Adobe Flash Vulnerability
Crash goes Flash, again, or was
that an attack?
The release candidate for the next version appears not
to be vulnerable.
So, either sit with the current version with its
security implication, or upgrade to some Adobe
preview
software which you can
download here.
Can’t imagine why Apple don’t want Flash on
the iPhone/iPad.
Update:
Adobe has fixed the hole. Download.
iPhone OS 3.0
I’d think of version 3 as the first proper version with features you’d have thought would’ve been included at the start, but also adds a few things to move it forward.
Cut/Copy/Paste is finally here as is landscape in all the main apps. You can now finally search using Spotlight.
Peer to Peer gaming so you’ll be able to play along with friends with iPhones.
MMS which shall make some happy (never cared about it myself).
Finally your notes are now synced, it’s been so annoying that wasn’t there at the start.
You can now shake to shuffle like other iPods.
It also adds tethering, making it easy to connect your computer to the net when you’re not near any wifi.
Details
Mac OS X 10.6
Snow Leopard is more an improvement of what underpins the OS, making it faster and actually giving you back space on your HD with a few UI improvements.
Details
Flash
Download
Free Omni
OmniDiskSweeper
OmniObjectMeter
OmniDazzle
OmniWeb.
I’ve used DiskSweeper before for rooting out why my hard disk had no space left.
Had OmniWeb been set free before Safari 4 launched I’m sure I would be using it now. It’s always seemed ahead of most browsers, but the price put me off when you could use Safari or Firefox for nada.
I’ll download it of course, but I’m not sure my head can cope with two new browsers in one day.
Safari 4
I’ve only had a quick play around but so far I like the tabs at the top giving a little more screen space and top sites, but it may take some getting used to. I think they need an easier way of adding sites to it unless I’m missing something?
I’m unsure how useful Cover Flow is going to be in Safari, but maybe it has finally found a use? I can’t say I use Cover Flow in anything else, it’s always been something you wow at then never use.
Windows users should be please that it’s now more a native app.
MacWorld US has a good review and Ars.
You can download Safari 4 here.
Function Flip
Function Flip is a Preference Pane
(i.e. it appears in System Preferences) which can
turn those special function keys back into normal F
keys one by one.
Long version:
When I first got my new MacBook, there were certain F
keys I had been using for other things; F8 for Spaces,
F5 for CoverSutra etc., which on the
MacBook keyboard now have special functions.
F1 = Lower Brightness
F2 = Increase Brightness
F3 = Exposé
...
F5 = Lower Keyboard backlight
F8 = Play/Pause
and so on...
These are their default functions. You can however flip
their functions the other way around by going to:
System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse and ticking
the box “Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard
function keys”.
You then use the Special Function by holding down the
fn key.
So, for example, to turn the volume up you would hold
down fn then F12. Slightly inconvenient, but it still
allowed me to use my own F keys. I was used to Exposé
using F9, 10 and 11.
Function Flip solves this problem of having to decide
between one or the other, allowing you to flip
individual F keys.
So now I can use the brightness keys etc., as well as
assigning some of the Special F keys I don’t
really use to other functions. I rarely use the
Backlight keyboard Special function keys, so now use F5
for Spaces, and F6 for CoverSutra.
Also, although I had been using F9 & F11 for
Exposé, those functions can be done using the
Multitouch trackpad, allowing me to use the volume up
& down keys as intended. I did change the standard
Exposé key F3 to show Application Windows, instead of
all windows. Perfect.
Hopefully all that won’t have been too confusing,
it’s definitely worth installing and is probably
explained a lot better on the developers site.
Ah, there is one other thing: To make it work, you must
go to System Preferences>Universal access and tick,
“Enable access for assistive
devices”.
Mac OS X 10.5.5
QuickTime & Front Row
They should be popping up in Software Update now.
Free alternatives
Alternative to Photoshop? Try Gimp. Probably the best place to download is from Wilber Loves Apple
Alternative to Illustrator? How about Inkscape.
Alternative to Quark? Scribus, an open source DTP/Page layout package. Download.
Alternative to Microsoft Office? On the Mac there appears to be a number of distributions of Open Office under various different guises. The most Mac like at the moment appears to be Neo Office. There is also an Aqua version of Open Office on offer here.
Dreamweaver? I obviously use RapidWeaver, which is a great and simple app to use, but isn’t free. So, why not try Quanta Plus. There’s also NVU, but it hasn’t been updated in some time.
How about messenger clients, like Adium which allows you to have all your clients in one, or aMSN a MSN client which adds video support, which even the official version doesn’t have.
There’s probably an alternative for most apps you can think of, osalt.com is a great place to find them.
Experiment, try some out, save yourself some cash and avoid all that law breaking as an added bonus.
iTunes 7.7
“Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home — a free download from the App Store.”
Check Off
RapidWeaver 4
There’s a review at arstechnica.com of what’s new, which is more than just a new icon.
Tasty Apps
Tasty Apps do though have a number of other good looking pay-for apps. I noticed but haven’t tried. Including:
Tasty Unzip, as you can guess another way to unzip files with an auto-delete option.
ChatCop, a parental monitoring program so you can keep an eye on what your kids are up to, yes, you too can be big brother of your home. I may pass that one on to my brother.
