iTunes Introduces Complete My Album

It's about time. This is such a great feature for those of us who purchased a track or two and later decide for the entire album. Hey, every dollar counts! -TG

iTunes Introduces Complete My Album: "Apple today announced Complete My Album, a groundbreaking new iTunes service that allows customers to turn their individual tracks into a complete album at a reduced price by giving them a full 99 cent credit for every track they have previously purchased from that album."

(Via Apple Hot News.)

iTunes credits for albums

iTunes credits for albums: "Blog: A new feature in iTunes will stop the madness of having to pay twice for the same song when you purchase an album containing tracks..."

(Via CNET News.com.)

State of the Art: The Sermon on the Tapes

Excellent article from our friend, David Pogue. For all you entrepreneurs out there, one can make a small business from doing these conversions. -TG

State of the Art: The Sermon on the Tapes: "When old media formats die, there are ways to bring your Super 8 films, VHS tapes and 8-tracks into the DVD world."

(Via NYT > Business.)

Photoshop cast shadow tutorial in Photoshop

Excellent little tutorial. -TG

Photoshop cast shadow tutorial in Photoshop: "[link] [more]"

(Via diggdot.us.)

Getting started (or reacquainted) with Quicksilver

How many times have you heard Quicksilver mentioned in GreerMUG meetings? Here's an excellent post from Merlin Mann with additional resources and links. -TG

Getting started (or reacquainted) with Quicksilver: "

Hack Attack: A beginner’s guide to Quicksilver - Lifehacker

Adam Pash has written a terrific introduction to Quicksilver that I recommend for folks who are still scratching their heads about what all the fuss is about.

Part of the challenge is the ‘layers of the onion’ problem. There’s no explanation of what Quicksilver does that’s at once brief, accurate, exhaustive, and easy for new users to immediately grok; it really does reveal its delights over time, through repeated usage, and in proportion to your willingness to learn and experiment. Adam does a good job of acquainting new folks with the basic idea and the setup, then he walks through a few of the many bits of fu that have made this app the phenomenon that it is.

Quicksilver can be used to launch files and applications, manipulate data, and seamlessly plug into almost any application on your Mac so that you can perform actions as soon as you think of them in a few short keystrokes.

---

Also from our own archives, here are a few popular Quicksilver items from the extended 43 Folders family (including 4 video tutorials). And seriously: if you really still don’t see why QS is different, do watch the videos; writing about Quicksilver is like singing about a magic trick.

Popular 43 Folders posts on Quicksilver

Some of these could use a good tech edit, given their age and the evolving nature of QS, but they contain plenty of information to point you in the right direction.

• Quicksilver: Grab a copy and play along at home - ‘[At] the heart of it, all launchers do at least one similar thing: they provide a single, intelligent interface for intuitively accessing nested information and functionality.’


• Quicksilver: Setup & Troubleshooting - ‘Since there’s new folks moving to Quicksilver all the time, I thought I’d post some more starter tips if you’re following along here.’


• Quicksilver’s Append: An updated appreciation + Robert’s troubleshooter - ‘To review, for you new kids, Quicksilver, when properly configured (more on that in a minute), will let you add a line of text to any text file on your Mac.’


• 5 handy Quicksilver triggers - ‘Simply put, triggers let you associate a custom key combination or mouse gesture with any command you’d otherwise access via conventional methods…’


• Six cool Quicksilver plugins you might not know - ‘Just a quickie to bubble up some novel Quicksilver plugins that are new-ish or even a bit esoteric.’

Merlin’s Quicksilver Video Tutorials

‘…writing about Quicksilver is like singing about a magic trick.’

• MacBreak 12: Quicksilver - ‘Leo Laporte and Merlin Mann show you how to turbocharge your interactions with your data and applications using Quicksilver.’


• MacBreak 17: Quicksilver Tips - ‘Merlin Mann’s back sharing more productivity tips with Leo using Quicksilver.’ This segment focuses on how to control iTunes via Quicksilver.


• 006: HOWTO: Quicksilver: The Comma Trick - ‘Learn how to create a temporary stack in Quicksilver, so you can do stuff to (or with) a big pile of objects all at one time.’


• 008: HOWTO: Quicksilver: Application Menus - ‘Learn how to access drop-down menus in every application via Quicksilver.’

Our favorite Quicksilver resources from elsewhere

• quicksilver:tutorials [docs] - This is the mother lode. The best Quicksilver meta-resource anywhere.


• A Better OS X In Just 10 Minutes - Dan’s post is what got me to try Quicksilver


• Howard Melman’s ‘Quicksilver User’s Guide’ - A wonderful piece of PDF documentation. As far as I know, this is the closest thing there is to an end-user Quicksilver manual, all in one place.


• Howard Melman’s ‘Quicksilver Quick Reference’ - An unbelievably useful PDF cheat sheet of most all the Quicksilver commands in one place. Print. Post. Refer. Learn.


• Quicksilver Changes Everything at The Apple Blog - Another good entry point

adam pash, apple macs os x, applications, lifehacker, links, quicksilver, recaps, tutorials

(Via 43 Folders.)

Apple Boot Camp 1.2 beta adds Vista support

I wondered how long this would take. To date I haven't noticed an update to allow iTunes to run on Vista-based machines. Have you? And if you haven't actually read the instructions on Apple's site for installing Bootcamp you should. It's quite entertaining. Note especially the "Word to the Wise" in the lower right! -TG

Apple Boot Camp 1.2 beta adds Vista support: "Apple has released Boot Camp 1.2 beta, the latest release of the company's software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP and Vista..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple added to Bluetooth patent suit

Apple added to Bluetooth patent suit: "A report on Bloomberg today notes that Apple, Dell, and Sony have been added to a Bluetooth patent lawsuit..."

(Via MacMinute.)

WeatherPop 2.6.1 promises more efficiency

I love Weather Pop. According to the article this new version promises much greater efficiency that Apple's Weather widget and much greater functionality. Check it out. -TG

WeatherPop 2.6.1 promises more efficiency: "Glucose today announced the release of WeatherPop Advance 2.6.1, a menu-based Weather viewer that is always visible and up to three times more efficient than Apple's Dashboard weather widget, notes the company..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Total Training announces Adobe Creative Suite 3 training

As I've posted before, Total Training make excellent tutorial DVDs. Highly recommended. -TG

Total Training announces Adobe Creative Suite 3 training: "Total Training today announced five new DVD-ROM based training series: Total Training for Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe Illustrator CS3: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe Flash CS3 Professional: Essentials, Total Training for Adobe InDesign CS3: Essentials, and Total Training for Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: Essentials..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Prosoft announces Data Backup 3

Prosoft announces Data Backup 3: "Prosoft Engineering today announced the availability of Data Backup 3, the latest iteration of its award-winning backup software..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Adobe announces Creative Suite 3 product line

Heads up, folks! This is going to be a huge release. And as I've previously posted, Adobe is re-entering the video market. Will the new version of Premiere Pro and the tight integration between Adobe products we already use be enough to make FCP and AVID editors switch? -TG

Adobe announces Creative Suite 3 product line: "Adobe Systems today announced the Adobe Creative Suite 3 product line, its new offering of tightly integrated design and development tools for virtually every creative workflow..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Spinning Gears

Spinning Gears: "Thanks to Trek’s tightly geared custom bike design process, using Macs with Adobe Creative Suite, Trek customers are — more than ever — what they ride."

(Via Apple Hot News.)

Swift Publisher Changes

Here's a complete list of changes in Swift Publisher 2.0. This is a big upgrade. -TG

Swift Publisher Version Changes

What's new in Swift Publisher v.2 since 1.3.1

Version 2.0 features the following enhancements:

General:

20 new designs added (in Boxed edition only).
Master pages option was added, allowing you to create common background for several pages (for page numbering, heading, background picture, etc.).
Page thumbnails panel to preview and manage pages was added.
Tables are supported, place text and various graphics into table cells.
Imposition option became available in print dialog, to arrange brochure pages automatically.
Text to Curve feature lets you transform the document into vector image, this will help to avoid problems with font absence when you send a document to a printshop.
Art Text integration allows to create high quality textual graphics, headings, logos, icons, web banners and buttons.
Interface:

Hold Editing Modes (Text Box, Box, Line) via double click added.
Shortcuts to navigate through Inspector Tabs added (Cmd + 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Hide Inspector Shortcut added (Cmd+0).
Working with Images:

Image cropping directly in the document becomes available.
An option to fill Smart Shapes with pictures and make creative frames for your photos.
Text Editing:

An option to add Linked Text Boxed on the next page is added (Shortcut Cmd+Opt+L). Pages will be added automatically.
An option to set document default font was added to Program Preferences, Design Tab.
An option to set Line-Breaks added (Shift+Return).
Printing:

Program Printing dialog with new settings added. You have an option to skip it, accessible from Program Preferences.
An option to set Bleeds and Cut Marks added to the Program Printing dialog.
Export:

An option to set Bleeds and Cut Marks when Exporting added.
Adjustable export to EPS added.
Text to Curve feature while export to PDF and EPS added.
Other:

An option to set the page color added.
New Smart Fields added (Document Title, Document Author).
An option to align on first selected object is added (Inspector Alignment Tab).
Spell Check improved.

BeLight Software ships Swift Publisher 2.0

Hey, hey! So many of use this product on a regular basis. Sorry for being late on this one. -TG

BeLight Software ships Swift Publisher 2.0: "BeLight Software today announced the release of Swift Publisher 2.0, a new version to its page layout application for designing and printing flyers, newsletters, brochures, booklets, etc..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Report: 'Top Ten Reasons You Don’t Need Apple TV (Yet)'

For an alternative view of Apple's new Apple TV

Report: 'Top Ten Reasons You Don’t Need Apple TV (Yet)': "Our colleagues at iLounge have published an article on the pros and cons of Apple's new Apple TV..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Griffin Technology ships iTrip for new iPod nano

Griffin Technology ships iTrip for new iPod nano: "Griffin Technology today announced it has begun shipping the newly updated iTrip for iPod nano..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple and Sony reviving the 1970s on iTunes

I can hardly wait! -TG

Apple and Sony reviving the 1970s on iTunes: "Blog: Feathered hair and Gran Torinos are coming to iTunes. Apple has cut a deal with Sony Pictures Television to sell episodes of classic..."

(Via CNET News.com.)

Apple and Sony reviving the 1970s on iTunes

I can hardly wait! -TG

Apple and Sony reviving the 1970s on iTunes: "Blog: Feathered hair and Gran Torinos are coming to iTunes. Apple has cut a deal with Sony Pictures Television to sell episodes of classic..."

(Via CNET News.com.)

“New AirPort station flies by its predecessor”

“New AirPort station flies by its predecessor”: "Bob Levitus writes for the Houston Chronicle, ‘I love when Apple introduces a product like the new AirPort Extreme Base Station, which is significantly faster and more capable than its predecessor and cheaper to boot.’"

(Via Apple Hot News.)

“Review: Apple TV Just Plain Works”

“Review: Apple TV Just Plain Works”: "Edward N. Albro reviews the Apple TV for PC World, writing, ‘It’s the first media streaming device I could imagine recommending to a non-geek.’"

(Via Apple Hot News.)

Apple TV now shipping

Apple TV now shipping: "Blog: At long last, it looks like Apple TV is now available for purchase. The Apple Web site on Tuesday morning listed the set-top box..."

(Via CNET News.com.)

Disney Clears Pixar Execs (including Jobs)

HT to Macsimum News

Here's the story.

Apple posts iTunes 7.1.1 update

Apple posts iTunes 7.1.1 update: "Apple has released iTunes 7.1.1 via its Software Update pane and on the Web..."

(Via MacMinute.)

