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Mar 11
Graphics in Virtualization: VMware Fusion vs. Parallels Desktop
Ever wonder what graphics really looks like side-by-side comparing VMware Fusion 3 to Parallels Desktop 5? This video will show you a wide variety of graphics tests, running on side-by-side machines so that you can see for yourself. Interesting in the full analysis of which product is faster? Check it out at: http://www.mactech.com/articles/special/1002-VirtualizationHeadToHead/ and read the most comprehensive and definitive set of benchmarks in the industry about virtualization on the Mac. Thousands of real world tests run, primarily with a stopwatch, to give you the best answer possible on which is faster in each area and by how much.
Mar 11
iPhone sees 97.9% year-over-year growth
Global smartphone shipments grew 37.2% last year -- and the iPhone saw a 97.9% year-over-growth in shipments. While Apple saw the greatest success, Nokia's shipments also jumped 37.3 percent and Research in Motion saw a spike of 41.2 percent. Analyst Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company -- as reported by "AppleInsider" (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/11/apple_sees_98_iphone_growt...) -- told clients that the smartphone market has turned into a "land grab" that's "virtually certain" to lead to a brutal battle between Microsoft and Google. He said Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series won't kill the iPhone, which exists in a class by itself, but it will be a potential "Android killer." Windows Phone 7 Series, Wolf said, is evidence that Microsoft "finally gets it."
Mar 11
Dolby brings surround sound voice chat to Macs, online console games
At this year’s Game Developers Conference® (Booth BS506, Moscone South), Dolby Laboratories has announced new tools that will soon make it possible for gamers to enjoy Dolby Axon surround voice chat on more of their favorite gaming platforms -- including the Mac. Dolby unveiled new software developer kit (SDK) ports that enable game developers to integrate the Dolby Axon surround voice technology to Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360versions of multiplayer online game titles. General availability of these ports is planned for April. According to Matt Tullis, marketing director, Games, Dolby Laboratories, already adopted by several online games, including the most recently announced Dragon Nest by Nexon Corp., as well as ZT Online (Giant Interactive), Mission Against Terror (Kingsoft) and Jumpgate Evolution (NetDevil), the Dolby Axon SDK enables game developers to raise the online gaming experience to a new level through a number of features: ° Voice communication complete with...
Mar 11
Barnes & Noble to release eReader for the iPad
Barnes & Noble (http://www.barnesandnoble.com) says it will soon be adding a new B&N eReader for the iPad.   Designed specifically for the Apple device, the B&N eReader will give customers access to more than one million eBooks, magazines and newspapers in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore, as well as the existing content in their Barnes & Noble digital library. That includes eBooks and content customers have downloaded to their nook™ eBook reader.)    To be released around the time of iPad’s expected availability, the new Barnes & Noble eReader will join B&N's growing list of free eReader software for most computing and mobile devices including the Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod touch and Blackberry. 
Mar 11
New 'Mini Missing Manuals' available in ebook format only
O'Reilly has recently released the Mini Missing Manual series (http://search.oreilly.com/?q=mini+missing+manuals&utm_content=em-orm-pr-Mini+MM&utm_campaign=O'Reilly&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email&imm_mid=056d26&cmp=em-orm-pr-Mini+MM), available in ebook format only. They're US$4.99 each. 
The current titles in the series are "Creating Keynote Slideshows," "Layout in Pages '09," "Sharing Keynote Slideshows," "Word Processing in Pages '09," "Add Audio and Video to Your Site," "Add Interactivity to Your Site," "Attract Visitors to Your Site."
Mar 11
Novothink introduces solar charging case for the iPod touch
Novothink (http://www.novothink.com), a global manufacturer of energy alternative electronic devices, has released the Solar Surge, anApple licensed solar charger case for the iPod touch. The solar charger case enables anyone to power up from the sun while carrying their iPod. iPod touches can now be effectively and efficiently charged anywhere under the sun by simply being attached to a Solar Surge, according to Ian Dorfman, president of Novothink. Along with the custom designed and engineered charger case that includes solar panels that provide continuous charging from the sun, Solar Surge also includes a USB 2.0 cable that is compatible with standard USB charging ports to provide high capacity charging and data exchange. To estimate solar needs for iPhone 3G and 3G S usage, Novothink encourages users to take advantage of their free Solar Planner available at the company's web site. Available in a variety of colors, Solar Surge for the iPod touch is priced at US$69.95 and will be...
Mar 11
SONiVOX releases Grand Piano Virtual Instrument Eighty Eight
SONiVOX (http://www.sonivoxmi.com), a virtual instrument manufacturer, has released Grand Piano Virtual Instrument, Eighty Eight. It has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$199. Eighty Eight is conceived and designed as a virtual embodiment of a Steinway CD 327 grand. It was recorded within the same acoustic confines as the SONiVOX Symphonic Collection. Eighty Eight sports: over 11GB of premium instrument content; 35 piano and pad presets; 52 solo piano presets; 15 adjustable split point multi-instrument combination patches; up to 16 velocity layers per key; onboard EQ, reverb and limiter; a seven-step velocity re-mapper; and more. It has Mac standalone, AU, VST and RTAS compatibility.
Mar 11
Maintain releases Cocktail 4.6.1 (Leopard Edition)
Maintain has released Cocktail 4.6.1 (Leopard Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail (http://www.maintain.se) for users running Mac OS X 10.5.x ("Leopard"). This version adds ability to stop Cocktail from logging out, restarting or shutting down the computer at the end of a scheduled program. The update also features improvements on the clear Adobe Flash Player caches and cookies procedure as well as overall performance improvements. Cocktail 4.6.1 (Leopard Edition) requires Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later and is tested for compatibility with Mac OS X/Mac OS X Server 10.5.8. Cocktail (Leopard Edition) for Mac OS X 10.5 and Cocktail (Tiger Edition) for Mac OS X 10.4 are available for download from the Maintain web site. Cocktail is a general purpose utility for Mac OS X that offers a variety of practical features designed to simplify the use of advanced UNIX function. A single user license costs US$14.95.
