(ps. I Run my Phone’s browser in DEV mode which is why you see the 21 messages)

CNET had a nice tidbit on this and I wanted to share. If your running IOS4, you can, per device, choose to opt out of sending Apple info about your iTunes account.  Yea the ads will be less targeted, but who cares?  An app will of course broadcast it’s own name if its supporting ads, but they will not know what other aps you own, music you have, what you play frequently etc.

To opt out, simply navigate to the following link on your iOS 4 device: https://oo.apple.com/
If you receive an error message, “Unsuccessful Opt Out”, you may need to wait a few hours and try again.

[Source]

Recommended install process:

1. Test to see what version you have. http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/155/tn_15507.html
2. Goto: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ and download the installer and save it to your Desktop.
3. Download the uninstaller from Adobe and run it FIRST.

[Source = http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/141/tn_14157.html?promoid=DTEGO]

The following information is from the ^ABOVE^ link.

How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control

Note: Visit the Adobe Flash Player Help and Support page for help with top issues.

You can uninstall the player only by using the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller. Follow these steps to download and run the appropriate uninstaller for your system:

1. Download the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller:
   • Windows: uninstall_flash_player.exe (226 KB) (updated 06/10/2010)
   • Mac OS X, version 10.4 and above: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (238 KB) (updated 06/10/10)
   • Mac OS X, version 10.3 and below: uninstall_flash_player_osx_10.2.dmg (1.3 MB) (updated 05/27/08)
   • Mac OS 8.x, 9.x: uninstall_flash_player.hqx (33 KB)
2. Save the uninstaller file, choosing a location where you can find it – your Windows Desktop, for example. Macintosh users may need to open or unstuff the .hqx file.
3. Quit ALL programs. Check the Windows system tray to make sure no programs are still running. If any programs are using Flash Player, the uninstall will complete but some files may not be deleted. These programs can include web browsers such as Internet Explore, instant messaging clients such as AOL Instant Messenger, stand-alone SWFs, and projectors. If you mistakenly leave any program open, close all programs, and run the uninstaller again.
4. Run the uninstaller. This will remove Adobe Flash Player from your system.

NOW RUN THE INSTALLER FOR 10.1, and then restart your PC/MAC.

Finally………..

*** Dont forget to adjust the storage and data settings for FLASH***
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager.html

Flash 10.1 Release notes (PDF link to Adobe).

…Now you are GOLDEN. you rule……  =;¬)

Adobe Flash Player
The Flash Player 10.1 Release Candidate available at http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/flashplayer10/ is confirmed not vulnerable.

Adobe Reader and Acrobat – Windows
Deleting, renaming, or removing access to the authplay.dll file that ships with Adobe Reader 9.x and Acrobat 9.x mitigates the threat for those products, but users will experience a non-exploitable crash or error message when opening a PDF file that contains SWF content.

The authplay.dll that ships with Adobe Reader 9.x and Acrobat 9.x for Windows is typically located at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader 9.0\Reader\authplay.dll for Adobe Reader or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 9.0\Acrobat\authplay.dll for Acrobat.

Adobe Reader 9.x – Macintosh

1) Go to the Applications->Adobe Reader 9 folder.
2) Right Click on Adobe Reader
3) Select Show Package Contents
4) Go to the Contents->Frameworks folder
5) Delete or move the AuthPlayLib.bundle file

Acrobat Pro 9.x – Macintosh

1) Go to the Applications->Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro folder.
2) Right Click on Adobe Acrobat Pro
3) Select Show Package Contents
4) Go to the Contents->Frameworks folder
5) Delete or move the AuthPlayLib.bundle file
Adobe Reader 9.x- UNIX
1) Go to installation location of Reader (typically a folder named Adobe)
2) Within it browse to Reader9/Reader/intellinux/lib/ (for Linux) or Reader9/Reader/intelsolaris/lib/ (for Solaris)
3) Remove the library named “libauthplay.so.0.0.0″

[Source]

Nice write up on Valve Software Steam client for the Mac by Brad over at Macrumors.com

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Looks like a ceramic glass backing, which Apple did have a pattent application for a few years ago as it allows radio transmissions, and the possibility of a user replaceable battery which would be a first.  Again these are rumors, and the pic and info came from MacRumors.com.

I think this is great news as it expands the PC (Mac or Windows) platform, which is up against consoles.  Hopefully if the codebase is equal, Mac/PC users can play online together, which is what it should be.  More online players is a good thing IMHO.

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Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April.

“As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.”

“Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac,” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. “Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”

“We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. “The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows.”

