However, even since the book’s last update in January, the landscape has been changing. New online services are crawling out of the woodwork, old ones are revamping their pricing, and services that formerly supported only Windows are coming up with Mac software. There’s still a speed problem, even with a fast connection, but at least the options are increasing and prices are decreasing.

As of today, here are the options I know about that include both online storage space and backup software that runs on Mac OS X. (I’ve excluded online storage services that can be used for backup only with your own backup software, simply because that would have made the list absurdly long.)

• .Mac*: Apple’s own service comes with a backup program called, inventively enough, Backup. But it’s pricey, at $100 per year for 1 GB of storage space (which you can bump up to as much as 4 GB for an extra $100). If you decide to use .Mac, you will of course want to read my book Take Control of .Mac!
• BackJack*: The oldest online Mac backup service I know of, BackJack has respectable client software and prices that are improved from what they once were, but is still very expensive compared to some of the other options now available. (Example: 50 GB = $257.50 per month, or $120.50 without redundant backups.) The BackJack service is also available via Mac Backups using the same software and at the same price; I’m not sure what the point of that additional brand is.
• Bandwagon: This service is currently for iTunes backups only, though it may expand to cover other data types in the future. As a beta tester, I’ve been underwhelmed, but perhaps they’ll get it together before their next relaunch. Bandwagon uses Amazon.com’s S3 (Simple Storage Service), which charges $0.15 per gigabyte per month plus $0.20 per gigabyte transferred (upload or download). So the maximum cost per month for backing up 50 GB of data would be $17.50. However, you must also pay for the use of the Bandwagon software, which costs $1 to $3 per month, depending on when you order it and which version you get. In the future, they plan to support other online storage services too.
• Clunk Click*: This backup service, located in the United Kingdom, doesn’t make it easy to find their pricing, which starts at £5 (about $9.50) per month for 550 MB of storage up through £40 per month (about $76) for 20 GB, with several other levels available.
• CrashPlan: I covered this newcomer in “Crash Plan: Backups Revisited” (TidBITS 868/26-Feb-07). You get a sophisticated and highly efficient client program, plus inexpensive online storage and the option to use a friend’s computer instead (or in addition). Pricing: 50 GB for $5 per month (with additional storage at $0.10 per gigabyte), plus the price of the software ($20–$60).
• Datatrieve*: Located in the United Kingdom, Datatrieve uses a Java-based client. They charge £5 (about $9.50) per month for 1 GB of storage, and £125 (about $245) per month for 50 GB. Intermediate levels and higher storage quotas are available.
• JungleDisk*: This application (free while in beta testing; $20 eventually) works in conjunction with Amazon.com’s S3, as does Bandwagon. Unlike earlier versions of JungleDisk, which merely gave you access to your S3 space as though it were a conventional network volume, the latest version has some basic backup capabilities built in. No multi-version archives or partial-file incremental backups yet, but supposedly those features on on their way.
• MacBak: This service offers full-blown, multi-version archives, and its aimed primarily at graphics professionals and other creative types. Make that creative types with money: rates start at $89 per month, not counting the $89 setup fee, for 10 GB of new data added each month and a total of 120 GB per year—an odd way of metering. Higher-level (and more expensive) plans use an appliance that sits in your office and provides temporary storage for backups while on their way to the company’s servers, thus adding a layer of security and minimizing the impact of bandwidth bottlenecks.
• MillerNET Protect Online Backup: This service uses a “rebrandable” cross-platform commercial backup tool called Ahsay that’s frankly pretty ugly (especially on a Mac), but functional. It includes partial-file incremental archives (like CrashPlan) and a large number of configuration options. MillerNET offers free 500 MB accounts, and has several pricing tiers ranging from $10 per month to $100 per month (the 50 GB plan costs $70 per month).
• mozy: This online storage service previously offered backup clients only for Windows, but now has (an early beta version of) a Mac client as well. And the price is certainly right: you get 2 GB free, or unlimited storage space for only $5 per month. Early adopters, beware: the current beta is pretty buggy. But if they get the kinks worked out, the pricing is going to make this a very interesting solution.
• Offsite Backup Solutions: Like MillerNET, OSB uses the Ahsay software. But their pricing is less attractive—for example, the monthly cost for 50 GB is $100. They offer a free 30-day demo, but you must provide credit card information up front and manually cancel your account before the 30 days are up to avoid being charged, a practice I consider kind of slimy.
• Prolifix*: Prolifix uses cross-platform, Java-based software. The company charges $9.95 per month for 500 MB of storage and $28.95 per month for 8 GB, with intermediate levels available. (Prices for higher storage quotas available on request.)
• S3 Backup: In the same vein as JungleDisk, S3 Backup uses Amazon.com’s S3 for storage space. Although their Mac software is still in beta testing and still pretty rough, it shows promise. It remains to be seen whether it will support incremental archives and how it will deal with files larger than S3′s 5 GB limit.

Covered in *Take Control of Mac OS X Backups version 2.0.

So what do I recommend? Well, considering price alone, mozy is the clear winner, with CrashPlan a close contender (equivalent in pricing if you’re storing 50 GB or less, and pretty reasonable thereafter). The solutions that use S3 (Bandwagon, JungleDisk, and S3 Backup) benefit from Amazon.com’s pricing—a bit higher, but still respectable. In terms of functionality, none of the inexpensive services can yet match the feature set of conventional backup software, or of the more established online backup services such as BackJack. But they’re getting close. If I had to choose just one of these today, I’d pick CrashPlan, which seems to offer the best compromise. But ask me again tomorrow and I may have a totally different answer—things are changing rapidly.

Sausage Automaton: Watch this clip from the Museum of Automatons in La Rochelle, France, to see poor porkers being made into sausages.

Skeleton Automaton: Marvin’s Marvelous Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan is a popular destination in the area; check out the creepy insides of this macabre skeleton.

Silver Swan Automaton: At the Bowes Museum in North East England, this historic silver swan, created in 1773 and mentioned in Mark Twain’s book, The Innocents Abroad, is put into operation twice daily, at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Hookah Bar/Opium Den: One of the more gritty scenes brought to life at the Musée Mécanique in San Francisco, California, this mechanical tableau features tiny figures conducting shady business in an undisclosed location.

Bimbo Box: Also from the Musée Mécanique, these highly entertaining monkeys with maracas perform a great number from West Side Story.

Laughing Sal: Although I find a little bit of Sal goes a long way, many people love her infectious and distinctive laugh. A survivor of the long-gone Playland-at-the-Beach amusement park, Sal is now a permanent fixture at the Musée Mécanique.

I’ve written an ebook called Take Control of Running Windows on a Mac ($10) that goes into all the details about why and how to do this, and I was surprised to find out how many different ways you can get Windows software to run on a Mac. Not counting heavy-duty hacks and fringe projects, here they are:

1. Boot Camp: Apple’s official solution, Boot Camp lets you divide your hard disk into a Mac partition and a Windows partition, install Windows XP on the Windows volume, and then switch between OSes by rebooting. Only kinda works with Vista at the moment, but that’ll be dealt with as soon as Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard ships this spring. Intel Macs only. Free for now during the public beta program; that may or may not change with Leopard.
2. Parallels Desktop: The current favorite among many Mac users, including me, Parallels puts Windows windows side-by-side with Mac windows. No rebooting, drag and drop between OSes, support for pretty much every version of Windows in existence (plus DOS, Linux, and so on), and plenty fast for most needs. Intel Macs only. Costs $80, but my book includes a $10-off coupon.
3. VMware Fusion: VMware has the latest entry in the Windows-on-Mac competition, but they’re hardly newcomers to virtualization. The beta version of their product, code-named Fusion, looks pretty hot, and is better in some respects (including raw speed) than Parallels. Runs many different operating systems without rebooting, including hundreds of prebuilt “virtual appliances.” Intel Macs only. Price not yet announced.
4. Q: This open-source app is based on QEMU, a popular way for Linux geeks to run Windows (or other OSes). You can’t beat the price, and versions are available for both PowerPC- and Intel-based Macs, but the performance on the former is glacial, while the latter is merely painfully slow. Free.
5. [Virtual PC for Mac](http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/ virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx): Unlike Parallels, Fusion, and Q, which are virtualization programs, Virtual PC is strictly an emulator. It runs with legendary slowness on PowerPC processors only, but at least it’s expensive: $249.
6. GuestPC: Regarded by some as superior to Virtual PC and by others as unusably slow, GuestPC has fewer features, but also less overhead—not to mention a lower price. Unlike Virtual PC, you can’t get it bundled with Windows, though; you must buy Windows separately. PowerPC Macs only. $70.

Entries 6.5 and 6.75 belong to software that lets you run Windows applications—but not Windows per se—on a Mac:

• [6.5] CrossOver Mac: Based on an open-source project called Darwine (which is in turn based on WINE, “WINE Is Not an Emulator”), CrossOver lets you install and run some Windows applications without having to install Windows itself; it uses the X11 system to draw the UI. If you happen to need one of the few apps for which CrossOver offers full support and don’t mind the weird interface, it can save you some money. Intel Macs only. $60.
• [6.75] Cider isn’t something ordinary users can buy and install. It’s code game developers can license and build right into their applications. To oversimplify somewhat, programmers wrap an existing Windows game in this thing and it’ll run on a Mac as though it were written for Mac OS X in the first place. That’s the claim, anyway.

• Light trespass: When someone else’s light shines onto your property (and, especially, through your windows), that’s known as light trespass. If curtains can keep it out, it’s not serious, but in many cases there’s no way to get away from your neighbor’s light.
• Over-illumination: Artificial lighting in excess of what is needed for its intended purpose (e.g., safety) is known as over-illumination. Excess nighttime lighting wastes an astonishing amount of electricity (and, therefore, money—not to mention natural resources).
• Glare: Any light that impairs your vision at night is known as glare; it’s especially dangerous for drivers but can cause problems for anyone whose eyes need to be adapted to low light levels.
• Clutter: Put too many lights too close together, and they can create a distraction for motorists and pilots.
• Skyglow: When lights—especially those pointing upwards—hit a layer of cloud, fog, dust, or pollution in the atmosphere, it creates a glowing layer of light above a city that makes it impossible to see the stars. Skyglow is the bane of astronomers, both amateur and professional, around the world. (Sometimes written as two words: sky glow.)

1. I have not won a European lottery.
2. I can get a lousy logo designed for only $600.
3. My friend did not send me a postcard.
4. eBay, PayPal, Amazon.com, and my bank did not need me to update my account information.
5. The stock price that was guaranteed to skyrocket, tanked.
6. No check is waiting for me.
7. I have not been hired.
8. Rolex replicas don’t make me look rich or famous.
9. The U.S. government takes a dim view of people who import prescription drugs without a prescription.
10. Adobe and Microsoft take a dim view of people who import OEM CDs of Photoshop, Windows, and Office.
11. It’s awfully expensive to help that poor man/woman extract those millions of dollars from Nigeria.
12. That eBay Member didn’t really have a question regarding Item #190013300106.

Part of why peanut products have become so popular is that, more than many other plants, the fruit of Arachis hypogaea lends itself to so many different uses. Cultivated by ancient cultures in South America, and later transplanted to North America and Africa, the peanut has shown itself to be dazzlingly adaptable to both edible and non-edible purposes.

The famed American botanist George Washington Carver is said to have found 300 uses for peanuts, including cloth dyes, wood stains, cosmetics and wall boards. Here are six more intriguing uses for the humble groundnut.

1. Emergency Shaving Cream: Creamy peanut butter works best, although crunchy might have a nice exfoliating effect.

2. Chewing Gum Remover: Is there anything more annoying than getting gum stuck in your hair? Work creamy peanut butter into your clothing or hair to remove the sticky mess.

