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Apple has initiated a worldwide battery exchange program for certain rechargeable batteries that were sold for use with 15-inch MacBook Pro computer systems from February 2006 through May 2006.
Rob Griffiths writes: "With the release of iMovie HD 6, part of iLife ‘06, Apple included many nice new features. While these features are, for the most part, well documented, some are not necessarily obvious. Such is the case with today’s tip—it’s a documented feature in iMovie HD 6, but it’s one that you may not be aware of unless you’ve dug through the documentation. And just what is the feature? The ability to create time-lapse movies. Time-lapse techniques are used to condense very long periods of time into something that will fit into a typical movie. So instead of staring at a flower going through its bloom phase for three days, you can watch a time-lapse film of the event, condensed down into only a few minutes." luxury flat rental moscow apartment rent москве
Between the Macworld forums, Mac OS X Hints, and conversations with family and friends, Rob Griffiths spends a lot of time helping people. And the two questions that come up the most frequently also happen to be the two that are hardest to answer: Which Mac should I buy and when should I buy it? Both questions are hard to answer, but he’s still going to take a stab at tackling both.
Shake is a 2D/3D compositing suite that was once in the budgets of only high-end studios and visual effects shops. Now priced lower than Adobe After Effects Professional, it's within the range of attainability for just about anyone using making a living in the visual arts, especially users of Final Cut Studio. Version 4.1 is the first Universal Binary release of Shake, offering support now for Intel-based Macs, including the 13-inch MacBook.
With OmniPlan, you can create logical, manageable project plans with Gantt charts, schedules, summaries, milestones, and critical paths. Break down the tasks needed to make your project a success, optimize resources, and streamline budgets. It's project management made painless.
Ethereal is a free and open source packet sniffer application, used for network troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. It has all of the standard features of a protocol analyzer. Ethereal is a GUI application that requires some flavor of X11 on your Mac and Fink will need the developer tools to compile some packages from source.
Rob Griffiths writes: "Do you work with text clippings? Perhaps a better question is actually “Do you know what a text clipping is?†In case you’re not familiar, text clippings are a staple of the Mac OS, having been around for a very long time. They’re nothing more than snippets of text that have been dragged out of applications and then dropped in the Finder somewhere—typically on your Desktop. Many people find this to be a good way to store little tidbits of knowledge they intend to use in the future in another program."
Apple Computer plans to release a wireless Bluetooth version of its popular mutli-button computer mouse, a recent filing with the Federal Communications Commission has revealed. The mouse will also function as a multi-button scrolling mouse with versions of Mac OS X earlier than 10.4.6, the documents state, though other features will be disabled.
Anybody who packages software (or other files) for distribution on the Mac is probably familiar with the tedious process of setting up the icons “just right†in the Finder so that when your customer opens the folder for your app, they see things neatly organized the way you left them. Problems are solved with the NudgeFinderSelection scripts that simply ask the Finder to move all the selected icons in a given direction.
We look at them every day, our eyes are drawn to them almost every time we interact with the computer - icons for apps and files are a very important part of the interface. But what attributes make a good icon?
This is a somewhat in-depth review highlighting new features, revised features and missing features of the new build in its current form—it is important to remember that this build is not even at an alpha stage, nor has it been released to the general public at this point, bugs and rough edges are not only present but very much expected. Features and functionality could/will change at any point in the future.
Wilson Rothman writes: "For a field already glutted with gadgets, the Nike + iPod kit is the most elegant of high-tech runner's aids. An instrument the size of a pebble measures your pace from a pocket inside one of Nike's specially designed shoes. The pebble streams data to a computer that keeps time and calculates caloric burn. Instead of making you buy a whole new computerized accessory, Nike and Apple decided to use a computer you may already own, an iPod nano."
The Mozilla Organization has released a first beta of the next version of Firefox, and Rob Griffiths looks at what to expect in version 2.0 of the popular Web browser.
Absolute Software Corporation, the leading provider of patented Computer Theft announced the release of its Apple Macintosh version of Computrace LoJack for Laptops, a laptop security tracking solution that locates and recovers lost or stolen computers.
There's seemingly no end to the ways companies will try to accessorize Apple's popular music player. This article takes a look at some of the most outlandish items, from a docking station for the bathroom to an iPod belt buckle, and even a leather thong. (No, not that kind.)
