic in. 15.4" x 10.4" x 1.0" 280 cubic in. 15.5" x 11.3" x 1.6" Weight: (all bays filled) 6.8 lbs 7.9 lbs. Battery Life:...

Viruses that aren't viruses. Hysterical reports that equate Mac OS X security to Windows. Media reports about Mac OS X "worms, trojans, and viruses." Totally unsubstantiated reports that Mac OS X can be "hacked in under 30-minutes" (the lack of proof screams for attention). Which, of course, is the headline that's blared. Why all of this noise about Mac OS X and "security issues" lately? I'll tell you why: Microsoft and their parasites are getting nervous. Market share is increasing for Apple Macintosh. The Windows platform means billions of dollars to Microsoft and companies built and run around Windows' deficiencies....

Let me address the inevitable "Ubuntu vs. OS X" comparison. The thing that surprised me most about using the PowerMac was not that OS X's UI was better than Ubuntu's, which I have known for quite some time having used both regularly, but how small that difference really was. As I said, OS X's UI is a step up from GNOME's. However, I wouldn't say it is in a completely different league. In terms of the fundamental UI elements, GNOME is extremely competitive.

Apple is planning to release its first entry-level iBook laptops with Intel processors next January at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, highly reliable sources have confirmed to Think Secret. It is not known exactly what processors or price points the new models will debut at, but it is thought Apple will expand the iBook line with one additional model and will lower prices—in some cases possibly $200 or more—to entice current Windows users and prove to the market it will be more competitive with the likes of Dell, Gateway, HP and Sony.

Successful assaults by viruses and other malware on the Mac operating system are rare as it has better security and attackers are less keen Ilya van Sprundel writes: In this article about the Mac Mini (see BW, 2/14/05, "And For Steve Jobs's Next Trick...") you say, "The Mac does have inherent security advantages, and it is much less prone to the sort of mysterious glitches that often make Windows a challenge." I was wondering what "inherent security advantages" OS X has and why it is "much less prone to the sort of mysterious glitches." The only reason I can think...

VS. This site attempts to bring some objectivity to the OS wars by comparing over 100 topics relating to Mac OS X (10.4) and Windows XP (Home and Pro). . . .

Ignoring threats of a lawsuit (or perhaps encouraging the publicity), an Apple Computer-focused Web site called PowerPage reported Tuesday that the maker of the iPod Mini and Mac Mini is prepping a diminutive laptop. Saying it has received "details of a secret development team planning specifications for the release of a new mini laptop," PowerPage reports that the machine will run a skinny version of Mac OS X, which includes handwriting-recognition capability. Such a product would not be out of step with Apple's direction. Not only has the company previously produced a similar product, the Apple eMate 300, but it...

About a month ago, I compared the cost for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) desktop, server and laptop products to their nearest Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) equivalents (see Macs Are More Expensive, Right?) and discovered that Macs generally cost less than comparable PC products. That was a bit of surprise, but the truly astonishing thing that came out of the comparison was that Dell's product line extends marginally below Apple's at the low end, but has nothing to stack up against Apple's 17-inch Powerbook, X-Serve/X-RAID combination, or Cinema displays at the high end. Bottom line: when you upgrade the PCs enough to allow...

The latest OS X update will have an innovative new search tool that prowls through your files -- and it hints of better things to come Over the years, secretive Apple (AAPL ) CEO Steve Jobs has announced so many surprises during his keynote speeches at the semiannual Macworld confabs that it's a bit of a disappointment when he doesn't have some shocker. Yet, Jobs left everyone hungry for more after his talk at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 28. No eye-catching update of the long-in-the-tooth iMac was unveiled, as many analysts hoped. Heck, after hearing a smattering...

Windows is more secure than you think, and Mac OS X is worse than you ever imagined. That is according to statistics published for the first time this week by Danish security firm Secunia. The stats, based on a database of security advisories for more than 3,500 products during 2003 and 2004 sheds light on the real security of enterprise applications and operating systems, according to the firm. Each product is broken down into pie charts demonstrating how many, what type and how significant security holes have been in each. One thing the hard figures have shown is that OS...

A U.S. Army contractor has purchased a $5.8 million, 1,566-server supercomputer from Apple Computer, a real-world cousin to an academic system that briefly appeared high on a list of the most powerful machines. In November, a machine called System X with 1,100 dual-processor Power Mac G5 workstations climbed to third place on the Top500 list of the most powerful supercomputers. On Monday, Huntsville, Ala.-based Colsa announced it's buying a larger system called MACH 5 to run Army simulations of the aerodynamics of flight much faster than the speed of sound. System X, which vanished from the most recent list for...

An Open Letter from the USENIX Association Regarding SCO's Position on Open Source Software The SCO Group, Inc. (SCO), has recently sued IBM and Novell and launched broad attacks on the legality of and the economic justification for so-called open source licensing, including the free licensing of Linux (see SCO's open letter to Congress). As an organization dedicated to advancing the skills and contributions of computer researchers and developers, the USENIX Association is compelled to address and refute the position SCO has taken regarding open source software. USENIX is sending this letter (PDF) to Congress. SCO letter link http://www.osaia.org/letters/sco_hill.pdf Usenix...

Linux: Twelve Steps to Desktop DominancePosted on Monday, July 22 @ 18:24:33 EDT by staff by Lou Grinzo While I normally turn a cold shoulder to all those increasingly arcane ways of dividing people into two groups we keep inventing, there's one that I think holds the key to Linux's prospects for success on the mainstream desktop. The first group thinks Microsoft's virtual monopoly of the mainstream desktop is a Very Bad Thing For Everyone, and that the contender with the best chance of ending that monopoly and restoring genuine choice is Linux. This group also believes that Linux...

Copyright Linux Magazine ©2002 FEATURE The Importance of Being Debian Why you should care about Linux's great non-commercial distribution by Robert McMillan Eight years ago, as Purdue undergraduate Ian Murdock flipped through a Unix magazine, he came across an intriguing advertisement. It was for a Linux distribution that promised to let you run your Windows applications on the free operating system. Linux had sprung into existence a scant year before and now -- according to the ad -- it could support Windows applications. This seemed too good to be true. It was.The distribution in question -- Murdock no longer remembers...