FuzzyClock
Fuzzyclock is a more human style clock for your menubar, displaying time in more a way people think, so instead of 17:10, you’ll get ten past five (apart from me, I need to see those seconds counting down!).
Photo Booth/iChat Effects
MoreIchatEffects is a collection of 48 effects for iChat 4 and Leopard (Photo Booth).
Download
via Macworld video on Mac timewasting.
Rating iTunes
There be updates
Security Update 2008-001 - An update that includes us mortals still on 10.4
Mac OS X 10.5.2 - The one that's probably been most awaited. Yes, you can finally turn off that menubar transparency, what more do you want?
Leopard Graphics Update 1.0
QuickTime 7.4.1
Software Updates
iPhoto Update 7.1.2
This update addresses issues when publishing photos to a .Mac Web Gallery, improves overall stability, and fixes a number of other minor issues.
ProKit 4.5
This update improves reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and Logic Express.
Braille Display Update 1.0
Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard includes a powerful screen reading technology for the blind called VoiceOver that supports a variety of refreshable Braille displays. When you have a supported Braille display connected to your computer, VoiceOver automatically detects it and sends it information about what is displayed on the screen.
iPhone & iPod Touch get bigger
So, in the states for now you can pick up an iPhone in 8GB and now 16GB.
The iPod touch now comes in 16GB and 32GB.
I guess it's wait and see if and when they appear here.
The iPhone size still seems a little small, at least 32GB is more where it should be.
iWeb 2.0.3
Version 2.0.3 does "... update addresses compatibility with Mac OS X."
Little iWork updates
Keynote 4.0.2
Pages 3.0.2
Numbers 1.0.2
Mainly compatibility fixes.
MacSpeech Dictate
Until now, to get really decent speech recognition you had to look at the PC, mainly products like Dragon's Natural Speech software.
Well finally there appears to be a decent product for the Mac, without having to rely on BootCamp or a virtualizaiton product. It's called MacSpeech Dictate which uses the same technology behind the Dragon software!
This should free up a lot of people that may have wanted a Mac, but had to go down the PC route because they needed this sort of technology. It's not really just for people too lazy to type, but is an important way to input text for those who may have no other means to do so.
It may be still in Beta, but that didn't stop it picking up a Best of Show award at MacWorld 2008 recently. It should ship in February.
Check Off
I write notes in TextEdit, Mail, Stickies, Journler etc. It will probably stay like that until I have Leopard with its notes function in mail.
However; a lot of the time I just want to write a tiny To do note and have found the perfect little application, Check Off.
It lives in your menubar, appearing with a click or short cut key and is just so simple to use. Oh, and it's free.
Give it a try!
Inquisitor 3 & CoverSutra 2
This really is a great add-on to Safari, and well worth downloading.
CoverSutra is my favourite controller and enhancement to iTunes, it's not free, but it just great. Try it, and you'll want to buy it.
Quicktime 7.4 & iTunes 7.6
QuickTime 7.4 addresses security issues and delivers:
- Numerous bug fixes - Support for iTunes
iTunes 7.6 for Mac & Windows
"Rent and download your favourite movies with iTunes on your computer or directly to your living room on Apple TV. Enjoy rented movies in sizes up to 720p HD with surround sound on your Apple TV and sizes up to DVD-quality on your computer. Transfer your rented movies from iTunes to your iPod or iPhone and enjoy them on the go.
Also, purchase and download your favorite TV shows, music, and more directly on your Apple TV. Effortlessly transfer purchases made on Apple TV back to your computer with iTunes."
MacBook, MacBook Pro Software Update 1.1
Security Update 2007-009
Available via Software Update or Apple's Site.
Updates: Garageband & Quicktime
Garageband 4.1.1 - This update improves overall stability and addresses issues with file export to iPhone.
Quicktime 7.3.1 - QuickTime 7.3.1 addresses security issues.
Java For Mac OS X 10.4 Release 6 - 1.0: Reliability & compatibility for Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 and Java 1.4 on Mac OS X 10.4.10 and later. Updates J2SE 5 to version 1.5.0_13 & Java 1.4 to 1.4.2_16.
BBC iPlayer on the Mac
You still won't be able to download anything on the Mac yet, but streaming is working at least. Downloads are meant to be coming to the Mac (and Linux) sometime in 2008. I still don't like that they're using any form of DRM, we pay the license fee, we should be able to keep whatever we download for as long as we like. I'm not the only one to think that. The service is said to have had low take up so far.
Quality is pretty so-so and I've not found a great deal I want to watch, but there is the Sky at Night! I also wish it would stay full screen on one screen whilst I do other things on another (that's for those of us with a Mac & two monitors or a laptop Mac connected to another screen). It's still nice to have though!
The service comes out of beta on Christmas Day.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 also recently announced they'll be creating a combined on-demand service, we wait to see what computer support it will have, as at the moment 4oD is not Mac compatible.
Flash 9
Adobe Flash Player has been updated and now sports
support for H.264 and fixes a bunch of the usual bugs.
Download
iChat Matte
Fancy going a bit matte?
Try iChatMatte by Joshua Bryant.
