Archive for May, 2007
« Previous EntriesFabrix offers two new Delux laptop cases
Thursday, May 31st, 2007Fabrix today added two new designs to its Delux Laptop Case collection, providing decorative protect…
Google Gears for WebKit
Thursday, May 31st, 2007Posted by Dan Waylonis, Mac Software EngineerHave you heard about Google Gears? It’s an extension to your favorite web browser and a new open source project from Google. It adds support for local data storage and helps web application developers manage…
See all your iTunes Plus Tracks
Thursday, May 31st, 2007To see all of your purchased iTunes Plus tracks, create a new smart playlist and set the rule to:
Kind - contains - Purchased AAC
The other iTunes Store tracks ar Protected AAC, so you’ll be able to segregate them, if you want to create different backups or for any other reason.
iTunes Plus songs On Nokia N95
Thursday, May 31st, 2007Unfortunately, it looks like the Nokia music player on the N95 doesn’t recognize the format of the new iTunes Plus downloads. To get around this, I right-clicked on the files in iTunes and selected “Convert to AAC”. The newly converted files could then be transferred to the N95 and worked flawlessly (including Artwork).
[kirkmc adds: Interesting. This suggests that they are not standard AAC files. Can anyone else confirm whether these files work on other AAC-supporting devices? Note that the “Convert to AAC” command, in the Advanced menu, will change the bit rate of the songs, if your iTunes Importing preferences are not set to 256 kpbs. Perhaps the bit rate is causing the problem?]
Google Developer Day
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007posted by Scott Knaster, Technical WriterSeasoned Mac developers and fans know that Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (better known as WWDC) is a highlight of every year. And for the first time this year, we are getting into the developer…
A Python script to back up DVDs to MP4 files
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007This is a script that came from my desire to easily back up dvds that I don’t have the time to watch now.
HandBrake is an awesome program, but it requires user intervention. If I want to use it on a headless Mac, I want to automate it. This script is a wrapper around HandBrakeCLI, the command-line version of Handbrake.. First it locates the DVD, by scanning /Volumes. Next, it scans the titles for the longest feature on the disc (the movie). Finally, it rips the DVD to an mp4 file. I have hard-coded all the options (2048 kbps, 192kbps AAC, pixel aspect ratio). If these settings don’t work for you, look in the code and change them.
To use:
./rip.py [destination dir]Dependencies:
- python 2.4+ (Mac OS X ships with 2.3): go to python.org
- HandBrakeCLI (place in /usr/local/bin, and make sure your path includes this directory, or change the HANDBRAKE v…
Uh-oh, a Mac OS X vulnerability!
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007OK, so Macs aren’t completely invincible. I was wondering when I’d hear some such thing. This article explains how if your system has Samba enabled (for Macs OS Xs sharing networks with Windows PCs), then it could be at risk. Unfortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it) Apple hasn’t released a Samba update since 2005 (I guess they didn’t need to). If yours is one of the vulnerable systems, you can just disable Windows Sharing until you’re issued an Apple Software Update.
Suppress NeoOffice automatic update checking
Tuesday, May 29th, 2007When NeoOffice is launched, it occasionally opens the NeoOffice website in Safari (or the default browser), asking for donations or listing available patches.
This was confusing my wife and kids when they wanted to write a text and Safari opened instead. Hence I have looked for a way to suppress this behavior and found the following solution:
Create the following file (e.g. using touch from Terminal):
/Applications/NeoOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/.noshowdonationpage[kirkmc adds: I haven’t tested this.]
Change the sequence of iTunes 7 downloads
Tuesday, May 29th, 2007Here’s a feature that I think is new in 7.1: in the Downloads source, you can now drag downloads up and down to change the order. You can reorder any downloads, but the change only affects queued downloads. If you move a queued download above a download that’s in-progress, the one you moved won’t start, and the one you moved it above won’t pause; if you want that to happen, you still have to do it manually.
[kirkmc adds: I would have figured there was already a hint about this, but I couldn’t find any. It’s useful to point out that you can pause and resume iTunes downloads individually and en masse, as well as the above.]
Chronos ships SOHO Notes 6.0, Organizer 6.0
Saturday, May 26th, 2007Chronos today released SOHO Notes 6.0, an upgrade to its note manager as well as SOHO Organizer 6.0, an update to its personal/business software. Version 6 of Notes offers innovative features such as Forms that allow users to store their information in fields they define. The new SOHO Notes also lets users organize their information using hierarchi…
Mac Development in the UK
Saturday, May 26th, 2007
Giles Turnbull over at MacDevCenter has an interesting look at independent Mac developers working in the UK. In many ways, their experience is similar to that of indie US devs, but they do face a few special challenges, like pricing their products in dollars. Because the exchange rate favors the pound right now versus the dollar, they end up having to charge higher prices for US customers than they would otherwise.Overall, though, they appreciate what Apple does for developers, even if Apple engineers do sometimes forget that the UK is eight hours ahead of Cupertino. One big thing that nearly all of them come back to is the need for more pre-built frameworks like Sparkle (which provides automatic updating for a slew of products). Overall, it’s an interesting read for seeing how things work on the other side of the pond.
