Apple has a page on their support Web site detailing how to properly care for a PowerBook that is required reading for all PowerBook owners – because most people never even touch the manuals. It’s mostly obvious stuff like “Avoid getting moisture in any openings” and “Do not spray liquid directly on the screen,” etc. but there are a couple of gems in there, like “Always leave space around your power adapter. Do not use this equipment in a location where airflow around the power adapter or computer is confined.” This is spot on. My 65 watt AC adapter got solar hot recently when it was wedged between the pillows on my couch for about an hour.
One they forgot to add: “PowerBooks don’t like coffee.”

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Use the Linux kernel framebuffer to display graphics — and discover the alarming truth behind the framebuffer’s so-called “standard” mode. This article shows you how to make efficient, direct use of the framebuffer to display JPEG files. Read More…

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TechRestore (a PowerPage sponsor) announced a free overnight pickup service for PowerBook and iBook repairs. Part of TechRestore’s PowerBookRestore overnight repair and upgrade program the new service offers PowerBook and iBook owners in the continental United States a “no cost” solution to have their machines delivered to TechRestore for repair. You can choose from a priority 24-hour turnaround service for US$79 or 48-hour turnaround service for US$49. Completed repairs are shipped back via overnight delivery for free.

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According to the Associated Press Judge S. Lark Ingram has blocked a laptop computer program in Cobb County because “school officials did not tell voters they what they wanted to do with a special sales tax approved by voters.”
The original plan included US$76 million for technology and school officials estimated they would spend US$32 million on 30,000 computers for students and tens of millions more to “refresh” equipment, such as printers and servers. Part of the tax money was to be used to buy every teacher in the school system a computer.
After voters approved the tax, the school system came up with a new plan that could have eventually distributed 63,000 Apple iBook laptops to all teachers and all students in grades six through 12.

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Recent headlines blare that Microsoft has forged a new “alliance” with Hollywood, but what does that mean for people who use or create software and hardware that works with Microsoft products?
Seth Schoen, EFF’s staff technologist and resident expert on “trusted computing,” attended this year’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) to find out. In a four-part series of updates on Microsoft’s security and lockware strategy for Windows, Schoen explores the implications of the latest developments on your ability to control your own computer, create or use interoperable products, exercise your fair-use rights, protect your privacy, and maintain computer security. (Source: EFF)
Read More:
Part 1: “Microsoft Trusted Computing Updates”
Part 2: “The Dangers of Device Authentication”
Part 3: “Protected Media Path, Component Revocation, Windows Driver Lockdown”
Part 4: “Microsoft Sells Out the Public on CGMS-A”

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Imagine that every time you printed a document, it automatically included a secret code that could be used to identify the printer – and potentially, the person who used it. Sounds like something from an episode of “Alias,” right?
Unfortunately, the scenario isn’t fictional. In an effort to identify counterfeiters, the US government has succeeded in persuading some color laser printer manufacturers to encode each page with identifying information. That means that without your knowledge or consent, an act you assume is private could become public. A communication tool you’re using in everyday life could become a tool for government surveillance. And what’s worse, there are no laws to prevent abuse. (EFF paper: “Investigating Machine Identification Code Technology in Color Laser Printers“)

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An article in Home Theatre Magazine “Brighten Your Daytime Viewing” goes into detail on a new technology that promises to offer up ten times higher contrast in front-projection televisions in daylight and ambient light…

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Yahoo! Inc. has acquired Konfabulator, a Mac and Windows application that allows you to run small programs (affectionately dubbed “Widgets”) on your desktop. The best part is that Konfabulator is now FREE, whereas yesterday it was US$19.99. I’ve used and advocated this useful application for years and wish them all the best in their new home.
It should be noted that Konfabulator is a great alternative to users of Mac OS 10.3.x (Panther) that like to use desktop widgets but don’t want to spend US$129 on Mac OS 10.4 just to get Apple’s Dashboard look alike app. Apple took a lot of criticism for the similarities when they announced their Dashboard application that ships for free with Mac OS 10.4 Tiger.
To celebrate the announcement, download a copy of Konfabulator (ahem, Yahoo Widgets) and force Apple to keep innovating Dashboard.
My current favorite widgets are:
- The Weather
- Stock Ticker
- Maps (Doppler radar for your area)
- BBC News RSS
- myFark Newsreader
- Philly Traffic
- Simpsons Quoter (Homer: Operator! Give me the number for 911!)

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ComputerWorld: Massport, the state agency that runs Boston’s Logan Airport, is telling Continental Airlines to shut down the free Wi-Fi service it offers customers. The airline now wants the FCC to weigh in on the matter…

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One of the most frequently requested items on our iTunes and iPod wishlists is gapless playback. Gapless playback is the ability to playback a song in iTunes without the annoying gaps that Apple introduces between tracks (even when the “gap between songs” is set to “none.”)
Wandering Focus has posted an iTunes Gapless Audio Tutorial that describes how to copy a CD (with live material, for example) to a single AAC file with embedded Track info for duplication with iTunes or listening truly gapless on a modern iPod.

iTunes 4.9 introduced “Enhanced Podcasting Technology”. iTunes also has “Audiobook Technology”. This technique involves combining the two. Your resulting file will benefit from both. For example, images could be placed in the file (covered elsewhere) that change as the tracks/chapters do (like enhanced podcasts), and listening position is stored (like an audiobook).

Features include:
- All-in-one file
- Skip >> or < < to next track in iTunes, iPod, or CD burned!
- True gapless listening experience
- Great solution for dealing with live material
- iTunes DAO/TOC solution
- Remember last listening position
- Change Listening Speed

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