Mac OS X 10.5.1 is here
As you would expect there's various bug fixes, notably a rather nasty one that could mean a loss of data when moving files.
If you have Leopard you should see it appearing in Software Update, or from Apple.
Mac OS X 10.4.11 Update & more
You should see it in Software Update, it includes Safari 3 (no longer beta) so if you've not updated that yet, you'll get that too.
Also iPhoto '08 was updated to 7.1.1
That's not all:
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Client
Security Update 2007-10.3.9 Server
Server Admin Tools 10.4.11
Cinema Tools 4.0.1
Color 1.0.2
Compressor 3.0.2
DVD Studio Pro 4.2.1
Final Cut Pro 6.0.2
Motion 3.0.2
Pro Applications Update 2007-02
Soundtrack Pro 2.0.2
So if you've been waiting to update to Leopard due to some bug or other in one of those, it's likely one of these may fix that.
Oh and for you on Windows, Safari 3.0.4 is now out. You can now resize from any side! (I guess this must be big?) You now have an additional font smoothing option and many other things. Go download.
Update: They've been hard at it. One more update, this time for the iMac - iMac Graphics Firmware Update 1.0
Microsoft Office Update 11.3.9
Download
iTunes 7.5 & Quicktime 7.3
iTunes now can now activate the iPhone anywhere the service is available, a new game for iPods, Phase and various fixes.
Quicktime, create iPhone compatible web content, updated JavaScript support, support for iTunes, and various fixes.
Requires a restart.
iMac & MacBook Pro Updates
MacBook Pro Software Update 1.2
iMac Software Update 1.2 Tiger
iMac Software Update 1.3 Leopard
So, if you're lucky enough to own one of those, better get updating, they should pop up in Software Update.
Screen Savers
Mac OS X 10.5 is here
It should just be a simple case of installing it, I'd make a back-up first.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.8 Update
Updates Updates Updates
iDVD 7.0.1
iPhoto 7.1
iMovie 7.1
Garageband 4.1
iWeb 2.0.2
iLife Support 8.1
All should be popping up in your Software Update, I had some problems with network errors when trying to install the Garageband update, so I used the link (above) which worked fine.
Various bug fixes, but iMovie gains some extra features (see link).
For you MacBook & MacBook Pro people there's also an update for you, it'll only appear if you need it.
iTunes 7.4
Make that 7.4.1, that was quick.
MSN Messenger 6.0.3
Bug and performance fixes.
Download
What time is it?
and a rather unique time telling screen saver, try PolarClock.
via Tuaw.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.7 Update
Link
Apple AirPort Basestation Update 2007-002
Not me with my old Snow one.
iLife '08
iPhoto '08 includes the ability to organise your photos by event, which seems a great way of dealing with thousands of photos (I've 3000+) which you can skim through, you can now also hide photos you'd rather not have showing and improved editing.
iMovie '08 is not just an update, but a completely new application, along with icon. Creating a video/movie has never been that simple, but from the demo Steve gave it really does look like they've come up with a quick and easy way to make them without sitting for hours. It's all very drag and drop. You can even directly upload to YouTube.
iWeb '08 the simple web creation app, not that I've ever used it, has also been given a make-over. Widgets allow you to more easily integrate content from other sites (YouTube, GoogleMaps etc.). Drag and drop creation of index pages, and finally you can easily upload to your own personal domain and not just .mac.
Garageband '08 now includes magic, a way of adding instruments to your music based on genre. Really it's another application I've never used much, I tend to just create noise, but who knows? Maybe the magic will work for me?
iDVD seems to have mainly gained more themes and improved performance. Really I think Apple thinks the notion of DVD is a bit old hat and why don't you just publish onto the web instead?
It's well worth looking at the tutorials to get an idea of these new features.
The new suite also offer improved .mac integration, .mac itself has been upgraded to 10GB of storage and with all the new gallery features, you'll probably need it. iPhoto's online gallery feature does look very polished, so much so you might think you're in iPhoto.
So, the bad news; support of G4 Macs is coming to an end, as many of these new Applications require a G5 or intel processor. I think that's fair enough; but when will they make a lightweight laptop?
iWork '08
Pages, the word processor which had been more towards page layout now had two distinct modes, one for page layout and the other for word processing. There are also new templates. I'd like to give Pages a try.
Keynote, the better presentation app, I am always impressed with the richness of Apple's presentation made in Keynote - it makes those old Powerpoint presentations I used to have to sit through look distinctly amateur affairs (ok, it was a long time ago, even so). There are now new animated text effects, transitions (could watch them all day), and a to be animations.
Numbers, a spreadsheet from Apple! They've not made one for quite some time. I was once a bit of a spreadsheet aficionado, which I still find amusing. I spent hours with Excel and a spreadsheet much superior spreadsheet at the time called Wings, which later became Claris Resolve*
I wish I'd had Numbers back then, it does seem on the surface to be a much better way of dealing with data. Using a canvas where you can add elements of spreadsheets and charts, and the printing out of reports looks much easier, I remember messing around with that stuff for hours. There are intelligent tables for building formulas, you can import from Excel into Numbers.
Take a look at the tutorials, there is also a 30 day trial version available.
How Microsoft will take Apple's push into spreadsheets is anyone's guess, Microsoft Office has already been pushed back to next year.
