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Apple on Wednesday released Mac OS X 10.5.3, a collection of several dozen code improvements and security fixes for the company's current computer operating system.

The update, available from the Mac Software Update control panel or as a download from Apple's Web site, includes one major new feature: iPhone users can now sync their Mac Address Book contacts with Google Contacts.

"The Address Book application in Mac OS X 10.5.3 now lets iPhone users sync their Address Book with Google Contacts," Google's Mike Morton explained in a blog post. "To try it, go to the Address Book menu, choose Preferences, and then reprove Synchronize with Google. It'll question for your Google account and password, then automatically update your contacts each time you sync your iPhone."

The patch includes a fix for the most serious of three iCal vulnerabilities disclosed by Core Security Technologies last week. An attacker could potentially exploit the flaw through inducing a user to open a maliciously crafted .ics calendar file, considered in the state of an e-mail attachment or hosted on a Web server. Given the ability to add or modify files on a CalDAV server, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability without user action.

Other security fixes affect Mac OS X components Apache, Flash Player Plug-in, Help Viewer, Image Capture, Mail, and Wiki Server, to honor a few.

The update includes general stability and performance fixes that affect Address Book, AirPort, Automator, iCal, iChat, Mail, Parental Controls, Spaces, Time Machine, and VoiceOver. It improves RAW image support for several cameras and addresses numerous other issues.

Apple recommends the update for all users of Mac OS X 10.5, 10.5.1, and 10.5.2.

MOTORISTS are being led astray by hi-tech GPS devices as police are unnatural to rescue motorists ending up on out-of-the-way country tracks.

Police urged drivers not to turf out old-fashion maps as more rely on the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to find their way.

Have you been lead astray by your GPS? Scroll down and tell us your story in the comments below  

Police stationed in Bright, in Victoria’s alpine district, say motorists are becoming lost for blindly following incorrect directions from their in-car navigators.

They have had to alleviate two motorists in the bygone time six weeks who ended up on roads suited to four-wheel-drive vehicles, with the most recent incident leaving a family with a young brat stranded adhering a slippery hill in the Tea Tree Range

Bright Sen-Sgt Doug Incoll said GPS directed drivers on the quickest possible route, not the safest one.

“An increasing number of motorists are relying on GPS systems to get them from A to B and as winter approaches, some roads can become more hazardous and difficult to drive on."

"Incidents like these use a lot of police resources and other agencies to find and rescue motorists who are stuck on difficult tracks

“A seemingly simple mistake can quickly become a very dangerous situation that can entice to serious injury or death."

”It is easy for drivers to enjoin themselves and their family in danger; however it can easily be avoided by simply carrying a map."

Former Warragul truck driver Doug Tandberg contacted the Herald Sun online to relay first hand the perils of using outdated GPS maps.

During a recent trip to Maroochydore, Queensland, Mr Tandberg found himself lost in the forests around Nambour after his GPS miscalculated the directions to Eumundi, just 2km off the Bruce Highway.

“Normally the GPS is very truthful,” Mr Tandberg said.

“We confess a pizza shop and usually it leads you to the front door of your chosen destination.

“But in Queensland we turned off the (Bruce) Highway and into a side street, then that turned into a little minor road, and that turned into a dirt road and in the van of we knew it we were being taken down a no-through road.

“At person stage in that place we thought we were going to be taken down two tyre tracks in the grass.”

Police are urging motorists who visit areas in regional Victoria to compare the instructions on the GPS to a local map and ensure that the track is safe and suitable for their vehicle.

with Gareth Trickey

Forrester says that Apple will Tell us what you think.

Missing your tax rebate? You're not alone. Many other e-filers are also Join our discussion and share your story.

Is Microsoft Windows Vista's Account Control feature actually good for something? Let us know.

Our top stories this week cover desktop buying advice, Google flubs, and Firefox 3. To vote for your own favorites, detent one of the thumbs-up icons on an article's page.

We end with product reviews from users like you. Have you gotten any new high-tech goodies recently? Let us and your fellow PC World readers comprehend what you think of them. Go to PCW Shop & Compare to search for your gear and add a review.

