MacWindows News Archives, January-June, 2005

CodeWeavers will help developers port Win apps to Intel Macs. June 24, 2005 -- CodeWeavers Inc. announced on Wednesday that it will offer software porting products to help developers bring Windows applications to next year's Intel-based Macs. CodeWeavers CrossOver technology provides Windows-to-Linux porting software for developers and allows Linux/Intel users to run Windows applications natively on Linux. The company said that users of x86-based Macs who use CrossOver Office will be able to run a wide range of Windows software, including games, which generally don't run in emulators such as Virtual PC.

Earlier this week, we reported that Apple won't prevent Windows from running on its x86-based Macs.

Reader says iEmulator 1.7.6 is slow going. June 24, 2005 -- Kenneth Conrad D' Souzas sent in a report about iEmulator 1.7.6, an x86 emulator for Mac OS X.

I am absolutely baffled with what I saw on my iMacG5/1.8Ghz/2GB memory compared to what they say on their web site. It's as if they are exaggerating through the roof about it's performance...

Windows 2000 is so slow it's utterly unusable, and that's after allotting 1Gbyte of RAM to Windows 2000. I have written to them asking them to explain the disparity between their great comments/description on their site and what I see on my Mac.

You can find previous reports on iEmulator and other x86 emulators on our Virtual PC Alternatives page.

Reader verifies, clarifies fix for Tiger SMB printing. June 24, 2005 -- Chuck White verified a solution we posted earlier in the week regarding problems printing to SMB printers on Active Directory:

Your article today called One more workaround for Tiger/AD/SMB printing problem has finally solved my Tiger printing problem! I have a dual G5 running Tiger and I’ve been trying to print to a Xerox 8160 large format printer which is being shared on a workstation running Win XP Pro. I re-added the printer using the suggested smb://DOMAIN\User:Password@Servername/Printqueuename and the print job worked fine.

A couple of small clarifications on the instructions: My Mac doesn't have an Alt key, I held down the Option key when clicking the Add button and then also Option clicked the More Printers.... button on the next screen. The posted instructions omitted that next you need to pull down the top menu to Advanced, set the Device menu to Windows Printer via SAMBA, I set the Device Name: to 8160 and entered the Device URL: as instructed by your article and finally specify the Printer Model. This worked well and should eliminate my need to boot on a 10.3 partition.

Solution to smb.conf issue with SMB. June 24, 2005 -- Randy Syester responded to a report earlier in the week about altering the smb.conf file on the Windows server to get SMB file sharing to work with Tiger:

At the beginning of the smb.conf file, add an include line that points to a separate file. Not sure if you can do something like this for each file share, but we do it in the local section. Below is a snippet of something we do here. The changes in my_smb.conf aren't touched by the workgroup manager, and WM doesn't touch the include line.

top of the smb.conf file
[global]
include = /private/etc/my_smb.conf
/etc/my_smb.conf
[global]
restrict anonymous = 1
local master = no

Win 2003 Server SMB. June 24, 2005 -- Matthew Egan of Australia describes how he connects his Tiger Mac to a Windows 2003 Server via SMB:

When trying to connect to a Windows 2003 Server via a Mac running 10.4.1 using SMB - you might get the following error message: "The alias [SERVERNAME] could not be opened, because the original item cannot be found."

Connecting to a Macintosh share on the server works fine and printing to any print queues on the server works OK - it's just not able to connect to any shared folders via SMB.

If you have a look at your system log you will see the following error message:

Jun 22 14:42:39 PowerBook kernel[0]: smb_smb_negotiate: server configuration requires packet signing, which we don't support

Jun 22 14:42:39 PowerBook kernel[0]: smb_smb_negotiate: server configuration requires packet signing, which we don't support

The issue is that a Windows 2003 Server by default makes clients attempting to authenticate to them, use SMB packet and secure channel signing. Unfortunately Samba under 10.4 does not support this. You will need to turn off this feature on the Windows 2003 server. I had to restart the Windows Server for the digital signing setting to take affect.

You can find a Microsoft tech article on how to change this.

I search high and low on the net for any info like this and found nothing.

June 21

Apple won't prevent Win from running on Intel Macs. June 21, 2005 -- eWeek quoted an Apple executive say that Apple will not prevent Windows from running on it's upcoming Intel-based Mac hardware. Developers had been speculation on whether Apple would block Windows from running. The eWeek story also quotes the Apple spokesperson saying that the company would not sell Windows or provide support.

MacTech offers free samples of cross-platform and tech info. June 21, 2005 -- MacTech magazine is providing a free PDF file with 167 pages of technical information, including some cross-platform articles. The MacTech Sampler contains articles with such titles as Active Directory, Integrating Entourage and Mail with Exchange Server, Terminal.app Tricks, and articles on programming techniques.

