Tag Archives: Mac OSX

[MacOS] Firewall: Little Snitch 50% Reduced Until Feb, 3rd

http://www.obdev.at/Images/product-icons/littlesnitch-64x64.png

One of – if not even – the best firewall software for the MacOS plattform is available for half the price… Until February 3rd, 2013.

Besides the firewall features for in- and outgoing connections, it also includes a very sophisticated network monitor.

Features

  • configurable Profiles (for home-use, office-use or use in internet café)
  • inbound firewall detection
  • research assistant
  • and many more…

Pricing

  • Single user license is 15€ (instead of 30€)
  • Multi user license (up to 5 Macs) is 55€ (instead of 110€)
  • Multi user license (up t0 10 Macs) is 95€ (instead of 190€)
  • Family license 30€ (instead of 60€)

See Objective Development’s website for further details or buy here

Screenshots

http://www.obdev.at/Images/littlesnitch/index/network-monitor.png

http://www.obdev.at/Images/littlesnitch/index/profiles.png

 

http://www.obdev.at/Images/littlesnitch/index/connection-alert.png

 

http://www.obdev.at/Images/littlesnitch/teaser-3.jpg

 

 

[MacOS] MacUpdate Launched Holiday App Bundle for $49

 

 

Yeah, it was overdue already. The guys over at MacUpdate just launched their  pre-chrismas holiday app bundle. For US$49 you will get:

  • Data Rescue 3 (instead of US$99)
    One of the best data recovery tool for the Mac
  • Espresso 2 (instead of US$75)
    One of the best CSS, HTML, XML, JavsScript editing tools around
  • TotalFinder (instead of US$18)
    The Must-have tool, since Apple’s finder is really still total crap
  • TotalSpaces (instead of US$15)
    brings eventually back the grid-style spaces to OS X 10.7 and 10.8
  • Snapz Pro X 2.5 (instead of US$69)
    Screenshots and video capturing made as easy as possible
  • Mac DVDRipper Pro 4 (instead of US$25)
    Copying, Ripping and Converting DVDs made easy, in times of MacBookAirs this tool looks vintage to me ;-)
  • PopChar X 6 (instead of US$38)
    Accessing special font characters made easy, usable scenarios really unknown to me
  • MoneyWell 2 (instead of US$50)
    some finance manager, I would never use ;-)
  • Swift Publisher 3 (instead of US$30)
    never heard of that one, but sounds interesting
  • RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 (instead of US$30)
    Sim Game in Theme Park style. For those of you who have enuff time for games ;-)
  • Company of Heroes (instead of US$30)
    never heard of that one, sounds like the typical military strategy game

Anyway: the bundle makes sense at least for the TotalFinder, DataRescue, TotalSpaces and Snapz Pro. Means you can’t do anything wrong by buying it. And who knows, probably PopChar, MoneyWell and Swift Publisher might turn out to be useful aswell. The first 12,000 buyers will get Live Interior 3D for free on top (saves you another US$129)…

Get the bundle here: https://www.mupromo.com

 

[Apple] Certified Apps Only As Of Mac OS X 10.7?

According to Rixstep.com Apple plans to set up an App Store starting with the introduction of Mac OS X 10.7.

Developers planning on marketing software for 10.7 will submit their products to the App Store as iPhone and now iPad developers have already done. 10.7 will have kernel support for (‘insistence on’) binaries signed with Apple’s root certificate.

No software will be able to run on Mac OS X 10.7 without being approved and signed by Apple, Inc.

According to MacStories.net allegedly Steve Jobs has answered a direct request send to him by Fernando Valente of Chiaro Software. Valente asked him:

There’s a rumor saying there will be a Mac App Store and no software without authorization from Apple will run on Mac OS X. Is that true)

According to the mail Steve Jobs (or someone managing his email account) simply answered:

Nope.

Anyway: you cannot be sure what his answer specifically means. Probably we’re gonna need jailbreaks for Mac OS X in the near future anyhow…

[MacOS] Psystar Release Rebel EFI

As of yesterday the notorious Mac Clone manufacturer Psystar has released a commercial software called Rebel EFI. Rebel EFI prepares a normal PC to allow for the installation of Mac OS.

After downloading Rebel EFI,

[..] users simply insert a retail copy of the Snow Leopard DVD, follow the installation procedures and then install the application. The application automatically detects connected devices and downloads the appropriate drivers.

Rebel EFI features Psystar’s DUBL (Darwin Universal Boot Loader) and a Safe Update mode, that prevents users from installing updates that could break their systems. The Safe Update mode only installs Psystar approved updates.

In contrast to the EFI-X manufacturers, Psystar in the past has released several drivers for free to the OSX86 scene. The advantage of Rebel EFI in contrast to solutions like the Chameleon boot is that is already comes with an automized hardware detection and a bunch of downloadable hardware drivers. Chameleon on the other hand is available free of charge and a lot more powerful for users in the know. So decide for yourself which product fits your needs the best.

A single license for Rebel EFI costs about 50US$ and can be ordered here.

rebelefi_hardware

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[MacOS] Psystar Accounces OEM Licensing Program

As of yesterday the Miami based company Psystar, which is still in legal trouble with Apple, announced to license their virtualization technology to third party manufacturers.

Computers preloaded with Psystar’s DUBL (Darwin Universal Boot Loader) would allow to make

“systems Mac OS X compatible. Psystar’s virtualization technology, specifically engineered for Snow Leopard, allows for seamless operation of the Mac OS on generic Intel Hardware and would be offered on all Psystar Certified machines.”

Find more information about this step in Psystar’s official press statement.