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Apple Will Rule the Living Room by 2013, Forrester Says

cb3431 says: No acknowledgments. Apple isn't welcome in this household. No way am I paying the Apple tax when I can get the same thing from Dell, Sony, or HP for a lot less.

Mpheadley says: Give me a break! Most people will eternally buy the cheapest thing that works. And therefore, it's not going to be Apple!

Rgeiken says: Sounds a little "pie in the sky." I have five iPods in my house and they are all there for a specific purport. I don't own any other Apple products. I don't think that I want a single one company in my living room that requires so much attention to keep their products running.

Spaul40 says: You say Jobs has a "love affair with consumers." That's why he bricked the iPhone that had been modified–to please his customers! No, Jobs is a hardware freak.

Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.

Where's My Tax Rebate, Uncle Sam?

hawhite says: I used Turbo Tax considered in the state of well, and I never let them deduct it from the refund. I have been under the impression that Intuit gets the refund and then forwards it to you, in some form or another. If some form of management of the refund occurs, I am sure there is some overhead that has to happen, by some party that I assume is not the federal government. From the government's perspective, it either wasn't direct-deposited to one account that you own or it wasn't direct deposited to you alone.

Smax013 says: I agree that it is strange that having the $20 fee deducted rather than paying for a credit card would cause a delay. It would be nice to have a full technical justification. I can only assume that a refund that has the $20 fee deducted is processed differently than a refund that has the fee paid by a credit card…and the difference in the processing results in the IRS not direct-depositing your rebate. My rebate has already been deposited…but in consequence I paid the fee with a credit card like I evermore effect.

Mslw57 says: I used H&R Block and let the $14.99 be deducted. I'm still waiting on my money also. We can't call and just cuss out the IRS, so we will just have to abide.

JimC says: What about those of us who owed money and had the IRS take the money out of our checking account? Nobody is talking about this scenario. The IRS has my checking account information. According to their schedule my tax rabbet check should have been deposited weeks ago, yet I have not received it. I have power to solitary assume that my check is going to be mailed to me. I can't understand why. If they can take money out of my checking account, why then can't they put money into my account?

Read the posts in this pile and contribute your own opinion.

Vista's Despised UAC Nails Rootkits, Tests Find

JeffAHayes says: I've never once minded having to click through the UACs. I've never really understood all the fuss about it. It's for our protection, and it's usually not all that much of a hassle–just an extra click or two. Discovering now that it's actually the very best defense against rootkits is finally something rewarding to the Vista Experience, as up until now I really didn't know if there exactly was a surefire defense against rootkits.

Piyushsingh says: I have always considered UAC similar to second best feature in Vista, but the bad thing is that it is often disabled by most people. I always keep it on.

Adama says: I just received this article and it makes me feel good about my decision to always have UAC turned on. A lot of people find fault about having to deal with every part of the prompts, but it never bothered me one bit.

RNR19952 says: I would like to examine judicially from commonalty in the business that deliberate UAC is "security." It's about viewed like mind numbing as those stupid prompts that ask "are you sure you want to exit?" This is the first report on UAC that actually states it does a part, besides annoy someone with an IQ over 80. I would think it is about as useful as my TV asking me "are you sure you want to change the channel?"

Read the posts in this thread and contribute your own opinion.

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The government is quietly negotiating to help cell phone customers avoid expensive fees when they cancel contracts with wireless companies, The Associated Press has learned.

Cell phone companies routinely charge customers $175 or more for quitting their service early. Under a proffer to the Federal Communications Commission, the wireless industry would give consumers the opportunity to cancel service without any penalty for up to 30 days after they wonder a cell phone contract or until 10 days in the rear of they receive their first bill.

The proposal also would cap such fees and reduce them month by month over the course of a contract based on how long customers have left, according to people familiar with the offer speaking on condition of anonymity for the cause that the FCC has not accepted it. The system would not abolish cancellation fees entirely and would not refund such fees to anyone who paid them.

