Community Blog

There are two words that for me will forever sum up 2007 on the NZMac.com website. I know you're probably expecting me to say something like iPhone and Leopard, but the two words I'm about to use couldn't be any further from the Mac or Apple-related field. 2007 will always be about two words I never expected to utter on this site - Russian Porn!

It has been a heck of a year (more on the porn later) and an amazing struggle financially, with NZMac.com never coming closer to being closed down than it did this year. It's disappointing that with the exception of the actual site users and a group of 4 regular advertisers on this site, NZMac.com gains little advertising or support within New Zealand from Mac-related companies. It also disappoints me that in order to develop a birthday event, I ultimately had to turn (with a couple of exceptions) to support from software companies overseas.

In fact, sitting on my desktop here at home is the HTML file that was an intended announcement of the possible closure of the site. I drafted it in September and showed it to a couple of friends. It wasn't a happy time. But I want to post a quote from it here as I hope it can help you understand both the financial struggle and the conflict I felt in trying to make a decision.....

NZMac.com is my baby ...I'm exceptionally proud of it and have always been happy to incur those costs because of the opportunity to build a great site that so many of you use and support. The fact that it is about to appear in a book published internationally on the Joomla open source content management system means I must be doing something right...right?

But I have to be realistic. I have to realise that is it getting to the point that NZMac.com is close to becoming too much of a financial strain. After almost 5 years, it frankly upsets me to say this...but it's starting not to be fun any more...at least that is certainly how it has felt over the last six months.

So this is probably a good point to mention the russian porn as it sets the scene as to the events during that time and explains the above comments. Here's what happened....

On christmas morning 2006 I got up and checked the site and the new comments system that I had installed. The comments system has a feature (now long deactivated) called "Trackbacks". It's a great idea in principle...if a site links to one of your articles NZMac.com 'senses' it (I'm trying to be non-technical here folks) and lists that site as a return favour. It was a way for both sites to promote each-other automatically. Great!

Only, what I discovered is that my trackback listings were littered with links to porn websites due to poor spam protection on the component at the time (and my limited understanding also I think). These sites had taken NZMac.com links, placed them on their site momentarily, thereby creating a complimentary trackback link on NZMac.com to their porn automatically. As one amusing user said in the forum, I probably asked Santa for a pony and he'd mis-read it as porn :-)

I quickly de-activated the system and deleted the links, but then the site started to be hit with links trying to trigger more trackbacks and therefore get more porn links listed on the site. And when I say hit, I mean 1000s of requests per minute at some stages. The site went offline for the first time and the very reputable company I had hosted with (and all my clients do still) suspended my account. After figuring out an initial way to block the attempts, the site re-opened.

Only the first approach failed...and the site soon took the server offline and every site and client of the hosting company on that server. So the next step was to look at the IP (Internet Protocol) addresses for where the machines were located that were hitting the site....and that's where Russia comes in. The hits were coming out of Russia in a staggering wave. So, the next step was to block IP addresses. This again failed in the way that I did it, as the addresses still had to be processed...in other words, the website still had to deal with each request and say "sorry, no, you're blocked"....so I was finally kicked off my host and it was suggested I go to a VPS (Virtual Private Server) situation....at a considerable increase in cost.

{xtypo_quote_right}...my monthly bill (paid in USD) for running NZMac.com now stands at more than 4 times the amount I was paying at the beginning of the year. I hope the US dollar stays weak for some time!! Now do you see why it has been a tough year?{/xtypo_quote_right}Like a technician gone bad, I completely ignored that suggestion, mainly because of the huge cost and effort that it was going to require....and found another host (this time in NZ and with servers here also) figuring they would be more willing to block IP addresses from Russia at a server level. Well...I lasted about 4 days with that company. Their server was hit by these URLs and they were very reluctant (and rightly so) to block these IP addresses for one user on a server shared by others. They politely asked me to leave (yes, really) so it was time to go to VPS.

VPS has been the solution, but not without a lot of technical work (thanks to my superb hosts at RimuHosting.com) and extra costs. You wouldn't know it, but the site continues to be hit from Russia still, but blocked at a higher/better level. The technicians have never seen anything like it (a 'Denial of Service' attack is the best way to describe it) and there are some rogue servers obviously out of control and not being monitored. I do not believe it is an intentional attack on the site, just one heck of a technical fault that we can't seem to get anyone in Russia to take note of, despite trying.

It has meant a lot of hard work and time spent learning things I never wanted to understand, like Linux, terminal commands, apt updates/upgrades etc....things that so many other people have a superb understanding and enthusiasm for. I'm not being insulting to those people when I say I have neither understanding nor enthusiasm for them....but I'm having to reluctantly dabble and buy books to read and try to comprehend.