MacTech Magazine covers topics for IT professionals, enterprise network administrators, Mac developers/programmers, and technically inclined users. It was founded in 1984 shortly after Apple launched the 128k Macintosh.

Problems with Win client access to Tiger Server via AD. June 21, 2005 -- Two readers report problems with Windows clients, Tiger Server, and Active Directory.

Win clients locked out of Tiger Server/AD

Gavin Walsh has workaround to a problem with Windows clients accessing Mac OS X 10.4 Server. Unfortunately, the workaround needs to be repeated often:

I have a Tiger Server with Windows and Mac clients authenticating their access to it via an Active Directory. Every time I use the Workgroup Manager to change permissions and save it, our Windows computers can no longer access the share points on the server. The work around for this is to comment out "auth methods = guest opendirectory" and restart windows file services. Users can then access their share points on the server.

This is a problem as every time you change a permission on the server via the Workgroup Manager you need to go back in to the smb.conf file and re-comment out the line as the server overwrites it when you save your changes from the workgroup manager and restart windows file services (users then get disconnected from the server).

Is there any way to keep the commented line in the smb.conf file?

If you know an answer

Startup problem with AD and Open Directory

Justin Andrews reports problems with clients using both Active directory and Tiger Server's Open Directory:

We're having startup problems with clients that are connected to both Microsoft Active Directory and Mac OS 10.4 Tiger Server Open Directory. If a client is configured to connect to both it has startup problems and won't startup (stays at blue screen with grey loading circle).

I configured 3 computers to connect to the Open Directory only, 3 computers to connect to the Active Directory, and 3 computers connected to both.

The 6 computers connected to only one directory worked and started up fine, the other 3 had random startup problems.

If you've seen this issue

Macs hang while searching Win 2003 Server SP1. June 21, 2005 -- Matthias Wengenroth reports that since upgrading Windows 2003 Server to Service Pack 1, the Macs lock up when searchin the server:

We have a Windows 2003 Server with 1TB HDD and all project files on it. Clients run Windows XP SP2, Mac OS 9 and OS X. All works fine using file and print services for Mac (provided by Win2003). Users can search the share and access the files.

Since updating Win 2003 Server to Service Pack 1, all of the Macs, but OS X and OS 9, crash or hang while searching a share with Sherlock or Spotlight.

Access of files is OK (Win and Mac). Searching the share with Win XP is also works.

Uninstalling SP1 solves the problem. But this is not a long time
solution.

If you've seen this issue

One more workaround for Tiger/AD/SMB printing problem. June 21, 2005 -- Dirk Maas found another workaround for the Mac OS X 10.4 Problems printing to SMB printers on Active Directory.

We have several Tiger 10.4.1 Macs in our SBS 2003 Windows 2000 Domain using Kyocera KM2030 and JetDirect attached HP LaserJet 6P.

Following the "SBSMacDoc" guidline helped a lot successfully joining the domain and accessing Exchange Server with Mail.

We too, have an "NT_STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED" Error. I tried setting up Domain Printers manually (holding Alt before clicking on "Adding more printer") using the Authentication that works for SMB Shares:

smb://DOMAIN\User:Password@Servername/Printqueuename

The job now leave the clients and printers even wake from sleep, but still, they do not print.

I'm not sure, what did the trick. We installed Unix Printing Services on the Server and set up Windows Printing on the Mac Clients, which brings up the Authentication Box after choosing the PC. One then can access the list of installed Printers on that Box. This is still not AD Printing, but it is a workaround until Apple fixes the problem.

Mac Explorer upgraded for Tiger. June 21, 2005 -- Rage software has released a maintenance upgrade to its Windows-like tabbed file browser/manager, Macintosh Explorer 4.3.5(US $16, free upgrade). The update improves compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and includes bug fixes.

PDF2Office 2.0 updates conversion utility. June 21, 2005 -- Recosoft Corporation has released PDF2Office Personal v2.0 for Mac OS X ( US$59), a plugin for Microsoft Word X and Word 2004 that will open and convert PDF documents to editable Word files. The company says that the plugin recreates the formatting of the original PDF document, including columns, styles, placement of graphics, tables, and headers/footers.

June 16

Another Cisco VPN Client update for Tiger. June 16, 2005 -- Cisco has release it's second post-Tiger client, version 4.6.04. The update address these issues:

CSCeh90822 unity Mac dual proc panic in 10.4
CSCeh92574 unity Mac 10.4 AFP panics kernel
CSCeh93569 unity Mac will not quit or disconnect on 10.4 no traffic
CSCeh93719 unity Mac profile name rejects spaces
CSCeh95185 unity Mac help file not found
CSCeh96683 unity Mac 10.4 quit disconnect with no default domain name

There are still some problems:

Unresolved Issues

CSCeh90939 unity Mac rekey failure with 10.4
CSCei00630 unity Mac switching networks prevents client connect 10.4
CSCei11378 unity Mac error 47: failed to load ipseclog.exe
CSCeh93891 unity Mac GUI many split tunnels will not pass traffic 10.4
User must have SmartNET login with Encryption entitlement to access software.