* Claris was a spun out software subsidiary of Apple in the late 80s & early 90s, among others they had FileMaker, which is still going, MacWrite the word processor, MacDraw a drawing app, Claris Resolve for presentations and Resolve and then Claris Works, which went on to become Apple Works when Apple brought Claris back into the fold. It's interesting that Apple are now effectively recreating technologies they once had. I feel a little sentimental for MacDraw & MacWrite. Claris Homepage was also one of the best wysiwyg web html editors I'd used, not that there were many at the time. I do wonder if somehow the code from these pass applications at all live on in their successors.
iTunes 7.3.2
It's meant to be available via Software Update, but it wasn't appearing for me, you can also download it from their site.
Updates
Security Update 2007-007 and Safari Beta Update 3.0.3
AirPort Extreme Update 2007-004, for those with AirPort Extreme
and for those who aren't in the UK - iPhone Firmware 1.0.1
Also available via Software Update.
Pro Application Support 4.0.1
This update improves general user interface reliability for Apple's professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Aperture, Final Cut Express HD, Soundtrack, Logic Pro and Logic Express.
If you don't have any of these Applications, it won't show in Software Update, and there is no need to install it.
Journler
Now either they've been more than I possibly need, or just not enough, have some quirk I dislike, or; a price tag I'm not willing to pay.
Well, thankfully Journler has come along and seems a great solution plus it does a little more (iLife integration, images etc.) but isn't overly complicated.
It's well worth the download.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.6 Update
Fixes a vulnerability that an attacker could use to overwrite data in memory and other improvements.
Download
iTunes 7.3.1 & QuickTime 7.2
iTunes 7.3.1 fixes a problem for some users accessing their music libraries. QuickTime 7.2 fixes bugs, updates the H.264 code, but the most significant thing is full screen viewing in QuickTime. Up until now you've had to pay for QuickTime Pro for that feature, which has seemed increasingly daft considering you can have full screen movies in iTunes or running something like VLC.
iTunes 7.3
Software Updates
Download
Mac OS X 10.4.10
Available for PPC, PPC Combo, Intel & Intel Combo and the server versions of course.
You can read exactly what it does here.
WWDC 2007 - Safari 3 beta for Mac and now Windows
Apple have released a beta
version of Safari 3 for Mac, and now for
Windows in an effort to increase its market share.
Apple showed the browser beating IE 7 on windows in the
speed stakes. New features include; movable tabs and
inline find. I'm not sure if it saves your
tabs, or if you'll still need Forgetmenot (of even if Forgetmenot
is compatible with it). *
The installer does come with its own de-installer, but
even so, unless you're really happy with running BETA
software, I would advice against installing it for now,
let everyone else beta test the beta test software for
you first.
I was quite surprised to see the release of a Windows
version, after-all, shouldn't they just buy a Mac?
Still, if it can push more sites into making them work
with Safari, that's a good thing.
* Just read over at Daring Fireball that Safari 3 does
indeed have session saving, it's just not automatic.
You have to select: reopen all windows from last
session.
Parallels & Bootcamp
Many new features but the one that stands out is: "Run today’s most popular PC games on a Mac with support for 3D graphics".
Apple also have released a new version of BootCamp, 1.3beta. Also available now. Supports the backlight keyboard and has updated drivers.
Screen Savers
I'll first give a little explanation of using Screensavers in Mac OS X:
To select a Screen Saver, you need to go to System Preferences and select Desktop & Screen Saver and the Screen Saver Tab.
On the left is the list of
installed Screen Savers, the top are those available to
all users, and the bottom ones installed just for the
current user.
To select one, just click
it, an example is shown to the right, many have Options
that you can change and the test button to see if you
like it.
I'd also recommend setting Hot Corners, placing your
cursor in corners you decide will then either start the
Screen Saver straight away, or disable the Screen Saver
from starting.
Of the standard ones, Flury
is probably the
most pretty.
Installing Screen Savers:
When you download Screen Savers there are a few ways to
install them. Some come with their own installers, most
you just double click and they'll be installed. You can
also drag and drop them to either one of two folders,
depending on if you want the Screen Saver to be
available to all users, or just one.
For all users you drag the Screen Saver to the top
level Library folder>Screen Savers
For just an individual user, choose the user from the
Users folder (or just click on Home if you wish to
install for the current logged in user) and place in
the Users>'User Name'>Library>Screen Savers.
Now for the fun bit; where to get some nice new Screen
Savers?
Many can be downloaded from macupdate.com and also at
Apple's download page. You could also
just try searching for Mac Screen Savers.
Here's some you may enjoy:
A collection of 10 from Plasq, this lot should get
you started.
Hotel Gadget is a surreal screen
saver reminiscent of Magritte.
Matrix GL is the falling lines of code you've seen in
The Matrix series of films, this one can be difficult
to find so let me know if you have problems.
Flying Icons is a lovely saver that
really shows off how gorgeous Icons really are in
Mac OS X.
Another screen saver that shows off some of Mac OS X
capabilities is Fenêtre volantes.
Hydromancy is a
little like a lava lamp.
Plasma is
similar but much more colourful.
Lotsawater is like
leaving your Mac out in the rain.