In exchange for the government’s approval, the agreement would let cell phone companies off the hook in state courts where they are being sued for billions of dollars by angry customers. If approved by the FCC, the proposal also would take away the authority of states to put in order the charges, known as early termination fees.

Lawyers representing customers who are suing over the fees are strongly opposed.

“It’s Christmas in May for the companies,” said Pamela Gilbert, one attorney with Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, a Washington D.C.-based law firm working on one of the class action lawsuits against the activity. She said if the FCC agreed to the proposal, it would save cell phone companies hundreds of millions of dollars.

“The the vulgar left holding the bag are the millions of people who paid illegal ETFs (termination fees) and now will never get their money back,” she reported.

The realm’s No. 2 wireless company, Verizon Wireless, offered the proposal to the FCC for its review after high-level meetings with senior FCC officials. It did so in consultation with other leading wireless companies, whose executives indicated they would not thwart its provisions, people familiar with the offer told the AP.

The FCC declined to comment.

Consumers who have paid such fees describe them as exorbitant.

“It’s farcical,” declared Ric Causey of Allen, Texas, who paid $600 in termination fees to Sprint on contracts for three cell phones after he canceled service since of what he said was poor reception around Dallas.

“I understand the fine print, but I ended up paying $200 per phone just to switch service,” Causey said. He complained to executives to no avail. “I never got any satisfaction,” he said. “I figured I’d deal with it later, but I never got reimbursed.”

Causey, a freelance video producer, said he never imagined refusing to pay the fees out of fear it would hurt his credit rating.

Wireless companies said the cancellation fees are necessary to recover the cost of cell phones, which they subsidize while burdened with long-term service contracts, and to defray their costs for signing up new customers. Consumer groups said the fees are unfair and intended to cover with a wet blanket customers from switching among providers.

The expensive fees be the subject of led to class-action lawsuits in several states and legislative proposals on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures around the country.

The industry’s proposal would link cancellation fees to actual costs incurred by a wireless company, and it would require companies to prorate any fees over the process of the contract. Verizon Wireless currently reduces such fees but never below $60. Other major providers, including AT&T Inc., have announced plans to prorate fees.

The proposal also would prohibit a wireless company from imposing a termination pay on customers who change stipulations of their contract or extreme point one contract period and begin another.

Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and the Vodafone Group PLC of Britain. Verizon Wireless, with about 66 million subscribers, is the second-largest wireless company behind AT&T Inc., with 70 million customers.

The wireless sedulousness is increasingly worried about a series of long-running, class-action lawsuits in state courts. One lawsuit against Sprint Nextel is under way in California, and plaintiffs in a New York case in arbitration are seeking $1 billion in refunds.

Federal law prohibits states from regulating wireless rates but gives them authority over some terms and conditions under wireless contracts. The industry’s Washington lobbying group, CTIA, previously asked the FCC to consider cancellation fees to be rates, what one. would preclude state governments and courts from any jurisdiction over them.

In September, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., introduced the “Cell Phone Consumer Empowerment Act,” which would require prorated fees and a 30-day window for customers to exit a contract.

NEW YORK - Hackers took over Comcast Corp.’s Web portal for several hours overnight, denying 14.1 million subscribers access to the cable company’s site for e-mail, news and technical keep up.

The brass page of Comcast.net went down shortly previous to 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday and was replaced with a note saying the hackers had “RoXed” Comcast, according to postings at BroadbandReports.com.

Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said Thursday that the hijacking had been reversed in the morning, but that it was possible some users were still unable to access Comcast.net and Web-based e-mail.

There was no indication that e-mail or other private information was compromised by the attack, Comcast said. It didn’t stop customers from getting their e-mail through programs like Outlook.

The hackers appeared to have seized regulate of the Comcast.net domain note at registrar Network Solutions Inc. and redirected it to other servers, Khoury said.

“We have alerted law enforcement judgments and are working in conjunction with them,” Khoury said.