VPN Tracker 4.0.2. June 16, 2005 -- Equinux has released VPN Tracker 4.0.2, an update to the VPN client for Mac OS X. Among the improvements:

Improved keychain handling for XAUTH
Fixed and improved several Remote DNS issues
Allow certificate signing requests to have an unlimited validity in demo mode
Fixed several Smart VPN issues

e2Sync, Entourage syncer, updates for Tiger. June 16, 2005 -- e2Sync Tiger is now available for syncing Entourage contacts, events, and tasks with iCal, AddressBook and all iSync compatible mobile devices. The new version addresses compatibility issues with Mac OS X 10.4 and provides syncing by category or by individual contacts.

Entourage Email Archive adds Tiger features. June 16, 2005 -- Softhing has released Entourage Email Archive X 2.2 (EEAX), a new version of the utility for archiving Entourage X emails and attachments. New features include:

Tiger compatibility
Searching from Spotlight
Fixed tab text file export under Tiger.

Reader: SMB fix for 10.4.1 works--almost. June 16, 2005 -- Amelia Lacenski tried the password workaround for Tiger's SMB problem but was only partially successful.

I am one of many who can no longer connect to a Windows server via Samba. I tried the Apple Knowledge Base fix at and read the advice of many MacWindows readers. I'm writing in response to Travis MacDonald's question: we have had some partial success getting to my school department's file server, but haven't successfully logged in yet.

Previously I connected to the server by getting onto the department's VPN and connecting to smb://share.server.domainname.edu, then supplying the username and password.

After "upgrading" to 10.4.1, I took the following steps:

Set up the /etc/nsmb.conf file as in the knowledge base article
Log on to the VPN as usual
Connect to smb://server.domainname.edu/share via the Finder's Connect to Server window

This gets me as far as the SMB/CIFS File System Authentication dialog box, which is a big improvement over the infamous "Error code -36." The correct domain was already supplied in the Workgroup/Domain field. I then tried supplying the usual username and password, and the error returned is "Could not connect to the server because the name or password is not correct." I tried it several times to rule out typos, but it still insists that the username/pass are incorrect.

Hopefully someone who reads MacWindows knows the problem behind this new behavior.

If you are one of them

June 15

PC-Mac-Net 4.6 handles resource forks for Internet file sharing. June 15, 2005 -- Reports PC-Mac-Net FileShare v4.6 offers enhanced Internet file sharing

Lava Software has released PC-Mac-Net FileShare v4.6 (US $25, free upgrade), a new version of the cross-platform file sharing software that works with Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux on local networks and the Internet. Amoung the new features include:

You can now transfer Mac resource forks to and from Windows and Linux
Faster and more reliable connections for Internet file sharing
An automatic firewall test
Now displays the amount of free disk space available for incoming files

CADs move toward Mac. June 15, 2005 -- Ten years ago, IMSI discontinued TurboCAD for the Mac. The company has now announced a return with a new version for Mac OS X. A Publish story describes why the company decided to reenter the Mac market.

Autodesk Inc., has released Autodesk DWF Toolkit, a software development kit that enables developers to create applications that read, write, view, print and query DWF files. For the first time, this version supports multiple operating including the Mac OS X and Linux.

The Tiger SMB problem under 10.4.1. June 15, 2005 -- We have several more reports on Tiger's problem accessing SMB servers, this time with version 10.4.1. Previously, readers offered workarounds, including one stating that the problem is related to password encryption.

John H Fallavollita reports that he can connect by using the NETBIOS name:

My SMB issue was resolved based on how I put the name in. If I fully qualified the DNS name it did NOT work. However if I use the NETBIOS name it works fine. For example SMB://server.domain.com/share wouldn't work but SMB://server/share works fine. This is after clearing the keychain (though I had nothing stored in the keychain.)

I've only tested this in 10.4.1.

Pedro Gelabert found the problem with Win 2003 Server:

Well, I have followed your site's workaround to get SMB mounting on Tiger. I have found that using 10.4.1, the drives I can connect are all in Windows 2000 servers. The drives I cannot connect are in Windows 2003 servers. The failure lies in the authentication of the password:

> spnego_parse_auth_response failed at 9
> Failed to parse auth response
> SPNEGO login failed: Unexpected information received
> session setup failed: SUCCESS - 0

Apparently a bug in Windows 2003 servers prevents the correct handling the request of spnego encrypted passwords, and defaults to kerberos. .

