Feb 12, 2008 Feb 14, 2008 Wednesday February 13, 2008
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The changing life and times of Leopard
Filed under: Software Update, LeopardBy now, most of you have had a chance to install the new Mac OS X 10.5.2 update for Leopard. Apple has added some minor tweaks to the OS as well as some new features. If you haven't seen some of the features, you might want to take a look -- we've look high and low in the update and have a list of the new features below. Time Machine statusBy default after installing the update, Leopard sticks a Time Machine back up status button in the menu bar. This drop-down menu will give you the time of the last back up and a "Back Up Now" option. You can also enter the Time Machine interface right from the menu bar, meaning that you can now remove that semi-pesky icon from your dock. Continue reading for more Leopard changes. Continue reading The changing life and times of LeopardPermalink | Email this | Comments
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Macworld Expo conference videos posted online
For those of us unable to attend the recent Macworld Expo in San Francisco and attend the many fine sessions, IDG World Expos on Tuesday made available online a number of videos from the program. The "Macworld Encore" videos include some from the MacIT and PowerTools conferences.
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Case-mate Privacy Screen Pro protects your screen from prying eyes
Case-mate has announced their new Privacy Screen Pro for iPhone and other mobile devices. The static cling screen covers provide protection from prying eyes by reducing the viewing angle starting at 45-degrees from the device's surface, ensuring that data is readable to the user but not to over-the-shoulder spies. The Case-mate Privacy Screen works both horizontally and vertically and is... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Where is that naughty little phish?
Several of the Macalope's astute and sexually dynamic readers asked him to hit this piece by Lance Ulanoff which essentially says Artie MacStrawman is teh stoopid and don't know nothin' 'bout no Intramanet suckurity. Well, there's only so much jackassery even this mythical beast can take down, so he's going to punt this one to MacUser's Dan Moren, who able handles the task. While the horny one wouldn't recommend anyone buy a Norton product, he thinks Dan's emphasis on, oh, you know, not wildly clicking on every URL that the former aides to a Namibian president send across your transom is spot on.
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Dear Apple...
The online Apple Store really should have a spiffy iPhone interface like Facebook and Amazon. Much love, The Macalope
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Stop the Kindle hype!
Amazon buys the Audible audio book site and everyone sees new angles for Amazon's out-of-stock Kindle e-book reader. What's wrong with this picture?
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iChat Pro makes iChat look like Adium
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Mods, LeopardPersonally, I'm an Adium user at heart -- iChat is super nice (especially for a built-in chat program), but it just doesn't have the features and customizability that that Adium does. But if you have to use iChat for whatever reason (easy video conferencing comes to mind) despite your love for Adium, then this mod, sent to us by reader Philipp, will probably come in handy.It's called iChat Pro, and it basically simplifies your iChat window, squeezing out the borders and cutting the buttons at the bottom. I don't think you can change the colors and design of the display the way you can in Adium (it's been a while since I used iChat, and a quick browse through the preferences didn't reveal any options for that), but at least it looks a little more professional than the, let's admit it, a little goofy, default iChat GUI. iChat Pro is a free iChat mod from Infinise Design.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Patients, doctors grapple with back and neck pain treatments
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- For all the advances medicine has made in combating the sources of pain, the human spine remains one of the most recalcitrant.
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iLounge Compares Apple TV 2.0 vs. Blu-Ray, DVD, and HD Cable On-Demand
The verdict is exactly what you’d expect: Apple TV video and audio quality is better than HD Cable or upscaled DVD, but not as good as Blu-ray. ★
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Nope, no AT&T iPhone tethering plan (yet)
Filed under: Cellphones So there's a rumor floating around the internets concerning AT&T, iPhones, and tethering. The story goes something like this: the word tether is mentioned in an AT&T notice about users upgrading to a new iPhone and being forced into another two-year agreement. Apparently, some folks who've only quickly browsed the document made the mistake of assuming that AT&T used the word "tether" the way we all know it best: computer-to-phone, modem-style tethering. Unfortunately, this is a semantic problem -- what AT&T's talking about is using the dock connector to activate the phone, and sync with your computer... not the other way around. So next time you hear someone talk about AT&T's "tethering" plan feel free to set 'em straight. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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More iPhone Wallpapers, The Nine Inch Nails
One of the most outspoken critics of the record industry, Trent Reznor of the Nine Inch Nails, compiled a small sample of NIN oriented wallpapers for the iPhone. Unfortunately it was taken down from their web site but a mirror was created. Even if you aren’t a fan of the…
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1Password update fixes 10.5.2 Safari problems
Filed under: Software, Internet ToolsOS X 10.5.2 threw a few curve balls at developers, and many of them are doing an admirable job of catching them with updates so timely you might think they were prescient. 1Password developer Dave Teare ranks high on that list, having put out an update yesterday that rapidly fixed the Safari problem that 10.5.2 introduced. 1Password is a favorite at TUAW, and it's possibly been mentioned previously for it's time-saving, form-filling, credit card-remembering abilities. In addition to the Safari fix, there are several other enhancements to the application, such as user-assignable "restore form" shortcut keys in Firefox that should help keep my Services menu happy by avoiding conflicts, and an improved credit card fill should ease some frustrations with not-quite-filled forms and help speed up the draining of my available cash during the occasional online shopping spree. So that bleeding-edge surfers aren't left out, the release also adds support for the latest Firefox nightly builds, as well as Camino 1.6b2. And improvements to the new iPhone Logins bookmark should also be welcome for those surfing on the small but oh-so-touchable screen. 1Password runs $29.95 for new users and the update is free for current users. You can download the new version (free demo) at the 1Password site.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Mac Automation: Birthday greetings
Filed under: Features, How-tosI am sure that everyone has forgotten other peoples birthday's from time-to-time (*raises hand*). Luckily, with Mac OS X's built-in Address Book and Automator, you can automate the remembering and sending of greeting cards by e-mail -- thus eliminating the awkwardness of forgetting. In this how-to I will show you how to create a birthday field in your Address Book contacts, and how to send an e-mail birthday greeting when the time is right. To learn how to do this, read on.Continue reading Mac Automation: Birthday greetingsPermalink | Email this | Comments
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Solo and Loving Every Minute
Getting your home office to count for more than a tax write-off can be a great way to do business. All you need is a quiet space, some alone time, and your ever-enabling Mac.