The problem has been also that with a VPS busy blocking attacks this uses up resources, so the site struggled for a while until I spent some more money on increasing the memory in the server, which seems to have had a good effect. The way the search engines hit and trawl websites also put an incredible strain on server resources (we all love Google, but their trawling of the site really has an impact).

VPS is effectively a system whereby I get part of a real server to myself...just not the whole thing (which I simply cannot afford)...but it's still not cheap and certainly nowhere near as cheap as standard web hosting. So this has also meant that my monthly bill (paid in USD) for running NZMac.com now stands at more than 4 times the amount I was paying at the beginning of the year. I hope the US dollar stays weak for some time!! Now do you see why it has been a tough year? :-)

But a funny thing happened as I dealt with these issues and embarrassments. I started to enjoy my/our site again, and was massively appreciative of site users willing to put up with the issues. My advertisers didn't leave the site in disgust either, although financially I had to reimburse them some of their fees.

I started to look again at the discussions people were having, the help people were providing to each other (we have some amazingly talented people posting on this site!) and the emails....and they made me realise I'd miss them if I shut the site down. Instead of publishing the announcement, I decided that if I was going to keep the site going I needed to call on the people that have supported it and see how they would respond. I decided to ask the advertisers and you guys, and once again, your input, involvement and support has helped incredibly....thank you!

The latter part of 2007 has been a mass of giveaways (and more to come with the New Year competition), users contributing to the site and many of you purchasing NZMac.com coffee mugs, that have allowed me to crawl back a bit of the losses that I've incurred this year (7 mugs left as I type, although things have gone a little quiet with sales slowing). But, as I've said every year, NZMac.com runs at a loss....and none bigger than the loss this year. It has not been a fun year at all in that regard.

There are many people who deserve thanks but I want to start with the advertisers on this site. In particular, my regulars....these great people have been with me the whole year...

• Orcon
• RentaMac
• Colour Management
• ToshComputers.com

You'll note that I don't list Apple as an advertiser...they're not. Their ads gets displayed for free, but in return I'm part of the Apple Store program that sees any shopping on the Apple Store NZ that you do via the links on this site bring some commission to me. It doesn't matter what you buy on the Apple Store NZ, if you are prepared to start that shopping via this site (by clicking on an advert) their system picks that up and I get commission. It isn't a massive amount (it's late December as I type this...I signed on to the scheme in May and I just got my first cheque from them recently...sales ebb and flow each month) but every bit counts and I intend to stick with it and promote it more. This is also why I have set up the " Apple Store NZ @ NZMac.com" section to try to bring in some more commission by encouraging you to use this feature. Thank you so much to everyone that uses the scheme.

Special thanks must go to Jens @ ToshComputers, who not only advertises on the site but this year donated 90 laptop sleeves (branded with NZMac.com on them), 10 backpacks for laptops, 3 copies of Leopard and loaned me an iPhone...even going to the trouble of including a pre-paid postage bag to send it back just to save me money. That is staggering support that I have never experienced before from anyone on this site.

Thanks also to the advertisers who may have briefly appeared on the site this year or have recently signed up, as well as those companies that graciously provided software for users of the site to review or (as with the New Year contest) have provided goods to give away. To all forum contributors, blog posters and articles writers...many, many thanks! I'm hesitant to single out any one user, but I think Darryn Lowe (aka 'lowededwookie') deserves mention for his many and varied contributions around the site in 2007, from detailed reviews, great blog posts, lively discussions and help to users within the forum and elsewhere (even one article written just a couple of days ago)...and for paying full price for 2 coffee mugs when I tried to say thanks with a discount! There are many other 'regulars' who should also feel proud of the contribution they make.

Now to the year that was 2007....

It's all about iTunes...indirectly
Without a doubt, the biggest news story in 2007 was a product from Apple that is yet to be officially launched in New Zealand, the iPhone. Whilst its significance is still coming to bear, the fact that it saw "Apple Computer" become simply "Apple" shows that Apple have diversified from being solely computer focused into a 3-pronged business of Macs, iPods and iPhones.

What is even more astounding for me is that one thing stands out as the integrator between these divsions...and it's a piece of software. iTunes! iTunes is now a product that ties the Mac, the iPod, AppleTV and the iPhone together in a seamless(ish) fashion. Few would have expected when Apple purchased the software that evolved into iTunes, that it would effectively lie at the heart of the digital lifestyle for so many users, Mac and PC alike.

Other rumours circulating for 2008 are the supposed release of either a sub-notebook or iPad/compact touch-pad system from Apple that will either be a slimmed down laptop or beefed up iPod Touch depending on how you interpret the rumours. I'm not overly concerned about the notion, as I think they would be ideal in areas such as the education sector, but what does worry me is that Apple's product line is starting to get a little confusing again....like it used to in the bad old days.