Use the command:
smbclient //shared/directory -W workgroup -U username -d4
The -d4 prints logs of the steps of the connection

In one case, I was able to mount on the terminal using smbclient to a Windows 2000 server shared drive, but not in the Finder. I am not sure if this drive is in a Windows 2003 server but with a flag of Windows 2000 server compatibility.

A co-worker in the Windows 2000 server workgroup can mount the same drives that I cannot mount. So this problem must be dependent on the version of the server (2003 vs 2000) and the encryption method.

Do I have to build kerberos and add this to my settings? I spent quite some time with AppleCare. They were very nice and tried to help, but it was way beyond their scope. They even pointed me to that samba.org web site and this problem.

I have unsucessfully tried
smb://WORKGROUP;USERID@server/share
smb://WORKGROUP@server/share
smb://server/share

What's weird is that some mount on terminal, but not on Finder, and vice-versa. Sometimes, one will mount one day, but not another day.

June 7

Apple Goes Intel
Jobs says OS X has been bi-platform from the start

By John Rizzo
June 7, 2005 -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs has put to rest years of speculation: Apple will put Intel processors inside Macs.

Addressing developers at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Jobs said that Intel-based Macs running Tiger will appear within a year, and that the transition from Power PC to Pentium 4 would be complete within two years. He indicated that performance, particularly for PowerBooks, was a big factor.

Jobs also said that was that for every version of Mac OS X from version 1.0 to Tiger, Apple has had a working Intel-based version. (The fact that Apple was able to kept this secret since 2001 is almost as surprising.) Jobs said he ran all of his WWDC demos with Tiger compiled for a 3.6 GHz Pentium 4.

Intel CEO Paul Otellini referred to Apple as "the world's most innovative computer company," a statement that seemed to take Apple's rivalry with Microsoft and Dell.

MacIntels and emulators

A technology called Rosetta will run PowerPC apps on Intel-based Macs. Apple said that Rosetta won't be like Classic; users won't notice they are running Rosetta.

After the Jobs keynote, an Apple engineer told MacWindows that Rosetta is not an emulator, but is rather an "emulating dynamic translator." The difference is that Rosseta doesn't emulate a PowerPC processor, but translates only those parts need by PowerPC Mac software, and only when needed.

Intel-based Macs won't run Windows software natively, so Microsoft's Virtual PC will still be required for users who need to run Windows software on a Mac. But Apple's move to Intel could eventually help VPC users. Without the need to emulate an Intel processor, Virtual PC could theoretically be rewritten to run quite a bit faster than it does today, using the Mac's native Intel processor and graphics hardware.

Tiger on Dell?

The flip side to Windows on a MacIntel is the concept of running Tiger on a Dell or other PC. Presumably, Apple would want to prevent this to protect Mac hardware sales, but it was not known from attendees and Apple engineers how this would be accomplished.

One technical barrier could be the so-called Endian, or byte-order problem, which refers to the fact that Intel and Macs traditionally arrange bytes in opposite orders.

The Endian problem is also an issue for Mac software developers. To address the problem, Tiger is shipping with SQLite. Bertrand Serlet, Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, said that use of SQLite solves the Endian problem.

Platform-independant Mac Apps

Developers will be able to create platform-independent software that will run on both Intel-based Macs and PowerPC Macs. (Apple is referring to platform-independence of Mac OS X applications as being "universal.") Developers of Cocoa applications will be easier to become universal than Carbon applications. Apple said that Cocoa apps will only require minor tweaks and a recompile.

Carbon applications will require more substantial changes to become Universal. The two biggest sets of Mac software, Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite, are made up entirely of Carbon applications. Both companies expressed support for Apple's decision, but Intel-based Macs could mean big changes for Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit. Does this mean that Mac BU will add native Exchange support to Entourage? Microsoft was not available for comment.

Developer reaction

Although the audience of 3500 developers at the WWDC keynote cheered Jobs when he came on stage, the initial announcement that Apple would abandon the PowerPC was met with silence.

Afterwards, the reaction was mixed. Many developers thought that the use of Intel processor would bring down the cost of Macs, and therefore sell more of their software.

Others were annoyed that Apple is requiring another major development transition only 4 years after Mac OS X was introduced.

"This will help Apple, but at great cost to developers, and little benefit to our customers," said one developer of cross-platform software who wished to remain anonymous.

"We won't know what's in it for developers for three years," said Mark Alldritt of Late Night software. "The worse part is that I'll be dragged kicking and screaming from Code Warrior."

Ports to Mac-Intel platform will require Apple's Xcode 2.1 and later; Metroworks code Warrior will no longer work.

