Mac Security in the Oval Office - or Any Office

Mac Security in the Oval Office - or Any Office
President Obama: We hear that your new team is having challenges in getting their Macs integrated into the White House network. Some recent news stories mentioned application compatibility as one of the hassles, but we'd be willing to bet that the bigger challenge is security. In many of the commercial enterprises we see, Macs are often managed individually or by the department expert, sometimes escaping the strict security controls that are usually required.

Heavy Arm Wrestling between FNAC and Apple in France

Since last Friday with the revision of agreement terms between Apple and FNAC (first French electronic consumers giant and non-APR French Mac reseller), FNAC's margin on Mac have been modified by Apple making the usual 5% discount offered by FNAC to its members on Mac hardware is not possible anymore. To avoid seeing its FNAC Club members fouled and to keep fighting with Apple, FNAC decided to offer the Microsoft Mac Office Home and Student Editions for free for any purchase of a Mac. this might be the first step in a battle opening between Apple, with its strategy to launch its first physical Apple Store in France, and its long time resellers network partners. It looks like  Cupertino does not intend to preserve such partnership that has been very useful during the dark periods and contributed to the return of Apple worldwide. This offer is worth 139 € while Apple offer only 30 € back for the simultaneous purchase of a Mac and Mac Office.

It is quite a amazing to consider that at Cupertino, there are 2 distinct groups that manage on one side the deployment of the physical Apple Store network, and on the other side the development of the APR centers. Currently, there are at least one APR shop opening every week in France, whereas there are clearly several physical Apple Store projects in progress and planned in France. Most of them targeting large cities where FNAC has at least one shop in a strategic location. So, Apple seems to follow a double edge strategy, push APR to develop their network and get as much physical Apple Store, and usually in the same cities. From the US past records, the opening of an Apple Store is usually synonym of the end of business life for the existing APRs nearby. 

We would be interested to hear about similar cases from other European countries. In Switzerland, Apple has a agreement with the consumer electronic giant Media Markt (with an Apple corner in most shops), but recently opened 2 Store in Zurich and Geneva. So, is the current deal regarding margins being revised as it happened in France? What about Apple in Germany? etc.

While Waiting for the Radeon HD4890... Flash a PC Version!?

When Apple announce a new graphic cards compatible with its new Mac Pro models, it is always a good news for Mac users. However, it is often a balance feeling, and the new Radeon HD4970 released with the new Mac Pro is a perfect example:

• 512 MB of VRAM instead of the current default 1 GB on most high-end PC models
• Almost proprietary mini-DisplayPort  mini-display
• Mac Pro 1.1 can not use this new Radeon 
• Price: around 315 €!
• Availability 4 to 5 weeks!

following first report of successful flashing procedure of a PC Radeon HD4870 with the Mac ROM, we have decided to make our own test. We have chosen a Gainward HD4870 Golden Sample with 1 GB VRAM :

• 1024 MB of VRAM 
• DVI-D, VGA, DisplayPort and HDMI ports!
• 2 BIOS: 1 normal BIOS normal, and 1 "Turbo" BIOS "turbo" corresponding to an overlocked version. One can simply swap from one BIOS to the other via a switch in the back of the card. This feature is quite useful as in case of failure of the flashing procedure, one still has a working BIOS
• An improved cooling system, as the default one of the Mac Edition blow the hot air inside the Mac...
• Currently available!
• Price: around 220 € !

Podcast: Brenthaven Dropfest
...



Podcast: MacNN - Trustworthy Computing and Boot Camp
...



Who Needs Radio When You're a Podcast Superstar?
Sitting inside his palatial Hollywood Hills mansion, Adam Carolla and his talk show host pal Jimmy Kimmel chat candidly -- in a frenetic, almost stream-of-consciousness way -- about pornography, Siegfried and Roy, the modeling industry, gay rodeos and the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." The former hosts of Comedy Central's "The Man Show" are comfortably slouched on brown leather chairs inside Carolla's office upstairs, where a pink box overflowing with childrens' toys sits in the corner.

Podcast: MacNN - Tekkeon Bluetooth headset reviews!
...



