Speed Download 1.0.8 is Out

From the author Frederick Cheung, "Speed Download 1.0.8 has been released. You may download it from my web page or you might wish to try this alternate download link. New/changed in this version:

-many bug fixes under OS X
-more MP optimisations (when running OS 9 or higher)
-Queue allows multiple selections"

This is one shareware apps that is really worth the money. It really works well for us in the office or on the road.

-- Weekend, April 14-15 --

[11:45a ET] Mac OS X 10.0.1 Update--Tips: Several people have emailed us their difficulties in getting and installing the update. Here are some tips:

1. You Installed the Leaked Builds 4L5 or 4L7--Go to Library->Receipts folder and delete the file "10.0.1Update.pkg". Then use the Software Update application. If that doesn't work, you may have to do a clean install from the original Mac OS X 10.0 CD which takes longer than an original installation but reportedly leaves preferences untouched.

2. You Got the Software Update 1.3.1 but the Build Number is Still 4K78--You need to go back and run the Software Update application again.

3. You Got Software Update 1.3.1 but It Still Won't Locate Mac OS X 10.0.1--Quit the System Preferences application and relaunch it. If that doesn't work, restart. If that doesn't work, you probably face the dreaded clean install from the Mac OS X CD.

How do you know what you have? On the disk/partition with Mac OS X, go to the Library->Receipts folder. If you have the original OS X 10.0 Build 4K78, it installed three .pkg "receipts":

Essentials.pkg

BSD.pkg

AdditionalPrinterDrivers.pkg

The 10.0.1 update adds:

10.0.1Update.pkg

SoftwareUpdate131.pkg

MinimalSystem.bom

If you intalled the Developers Tools form the CD that came with Mac OS X, then there is a "Developer.pkg" file and if you installed the Epson Printer Driver Update 1.1, then there is a "EpsonPrintDrivers.pkg" file. There may be additional items from applications that you've installed.

The .pkg files can be opened and their contents examined by using the Context Menu to select "Show Package Contents"--just Control-Click on the .pkg's icon. This will reveal a folder called "Contents" and opening it will reveal a folder called "Resources" and opening it will reveal all the packaged files. There will be files named "package_version" and "software_version". You can open them with the TextEdit application to see what Build the .pkg came from.

[9:30a ET] Mac OS X 10.0.1 Update--First Impressions: We checked our iDisk and Apple's software server but as of publication time 10.0.1 is still only available by the Software Update application in the System Preferences window. We have installed 10.0.1 (all three downloads) on 5 Macs so far: iMac 350 SL, iMac 400 DV SE, iBook SE 466, PowerBook 2000 and Power Mac G4 533 DP. All installations went well with no hitches. The longest "Optimization" time by far during the installation among the iMac 400, PowerBook 2000 and PowerMac G4 533 DP occurred with the most used computer, the PowerBook 2000. Perhaps because it has the most files or perhaps because we had run the "sudo update_prebinding -root /" command on it previously to speed up the original 10.0.

The new version is clearly faster in Finder operations including the launch of applications. Mac OS X Finder operations on the 533 DP are now crisp and rather snappy, not quite like 9.1, but much closer and, unlike with v10.0, it runs OS X obviously faster than the PowerBook 2000 and iMac 400. Scrolling in OmniWeb, our visual standard, is faster as is scrolling in navigation windows. Window resizing still lags the cursor movement in OS X's Finder. We are using all of the speed tricks: thousands of colors, magnification off and animation off. We haven't tried the prebinding command yet but we believe this is now part of the installation process and the reason for the long "Optimizing" period.

More later.

[9:00a] "Oh What A Mac" From dtiberio, "I just released my first song about the Macintosh, called 'Oh What A Mac'. It is available for free."

[9:00a] Snak for Mac OS X is Out: From the author Kent Sorensen, "Snak is a full featured IRC client with some unique and very useful features. A Carbonized version of the program has been released, and can be downloaded. In addition to compatibility with OS X the new version improves the MP3 request list and fixes a bug where the program would not remember some registration numbers. An IRC client will let you participate in discussions in virtual meeting rooms on the Internet. There are thousands of meeting rooms full of people from all over the world."