Apple has released iPod Updater 2005-11-17, which includes new iPod Software 1.1.3 for iPod shuffle. The updater contains the same software versions as iPod Updater 2005-10-12 for all other iPod models.

The company cryptically states that iPod Software 1.1.3 for the iPod shuffle includes bug fixes.

Apple notes that iTunes versions earlier than 4.7.1 are not supported and will not sync music properly with iPod shuffle. Mac OS X versions 10.3 through 10.3.3 are not supported.

iPod Update 2005-11-17 is available through Software Update or has a 37 MB standalone download.

If you are having a problem with the update, please let us know.

What type of connections the update will optimize best Though Apple indicated that the Broadband Tuner patch was designed for high latency connections, the company has now become more explicit about which connection types will benefit most from the patch -- specifically fiber optic connections like Verizon's burgeoning FiOS offering.

Apple added a statement to the Broadband Tuner's download page stating that the patch is most effective for "very high speed FiOS based Internet connections that have a high latency."

Users with satellite connections, which generally suffer from long ping times, should also see significant benefit.

You can check your connection's latency entering the following command in the Terminal, then pressing return

• ping a.root-servers.net

If you see a relatively high response time (above 80 milliseconds), you will most likely see benefits from the patch.

More reader results That said, users continue to report varying results with a number of different connection types. It appears that for some users, benchmarked throughput decreases even though a genuine increase in page loading response time is apparent.

Bill Haney writes:

"Have noticed a very sizable speed increase in loading pages. Seems to work great!"

Some users see no changes after applying the patch. Dave Steinberg writes:

"I have two computers on the same Comcast cable line. A Dual 2 GHz on ethernet, and a powerbook 1.5 ghz on a 802.11g Belkin router. Both machines gave the same upload (about 295 kb/sec) and download (about 4100 kb/sec) results on repeated attempts. I installed broadband tuner only on the 2.0 GHz machine and then compared the two machines speeds. Both continued with the same speeds, with and without broadband tuner."

Some users report only a an increase in upload speed with the patch. Matthew Dahlquist writes:

"At my office I have an Xserve G4 acting as router/firewall/NAT between our internal private network and the outside world. Our internet connection is 3Mbps symmetrical wireless point-to-point. Before installing Broadband Tuner I tested my personal PowerBook G4 (867) at http://www.speakeasy.net/. Then I installed Broadband Tuner on the Xserve and retested. Here are my results:

Before:

• 1868 kbps up
• 2697 kbps down

After:

• 2730 kbps up
• 2795 kbps down

Greg Thoennes compares Broadband Tuner with the shareware tool BroadbandOptimizer:

"Broadband Tuner gave me an average of 7.4% increase in download speed and 4% increase in upload speed. I did the uninstall, then installed Broadband Optimizer 1.5 to check the difference. The Optimizer returned a 5.3% download increase and a 1% Upload decrease. Speed tests were conducted using Speakeasy and results did vary, test after test, so the averages are quoted here. We're using a wireless Motorola antenna running about 3Mbps. Dual 867 G4, Ethernet/Airport XServe access, 2Gb RAM, dual monitors, 3 external Firewire HDs, external DVD/CD RW."

Problems with some downloads Meanwhile, we have some unconfirmed reports of interrupted podcast downloads after applying the patch.

One reader writes:

"After installing broadband tuner my itunes podcasts hang. I tried speakeasy to see if my performance changed. it just sat there -- no speed test. Uninstalled and everything is back to normal. I am on Adelphia.net"

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• Apple Broadband Tuner 1.0 (#2): Most report increased throughput; Reduced throughput speed for some; Uninstall instructions
• Apple releases Broadband Tuner 1.0

Microsoft Entourage 2004 11.2.1 exhibits an issue when printing e-mails with certain types of attachments -- specifically JPEG images and some other types -- where the limited default Apple print dialog box appears instead of the normal extended self-spawned print dialog box that includes the ability to preview and customize other options.

When this problem manifests, it prevents envelopes from printing and any other special printing customization done within Entourage.

MacFixIt reader Peter MacLaren is one user suffering from this issue. He writes:

"When an email with a .jpg (and some other attachment types) are printed, the default Apple Print Dialog box comes up and the email is printed without its envelope. However if there are no attachments, or just for example .pdf attachments, the normal Office dialog box comes up and the email prints with its envelope as it should.

If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.

A handful of readers report that recent changes to the Bank of America Web site cause some problems with the latest release of Safari.

MacFixIt reader Jeffrey Ellis writes:

"Bank of America Online Banking has recently instituted a new 'SiteKey' policy for logging onto their site. This uses a combination image/word/passkey scheme, and does not fully work with Safari. What Mac users get when they try to login to their account is a blank page with a Bank of America header, instead of the SiteKey entry form. Apparently, this has do with a faulty bit of code in the site’s ability to deal with Macromedia ActiveX controls

Jeffrey later spoke with Bank of America technical support who offered the following two workarounds:

• After the Bank of America header loads, you get a Page Done report at the bottom of the Safari window (if you have View-->Status Bar selected). You should then simply wait, as the script which starts the SiteKey portion of the page is still running at the BofA site. On my machine it took an additional 30 seconds or so for further activity to be displayed, loading the SiteKey portion of the page. I was then able to enter my passkey.
• If that fails, there is the more extreme workaround of removing Macromedia’s Flash Player entirely, which Bank of America has found to work with 'everyone we've talked to'. See this Macromedia Tech Article with download instructions for various Mac versions of the Flash Player uninstaller. Quit Safari. Use the uninstaller to remove Flash Player from Safari. Restart Safari. The Bank of America site should now function properly.

If you are experiencing problems with the Bank of America Web site, please drop us a line at late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Confusion on Apple's download page Apple's download page for Security Update 2005-009 for Mac OS X 10.3.9 (Panther) incorrectly states "About Security Update 2005-009(Tiger Client)."

Though the information is wrong, the download link on that page does indeed download the 20 MB Mac OS X 10.3.9 version of the Security Update.

Kernel panics at next startup, recovering A surprisingly high number of users reported kernel panics after application of the update.

One reader writes:

"The latest security update has hosed my now iSight iMac. I.m getting a kernel panic right after startup. I'm reinstalling OS X now.:

Another reader adds:

"Okay, I screwed up, didn't follow your advice, worked while it was updating and now the machine (dual 2GHz G5) hangs after log in with the dreaded 'you must restart'

Dan Nelson adds

"I installed the patch last night on my Pismo it had kernel panic on restart the next reboot it started fine however when I log in it puts me into console mode, I cannot find a way to get it to go in the GUI. I have tried fsck and booting off a Drive Genius disk and repairing permissions and no luck."

If you experience startup problems, first try starting in Safe mode (hold the "Shift" key while you startup), then delete some cache files to make sure their corruption isn't at fault.

This can most easily be accomplished with a shareware utility like Tiger Cache Cleaner or Panther Cache Cleaner, but also bears a manual process which involves dragging the following files to the trash:

• com.apple.kernelcaches (a folder in /System/Library/Caches)
• Extensions.kextcache (a file in /System/Library)
• Extensions.mkext (a file in /System/Library/)
• com.apple.ATS (a folder in /Library/Caches/)
• Files that start with com.apple.LaunchServices (in /Library/Caches)

You will be prompted to enter your administrator password when dragging these files to the trash. You may need to restart after moving them to the trash.

If the above procedure fails, you may need to uninstall Security Update 2005-009.

This can be accomplished via the following process; adapted from our tutorial on reverting to a previous iteration of Mac OS X. Note, however, that reverting your system will remove any refinements brought by the update and leave your system open to potential vulnerabilities.

First, make a backup of your current Mac OS X installation with the Security Update applied, problematic as it may be. If there is an issue along the way, your valuable data will be safely intact in its current form.

Next, you'll need to perform an Archive and Install process to remove all of the Security Update's (and potentially problem-causing) components, and replace them with the components of a fresh copy provided by the Mac OS X disc that shipped with your system, or a retail Mac OS X disc. Unfortunately, this means you will lose some system settings and some or all third-party system add-ons.

To begin the process, insert your Mac OS X CD or DVD, as indicated above. Restart your machine and hold down the "C" key to boot from the newly inserted disc. Follow the on-screen instructions, and after accepting the license agreement, click "Options." Select "Archive and Install," and check the "Preserve User and Network Settings" option if you'd like to do so.

After the installation process is complete, you will be left with an earlier Mac OS X system that (hopefully) does not suffer from the problems generated by the Security Update. Use Software Update or Apple's download page to download the update that brings your system to a state directly prior to the Security Update (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or Mac OS X 10.4.3).

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage:

• Apple releases Security Update 2005-009 for Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger) and Mac OS X 10.3.x Panther; Update recommendations

Covering these topics:

• Release Notes
• Lapses in AirPort connectivity; Sudden drop-offs in network throughput
• User comments on brighter screen
• Developer Notes
• Using DiskWarrior with the PowerBook G4 Dual-Layer SuperDrive
• Faulty batteries
• Slowdown in graphics performance
• USB Port problems
• Why the battery lasts longer than previous models

Firefox 1.5: web browser. The new release has faster browser navigation with improvements to back and forward button performance.

Saft 8.2.1: Safari plugin: shortcuts, full screen, kiosk mode and more. The new release has ad/banner blocking with simple URL pattern matching.

Cocoa Cookies 0.6: manage cookies in Safari, NetNewsWire, Shiira. In the new release you can choose to group cookies by their domain in a tree table view. Click View -> Group By Domain or type command-G to toggle the main cookies table from a normal table view to a tree table view.

IPNetRouterX 1.1.1: router, firewall and network management utility. The new release has a fix for NAT to support systems with dual Ethernet built-in.

IPNetSentryX 1.3.1: watches for and blocks suspicious network behavior. The new release has a bug fix for a problem saving new documents to default location.

iSquint 0.9j: iPod video converter, works great with AVIs and MPEGs. The new release has an improved interface.

Synergy 2.3rc2: iTunes menubar control, hotkeys, cover art downloads. The new release fixes a problem with license code validation on the Intel platform caused by byte-ordering issues.

safeThis 1.2: create encrypted disk images. The new release adds an option to secure delete files and folders.

Intel's "Viiv" technology to show up in new Macs? Reuters speculates that Intel's Viiv technology -- "a collection of its dual-core microprocessors, chipsets, software and networking capabilities. PCs based on Viiv will work with high-end monitors and a TV-like remote control" -- may show up in upcoming Macs. More.

New PowerBook: Picture-perfect package ComputerWorld praises Apple's recently refreshed PowerBook G4 line as one of the best sets of portables ever built. "In what may very well be the last of the G4 processor-based PowerBooks, Apple has created its best overall laptops yet. True, the processor speed is stuck at 1.67 GHz, something unlikely to change until the company moves to Intel processors over the next year or so. But no one buys a PowerBook expecting a speed demon. You buy it for Mac OS X, for the seamless integration of hardware and software, and for the elegance of Apple's industrial design." More.

Site offers 3000 iPod-ready videos Veoh Networks, Inc. is a new Web site, self-dubbed an "Internet Television Peercasting Network" which has begun offering 3,000 videos for download and transfer to Apple's fifth-generation iPod. A press release reads "Veoh allows anyone with a computer and an Internet connection to broadcast their own TV show, or channel of shows, in full-screen television quality. Individuals and companies are broadcasting compelling content -- from original cartoons, like Superman and Popeye, to comedies like The Three Stooges, feature-length films, and more than 10,000 user-produced videos on every subject imaginable." More.

Previously on MacFixIt

• Apple releases Security Update 2005-009 for Mac OS X 10.4.3 and Mac OS X 10.3.9; Update recommendations
• Special Report: Troubleshooting the PowerBook G4 Double-Layer SuperDrive
• Apple Broadband Tuner 1.0 (#2): Most report increased throughput; Reduced throughput speed for some; Uninstall instructions