Lotsasnow is well,
a snow storm on your Mac.
There's quite a few Snow style
savers, very Christmasy, have a
search.
Rollercoaster, it's just that, lean
to the left to the right and put your hands in the
air.
Skyrocket is a 3D fireworks
extravaganza, makes those old 2D ones seem tame. He
also has Helios & Fieldlines which you could
try.
Sleeping Screensaver
is probably
for those with more a sensible side to them.
SolarWinds, it feels like a retro
flurry.
These two are quite unique,
both reacting to sound picked up from your mic:
Sound Stream and Fire Storm 2.
I'll end with an old favourite, a remake of the classic
Flying Toasters, Toaster Clone.
If you find any others that you think are cool, leave
me a comment. ss
iTunes 7.2
With iTunes 7.2, preview and purchase iTunes Plus music—new higher-quality, DRM-free music downloads from participating music labels.
Security update for QuickTime 7.1.6
Security Update 2007-005
It may be worth doing a back-up before installation as I've read of some people having problems. When I installed it, halfway through restarting, which seemed to take an age the Mac restarted itself, then started over, all went well from then on, but just so you know.
Available via Software Update and Apple's download site.
Skype 2.6
Download
Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac
This is a stand-alone Macintosh application that converts .docx documents - that is, documents saved by Word 2007 for Windows in the Office Open XML file format - into rich text format (RTF) documents so that they can be automatically opened in either Word 2004 or Word v.X for Mac OS X.
So if you're getting files from PC users with Word 2007, you can now open them.
More information and the download here.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.5 Update
You can download it here.
QuickTime & Secruity
Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 (Universal)
Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 (PPC)
Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 (10.3.9 Client)
Flip4Mac
As well as other fixes, it has improved windows media 9 advanced playback.
Go get it.
Security Update 2007-004
Also available online at Apple's download page in a variety of flavours.
DockStar
DockStar is an add-on for Mail.app that adds up to 5 new-mail indicators to the dock icon. This lets Mail users keep track of email as it arrives in various accounts and local mailboxes.
Skype 2.6 Beta
It’s recommended for experienced Skype users; I’m sure we can handle it.
Google Desktop vs Spotlight
Google have released Google Desktop for the Mac, it’s
a search tool similar to Spotlight in Mac OS X. It
indexes your hard drive and displays results, which
can also be viewed in a web browser window
(it’s still local, your results aren't
uploaded to the web).
I’m hoping it will support the
standard queries you can use with Google, i.e. putting
parenthesis around words to link them: "hot dog" or
ignoring words
like: hot -dog. These sort of searches seem
all but impossible with Spotlight. i.e. Searching in
spotlight for hot Mac Stu, wouldn't just gives results
of Mac Stu, it would give you Sarah Mac, Stuck, Stupid
etc.
Apparently you can use parenthesis in Spotlight
searches, I'm sure when I tried before it didn't work,
but there you go. There are other advanced queries, not
quite as easy as using the (-) in Spotlight. You can
find the rather esoteric guide here.
Sadly, it sports the same “feature” as
Spotlight, that is; results start appearing as soon as
you start typing. So, if you start typing: Hot, you'll
start getting results for H, then Ho etc. It's so
pointless; It would be much better if you just typed
your query, hit return and then
it searched.
I'd say more about it, but; the download wasn't working
when I tried it.
UNO Update
Download
Note: Uno doesn't play nice with
Mail Stamps,
the little utility that makes Mail look less
hideous. You'll need to re-install Mail Stamps after
running Uno.
iTunes Update 7.1.1
Available via Software Update or here.
iPhoto 6.0.6
It addresses issues with EXIF data compatibility and photocasting.
Available via Software update and their site.
Mac OS 10.4.9 Update
It improves .Mac, Bluetooth, iChat, iCal, iSync, Networking, Printing, Aperture and some third-party products.
The one that caught my eye is iChat now includes support for USB Video webcams, up until now iChat would only work with Firewire or built in cameras unless you used a product like ecamm's iChatUSBCam which cost $9.95.
It also includes the latest security update 2007-003.
The update is available via Software Update and their download page.
iTunes 7.1 & Quicktime 7.1.5
QuickTime 7.1.5 fixes various security issues, before they become an issue!
Both should be availble via Software Update or you can download them from Apple's site.
CyberDuck
There are a lot of FTP applications; the old favourite
was
Fetch
and the new is
Transmit,
both cost a little money. I'm a Transmit user
myself, it really is a great application, but there
are free alternatives. One is
CyberDuck.
"Cyberduck
is an
open
source
FTP and SFTP (SSH Secure File Transfer) browser
licenced under the
GPL
with an easy to use interface, integration with
external editors and support for many Mac OS X system
technologies such as Spotlight, Bonjour, the Keychain
and AppleScript"
Of
course, you are encouraged to donate something to keep
the project going and it certainly looks worth it. So,
if you need an FTP to upload things to your website
etc., it's worth giving it a look.
Messengers
Adium is also now at version 1.0.1, so if you prefer to have all your messengers in one, then this is the client for you.
Prefer to stick with iChat? Then you really need to add on Chax, now at version 1.4.7 and Universal. Everything is better with tabs!