Mar 11
NAB Show launches new 'Post Pit' on show floor
NAB has debuted a new digital video workflow presentation stage, complete with a networking lounge and series of mini sessions, which will be held on the show floor at the 2010 NAB Show (http://www.nabshow.com), April 12-15. Located in the South Lower Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Post Pit brings together user groups and individuals who use post-production and other digital story-telling software and hardware products on display at the NAB Show. Produced in partnership with Final Cut Pro User Group (FCPUG) Network SuperMeet, fxguide, Digital Production Buzz and Future Media Concepts (FMC), Post Pit will offer attendees and exhibitors an interactive experience in which to showcase creative content, while top talent take the stage to share tips and tricks to aid digital video creators and editors in navigating the various tools used in the trade Some of the presenters include Ted Schilowitz of RED Camera Company, post guru Scott Simmons with tips on editing a Canon 5D...
Mar 11
WindowFlow beta released for Mac OS X
Developer Benedict Lowndes has released a beta of WindowFlow (http://windowflow.com) for Mac OS X. The app provides keyboard commands for organizing your application windows. You can move and resize windows which will snap into alignment with each other. Window tiling allows you to select a messy group of windows to be re-organized to make the most of your screen space. The app's interface also acts as a window switcher, allowing you to browse all of your open application windows. WindowFlow is currently in the final stages of beta testing, with a discounted for early adopters. WindowFlow Pro will be priced at $22, but is available for purchase during the beta period for $12. WindowFlow Standard will be priced at $12, but is available for purchase during the beta for $8. Just remember: beta software is unfinished software so use with care.
Mar 11
Vinotekasoft uncorks Vinoteka 1.6.2 for Mac OS X
Vinotekasoft has uncorked Vinoteka 1.6.2 (http://www.vinotekasoft.com), an update of their wine cellar management software for Mac OS X. The upgrade adds Grapes, Regions and Subregions and improves the German localization. Vinoteka costs US$34.90 for a single user license. You can get a family pack for $79.90 or a business pack for $109.90. Version 1.6.2 is a free update for registered users.
Mar 11
Monkeybread Software offers new REALbasic DynaPDF plug-in licenses
Monkeybread Software is offering new REALbasic DynaPDF plug-in licenses. For adding PDF creation to your applications, you can now use the new DynaPDF Starter License for US$199. In addition Monkeybread is offring new prices for the other REALbasic DynaPDF Plug-in licenses: For the different between Starter, Lite, Pro and Enterprise licenses (and pricing), go to http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realbasic/dynapdf.shtml .
Mar 11
Steve Jobs ranks number 136 on list of world's billionaires
Apple CEO Steve Jobs ranks number 136 on the list of the world's billionaires (http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/10/worlds-richest-people-slim-gates-buffet...) as compiled by "Forbes." The magazine lists his net worth at US$5.5 billion . Here's what "Forbes" has to say about Jobs: "Following months of rumor and speculation, cultish king of the iGeeks presented the highly anticipated iPad in January; ten-inch, multi-touch computer intended to fill gap between smartphone and laptop. Delighted: nerds everywhere. Scared to death: newspaper and magazine publishers. Also unveiled new iBookstore and iBooks application in direct challenge to Amazon's Kindle; several book publishers have committed to content agreements. Apple shares up 100% in past 12 months. Reed College dropout founded Apple in 1976. Revolutionized music industry with iTunes, iPod. Best investment: bought Pixar from George Lucas in 1986 for $10 million. Created string of hits (Finding Nemo, Toy Story); sold to Disney in 2006 for...
Mar 11
Smith Micro launches Poser 2010
Smith Micro has launched Poser Pro 2010, an update of the Mac OS X compatible (10.4 and higher) tool that lets professional artists and production teams add 3D characters to their projects. It sports over 2.5GB of ready-to-use content such as pre-rigged, fully textured 3D characters. Poser Pro 2010 also boasts such advanced features as a Talk Designer, Walk Designer, Morph Brush, Face Room, Dynamic Hair and Cloth Tools and many more. New in the latest version are: ° A revamped user interface with a user configurable work environment; ° A content management system that allows easier access to content collections with the ability to search both a library’s content and Smith Micro’s online market Content Paradise by category and keyword, providing a hierarchy list view and more detailed pop-up expanding previews; ° The ability to combine indirect diffuse illumination with improved irradiance caching and path tracing; ° An improved rigging system that includes multiple Falloff Zones and a...
Mar 11
Khronos releases OpenGL 4.0 specification
The Khronos Group (http://www.khronos.org), an industry consortium creating open standards to enable the authoring and acceleration of graphics and dynamic media on a variety of platforms and devices, has released the OpenGL 4.0 specification, an upgrade to the 2D and 3D graphics API (application programming interface) that is deployed on all major desktop operating systems. The OpenGL standard serves as the basis for OpenGL® ES, the graphics standard on virtually every shipping smart phone. The OpenGL 4.0 specification has been defined by the OpenGL ARB (Architecture Review Board) working group at Khronos, and includes the GLSL 4.00 update to the OpenGL Shading language in order to enable developers to access the latest generation of GPU (graphical processing unit) acceleration with enhanced graphics quality, acceleration performance and programming flexibility. The full specification is available for immediate download at http://www.opengl.org/registry . OpenGL 4.0 further improves...

