Maria’s Guides

Information from Software Update.

This update addresses issues when publishing movies to a .Mac Web Gallery, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.

For more information, visit http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/.

Information from Software Update.

QuickTime 7.4 addresses security issues and delivers:

• Numerous bug fixes
• Support for iTunes

This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

For detailed information on the security content of this update, see http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

Information from Software Update.

Rent and download your favorite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.

Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes.

More Information at http://www.apple.com/itunes/.

Super deals on software packages.

MacHeist.com is currently offering an incredible deal that includes eleven bundled software package worth $368 for only $49. The benefits of this deal:

• Save a ton of money on some excellent try-before-you-buy software.
• Support small software developers by buying the fruits of their labor.
• Donate 25% of your purchase price to one of ten charities - you choose which or distribute evenly between them.

So far MacHeist has sold $12,522 bundles with $137,667 going to charity.

The apps in the bundle include:

• 1password
• CoverSutra
• Cha-Ching
• iStopMotion
• Awaken
• AppZapper
• TaskPaper
• CSSEdit
• Snapz Pro X
• Pixelmator
• Speed Download

I bought my bundle this morning, with my charitable contribution going to Save Darfur.

I don’t know when this offer started, but it ends on January 23, so it’s something you should check out now.

A problem and a fix.

This morning, while experimenting with a Digg link on my personal blog, I got an unusual message from Digg saying:

This link does not appear to be a working link. Please check the URL and try again.

Huh?

The link, of course, was fine. It was a link to the home page of my site.

Why is this a big deal? Well, being “dugg” can increase the amount of attention your Web site gets among blog readers. A well-dugg post can attract many, many hits. Some of those people might turn into regular readers.

(You can read my experiences with being dugg here and here. Although things can get a bit out of control when you end up on Digg’s home page, I lived through it without any permanent damage.)

Since I was on Digg, I decided to do a Digg search for the error message. The article I found, “Bad Behavior 2.0.11 Wordpress Plugin Blocking Digg Submission” on GeekTeks.com answered my question and provided a fix.

Apparently, when the author of Bad Behavior updated his plugin and spam site references, Digg was blocked as a legitimate site. The solution is to add Digg’s IP address to Bad Behavior’s whitelist. I just did this on all sites running Bad Behavior and the problem has gone away.

Miraz and I highly recommend Bad Behavior in our WordPress book. It not only helps prevent spam comments from being posted to your WordPress blog, but it also reduces the amount of hits to your MySQL database, thus reducing site congestion and theoretically speeding up access to your site.

Do you use Bad Behavior 2.0.11? If so, read the above-referenced article and follow its instructions to fix the problem.

Links worth following.

Here are the links of interest to readers of my books for the week ending January 12:

• Your GTD System Isn’t the Problem
  Excellent advice for people trying to implement GTD to be more productive — and not succeeding. On the Cranking Widgets blog.
  (tags: productivity Advice gtd)
• Making the Switch: Going From Partial to Full Feeds
  Good article about switching from partial to full RSS feeds. On PlagiarismToday.com.
  (tags: feed rss blogging)
• A long list of modifier key tricks
  For Mac OS X Tiger; should work in Leopard, too. On MacOSXHints.com.
  (tags: Apple Mac reference tips MacOS)
• Color Wheel Article
  Link to EXCELLENT article, in PDF format, that explains exactly how colors work together. From Before & After magazine.
  (tags: colors design tutorial reference)
• An Interface of One’s Own
  An anti-Word, pro Scrivener piece (of all things!) in the New York Times. By Virginia Heffernan. Thanks to @ev on Twitter for sharing the link.
  (tags: Word Microsoft software Times)
• Goodbye, cruel Word
  Steven Poole no longer uses Microsoft Word. Here’s why.
  (tags: Word microsoft writing journalism software productivity)
• E-book the letter
  Steven Poole lists the features an ebook reader SHOULD have. I think they sound rather familiar, don’t you?
  (tags: Amazon Kindle funny ebooks books reading)
• What to Expect at Macworld
  More rumors of what might be in store for us at Macworld Expo next week. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: Apple MacworldExpo)
• 10 Ways Twitter Can Boost Your Social News Profile
  Some tips for getting more followers on Twitter, which can boost your profile on other Social Networking sites. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: twitter Web2.0 socialnetworking tips)
• Author Uses Amazon Kindle to Beta Test New Book
  Interesting article about using Kindle to publish a book and entice readers to provide feedback to the author. On ReadWriteWeb.
  (tags: Kindle writing publishing ebooks Amazon)
• Twittering without access to Twitter.com
  A how-to piece with suggestions on how you can participate in Twitter when you don’t have access to the Twitter.com Web site. On Twitter Facts.
  (tags: twitter Web2.0 socialnetworking)
• Mac OS X 10.5, iChat: Unable to participate in video conference
  Workaround for problem using video chat feature of iChat with Mac OS X 10.5. On the Apple Support Web site.
  (tags: Apple MacOS Leopard iChat)
• My essential WordPress plugins
  Great post by Miraz Jordan that summarizes her must-have WordPress plugins. I’ll have to do a similar post soon. On the WordPress Visual QuickStart Guide support web site.
  (tags: WordPress plugin Webdesign)
• Why It Won’t Work
  John Scalzi’s take on why the Sony BMG plan to release non-DRM protected music won’t work. I tend to agree with him.
  (tags: DRM sony music download itunes ipod)
• Apples For The Army
  According to this story on Forbes.com, the U.S. Army is adopting Macs to help thwart hackers. Not exactly good news for Mac users — we don’t need to give hackers a reason to go after us — but good for Apple.
  (tags: Mac Macintosh military technology Apple security)
• DUM
  John Gruber’s take on the Kindle. On Daring Fireball.
  (tags: Amazon Kindle publishing ebooks books)
• Sony caves; DRM is dead, dead, dead
  Sony drops DRM. On MacUser.com. Thanks to @dmoren on Twitter for the link.
  (tags: drm music itunes sony)
• iBed
  Humorous photo of a recycled iMac. On I Can Has Cheezburger?
  (tags: funny humor photo imac)
• The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry
  Excellent article about the secret history of iPhone development. On Wired.com.
  (tags: wired Apple history iphone)
• A Savvy Approach to Copyright Messaging
  A great tip for helping to protect an image posted on a Web page from being stolen and used by others. By Derek Powazek.
  (tags: copyright Photography photos)