OWC launches new Blu-ray DVD/CD drive solutions

OWC launches new Blu-ray DVD/CD drive solutions: "Other World Computing (OWC) today announced its new OWC Blu-ray internal and external drive solutions that are 100% compatible with any Windows or Mac system with an available IDE/ATAPI bay port (for internal drives), or any FireWire or USB 2.0 system port (for external drives)..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Freeverse announces Sound Studio 3.5

Fantastic Audio Editing application. -TG

Freeverse announces Sound Studio 3.5: "Freeverse today announced Sound Studio 3.5, a major update to the popular sound recording and editing tool for Mac OS X..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Glide Sync, Glide Mobile services for Mac users announced

Take a look at this concept. I really can't imagine using my cell phone for all this, but it's also Saturday and I'm sleepy. -TG

Glide Sync, Glide Mobile services for Mac users announced: "TransMedia today launched Glide Sync and Glide Mobile services for Mac users..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Stone Design ships Create 13.0 with CSS and latest Stone Works

In the early days on OS X, these folks were about the only game in town. -TG

Stone Design ships Create 13.0 with CSS and latest Stone Works: "Stone Design today announced the availability of its complete low cost and high performance productivity suite Stone Works -- 16 applications that let you design and publish to print and Web, bill for your services, make movies, photo albums, watermark documents, convert fonts, complete image processing, monitor the weather, choose fonts visually, manage your preferences, PDF management and more..."

(Via MacMinute.)

BeLight Software releases Art Text 1.2

BeLight Software releases Art Text 1.2: "BeLight Software today released Art Text 1.2, an update to its software for creating textual graphics, logos, web banners and buttons..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple Releases OS X Update 10.4.9

This is recommended for all users of OSX 10.4.8. The text is quoted below:
The 10.4.9 Update is recommended for PowerPC and Intel-based Mac computers currently running Mac OS X Tiger version 10.4.8 and includes general operating system fixes, as well as specific fixes or compatibility updates for the following applications and technologies:

- RAW camera support
- Handling of large or malformed images that could cause crashes
- Image capture performance
- Mouse scrolling and keyboard shortcuts
- Font handling
- Playback quality, and bookmarks in DVD Player
- USB video conferencing cameras for use with iChat
- Bluetooth devices
- Browsing AFP servers
- Apple USB Modem
- Windows-created digital certificates
- Open and Print dialogs in applications that use Rosetta on Intel-based Macs
- Time zone and daylight saving for 2006 and 2007
- Security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n304821.
For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

Apple Updates iPhoto

The Text is Quoted Below:
This update to iPhoto addresses issues associated with EXIF data compatibility and Photocasting.

Apple Releases Airport Extreme Update 2007

The statement is quoted below:
This update is recommended for all Intel-based Macintosh computers and improves compatibility with AirPort Extreme base stations and networks.

This update includes the content from the AirPort Extreme Update 2007-001, and addresses a security issue as described in:
http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n305031

This update also improves compatibility for the MacBook Core 2 Duo and the MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo when using certain third-party access points configured to use WEP Open System security.

DVcreators.net releases Final Cut Express Foundations

These folks make great training tools. Take a look at all the products they offer. Some really good stuff. -TG

DVcreators.net releases Final Cut Express Foundations: "DVcreators.net today released Final Cut Express Foundations, the company's 'chunkalized' training course for Apple's DV/HDV editing software..."

(Via MacMinute.)

The iPhoto-disk space conspiracy

Honestly. I did not know this. Did you? -TG

The iPhoto-disk space conspiracy: "Have you ever wondered where all those gigabytes went between the moment you bought a new Mac and the moment you looked at the amount of free disk space after using the computer for a while? The real culprit is iPhoto. This application uses an unbelievable amount of disk space, as shown below...
[link] [more]"

(Via diggdot.us.)

Washingtonpost.com: News, worthy

Now, I'm not necessarily a Washington Post fan, but it's fun to see how they integrate Apple technology into their "news-flow". Note something else. If you connect with internet connections of differing speeds, the movie will automatically load either "small", "medium" or "large". Cool! (It's a feature built-in to Quicktime Streaming Server)

Washingtonpost.com: News, worthy: "Washingtonpost.com harnesses the power of Macs and the latest interactive technologies to deliver the news beyond the headlines and the printed word."

(Via Apple Hot News.)