Apple has long had a simple Mac product line that was 'Desktop versus Laptop' and 'Home versus Professional'. Will the introduction of a sub-notebook make that product line more confusing and complex?...although I appreciate that this has already happened in the past with the eMac, Mac mini, iPhone and iPod Touch, etc...but I hope you get the point....too confusing a product line and us end users might struggle with decisions about what to use.

NZ Macguide magazine closed
One of the most disappointing events that happened this year locally was the closure of the print version of New Zealand Macguide magazine. As a bi-monthly magazine, it struggled to keep up-to-date with news, but it was disappointing to know that it closed during a time that Mac sales were on the up, but that advertising revue wasn't.

For selfish reasons I miss the income, the software I got to review (I miss your regular visits Mr Courier man!) and the pleasure of working for a print based magazine that looked so good. Macguide has been replaced by a fairly disappointing web counterpart, that at the time of writing seems mostly aimed at generating advertising revenue. Worse still, because of the way in which all the Parkside publications have been mixed into the site, you can easily find yourself reading about cars in the midst of the site for no apparent reason. Probably the greatest loss to Parkside was Mark Webster, the editor of Macguide for the majority of its issues. Mark now runs a nice little site at www.mac-nz.com, with a link there to his news postings, as well as offering training to Auckland Mac users.

What is of more concern is that as Macs become used more in New Zealand, I can't help but feel less a part of some national Mac scene and more a tiny part of a larger international scene. By that I mean that roadshows are now long and truly gone (they were gone some time back I know), the Apple website, online store and iTunes are run out of Australia and whilst Apple pop over to launch a product now and then (for those folk lucky to live in Auckland or be able to afford to fly there), there's less local feeling than there has been for some time. I still think that New Zealand needs the likes of John Holley to tour our country evangelising and (yes Apple, there is value in this!) preaching to and supporting the converted. Being part of the global picture with our own Apple online store and iTunes is great, but where's our Apple/Mac heart based? Here at NZMac.com?? I don't think so completely....but I'm glad to be a part of that national scene and hope that I get the opportunity to experience and promote Macs more (user groups...make use of NZMac.com! Peter, let's have another conference!) during 2008.

Shiny new iMacs
August saw new iMacs in a thinner aluminium enclosure with a black surround and glossy screen. Obviously designed to remind users of the iPhone and (later) iPod Touch, these new models were well received. ...although some of us still aren't fans of glossy screens. As I write this, I am hopeful of an iMac revision at the Macworld Expo, as I always wait for the 'Revision B' models from Apple these days and I do need an new Intel iMac...so here's hoping! You can voice your predictions in the NZMac.com Forum discussion taking place.

Leopard came out - I see it as R/evolutionary
Darryn Lowe wrote a superb series of reviews for us on Leopard, in which he disagrees with Walt Mossberg's assertion that Leopard is more evolution than revolution. After reading both, I decided that they were both right :-)

Darryn's review goes into detail on many of the applications and changes within Leopard, whilst Mossberg tends to focus more on those changes, noting them more as tweaks in an ever-evolving operating system. Darryn is right to say that there is a revolution in the bundle, but on a daily basis, I use few of the applications mentioned...so in many respects, my experience is more inline with Mossberg's....the changes I see are an evolution from what I am used to. Please note - I'm not disagreeing with Darryn's assessment, I'm suggesting Mossberg's and my views are probably limited based on how we use our Macs rather than the more 'big picture' review that Darryn wrote so well.

Let's not forget
It has been a great year of new products such as the iPhone, iPod Touch, AppleTV, iLife and iWork packages...with both being delayed far beyond the timeframe we expected. We then saw the reworking of applications such as iMovie into something that has generated a lot of discussion, even on this site (see here, here, here, here and here!).

DRM-free music was a talking point over the course of the year and while Apple lead the charge early on, companies such as Amazon seemed to trump them, particularly given the fact that some of the music companies working with Amazon do not appear to be working the same way with Apple. I'm hoping that one of the Macworld Expo announcements might include the broadening of the the amount of DRM-free content on the iTunes store.

And to the future?
Apple has never been in a better position than it is now. It has achieved an elite status in three markets, with one of those (the mobile phone market) being something that they are exceptionally new to. It is to Apple's credit and an indication of the weight of Apple in the market, that it has so quickly captured the imagination of mobile phone users and that we see so many other companies working hard to keep up with Apple. Already the rumours are that Apple are going to move into other areas in the New Year, such as movie rental.

I have no doubt that 2008 is going to be a successful year for Apple and I can't wait for their New Year announcements. I also hope that NZMac.com has a successful year in 2008, as well as all its users.

Thank you all for your continued support and best wishes for the New Year.

Regards,

Philip Roy