Presented By:


Mac Security in the Oval Office - or Any Office
President Obama: We hear that your new team is having challenges in getting their Macs integrated into the White House network. Some recent news stories mentioned application compatibility as one of the hassles, but we'd be willing to bet that the bigger challenge is security. In many of the commercial enterprises we see, Macs are often managed individually or by the department expert, sometimes escaping the strict security controls that are usually required.

Heavy Arm Wrestling between FNAC and Apple in France

Since last Friday with the revision of agreement terms between Apple and FNAC (first French electronic consumers giant and non-APR French Mac reseller), FNAC's margin on Mac have been modified by Apple making the usual 5% discount offered by FNAC to its members on Mac hardware is not possible anymore. To avoid seeing its FNAC Club members fouled and to keep fighting with Apple, FNAC decided to offer the Microsoft Mac Office Home and Student Editions for free for any purchase of a Mac. this might be the first step in a battle opening between Apple, with its strategy to launch its first physical Apple Store in France, and its long time resellers network partners. It looks like  Cupertino does not intend to preserve such partnership that has been very useful during the dark periods and contributed to the return of Apple worldwide. This offer is worth 139 € while Apple offer only 30 € back for the simultaneous purchase of a Mac and Mac Office.

It is quite a amazing to consider that at Cupertino, there are 2 distinct groups that manage on one side the deployment of the physical Apple Store network, and on the other side the development of the APR centers. Currently, there are at least one APR shop opening every week in France, whereas there are clearly several physical Apple Store projects in progress and planned in France. Most of them targeting large cities where FNAC has at least one shop in a strategic location. So, Apple seems to follow a double edge strategy, push APR to develop their network and get as much physical Apple Store, and usually in the same cities. From the US past records, the opening of an Apple Store is usually synonym of the end of business life for the existing APRs nearby. 

We would be interested to hear about similar cases from other European countries. In Switzerland, Apple has a agreement with the consumer electronic giant Media Markt (with an Apple corner in most shops), but recently opened 2 Store in Zurich and Geneva. So, is the current deal regarding margins being revised as it happened in France? What about Apple in Germany? etc.

While Waiting for the Radeon HD4890... Flash a PC Version!?

When Apple announce a new graphic cards compatible with its new Mac Pro models, it is always a good news for Mac users. However, it is often a balance feeling, and the new Radeon HD4970 released with the new Mac Pro is a perfect example:

• 512 MB of VRAM instead of the current default 1 GB on most high-end PC models
• Almost proprietary mini-DisplayPort  mini-display
• Mac Pro 1.1 can not use this new Radeon 
• Price: around 315 €!
• Availability 4 to 5 weeks!

following first report of successful flashing procedure of a PC Radeon HD4870 with the Mac ROM, we have decided to make our own test. We have chosen a Gainward HD4870 Golden Sample with 1 GB VRAM :

• 1024 MB of VRAM 
• DVI-D, VGA, DisplayPort and HDMI ports!
• 2 BIOS: 1 normal BIOS normal, and 1 "Turbo" BIOS "turbo" corresponding to an overlocked version. One can simply swap from one BIOS to the other via a switch in the back of the card. This feature is quite useful as in case of failure of the flashing procedure, one still has a working BIOS
• An improved cooling system, as the default one of the Mac Edition blow the hot air inside the Mac...
• Currently available!
• Price: around 220 € !

Podcast: Brenthaven Dropfest
...



Podcast: MacNN - Trustworthy Computing and Boot Camp
...



Who Needs Radio When You're a Podcast Superstar?
Sitting inside his palatial Hollywood Hills mansion, Adam Carolla and his talk show host pal Jimmy Kimmel chat candidly -- in a frenetic, almost stream-of-consciousness way -- about pornography, Siegfried and Roy, the modeling industry, gay rodeos and the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." The former hosts of Comedy Central's "The Man Show" are comfortably slouched on brown leather chairs inside Carolla's office upstairs, where a pink box overflowing with childrens' toys sits in the corner.

Podcast: MacNN - Tekkeon Bluetooth headset reviews!
...



Presented By: