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Mac OS X Services in Snow Leopard

Mac OS X Services let one application supply its powers to another; for example, a Grab service helps TextEdit paste a screenshot into a document. Most users either don't know that Services exist, because they're in an obscure hierarchical menu (ApplicationName > Services), or they mostly don't use them because there are so many of them.

Snow Leopard makes it easier for the uninitiated to utilize this feature; only services appropriate to the current context appear. And in addition to the hierarchical menu, services are discoverable as custom contextual menu items - Control-click in a TextEdit document to access the Grab service, for instance.

In addition, the revamped Keyboard preference pane lets you manage services for the first time ever. You can enable and disable them, and even change their keyboard shortcuts.

Submitted by
Doug McLean

 

 

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Internet Explorer Updates Address Vulnerability

Internet Explorer Updates Address Vulnerability -- Microsoft has released a pair of Internet Explorer updates aimed at resolving a security vulnerability related to digital certificates - in the right situation, an attacker could use it to enable a number of identity spoofing attacks. The updates - version 5.1.6 for Mac OS 9 and 5.2.2 for Mac OS X - also include all other recent fixes. Microsoft made no release notes available, but it's unlikely that the new versions incorporate any new features. Microsoft didn't even update Internet Explorer's installer in the Mac OS X version, which unnecessarily insists on quitting all active applications. Version 5.1.6 is a 5.4 MB download; version 5.2.2 is a 7.2 MB download. [ACE]

<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/ie/ie5_ classic.asp>
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/DOWNLOAD/IE/ie5_ osx.asp>
<http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url= /technet/security/bulletin/MS02-050.asp>

 

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