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- Acorn 1.2
Filed under: Software
Acorn, Flying Meat's easy to use image editor, was updated to version 1.2 over the weekend. Acorn is the perfect image editor for me: it is easy to use, quick to launch, and it tries to guess what I want to do with an image and does it for me (that's what I call service!).
New in version 1.2 are:
- "Last filter" command for applying the same filter over and over again
- support for JPEG 2000 images (they are like JPEGs only 2000 times better)
- smarter Trim command makes trimming even easier
- a host of bug fixes, UI refinements, and small features all listed here
Переслать - WD MyBook updates for Leopard compatibility
Filed under: Hardware, Peripherals, Troubleshooting
I have previously noted that I like the Western Digital My Book line of external hard drives (particularly for their design cues). However, since Leopard I have had some problems with my drive, in particular it would randomly unmount causing my SuperDuper! based automatic backup schedule to fail. Since I suspect some of our readers might suffer similar problems I thought it worth pointing out that Western Digital has finally released some updates. I've been testing them for a couple of weeks now and things seem to finally be working as advertised.
First there is a firmware update for the drive itself (be sure to pick your actual model) which is necessary for using the drive with Leopard. Second, there is also a Mac WD Drive Manager menubar application which is supposedly necessary for light and button functionality. In fact, the light "fuel gauge" on my drive still doesn't work properly, but since doing the firmware update and installing the drive manager I have not had the drive randomly unmount. So if you have been having problems running a My Book drive with Leopard I highly suggest applying the firmware update and running the Drive Manager to see if it helps.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple helps Pixar out with WALL•E
Filed under: Odds and ends, Apple
I'm a big fan of almost everything Pixar does (Cars wasn't their best effort, though it was enjoyable), so it is a happy day when a story that links Pixar to my favorite computer company comes along.
It would seem that the good folks at Pixar really wanted to play up the differences between the titular hero of Wall*E and a new robot that appears (Eve, pictured to the right). They wanted it to look very cool, and very high tech. Luckily for Pixar, they know a guy pretty high up in Apple who was able to get Jonathan Ive, Apple's famed product designer, to help out with Eve's look.
I wonder if Eve's battery is user replaceable.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Apple gets trademark for iPod shape
Filed under: Apple Corporate, iPod Family
According to the Wall Street Journal Apple has received an interesting new trademark for the three-dimensional shape of the iPod. Traditional trademarks have generally been granted for two-dimensional designs (logos, etc.) so actually trademarking the shape of the iPod is unusual. One key advantage of the trademark over patents is that while the latter expire after a period of time, a trademark can be continually renewed.
In some ways this move on Apple's part is rather curious as the shape in question is the classic iPod shape, and I think at this point it's clear that the classic is more the past than future of iPod design. The awarded trademark itself is for the "design of a portable and handheld digital electronic media device comprised of a rectangular casing displaying circular and rectangular shapes therein arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner." However, Apple has also applied for a similar trademark for the iPhone. For those of us of a certain age the phrase "look and feel" can't help but come to mind, though this time with rather more success for Cupertino.
[via Daring Fireball]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Picturesque 2.0 released
Filed under: Multimedia, Developer, Graphic Design
If you think back to June last year, Picturesque - a neat lightweight image editor - was the deserving recipient of an Apple Design Award for 'Best Student Product'. So it's fitting then that, just in time for this year's Apple Design Awards, Acqualia Software has released version 2.0 of Picturesque.
So what's new? First of all, it's a Leopard-only application with a Core Animation-powered graphics engine. Throw in an entirely new all-in-one window interface, plenty of fancy new effects (such as the 3D iChat effect), a Media browser for easy iPhoto access and AppleScriptability (Picturesque meet Cory) and it all adds up to a rather tasty upgrade.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsWith the release of version 2.0, a license for Picturesque will now set you back $34.95 whilst owners of version 1.0 can upgrade to the latest version for just $12.95.Переслать - When should you buy an iPhone?
Filed under: iPod Family, Retail, iPhone
As iPhone channels continue to run dry, more and more readers have asked whether now would be a good time to buy an iPhone or not -- assuming you could even find one. Our Mike Rose suggested that dry channels might indicate that Apple is trying to avoid that whole "if a new model appears within 15 days of purchase" nightmare. If he's right, expect to see a flood of refurb units hit Apple and AT&T just after the new 3G unit is introduced.
The first generation iPhone is an absolutely fabulous device and there's nothing to indicate that it won't be 100% compatible with new firmware for a long time to come. Price cuts on previous generation units make them an especially good match to hacking and unlocking. You can be enjoying your new iPhone while waiting out the inevitable 3G price drop or the move to newer generation technology.
With Apple, there's a distinct consumer advantage to buying about 6-months behind the trend. As a delayed adopter, you buy all the beauty of the new technology while getting that (plus all the software updates and fixes) at a slightly lower price.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Jobs WWDC keynote all but confirmed
Filed under: Rumors, WWDC, iPhone
While there still hasn't been an official announcement from Apple (as of this writing), Fortune has reported that Steve Jobs will don the black shirt and blue jeans to deliver a keynote address on June 9, kicking off WWDC '08.
It's not a surprise, of course, as Steve typically talks during the show. Also expected is the announcement of a 3G iPhone, as well as plans for international distribution, as rumors have been at their usual pre-event levels for a couple of weeks.
If you can't wait for all of the fun to begin, download the Countdown to WWDC Dashboard widget and stare at it obsessively.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - 3G iPhone Predictions
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone
Now that it's more or less a given that a 3G model is on its way -- very shortly if rumors are to believed -- let's have a little fun speccing the thing out. Sure there's absolutely no data so let your imagination guide you.
What's the price of this baby going to be? How much memory will be onboard and what will its battery life work out to? Better onboard camera? With Video? And how about "Back to My Mac"/"Back to My iPhone" features? What are you willing to pay per month for the glory of all that is new, shiny and iPhone? Let us know in the comments about your dream 3G iPhone.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Rotary dial for your iPhone
Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
I am one of the few people left in the country that owns and uses a rotary-dial telephone. Call me old-fashioned, but I just like the sound of that bell instead of an electronic noise when the phone rings.
Now you can extend part of that experience (at least the labored dialing part) to your iPhone. Minnesota-based CodeMorphic has released RetroPhone, an application that simulates the rotary dial mechanism on the screen of your iPhone.
Their website doesn't have a whole lot of information yet, but you can watch a video of the software in action at the St. Paul Pioneer Press's Your Tech Weblog. Of course, RetroPhone doesn't replicate the satisfying tactile response, but all the joy of spending two hours to dial an international phone number can be entirely yours.
Thanks, Julio.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Mailplane 2 Beta flying to your Mac
Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Look! Up in the air! It's a bird, it's Superman; no, it's Mailplane 2 Beta!
The wizards at uncomplex gmbh have posted a beta of an upgrade to Mailplane. In case you're not familiar with it, Mailplane is a "Mac-friendly" front-end to Gmail with a powerful feature set, and a quick fly-by of the upgrade revealed even more Gmail goodness:
- Full support for Gmail 2
- mailplane:// URLs for accessing and searching your Gmail database
- A free OmniFocus clipping plugin for creating new tasks containing links to conversations in Mailplane
- Better photo attachment customization
- Assign different notification sounds and colors to specific Gmail accounts
- The ability to post Google Spreadsheet forms
- Integration with Mac OS X Address Book
- A "Do Not Disturb" mode
- and a few dozen more improvements!
Thanks for the tip, Chris!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - "iPhone Black" appears on AT&T ordering site
Apple Insider reports that AT&T customers can now choose Apple iPhone Black. This option appears on the AT&T page for upgrading or replacing phones. It reinforces the black-shell rumor that our big sister blog Engadget has been covering. Conventional wisdom still says "June" for the next-gen iPhone release. Might it be "May" instead?
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Data-only iPhone plan for $20/month
Filed under: iPhone
Many months ago, I wrote about adding data packages to AT&T Pay As You Go accounts. I had hacktivated my iPhone to use the PAYG SIM to see how long it took to go through an entire 5MB data feature package. Answer? A few minutes. In case you don't see where I'm going with this, let me add that I just got off the phone with AT&T a few seconds ago. They have now officially added a new feature data package: for $19.95 you get unlimited data for 30 days.
The way this works is as follows. You go to an AT&T store and buy a $100 prepaid SIM. This SIM is good for one year of use. You get a phone number, you get $100 of credit. Calls cost you either $0.25/minute or $1/day of use plus $0.10/minute. You pick which one when you set up the account.
Read on for the rest of the details.
Continue reading Data-only iPhone plan for $20/month
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Two Pro App Updates
Filed under: Software Update
Apple released two Pro App updates bright and early this Monday morning:
ProKit Update 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."
Plugin Manager 1.7.3: "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 related SDKs."
According the release notes for the Plugin Manager update, it addresses a backwards compatibility issue with Apple and third-party filters in the applications listed above. Users of any of these apps and Motion should fire up Software Update and install the recommended updates. No reboot is required (and there was much rejoicing!).
Update: These updates were new to me! Sorry for the false alarm all, I just installed FCP and jumped the gun. That being said, be sure to check out Apple's list of available updates. You never know what you'll find on there.