Apple to release OS X 10.5 at Longhorn release. June 7, 2005 -- Apple announced yesterday that it would release Mac OS X 10.5, code named Leopard, at the end of 2006. Apple CEO Steve Jobs indicated that the release would coincide with the release of Microsoft's Longhorn, the long-awaited next generation of Windows.

Apple releases QuickTime 7 for Windows preview. June 7, 2005 -- At WWDC yesterday, Apple announced that is shipping preview releases of Quicktime 7 Player for Windows (free) and QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows (US $30). Apple will release final versions this summer. Like QuickTime Pro for Mac, the Windows version supports the H.264 high-quality video standard, as well as 24 channels of audio.

June 2

Microsoft will support new Office file formats on Mac OS X . June 2, 2005 -- Microsoft's Mac Business Unit said that it will support the new Office for Windows XML file formats in a future version of Office for Mac. Today, Microsoft announced that new Office XML Open Formats will be the default formats for Office 12.

A Microsoft spokesperson said "the Mac BU continues to partner closely with Windows Office to ensure seamless cross-platform compatibility. The Mac BU will support the new file formats and work to enable forward compatibility with future Office releases."

An eWeek report describes the new Office XML Open Format as requiring converters for the current .doc, .xls, and .ppt formats.

The Microsoft spokesperson described the new formats:

The Microsoft Office XML Open Format is based on an open standard with a
royalty-free license that is broadly accessible to any technology provider.
The Mac BU will provide Office for Mac users with the ability to take advantage of benefits of the new file format and container technology, which will include easier recovery of corrupted documents, improved security and smaller file sizes.

Apple acknowledged Tiger SMB problem while denying it. June 2, 2005 -- Garrett Kline points out that Apple posted a Knowledge Base article describing the problem of Mac OS X 10.4.x not being able to access SMB servers. The article is dated May 5, the same day that an Apple spokesperson told us that none of their customers had reported the problem.

The Apple article describes the -36 error and states that the cause of the problem is related to password encryption, as reported by MacWindows readers.

This error can occur if your Mac OS X 10.4 client is trying to connect to a Samba or Windows (SMB/CIFS) server that only supports plain text passwords...Unlike Mac OS X 10.3, the Mac OS X 10.4 SMB/CIFS client by default only supports encrypted passwords.

The article also explains how to set Mac OS X to use plain text passwords. The procedure involves shell commands in the Terminal application.

Fix for Cisco VPN and Tiger 10.4.1. June 2, 2005 -- Laurent Taupin of France offers a fix for the Citrix VPN problem with Mac OS X 10.4:

I had the same problem after an upgrade to 10.4.1 from MacOS 10.3.9.

After a call to Cisco support, a workaround is available with this command (in this case, PIX firewall is tunnel terminating):

vpngroup <group_name> default-domain <domain_name>

With this command, all it's okay.

If you've tried this fix

iEmulator 1.7.6 accesses Mac files from Windows. June 2, 2005 -- iEmulator has released version 1.7.6 (US $24, free upgrade) of its PC emulator for Mac OS X as a free upgrade. The new version allows users to access Mac OS X volumes, folders, and files from Windows.

See our Alternative PC Emulators page for our previous reports on non-Microsoft PC emulators for Mac OS X.

Readers verify that VPC 5 works with Tiger. June 2, 2005 -- Two readers verified last week's report that Virtual PC 5 will run in Mac OS X 10.4, despite it having serious incompatibilities with Panther.

Vince Cammarata:

Virtual PC 5.04 indeed does work on Tiger. After having to boot into OS 9 for the few times I needed to convert some embedded Kaleidagraph files in Word docs, I find that I no longer need an OS 9 boot volume. Tiger runs VPC just fine. I wonder what got "fixed?"

Rob Rohan:

Yes, VPC 5.0.4 works well in Tiger. I run XP, 98 and Debian on it and it works surprisingly well. I've also just got VPC7 which works too (aside from the non Virtual Switch, which is a pain).

If you've tried to run Virtual PC 5.0.4 in Tiger

May 2005

Lismore releases Tiger update for Guest PC. May 26, 2005 -- Lismore Software Systems has released Guest PC 1.4 (US $70, free upgrade), a new version of the x86 emulator for Mac OS X that adds compatibility with Apple's Tiger operating system. In addition to the ability to run Windows, the new version enhances the Setup Assistant with help in installing Linux and Unix. Guest PC 1.4 also includes localizations for German, French and Italian.

Lismore said that version 1.4 also includes some bug fixes, including networking and printing in Tiger, handing of DVD images, and Ethernet card and video output problem in Linux.

For more on Guest PC and other alternatives to Virtual PC, see our Alternative PC Emulators page.

