Do Podcasts Kill iPod Flash Drives?

Flash drives have a large but finite number of writes that can be performed. According to GetUSB.info, SLC flash memory has about 100,000 write cycles while MLC flash memory has about 10,000 write cycles.

So, let's say you write 2000 songs to a nano or touch (or iPhone). At let's assume you rotate a combination of 50 podcasts, TV shows, and other transient media files (files that do not stay permanently on the iPod) per week. That adds up to about 2600 writes per year over and above song files that may be more-or-less permanent (except on iPod shuffles were playlists probably rotate songs and create write cycles more frequently). Even if the lower life cycle MLC type is used, the flash drive should last about 3 years. If the more durable SLC type is used, the non-replaceable battery will die long before the flash memory burns through its maximum life cycle.

Given these assumptions, I'm not going to worry too much about moving podcasts in and out of my flash based iPod.

Macs are Cheaper than Similar Windows PCs

OK, I was surprised to read this in Popular Mechanics.

Mac vs. PC: The Ultimate Lab Test for New Desktops & Laptops

What is surprising? The Macs are less expensive that comparably configured Windows PCs. I've gotten used to the idea of a "Mac Tax", so this was truly surprising to me. From the article...

Our biggest surprise, however, was that PCs were not the relative bargains we expected them to be. The Asus M51sr costs the same as a MacBook, while the Gateway One actually costs $300 more than an iMac. That means for the price of the Gateway you could buy an iMac, boost its hard drive to match the Gateway’s, purchase a copy of Vista to boot—and still save $100.

Pixelmator 1.1.4 Update

I use Pixelmator a couple times a week for editing images to post to my various blogs. As I fired it up this evening, it notified me that the 1.1.4 March 20 release was ready and gave me the option to download and install it. I've been pretty pleased with the continual work to fix issues and add features to Pixelmator so far.

Mac OS X WiFi Problems Since Last OS X Update

I haven't done much poking around the Mac OS X discussion boards on this issue yet. But, it seems like both my Intel Macs have been having problems working with two different wireless LAN (WiFi) Access Points (WAP) since the last Mac OS X update. The two WAPs are from different manufacturers.

The problem is either no packet reception or lost packets. By, no packet reception, I mean that the Mac does not only not get packets it does not register them as lost. This can be seen while pinging another device. Ping does not report anything for many seconds (say 10 to 15 seconds) and then starts reporting but does not show any lost packets during those 10 to 15 seconds. The other problem is dropped packets where ping stops receiving packets, starts up again, and then reports lost packets correctly.

It looks like the problem shows up when WiFi security is turned on: Either WEP or WPA2. The problem is much worse using WEP compared to WPA2. The problem appears to disappear completely if WiFi security is turned off. The WAPs themselves work fine. Non-Macs (Windows PCs, Pocket PCs, and iPod touch) all work fine with these WAPs with WEP or WPA2 turned on.

If anyone has any tips or information about this or related Mac OS X WiFi problems, please let me know.

Why be Scared of a Mac OS X IPv6 Network Exploit?

Talk about sensationalism... Information Week's title reads: Apple's Mac OS X Vulnerable To Networking Exploit. If you read further, you'll find: a proof-of-concept exploit that takes advantage of a flaw in the way the Apple implements IPv6 support. IPv6? Very very few organizations have deployed IPv6. And, I'll guess most of those few do not use many Macs. On the other hand, the article's author did get me to read the article. So, I guess he did a good job with that scare title. :-)

Neither VMware Fusion nor Parallels Desktop Likes Windows VIsta ISO Files

I updated both Parallels Desktop for Mac 3.0 and VMware Fusion 1.1 to the latest builds last weekend. It looks like neither one can install Windows Vista from ISO files that are from the Microsoft MSDN subscription. However, the installation is going fine (using VMware Fusion right now) using a physical Vista DVD (also from MSDN).

iMovie 06 Downgrade Download

The Apple PC vs. Mac commercials may make fun of people wanting to downgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP. However, Apple has its own downgrade candidate: iMovie 08. I rarely use it, but I had a little project today (literally onhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifly 5 seconds long) that required me to fire up iMovie 08 today. Um, yuck...

So, here's where to find the iMovie 06 downgrade file: iMovie HD 6.0.4