ExtraBITS for 26-Jan-09

Fix for Buggy Seagate Firmware on Intel-based Macs — Although Seagate has yet to respond to our inquiries about how Mac users can update buggy firmware in a wide selection of buggy Seagate drives, Steve Maller reports that Seagate tech support walked him through building a CD that booted his Mac Pro into FreeDOS, after which he could run the firmware updater. PowerPC-based Macs and drives in external cases are still out in the cold. (Posted 2009-01-26)

iLife ’09 Shipping on 27-Jan-09 — Apple has announced it will begin shipping iLife ’09 on 27-Jan-09. The latest version features major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie, and GarageBand; comes free with new Macs; and costs $79 for all other users. (Posted 2009-01-26)

Adam Prognosticates on Mac Software Future — For Macworld’s 25th anniversary issue, Adam contributed an article looking at the near-term future of software on the Mac, focusing on three things: what’s coming in Mac OS X, the possibility of a Mac App Store, and how Apple is embracing cloud computing. The nut? Don’t expect big changes in the next year or two. (Posted 2009-01-26)

Macworld’s Six Worst Mac Products Ever — As part of Macworld’s 25th anniversary issue, Adam wrote an article about what he feels are Apple’s six worst Mac-related products of all time. It’s pure opinion, so check out the reader comments about what was – and should have been – included. (Posted 2009-01-26)

Watch Tonya and Andy Ihnatko Strategize at Macworld Expo — In MacVoicesTV episode 917, recorded at Macworld Expo, Tonya plays along as Andy Ihnatko plans to take over NASA and then they both talk about Macworld Expos past, present, and future. Bob LeVitus and Bryan Chaffin join them midway. (Posted 2009-01-22)

Adam’s Predictions for 2009 at Macworld — We forgot to post this earlier, during the bustle of Macworld Expo, but here are Adam’s Apple-related predictions for 2009, as solicited by our friends at Macworld before the show. Note that part of the second prediction has already come true. Score! (Posted 2009-01-20)

Seagate Hard Drive Firmware Bug Makes Disks Unusable — Hard drive manufacturer Seagate is working on a solution to a firmware problem that is rendering many of its high-capacity drives unusable. If you’ve purchased a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11, DiamondMax 22, or Barracuda ES.2 SATA model, check to see if your drive is affected and learn more about possible fixes. Seagate says data remains intact but inaccessible, and is providing recovery services for drives that have been bit by the bug. (Posted 2009-01-19)