In my previous post I mentioned how you could hold the Option key while pressing on one of those store arrow links in iTunes to stay within your local library.  I have stumbled across the following preference to switch this functionality so that you don’t have to hold the Option key.  First quit iTunes, then enter the following command in the terminal.

To reverse the way the iTunes store links work so that when you click on one you stay within your local library:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes invertStoreLinks -bool TRUE

Now within iTunes when you click on any store arrow link you will stay within your own local library.  If you want to go out to the iTunes store you can hold Option when clicking on any of the links.

To return the store arrow links back to their original functionality, you can run the same command replacing TRUE with FALSE.

For Mac OS X users who have upgraded to the new iTunes 8, you may have noticed that the preference to disable the arrow links next to songs, artists and albums when browsing in list view that take you to the iTunes store has been removed.  Again, exactly why Apple chose to do this is beyond me, but thankfully the preference can still be set by issuing a simple terminal command.

First quit iTunes, then type the following commands into a Terminal window.

To DISABLE the store link arrows in iTunes 8:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-store-arrow-links -bool FALSE

To ENABLE the store link arrows in iTunes 8:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-store-arrow-links -bool TRUE

As a side note, many don’t know that if you hold the Option key while clicking on those arrows, you are not taken to the iTunes store, but instead taken to that option in your own local library.  Very handy if you want to quickly see all the songs by an artist.

For Mac OS X users who have upgraded to the new iTunes 8, you may have noticed that the preference to disable the Genre column in the iTunes browser has been removed.  Why Apple chose to do this is beyond me (maybe it slipped past the developers), but thankfully the preference can still be set by issuing a simple terminal command.

First quit iTunes, then type the following commands into a Terminal window.

To turn the Genre column OFF in iTunes 8:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-genre-when-browsing -bool FALSE

To turn the Genre column ON in iTunes 8:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes show-genre-when-browsing -bool TRUE

Apple yesterday released Security Update 2008-005 for OS X Leopard (10.5.4) and Tiger (10.4.11).  This update patches two large security holes that have received mention recently in the press.

The first one is the ARDAgent vulnerability in Apple’s Remote Desktop Agent that could allow malicious users to install programs or change settings without privileges.

The second is the highly publicized flaw in the DNS system which mainly targeted servers, but could technically be exploited on a client machine.

Apple received a lot of heat due to their slowness in getting these updates out to the public as compared to the time it took major Linux manufacturers and Microsoft to get the issue fixed. As always, it’s recommended to install these updates as soon as possible.  Hopefully Apple has learned that the more users that switch over to using Macs and OS X, the more important it will become to get these security issues patched.

As many Apple/Mac loyalists are aware, Steve Jobs announced at WWDC on June 9, 2008, that the next version of Mac OS X will be called Snow Leopard, and it is scheduled to ship in “about a year”.  We can only assume at this point that Snow Leopard will be version 10.6 as the current version (Leopard) is 10.5.

So why Snow Leopard?  Isn’t that close in name to the current OS X version Leopard?  What is Apple thinking?  As it turns out Apple is doing something rather drastic, but something that makes a lot of sense, they are putting the brakes on adding lots of new features to Snow Leopard, instead focusing on improving what they claim is the “world’s most advanced operating system” … a claim I personally happen to agree with.  Why would Apple do this?  Why not come out with more features, more toys, more whiz-bang graphical elements?  I think Apple is realizing what most educated users know…the more features and toys you put into an operating system, the more likely it is over time to get bloated, slow, and buggy.  Take a look at what Microsoft has done with Windows Vista.  They have taken a relatively stable operating system in Windows XP, and instead of improving upon it, they chose to get in way over their heads with adding lots of flashy new elements, a new bloated user interface, confusing driver requirements and lots and lots of problems.  I do give Microsoft some credit with Vista, they did enhance it from a security standpoint, which in my mind is very important, although I still have to ask, “who exactly works in the Microsoft User Interface department”?

So if there are no new features, why would Apple do this, and why would anyone want it?  The no new features is not to be taken literally of course.  I’m sure we will see some new features, however, the changes that will take place in Snow Leopard will primarily be under the hood, at the core level of the OS.

So far Apple has announced that Snow Leopard will include:

• A dramatically reduced footprint
• Microsoft Exchange Support
• Multicore
• 64-bit
• Media and Internet
• OpenCL

What does all this mean to the average user, or even the power user?  Let’s take a look at each one individually.

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