Portal 2 will be Valve’s first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. “Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.”

[Source]

Key Features:

* The latest Kaspersky Lab anti-virus technologies for ultimate protection
* Real-time scanning of files, Internet downloads and mail attachments
* Protects you from passing PC malware from your Mac onto PCs on your network
* Small, frequent updates for always-on protection
* Fast and non-intrusive with only 1% CPU impact on Mac performance
* Familiar, customizable Mac-type interface and operation
* Special safeguards to prevent Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac from being compromised

General Requirements:
Intel-based Mac computer (PowerPC processor not supported);
512 MB free RAM;
80 MB free hard drive space;
Mac OS X 10.4.11 operating system, or higher.

Operating System:
Mac OS 10.4.11 or higher

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Actually Kaspersky is a solid app on the PC, and I have used it on XP, and Vista and always liked how it worked and how easy it was to turn off.  The fact they are pitching this as an app to really help prevent Windows Viruses from spreading is a much more honest approach and the price seems to match the fact that there are less threats on the Mac platform at this time.

1 Mac, 1 year $40.

3 Macs, 1 year $60.

I’m going to find out how it runs on a system, how much processor cycles it really uses, if there is a kernal extension (surely there must be), etc and share with you all.  Its actually in our favor to have these options, especially in mixed network environments, and from my own personal use of Kaspersky products, I would say the app should do what it says.  Just hope they wrote it and they didn’t sub it out to a different team.

I have been holding on the iPhone OS 3.0 as I had heard 3.1 caused more battery drain, but in order to make the MMS piece happen I had to update (iTunes 9.0.1, and the phone os 3.0.1, and then my ‘Carrier Config’).

Good news is, it all works.  I backed up my iTunes BEFORE the update.  Ran the update with my PHONE UNPLUGGED, then plugged in the phone, updated it to 3.0.1 then it said I had a ‘Carrier’ update which is the config file for the ATT network.  To confirm that your device is ready, go to Settings > General > About. Your carrier version should be ‘AT&T 5.5′.

When I goto MESSAGES I now have a new icon on the bottom:

If you type your text then hit the camera icon it adds an image from your library or one that you take to the same text message and then you can send it.

Sent it to a friend in NYC to see if it plays nice with ‘other’ carriers.  Have not yet tested it with other iPhone users, but will report back.

iTunes 9.0.1 fixes include:

• Resolves issues browsing the iTunes Store.
• Addresses a performance issue where iTunes may become unresponsive.
• Fixes a problem where iTunes may unexpectedly quit.
• Fixes a problem syncing Podcasts in playlists to iPod or iPhone.
• Fixes a problem sorting albums with multiple discs.
• Addresses an issue with the Zoom button not switching to Mini Player.
• Improves application syncing for iPod touch and iPhone.
• Genius is now automatically updated to show Genius Mixes.

[Source]

“With the Domain Helper service we are testing now, we will instead help direct your Web browser to an easy-to-use page with suggestions and links to get you back on track. We also provide a seamless search experience on this page, which is powered by Yahoo!, so you can find relevant search information, or simply perform another search.”

White paper Comcast submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force, an open international community of experts concerned with the evolution, architecture and operation of the Internet, for comment and review.

Its in place by DEFAULT, and you can test it by going to the URL field and typing something incorrect.  You will be taken to a comcast page with suggestions, etc.

If your like me, you don’t want another layer of DNS, and the GOOD NEWS is you can easilly opt out.  If you go online, it tells you to login using your comcast account.  I have NEVER USED a comcast account, dont have one, because I have always had my own domains.

Luckily I got a hold of a friendly, assertive tech on the phone named, Ian, and he said the Dev’s game them a tool to remove accounts based on Modem ID so all you have to do is: Call them(1-800-266-2278) and request to be removed from the Comcast Domain Helper Service.  All I had to do was reboot the modem, router and release and renew network settings, and done.

[Source 1, 2, 3, 4]

WebGL is an open source initiative to bring 3D graphics to your web browser without any plugins (Flash, etc.) and has the ability to use your video card for acceleration.  HTML5 + “defining a JavaScript binding to OpenGL ES 2.0″.  The idea could really take off if Chrome, Firefox and Safari sync up.  All have committed to WebGL support.  Who knows about IE, but based on their choice to not support open standards as well as the others, they might adopt it late in the game with some add-on.

Being able to play OpenGL games in your browser would open up to gaming developers an entire range of players.  We have Battlefield Heroes, but thats ONLY on the PC and is Direct X, not Open GL.  But thats the idea here.

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