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SOHO Notes updated to version 6
Saturday, May 26th, 2007Filed under: Software, Productivity
SOHO Notes, the information manager/junk drawer application from Chronos, has hit version 6 and adds some nice new features. Perhaps in response to Yojimbo, there is new keyword and smart folder functionality. There’s also new support for scanning directly into SOHO Notes a la Yep, as well as new custom forms for data entry and 256-bit encryption.I used SOHO Notes’ predecessor, StickyBrain, before switching over to Yojimbo. While I prefer the latter for its use of Core Data instead of OpenBase, I do think Chronos does a very good job of seeing what sort of features its competitors are offering and integrating them into SOHO Notes, making it one of the most full-featured of the note-taking applications on the Mac.
SOHO Notes 6.0 is $39.99 ($25 for upgrades from previous versions, including StickyBrain) and a demo is available.
[via MacMinute]
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Ainol intros iPhone media player clone
Saturday, May 26th, 2007Following in the wake of Meizu’s miniOne, Chinese firm Ainol has just rolled out its own attempt at drawing on the iPhone’s anticipated success. The V2000 is strictly a media player with a smaller 3-inch LCD and features to match its shifted focus. A 600MHz ADI Blackfin chip provides enough decoding performance for the mainstay AVI format as well…
TUAW Best of the Week
Saturday, May 26th, 2007Filed under: Features, TUAW Business, Weekend Review
You must remember this: a post is still a post that you might have just missed. The fundamental posts fly by, as time goes by. So when TUAW posters post on Apple’s deeds and glory, if posts may pass you by, enjoy the best posts of the week, don’t sigh. On this you can rely, as time goes by.Mac 101: Launch at startup, the Login Items tab
Select those items you want to launch whenever you log in.10.4.10 on the way
It looks like the next Tiger update is on the way.Apple Camp schedule is now available
Free seminars for your young’uns.Terminal Tip: ASCII-ify your Videos
Play your movies back from the command line and *at* the command line.Rig of the Week: Al Gore’s setup
We long for Mr. Gore’s monitors.Mac 101: Sharing your iTunes Library in 3 easy steps
If you’ve heard about library sharing but never got around to actually trying it, here’s a quickstart for you.Terminal Tip: Four ways to turn off Finder animations and speed up your system
Make Finder zippier, especially over VNC.Adobe CS3 may disable your firewall
Important security information.iTunes: Free Tuesday
Still free, still available.Terminal Tip: Interactive Command-line File Encryption
Combine Finder’s drag and drop with Terminal’s shell scripts.AutoRate: iTunes rating done right
Song ratings that are based on both times-played and times-skipped.Hauppauge USB TV tuners now EyeTV compatible
Use EyeTV software with your Hauppauge tuner to take better advantage of scheduling, recording and video edits.Ask TUAW: Open With, AFP, iTunes with cell phone, escaping iPhoto, and more
This week’s installment of the always fabulous “Ask TUAW” with our very own Mat Lu.iPod transformer?
12 inches high and deadly.Terminal tip: Remind yourself about appointments
Quicker and easier than iCal for one-shot reminders.Rumors: Mac Mini Deathwatch
Say it isn’t so. Could the mini be on the way out?Security Update 2007-005
Apple’s latest security update contains lots and lots of fixes.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Apple updates its Hot Deals site
Saturday, May 26th, 2007Apple has updated its Hot Deals site with the latest offerings from Gadget Locker, CDW Mac Warehouse, and Small Dog Electronics…
Creative Notes: Quick tips for Illustrator
Friday, May 25th, 2007James Dempsey follows up on his InDesign tips with a few more of his favorites - this time for Illustrator users.
iPhone Used to Browse MacRumors.com?
Friday, May 25th, 2007It looks like someone at Apple has started more openly testing the Apple iPhone across web sites, including MacRumors.com.
One reader tipped us off that they had come across iPhone browser identification strings in the Apache logs of t…
Chronos releases SOHO Organizer 6.0
Friday, May 25th, 2007Chronos today also announced the release of SOHO Organizer 6.0, a major upgrade to its personal and business productivity suite…
Sticky Windows 2.2 improves performance
Friday, May 25th, 2007An avid Mac developer has released Sticky Windows 2.2, boasting serious performance improvements as well as enhanced usability with better tab resizing. The software is designed to extend the tab browsing experience to the desktop by shrinking windows into tabs when users drag a window toward the edge of the screen. The update is free for any Stick…
Chronos releases SOHO Notes 6.0
Friday, May 25th, 2007Chronos today announced the release of SOHO Notes 6.0, a major upgrade to its premier note manager for Mac OS X…
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