" Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go. "

The current download for OS X is version 0.8.0. There's a user guide available also. Note there's libraries and an SDL mixer file not included in the download that are required:

" Just a heads up on the xtra frameworks that must be installed but not included with the Stellarium download.
The readme indicates that the following are needed:

SDL.framework (1.2.10 or later, available at http://www.libsdl.org/download.php)
SDL_image.framework (1.2.5 or later, available at http:// www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_image/)

However there is one more that is required but not mentioned.
Stellarium won't run without it. SDL_mixer-1.2.7 (http://www.libsdl.org/projects/SDL_mixer/)
Regards, James"

" Hello Mike, just wanted to let you know that a new release of my Hardware Monitor application suite has been released in version 3.7 today:
Hardware Monitor
Hardware Monitor Remote
Hardware Monitor Widget Edition
Temperature Monitor
Temperature Monitor Widget Edition

I now had more time to analyze the SpeedIt kernel extension thoroughly. Unfortunately I found some significant problems with this piece of software, especially with the latest versions. (I asked if he meant in v0.5, which was released recently-Mike) For this reason, I decided to completely withdraw support for SpeedIt.
Instead, I developed my own version of a driver to access the internals of the Intel Core processors, which should work more reliably. Release 3.7 of Hardware Monitor and Temperature Monitor come with this driver included. It can be activated with a few mouse-clicks. Complicated installation steps or terminal commands are no longer necessary, so this has become as "Mac-like" as it should be.

Temperature Monitor will now have access to the digital thermal sensors (DTS) of each CPU core, Hardware Monitor will additionally gain access to the voltage and core clock frequency settings of currently used Intel CPUs.

The SMC-controlled sensors (mainboard temperature and fan speeds) are still inaccessible and not documented by Apple, but I will try some more reverse-engineering for future versions of the software.
If you have any further questions don't hesitate to ask.
Best regards,
Marcel "

The Speedit homepage today has a feature list showing v0.5 vs 0.7, showing new features in 0.7 including support for GPU Frequency monitoring, automatic software updates, automatic throttling based on user defined temperatures and Automatic throttling based on user defined CPU load, but the downloads page as of this morning has v0.5 as the latest (6/13/2006 dated).

" Hey Mike..... Thought you might want to know about how a recent MCP (15in) repair went for me. In short: great.
I purchased a new 2.0GHz (1.8 at the time) on the day they were announced with an educational discount. Like most, I was ecstatic about using my Mac with the exception of the screen buzz (The screen would buzz very loudly when not on full brightness)

I phoned Apple within the first couple of weeks of use to inform them that I was having problems but would not be able to send in the unit for repairs until after the school semester. With the month wait until they shipped, this was about the end of Feb, beginning of March) The CSR was very polite and indicated that it would be no problem.

By the time I was able to send the unit in (now the beginning of June) There were three other problems that had developed: The battery was worthless for more than about 5 minutes, the unit would get very, very hot, and (apparently made more noticeable by the recent SMC firmware update) the right-side fans sounded like they were rubbing up against something on the inside of the case.

I sent the unit in Tuesday of last week (June 6th) and Wednesday, Apple (The Texas Service center, whatever) put the repair on hold to await parts. Today, I received it via overnight mail, 10 days after it was picked up. Overnight postage paid both ways by Apple.

The repair worked! Now the computer makes NO noise at all regardless of the brightness setting! The fans, when they come on, are fairly quiet (I played FEAR multiplayer under Windows/Bootcamp for about 1 hour tonight, rebooted and though the fans kicked in high on reboot, after the software to manage the temp loaded, the fans quieted down to a reasonable level (barely audible) especially considering the heat. In any event, it is now much more quiet than my 800Mhz TiBook gets when displaying Flash content web sites.

The list of repaired items is fairly long (I'll send you the actual part numbers with 'official' description if you want them)
- Motherboard replacement (I assume that is what PCBA 2.0 Ghz MBP215, 256 Vram (m1-FET) is)
- Heat pipe/sensor replacement
- Fan stack/sensor replacement
- Inverter replacement
- Display Bezel sub assembly replacement
- Battery replacement

All work was done free of charge under Apple Care.
Overall, I am very pleased and finally feel like I have the Mac that I paid handsomely for. The only negative that I can find is that the case seems to be slightly misshapen in that it no longer sits flat on a little wooden stand that I made. It does rest flat on a desk, however. I am going to have to spend a little more time with it as I am not sure if I am just being weird.I don't remember it being like that before.

Hopefully, other users will benefit from like repairs. If they can manage to be without their new machines for a bit.
Note that I do not think that I ever had the CPU version of the whine/ noise with my machine.
-Dave "

After seeing that long list of repairs I'm surprised they didn't just send a new machine. I'll add this to the previous page of MacBook Pro owner reports on the next update.

• Aperture does not launch because Library is locked
• Aperture Resources
• Bluetooth Firmware Update 1.2.1: What to do if update won't finish
• GarageBand: Audio Output lists "No Driver" on Intel-based Macs
• iDVD 6: What is the difference between the two DVD Type settings in iDVD?
• iMovie: Cannot see or control camera
• iMovie: Export Option Defaults
• Intel-based iMac: Installing available updates
• Accurately determine your iPod battery life
• How to use multiple iPods with one computer
• iPod displays a folder icon with an exclamation point
• iPod displays a sad iPod icon
• iPod isn't responding - it appears to be frozen
• iPod troubleshooting basics and service FAQ
• iTunes: Understanding the Symbols Next to Songs
• Power Up Quick Assist
• USB and FireWire Quick Assist
• Remote Desktop: On multihoming computers, use the primary IP address for ARD management functions
• Logic appears to stop responding ("hang") while scanning Audio Units
• Mac OS X 10.3 or later: Printing in Classic using a Mac OS X inkjet printer driver
• Mac OS X Managed Client: Managed proxy settings do not appear in Network preferences
• MacBook may run warm because rear vent is blocked

• Raves for MacBook (review)
• Team adds iPods to coaching staff (CNN)
• CarBall 2.6 - Unreal Tournament 2004 soccer game mod
• iStar Composer and iVisualize Tools for Musicians, Music Lovers and Podcasters Released
• MacTech voting for most Influentual people in the Mac Community
• The Apple Video Game Development Myth
• Fixing .Mac, Idea 1: Hyperblog the Web
• PSP controlled Honda Civic

DVD+R/RW + DVD-R/RW Drives:
• IDE Pioneer DVR-110D in B&W G3 (OS X 10.4)
  ("Apple supported" in 10.4.6. Includes notes on DL media including DVD-R DL, which most have said isn't listed as supported as of 10.4.6. Illustrated CD drive install guide here covers B&W G3 , G4 towers up to the Digital Audio Model, Beige G3 MT Macs)
  
  Hard Drives:
• IDE (SerialATA onboard) Maxtor 6H500F0 SATA 500GB in iMac Intel CPU (OS X 10.4)
• IDE (SerialATA onboard) Seagate 7200.9 250GB in G5 Tower (OS X 10.4)
  (Another report of delay after wake from sleep before drive is ready. According to a post in the April 21st, 2006 news page, drives with firmware before 3.AAH will have the problem:
  Seagate SATA 7200.9 Drive Firmware Versions and Mac Wake from Sleep Drive Ready Delay

You can find full owner reports (latest shown first) by searching the database by drive/brand/interface/mac models (the latest reports are shown first in searches). If you've added a IDE, SCSI, Firewire or USB hard drive, CDRW, tape drive, etc. you can send me a report for adding to the database.