Fresh Apple: The Apple Blog (10 сообщений)

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The Apple Blog
The Apple Blog, published by and for the day-to-day Apple user, is a prominent source for news, reviews, walkthroughs, and real life application of all Apple products.
http://theappleblog.com
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Chax Implements Features iChat Should Have Had From Day One

I used iChat for a while and, although it’s a great program and has the ability to be used with most of the major chat interfaces, I got frustrated with the lack of built in customizable features very quickly. I never took the time to download a new client or find a way to add features to iChat itself, but the other day I was reading a forum that mentioned Chax.

Chax is a freeware application that puts iChat on steriods without the added rage. The install is simple and clean and adds a new tab in the preferences window of iChat entitled “Chax.”

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Daily Apple: iPhone 3G in Latvia, Remix Radiohead & GameAgent
iPhone 3G Heads to Lithuania and Latvia - Starting this Thursday (Sept. 26), Lithuania and Latvia will be able to bask in the goodness of the iPhone 3G. TeliaSonera will be providing the telecom muscle to pull it off.

Remix Radiohead - For a mere $0.99 you can download pieces of different instrument tracks used in Radiohead’s Reckoner. Radiohead would like you to then create your own little remix. Party on.

Aspyr’s GameAgent Store Launches - Aspyr launches their GameAgent online store with two titles (COD 4: Modern Warfare & futureU) available for purchase and download.

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Bring Spotlight To The Cloud With Precipitate

If you are a heavy user of either Google Bookmarks or Google Docs, you now have a way of searching your content via the OS X built-in Spotlight tool.

Written by Stuart Morgan and available for free (open source, in fact!), this simple application makes a local copy of your files on your machine that are then imported by Spotlight. Precipitate periodically checks in with the “cloud” and updates the local files to reflect any changes. The developer notes that changes may take up to an hour to be visible in local searches.

If a Spotlight search finds an indexed Google Docs file, it will open it up in your browser with the appropriate Google Docs application, so you are always editing the “cloud” copy.

While making a local copy is not ideal, it does facilitate greater integration into your local workflows and fills a niche where you would otherwise have to use the OS X version of Google Desktop Search (or just operate completely online). While I am not a heavy user of either Google Docs or Bookmarks, this solution may just give me more impetus to go that route. Curious/security-minded readers may also like to know that Precipitate stores the cached documents in ~/Library/Caches/Metadata/Precipitate.

If you use or try Precipitate, drop us a note and if you have alternate ways to locate your cloud data from OS X, let other TAB readers know by posting in the comments!

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Firefox 3.0.2 Fixes Security Issues & OS X Bugs

The Mozilla crew have updated Firefox 3 and Firefox 2 to address security vulnerabilities and (in the case of version 3) bugs & usability issues, including fixes for Mac-specific bugs.

Firefox 3 had five security issues including two critical ones that could lead to either memory corruption or privilege escalation. Firefox 2 fixed nine security vulnerabilities, four of which were critical.

OS X users will see fewer problems with keyboard shortcuts, be able to enter Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indic characters into Flash object text fields and store user profiles on AFP shares.

As I continue to use two browsers regularly (Firefox and Safari), Firefox continues to re-grow on me, especially with its rich extension support. If you do use non-Apple-provided browsers, it is vital that you stay on top of updates as you never know when you will find yourself surfing to a site with malicious content. Firefox makes it almost as simple as Apple’s Software Update by letting you choose between Help → Check for Updates… or setting up automatic update checking under Firefox → Preferences… → Advanced → Update.

If you’ve already upgraded, let other TAB readers know how you fared by dropping a note in the comments!

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Billings 3 Brings Welcome Updates, Fresh Design
Last week, Marketcircle introduced Billings 3, a huge update to their billing and invoicing application. Billings 3 introduces some great new features and a dramatically changed interface. They are all welcome updates.

First Look

We wrote about Billings 2 shortly after it debuted in early 2007, and if you compare 2.0 vs. 3.0 you’ll immediately see a huge number of differences. The interface is much improved, bringing in a more Leopard-like design and more intelligent organization to the application. Marketcircle really listened to their users here and it’s paid off.
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iPhone 3G: Avoid The Line & Buy Online

Recently, Apple has started offering would-be iPhone 3G buyers an opportunity to save time in the store and purchase an iPhone 3G online for in-store pickup (and AT&T activation).

