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Almost a year ago Apple gave us Leopard (OS X 10.5), and along with it came virtual desktops for the masses, in the form of Spaces. For many this was an interesting new way to expand their workspace virtually. For the rest of us [power users?] it was a letdown in execution. What was worse, the third party options looked to be dwindling as well. Last November I called for third party developers to bring the competition - let's take a look at the result of that call to arms.

Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X market share has passed the 8% mark for the first time, a research company reported today. In September, Apple's operating system ran on 8.2% of the computers that accessed the 40,000 sites monitored by Net Applications for clients, the company's data showed. The Mac's share of the operating system market was up over August's by nearly four-tenths of a percentage point, the biggest one-month gain since May. Apple tends to post significant increases in September, according to Net Applications. Last year, for example, Mac OS X climbed by 0.45 points that month

An incident at Apple's flagship Beijing store earlier this Saturday afternoon has left one man - allegedly - beaten by a foreign Apple employee

Strangely hidden from the casual user is a spiffy command line utility that allows you to view, configure, and troubleshoot your Mac's wireless connection. It doesn't appear to be well documented, and judging by the obscure location of the command, Apple probably didn't think it would be too useful for the average Mac user. But the hidden command line airport tool is very useful indeed, so here is how to access it, and how you can use it too. The first thing you'll want to do is create a symbolic link to the airport command, because it is situated in a very inconvenient location for quick usage.

Apple Remote Desktop (ARD) 3 is the latest release of Apple's desktop management software, enabling administrators to distribute software, manage assets, and remotely administer Mac OS X systems via a network. ARD 3 takes advantage of innovative technologies in Mac OS X Tiger such as Automator. Automator is built on the concept of actions - discrete tasks such as opening a file, cropping an image, or sending a message. With Automator users can string together a series of actions into a single Automator workflow document. Much like a script, a workflow document can be executed, triggering each action and passing any data generated by the action to the next action in the workflow. Using the Automator actions installed with ARD and custom actions you create, you can develop workflows to automate repetitive system administration tasks. For example, workflows can distribute software, create detailed software and hardware reports, and remotely configure systems using ARD.

Apple has removed a widely publicized support document from its website that encouraged Mac OS X users to install antivirus software, explaining that its operating system was designed with safeguards to protect against malicious attacks on its own.

Ultimately, I was foiled by the security features of the Mac. I found that SSH attempted to log me in as the account owner of the Mac itself, rather than letting me to supply my own log-in name and associated password. In effect, I couldn't log on as anyone except the owner of the Mac account, at least by default. Because I didn't have an account on that Mac and my friend with the Mac didn't have an account on my Linux box, I couldn't log in.

When you think of the Apple Macintosh, you might think of a smooth-running, elegantly designed, though comparatively expensive, laptop or desktop computer that is used largely in homes. But can Macs also play a part in the workplace? The answer seems to be, increasingly, yes. For instance, the Orange County, Calif., Sheriff's Department recently purchased 175 iMacs and MacBook laptops, which will work within the department's Microsoft Windows environment. "They are used in regular office space for all types of assignments," said Assistant Sheriff James McDonald.  "We also use them in the training room and we use some for video editing and podcasting."

Our hands-on Windows 7 pre-beta review shows that things are looking promising for Windows 7. Windows 7 will run faster than Vista, and it's breaking new ground with support for multi-touch displays, but we can think of seven more simple things that Windows 7 needs to address. One way to make Windows 7 a hit is to take a look at what Apple has got right (and wrong) with OS X, to see what Microsoft can learn from its experience.

The European Mac OS X training camp, in conjunction with Amsys and Agnosys has had its most successful year to date with a large number of newly qualified Apple Certified Support Professionals.