Philip Wen’s Virtual Residence

Finally- Live Mesh on the Mac!

Windows Live Mesh

Ever since I started using Live Mesh about a year ago, I have been waiting for the Mac client.  Not that I turn on my Mac often, but this may just give me more reason to use it.

Nowadays, a computer is basically a browser appliance to me.  Since I spend most of the time inside Chrome (and Firefox when it’s required — such as running VMs remotely), the question of my OS of choice has become somewhat of a moot point.  Because Chrome only runs on a PC right now, I am mostly on a PC’s right now anyway.  I am a big proponent of cloud computing, and am more of a fan of browsers than of OS’s.

Would it be too much to ask if I say I am waiting on a Live Mesh Linux client?

New OSX Trojan Horse found in the wild

crunchy apple indeed

If you think your shiny new Macbook Pro is built like a bullet and is impervious to harm, you’d better think twice.  The misconception that OS X is virus proof runs rampant– and while there is some truth that there are less threats targeting the Mac Platform, the public still needs to be educated that no OS is a safe haven from security threats, and this include Apple’s Sacred OS.

Next time you drive your new MBP to one of those “entertainment” sites at night, be a little more watchful about those error messages you get.  The DNS hijack exploit is common on all platforms, but this one is specifically targeted toward the Apple users amongst us.

To learn more about this exploit, go check it out here.  Of course, the press release is trying to pump the company’s security software, but a little bit of extra judiciousness is all you need in this case.

Tags: Apple, exploit, mac, osx

Possible Sale on Apple products this Black Friday?

let us play a round of 'The Price Is Right'

There is a lot of speculation on wall street that in order to draw in the yet-to-be-converts this holiday season, the Jobster may finally cave in on his sticky pricing and offer a seldom-heard-of “Apple Sale”.  Not only that, it is possible that some new, lower priced products are in the works to accommodate consumers’ suddenly-smaller wallets.  You can read more about it here and here.  To give you an idea of how popular the idea is, see this screen grab on the number of search results on Google.

number of apple black friday search results

One of the biggest reasons why I have not owned an Apple products in recent history (my last Apple product was the original iPod) is the pricing.  I believe this is also the main reason that the Apple brand has maintained its cachet, much like Daimler’s Maybach and Louis Vuitton bags.  Luxury experience on a commodity product?  Of course there is a market for it.  A BIG market, judging by Apple’s track record.

Now with rest of the high end brands slashing prices, can Apple afford to NOT accommodate?  We will find out soon enough.  But if the Wall Street Analysts are right– and there is no reason they won’t be in this case — I expect to see all luxury brands - including Apple - to suffer from some brand value dilution this time around.

And that’s good news for those of you still carrying wallets flushed with cash.

Update 11/25/08: Just found this teaser page.  Stay tuned.

Update 11/26/08: Check out the post here.

Update 11/28/08: Boo.  Nothing special.  Should have figured.

Tags: Apple, Bargains, Black Friday, Business, economy, sale