You first tell them whether this is a new single- or dual-iPhone purchase for either a new account or an existing AT&T account. You then either enter new billing information or provide your current AT&T account data and select your rate plan and store location. When you arrive at the store, your old number will be automatically switched (if you migrated it to AT&T) or your new number will be activated and you should be in-and-out in the blink of an eye.

When I was switching my plan from my old iPhone to new 3G this weekend at my local AT&T store, availability was almost zero on the popular 8GB model due to the power adapter recall (no replacement stock yet), so this may be a great option to ensure that what you want will be in stock.

You can still shop old-school retail by finding your nearest AT&T or Apple Retail store and taking your chances (”roll the dice, ba-by” as it were).

Have an iPhone 3G Apple Retail or AT&T store story to share (good, bad or ugly)? Drop a note in the comments!

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Mac 101: Activate the Onscreen Keyboard in OS X

An onscreen keyboard can be a powerful tool for screencasters. This tutorial will show you how to turn on the onscreen keyboard that OS X has built in.

To turn on the onscreen keyboard:
1. Go to the System Preferences panel
2. Select the “International” icon
3. Go to the “Input Menu” tab
4. Select the “Keyboard Viewer”
5. You now should have an American flag in your menu bar. Click on the American flag and select “Show Keyboard Viewer”
6. You now should have a keyboard on your desktop that displays whatever your press on your keyboard. Quick, easy, free!
* If you click the plus arrow in the upper left hand corner of the keyboard it makes it much larger.

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Eye-Fi Enhances Cards & Expands Service

Whether you’re one of the cutting-edge photo enthusiasts who have already jumped on the wireless memory card train or just on the fence waiting for that one additional feature to make you a believer, the folks over at Eye-Fi made some announcements that are sure to please.

First up is an across-the-board speed improvement that doubles the transfer rate from card to computer. This firmware update is free to all current Eye-Fi users and will be standard on all new shipments.

Of particular interest to Mac users is the new integration with MobileMe where you can wirelessly send photos from your camera directly to your MobileMe Gallery which can then be viewed by friends and family on the Web, iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV (there is also similar functionality for AdoramaPix users).

Beginning October 5, three new subscription services will debut. “Web Sharing” ($9.99/year) lets you send photos directly from your camera to one of more than twenty online photo sharing, printing, social networking or blogging sites; “Geotagging” ($14.99/year) enables hassle-free tagging of photos with location information; and, “Hotspot Access” ($14.99/year) provides wireless connectivity to more than 10,000 Wayport hotspots.

Eye-Fi also announced joint retail partnerships with Best Buy stores throughout the United States, as well as at Circuit City and Ritz Camera Centers. The cards are also widely available online.

If you are currently using an Eye-Fi card, share your experiences with your current-gen devices and thoughts on these new service offerings. If you’ve been holding back, will these new features seal the deal? Drop us a note in the comments!

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Adobe Announces October Release of Creative Suite 4 Suites & Components

Adobe introduced their Creative Suite 4 (CS4) product family to the world today, almost sixteen months since the announcement of Creative Suite 3. With six editions to choose from, ranging in price from $999 to $2,499 (upgrades from $399 to $899), and thirteen standalone applications costing $199 to $999, it’s important that you have an understanding of your needs when reviewing the new features that make up each package. Adobe plans on releasing CS4 sometime in October.

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Apple Covers App Store Denials with NDA

WARNING: If you’re having a good day, in a good mood, or are generally happy with the world, you might want to avoid this post, as it addresses a blood-boiling, migraine-inducing, hot-button issue that is likely to alter your otherwise happy-go-lucky day.

We’ve probably all been hearing the hubbub over Apple’s refusal to lift the NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) on the iPhone development world. Many developers are upset (you might say some are even, irate) at the notion that they can’t share information that would help everyone in the long run, when it comes to developing killer apps for the iPhone.

Now compound frustrations by the rejection of seemingly useful applications like Podcaster for example (and some not so useful apps like Pull My Finger, which I totally would have paid $.99 for!), and Apple’s not exactly the, um, apple of our proverbial eye such as they once were. In the case of Podcaster, we at least found out via the developer, that Apple’s reasoning had to do with potential confusion with a desktop application. Yeah.
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