The 3.1 version of Marketcircle Inc.’s Mac productivity management software is now available with an array of customization options that save time and put users more in charge. With Daylite 3.1 you can now quickly create list reports and print layouts to match your “live†view, send email reminders right to your mobile smart phones, use enhanced smart list capabilities to display and search on projects and opportunity pipelines, and self-select contextual menu content. Daylite 3.1 also offers support for the Growl Mac OS X notification system.
Daylite 3.1’s user-empowering new features include:
1. Customizable contextual menus: Configure and define your own contextual menus to match your workflow and take full advantage of Daylite’s third-party plug-ins. You select what you see in a menu, where, and in what order
2. User notifications: Daylite 3.1 includes significant improvements to its user notification system including:
And much more: In total more 40 features and enhancements have been added to Daylite 3.1
Designed for the unique needs of Mac-based businesses of 1-50 people, Daylite 3.1 is the latest version of Marketcircle’s award winning productivity management software and the only Mac-based productivity management application that helps an organization at every stage of the business cycle. From delivery projects to identifying and qualifying opportunities, Daylite 3.1 is a powerful resource for tracking and managing business activities and outcomes.
Daylite 3.1 retails for US $149, and is bundled in the Daylite 3 Productivity Suite with Marketcircle’s Daylite Mail Integration Module (DMI 2.0) for US $189 to take full advantage of Apple Mail. New customers can try the software free for 30 days by visiting the official website.
Apple's new MacBook is easily the best laptop for the money currently being sold. It packs in spectacular power and some of the most advanced features available. That said, there's always room to accessorize. Being longtime Mac users and new MacBook owners, the people behing Uncrate have rounded up their top 10 products to help you pimp your MacBook.
Everyone has a to-do list. And everyone has a favorite way to handle it. No matter how you manage yours, your Mac can help. Here are some to-do list tips for Apple’s iCal, Microsoft’s Entourage, and plain old text files.
There's a plethora of Mac OS X security software available but some have proven to be quite exceptional and essential for anyone interested in computer security. Here is a list of tools you all should have in your Applications folder.
A blogger writes: "I always thought it would be nice to have a “key†to a computer, or a hard drive, and unless you encrypt your drive anyone can mount it on a different computer and pull data off of it. While my method will probably won’t work so great against the government, it should against parents / siblings / school staff."
Eric Bangeman writes: "There are a couple of ways to approach the question of what Apple's upcoming pro desktops might look like. The first is to look at Intel's CPU lineup and see what fits logically and where. The second is understanding what Apple has done historically with its machines and try and extrapolate that to an all-new architecture."
From jackets with built-in iPod controls to belt buckles that house your iPod shuffle, Dan Frakes looks at a slew of iPod accessories that have one thing in common - you'll find them in the clothing section.
Todd Woodward writes: "Researchers and engineers who are working in the security field must have strong constitutions - especially when it comes to weathering negative backlash and tired conspiracy theories whenever security and Mac OS X are mentioned in the same breath. With that in mind, in an effort to improve the quality of the dialogue, I would like to discuss some important issues regarding Mac OS X and security."
Curio is the ultimate brainstorming and project management application - a truly flexible and powerful environment which promotes visual thinking for gathering and shaping your ideas, while managing all the notes and documents associated with your project.
Curio's intuitive interface and tools encourage effective note gathering, research, and creative exploration. Its freeform, open environment encourages users to more easily visualize, associate, and recall information.
With unique killer features like native TrueType support and single-window Multiple Master editing, FontLab’s Studio 5.0.2 is the most capable font-editing tool available today, easily outpacing both the current Fontographer and the old FontStudio.
FlexTime is a generic timed routine scheduling application. Basically, it makes it easy for users to program complex time-sensitive scheduled activities, where it’s useful to be reminded at regular intervals that it’s time to “move along†to the next activity.
There's been rash of press recently suggesting Apple is weathering a growing consumer recoil following claims about poor quality control, anti-iTunes legislation and allegations about Chinese sweatshops. "Are we falling out of love with iPod?" asks the Daily Telegraph. The BBC queries, "Is Apple Feeling The Heat?" And The Scotsman reports, "Apple faces the music as public discord with iPod grows."