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Apple TV Take 2: an in-depth review (part 1): what's new
Daniel Eran Dilger Apple is keeping itself busy. Along with the 10.5.2 update to Mac OS X Leopard and a new reference release of Aperture 2.0, the company quietly made available the free new “Take Two� software upgrade for Apple TV on Tuesday. Here's a look at how Apple TV compares as a living room media player and source of HDTV content, what's new in the software upgrade, and how well the device achieves its goal of bringing iTunes media to home theaters in its second try at inventing itself. From a non-blazing 1.5 Mb DSL connection, the software update download takes about twenty minutes, and then takes another ten minutes to install. The update actually includes three software upgrades: An EFI firmware update. A firmware update for the Apple TV's HDMI video hardware that enables 1080p output through upconversion. The new Take Two menus and interface with support for HD downloads, rentals, AirTunes and more. Continues: AppleInsider | Apple TV Take 2: an in-depth review (part 1): what's new Technorati Tags: Apple, Apple TV, Review, Software
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Putting the Apple Store geniuses to the test
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, RetailChallenging customer service folks in retail stores is pretty much shooting fish in a barrel-- sure, Apple claims to have a great retail environment, but if those Geniuses are getting paid as little as I was when I worked in retail, there's no real reason for them to know the difference between the Apple ][ and the Apple //e (that's what you have TUAW for).Still, Laptop's writeup on their trip inside the Apple Store is pretty entertaining anyway. The Genius confirms what we all knew about the Macbook Air (it's a "supplemental computer, like, if you already have a desktop at home"), and messes up some specifics on HD-DVD and processor speed and size. My own Apple Store experience wasn't much better-- I had to explain what a KVM switch was (to switch between my Mac mini purchase and my gaming PC). But just like Laptop's experience, my person was helpful and quick, and what more can you really ask from a retail experience?Long story short, do your research at home, and show up at the Apple Store (or the Best Buy, or the Circuit City, or wherever) only when you know what you really want to buy. The guys and girls with nametags on at the store know a lot about how to sell stuff, but they just don't get paid enough to make your choices for you.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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If you have been holding off on jailbreaking your iPhone 1.1.3, Now is the time!
As an early iPhone owner, I did not hesitate to jailbreak my phone. I first used iBrickr, on a PC, and had few problems with making it work. I was overjoyed to have ants crawling around my screen, a full terminal with access to many unix utilities that were easily…
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Call Recorder 2.3 released
Filed under: Audio, Internet, Internet Tools, Podcasting, Software UpdateWe use Skype for the TUAW Talkcast and recently, our host and podcasting guru (OK, not guru, but he is the host and we like him), Michael Rose, has been using Ecamm's Call Recorder 2 plugin to to record our weekly talkcasts. I've also used it to record both audio and video chat for the Squadcast and really think that it is a fantastic, fantastic add-on.For anyone unfamiliar, Call Recorder is a great little tool that adds a recording window to Skype. This makes it easy to record incoming and outgoing calls (audio and video). The files are saved in the QuickTime format and they can be converted to MP3 or split into separate tracks. With the release of the latest version of Skype for the Mac, Ecamm has updated Call Recorder as well. In addition to the latest Skype compatibility, Call Recorder 2.3 also includes a new two-track video recording option (so that you can have a separate stream from each side of the conversation) and enhanced video recording quality.Call Recorder 2 is $14.95 (for $7 more, you can also get Conference Recorder, which adds the same functionality to iChat, and unlike the built in iChat recorder, doesn't require both users to have Leopard) and a free demo is available if you want to try out the tool.If you want a simple, hassle free way to record Skype conversations, give Call Recorder a shot!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Posthumous single supports cancer research
The wife of singer Dan Fogelberg has released a new Fogelberg song as a charity single to support prostate cancer research.
