July 2006 Archives

There are several ways to launch programs in Windows.  Most Windows users are accustomed to launching programs via the Windows Start menu.  Specifically:

Start > All Programs or Start > Programs

On Wednesday July 19, 2006, Apple released financial results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter which ended July 1, 2006.  Apple posted revenue of $4.37 billion US and quarterly profit of $472 million equating to $0.54 on a per share basis. Gross margin checked in at 30.3 percent an increase from the 29.7 percent in the year-ago quarter.  The quarter ranked second best in the company's history, the second quarter in a row with that performance.

Computer users who are looking for a secure operating system need not look further than Mac OS X.  In a prior post, I described the Key Isolation Features in Mac OS X.  In this post I'll describe how Apple ships every Mac with default out-of-the-box security.  I will then outline some hardening tasks one can undertake to a make a Mac more secure.  The goal of this post is to describe to those not familiar with OS X how secure a Mac is and can be.  For those tired of viruses, spyware, malware, and security vulnerabilities, the inherent security features in Mac OS X could be reason enough to provoke the decision to make the switch.

In a blog post on July 13, 2006 at Symantec's website, Symantec states the following:

"Let’s start with the hot-button issue of Mac OS X viruses. Simply put, at the time of writing this article, there are no file-infecting viruses that can infect Mac OS X"

One of the first things that a Windows convert needs to learn about quitting an application in OS X is that a simple close of an application window does not actually quit the application. In the default Blue OS X theme, windows have red, yellow, and green droplet-like buttons in the upper-left corner.

Wouldn't it be grand if Apple included a Windows Migration Assistant in Leopard that could intelligently facilitate the switch and make it so easy that Windows users wouldn't have difficulty moving their files over to a Mac?

A story posted on Yahoo Finance via Investor's Business Daily describes how a June 2006 survey by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence demonstrates that consumer interest in Macs is spiking.  The survey also shows that consumer interest in computers made by Dell is falling.

Good news for those of you who are interested in making the switch but are unable to test out Apple's software.  Apple has posted tutorials that do a great job demonstrating the features of the applications in Apple's award winning iLife suite.  You'll be able to view tutorials in addition to step-by-step instructions for iPhoto 6, GarageBand 3, iTunes, iMovie HD 6, iDVD 6, and iWeb.

According to Market Share, Apple computer's Safari Web browser has grown over 65 percent year-over-year between June 2006 and June 2005.  Safari still checks in at number three on Market Share's list of the most used browsers.

Sophos, a leader in integrated threat management solutions, is recommending that home computer users should consider making the Switch to a Mac.  The experts at SophosLabs demonstrate in the Sophos Security Threat Management Report (July 2006) that security threats to Windows based PCs have increased to such a degree that users should consider purchasing a Mac.

Apple has released an Education only version of the popular iMac computer and has removed the eMac.  The new iMac for is immediately available for education customers through the Apple Store for Education.  As with all newly released Macintosh computers, the new education iMac also comes with a built-in iSight video camera and iLife '06.

The Command key (also known as the "Apple" key) is probably the most important key on the Apple keyboard as it's leveraged for numerous keyboard shortcuts.  It is referred to as a "modifier" key.  There are two Command keys on the Apple keyboard to accomodate both left and right handed users.  You'll find one on each side of the spacebar.