This update fixes vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. This update also fixes issues in Microsoft Entourage 2004 for Mac and includes all of the improvements released in all previous Office 2004 updates.
As the name suggests, InstantGallery is about creating galleries in an instant. It's a tool for quickly turning a folder full of images into web gallery. It allows you to easily choose thumbnail and image sizes, watermarking, themes, thumbnail cropping and more all while your images are processed in the background.
You can also add Photocasts to your galleries so people can subscribe to them in iPhoto '06 or their preferred RSS reader.
InstantGallery provides a great way to share your photos with friends, create a portfolio of your work for your website or to build a browsable index of your photos for when you dump them on to a CD.
InstantGallery 1.5 features a number of highly requested features and a few small bug fixes. This is a free update for all customers.
The ability to save and reopen galleries allows you to easily maintain multiple web galleries without having to start from scratch each time you want to modify one.
Picture rotation lets you correct the orientation of photos that were taken with the camera on its side or upside down.
More information and a download are available at ThinkMac Software.
This test covers the latest versions of the browsers: Safari/Webkit 2.0.4 (the version that comes with OS X 10.4.7), FireFox 1.5.0.4, Camino 1.0.2, and OmniWeb 5.5 Beta. All four of the browsers are Universal Binaries which is good news for owners of Intel-based Macs.
JC writes: "There’s been a fair amount of chatter about OS X 10.4.7 adding “phone home†capabilities to Dashboard. When we talk about “phoning home,†we’re usually talking about a secret process that transmits information back to a central location, possibly putting personal information at risk. fetchadvisory, though, does nothing of the sort."
The iPod is rapidly turning into the early 21st century equivalent of the Maidenform Lady—you never know where one is going to show up next.
Apple's Pages software is set to receive a number of significant improvements when version 3 rolls out early next year as part of iWork '07. Among the most notable will be the introduction of two new modes, Word Processing and Layout, that will each be optimized for their respective tasks as opposed to Pages' current handling of both types of documents with one common set of templates and tools.
Adam Knight writes: "Do you need to shell out hundreds of dollars for something like Apple Remote Desktop to see what’s happening to every machine in your home or small business? Do you have to SSH to each and leave a window open just to put uptime in a loop to see what it’s doing? Do you have to install something like Webmin and setup a monitoring cluster? Or even setup email reports in cron to get the output of the commands? Not really, no. Remote load and usage monitoring is built-in to Mac OS X."
Jochen Wolters writes: "For a geek, the second best thing to finding a new solution to an existing computer problem, is finding a new problem to an existing solution. While fiddling around with Mail.app a few weeks ago, I stumbled over the window that pops up if you choose “Get Info†from the action menu at the bottom of the mailboxes column. Its most interesting feature is a list of all the messages stored in the selected email account on the server."
Voice over IP, or VoIP, is an emerging technology that allows you to use your broadband Internet connection to place and receive voice and videophone calls. Macworld reviewed four Mac-compatible desktop VoIP applications: Apple’s iChat AV 3.1.4, SIPPhone’s Gizmo Project 1.3.2, SightSpeed 4.5, and Skype 1.4.
Unison 1.7.6 comes with some cool new features. For starters, it's now possible to create NZB files from within Unison. Just select a group of files, and choose "Export Files as NZB" from the "File" menu. The authors also changed PAR file creation so that it will automatically restart after a crash, heaven forbid. The "Save Attachments" feature is now much faster, and more memory efficient.
Derrick Story writes: "I’ve learned the easiest way to end up with good audio is to record it cleanly from the start. After testing various set-ups, I’ve settled on two important pieces of hardware that help me record crisp tracks for my podcasts."
Apple today introduced a new $899 configuration of the 17-inch iMac designed specifically for education customers featuring a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, a built-in iSight video camera and iLife ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications. The 17-inch iMac for education is available immediately and will replace the eMac, Apple’s last CRT based computer, providing students and teachers everything they need to learn and create in today's digital classroom, all in the ultra-efficient iMac design.