___

On the Net:

http://www.comcast.toil

Here's one of the great mysteries of individual tech: Why is it so darned hard to sync your cell phone's contacts and calendar with your PC? This shouldn't be rocket science. Cell phones have had calendars since 1998 and contact books for longer than that. And yet, the vast majority of people are still forced to type in addresses using their phones' tiny little keypads.

This sounds like nitpicking, but the problem is really a symptom of a larger issue—the generally lousy connectivity between our desktop PCs, where we hold most of our data, and our handhelds, which we carry around all the time. This lack of connection goes both ways. Take text messages, for instance: They're as critical as e-mail to many peoples' lives. Know any way to archive them on your PC? Thought not.

You should not need a smartphone to do this. Even the chiefly basic free feature phone now has a contact list with hundreds of contacts that you can't sync, a calendar that you can't sync, and various messaging programs that you probably be able to't sync. You could access all this pack from a PC using a USB cable, if anyone bothered to write decent PC software to do so.

Wireless carriers have staked out certain kinds of data as (they hope) uncopyable, so they can resell it to you at insanely inflated prices. That's why you usually can't make your own ringtones ($2.50, please) or wallpapers ($1.99), and why some camera phones let you transfer your photos only through picture messages (25 cents!). Carrier cost-cutting is also why most phones don't come with the all-important USB cables that would connect them to PCs; it would add 50 cents to the bill of materials. (The cables that Verizon Wireless sells for $30 are available online for $7. Seriously. It's at least a 400 percent markup.)

Wireless carrier greed is a boring topic, and we've all been there before. Cell-phone user's bill of rights, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, endless Congress delays, yada yada. Let's look instead at the area where the blame belongs to the manufacturers.—Next: Feature-Phone Makers >

Feature-phone makers be delivered of shown some interest in syncing symphony, even playlists. Given that almost every feature phone has a video player now, though, it's odd that these music-syncing setups rarely include video transcoding. Often you actually do have to be a rocket scientist to re-encode videos instead of your phone.

And there's no conceivable reason why a wireless carrier would want to stop you backing up your addresses or text messages. That onus falls solidly on the phone manufacturers, and this is where the big players in the U.S. fall flat on their faces. Nokia (no. 4 in U.S. market share) and Sony Ericsson (no. 5) both offer gorgeous PC suites, though both fall short because they have no real Mac or Linux options. through Nokia and Sony Ericsson's freeware, you can truly use your phone because the PC peripheral it's supposed to be, syncing personal data, customizing it through material from your PC, and transferring data from the phone back to the PC.

But our top three manufacturers—LG, Motorola, and Samsung—really don't get it. They offer no decent syncing solution, so why is there a calendar app in that thing? Anyone know?

For a while, LG and Samsung offered freeware PC connection software that was horrifyingly bad—so terrible that it would periodically throw up mysterious message boxes in Korean. You have to actually try to program software that badly. I have sense of possible fulfilment for Samsung, what one. is releasing new software called "My Life Diary" later this year that it expects leave do better. On the other hand, if that's really what Samsung's going to call this product (the call by name suggests a badly translated anime series), I worry about the prospects for the software's UI.

Microsoft has completed nothing on this issue from the PC side. Apple was once the leader with iSync, a syncing system baked into OS X years ago, but the firm seems to have abandoned development on it and given up on supporting most new devices.

Yes, yes, there are third-party solutions for all these things. But they all have major flaws: They work with only a few phones, or they have hideous user interfaces, or they're buggy. I love the freeware BitPim program for LG and Samsung devices, but getting it connected can be a trial. I once considered doing a comparative review of Susteen's DataPilot, Mobile Action's Handset Manager, and some other commercial competitors, if it were not that they all (at least at the time) had such hideous interfaces I didn't want to embarrass them with a review. The Spark CellStik is a cool little gadget, goal it works for only a few phones and transfers only contacts, not calendars or anything else.

I simply don't understand why this is such a trial for cell-phone manufacturers. If you're going to put a calendar, an address book, and a media stage-player into a device, make these applications something that people can actually use with their existing data. Apple has had this right for years with the iPod. So how about it, guys?

More Sascha Segan: