Installed LINUX its great

[Virt]

The other great advantage about using Linux is that the hackers are less interested in targeting you as so few people use it. Windows is far easier to target with the masses of noobs that use it. I looking at downloading it soon & might throw it onto my daughters machine as a test bed

Yet it's becoming more popular, and so people are gonna start targeting it soon and no one will expect it It will be like when loads of Mac users got infected a while back. None of them expected it because "Oh Macs don't get viruses".. And Linux systems are only getting more popular

[Wicky]

like when loads of Mac users got infected a while back. None of them expected it because "Oh Macs don't get viruses"..

Funnily enough the only time I got infected on a mac was in 2000 when I was emailed a word doc file that caused all other word doc files to be unable to be opened by double clicking.

Was the infection you mention a Java vulnerability as there were variants that were cross platform with Linux just as vulnerable

Other variants of this virus target Windows and Linux, making it a rare true cross-platform virus. All these viruses share the fact that they use the Java player as a route of attack. According to Intego, other OS X-specific versions of the virus have shown up, but most are broken or try to connect to offline servers.

or was it

the Flashback trojan that tricked users into installing it by masquerading as an installer for Adobe Flash. later versions of Flashback used an unpatched Java vulnerability to install itself through the browser java plug-in.

After initial infection, Flashback pops open a Software Update window to try and obtain your administrative password, but it does so only to embed itself more deeply into your Mac.

Note the theme 'Java' and ' 'getting the user to mistakenly install something'

[Virt]

Quite possibly, i don't keep up with technology news as much as I actually should Either way, whether they were foolish and installed something or not it was still a virus on the macs and shut the buggers up for a while. Most of them have no idea how a computer works, if only they realised they didn't get viruses as often because hackers don't target Macs as there's less profit to make from it, and not because it's a superior OS ._. Kinda annoys me.. A lot.

[Wicky]

Quite possibly, i don't keep up with technology news as much as I actually should Either way, whether they were foolish and installed something or not it was still a virus on the macs and shut the buggers up for a while. Most of them have no idea how a computer works, if only they realised they didn't get viruses as often because hackers don't target Macs as there's less profit to make from it, and not because it's a superior OS ._. Kinda annoys me.. A lot.

I think you'll find it is the numbers of mac 'puters that make it worthwhile to expend time and effort to write virus/trojan code for - last I looked macs accounted for 3 - 5 % of the desktop market. Hence why Java as a cross-pltaform vulnerability has been hitting the headlines of late. And the rise of phishing that relies on users giving away their details via fake emails and the existent of compromised websites to act as phishing code hosts. (my websites are regulary hit by brute force dictionary attacks that try to gain access to admin sections).

Edit: according to one of my websites visitor logs as a rough unscientific indicator of system OS's = 69% Windows , macosx 20.2% (inc mobile devices), Linux 9.9%

Not that Apple doesn't have embarrassments like MobileMe ;-) and recently hacked itunes accounts which Apple has been stum about. https://discussions.apple.com/message/18580124#18580124

[VTRDark]

I've been using Apples since the late 80s and have never had a virus. It's only in recent years I have installed Sophos (as a precaution) and the only virus's that picks up from time to time are aimed at PC's and would not harm me. But I sort of agree with what you saying about the popularity though I don't think it's the popularity so much, but that Microsoft are a very much hated company, therefore are targeted.

(:-})

[Virt]

]

I think you'll find it is the numbers of mac 'puters that make it worthwhile to expend time and effort to write virus/trojan code for - last I looked macs accounted for 3 - 5 % of the desktop market.

Yeah, and thus less profit to make. I'm tired and struggling to be coherrent, 4 hours writing essays on Romans does that to you Sorry

I've been using Apples since the late 80s and have never had a virus. It's only in recent years I have installed Sophos (as a precaution) and the only virus's that picks up from time to time are aimed at PC's and would not harm me. But I sort of agree with what you saying about the popularity though I don't think it's the popularity so much, but that Microsoft are a very much hated company, therefore are targeted.

(:-})

Apple are hated too. I'd actually argue they're more hated in some ways, Microsoft may not be the perfect business but Bill Gates is like an angel on earth The amount of money he gives to charity, if only all the people with too much money would follow suit. Like footballers, who seriously needs like 200K a week?
In all honesty, I prefer microsoft in terms of business too. Apple have a horrific marketing strategy, although it is one of the best out there I'll admit, with that they add as little as they physically can to each updated device and then charge as much as they can. Yet people fall for it and buy it, that's why their losing out to Android in terms of the smartphone market, but people are still stuck on the Apple hype.. I can't talk actually, I still have my blasted iPhone

[Wicky]

Apple have a horrific marketing strategy, although it is one of the best out there I'll admit, with that they add as little as they physically can to each updated device and then charge as much as they can. Yet people fall for it and buy it, that's why their losing out to Android in terms of the smartphone market, but people are still stuck on the Apple hype.. I can't talk actually, I still have my blasted iPhone

How do you mean "horrific marketing strategy"?