Tiger SMB workaround verified; another is offered. May 26, 2005 -- We've had further verification that turning off encrypted passwords allows SMB volumes to mount in Mac OS X 10.4.1 as well as in 10.4.0. We've also had reports that not using a domain controller also works around the problem.

John Ajao offers another workaround regarding the domain controller which is probably related to the encrypted passwords issue:

Peter Scordamaglia had a comment that relates the two approaches in Mac OS X 10.4.1:

Brad Price discovered some interesting clues to the problem in the packet traffic:

Meanwhile, other readers are reporting that the 10.4.1 solved the problem. For Matt Widener, the update did the trick:

MacWindows Tiger page now up. May 23, 2005 -- We've consolidated most of our previous Mac OS X reports on a new Tiger Reports page.

ShareWay IP adds AFP-over-AppleTalk for Tiger. May 23, 2005 -- OpenDoor mentions that its ShareWay IP software is the only solution that restores AFP-over-AppleTalk access for Tiger. (Tiger only supports AFP over IP, and dropped AppleTalk.) ShareWay IP allows Macs running Tiger to access Macs running System 7 and 8. It also allows Tiger to access Windows NT Server Services for Mac, which runs AppleTalk.

Reader says Tiger fixes VPC 5. May 23, 2005 -- With Mac OS X 10.4 causing incompatibilies with so much third-party software, it is surprising to hear a reader (identified as "Red Shift") say that Tiger actually fixes the old Virtual PC 5.0.4:

We've previously reported that the Virtual Switch networking feature of VPC 6 and 7 does not work under Tiger.

Readers on Cisco VPN and Tiger 10.4.1. May 23, 2005 -- Last week we reported that the new Cisco virtual private network client worked with Mac OS 10.4.1 for some, and did not for others. Today, an anonymous reader can connect, but not disconnects:

May 18

Tiger patch aimed at AD, SMB, VPN and other compatibility issues; readers say problems persist. May 18, 2005 -- Less than a month after shipping Tiger, Apple has released the first patch, the Mac OS X 10.4.1 Update. Apple says that among a long list of bug fixes, the update deals with problems regarding SMB/CIFS filesharing, logon to Active Directory and LDAP servers, as well as incompatibilities with third-party software and hardware. Some developers of virtual private network clients are saying that Apple's patch will work with new updates to their own software. Some MacWindows readers, however, are saying that the new update does not solve their problems with Tiger in these areas. (See stories below.)

Apple said that AFP file sharing and using DHCP in wireless networks were also improved.

Reader says 10.4.1 doesn't fix SMB problem. May 18, 2005 -- Travis MacDonald reports that Mac OS X 10.4.1 does not fix the problem mounting SMB volumes in Tiger:

Readers say 10.4.1 update does not fix AD problems; one offers a fix. May 18, 2005 -- Several readers report that the Tiger update 10.4.1 does not fix the problem with login into Active Directory, despite Apple claim to the contrary. Several reader report that new version made matters worse:

Sean Lynch also thought 10.4.1 made matters worse, but has a suggestion to fix it:

Cisco updates VPN client for Tiger; still no go for dual processors. May 18, 2005 -- Cisco has released a version 4.6.03 (.0160) of it's Mac OS X virtual private network client, which the company says is at least compatible with Tiger on single-processor Macs, but not on dual-processor Macs. The new version will run on dual-processor Macs with Mac OS X 10.2.x and 10.3.x. On dual-processor Macs with Tiger, the new client can cause a kernel panic. Users with a password can download the new version at the Cisco web site.

Alexander Kohr, however, said that the new version didn't work on either 10.4.0 or 10.4.1:

Tiger 10.4.1 and VPN Tracker patch fix problem. May 18, 2005 -- Equinux has announced that the combination of Apple's Mac OS X 10.4.1 and a new VPN Tracker 4.0.1 patch released yesterday make the two completely compatible.

Equinux said that a problem with the Tiger kernel produced slow performance over virtual private network connections, a claim echoed by other VPN client developers. With Tiger 10.4.1, the company said the speed of VPN Tracker 4.0.1 in Tiger 10.4.1 is faster than in Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. The new version also fixes other bugs as well.

Broken Entourage rules in Tiger; a fix. May 18, 2005 -- Theo Nicolakis verified our prevous report (below) that Entourage's rules are lost when running Entourage:

May 16

Entourage in Tiger: readers verify Spotlight tip for spinning beach ball. May 16, 2005 -- Readers have verified that Spotlight is the cause of the eternally spinning beach ball with Entourage in Tiger. Not all readers are having the problem, but many are reporting that setting Spotlight to ignore Entourage fixes the problem.