The ultimate in design simplicity, the iMac is ideal for the space saving needs of both the classroom and the dorm room with the entire computer built right into a two-inch thin display. The iMac design has continuously improved generation after generation, resulting in increased material efficiency, decreased packaging mass and volume, and decreased energy consumption—all of which lead to a smaller environmental footprint.
Featuring a 17-inch widescreen LCD display, the iMac for education includes a Combo drive for burning CDs and reading DVDs, 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable up to 2GB and hard drive storage capacity up to 160GB. Every iMac also includes a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box using Apple’s award-winning iChat AV, or recording a video podcast or iMovie® using iLife ‘06. Providing the latest in high-performance connectivity options, the 17-inch iMac for education includes built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11g WiFi for up to 54 Mbps fast wireless networking*, a total of five USB ports (three USB 2.0) and two FireWire 400 ports.
Designed with today's digital classroom in mind, every iMac comes with iLife ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and iWeb, a new iLife application that makes it super-easy to create amazing websites with photos, blogs and Podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click. Every iMac also comes with the latest release of the world’s most advanced operating system, Mac OS X version 10.4.6 “Tiger†including Safari, Mail, iCal, iChat AV, Front Row and Photo Booth, running natively on the Intel-based desktop.
Pricing & Availability
The 17-inch iMac for education is available immediately for education customers through the Apple Store for Education or by calling an Apple education sales representative at 800-800-APPL. The eMac will no longer be in production and is available for purchase while supplies last through the Apple Store for Education (www.apple.com/education/store) or by calling an Apple education sales representative at 800-800-APPL. Apple will showcase the 17-inch iMac and its complete line of products and solutions for education at the National Educational Computing Conference in San Diego, California from July 5-7, 2006.
The 17-inch 1.83 GHz iMac, for a suggested education price of $899 (US), includes:
* 17-inch widescreen LCD display;
* 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;
* 512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable to 2GB;
* 24x Combo drive;
* Intel GMA 950 graphics;
* built-in iSight video camera;
* built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking;
* 80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 7200 rpm;
* mini-DVI out (adapters for DVI, VGA and Composite/S-Video sold separately);
* built-in stereo speakers and microphone; and
* Mighty Mouse and Apple Keyboard.
Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160GB Serial ATA hard drive, iWork ’06 (pre-installed), Apple Remote and Apple USB Modem.
*AirPort Extreme uses the IEEE 802.11g wireless standard. Actual speed will vary based on range from the base station, environmental conditions and other factors.
Jonathan Briggs writes: "Metadata is the power behind Aperture’s ‘stacking’ system, which is designed to do some of the organising for you, and is especially effective when you’ve captured a series of images or bracketed your exposures. This guide offers tips and tricks on how to import effectively and get stacking."
Whether you're taking digital photographs, putting your home videos on DVD, or writing your own songs, iLife ’06 has an easy solution for you. With these tutorials, you can watch step-by-step movies that will help you learn the great things you can do with iPhoto 6, GarageBand 3, iTunes, iMovie HD 6, iDVD 6, and iWeb.
According to informants inside the Cupertino-based computer giant, the next version of Apple's operating system will let you track belongings through clever GPS and integrated mapping.
Rob Griffiths writes: "Parallels Desktop for Mac is an OS X solution for running “guest†operating systems within OS X. Parallels utilizes the Intel chip’s hardware virtualization technology (VT). Although that’s a mouthful of buzzwords, what it means is simple: VT lets an Intel CPU act as if it were several distinct CPUs, which in turn enables guest operating systems to run much faster." Read the entire review here.
So far, there are no known reports of anyone using the launchd proof-of-concept information to develop an exploit for Mac OS X. "This proof of concept was fixed in Tuesday's Mac OS X 10.4.7 update," said an Apple spokesperson. Update people, update!
For Mac users who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter, but live in the digital world. WriteRoom is a full screen, distraction free, writing environment. Unlike standard word processors that focus on features, WriteRoom is just about you and your text. Sounds simple and very useful. The best part? It's free!
JC writes: "What with all the hubbub about the thermal paste application on the MacBook Pro, I figured I’d throw my officially-trained, Apple-Certified bits into the mix. There’s been conflicting reports as to whether reapplying the paste really makes much difference, but no one’s really done a bang-up, knock-down, scientific experiment on the issue. Well, that’s about to change. Read on for our results."