The firm said late on Wednesday it had sold more iPhones (47.8 million) and iPads (22.9 million) in the final three months of last year than in any previous quarter

Yet people fall for it and buy it...I still have my blasted iPhone

A sign maybe that The Steve Job's reality distortion field™ is still working from the other side....

Nothing lasts for ever, I'm still amazed at what Steve did the second time round with Apple and wonder, since he died, what the future holds in store.

How Polaroid Inspired Steve Jobs
http://www.cultofmac.com/194496/how-pol ... teve-jobs/

[Virt]

How do you mean "horrific marketing strategy"?

How they take advantage of the hype so much. If you look at anything Apple release compared to its' previous model (Let's say iPad and iPad 2) they change very few things but market those few things as if it's gonna change the world. It's not a strategy I'm a huge fan of, but bloody hell does it work! They take advantage of the Apple hype so much, whereas companies like Samsung do lots of improvements on their phones but don't become as recognised as they don't have the same hype.

A sign maybe that The Steve Job's reality distortion field™ is still working from the other side....

Nothing lasts for ever, I'm still amazed at what Steve did the second time round with Apple and wonder, since he died, what the future holds in store.

How Polaroid Inspired Steve Jobs
http://www.cultofmac.com/194496/how-pol ... teve-jobs/

Steve Jobs was a good businessman, I'll give him that. What irks me about him is that he isn't a programmer or hardware specialist or really even a computer geek.. He just had a vision, and thought of things. No real experience with the field he was going into, and he got lucky and it all worked. I'd prefer to think of someone like Steve Wozniak as the original face of Apple really...

Then again, I'm just an opinionated youth

[VTRDark]

Steve Wozniak was the true Apple genius, Jobs had great insight, idea's and the business head. I fear for the direction that Apple are taking. Things are getting away from the usability side of things and too gadgety with apps and what not. I feel they are leaving the Pro's out and aiming at a more consumer based market. At the same time it's becoming a more closed system.

The way things are going there will be no Applications as we know them and they will be all app based like on the phones and aimed at doing stupid things like connecting to Facebook and other social networking sites etc. There will be an increase of online applications/apps for image manipulation, video editing, web design etc.

With each new OS system it seems to be getting worse. Maybe I'm just getting old and stuck in my ways but I don't like the direction things are going in. My Apple loyalty is slowly dissipating. but at this moment in time Windblows is not an option. That would frustrate me where even a simple copy and paste can become a mission and I would end up doing an Ozzy Osborne on it and chucking it across the room.

That's my rant over.

(:-})

[Virt]

+1 Carl

I'm really excited for the Ubuntu phone OS later this year, possibly the firefox OS too... I reckon Apple need to realise what's happening and that they won't last all that long if they progress as they currently are

[Wicky]

So should Apple have downplayed and produced consistently rubbish products as a marketing strategy like Reginald Perrin and his Grot Shops

[youtube][/youtube]

If you look at anything Apple release compared to its' previous model (Let's say iPad and iPad 2) they change very few things but market those few things as if it's gonna change the world

Well they did change the world - when I were born geostationary communications satellites were just a dream of Arthur C Clarke, and the only mobile communications devices were on Star Trek. Would you prefer that Apple only released new products and developments slower than they do now, so folk could keep up (I admit sometimes I wish they did so my hardware didn't fall behind the rip roaring pace of OS and software development!)

I personally steer clear of the roller coaster of 'must have' mobile phone one-upman-ship-keep-up-with-the-Jones tech and just have a cheapy pay as you go mobile for emergencies on the bike, not because of the tech (got a ipod touch for testing websites on mobiles screen ) but because of the cost of keeping up and the contracts that tie you in.

Then again, I'm just an opinionated youth

"What have the romans ever done for us?"

[VTRDark]

"What have the romans ever done for us?"

Yeh the roads didn't even have corner's. That would have been useless on a bike.

(:-})

[Virt]

So should Apple have downplayed and produced consistently rubbish products as a marketing strategy like Reginald Perrin and his Grot Shops

No, but maybe actually make the updates more... Update-like Make it so it can actually be deserving of the price it costs, rather than paying majority of the price for an apple that's had a bite from it.

Well they did change the world - when I were born geostationary communications satellites were just a dream of Arthur C Clarke, and the only mobile communications devices were on Star Trek. Would you prefer that Apple only released new products and developments slower than they do now, so folk could keep up (I admit sometimes I wish they did so my hardware didn't fall behind the rip roaring pace of OS and software development!)

I personally steer clear of the roller coaster of 'must have' mobile phone one-upman-ship-keep-up-with-the-Jones tech and just have a cheapy pay as you go mobile for emergencies on the bike, not because of the tech (got a ipod touch for testing websites on mobiles screen ) but because of the cost of keeping up and the contracts that tie you in.