Carbon Copy Cloner 3beta
Until Apple's
Time Machine
arrives with Mac OS X 10.5, you'll still need to do
your back-ups some how, and there's always the very
handy
Carbon Copy Cloner.
It's just been updated to version 3 beta with a new
interface and extra features, including the ability
to backup over a network.
Apple Updates
Security Update 2007-002 (Universal, PPC and for Panther)
Final Cut Pro 5.1.5
WebObjects 5.3.3
Java for Mac OS X 10.3 Update 5 or Java for Mac OS X 10.4 Update 5
Daylight Savings Time Update (Panther & Tiger)
Update: Apple also has released WWAN Support Update for Intel based portables. This seems to be a bunch of US mobile phone network updates.
Microsoft Office Update 11.3.3 & 11.3.4
CoverSutra & Menuet
Those looking for something more might want to try CoverSutra, it sits in one of those black transparent windows, showing you the cover art and other information and all can be brought up at the click of a hot key (F7 be default). It also integrates with the Apple Remote if you have one.
Prefer something even smaller? You could give Menuet a go. It's a small customisable iTunes controller that sits in your menu.
Security Update 2007-001
This update deals with security issues and QuickTime.
Side Trash
Forget me not (sessions for Safari!)
Jim Fowler Software has made the new year better already, bringing to us a session saver for Safari. It's called Forget Me Not, and you can download it now. When you install it, be sure to install SIMBL first (it comes with the installer, you'll need to delete older versions first if you have them).
It works just the way you expect. Have a lot of Tabs open, quit, re-open and it opens them all back up again. Perfect!
Security Update 2006-008
If not, Apple released Security Update 2006-008, available to download or via Software Update. This addresses a Java security issue with Quicktime.
Microsoft Office Update 11.3.2
Update: Apparently this was released by Microsoft by mistake! It's no longer available to install.
But there is now a new update (confused?) You can download and install this one 11.3.2
Security Update 2006-007
You can install it via System Preferences>Software Update, or from Apple Downloads (be sure to pick the right one for your system (10.3.9 client or server, 10.4.8 intel client, ppc client, server ppc or server universal).
Flash Update
Dashboard Killer
How often do you use
Dashboard?
Come on, own up? Do you ever click on it or press
F12 by mistake, and say *!!??**## waiting for it to
appear (I'm sure it's quicker on newer Macs).
Perhaps
you don't like the idea it's sitting there all the
time, taking up precious memory.
There is an option to turn it off using
Dashboard Killer,
it doesn't actually delete it, it just gives you a
handy option to turn it off and on.
QTAmateur
QTAmateur is a small, simple QuickTime video player. It
can play any format that QuickTime can understand, it
runs full screen and can also export to any format that
Quicktime can.
This application will make you wonder, why you you want
to pay for QuickTime Pro?
QTAmateur is a free
download.
Taboo
Well, there's a handy plug-in which gives you a nice warning before closing your window full of tabs, it's called Taboo, by Obsessive Compulsive Development.
Inquisitor... it's like Spotlight for Safari.
"Inquisitor... it's like Spotlight for the web.
Start typing and websites pop up immediately, along with ideas to refine your search.
It'll autocomplete your words (is it reading your mind?) and you can add more search engines to Safari with customized keyboard shortcuts.
Oh, and it's free."
Go download it.
Skype 2
"Make video calls to anyone on Skype, no matter what kind of computer they are using."
Download here.
FireFox 2
New features include; nicer theme, better search, improved tabbed browsing functionality, built-in anti-phishing, RSS & XML feed viewing and a better spell checker (You can add the UK dictionary). My favourite (which was an add on) is the session restore feature. If you tend to open the same sites in tabs each time you use a browser, you'll like this. You can read the release notes here.
It should appear sometime today on the Mozilla site. If you can't wait that long, you can download it now from Mozilla's FTP servers, here.
At the moment I'll be sticking with Safari and am looking forward to an update with Mac OS X 10.5.
Overflow
It's a little like Quicksilver and might be worth taking a look at.
More Updates
Also, Microsoft office for Mac 2004 has been updated to 11.3.0, you can download the update here.
There have also been a number of Apple updates, that should be available via software update.
First, Mac OS X 10.4.8, also available from Apple's Downloads page.
Also Aperture, the big brother to iPhoto has a large update: Aperture 1.5 Update.
iTunes gained a 0.1 update: iTunes 7.0.1 and iPhoto was updated as well iPhoto 6.0.5.
Messenger 6
The update includes:
- Chat with Yahoo! Messenger contacts
- Add a status message that your personal contacts can see
- Share what you are listening to in iTunes with your personal contacts
- Create, send, and receive custom emoticons with personal contacts
- Send and receive custom animated emoticons with personal contacts
- Search for conversation histories using Spotlight
- Check the spelling in your instant messages
Of course, you could always move over to the multi-client messenger Adium and save the bother or just use good old iChat.
iTunes 7
Apple released iTunes 7 yesterday, for Mac & PC, and it's quite a significant update. The look has some subtle changes, and I'm thinking this is where Mac OS X 10.5 is headed.
First thing you'll notice is, it's goodbye green iTunes icon and hello blue icon. The last time the icon was blue was version 2. It's also been purple.