Entourage and Mail in Tiger issue: inconsistent syncing. May 16, 2005 -- Greg DeMichillie reports another Tiger-caused Entourage problem that also affects Mail:

Microsoft to release Longhorn Beta this summer. May 16, 2005 -- PC Magazine reports that Microsoft is getting ready to release the first beta version of it's Longhorn operating system this summer, and is now releasing details. The story describes some of the new features, including this comment: "In some ways, Longhorn will resemble the file system effects already in the Macintosh OS X."

May 12

Group Logic releases Tiger-compatible EZ-IP. May 12, 2005 -- Group Logic has released ExtremeZ-IP 4.0.4, a free upgrade that provides Mac OS X 10.4 compatibility. ExtremeZ-IP is AFP 3.1 file server software for Windows 2003/2000 servers and Windows XP workstations.

The company said that the uprade also includes performance enhancements and support for gigabit networking.

PC-Mac-Net FileShare 4.5 doubles performance. May 12, 2005 -- Lava Software has shipped PC-Mac-Net FileShare 4.5 (free upgrade), cross-platform encrypted file transfer software for Mac, Windows, and Linux. PC-Mac-Net FileShare works on local networks and the Internet.

Lava Software said that the new version doubles file transfer speeds over previous versions. It also includes new features, such as:

The company offers a free Lite Edition, which has a 3-user limit and a 10mb file size limit.

Tiger SMB mounting problem linked to password Encryption? May 12, 2005 -- Ronald Jore believes that the Tiger's problems with mounting SMB volumes is caused by an inability to sendunencrypted passwords:

Workaround for Tiger SMB printing problem. May 12, 2005 -- A reader who wishes to be anonymous has discovered a workaround to the problem of SMB printing with Mac OS X 10.4:

Win can't access Mac printers under Tiger. May 12, 2005 -- Dr. Ronald Weiss is seeing the problem that is oposite to the one above, in that Windows PC's can no longer access Macs after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.4:

Mac Explorer 4.3.1 adds OS X 1.4 support. May 12 -- Rage Software has released Macintosh Explorer 4.3.1 (US $16), a Tiger-compatiblility update for the software that provides a Windows-Explorer like file manager for Mac OS 9 and OS X. The new version also adds performance gains fixes bugs.

May 5

Spotlight cripples Entourage in Tiger: a fix is offered. May 5, 2005 -- Several readers verified the problem of Entourage in Tiger getting stuck in "spinning beach ball" mode, which we reported on Tuesday.

Daniel Golding: Having very slow, spinning beach ball issues with Entourage and Tiger.

A VPN client that works in Tiger. May 5, 2005 -- Rob Dandrea says that Gracion's DigiTunnel, a PPTP virtual private network client, works with Mac OS X 10.4:

VPN Tracker 4 adds support for Cisco PIX, VPN. May 5, 2005 -- Equinux has released VPN Tracker 4 (US $89 Personal Edition, $179 Pro), a new version of it's virtual private network client for Mac OS X. VPN Tracker 4 adds support for Cisco PIX and Cisco VPN Concentrator, offering an alternative to Cisco's client. (It does not support the older model 5000 concentrator.) VPN Tracker is now compatible with over 250 major commercial firewalls/gateways.

The company says that the new version is compatible with Mac OS X Tiger, but runs 25 percent slower than it does in Mac OS X 10.3. The reason according to Equinux:

Citrix problems with Tiger. May 5, 2005 -- Rick Nooner had a problem installing the Citrix client, but found a fix:

Groupcal incompatible with Tiger. May 5, 2005 -- Snerdware says that it's Groupcal is incompatible with Mac OS X 10.4. It will install successfully, but will not launch.

Groupcal enables you to work with a Microsoft Exchange calendar from Apple's iCal. It can synchronize events and tasks, schedule people and resources for meetings, and respond to meeting requests, among other things.

PGP Desktop Beta available for Tiger. May 5, 2005 -- PGP has issued PGP Desktop 9.0 beta (prerelease) that is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.

More reports of SMB problems in Tiger; suggestions for client and server. May 5, 2005 -- We've had many reports of SMB problems in Mac OS X 10.4. We have three categories of reports today:

Santino Rizzo is one reader who is NOT having a problem with accessing SMB servers:

May 3

Developers verify Tiger incompatibilities. May 3, 2005 -- Reports of incompatibilities with Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and cross-platform network software continue to pour in. Readers are verifying yesterday's reports, as are vendors. Another developer, Equinux, is saying that there is a bug in Tiger's kernel. (An eWeek report has additional info.)

Readers have also sent in new reports of Tiger problems, including incompatibility with other products and those with standard file sharing.

Steven Palm gives a technical description of some of the changes in the Tiger kernel:

Most of these manufacturers are advising customers not to upgrade to Tiger until the problems are worked out.