MacTech Blog

Mar 11
Is the iPad the beginning of the end for the Mac? No
In a report for "PC Mag" (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2361204,00.asp), Sascha Segan says that the rise of the iPhone OS-based iPad could be the beginning of the end for the Mac platform. I understand his reasoning, but that's just not going to happen. Segan says that if Apple could have a do-over, it would use the iPhone OS for its computer line. He thinks that the iPad should be thought of as "the new Mac -- a "new mode of home-based computing that Apple hopes will bubble up through its product line." "This means no independent software stores, fewer open-source projects, and perhaps a blanket ban on BitTorrent, Flash, and Firefox," Segan writes. "It means a much more restricted peripheral market. The Mac will no longer be a PC as we know it -- it will be an 'end-to-end experience' like the iPhone." According to his prognosis, the MacBook and Mac Mini lines will be the first to move from the Mac OS X proper to the iPhone OS, as they are lower-cost and appeal mostly to...
Mar 11
Strategy Analytics: iPhone owners most likely to...
iPhone owners are not only most satisfied with their phones, they are most likely to buy their next phone from Apple, as well, according to a recent study from Strategy Analytics (http://www.strategyanalytics.com), which found a strong correlation between satisfaction and repeat purchase intentions. The research group's report, “iPhone Owners Most Satisfied and Likely to Repeat Purchase,” analyzes satisfaction across 12 features, as well as repeat purchase intentions for leading mobile phone manufacturers. Key findings include: ° Over half of the device users surveyed are less than satisfied with their current web browsing experience; ° Owners of 12-key keypad products in the US are least satisfied with the text input experience; and ° In Western Europe, although LG owners indicate higher satisfaction levels, that information does not necessarily translate to higher levels of repeat purchase intention. “In the US, respondents with full QWERTY keyboard or virtual keyboard are more...
Mar 11
Apple patents range from quickstart workout generation...
A plethora of Apple patents have appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Here's a summary of each. Patent number 2010062905 involves a method for a quickstart workout generation and calibration. Systems and methods for generating a quick start workout template and calibrating an electronic device using the workout template are provided. The electronic device may create and store a workout template to be used in conjunction with a workout. The workout template may be selected in a quick start fashion to restart the same workout. The workout template may be defined at least in part by a selection of any suitable workout goal and/or any suitable associated media. If the media associated with the workout goal is changed or is removed, a new workout template may be created. The electronic device may be calibrated or recalibrated using the workout template. If the electronic device is calibrated or re-calibrated with respect to a particular sensor, the electronic device may use...
Mar 11
Apple patent offers a 'virtual competitor'...
Apple wants you to work out harder by competing against a virtual competitor per a new patent (number 2010062818) at the US Patent & Trademark Office. The patent is for a portable electronic device for providing real-time interaction between a user performing an exercise routine and a virtual competitor. Some embodiments of the portable electronic device may include a sensor for receiving a plurality of user performance metrics associated with the user, a processor for generating a comparison between the plurality of user performance metrics and a competitor workout file associated with the virtual competitor, and a display for displaying a summary of the comparison in real-time. The inventors are Allen P. Haughay, Jeffrey T. Lee and Irwin W. Graves Jr. Here's Apple's background and summary of the invention: "Fitness enthusiasts sometimes need new sources of motivation, such as when training indoors during inclement weather. Modern health clubs partly serve this need by...
Mar 11
Of albums, iTunes LPs and the iPad
I'm enough of a dinosaur that I want my albums in CD form, for the most part. However, I have bought some iTunes LPs and, if I decided to go all digital in the future, this is the format I'd prefer. Unfortunately, it seems the iTunes LP isn't doing well. But let's back up. When the format was unveiled in September 2009 as part of iTunes 9, it was described by Apple as "the evolution of the music album" that delivers "a rich, immersive experience for select albums on the iTunes Store by combining beautiful design with expanded visual features like live performance videos, lyrics, artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more." In other words, it was intended to evoke the feeling of spinning an LP record and holding the jacket in your hands. However, according to some sources, the format doesn't seem to be taking off. Paul Bonanos, writing for "Salon" (http://www.salon.com/technology/the_gigaom_network/tech_insider/2010/03/...), says that iTunes LP provide little...
Mar 10
iPhone could overtake Blackberry in market share next...
New data from Trefis (http://www.trefis.com), a new financial platform that allows you to see how a company's products impact its stock, says the iPhone could overtake the Blackberry in market share in 2011. As reported by "Forbes" (http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2010/03/05/iphone-could-overta...), Trefis says RIM’s market share lead over Apple has been shrinking and Apple will be able to overtake RIM market share by early 2011. Trefis believes sales of the iPhone will eventually outpace BlackBerry sales for the following reasons: ° Apple’s ecosystem of consumer products (Macs, iPad, Apple TV) and services (iTunes, iPhone apps) make the iPhone a more attractive phone for many consumers compared to the BlackBerry. ° The end of AT&T exclusivity will give Apple’s iPhone wider distribution in the US (comparable to BlackBerry distribution). ° The iPhone is making inroads with business customers that have traditionally preferred the BlackBerry.
Mar 10
Gaming on the Mac picking up Stream
Now that Vale is bringing its Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac, the Mac gaming situation should improve. Not that it's been terrible. However, gamers have long complained about the lack of Mac games -- at least compared to the bazillion gaming titles for the PeeCee. Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks application programming interfaces, and Valve has added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. "The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward," Steam development director John Cook told "IT Wire" (http://www.itwire.com/your-it-news/entertainment/...
Mar 09
Analyst: iPad will beat Kindle's all-time sales...
Apple could have the bestselling e-book reader of all time in just three months on the market, according to an estimate from FBR Capital analyst Craig Berger. In a note to clients -- as noted by the "Latest Electronics" site (http://www.latestelectronics-dennis.com/?p=3117) he thinks Apple is set to ship five million iPads just in the first half of 2010. At this rate, the tablet would push past Amazon’s unofficial lifetime record of three million Kindles in just the three-month span between early April and the end of June. Saturday, April 3 is when the iPad will go on sale in the U.S. At least the Wi-Fi only version will; the Wi-Fi + 3G model will hit US store sleeves in late April. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April. Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (http://www.apple.com) or...
Mar 09
EFF criticizes the iPhone Developer Program License...
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) -- an organization founded to promote rights in the online and networked world -- has blasted the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, saying that the "entire family of devices built on the iPhone OS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) have been designed to run only software that is approved by Apple - a major shift from the norms of the personal computer market." "Overall, the Agreement is a very one-sided contract, favoring Apple at every turn," says the EFI. "That's not unusual where end-user license agreements are concerned (and not all the terms may ultimately be enforceable), but it's a bit of a surprise as applied to the more than 100,000 developers for the iPhone, including many large public companies. How can Apple get away with it? Because it is the sole gateway to the more than 40 million iPhones that have been sold. In other words, it's only because Apple still "owns" the customer, long after each iPhone (and soon, iPad) is sold, that...
Mar 09
Apple wins design patents for iPod shuffle, MacBook Air
Apple has won three design patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office. They involve a power supply, the iPod shuffle and the MacBook Air Patent number D11,415 is for the ornamental design of a power supply. Patent number D611,470 is for the ornamental design of an electronic device (the Apple remote). Patent number D611,469 is for the ornamental design of another electronic device (the MacBook Air). The inventors on all the patents are Bartley K. Andrew, Daniel J. Coster, Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard P. Howarth, Jonathan P. Ive, Steve Jobs, Robert Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas B. Satzger, Christopher J. Stringer, Eugene Antony Whange and Rico Zorkendorfer. Three other patents by Apple have also appeared at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Following is a summary of each. Patent number 7,675,529 is for a method and apparatus to scale graphical user interfaces. To scale a view component according to an arbitrary...

Reviews and Kool Tools

Kool Tools: Suitcase Fusion
Suitcase Fusion 2 from Extensis (http://www.extensis.com) is a next generation solution for single-user font management that can save creative professionals a lot of time. Version 2.0 sports a completely redesigned user... Read more »
Review: Gridiron Flow keeps you organized
Gridiron Software's Flow (http://www.gridironsoftware.com), which costs US$299) cannot be fully explained in this amount of space -- it’s too vast and too valuable. Instead, I’ll tell you what it does and what it’s good... Read more »
Real People Reviews: New WD My Passport Studio
Making an external hard drive stand out when there are so many to choose from can be quite a challenge, but Western Digital (http://www.westerndigital.com) has always been an innovator in this realm. In addition, they... Read more »
Review: Eos unveils Converge system for Macs, PCs, iPhones
If you want wireless audio throughout your house and office -- and don't mind spending some not-inconsiderable scratch to make it happen -- the Eos Converge from Eos Wireless (http://www.eoswireless.com) offers a... Read more »

News Scanner

Friday March 12

03:30
Apple Store Down, I Repeat, Apple Store Down [Apple]
Gizmodo Apple
Let me see—the time is 6.30am EST, it's Friday the 12th of March. Could it be Apple loading a pre-order page for the iPad, two hours earlier than expected? [Apple]
03:21
Get ready for those iPad pre-orders! Apple Store down
TUAW
Filed under: iPad The Apple Store is currently down in the US, the UK and the rest of the world. Grab your credit card and get ready for the iPad pre-orders to begin at 5:30PT, 7:30 Central, 8:30ET, and 1:30 GMT! TUAWGet ready for those iPad pre-orders! Apple Store down originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
00:00
iCalShare relaunches
TUAW
Filed under: Software, Internet Tools After a long absence iCalShare.com has relaunched with new search tools and an improved user interface. iCalShare is a site dedicated to sharing calendars for use in applications like iCal, Google Calendar, or Outlook among dozens of other web and desktop apps. The site contains over 3,500 calendars across 40 different categories from Academics to Television. Calendars are free to download and can be used with any desktop or website application that can import iCalendar files. How it works: Just search the site for a calendar of your choosing, click "subscribe" and that calendar will automatically be added to your iCal. Since it's a subscription-based calendar, it will automatically update whenever the author edits the calendar. You can also create and share your own calendars on iCalShare for free after registering with the site. Whether you're a Harvard student, a DC Young Democrat, or a movie buff, there's a calendar for you. iCalShare was...