It now has a Cover Flow view, which makes flicking through album art very simple, you may have seen this before under the Cover Flow name, but Apple have bought it and tied it right into iTunes, which is much better.
Other features include Gapless playback, a much improved iPod view, sycing both ways with your iPod. There are many other tweaks. Steve Job's also announced a Movie download service in iTunes. Though, just like the TV downloads, neither are available in the UK as of yet.
You'll also need to download Quicktime 7.1.3. All are available via Software Update, or the links I've given.
Warning: You'll need to remove UNO, if you have it installed. It can cause iTunes 7 to display a memory error. The only way to fix it is to reinstall iTunes.
Also, remove the OSS 3D plugin if you have it installed, it causes iTunes 7 not to play music at all.
Security Update 2006-004
So go, install, relax.
Update your office
If you use Office, you'd best download it here.
Update has various security & bug fixes.
Flash Player
Update: Mac OS X 10.4.7
Turns your voice into sugar water
Just to lighten the mood a little from all my back up
preaching; you have to go and download
Voice Candy!
It
has 8 crazy voice effects that should have you giggling
like a mouse or even Darth Vader.
Important Office Update
If you're running
Microsoft Office 2004
on your Mac, then you'd better go download the
latest
update
released today.
It fixes various vulnerabilities etc, and you really
don't want any Microsoft vulnerabilities on your Mac
now do you?
DivX for Mac
It also contains the codec for Quicktime, you can convert movies to the DivX format and play DivX movies directly from a web browser. You can also play movies/video clips full screen.
http://www.divx.com/divx/mac/
Let's say it's an alternative to Quicktime or a companion, for more information on what DivX is, look here
Name that tune
http://www.wildbits.com/tunatic/
There have been pay for services like this available for mobile phones, but this one is free and on your mac.
Though, it might be easier waving a mobile in-front of a speaker, rather than your mac.
I've tried it, and it identified most of the songs, but
Dave from Mac Observer's MacGeekGab said he had problems he
said in their latest podcast, but I managed to get
it to identify the songs he had problems with.
I think the key is increasing the input level of your
mic (you need the eq line in tunatic really to be
dancing) and/or getting the mic close to the output
speaker.
As I mentioned to Dave in my email:
"It picked up Madonna (music), Beastie Boys
(Intergalactic), Beck (Epro), Belle & Sebastian
(funny little frog) but not Ash (oh yeah). So, it's
fairly good with contemporary music. It even got Barry
White (you're the first the last). I could of course
identify all of those using my "ears". It did get Cat
Power (names) which is fairly obscure, but still more
contemporary.
The ones Dave had problems with: Got the Beatles
(ticket to ride) but it incorrectly identified it as
(please please me). Maybe that's a database error? It
identified Rush (Tom Sawyer) straight away for me. I
also got Stairway to heaven. So, they're definitely
there (in their database).
I did come across a companion product for it, Tunalyzer, that apparently analyses
music on your mac and sends the audio fingerprint
back to them, making tunatic work better in theory.
(It doesn't seem to indicate it's actually doing
anything.)
Overall, it's quite a fun application, but, I'm not
sure what 'real' use it is?
Das Boot
"More
and more people are buying and loving Macs. To make
this choice simply irresistible, Apple will include
technology in the next major release of Mac OS X,
Leopard, that lets you install and run the Windows XP
operating system on your Mac"
I wasn't expecting that. Still, that will make
running those games not available for Macs easy to run.
Though, there will be concerns that developers may use
it as an excuse not bother to port some
applications/games to the Mac. Let's hope not.
This amused me:
"Windows
XP, and even the upcoming Vista, are stuck in the 1980s
with old-fashioned BIOS. But with Boot Camp, the Mac
can operate smoothly in both centuries'."
The final version of Boot Camp will be built into Mac
OS X 10.5 Leopard.
Update: You can watch a video of the installation
here also see this blog by a recent switcher on the
subject. (He's from up north you know, funny, soon
as I read his blog I guessed he was in England)
I was also reminded by the Mac Geek Gab, of the old PowerMac 6100 PC. It had a built in
66Mhz 486 on a card. I had one many years ago at
work, and would often confuse fellow workers
flicking between PC & Mac mode. They'd look
under the desk thinking I'd hooked it up to a PC. So
really, there is nothing new about being able to run
Windows on a Mac.
Having the ability to run Windows applications, without
the need to reboot would be better. This may come about
with virtualization, or if Virtual PC is released for intel
based Macs.
To be honest, I really have no need to run any Windows
applications day-to-day, I'm sure I'm not the only one.
(or we'd have bought a PC, right?) Hence most people's
interest has focused on PC games, as they're often out
sooner on a PC.
It's still good having that ability.
Updates
You should be able to update
straight from Software Update in your System
Preferences, or download the standalone
installation from here. (Make sure you use the
correct update for your system. Intel or PPC)
I've read there is no need to repair your permissions after or before installing this update.
I've noticed that 10.4.6 breaks Cage Fighter's ability to change Mail.app's Icons. There is a solution.
Just use Mail Stamps instead. It does the same thing, and is slightly more attractive.
Cage Fighter
To refresh:
I can't stand the new look to Mail.app introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Thankfully I wasn't alone, this is where Cage Fighter comes in.