Microsoft verifies VPC 7 Virtual Switch bug;
Readers say VPC 6 also affected. May 3, 2005 -- Microsoft verified yesterday's report of Virtual PC 7's Virtual Switch option not working in Tiger. A spokesperson said that it would be fixed in a free patch from Microsoft in 2-to-3 months.

Thanks to all of the readers who wrote in to verify the problem. Two readers also reported that the problem occurs in Virtual PC 6 as well.

VPN Vendors verify Tiger incompatibles;
several more clients added to the broken list. May 3, 2005 -- VPN software seems to be affected across the board. We have these reports added to yesterday's.

Check Point verified yesterday's reader reports that it's VPN-1 SecureClient is incompatible with Tiger. Check Point expects to have a fix this month.

Like Thursby and Lobomoto, Equinux says that Apple will need to fix a kernel bug before it can complete the update of its product.

Prosoft Client incompatible with Tiger. May 3, 2005 -- Michael Campbell in Australia reports about the Prosoft NetWare client for Mac OS X:

Mac OS X 10.4 Server halts on reboot after configuring directory services. May 3, 2005 -- Greg Priglmeier is having problems rebooting Tiger Server and Active Directory and Open Directory:

Problems with Tiger SMB file sharing. May 3, 2005 -- Several readers reported problems connecting using the SMB file sharing protocol:

Robert Kuhling, Jr., reported a problem connecting to a printer attached to a Unix machine:

Tiger can't connect to old AFP server. May 3, 2005 -- Doug McNutt reports that Tiger will not connect to older Macintosh machines running OS 7. He sent us a link to a description at MacFixIt forums. McNutt also sent us a description of his situation:

It turns out that the reason is that Mac OS X 10.4 no longer supports AFP over AppleTalk. (AFP over IP is still supported.)

May 2

Tiger breaks numerous network apps; developers blame kernel bug. May 2, 2005 -- Today's news focuses on numerous reports we've received of various types of networking software that no longer work under Mac OS X 10.4, Tiger, which began shipping last Friday. We haven't heard of this much networking software breaking since Mac OS X 10.1, which was a major rewrite of the kernel and much of the BSD-based core.

Two developers, Thursby Software and Lobotomo Software, blame at least part of the problem on a bug in Tiger's kernel.

Last week we reported that Cisco announced that it's VPN client is incompatible with Tiger, and that Group Logic told users that it is hoping to release a Tiger-compatible version of ExtremeZ-IP in a few weeks. (ExtremeZ-IP runs on Windows, however, and is not as affected as Mac software.)

Reader reports VPC 7 Virtual Switch broken with Tiger. May 2, 2005 -- A reader named Pete reports that the Virtual Switch networking option in Virtual PC 7 does not work after upgrading Mac OS X to version 10.4 (Tiger).

In Virtual PC, Virtual Switch networking, a virtual machine running Windows can have it'ss own network connection that is separate from the Mac's. The other VPC networking option is Shared Networking, in which the virtual machine shares the Mac's Internet connection.

The vastness of Apple's enhancements to critical parts of the system (both the kernel dealing with network transports and the file system) are requiring a major effort to obtain compatibility.

Thursby reports that when upgrading to Tiger when ADmitMac is installed, the Mac can fail to boot. Thursby provides a workaround at its web site.

Thursby said that part of the problem is a bug that Apple has acknowledged, and that Tiger compatible versions of ADmitMac 3.0, due on August 8, and DAVE 6.0, due in late August, were dependent on Apple's bug fix.

Lobotomo Software, makers of the IPSecuretas VPN client, also says that there is a bug in the Tiger kernel. (See the story directly below.)

The ADmitMac and DAVE upgrades will be free to customers who purchased the products on or after April 1, 2005. Thursby will notify registered customers when the new releases are available.

Cisco is not alone: Tiger breaks other VPN clients. May 2, 2005 -- Last week, we reported that Cisco said its VPN client is incompatible with Tiger. Apani (formerly Netlock) and Lobotomo Software have since followed suit, and readers also reporting incompatibles with the Check Point VPN client.

Lobotomo Software is reporting problems with its IPSecuritas VPN client at a user discussion forum. Lobotomo Software seems to agree with Thursby that there is a bug in the Mac OS X 10.4 that Apple needs to fix:

Lee Unks reported to MacWindows that he is seeing the first two of these problems:

Mark Alexander reports that the Apani support page reports an incompatibility with Tiger:

This reader also sent a not to Apani, and received the same message as Dave Scott.

Active Directory/Open Directory problems with Tiger. May 2, 2005 -- Santino Rizzo reported Tiger problems with Active Directory and Open Directory:

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