Thursday March 11

22:40
Top 9 Classic Games on the iPhone
digg
Note: To keep things fair, the original versions of these games had to be at least five years old to be included.
21:30
DING! Round 2: Foursquare & Gowalla both update...
digg
In this corner, with a big head start, a huge user base, and tons of features, it's ... Foursquare! In this corner, with millions of dollars in funding and a great-looking new design ... Gowalla! The two have been going blow-for-blow in the location-based social gaming fight. Who Wins?
20:41
iPad available for pre-order at 5:30 Pacific
Macworld
Apple starts taking orders for the iPad at 5:30 a.m. Pacific/8:30 a.m. Eastern on Friday, March 12.
19:55
Warbirds: Dogfights for Mac flies gamers in WWII...
MacNN
Macgamestore has released Warbirds: Dogfights for the Mac. The game features aerial dogfight action in a World War II setting. A number of pivotal WWII air battles are played out over Europe and the Pacific. Players fly as either Allied or Axis fighters in over 100 different WWII aircraft. It also offers access to one month of free playing time on the WarBirds online multiplayer service....
19:40
Media Lab unveils SiteGrinder 3 with new add-ons
MacNN
Media Lab has unveiled SiteGrinder 3, an update to its website production plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. The software is used to generate CSS and XHTML standards-compliant web pages using Photoshop designs. The latest release brings over 300 new features and functions, including a re-designed interface and two add-ons. The integrated web-text function has also been improved to support text-wrapping around images....
19:32
Universal Audio releases three new audio plug-ins
The Loop
My favorite audio plug-in maker, Universal Audio (UA) on Thursday released an update for its plug-in platform. UAD 5.6 includes many fixes and three new plug-ins. New in version 5.6 is the Manley Massive Passive & Massive Passive Mastering EQ. UA modeled the plug-in over six months and then had the models scrutinized by Manley’s engineering [...]
19:30
GDC 2010: The secret to App Store success
TUAW
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Freeware, Developer, App Store For the last panel of GDC 2010 day two, David Whatley of Critical Thought took the stage to talk about the App Store success he found with his games geoDefense and geoDefense Swarm, and almost dared other iPhone developers to follow his "guaranteed plan" to go from "zero to Time Magazine." He's got quite a background in the trenches of coding and game development, having designed and run online mulitplayer games for over a decade with his "day job" at a company called Simutronics, but he decided to take to the iPhone in his spare time both to learn the platform and see what he could do with it. First things first, he said, to make an iPhone game, you've got to figure out your goals as a business. He talked about the potential on the iPhone in terms of millions of dollars, but of course, since "99.9% of businesses on the App Store make no money," it's much more likely that if something goes wrong during development or...
19:25
PageZephyr 2.0 adds new search features, file support
MacNN
Markzware has launched v2 of its utility for content searching and retrieval, PageZephyr. The software provides tools for searching through QuarkXPress, InDesign, and MS Publisher files, while enabling text to be exported in RTF or TXT formats. Version 2 offers new ways to search files, incorporating support for less common formats such as .indd, .qxd, and .pub. Users can also now search for a specific area of interest across different file types....
19:20
iPad Buyer's Guide: Super Simplified Edition (...
Gizmodo Apple
There are six iPad configurations to choose from and some helpful guides explaining which you should get. We thought we'd keep it simple and explain our feelings in nearly decent haiku.
18:50
Briefly: iPhone development platform, NeatWorks v3...
MacNN
RunRev has introduced the first pre-alpha release of its upcoming iPhone development platform. revMobile is designed to help teams reduce application development time, without having to sacrifice any functionality. Using the platform, developers can take advantage of many iPhone features including multi-touch, accelerometer output, Photo Library integration, and more. The current pre-alpha release is not able to create apps for the App Store, but that functionality will become available in future releases. Developers can sign up for the pre-release program for $800,...
18:30
Barnes & Noble eReader for iPad coming soon
TUAW
Filed under: Odds and ends, Freeware, iPad That's the word from the giant U.S. bookseller. There is already a version for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Barnes & Noble says customers can expect the free software around the time of the iPad launch. The reader will give B&N customers access to more than a million eBooks, as well as selected newspapers and magazines. The Barnes 7 Noble Nook, which competes with the Amazon Kindle, has only been out a short time, but if the iPad is a success a heck of a lot more people may be reading B&N books on Apple's device rather than the Nook. Now we have to wait and see if there is a Kindle app for the iPad (other than the already-released and popular Kindle app for iPhone), but I think it is a foregone conclusion. It sounds like Apple is going to allow these competing book apps on the iPad, rather than forcing people to only use the iBooks store; if so, that's a good thing. [Via Engadget] TUAWBarnes & Noble eReader for iPad...
18:21
‘Law & Order’ actor accused of harassment by...
The Loop
Strange but true. “Law & Order” actor Richard Belzer (Detective Munch) has been accused of harassment by an Apple Store employee. According to the employee Belzer “grabbed her by the shoulders, shook her, choked her and barked, ‘I need help!’” Belzer said he put his hand on her shoulder, nothing else. Apparently, the incident was [...]
18:05
Apple to accept U.S. iPad preorders starting at 8:30...
AppleInsider
Apple is set to take preorders for its highly anticipated iPad multimedia device Friday, and the company's Web site will begin accepting advance orders from customers at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, 5:30 a.m. Pacific.
17:40
Analyst: Apple set to blow past guidance this quarter
MacNN
Apple might be set to blow past its guidance provided for the company's second fiscal quarter, according to Majestic Research analyst Tony Berkman. Although Apple routinely beats its own guidance, and the Street consensus, Berkman believes Q2 revenues will be at least ten percent higher than the company's projection of $11 billion to $11.4 billion....
17:20
When iPhone Games Approach Art, and When They Don...
Gizmodo Apple
newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10066962&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":375,"ratio":0.75,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"vimeo"} ); There are a lot of iPhone games. Most of them are crap. A significant fraction are good. Few are great. Even fewer are great and original. Like this one might be! The video you're seeing above is the opening stage of Sword & Sworcery EP, an iPhone aventure game due out H2 this year. It's got fantastically atmospheric music, a novel aesthetic, a rare control scheme, and most importantly, some kind of vision. A couple minutes of relatively eventless meandering are enough to hook me, which is rare for iPhone games that, in conceptual terms, tend to aim low. Like this one! Gameloft's Zombie Infection looks fine, until you realize that it's a direct...
17:15
Found Footage: The Doritos iPad Parody
TUAW
Filed under: Found Footage, iPad Call me crazy but I think this is hysterical. Doritoscanada has put together a wry and dry iPad introduction parody using, of course, Doritos. It's only one minute long so check it out and see if you don't agree that it's just about perfect. Thanks to Luis Ortiz for sending it in. tweetmeme_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/11/found-footage-the-doritos-ipad-parody/" tweetmeme_source = "tuaw" digg_url = "http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/11/found-footage-the-doritos-ipad-parody/" TUAWFound Footage: The Doritos iPad Parody originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments
17:09
GDC: Firemint wins four Pocket Gamer Awards
Macworld
Firemint was honored with four awards from handheld gaming Website Pocket Gamer at a ceremony held at the annual Game Developers Conference.
16:45
Apple releases Safari 4.0.5 with performance,...
AppleInsider
Apple Thursday evening released a new update to Safari for Mac and Windows, with the latest browser version improving its performance, stability and security.
16:40
Apple Releases Safari 4.0.5 Update
PowerPage
Late Wednesday, Apple Safari 4.0.5, the latest version of the company’s web browser. The new version, which which can be downloaded here, includes the following fixes and features: - Performance improvements for Top Sites. - Stability improvements for 3rd-party plug-ins. - Stability improvements for websites with online forms and Scalable Vector Graphics. - Fixes an issue that prevented Safari from changing settings on some Linksys routers. The update can be located and installed via Mac OS X’s Software Update feature and requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later to install and run. If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback to offer, let us know in the comments.