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Skype updates to 2.7 (.0.257)
Filed under: Software, Internet ToolsSkype, which has become my primary means of communicating with anyone not standing directly in front of me, has updated to version 2.7.0.257 with improvements, changes and a very, very long list of bugfixes. I'm happy, possibly even thrilled, about an alleged improvement in video stability. If you've ever used the video features, you've probably noticed that, in numerous scenarios, Skype prefers to show up more in your crash logs than on your desktop. I haven't had a chance to fully test out the video portion of this update and the release notes simply refer to it as "improved stability", so I'm hoping for the best. The 20+ bugfixes, by and large, deal mostly with errors I haven't run into and one grammatical correction to a dialog. Oh, and they fixed the language name for Belarusian, which could potentially appease 9,081,102* people. Fewer crashes and proper grammar are tantalizing but, as is usually the case, I find the API additions to be the most exciting. The Skype API is AppleScript-able and fairly comprehensive. This update adds more interface access, new voicemail features, and a few intriguing looking options which I'll just have to play with to understand. It would be nice if the updater built into Skype actually did what the name implies, but for now you'll have to head for the web page and get it yourself. Be sure to check out the release notes.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple TV 'T2' HD video is pretty good, says iLounge
Filed under: Apple TVThere's been some controversy about the HD video quality on the Apple TV, which we've covered before. Now that Take Two has dropped, iLounge has done the legwork to put together an excellent visual comparison. They compared four versions of Live Free and Die Hard: Blu-ray, Apple TV HD, Cable HD, and DVD. The results were quite good for the Apple TV; while Blu-ray was the clear and expected winner, the Apple TV version outpaced the Cable HD version on several of the tests, particularly those testing compression artifacts. The upshot: "Because of its cleaner motion and audio, we felt that the Apple experience was better in both overall audio and video quality than the HD cable experience, and for most users, superior to renting a standard DVD as well." Check out their full article for many more comparison shots.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Review: Apple Inc. Apple TV Take 2 (40GB/160GB)
Though many companies would be thrilled to sell even a B-level product, Apple Inc. has repeatedly acknowledged shortcomings in the original, $299 version of its HDTV-tethered movie, music, and photo player Apple TV, first downplaying the once-hyped product as a “hobby,” and later conceding that it wasn't what people wanted. So Apple is trying again with Apple TV Take 2 ($229/40GB, $329/160GB), a revised version of the device…
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Entourage data disappearing bug squashed with Office update
Microsoft issued a patch for Office 2004 for Mac users this week, but it's not just some arbitrary security update. It fixes a major bug in Entourage too that caused users' e-mail to pull a disappearing act.Read More...
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Moving the goalposts on iPhone 1.13 jailbreaking and unlocking
Filed under: iPhoneIt's been a busy few days in the iPhone 1.13 hackathon. After the Geohot software unlock, yesterday saw the release of the Zibri command-line and unlock.no Windows GUI versions of an all-in-one software jailbreak, activation and unlocking script for 1.1.3 iPhones. Just in the past few minutes, aCujo tipped us that there's a new bootloader downgrade from 4.6 to 3.9, completely in software.At this point, it seems that overseas or non-AT&T iPhone owners are pretty well set for getting unlocked and rolling on native cell networks, noting as always that the hacks are not finished works and even the experienced few sometimes do themselves harm. (Wondering how to tell an unlock from a jailbreak? Check out Erica's iPhone hack glossary post from a while back.)For those who consider themselves economically and intellectually distanced from the whole unseemly business of hacking iPhones and unlocking them from AT&T's network, consider these two BusinessWeek stories on the iPhone gray market. Not only is the iPhone unlock a money-making engine for thousands of opportunity-minded retailers and middlemen all across the globe, but the status of a functional software unlock means feast or famine (both essentially unwanted) for the maker of the TurboSIM adapter that enables a hardware unlock when software is foiled. It's astonishing that one little device can cause so many ripples in a worldwide chain of commerce and underground innovation.Thanks to everyone who sent these in.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple reduces iPod / iPhone build rates, increases iMac production
Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Laptops, Portable Audio, Portable VideoAlthough Apple has said that it's still on track to ship 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008, it looks like that rumor about scaled back production may have been true after all: several analysts are now reporting that the company's pulled back iPod touch, iPhone, and MacBook production for Q1. Of course, Apple is known for managing its channel inventory pretty ruthlessly, so it's not known if this is a permanent decrease or just a reaction to what some analysts are calling "overbuilding" in Q4, but there is some good news out there -- strong sales of the iMac have led to a forecasted 35 percent production increase. You know, the last time the economy soured, Steve promised that Apple would "innovate out" of the downturn -- we'd say some new MacBook Pros would be a fine start this time around, eh?[Via X-bit Labs, thanks Mack] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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O2 testing 3G-boosting solution for future iPhones
O2 is trial testing femtocells in order to boost its 3G data speeds, perhaps as a part of future iPhone plans because of the devices' high data consumption.Read More...
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One Step 1.1.3 Jailbreak released
After dealing with the infuriating way of Jailbreaking 1.1.3 (the one where you had to downgrade), it’s a relief to know that an easier way has been posted. Developer Zibri has released a one click App that auto jailbreaks 1.1.3 with the only difference being it’s official. The only other…
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Bubble-Like Distortions Appearing on iPhones
Some reports have surfaced from the Apple forums that users iPhone are experiencing a problem. The problem being bubbles under the glass of the iPhone. Several users are reporting an issue where tiny bubble-like distortions…
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iTunes: Free Wednesday
Filed under: iTS, Features, Deals Once again, TUAW is pleased to present you with a selection of free songs and videos from around the world. Many of these iTMS items won't be free for long, so grab your copies before the week is up. And don't forget: If you want to buy these on your iPhone or iPod touch, make sure to sign into your account in iTunes before you sync.Continue reading iTunes: Free WednesdayRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Showtime okay with iTunes revenue split
Posted by Dennis Sellers Unlike NBC, cable network Showtime likes its revenue split with Apple (for the shows it sells on iTunes, Matt Blank, chairman and CEO of the CBS (NYSE: CBS) cable programmer, said today during a mini-preview of Showtime's upcoming shows.
