Steve Jobs says MacBook Pro trackpad fix "coming soon"

Steve Jobs says MacBook Pro trackpad fix "coming soon": "

Getting a one sentence e-mail from Steve Jobs is the new getting a phone call from Henry Kissinger. Steve Jobs weighs in on trackpad clicking issue.

Read More...

(Via Infinite Loop.)

Easy iWeb Publisher 3.0

I haven't reviewed this, but the idea is intriguing for those who use iWeb and don't want to maintain a Mobile Me account. - Tim Godby

Easy iWeb Publisher 3.0: "So what if you want to post an iWeb web site but don't want to pay $100 for MobileMe? This free utility does what its name says: it makes it easy to upload your iWeb site to any server.

(Via Macworld.)

Apple moving Finder to Cocoa

Apple moving Finder to Cocoa: "

At long last, Apple has rewritten Finder using its Cocoa development environment for Snow Leopard, according to a report.

(Credit: Apple)

Apple has finally rewritten one of the most important applications in Mac OS X in its preferred programming environment, according to a report.

AppleInsider reports that Finder, the ubiquitous ...

(Via One More Thing.)

Report: New Apple iMacs due in next couple weeks

Report: New Apple iMacs due in next couple weeks: "On the heels of last week's unveiling of a new MacBook lineup, there's now buzz about an iMac refresh in time for the holidays."

(Via CNET News.com.)

FireWire’s MacBook absence—inconvenience or fatal flaw?

Hate to admit I missed this on initial inspection. I was too busy plahying with the new glass trackpad sans button and admiring the beauty of this new machine. For this editor, the lack of Firewire is a deal breaker. (Sigh) - Tim Godby

FireWire’s MacBook absence—inconvenience or fatal flaw?: "The most-talked about feature in Apple’s new MacBook may be something that’s not there—FireWire ports. Peter Cohen weighs in on Apple’s decision.

(Via Macworld.)

DisplayPort: What you need to know

DisplayPort: What you need to know: "When it introduced its new laptops this week, Apple also introduced a new term to the vocabulary of Mac users—DisplayPort. Peter Cohen takes a closer look at this emerging industry standard and how it could benefit Mac users.

(Via Macworld.)

OpenOffice 3.0 released, for Mac

I use the OpenOffice Suite on my office PC. It is more than adequate for the majority of tasks. Where it fails most is in comparison to PowerPoint. I'll be curious to see what if any improvement the Macinotsh version makes in that regard. - Tim Godby

OpenOffice 3.0 released, for Mac: "OpenOffice.org 3.0, the first Mac-native version of the free office productivity suite, is now available.

(Via Macworld.)

Perian 1.1 just released

This is an absolute MUST HAVE piece of software. Like everything Macintosh, it just works! Download it. Now. - Tim Godby

Perian 1.1 just released: "

Filed under: Software

Perian, the ultimate QuickTime plug-in, was just updated to version 1.1.1. Some of the changes in this version include:

• H.264 in AVI fixed


• Some anamorphic AVI files are now supported


• Performance problems due to PIC fixed with Xcode 3.1


• Incorrect frame skipping on H.264 intra frames fixed


• Better character set detection


• The update checker is now much more polite


• Several parsing and rendering bugs with subtitles fixed


• Player freezing while loading subtitles with embedded fonts fixed


• Audio fixed for some older MKV files with AAC/FLAC


• Strange values in MKV chapters or video sizes are handled better


• Initial support for SAMI subtitles added


• Worked around a QuickTime bug (#5770288) causing frames to be lost during export


• New codecs: DosBox ZMBV, VP6+Alpha, Nellymoser ASAO

FFmpeg:

• Crashing on PPC G3 fixed


• Fraps decoding artifacts fixed

You can view the full change log on the support website. Perian is a free System Preference pane that can be downloaded from the Perian project website.

Thanks, Chris!

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Updated HandBrake encodes more than DVDs

For those of you who use this. I noticed the upgrade was Leopard only. - Tim Godby

Updated HandBrake encodes more than DVDs: "A new version of HandBrake encodes videos from your hard drive, in addition to DVDs.

(Via Macworld.)