3. Adhesive Remover: In the same vein, peanut butter can be used to remove adhesive labels from jars and cans.

4. Bird Feeder Fodder: Didn’t everyone make a pine cone-and-peanut butter bird feeder as a kid? Don’t forget the birdseed!

5. Health Elixir: Signs and Wonders peanut milk, a mixture of ground peanuts, water and sugar, created at San Francisco’s KK Cafe by Jack and Margaret Chang, is reputed to have amazing health benefits. To learn more about it, see Peanut Milk at Interesting Thing of the Day.

6. Sandwich Filler: Although PB and jelly remains highly popular, other options include the Fluffernutter (peanut butter and marshmallow creme) and the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich (Elvis’s favorite).

1. Daguerrotype
   Printed on: Silver-plated copper
   Materials used: iodine, mercury, chlorine and bromine vapors
   Inventors: Louis J.M. Daguerre in collaboration with Joseph Nicephore Niepce (1839)
2. Calotype/Talbotype
   Printed on: Paper
   Materials used: silver nitrate, potassium iodide, gallic acid
   Inventor: William Henry Fox Talbot (1840)
3. Wet Collodion Process
   Printed on: Glass
   Materials used: collodion, potassium iodide, silver nitrate
   Inventor: Frederick Scott Archer (1848)
4. Albumen Prints
   Printed on: Paper
   Materials used: egg white, salt, silver nitrate
   Inventor: Louis Desire Blanquart-Evrard (1850)
5. Ambrotype
   Printed on: Glass
   Materials used: iodized collodion, silver nitrate, chemical developer
   Inventor: Frederick Scott Archer (1854)
6. Tintypes
   Printed on: Thin sheet of iron, covered with black paint
   Materials used: iodized collodion, silver nitrate
   First used: 1856
7. Carbon Prints
   Printed on: Carbon “tissue”
   Materials used: gelatin, potassium bichromate
   Inventor: Joseph Wilson Swan (1864)
8. Autochrome
   Printed on: Glass
   Materials used: potato starch. silver-halide emulsion
   Inventors: Auguste and Louis Lumiere (1904)

For more information, go here or here.

Some of the products rumor sites were certain Steve Jobs would announce this Monday at the Worldwide Developers Conference but which we didn’t in fact see were:

1. iPhone: This rumor has been going around for years, and it seems like it resurfaces before every single Apple event. Will Apple produce the ultimate cell phone with a built-in iPod (or vice versa)? Not this week. (Rumors appeared on engadget here and here.)
2. Higher-capacity iPod Nano: It’s inevitable that we’ll see iPod Nanos with more memory (6 GB, 8 GB, or more) sooner or later. Perhaps they’ll also come in more colors, or in a metal enclosure. But it looks like it’ll be later rather than sooner. (Rumor appeared on Think Secret, though it was revised a few days before the show to say the new iPod Nano won’t appear until September.)
3. New MacBook Pro: Come on, the current MacBook Pro line has only been out for a few months. It’s way too soon for a replacement. But the availability of new higher-speed, lower-power chips from Intel suggested that Apple might move forward quickly. (Rumor appeared on Computerworld.)
4. MacBooks with Glossy Cases: Admittedly, this was a pretty weak rumor, but you never know. (Rumor appeared on Gizmodo.)
5. Movie Rentals: The iTunes Music Store already sells TV shows. The word on the street is that Steve Jobs has struck a deal with major studios to offer full-length downloadable movies too. We’ll have to wait and see. (Rumor appeared on Think Secret, though, as with the iPod Nano rumor, it was revised a few days before the show to say the movie rentals are coming in September.)
6. New Cinema Displays: Well, this sort of happened. Apple announced that their existing line of Cinema Displays will now have higher contrast and lower prices, but new sizes, built-in iSight cameras, and other rumored changes didn’t happen. (Rumor appeared on engadget and Think Secret.)