Rumor Scanner

Friday March 12

08:39
Apple Store down.
LOOPRumors
As Apple normally does to ready their online store for a new product, they have taken their online store offline this morning. This is in preparation to accept orders for the new iPad touch-screen computer. Apple is expected to begin selling the new computer at 8:30am this morning. If you wish to win one, simply follow our Twitter feed and enter the contest. http://www.twitter.com/looprumors
00:45
iPad to go on sale in US at 8:30am EST
LOOPRumors
Apple will begin selling the product that fills the gap between the iPhone and the MacBook tomorrow, Friday, March 12th at 8:30am EST. The Wi-Fi only models will be available on April 3rd with the 3G model to follow in late April. Customers may order the iPad for delivery or to be reserved and picked up in person at the local Apple retail store. Those who wish to participate in our contest to win a FREE Apple iPad should follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/looprumors

Thursday March 11

17:21
U.S. iPad Pre-Orders Set to Begin at 5:30 AM Pacific Time...
MacRumors
TUAW reports that U.S. pre-orders for both Wi-Fi and 3G-capable iPads will go live on Apple's site at 5:30 AM Pacific Time / 8:30 AM Eastern Time tomorrow morning. Apple last week announced that pre-orders would begin on March 12th, but did ...
16:39
Pink Floyd to be pulled from iTunes?
LOOPRumors
A High Court has ruled that British music company EMI has violated the contract they signed with Pink Floyd in the late sixties. Selling Pink Floyd’s material as individual songs on platforms such as iTunes goes against a clause in the contract obligating the company to “preserve the artistic integrity of the albums”. The BBC reports that EMI was ordered to pay £40,000 in costs as part of the ruling. Chancellor Sir Andrew Morritt said the contract meant EMI was “not entitled to exploit recording by online distribution or by any other means other than the original album, without the consent of Pink Floyd”. The judge’s ruling could mean that very soon Pink Floyd songs will no longer be available as individual tracks in iTunes. “Today’s judgment does not require EMI to cease making Pink Floyd’s catalogue available as single track downloads,” says EMI, however. “EMI continues to sell Pink Floyd’s music digitally and in other formats.”
14:12
Apple Releases Safari 4.0.5
MacRumors
Apple today released Safari 4.0.5 for Mac and Windows, bringing a number of enhancements to Apple's Internet browser application. This update is recommended for all Safari users and includ...
12:41
MacBook Pro Update Due for Launch as Soon as Tomorrow?
MacRumors
9 to 5 Mac reports that it has received word from a tipster claiming that Apple is set to be released as soon as tomorrow, although the launch may be delayed until next Tuesday. The report follows an ear...
12:04
Apple Dominates Consumer Reports' Tech Support Rating...
MacRumors
Consumer Reports yesterday announced the release of new ratings of computer tech support ratings for both laptops and desktop, and while the full details are restricted to subscribers, CNET reveals that A...
10:02
Barnes & Noble Officially Acknowledges Plans for iPad...
MacRumors
Barnes & Noble today officially acknowledged that it is developing an iPad-specific application that will provide access to content available in the company's eBookstore. Designed specifically for the iPad, our new B&N eReader...
08:43
Apple CEO ranked 136th wealthiest billionaire.
LOOPRumors
Wealth accumulated largeley through investments in Pixar and Apple has made Apple co-founder and CEO Steven P. Jobs the 136th richest human being on the planet, according to Forbes. At 55, the American entrepreneur has a net worth estimated at 5.5 billion dollars. Bill Gates is currently ranked second on Forbes’ list of wealthiest billionaires, having been recently dispelled from his top spot by Mexican wireless mogul Carlos Slim. Jobs is credited with revolutionizing the music industry with the iPod and iTunes Store and was also named “CEO of the Decade” by Fortune magazine. AP Photo
08:37
Apple Building Out eBook Categories Ahead of iPad Launch a...
MacRumors
Forbes reports on information obtained by App Store research firm Busted Loop as part of its AppSlice project, revealing Apple's plans for eBook categories to be rolled out for its iBookstore.
08:12
Apple 2nd most popular smartphone platform.
LOOPRumors
Data from marketing research company ComScore indicates that Apple has remained in second place for smartphone subscriber share in the U.S. with 25.1% of the market as of January 2010. Apple’s iPhone has more subscribers than devices on platforms from Microsoft, Google, and Palm. Blackberry maker Research in Motion holds the top spot with 43% of the market.
07:33
iPhone and iPad to respond to new gestures.
LOOPRumors
The most recent iPhone 3.2 Beta 4 SDK contains a gestures folder with two perviously unseen commands: 3Tap.plist and LongPress.plist. Developers will presumably be able to incorporate “3 tap” and “long press” gestures into future versions of the operating system.
07:24
Pink Floyd Wins Legal Battle Over Digital Sale of Individu...
MacRumors
BBC News reports that Pink Floyd has won a legal battle with its record label EMI over whether the label should be allowed to distribute digital versions of the band's material on a track-by-track basis a...
06:46
More Claims of Multitasking in iPhone OS 4.0
MacRumors
AppleInsider reports that it has received information from sources claiming that iPhone OS 4.0, likely scheduled for release later this year alongside new handset models, will support multitasking by allo...