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Apple Gazette Daily 207 - Follow ups from last weeks shows
Follow ups from last weeks shows. You can subscribe via iTunes, or by RSS feed, or… you can listen to the episode right here: In addition to that, you can also download the Apple Gazette Daily Widget and listen to every episode of the show right on your Dashboard. Click Here to download.
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Office 11.4.0 update squashes nasty Entourage data loss bug
Filed under: SoftwareAmong the security patches delivered with Microsoft's 11.4.0 update to Office 2004 this week, there was a fix for a subtle and deeply irritating bug that's been nipping at Exchange users for a long time. Under certain rare circumstances, Entourage users could unexpectedly and unexplainedly lose days or weeks worth of email, poof! I've personally seen this happen a handful of times over the past three years, and it's always a challenging conversation when the affected user asks "What the hell happened?" and the official reply is "Um... let me check the backups for you, mmmkay?"TUAW reader Vermyndax, who worked with Microsoft support to track down the bug, blogged about the cause and resolution of the issue today:The bug occurs due to a bad logic assumption. Entourage 2004 treats its local database as authoritative to the mail stored in your mailbox. As such, if the Exchange server happens to be virus-scanning your mailbox when you synchronize your mail, Exchange will refuse to allow Entourage access to the items being scanned. Since Entourage receives no information on the existence of those items, it will mark them for deletion in its local database. On the next sync, you lose all of those items in the mailbox too. In cases we noted, users were losing large swaths of email at once (on the order of 2-3 weeks' worth all at once). Yech. While you could recover the mail from Outlook/OWA "Deleted Items," it was a pain -- and worse if you didn't notice the problem until after your retention deadline had passed. Upgrading to 11.4.0, assuming you aren't quite ready to make the leap to Office 2008, is sounding better all the time. Thanks Vermyndax!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Mix: Google, Philips, 100 Ways, VisualHub, Buddy Beacon
Google has said that it has seen 50 times more searches from the iPhone than from any other mobile handset. “We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again,â€? said Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations. Gundotra also said that if more manufacturers make mobile web access easy, the number of mobile searches will overtake fixed searches “within the next several years.” Philips has announced that amBX…
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Rumors: More iPhone SDK tidbits trickling in
Filed under: iPod Family, Rumors, iPhone Following up to my recent post, I'm now hearing additional scuttlebutt regarding the iPhone SDK release. The latest: 1. The SDK will ship on time for late February, but many features will be delayed, so this will be at best an alpha or beta release. 2. People who are in Apple's documentation department are working triple-quadruple-double-secret overtime. 3. Simulator will be there but you can also test applications directly on the hardware, via a docking cable tether. Looking at the calendar, we should know one way or another within, say, two weeks. As always, many grains of salt, rumors, rumors rumors.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Craig Hockenberry on iPhone App Development
Advice and perspective based on his experience hacking on a jailbroken iPhone. My hunch is that writing sanctioned apps via the upcoming SDK is going to be pretty damn similar. ★
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Palm Ranks Last in Mobile Phone Satisfaction
You know it’s bad when you place below Motorola. Let’s share another laugh at Palm CEO Ed Colligan’s November 2006 remarks regarding Apple’s prospects in the phone market: “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” ★
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The iPod touch upgrade: Are they bugging you?
Filed under: iPod Family, iTunes, Bad Apple Did you upgrade your iPod touch? I did. But I presumed it was optional. TUAW readers who have chosen not to upgrade report they're being hounded. By iTunes. They say that every time they connect their iPod to iTunes for syncing, they're getting hit with a "buy the upgrade" page that only has an OK button. Once clicked, it transports you to the iTunes page for buying the software. Is this happening to you? Are you feeling strong-armed into buying the upgrade? Let us know in the comments.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Rush Limbaugh needs Steve Jobs' help
Posted by Dennis SellersRadio host and big Mac fan, Rush Limbaugh, is having trouble with his four Mac Pros, which he recently upgraded to Mac OS X 10.5.2. Apparently he's having some sort of issue with Leopard that he thought would be fixed with the latest update, but it wasn't, and Limbaugh joked...
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News: Case-mate debuts Privacy Screen Pro
Case-mate has introduced its Universal Privacy Screen Pro, a new film designed to shield the screen of mobile devices from surrounding eyes. The Privacy Screen Pro measures 2” by 3”, is able to fit both the iPhone and iPod touch, and offers a 45-degree viewing angle. The film attaches to the device using static, which allows for reside-free removal, and comes with a screen cleaning cloth, a graph sheet for sizing, and a soft applicator…
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Mapping Network Drives
Keeping Track of Your Network
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Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 Kontrol Edition
Gear Be Gone
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Limbaugh appeals to Apple's Jobs for help
Rush Limbaugh's radio show probably isn't streamed to that many desks at Apple headquarters, but El Rushbo is thinking about asking El Jobso for a little tech support.
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Have You Upgraded Your iPhone Yet?
Apple recently announced their new 16 GB iPhone and while the reaction isn’t surprising, we’ve been wondering what the general census is considering the upgrade woes some have dealt with. Sound off in the comments.