It turns this:
Into either:
or my preferred:
Just browsing
You're probably mostly familiar with Safari in OS X, and may have used Internet Explorer or netscape if you ever used OS 9. There are quite a few more options available than you might think.
If you're still using IE (Internet Explorer) on a Mac in OS X, it's really about time you stopped and switched to one of these below. That's not a personal statement, it's what's Microsoft themselves have said:
"...as of January 31st, 2006, Internet Explorer for the Mac is no longer available for download from Microsoft. It is recommended that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari."
Safari is Apple's Mac OS X browser. It's still my browser of choice, tabbed browsing of course.
It has most of what you'll need, plus a few others you might want to try.
"With Safari, you know right away if you’ve landed on a website that offers an RSS feed, thanks to a handy RSS icon. Click it and Safari automatically displays the feed." Give it a try, it'll make more sense.
"You can view web pages long after they disappear from the Web, using the new archive feature. Keep them to read later or email to friends and colleagues. Archiving is ideal for saving short-lived web pages such as articles and personal receipts. " Select 'Save As' from the File menu to access this feature.
"Safari protects your personal information on shared or public Macs when surfing the Web. Go ahead and check your bank account at the library. Using Safari’s new Private Browsing feature" Find this feature under the Safari menu.
Safari integrates well with iLife and the Mac obviously being made by Apple. I would like Find (command+f) to be improved along the lines of FireFox, and perhaps some of the shortcut keys.
You may have compatibility problems with some sites. These are in the few, and are mainly due to lazy web designers. Safari is one of the few browsers to pass the Acid2 test. If you do have problems with a site, then you may want to try my second choice.
Camino. It's a Mac only browser from Mozilla. It's based on the same rendering engine as FireFox but unlike FireFox, it's has been designed specifically for the Mac.
"Designed exclusively for Mac OS X, Camino 1.0 is built on Mozilla’s Gecko rendering engine and offers one of the fastest browsing experiences available."
If you hate ads, then Camino is rather good at blocking most of them.
I'm not sure I like how it handles links in the bookmark bar, and it feels 'jumpy' when using two fingered scrolling on a track-pad. Otherwise it might be my browser of choice.
FireFox is the I can do anything browser of the browser world, if it can't do it out of the box, there tends to be a plug-in for it that will. If I were using a PC, I'd use FireFox.
Changing the way FireFox looks is very simple with themes, which is good, as the default one is revolting (to me). I found some nice ones here.
FireFox is a good solid browser, and feels like it's becoming the standard, taking over from IE.
There is of course the original Mozilla browser, simply the Mozilla Suite.
"Web-browser, advanced e-mail and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and HTML editing made simple -- all your Internet needs in one application."
The Mozilla suite was recently cancelled, but may well live on with SeaMonkey.
"The SeaMonkey project is a community effort to deliver production-quality releases of code derived from the application formerly known as "Mozilla Application Suite". Whereas the main focus of the Mozilla Foundation is on Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird, our group of dedicated volunteers works to ensure that you can have "everything but the kitchen sink" — and have it stable enough for corporate use."
You can still get hold of that original of browsers Netscape 7.2, which is based on the Mozilla suite. Version 8 isn't yet available for Mac, but has a unique rendering engine allowing you to display pages using internet explorer's engine if you so wish
OmniWeb another Mac only browser, and one of the few that actually costs money (You can still download it and try it out).
OmiWeb has a unique way of handling tabbed browsing. Most browsers have tabs by name of the site across the top. A quick Command+t brings up another. In OmniWeb they appear in a drawer down the side, showing a small picture of the site. It can make finding that site you were just viewing a lot more easy, but it may take some getting used to.
It also has a featured called 'Workspaces'. You've a lot of web pages open, and you need to restart, or shut down but really don't want to have to open all those pages at the specific places you left them? Simple, you just save your session using the workspace function.
It also has many other unique features yet to make there way into other browsers. I've used it in the past to fool some websites to work on a Mac, as OmniWeb has the ability to identify itself as another browser. Want the website to think you're using IE 6 on a PC?
The problem with OmniWeb is firstly, it's not free and you have to ask yourself if it offers enough for you to pay up. The tabbed browsing is unique, but is in drawer, making it feel less integrated. Apple got rid of drawers in Mail.app, and it feels like OmniWeb should follow suit. They're also at the side, and if you've become used to tabs being across the top, then it'll feel strange.
I did come up with an idea for tabbed browsing with pictures in my 'iPhotoed Safari' post below. See what you think, you never know it might be the future.
Opera is a browser I know very little about. I've used it once or twice in the past, but never really liked it. I've not tried it for a long while and there are some out there who swear by it. It's also going beyond the desktop, appearing on mobile phones. They also claim it's the fastest browser.
If you're still running OS 9, or are on a slower old Mac, don't worry, I used to be as well. My favourite browser was iCab. It used little memory and was very snappy. It's also now available for Mac OS X.
KidsBrowser is the aptly named browser for, yes you guessed it, children. If you have those little blessings then it might be just the thing to keep them out of your hair
There are of course other more obscure browsers out there, a very good list can be found here
So if you've never tried tabbed browsing, then find out what you're missing...