Wednesday March 10

21:22
Apple stock hits record prices again.
LOOPRumors
Apple (AAPL) shares rose to a record-setting high once again today, valued at $224.84 at market close. The previous record for closing price of Apple stock was set yesterday at $223.02. Strong Mac sales, new iPhone hardware expected this June, and the April 3rd launch of the iPad are seen as contributing factors in the unprecedented cost of Apple shares. The highest price ever paid for a share of Apple was set today as well at $225.48. Many analysts predict AAPL to hit between $250 and $270 by the end of 2010.
17:52
Steve Jobs Ranked World's 136th Richest Person
MacRumors
In its annual list of the world's billionaires, Forbes this year ranked Apple CEO Steve Jobs in a tie with six others for 136th place with a net worth of $5.5 billion. Jobs' net worth is up from $5.1 billion in an October 2009 Forbes ranking...
16:57
Apple targeted in smartphone lawsuit.
LOOPRumors
Apple, AT&T, Research in Motion and several other firms are being sued by a Texas-based SmartPhone Technologies. The company accuses Apple’s iPhone of violating six of its patents, particularly ones related to Bluetooth connectivity, e-mail syncing and bandwidth conservation, AppleInsider reports. The suit asks the court to find all of the named parties in violation of their respective patents, and seeks damages, costs and expenses from all of them. SmartPhone did not specify damages, but requested a jury trial in the Eastern District of Texas, where patent lawsuits are often filed in hopes of a favorable outcome. LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sanyo were also among the corporations listed in the suit.
16:12
Toshiba plans to launch tablet device.
LOOPRumors
Toshiba is developing new tablet devices that will fit into the category created by Apple’s iPad, according to Toshiba’s head of U.S. notebook business Jeff Barney. Barney said that the company plans to introduce a line of tablets late this year or early 2011, noting that it would have to move fast to claim some of the market share. “It has proved to be a mistake to underestimate these new categories,” says Jeff Barney, head of Toshiba’s U.S. notebook business. Toshiba plans to introduce a line of consumer slates in late 2010 or early 2011. “And besides, we need new category creation to grow our industry.” The company released Journe Touch (pictured) late last year in Europe but this device is not considered to be in the category in question as it does not allow third party applications. It is unclear what operating system Toshiba would use for its new tablet although the company has rarely used anything other than Microsoft’s Windows platform. However, the processors that Windows 7...
13:59
New Hexacore Mac Pros Next Tuesday?
MacRumors
ZDNet reports that it has received information from tipsters claiming that Apple will release new Mac Pro models next Tuesday, adding a hexacore Core i7-based model to its lineup. I'm gett...
13:14
New iPad SDK Adds Gesture Tools, Removes Video Chat Icons
MacRumors
Apple yesterday released the fourth beta version of the SDK for iPad developers, and observers have started to find a few differences popping up in the latest update. 9 to 5 Mac reports that Apple has added support for "3Tap" a...
12:17
O2 UK says iPhone video calls “listed in error.”
LOOPRumors
A spokesman for the British division of O2 tells MacNN that the ”video calls” reference in the features list for iPhone plans seen on the company’s website recently was a mistake. “The iPhone section of our website states video calling is charged at the same price as voice calls,” says the spokesman. “We can confirm that this was listed in error. We will be amending our website shortly to clarify this and would like to apologise for any confusion caused.”

Documentation Scanner

Thursday March 11

19:11
Boot Camp: 2727 error or restart pending message whe...
Apple - All P...
Windows may display a 2727 installer error or restart pending message when you upgrade from Boot Camp 2.2 on a Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) to Boot Camp 3.0 on a Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard).
15:49
Keyboard shortcuts for Shut down, restart, and sleep
Apple - All P...
You can use the keyboard shortcuts outlined in this article to shut down or restart Macs that have a keyboard with an Eject key. Note: Key names are separated by a hyphen (-), such as "Control-Eject". You do not type the hyphen as part of the key combination.
15:47
Mac OS X Server v10.6: Kerberos KDC location specifi...
Apple - All P...
In Mac OS X v10.6, the man page for krb5.conf states that the order of precedence for Kerberos configuration files is as follows: ~/Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos /Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos /etc/krb5.conf  When certain preferences related using DNS to locate Kerberos servers are set, they may not respect the order of precedence for location Kerberos servers.
13:50
Apple security updates
Apple - All P...
This document outlines security updates for Apple products. For the protection of our customers, Apple does not disclose, discuss or confirm security issues until a full investigation has occurred and any necessary patches or releases are available. To learn more about Apple Product Security, see the Apple Product Security website. Important: This document describes updates and releases for January 15, 2008 and later, such as Security Update 2008-001. For information about earlier security updates, see these documents: Apple security updates (25-Jan-2005 to 21-Dec-2007) Apple security updates (03-Oct-2003 to 11-Jan-2005) Apple security updates (August, 2003 and earlier) Obtaining Mac OS X Information about obtaining Mac OS X (client) can be found here. Information about obtaining Mac OS X Server can be found here. Software updates for Mac OS X are available via: Software Update preferences Apple Downloads Apple Product Security PGP Key For information, see "How to...
13:49
About the security content of Safari 4.0.5
Apple - All P...
This document describes the security content of Safari 4.0.5. For the protection of our customers, Apple does not disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until a full investigation has occurred and any necessary patches or releases are available. To learn more about Apple Product Security, see the Apple Product Security website. For information about the Apple Product Security PGP Key, see "How to use the Apple Product Security PGP Key." Where possible, CVE IDs are used to reference the vulnerabilities for further information. To learn about other Security Updates, see "Apple Security Updates."
07:30
Set photo titles to picture capture date in iPhoto
Mac OS X Hint...
The titles iPhoto chooses for just-added photos is the annoying "IMG_nnnn" serial number from the camera. This AppleScript simply takes the date of the photo (EXIF info that iPhoto knows very well) and uses it as the photo title. The format is: yyyy-mm-dd-hh.mm.ss, so it's a bit easier to read than the ISO version, but also easily sortable. Here's the code: tell application "iPhoto" -- activate -- bring iPhoto back to front copy (my selected_images()) to these_images if these_images is {} then error "Please select some images before using this script." set thename to "" set thepaths to "" set thedates to "" repeat with i from 1 to the count of these_images set this_image to item i of these_images --set this_file to the image path of this_image set thename ...
07:30
Create Growl alerts for Address Book contacts'...
Mac OS X Hint...
I have a lot of people in my Mac OS X Address Book. I thought it would be a nice idea to have the system check the birthdays in Address Book, and inform me of any forthcoming birthdays via a Growl notification. So I've created an Apple Script to do that (with a lot of help from a few other peoples). First, install Growl if it isn't installed. Also install the Terminal growlnotify command, which you'll find in the Extras folder on the Growl disk image. Next, copy and paste the following into AppleScript Editor: delay 0.5 set isRunning to 0 set timer to the time of the (current date) repeat while isRunning = 0 tell application "System Events" set isRunning to ¬ ((application processes whose (name is equal to "GrowlHelperApp")) count) ...
07:30
Avoid a potential issue with voice control on iPhone...
Mac OS X Hint...
If you have entire albums, artists, or playlists excluded from shuffling in iTunes (The 'Skip when shuffling' flag is set), your iPhone 3GS will fail to play these albums, artists, or playlists when you select them using Voice Control if it has shuffle play mode enabled. The manner in which it fails makes it seem as if something is seriously amiss (hence this hint): It acknowledges your voice input, indicating that your selection is about to play (e.g., 'Playing album Avatar'), but then returns to whatever had been playing before. If nothing had been playing before you gave the voice command, the iPhone will remain resolutely silent after acknowledging your input. The solution to this 'issue' is, of course, to simply to turn off shuffle play mode. Unfortunately you can't do this with a voice command (as far as I know).

Wednesday March 10

15:20
Mac OS X v10.6: Active Directory binding lost on net...
Apple - All P...
If network access is interrupted, a Mac OS X v10.6 client may not be able to reconnect to an Active Directory domain whose name ends in ".local".
09:10
iPhone and iPod touch: Disabling digital camera noti...
Apple - All P...
This document is for Windows XP. Click the appropriate link below if you have a different operating system. Windows Vista or Windows 7 Mac OS X When the iPhone or iPod touch is connected to Windows XP, a dialog is presented with choices for connecting as a digital camera and working with the digital pictures stored on the device. This is the default behavior under Windows XP for digital imaging devices. Windows provides a way to disable this notification on a per-device basis.
07:30
Experiment with GIMP's new single window mode
Mac OS X Hint...
Are you curious, like me, about the new Single Window Mode (most excellent; see this article at Ars for more details) available in the newest unstable 2.7.x GIMP releases? Well, sadly, the final and stable GIMP 2.8 release won't come out before the end of this year, and there are still no experimental 2.7.x binary releases available for Mac OS X (via X11). One could always try to compile everything from source, but that might be quite complicated and time-consuming. So, let's look at another, definitely easier way of running GIMP 2.7.x on Mac OS X: not (semi) natively through X11, but through virtualization. First of all, we need a virtual machine with the latest Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic), or even 10.04 (Lucid, in Alpha at this time) installed: you can create a 32- or 64-bit Ubuntu VM in...
07:30
Use one bookmark to load different versions of a sit...
Mac OS X Hint...
I have several sites that I access on both my iPhone and desktop, so I like to have quick access to them via the Bookmarks Bar. However, these sites have different versions for the desktop, for mobiles, and, in some cases, yet another version for the iPhone. Usually, the full version doesn't work so well on the iPhone, and the iPhone version is undesirable on the desktop. Instead of creating a plain bookmark, a little Javascript can make a bookmark context-sensitive, and allow you to have one bookmark that opens the right version of a page, depending on which platform you're browsing from. The basic idea is to use some client-side Javascript to check the browser's platform (a.k.a. operating system), and then tell the browser to access a URL based on that check. The code looks like this: javascrip...
06:15
Poll updates - iPad results and new Intel/PowerPC su...
Mac OS X Hint...
Two poll updates today. First, I've posted a new poll about the mix of Macs you're presently using -- Intel (via Apple), Intel (via build-it-yourself), PowerPC, or some mix of the above. I'm curious to see not only the mix of Intel and PowerPC, but how many are using self-built Intel powered Macs. The second poll update is that the iPad interest poll has now closed, with just over 10,000 votes. Of those who voted, nearly 44% are planning on buying iPad 1.0 when it comes out in April, with a virtual tie (two votes' difference) between then cheapest and the most expensive versions for the most-popular spot (11.3% each). In total, Mac OS X Hints readers will be buying at least (as the poll didn't allow for more than one purchase) $2.92 million worth of iPads! An additional 29% claim they'll buy the second gen...

Tuesday March 9

15:52
iLife: Troubleshooting Basics
Apple - All P...
If one of your iLife applications (iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, iDVD, or iWeb) isn't performing normally, try these basic troubleshooting steps to resolve the situation. Please note that these steps aren't exhaustive and are not intended to cover any specific issue.
13:42
TA10-068A: Microsoft Updates for Multiple Vulnerabil...
US-CERT Alert...
Original release date: March 09, 2010 Last revised: -- Source: US-CERT Systems Affected Microsoft Windows Microsoft Office Overview Microsoft has released updates to address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. I. Description Microsoft has released security bulletins for multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft Movie Maker, Microsoft Office Producer 2003, and Microsoft Office Excel. These bulletins are described in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010. Microsoft notes that affected versions of Microsoft Movie Maker were either included with Microsoft Windows or available as an optional download. II. Impact A remote, unauthenticated attacker could execute arbitrary code or cause a vulnerable application to crash. III. Solution Apply updates from Microsoft Microsoft has provided updates for these vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for March 2010. The security bulletin describes any known issues related to the...

Whitepapers & Screencasts

Mar 11
Graphics in Virtualization: VMware Fusion vs. Parallels...
Ever wonder what graphics really looks like side-by-side comparing VMware Fusion 3 to Parallels Desktop 5? This video will show you a wide variety of graphics tests, running on side-by-side machines so that you can see for yourself. Interesting in the full analysis of which product is faster? Check it out at: http://www.mactech.com/articles/special/1002-VirtualizationHeadToHead/ and read the most comprehensive and definitive set of benchmarks in the industry about virtualization on the Mac. Thousands of real world tests run, primarily with a stopwatch, to give you the best answer possible on which is faster in each area and by how much.
Mar 10
Screencast looks at using Smartmask to remove someone from...
Akvis has posted ascreencast (http://www.youtube.com/user/AKVISvideo#p/a/u/1/fjyc_W5CwGo) showing how to use AKVIS Smartmask to remove someone from a background. Smartmask (http://akvis.com/en/smartmask/) is an image selection and masking plug-in for the Mac and Windows platforms. It's designed to save time on complex selections. With the app, there are two pencils, red and blue. Draw a line with the blue pencil inside the object being selected (for example, yourself in a group photo) and then outline the same object with the red pencil to define the areas that should be cut out. The selection algorithm analyzes the image and your drawing, and creates the selection you want. Akvis SmartMask features three selection modes are tailored to different types of selection: Sharp, Soft, and Complex. Akvis SmartMask sells for $120. Home users can obtain the full line of Akvis plug-ins in the Akvis Alchemy bundle (Sketch, Chameleon, MultiBrush, Retoucher, Coloriage, Noise Buster, Decorator...
Mar 05
Tips for managing your money
You probably don't like paying taxes. Who does? But everyone really hates preparing their taxes. Now IGG Software (http://www.iggsoftware.com) -- which makes personal and small business apps for Mac OS X -- is offering a white paper on the "Top 10 Tips for Managing Your Money Year 'Round -- Or When Tax Time Looms." It serves up suggestions on how to mind your finances year round to make tax prep a lot easier.
Mar 05
White paper looks at Mac adoption in the enterprise markets...
Mac adoption is rising, even in the enterprise, and IT departments and support staff can't afford to ignore the Mac any longer. A recent survey by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (http://www.enterprisedesktopalliance.com), an organization that helps IT departments integrate Macs into the corporate environment, shows that 66% of 322 IT administrators from large organizations with both Macs and PCs stated that their organization expects to increase the number of Macs in their sites. Additional responses show management priorities and organizational approaches to managing Macs. The respondents cited user preference, increased productivity, and ease of technical support as leading reasons for choosing Macs. Increased Mac usage can only mean increased Mac-related support issues. Unfortunately, most remote support products simply don’t support Macs at all, and many of the ones that do don’t work through firewalls. This means that if you needed remote support for a Mac outside the company...
Mar 05
White paper looks at using PCIe attached storage
The highest performance, expandable, directly attached storage can be achieved at low cost by moving the server or work station’s PCI bus “outside” and taking advantage of the benefits of the architecture when adding storage subsystems as needed, according to JRM (http://www.jmr.com/), which specializes in storage technology. JRM -- which has written a white paper (attached) on the subject -- says that to make use of high performance, high capacity, low cost SAS3 and SATA disk drives for mass storage, a bridging interface is required from PCI Express (PCIe) to SAS. PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a serial connection that operates more like a network than a bus. Instead of one bus that handles data from multiple sources, PCIe has a switch that controls several point-to-point serial connections. SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) is a computer bus that moves data to and from computer storage devices such as hard drives and tape drives. combines high-end features from fiber...
Mar 04
Disk vs. Tape
Many CTOs and system/network administrators feel that tape is something to be avoided. But a new white paper by the Tolis Group (http://www.tolisgroup.com) -- which makes back-up solutions for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux and Unix systems -- begs to different. The Tolis Group says that no longer is tape a performance, usability, or cost gating factor. In fact, the white paper says that LTO-4 technology is actually faster than the filesystems that feed it, the reliability is excellent, and the life expectancy of written tapes is measured in decades. The same can be said for other fine tape formats, though throughput performance varies. What's LTO? It stands for Linear Tape-Open, a magnetic tape data storage technology . IT developed jointly by IBM, HP and Seagate as an open alternative to the proprietary Digital Linear Tape (DLT). Developed jointly by IBM, HP, and Seagate. LTO-4 cartridges offer a native capacity of 800GB per reel -- twice that of the previous generation. Its sustained...
Mar 04
Screencast looks at Just Mobile AluPad
The Alupad from Just Mobile (http://www.xtand.net/products/show/productid/10) is an US$49.99 mouse pad with an anodized aluminum surface ensuring lasting durability with style. It's designed to complement Apple's Magic Mouse and Apple Aluminum Keyboard. The pad supports all optical mice for precise movements. The design complements Mac desktops and laptops. What's more, non-slip feet keeps Alupad staying secure on your desk. Aesthetically, it matches just about any aluminum "flavored" Mac, from the 13-inch MacBook Pro to the Mac Pro. To view a video about the Alupad, go to: http://www.youtube.com/myjustmobile .
Feb 08
Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard
With screen sharing, Mac users can control the mouse and keyboard of one computer while sitting at another computer across the room or on the other side of the world. In a new ebook, "Take Control of Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard," networking expert Glenn Fleishman walks readers through the steps for identifying, configuring, and using the screen-sharing option that best meets their needs. For those who want to get the most out of Apple's MobileMe-based Back to My Mac file- and screen-sharing feature, Fleishman has also written a companion ebook, "Take Control of Back to My Mac." Each title costs $10, or they can be purchased together for $15 at http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/snow-leopard-screen-sharing
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Software Updates via MacUpdate

Path Finder 5.6.3 - Powerful, award-winn...
Path Finder 5.6.3Path Finder is a file browser that combines the familiar Finder interface with the powerful utilities and innovative features. Just a small selection of the Path Finder 5 feature... Read more
Synergy 4.4 - Adds iTunes controls to yo...
Synergy 4.4Synergy places three buttons to control iTunes in your menubar: previous track, next track, and play/pause; as well as providing you with visual feedback about the currently playing tune.... Read more
RAW Developer 1.8.9 - Powerful RAW image...
RAW Developer 1.8.9RAW Developer is a powerful RAW image conversion application designed specifically for Mac OS X. RAW Developer gives advanced photographers total control over every aspect of their... Read more
GraphicConverter X 6.7 - Graphics editin...
GraphicConverter X 6.7GraphicConverter is an all-purpose image editing program that can import 200 different graphic-based formats, edit the image, and export it out of 80 file available file formats... Read more
Apple Safari 4.0.5 - Leopard and Tiger v...
Apple Safari 4.0.5Safari is the most popular Macintosh web browser. Experience the web, Apple style, with Safari: the fastest, easiest-to-use web browser in the world. With its simple, elegant... Read more
VueScan 8.6.19 - Software for scanners....
VueScan 8.6.19VueScan is a scanning program that works with most high-quality flatbed and film scanners to produce scans that have excellent color fidelity and color balance. VueScan is easy to use,... Read more
A Better Finder Rename 8.54 - File, phot...
A Better Finder Rename 8.54A Better Finder Rename is the most complete renaming solution available on the market today. That’s why, since 1996, thousands of hobbyists, professionals and businesses... Read more
PhotoPresenter 4.0.1 - Slideshow viewer...
PhotoPresenter 4.0.1 PhotoPresenter is an award-winning, easy-to-use and powerful slideshow viewer. It allows you to quickly present all your pictures and movies, and to create amazing presentations... Read more
Apple MainStage 2.1.1 - Live performance...
Apple MainStage 2.1.1MainStage is built for live performance, allowing keyboardists, guitarists, and other musicians perform with software instruments and effects through a full-screen interface... Read more
Toast Titanium 10.0.6a - Robust disc bur...
Toast Titanium 10.0.6aToast Titanium goes way beyond the very basic burning in the Mac OS and iLife software, and sets the standard for burning CDs, DVDs, and now Blu-ray discs on the Mac. Create... Read more
 

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of comprehensive hardware, software and services based Apple solutions. This position works with both the ... Experience selling complex solutions Strong knowledge of Apple and core technologies... Read more
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and 10.6 including support and deployment tools such as Apple Remote Desktop and Apple Software Restore, Comfort ... Mac technicians should possess the skills necessary to either have passed or... Read more
Iphone SDK Developer at Enrich IT (Oakla...
iPhone SDK Developer Duration: 2 Month+ Location: Oakland, CA Start Date: Immediate Details: Excellent ... using Objective-C and C++ Experience with iPhone networking and GPS is a plus Please send... Read more
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in as the new lead iphone engineer for a local internationally reaching mobile company......You!!!!!! In this ... brought out true genius in the most worthy engineers. The iphone. Connect if you are... Read more
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