Mac OS X Update 10.4.9

The 10.4.9 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.8 and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

- RAW camera support
- Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes
- Image capture performance
- Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts
- Font handling
- Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player
- USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat
- Bluetooth devices
- Browsing AFP servers
- Apple USB Modem
- Windows-created digital certificates
- Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs
- Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007
- Security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n304821.
For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

Finally, USB camera support in iChat! (albeit how limited this will be at first, it is a step in the right direction) Hurray! Now if only iChat was able to talk to other clients than only other iChats and that stupid Yahoo! (Ad-spyware)chat client.

Fór í heimsókn til gömlu hjónanna um helgina...

Jamms, maður kíkti við í heimsókn til mömmu og pabba gamla. Get ekki alveg sagt að þetta hafi verið svona. En samt sem áður er vídjóið fyndið :D

Top 10 Reasons to Major in Computing

For the next time you're asked to give a good reason why to study computer science.
Taken from the ACM's Computing Careers site:

Top 10 Reasons to Major in Computing

1. Computing drives innovation in the sciences (human genome project, AIDS vaccine research, environmental monitoring and protection just to mention a few), so if you want to make a positive difference in the world, study computing.

2. Computing majors will provide you with a foundational knowledge of problem solving and logical thinking that will be helpful to you no matter what you choose to do in life.

3. Computing technology is part of just about everything that touches our lives; from the cars we drive, to the movies we watch, to the ways banks and governments deal with us. Understanding computer science is part of the necessary skill set for an educated person in this century. Whether you want to be a scientist, develop the latest killer application, or just know what it really means when someone says “the computer made a mistake”, studying computing will provide you with valuable knowledge.

4. Computing jobs are among the highest paid and have the highest job satisfaction.

5. Contrary to popular belief there are more, and not fewer jobs. U.S. IT employment was 17% higher in 2004 than in 1999. Computing also has the greatest potential for new jobs through 2014.

6. Contrary to what some people believe, computer scientists are real people. They have lives. They have friends. They do not sit in a cubicle pounding out code 18 hours per day.

7. You do not have to be a nerd to be a computer scientist. You do not have to to live, eat, and breathe computing to be a good computer scientist. You can have a life, relationships, a family.

8. Computing is not about being a lone wolf. It is about being part of a team that requires people with many different kinds of skills.

9. An increasing number of universities and employers see successful completion of a computer science course as a sign of academic well-roundness.

10. Computing is one of those fields where it is almost impossible to predict what will happen next. This is why we cannot even begin to imagine all the ways that you can make a contribution to it and it can make your life’s work exciting and real.

[ACM Site]

MacFUSE and NTFS on OSX

Well nothing written in a while, been busy with RL and future plans. :)

However I felt compelled to (at least) link to these great news. The wonderful peeps at Google have made an OSX port of the Linux originating FUSE (File-system in USErspace) mechanism. For those of you who just went "Huh? Wha? Whocaresdude!" FUSE makes (along with many other) it possible to have Read/Write access to NTFS volumes on a Mac.

Those who still shrug, NTFS (Windows NT File System) has become the industry standard file-system structure for Windows based systems ever since admins realized how crappy FAT really is... So what this has meant for us casual computer users is that all NTFS formatted disks (most Windows formatted disks) have largely been unavailable in OSX. Albeit a rather "flaky" read-access to NTFS, OSX has lacked a propper implementation of a NTFS bridge.

But now, thanks to a lot of hard-working people, we can enjoy unlimited access to all our drives. This has been a head-ache for myself since all my USB disks are NTFS formatted. So now I can finally use a single USB drive to store all my photos and videos, and plug it into both Macs and Windows machines at will. :D

See links below for more info on installing MacFUSE and NTFS-3G:
Article on MacOSXHints
MacFUSE project page and a tip on how to solve the "macfuse_required" error
NTFS-3g Project page and alternative download