Archive for August 5th, 2005

OSX Won’t Run On Just Any Intel PC

When Apple announced that they were to ditch IBM and start to use Intel processors for their Mac computers, the first question on the lips of the tech-savvy was “I wonder if that means OSX will run on my PC?”

It seems that the answer is NO.

The Inquirer reports that Intel-powered Macs that have been delivered to developers contain a digital signature that allows the installation of a specific copy of OSX. Take the OSX DVDs to another Intel PC and they won’t install. In fact, take them to another Intel Mac and they won’t install.

It seems that Apple is keen to make sure that if you want to use OSX (TechSmec.com isn’t sure why anyone would actually want to do this) then you also have to fork out the dosh to buy a shiny, silver Mac. Of course, the PC community isn’t so mean-spirited and it seems possible to install Windows or Linux onto the Apple hardware, so if you’ve always coveted a Mac Mini, but don’t want to forsake Bill Gates you can now do so. It will cost you mind you.

Add comment August 5th, 2005

Secure Your Word Documents

Most users have no idea that a Word document contains more than just the text and formatting that you see on the screen. It also contains a complete history of the creation of the document, so that comment you typed about the boss in the heat of the moment is still there, waiting to be uncovered by a savvy user.

An even more obvious problem is that of blacking out text to obscure it.
The problem came into the public consciousness when the US military in Iraq used the black highlighter to obscure some classified text in a document. Fine in print as the document came out in the traditional ‘censored’ style. However, the document was converted to a PDF and anyone with any experience in the format was able to select the classfied text from under the black highlight.

Now, Microsoft have quietly released a tool that aids in the cleaning up (or ‘redaction’) of Word documents.

The new Microsoft tool, which runs with Office 2003 will remove unwanted text from a document before you distribute it, so you can rest assured that your private thoughts are safe.

Add comment August 5th, 2005

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