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Analyst predicts 2.1 millions Mac will be sold in March quarter
Posted by Dennis SellersMac sales will be strong, iPhone sales a bit weak and iPods weaker for Apple's fiscal quarter that ends in March, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu told clients today. Apple's computer sales “appear to be the most promising with continued momentum carried over from previous quarters,” he says.
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Will iPhone 2.0 Be a Swinger?
What if Apple's attorney's are just a little bit sharper than AT&T's? It's possible that Apple may have done something interesting with its long term contract with AT&T. It's just a guess, but the guess is driven by AT&T's announcement of its 3G expansion last week. What if Apple and AT&T, way back in the early days of the iPhone negotiations, agreed not on a network but on an iPhone nomenclature? For example, the exclusivity extends to the "Apple iPhone" model A1203.
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Bento updated for Mac OS X 10.5.2
Posted by Dennis SellersFileMaker Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple, has updated the Bento personal database software to version 1.0v2, a new updater that replaces previous versions of the software, including the Bento preview software. This new version of Bento includes support for additional languages, improvements to overall stability, and is compatible...
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VisualHub update adds Apple TV 'Take Two' support
Posted by Dennis SellersTechspanion has updated VisualHub, a universal video converter for Mac OS X (10.3.9 and higher) to version 1.3.1 which is compatible with the Apple TV “Take Two” software update.
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Case-mate releases Privacy Screen for iPhone, iPod touch
Posted by Dennis SellersCase-mate has released an US$19.99 Privacy Screen for the iPhone, iPod touch and other devices. The static cling screen allows a viewing angle starting at 45-degrees from the device's surface, ensuring that data is crystal clear to the user but not to nosy neighbors, according to the folks at Case-mate.
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Troi Dialog Plug-in goes Universal Binary
Posted by Dennis SellersDevelopers, take note: Troi Automatisering has released Troi Dialog Plug-in 5.0 for FileMaker Pro 9.0. It's an update of the plug-in runs that lets users create custom dialogs. Troi Dialog Plug-in 5.0 is Universal Binary so runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs. It's also tweaked for the latest...
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A new—and overdue—Aperture
Peter Cohen thinks Tuesday’s release of Aperture 2 reaffirms Apple’ commitment to the creative pro market with a welcome, and badly needed, update to the company’s digital imaging workflow application.
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Tracking Apple's Q2: Some Good and Some Less Good News
Apple (AAPL) shares took a sharp hit on Tuesday, but are on the mend Wednesday; the Street is dealing with a variety of cross-currents that could affect results for the fiscal second quarter ending in March. Good news: margins should get a boost from lower prices for both displays and memory chips. Also good: Mac demand seems very strong. Less good: indications on iPod and iPhone sales are less encouraging. At least three analysts have weighed on various issues surrounding the quarter over the last 24 hours; here’s a quick rundown.
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Leopard's Not So Spotty Anymore
When I reviewed Mac OS X 10.5, also known as Leopard, I had three complaints. 1. “Now, not all of Leopard’s features are slam-dunks. Take Stacks, for example. When you click the icon of a folder in the Dock (the row of quick-access icons at the bottom of the screen), you get to see its [...]
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Apple TV Take 2, Spore for the Mac and Rush Appeals to Jobs
Hotly anticipated game, Spore gets a Mac release date, Play.com goes after iTunes and multi-touch is a software update away.
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Yahoo! Mail rolling out Safari 3.0 support
Posted by Dennis SellersYahoo! Mail will begin rolling out Safari 3.0 support on the Mac (for both Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5) today. Yahoo! Mail Classic already supports Safari, and the All-New Yahoo! Mail also currently supports Firefox for Macs.
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Review: mStand from Rain Design
If you're like me, you spend a minimum of 8 hours a day working on your Mac. My primary machine is a Macbook Pro, and for the first several months of owning it, and using it as my primary machine, I suffered through typing on the keyboard and using the trackpad for mouse navigation for all 8+ of those hours working. That leads to back problems, slumped posture, wrist pain, and all kinds of general discomfort that just flat out isn't very good for you. So what can you do? Getting a notebook stand is your best bet - and I have found that there is no better stand on the market than the mStand from Rain Design. The mStand is a solid piece of aluminum construction. It's heavy, and has a sturdy feeling about it that ensures that your laptop isn't going to tumble off onto the floor if someone accidentally bumps your desk. The stand raises your screen about six inches giving you the feel and positioning of a standard desktop monitor. This has an amazing effect on your posture, and really helped me to be more comfortable while working. Another benefit of the raised design is cooling. If your editing video or multi-tasking in any serious way, the Macbook Pro can get a little warm (hot enough to fry and egg “warm” sometimes), and the mStand keeps your system cooler because the aluminum panel acts as a heat sink and the tilt design increases airflow around your computer. I have notice significantly less heating issues since using the mStand. From a design standpoint it doesn't get much more “Apple-like” than the mStand. Rain Design actually worked with Apple to get approval to match the styling of the stand to fit seamlessly in with other current Apple designed products, and the result is a stand so slickly produced you'd think Apple designed it themselves. Trying to find a negative about his stand is difficult, but one issue that may bother some users is the fact that the mStand does not swivel, and you cannot adjust the height level at all. If you want a stand that does both of these things, Rain has a solution in the iLevel. I don't find the lack of these features to be a draw-back, however, primarily because i don't have a use for them, and having them would take away from the slickness of the stands overall design. The bottom line with the mStand is that it is very nearly perfect. After having used it for several weeks, I'm not sure I could go back to working on my Macbook Pro for a full work day without the mStand. It has become an essential part of my daily work. For $49 you're just not going to find a better notebook stand. Grade: 5 out of 5
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Enable Vista's hidden administrator account, and password-protect its equivalent in XP
Featured links from the CNET Blog Network Enable Vista's hidden administrator account, and password-protect its equivalent in XP -- Get an added level of protection by activating this backup administrator account in Vista, and safeguarding it in XP. Why Apple won't get into gaming -- SHORT Don Reisinger thinks Apple will never get into gaming. Will it? AMD goes where Intel isn't: Mobile phone processors -- AMD offers new mobile phone graphics technology and hooks up with STMicroelectronics. Bug fixes! Patches! Updates! Come and get it -- Bug is a dirty word in the software world. After all, it means "mistake" and no one wants to admit they made a mistake.