Mac OS X Tip of the Week: Find the Combined Size of Multiple Files

This is just cool. In the early Public Beta days of OS X, a similar feature was on by default. Now it's buried a little deeper in the Get Info world. Give it a look. -TG

Mac OS X Tip of the Week: Find the Combined Size of Multiple Files: "Say you want to archive some files and need to know how much space they’re going to take up. Here’s a quick and easy way to find out."

(Via Apple Hot News.)

Chronos announces forthcoming release of iScrapbook

Another entry into the scrapbooking market. Cronos makes some great products like SOHO notes. -TG

Chronos announces forthcoming release of iScrapbook: "Chronos today announced the forthcoming release of iScrapbook, a new application to design and print scrapbooks..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Microsoft announces HD Photo imaging file format

Higher quality images at half the size of current JPEGs? Hmmm. _TG

Microsoft announces HD Photo imaging file format: "Microsoft has announced HD Photo, a new file format for end-to-end digital photography that offers higher image quality, greater preservation of data, and advanced features for today's digital-imaging applications..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Adobe unveils plans for two editions of Photoshop CS3

Adobe unveils plans for two editions of Photoshop CS3: "Adobe Systems has announced at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show that it will expand its digital imaging product line, offering two editions of Photoshop CS3..."

(Via MacMinute.)

OnlyMac Software releases MacFamilyTree 4.4.1

OnlyMac Software releases MacFamilyTree 4.4.1: "MacFamilyTree, the modern genealogy application for Mac OS X, has been updated to version 4.4.1..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Boinx FotoMagico 2 now available with new pricing

I love this software! If you haven't tried it, download the demo and give it a whirl! -TG

Boinx FotoMagico 2 now available with new pricing: "Boinx Software has announced the release of FotoMagico 2 for digital photographers..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Pinnacle introduces new portable TV Tuners for Mac

This is just FYI. I am quite familiar with AVID and many of their products from the Pinnacle division, but I was unable to actually verify this story on the Pinnacle website. Guess we'll wait and see. -TG

Pinnacle introduces new portable TV Tuners for Mac: "Avid Technology today notified us that its consumer division, Pinnacle Systems, is entering the market for Mac peripherals with three new USB TV tuner devices: two for the European market and one for the US market..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple plugs eight QuickTime holes

Apple plugs eight QuickTime holes: "Vulnerabilities in Apple's widely used QuickTime media player software can expose both Macs and Windows PCs to attack."

(Via CNET News.com.)

New Mac OS 10.5 Leopard Build Screenshots Build 9A377a

Ready for a "sneak peek" at Leopard? I have no way to verify the authenticity of these screen shots, but they look pretty real to me. -TG

New Mac OS 10.5 Leopard Build Screenshots Build 9A377a: "Thinksecret has posted a gallery of some new features in the latest build of Apple's upcoming operating system Mac OS 10.5 Leopard.
[link] [more]"

(Via diggdot.us.)

MacBook Pro, iMacs and MacBooks get 802.11n wireless

I was wondering when this would be available. Do you plan to upgrade? -TG

MacBook Pro, iMacs and MacBooks get 802.11n wireless: "QuickerTek has announced the availability of 802.11n wireless upgrade cards for Apple, Intel MacBook, Intel MacBook Pro models and Intel iMacs..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Adobe Creative Suite 3 to ship March 27th

Adobe Creative Suite 3 to ship March 27th: "Adobe plans to launch its new Creative Suite 3 software at a special event in New York City on March 27, reports Macworld UK..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Image Moments 6 hi-res digital photo frame announced

Image Moments 6 hi-res digital photo frame announced: "Digital Foci today announced that it will introduce Image Moments 6 high-resolution digital photo frame at next week’s Photo Marketing Association Conference (PMA) in Las Vegas. Image Moments 6 displays photos on its 5.7’ high-resolution digital LCD screen..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple releases Backup 3.1.1 update

Apple releases Backup 3.1.1 update: "Apple today released Backup 3.1.1, the latest version of its backup software for .Mac users under Mac OX..."

(Via MacMinute.)