Well, yes really I'd rather wait 5 years for something incredible, than one year for something mediocre at best. (Let's take waiting 5 years for Skyrim to be released after Oblivion, or waiting for the next Call of Duty as an example).
I'm not a fan of the roller coaster of 'must have' mobile phones either. I have an iPhone merely because my dads' contract renewed and he gave me it, I've never been a fan of Apple however the phone is marginally better than a Nokia 8210 or whatever that was all the rage in my childhood makes me feel young again. I merely want a phone where I can do what I feel I need to on it, as a programmer in my spare time I want something that I can practice with and actually do work using the phone problem is to get apps for that kinda thing you need a high end phone it seems D; It's all a silly marketing ploy to drain peoples bank accounts unnecessarily

Then again, I'm just an opinionated youth

"What have the romans ever done for us?"

Oh lord. Worst. Question. Ever.

[Wicky]

Steve Wozniak was the true Apple genius, Jobs had great insight, idea's and the business head.

Agree

Things are getting away from the usability side of things and too gadgety with apps and what not.

neutral on usability - There'son;y on or two applications that I prefer for userbility/functionality over newr ones i.e DW CS5.5 over DW CS6 - Use both PSD CS5.1 and CS6



as for apps on my ipod touch that I bought in a fit of novelty I have a few on my ipod touch and hardlthardly ever use em

I feel they are leaving the Pro's out and aiming at a more consumer based market. At the same time it's becoming a more closed system.

The new Mac Pro's should be out soon, though chatting with a local Apple refurbish centre they noted that with recession companies are hanging onto their machines longer esp after ramming them full of memory. and Apple can barely keep up with making enough imacs to sell to willing consumers. As for closed system do you mean devices needing a mac, as PC users can have itunes an sync their libraries between the two or do you mean music you buy on itunes and download which is tied in. Workarounds to that ;-)

The way things are going there will be no Applications as we know them and they will be all app based like on the phones and aimed at doing stupid things like connecting to Facebook and other social networking sites etc. There will be an increase of online applications/apps for image manipulation, video editing, web design etc.

A BT researcher foretold me of the cloud concept many moons ago and yes it is happening due to the capacity of interweb - though it will be a cold day in hell when I subscribe to for example an online version of Photoshop - Adobe have begun dipping their toes in water with an online web dev program. I see it more of a division occurring for working apps like ipad apps lite vs Pro developer apps. As for the social networking side that's beacuse of puters getting more and more in the hands of the mainstream consumer demographic, rather than a few geeky pixel pushers

With each new OS system it seems to be getting worse. Maybe I'm just getting old and stuck in my ways but I don't like the direction things are going in. My Apple loyalty is slowly dissipating. but at this moment in time Windblows is not an option. That would frustrate me where even a simple copy and paste can become a mission and I would end up doing an Ozzy Osborne on it and chucking it across the room.

I can cope and adapt better with each incremental mac OSX update (jump from PowerPC to intel was quite smooth) than I can getting my PC Win7 to to the rare things my mac can't. I've got the PC set up to most of the stuff my mac does just inn case anything happens to it - I just pray nothing does because it would be like *insert your room 101 here*

[VTRDark]

neutral on usability - There'son;y on or two applications that I prefer for userbility/functionality over newr ones i.e DW CS5.5 over DW CS6 - Use both PSD CS5.1 and CS6

As for usability, I can't think of the technical term for it, but the way the GUI is designed. ie how long it takes one to move from a to b and how many actions are required to reach something without addition 3rd party software's. Don't get me wrong they are far more usable and easier to use than their competitors but they are slowly slipping away from that.

The new Mac Pro's should be out soon

I'm not referring to hardware but the software. Take for example Final cut pro being made redundant and the introduction of Final cut pro X which is more like a glorified IMovie than a pro video editing software. Many people are turning back to Avid for this reason. This also ties in with them closing things off like the User Library which is now a hidden. I prefer to clean things out like preferences and remains of old installs manually rather than use a 3rd party software. How long before they hide thing like the system library's or worse lock us out totally. Even little things like not being able to access the etc/host file via terminal anymore. If I want to access that I now have to show hidden files and go in and open in TextEdit manually to configure. It's all now becoming more of a hack/work arounds.

Adobe have begun dipping their toes in water with an online web dev program

I've not heard of that but that is scary and tells me it's starting to happen. How long before Adobe go down the route of Final cut pro or even worse abandon it for more online services.

In response to some of Virts comments

No, but maybe actually make the updates more... Update-like Make it so it can actually be deserving of the price it costs

The problem I have here is that they as well as other companies release softwares too early when they should be still in the Beta stage as they are usually buggy. They rely too much on the end user to report bugs and work out workarounds and third party companies or open source to improve things and then they release these things in a later version. They should put us all on a wage or give the software out for nothing It's all greed and rush rush rush to get something out before their competitors. I don't like the way the whole computer industry eventually forces one to splash out their hard earned cash and update. Take Flash for example, If I had not managed to use a hack on my old perfectly good G5, I would have been forced to update to an Intel machine and the G5 would end up on a beach abroad or on a landfill. These companies are so environment friendly This is because they stop supporting older versions and bad web designers (especially the big sites, social networking etc) don't cater for those on older systems and software. A lot of them don't degrade gracefully and ignore accessibility issues. It's as if all the companies are in cahoots with each other and just getting us to spend our money on them and upgrade.

makes me feel young again

Now that''s funny PMSL

(:-})