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HackTV Take 2: The AppleTV Hack Upgrade Liveblog
Filed under: Hacks, How-tos, Apple TV Go second. Or third. Or last. That's the lesson on performing hacking upgrades. Let someone else make all the mistakes first and then follow just those footsteps that didn't lead, say, down the giant crevasse with the big old hungry lions waiting below. Today, I'm about to upgrade my hacked Apple TV first--so you can see where I go wrong and then don't, yourself.Continue reading HackTV Take 2: The AppleTV Hack Upgrade LiveblogRead | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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MacBook Air's multi-touch is all soft
Turns out Apple could add the new multi-touch features from the MacBook Air to MacBooks and MacBook Pros. But will it? Probably not before expanding their respective trackpads too.Read More...
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No Time Machine-AirPort Extreme fix in Mac OS X 10.5.2
Posted by Dennis Sellers“Disappointed” Mac users have confirmed that Mac OS X 10.5.2, released yesterday, doesn't let them back up with Time Machine to drives plugged into an Airport Extreme router, notes Computerworld. You can read the entire story here.
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VisualHub 1.31 adds Surround Sound for "Take 2"
Filed under: Multimedia, SoftwareAn upgrade to one of my favorite (and most useful) video compression and conversion utilities, VisualHub (which we've mentioned a few times), has brought with it support for 5.1 Surround Sound on the just-released Apple TV "Take 2." Despite not actually owning an Apple TV, I find myself happy for our video-converting, Apple TV-owning readers, and for the fact that any 5.1 AC3 audio I should happen to create won't be lost for that lucky audience. The release notes also include some speed improvements for artwork tagging large (150MB+) videos not intended for the 'net, as well as a fix for aspect ratio conversion on Tivo-destined video. VisualHub 1.31 is a free upgrade for registered users. And for newcomers for whom it would be of use, it's worth every penny at the palindromic price of $23.32. Visit the VisualHub website for more information.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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News: Apple launches Corporate Gifting and Rewards Program
Apple has launched its Corporate Gifting and Rewards Program, which enables large businesses and corporations to easily make bulk orders of iPods, iTunes Gift Cards, iPod accessories, and certain models of Mac computers. The new program page states that the company is offering “special pricing on volume orders.” The minimum for iPod orders is 50 units, with a minimum of 250 units for iPods pre-loaded with content, which may include “training…
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Rumor Poll: When will we see a 3G iPhone?
Let's talk 3G for a minute. Speculation continues to run rampant, some saying that the 3G iPhone will make its debut along with the SDK at the end of Feb. Citibank has decided that its coming in less than 6 months based on the fact that “inventory is low” and “Europe wants it”. Even others, according to Gizmodo, are speculating that a 3G iPhone is NEVER coming and that, instead, we'll all get a piece of that 700mhz spectrum for constant Wi-Fi. This rumor persists in spite of the fact that both Steve Jobs and the CEO of AT&T have stated that a 3G iPhone is coming in 2008. Now, it seems to me if both companies are saying a 3G iPhone is coming - then a 3G iPhone is coming…especially with AT&T expanding their 3G coverage substantially in 2008. The question is when? Take the poll Free Poll by Blog Flux
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Apple Says I Love You with a Bouquet of Software Upgrades
It’s Valentine’s day this week and Apple reminds us it loves us with significant software upgrades to OS X, Aperture, and Apple TV. First off was OS X 10.5.2. This is jammed packed with bug (oops, “unintended featuresâ€?) fixes, plus a few new features and enhancements. …
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Mozilla releases third Firefox 3 beta
Firefox 3 beta 3 fits in more naturally with Mac OS X, Vista and Linux, but the best reason to try the software is still its faster performance.
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'Wicked Cool PHP' released
Posted by Dave MertenPHP is an easy-to-use scripting language that is perfect for quickly creating a wide range of dynamic web features, like forms, user polls, and shopping carts. It's the go-to language for web programmers in a hurry, and for good reason. Wicked Cool PHP, by William Steinmetz and Brian Ward, is...
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Stocks Furthest Above, Below Their 50-DMAs
Below we highlight the S&P 500 stocks that are currently trading the furthest above and below their 50-day moving averages.
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News: iPhone grey market flourishing
The grey market for unlocked iPhones is flourishing, according to a BusinessWeek report. The report, which suggests that between 800,000 and million iPhones are unlocked, says that the bulk of the unlocking seems to be occurring in countries where the phone has yet to be introduced. This in some ways lessens the financial impact felt by the Apple and its carrier partners — partners which stand to lose hundreds of dollars in monthly fees per…
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Walt checks out ThinkPad X300, also fits in manila folder
Filed under: Laptops Well, would you look at that. The image we're certain your eyes are fixated on above is indeed the first look at Lenovo's forthcoming X300 ultraportable, and it's being provided courtesy of Walt Mossberg. 'Course, if we were betting souls, we'd guess that nifty office envelope won't be bundled in, but hey, crazier things have happened. As if a photo wasn't enough, Walt also clued us in on a few more specs, namely the inclusion of a removable battery, three USB ports, WiFi, an integrated Ethernet jack and optional GPS / WWAN to boot. Heck, users will even be able to order this 3.12-pound critter with Windows XP if they so choose. You getting all this, Apple? Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Man arrested at gunpoint for using MP3 player
Filed under: Portable Audio Next time you're reaching down for that iPod or Zune (or anything else for that matter), take care that you don't alarm the authorities with any suspicious movements -- or you could end up like the UK's Darren Nixon. Apparently, the mild-mannered mechanic was on his way home from work when the Bobbies surrounded him and drew their guns, believing that the MP3 player in his pocket was a firearm. According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Nixon was tracked on CCTV, arrested at gunpoint, swabbed for DNA, fingerprinted, and thrown in a cell -- all for listening to a bootleg of Chinese Democracy on a 4GB Philips GoGear. Said Darren, "I was really shocked when I saw the guns. They were pointing them right at me. It was a pretty scary experience. I had no idea what was going on." After the team of Mentat cops realized their mistake, they couldn't even offer an apology, said Nixon, "They just dropped me off at home and said a quick 'sorry for any inconvenience', and that was all I got from them, which I thought was pretty out of order." Once again, a hot serving of sweet justice.[Via CrunchGear] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Blogging On The iPhone For Reals
We’ve Covered about Blogging on the iPhone before and while our gripes have changed since then, we’ve found an easier way to Blog from our iPhones. You might’ve seen some posts with nothing more than the words test, these posts have been uploaded directly from an iPhone using…
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NBC report on music industry takes shots at Apple
In a news report aired before the Grammy Awards, NBC blamed digital downloading for declines in album sales and took a few shots at Apple in the process.Read More...
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10.5: Disable Space switching on Command-Tab in 10.5.2
The 10.5.2 version of the Dock has a new hidden preferences flag for Spaces. You can now set OSX to not automatically switch between spaces when you press Command-Tab. This is great for me, because I like to divide things by task, rather than by app. For a given task, I'll probably have a TextEdit window, a Terminal window, and maybe a web browser. By default, when I clicked on a given app, I'd be transported to that app's space, and have to go through a bunch of hoops to get the new window in the space I wanted. Now, I can just Command-Tab to the app I want, and create a new window in the current space! Here's the command in Terminal: defaults write com.apple.Dock workspaces-auto-swoosh -bool NO After running the command, you'll need to restart the Dock (killall Dock). To undo, change NO to YES, or use dedfaults delete com.apple.D...
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10.5: Browse other Time Machine archives in 10.5.2
With the new menu bar icon for Time Machine introduced in 10.5.2, there comes a very easy way to browse through non-default Time Machine archives. Just click the new Time Machine menu bar icon, and hold down Option. When you do, the Enter Time Machine menu item will change to Browse Other Time Machine Disks.
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Recover from a purple screen in Apple TV Take 2
If your TV screen goes purplish after installing the Apple TV Take 2 software update, there's no real problem; it's simply an incorrect setting. Your Apple TV is sending YPrBr, but your TV is expecting RGB. To fix it, go into Settings and choose Video, go down to the HDMI and click, and it will change.
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Clean up site tracks left behind after private surfing
Apple describes Safari's "Private Browsing" feature as follows: When you browse the web, Safari stores information about the websites you visit including the content and any user names, passwords, and credit card numbers you enter. Other people who use your computer can view that information. If you don’t want this information stored, use Private Browsing.... If you neglected to turn on Private Browsing before you browsed, choose Safari > Reset Safari. This seems to imply that using Private Browsing, as well as Reset Safari, will not leave any record on your computer of the sites you have visited. This is not true, however. In Terminal, type this command: dscacheutil -cachedump -entries Host This will list all entries cached by Leopard (including the date and time of last access), even when Priv...
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Download files from web servers via ftp program
The command line BSD ftp utility that ships with OS X can be used to download files via HTTP as well as FTP. For example, in Terminal, you would do this to download a DMG file from some site: $ cd ~/Downloads $ ftp http://www.some_site.net/file.dmg You will see the file automatically begin downloading into your current directory, which you set to your Downloads folder with the first command. Now you probably won't need to install the GNU wget utility. [robg adds: Note that OS X also ships with curl installed, which can do the same thing and much more (man ftp and man curl for more on both these apps, of course.) To grab the same file with curl, you'd use curl -O file.dmg.]
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'MacOSG Podcast' (US Crew) episode 105
Posted by Dave MertenThis week in the Member Spotlight, the US Crew interviews MacOSG member Chris Pfrang—aka Charkris—from Bangkok, Thailand. Chris discusses his job in computer education, the weather and the Thai culture. Although Chris is a native US citizen, he has lived in Thailand for quite a few years now.
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EA announces Spore will have a September release
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Article: Apple TV 2.0 vs. Blu-Ray, DVD & HD Cable: The Comparison
Apple calls them “high-definition movie rentals,” but to people familiar with Blockbuster Video, Netflix, and HD cable box alternatives, Apple TV 2.0's new ability to download and play back certain 720p movies is more of a “video on demand” service—with certain advantages and limitations. So how do Apple's HD movie downloads compare with DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs, and currently available HD video on demand content?…
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Yazsoft boosts Speed Download for Mac to version 5
Yazsoft has bumped Speed Download to version 5, and it's a doozy of an upgrade (at least in terms of looks).Read More...
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MacBook Air Diary-Day 13: Installing 10.5.2
I generally wait at least 72 hours before installing any operating system updates from Apple but yesterday’s announcement of 10.5.2 made me throw caution to the wind. I figured that I had a solid backup (as Apple recommends) and I wanted to see if the new update from Cupertino would play nice with the MacBook [...]
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Palm ranks last in satisfaction survey, no one surprised
Filed under: Cellphones We know it's probably going to be pretty hard to believe this, but according to a recent survey of mobile phone users, Palm ranks absolutely last in customer satisfaction. If you believe what the folks at ChangeWave Research have to say (and the 4,182 people they questioned), only 30-percent of Palm users reported being "very satisfied" with their device, while companies like Apple and RIM garnered 72-percent and 55-percent, respectively. Of course, considering current trends with the company, and the fact that it's just started paying out to users for repeated repairs on devices, this doesn't come as much shock. The report demonstrates that users are moving to smartphones at an alarming rate -- but with rankings like this, they're probably avoiding Palm devices. Guys, it might take a little more than Bono to fix this mess.[Via Palm Infocenter] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Oh yeah... Apple updates Tiger, WebObjects, iLife too
So it's Wednesday, so what? If you haven't been paying attention, Apple has released updates for Tiger, iLife, and WebObjects in addition to everything else this week. Go forth and upgrade!Read More...
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So are you regretting upgrading to 10.5.2 as much as I am?
I've had 10.5.2 on my Macbook Pro for about 48 hours now, and they have been nothing short of miserable. On four separate occasions now the computer has frozen for no reason, and I've had to do a hard restart to get it going again. My Samson Q1U USB Microphone now no longer works in Garageband for some reason. Now it sounds like someone is crumpling tinfoil everytime I speak into it. The mic works fine in Audacity, but each time I attempt to use the mic the computer freezes up after a minute or two of recording. On top of all of the Safari is still crashing like crazy if I have more than 3 tabs open at once. So…needless to say…I'm not happy. How about you? Any problems since the upgrade?
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News: Tinbot intros new line of iPod cases
Tinbot has introduced its new line of cases for iPod classic and fifth-generation iPod. Tinbot cases are made from tin outer shells, with impact-resistant neoprene lining for added protection. The tin shells feature original designs from well-known contemporary artists; the case is also available in matte white for personal customization. Tinbot cases also feature a swing-open design for access to the iPod's screen and controls, as well as openings…
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Speed Download 5 released
Filed under: Software, Internet ToolsBefore the recent Macheist bundle I had never used the download manager Speed Download, but once it made it onto my system I've found that I really like it. Particularly for somebody who is constantly downloading new software, etc. the way it collects together (and organizes) all my downloads has been quite handy.Well now it's clear why Yazsoft agreed to include Speed Download 4 in the bundle as the paid upgrade version 5 has been released. They're calling it the most substantial update ever and the list of new features is extensive. In addition to a new downloading engine behind the scenes, Speed Download 5 has a new customizable interface including a mini-iTunes like controller. Other additions focus on organizing and searching downloads.Speed Download 5 is $25 and a demo is available. Upgrades from version 4 (including Macheist) are $15. They are also running a "switchers" promotion at $15 for users of "another commercial Mac download manager or FTP program."Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Archos teams with SFR in France for building 3G+ into upcoming players
Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Wireless With the likes of Apple and Garmin taking their respective expertise and pointing it toward the mobile phone world, perhaps it should come as no surprise that Archos is doing something similar. Unfortunately, it's fairly impossible at this stage to figure out what that thing is. All we know is that Archos has struck a deal with France's SFR to integrate 3G+ HSDPA data modems into its players -- a deal that was rumored late last year -- but whether that means beefed up mobile surfing and VoIP, or an all new phone product has yet to be seen. [Thanks, Marien] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Ecamm updates Call Recorder for Skype
Posted by Dennis SellersEcamm Network has updated Call Recorder, which lets you record Skype calls and podcasts, to version 2.3. The update is required for use with Skype 2.7.
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Review: SWF & FLV Player simplifies playback of files on Mac OS X
Posted by Dennis SellersIf you're looking for a stand-alone app for Mac OS X that lets you playback SWF and FLV files, Eltima's SWF & FLV Player formerly SWF Movie Player) is a solid choice. The software offers playlists management, a full-screen view mode, features to save online movies with all the dependencies...
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Opacity is new Leopard-only screen graphics editor
Posted by Dennis SellersLike Thought has released Opacity, a new screen graphics editor built exclusively for Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”). Opacity has traditional graphical features like vectors, layers and filters along with features such as variables, templates, factories and more.
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Guy Kawasaki, former Apple evangelist, talks about his latest ventures, the MacBook Air, more
Posted by Dennis SellersHaving spent over 25 years in Silicon Valley, Guy Kawasaki, the original Apple evangelist, has seen a lot of trends come and go. He was in on the ground floor of the launch of the original Macintosh, and went on