Written by Benny Ling | 03 February 2012
Posted in Apple

A company called Passware has revealed they can crack Lion's full-disk encryption as used in FileVault 2 in under an hour. Their software, also by the same name, uses a FireWire connection to inspect the computer's memory in order to extract the encryption key — which can then be used to crack the password. Of course, there are several caveats to this kind of security: if an individual has physical access to your machine, you've likely got more issues to worry about. Plus, the software isn't cheap at US $995.

Mac OS X 10.7.3 has hit Software Update, which means you can update your machines at your leisure. It's a relatively minor update, but it does add support for a few new languages, as well as fix a few issues here and there. If you have a few machines to update or have been burnt by delta updates before, make sure you grab the combo update from the Apple website.

Written by Benny Ling | 02 February 2012
Posted in Apple

Apple has released a significant update to Final Cut Pro X that adds a few features in order to play catch up with some of the features requested by video pros. The second update brings the version number up to 10.0.3, but I wouldn't be fooled — the new version adds multicam editing capabilities, advanced chroma keying, and improved XML support for greater compatibility with third party plugins. Some video pros are still saying it's "too little, too late" from Apple, but if nothing else, adding such significant features means that Apple is at least trying to do the right thing.

ZFS support was slated to become a very cool new feature in Snow Leopard, but that didn't happen. Thanks to Apple's former chief ZFS architect, though, you can now use ZFS on Lion with his company's app, called ZEVO. ZEVO brings the technology of the ZFS filesystem to your Mac in a way that's entirely Mac-like; it's extremely easy to use.

Written by Benny Ling | 01 February 2012
Posted in Apple

Apple has released an updated version of their AirPort Utility for Lion, and now it looks very much like its iOS counterpart. The updated AirPort Utility for Mac brings the version number up to 6, features a new visual map of your network, and is generally a very nice upgrade. Some users may lament over the ability to see client signal strength and other detailed information such as logged data, but overall this is a refreshing updated aimed at making things more visual for users.

The Verge has a hands-on session with the MacBook Air LandingZone, a curiously Thunderbolt-less dock for the MacBook Air that was recently successfully funded on Kickstarter. The LandingZone comes in both 11 and 13-inch flavours to suit both models of MacBook Air, features two USB ports, an Ethernet port as well as mini DisplayPort passthrough, but there's no Thunderbolt port to be seen.

Written by Benny Ling | 31 January 2012
Posted in Apple

A new set of patents from Apple reveals what the company could eventually do with magnets, and what a fantastic patent it is (even if it, like most technology described in patents, never sees the light of day in actual products). Magnets could eventually be used to control ferrofluids to provide haptic feedback in keyboards, for example, or even to implement security devices using magnets. The full patent report by Patently Apple is an eye-opening read.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has called the New York Times report on Apple's supply chain "patently false and offensive", after the Times asserted that high-level Apple executives turned the other way when faced with issues regarding the treatment and conditions at many of Apple's component supplier factories. If nothing else, Apple cares about their supply chain — as evidenced by the supplier responsibility report they released not too long ago.

Written by Benny Ling | 30 January 2012
Posted in Apple

Last week Tim Cook held a meeting at Town Hall where he unveiled to Apple employees a new employee discount. The new employee discount sees Apple employees receiving a $500 discount on new Mac hardware, as well as $250 off the price of iPad. What's interesting is that 9 to 5 Mac report that the discount is on top of an already-existing 25% discount on hardware, but given the generous discount some Mac models are excluded: most notably the Mac Mini.

Just like CES before it, Macworld|iWorld has unveiled a few new products that may be of interest to Mac users. Particularly interesting is the unveiling of the Western Digital MyBook Thunderbolt Duo, an external Thunderbolt device that allows units to be daisy-chained in order to make one logical unit. What's more, the drives within the unit are user serviceable, meaning that you'll be able to upgrade or replace the drives yourself without voiding your warranty.