[MacOS] Comprehensive Gigabyte Hardware Specification List

With the advent of Snow Leopard many users have issues installing it onto PC based hardware. Well this is not very curious, since a PC is no Mac. Anyway as Gigabyte motherboards proved to be very close to the original Apple Intel specifications many people decided to buy those boards.

With the release of Snow Leopard DSDT patching seems to have become a must. Installation attempts will most likely fail without it. The intention of this list is to provide comprehensive information on the most used Gigabyte motherboards.

The original idea for this list was by a guy called ximekon (find original list here on InsanelyMac forums).

Model North- bridge South- bridge LAN Fire- Wire Audio BIOS Link Last Check
P35
P35-DS3L P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC888 F9 08/29/2009
P35-DS3 P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC889a F14 08/28/2009
P35-DS3R P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC889a F13 08/28/2009
EP35
EP35-DS3 P35 ICH9 RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F4 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3R P35 ICH9R RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F4 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3P P35 ICH9R Gigabit Yes ALC889a F6 08/28/2009
EP35-DS3L P35 ICH9 Gigabit -,- ALC888 F6 08/28/2009
EP35-DS4 P35 ICH9R RTL8111B -,- ALC889a F6 08/28/2009
EP45
EP45-DS3 P45 ICH10 2 x RTL8111C -,- ALC889a F9 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3R P45 ICH10R 2 x RTL8111C yes ALC889a F11c 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3P P45 ICH10R 2 x RTL8111C yes ALC889a F8 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3L P45 ICH10 RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F10 08/28/2009
EP45-DS3LR P45 ICH10R RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F2 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3 P45 ICH10 RTL8111C yes ALC889a F8 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3P P45 ICH10R RTL8111C yes ALC889a F9 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3L P45 ICH10 RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F5c 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3LR P45 ICH10R RTL8111C -,- ALC888 F5 08/28/2009
EP45-UD3R P45 ICH10R RTL8111C yes ALC889a F9 08/28/2009

you cant see this line, do you?

The Golden Gigabyte Model Rules

  • if last character of the model name is a “number” or a “P” (i.e. EP35-DS3 or EP45-DS3P etc.) it means ALC889a audio chipset
  • if last or penultimate character of the model name is an “L” (i.e. EP35-DS3L or EP45-DS3LR) it means ALC888 audio chipset
  • if last character of the model name is an “R” (i.e. P35-DS3R or EP45-UD3LR) it means SATA Raid controllers
  • The P35 or P45 strings in the beginning are fairly self explaining I suppose (P35 always with ICH9 and P45 always with ICH10)

Your Help is Wanted

Weather these rules nor the list above might be 100% accurate. It is only what I found on the net and summarized from the list above.

  • If you derived a DSDT.aml clean from a BIOS (like using Koalala’s DSDT patcher) and you fixed it for OSX86, you may post it in the comment’s section – don’t forget to tell how much RAM you had while compiling the DSDT.aml (Don’t add individual graphic or wi-fi strings. Just add onboard-devices like onboard-audio and onboard-ethernet.)
  • If your board is not on the list check Gigabyte’s pages and post the specifications in the comments section below.
  • If your board is listed but details above are wrong: please post it in the comments section below.
  • If you know the LAN chipset of the board and it is not listed precisely above (saying Gigabit) please post it in the comments section.

Please always crosscheck with the official Gigabyte specification page for your model (links to your model are included in the BIOS column) before adding a dsdt.aml or anything that could burn your BIOS.

[MacOS] Is EFI-X illegally using 3rd Party Program Code?

About a year ago a company called ASEM released a device called EFI-X. This device has been claimed to be capable of booting several Microsoft Windows versions and Mac OS X Leopard.

Legal concerns

From the beginning there were question regarding the legal status of the device. But ASEM claimed the device is legal, although it circumvents Apple’s binary protection using Apple’s copyrighted secret operating system keys (OSK1 and OSK2).

Technical issues

Anyway EFI-X devices had some issues. Many forums reported about problems with Bonjour and sharing in general. In the meantime articles from the official EFI-X support forums have been suddenly disappeared. Customers reporting issues or solutions and workaround to severe bugs have been banned from EFI-X support forums – our own help article to recover almost lost data was removed aswell and one of our members has been officially banned from their forums (the reason was this article in october 2008).

Examining EFI-X in deep

Now some frustrated customers who are on the other hand technologically very familiar have examined the EFI-X device in deep. One of the main points AsereBln found: in contrast to what EFI-X is stating: “Our approach is entirely different, (..) all our code and development is our own only” – they seem to be using program code that has been developed by the OSX86 community though. They seem to be using “Disabler.kext“. Moreover another user (RezRov) found out the EFI-X Windows update software seems to be violating the LGPL as it incorporates a modified USB device library (libusb-win32).

Use of possibly unlicensed 3rd party program code, possibly illegal use of Apple security keys, and customer support below grade for a 170€ (250US$) commercial product that seems to be the summary about a year after product launch.

Lessons learnt

We suppose end users should be aware of this possible hassle. Only an original Apple Mac is really hassle free and 100% compatible to a Mac. But if you are technologically interested and have the time and motivation search the OSX86 communities for setups. The OSX86 forums are full of knowledge and willing to help. But remember a PC won’t ever be 100% compatible to a real Mac.

[MacOS] Apple recommends using Virus Scanners

Apple has released a technical note recommending the use of Mac antivirus software. For the first time Apple admits that Macs need protection like other operating systems aswell. Apple recommends three Anti Virus solutions:

The open source virus scanner ClamXav is not mentioned. Besides the major players Symantec and McAfee we can hope that Kaspersky also ports a version of their Anti Virus software soon. Or as Apple says:

“Apple encourages the widespread use of multiple antivirus utilities so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.”