This blog has moved

Hey there, dear reader... I have exciting news! This blog is being replaced by a WordPress version of the same thing that you can find at simply http://www.maccog.com rather than the blogger address listed above.

It has all the old posts and comments from this blog and combined with all the other information about MacCognoscenti and the work that we do.

So unless you get automatically re-directed, click now to go to the new MacCognoscenti Home Page and subscribe to the feed there (which you can do via RSS or Email)

Thanks for reading!

justin

What would Google Do?

Why should companies be open and honest with their customers? Will old media be able to adapt to a new world order in which the blog and the tweet are the most powerful tools? Are we ready for that new kind of democracy?

Besides the last question, you'll find answers in this new book "What would google do?"

in fact, you might not have to read it if you check out Rob Long's interview with author Jeff Jarvis right here:


Good stuff. Companies should take notice!

justin

Why not to use Bit Torrent

Well, I'm being a little hypocritical with my headline on this one since I use Bit Torrent from time to time (for legal things!) but I'm very aware that this stuff could contain something malicious if not simply annoying.

Now there is proof of an actual malicious Trojan Horse for the Mac! Let's repeat: a Virus-like thing has been released into the wild for the Mac. You won't get it unless you've used Bit Torrent to download a pirated copy of iWork '09, but according to zdnet, about 20,000 people have downloaded it already.

Don't freak out about this one because if you're not doing anything nefarious in the first place, you're still immune. I just want you to be aware of the possibility.

Also, this morning I got a call from a client saying that after clicking on a google link she was greeted with a message like "your computer has been infected! You must install a protection package right away to protect from malware and spyware! Click here to install!" Well, needless to say, that message was a hoax, and luckily they didn't click on it... but if they had it could have been a similar Trojan or Virus.

Lesson being: Don't download illegal things and don't believe it when a website tells you the world is going to end unless you click to download something. ALWAYS navigate directly to the site you're trying to download something from rather than using some ad or link to it!

If you have any more questions about this, feel free to email or call me about it!

justin

Bush's White House computers: stuck in the 90's

Obama Staff Arrives to White House Stuck in Dark Ages of Technology - washingtonpost.com

One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos.

It's shockingly predictable... and infinitely sad that Bush's White House was technologically inept. It's just another example of how Bush's Administration didn't get it.

My favorite quote from this article from Obama spokesman: "It's kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari".

Oh man, this is when I wish I did Mac support in DC... hire me, Obama!

justin

PS: The Mac news media has picked up this story and we're all rooting that the White House IT department will approve Macintosh computers soon!

Goodbye Macworld, Goodbye Apple

Macworld 2009 is over and Apple won't be back. We will miss you.

Steve Jobs, I hope you reconsider coming back in 2010! If there is a
Macworld next year, I'll be back.

The Delorian!

Just stumbled across this and thought it was pretty cool! It looks
like the full-on delorian from the Back to the Future movie!

Woz!

He loves that modbook and we love him so we love the modbook!!!

However, he's having some problems with the presentation that make me
cringe, but it's great to see him and it's pretty impressive what
axiotron has done with the modbook.

Apparently they're coming out with a touchscreen version soon called ModBook Pro, so stay
tuned! Apple might not need to do that after all!

http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook

Beautiful SF by night

I really like this city. Steve and I had a great (and overpriced) cup
of tea at the Samovar tea lounge above the moscone center tonight. It
was a cold and beautiful evening...

Macheads!

"don't love apple, love the mac community" is a quote from this
documentary about the mac and its extremely loyal base of followers...
I mean users.

I was one of the 45,000 mac evangelists in the late 90's before Steve
jobs came back and saved the company. To say I have mixed feelings
about the sucess of apple which led to the loss of the close-knit
community of which I was a very young part... Is an understatement.

More thoughts later on this. I liked this movie a lot. It sure brought
me back in time!

How to keep up with me...

If you're reading this, you're already doing pretty well because most of my Macworld posts will be on this blog. But sometimes there won't be time to do a full post and I'm just going to twitter.... or brightkite... or digg or something. To keep up with all of it at once and not worry about which service I'm using, head over to FriendFeed and check out my page there... it includes my blog, my twitter, my flickr and a bunch of other stuff I'm up to. There, you will be sure to keep up with me... at least in a digital way!

justin

http://friendfeed.com/justinsail