September shows upward trend for Mac OS X, iPhone usage

The Infinite Loop is reporting encouraging statistics for Macintosh OS X and iPhone internet use. It's still a very small slice, but it is growing. - Tim Godby

September shows upward trend for Mac OS X, iPhone usage: "

Net Applications' latest 'market share' data reveals that Macs, and even iPhones, are slowly but surely gaining ground at the expense of other operating systems on the web. September was a good month

Read More...

Mac 101: Create Custom Email Stationery

A fantastic tip from TUAW about custom Mail.app stationery. - Tim Godby

Mac 101: Create Custom Email Stationery: "

Filed under: Mac 101

Have you used Mail's stationery and thought that it was too limiting or did not appeal to your tastes? With a simple save button, you can create your own stationery to be exactly the way you want it. Just create a new Mail message, filling in the body as you see fit -- use special formatting, colors, even filler text.

When you have completed your stationery template, click File > Save As Stationery. A dialog box will prompt you to name your new creation. Enter a descriptive title and click 'Save.' Your new stationery will appear under 'Custom' whenever you click the 'Show Stationery' button in a new mail message. Clicking your template name will automatically recreate your template in the body of the new message.

This is handy for businesses or individuals who need to have custom formatted emails, and need them to be uniform each time they send them.


Like this tip? Want more? Just visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.

Realmac Software release RapidWeaver 3.6.6

Realmac Software release RapidWeaver 3.6.6: "Realmac Software today announced an update to RapidWeaver, its award-winning website creation application for Mac OS X..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple's MacBook refresh... not so fresh

For an alternative view. - Tim Godby

Apple's MacBook refresh... not so fresh: "Apple's recent MacBook refresh didn't add much to the product line. What's Apple missing?"

(Via CNET News.com.)

Apple posts iPhoto 7.1.3 Update

Apple posts iPhoto 7.1.3 Update: "Apple today posted iPhoto 7.1.3 Update via its Software Update application and on the Web..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Pixelmator 1.1.3 updates move, crop and zoom

Pixelmator 1.1.3 updates move, crop and zoom: "

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Cool tools, Leopard, Graphic Design

The Pixelmator folks have updated their clean and simple picture editing app once again, and there are a host of new features and improvements on board for this one. The crop tool was the first thing that caught my eye -- it's more powerful than ever, as you can crop layer masks, set a rotation point, and constrain proportions with the palette. The zoom and move tools got some usability updates as well. All in all, it's a nice little update, and there's enough stuff in here to call for another try if you weren't into the functions of Pixelmator before.

1.1.3 is a free upgrade for current Pixelmator users. For you non-users, a trial is free from their website, or the full app is available for $60.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

OmniPlan 1.5 offers more Leopard support

OmniPlan 1.5 offers more Leopard support: "The Omni Group today announced a new release of their project planning application, OmniPlan..."

(Via MacMinute.)

Four Mice to Bento

Four Mice to Bento: "Bento"

(Via Apple Hot News.)

iTunes compiles Rock Band tracks

iTunes compiles Rock Band tracks: "

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, iTS, Odds and ends, iTunes

I've been rocking on Rock Band almost since it came out (almost done with expert on guitar and hard on drums -- stupid bass pedal is driving me nuts -- and the band my friends and I formed, Fel and the Boatmen, just got ourselves a jet). And now, iTunes has made it easy to rock even away from the game: they've collected all the Rock Band tracks all in one place. That's the good news -- the bad news is that all together, the tracks will cost you a whopping $73.26. That's still 99 cents a song, so exactly no price cuts for a bundle purchase.

The tracks don't exactly match up to the game, either; first of all, even where the game has cover tracks, iTunes has the original artists (and sometimes, live versions of the tracks, which aren't necessarily the same as the game). And there are no bonus tracks -- Freezepop is in iTunes (as is Mother Hips, my other favorite bonus song) but not on the Rock Band list at all. Still, if you absolutely have to own one of the Rock Band songs, I guess it's nice that iTunes put them all in one place for you.

[Via X3F]

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Is Time Machine all you need?

Is Time Machine all you need?: "Although any backup is better than no backup at all, Time Machine may not protect your data to the extent or in the way that you need. A few significant weaknesses offset its impressive strengths."

(Via Macworld.)

Vara Software ships ScreenFlow for Mac OS X

Vara Software ships ScreenFlow for Mac OS X: "Vara Software today shipped ScreenFlow, an advanced Screencasting software package for Mac OS X Leopard..."

(Via MacMinute.)