Thanks to everyone in the comments for setting me straight.Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Ask TUAW: PPPoE, SSH, Exposé, Wake on LAN, importing DAT tapes and more
Filed under: Features, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW
This time in Ask TUAW we'll be looking at getting rid of a PPPoE menubar item, assigning keys to Exposé, activating Wake on LAN, importing 32MHz DAT tapes, changing the iTunes Library location, learning SSH and more.
As always your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!Continue reading Ask TUAW: PPPoE, SSH, Exposé, Wake on LAN, importing DAT tapes and more
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - moshi zephyr MacBook cooler
Filed under: MacBook, MacBook Air
There are plenty of Mac portable stands and cooling devices out there, but few can rival the moshi zephyr for good looks. This cast aluminum stand incorporates a "high-thermal conduction interface compound" that contacts the bottom of the Mac and draws heat away to the heat sink and an "USB-powered ultra-silent fan (<20db)." The company claims around 10 degrees F of heat reduction on both the MacBook and Air.
The moshi zephyr seems to be designed for the MacBook and MacBook Air only and is available in silver or black for $75.
[via Engadget]Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - HBO might be coming to iTunes, with flexible pricing
Portfolio.com is reporting that you might soon be able to find Tony Soprano in the iTunes Store. HBO, the premium cable channel known for its original programming, is in talks with Apple to add HBO programming to the iTunes Store.
This is good news for fans of HBO shows, but the real story here is the deal that HBO has reportedly managed to wrangle out of Apple. Portfolio's sources say that Apple has agreed to flexible pricing for HBO, which might mean we'll have to pay more than $1.99 per episode for that content. This is the structure that NBC, and many other studios, would love but Apple has been resistant to it in the past.
Before you go crazy, please note that flexible pricing might mean something other than paying more for the shows: Apple might give HBO a bigger cut of the profits from the flat $1.99. Only time will tell, since HBO insiders say that HBO's inclusion in the iTunes Store will be announced and launched at the same time.
Note: HBO and TUAW both have the same corporate overlords, but that doesn't mean we have any inside information.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - iTunesVolume
Filed under: Software, Freeware, iTunes
There are a ton of Mac volume controllers out there. CoverSutra is one of the best that we have seen, however, if simplistic and free is what you like, then why not try iTunesVolume. Just as the name implies, you are able to control the volume of the iTunes application with this small app.
iTunesVolume definitely takes the Steve Jobs "one button is good enough for everything" approach. The slider controls everything -- you can move it to control volume in iTunes or hold the button down to get a pop-up menu with extra options.
iTunesVolume is a free 2 MB download from the developer's website.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - Pixelmator 1.2 "Draftsman" in the wild
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cool tools, Graphic Design
My picture editor of choice, Pixelmator, has updated to version 1.2 (as with many other applications, it's just in time for the Apple Design Awards deadline), which they're calling Draftsman. Among the new features are the much-awaited addition of rules and some guides to the UI (with a flashy little indicator as the mouse passes by), as well as the ability to edit color balance and the color curves. There's also a new Polygonal Lasso, and the Transform tool has been reworked "from scratch" to work faster and better.
Pixelmator continues to impress, and with every update, it's becoming a more and more robust little photo editor. Just recently, they laid out "a flight plan" on the blog for what they're up to for summer: the next release, 1.3, will be called Tempo, and focus on making the app just as fast as it is visually striking. And they make another bold claim as well: by the end of the summer, they're aiming to be "completely bug-free." Good luck with that.
But there's no question that development is rolling along for Pixelmator. The app is available as a free trial over on their site, or a full version for $59. If you're looking for an alternative to the 'Shop, Pixelmator is a great way to go.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - SingTel confirms iPhone for Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia
Filed under: iPhone
In a singularly uninformative press release, SingTel, Singapore's largest telecommunications company, has announced that it is bringing the iPhone to "Singapore, India, the Philippines and Australia later this year" through several subsidiary carrier brands: SingTel, Bharti Airtel, Globe and Optus.
The latter confirms our earlier post that Aussies won't be limited to Vodafone for their iPhone needs. Unfortunately no dates or pricing have been announced; it seems safe to assume this will cover the forthcoming 3G iPhone. In any case, this is good news for some of our Asia / Pacific iPhone brethren.
Thanks Peter!Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать - AppleScript: download YouTube videos
Filed under: Features, How-tos
Keeping with the "self-built apps," I'm going to show you how to build your own YouTube downloader. Sure you could use applications like TubeSock, but where's the fun in that? This application will download the YouTube flash video from a pasted link, and all with a little AppleScript.
Continue reading to learn how to build the YouTube downloader.Continue reading AppleScript: download YouTube videos
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsПереслать
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