Archive for the ‘Software’ Category
According to AppleInsider, Apple released an update on Friday evening to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.
The only distinguishable change noted in documentation, those people say, was a request by the Mac maker for its developers to add iCal and printing functions to their evaluation efforts, alongside AirPort, QuickTime and graphics drivers. A prior emphasis on VoiceOver was reportedly not extended to build 10D548.
The beta will also include tweaks that aim to enhance the performance of Apple’s 64-bit Logic pro audio suite. Other bundled improvements include better compatibility with third-party printers and OpenGL-grounded applications.
Apple reportedly listed no known issues with build 10D548, which now weighs in at 773MB as a Delta distribution.
Google Chrome has fast become one of the worlds most popular internet browsers. Most people dont know that you can now get Google Chrome for Mac OS X and Linux.
You can offically download Mac OS X Chrome here and Linux Chrome here.
I have been having a huge amount of trouble getting my iPhone applications to sync with iTunes. Finally, in a moment of desperation, I righted clicked on my iPhone and chose the option “Transfer Purchases” and to my suprise and glee I successfully moved my applications onto to my computer.
To transfer applictions to iTunes from your iPhone:
- Right click on your iPhone in the left hand explorer bar
- Select “Transfer Purchases”
- You should see a progress bar in iTunes and your phone should read “Sync in Progress”
- If everything went as planned, all of your applications that were purchased on your iPhone should now appear in iTunes
A bit of an embarrassment for Mozilla Firefox – and it comes at a a bad time too, right when they’re loosing their dominance in the browser world as Chrome catches up.
Mozilla has been known as a very safe browser as compared to its old enemy, Internet Explorer. In fact, many people used it for just that reason. So the last thing Mozilla needed was reports of Malware in two ad-ons which were available for download from their website.
“Two add-ons in the experimental section of addons.mozilla.org were found to be containing malware,” Mozilla said on its security blog. “These were not originally detected with the anti-malware scanning tools that we have been using. We have since increased the number of scanning tools, and will be taking additional steps to minimize the risk of further incidents.
It is thought that well in excess of 4,000 downloads of the ad-ons have taken place since they were first released in September. So are you one of the thousands of people who inadvertently infected their own machines? Well if you downloaded Sothink 4.0 and all versions of Master Filer then there’s a good chance you are. These installed Win32.LdPinch.gen and Win32.Bitfrose.32.Bitfrose Trojan respectively. So if you have downloaded these, I suggest running a scan of your system ASAP.
As of today, the source code of Symbian 3 mobile OS (the successor of previous Symbian versions, S60, S40 and others) is open and free to use. Although it’s the most popular mobile OS, powering some 330 million phones, Symbian has been in some sort of a limbo lately. Symbian and Nokia (who ownes Symbian) have noticed that Android and the iPhone are gaining more marketshare, so I really think pushing the Symbian software is a great idea. Nokia is hoping that more manyfacturers will pick up the free OS and then use it instead of Android, etc, allowing Nokia to have a much larger platform to push their applications across.
The source code is published under the Eclipse Public License (EPL).
Create a truly unique and modern theme for the Ubuntu Desktop. This a redux of the original version of Hanso utilizing several of the new murrine option if the current engine including new arrowstyle, border_shades, border_colors, comboboxstyle, gradient_colors, prelight_shade, shadow_shades, spinbuttonstyle, textstyle, trough_shades, reliefstyle, and stepperstyle.
Download here.
Google Apps admins really know the importance of the Google Email uploader, but the application only existed for Windows until a few days ago. Now, Google Email Uploader is available for Mac.
You can download the application from Google Code, which means any feedback regarding the usability of this tool will come handy for Mac and Google users. There are some considerations made by Google regarding this:
- Pick less than 500 messages to send the first time. Otherwise it will get slow.
- Use a custom label for emails.
The uploader will try to find mail archives in the following locations:
- Apple Mail: ~/Library/Mail
- Eudora: ~/Eudora Folder
- Thunderbird: ~/Library/Thunderbird
It’s time for a new release of Mac OS X! Leopard promises lots of new built-in features like the backup program Time Machine, Boot Camp which allows you to install Windows XP or Vista (only for Intel based Macs), Screen Sharing in iChat, and that’s only the beginning.
There’s a new Finder with Cover Flow to “flip” through files, Quick Look allows you to preview almost any kind of document without launching a program, and Spaces allows you to maintain several “workspaces” on one desktop.
And as usual, the installation process is easy & painless.
- Back up your computer. You can either just back up your data or use a disk cloning program to make an exact copy of your hard drive just in case anything goes wrong while you install OS X Leopard.
- Insert the Mac OS X Leopard installation DVD. You can either insert it before you boot up your computer, and your Mac will automatically start the installation, or you can insert the DVD while your computer is running and run the “Install Mac OSX.app”.
- Click the “Restart” button when the big black “X” appears on your screen.
- When your computer has restarted, select your language.
- Click on “More Information” if you want to read more about the new features of Mac OS X Leopard, otherwise, hit the “Continue” button on the bottom of the screen.
- Select the drive on which you want to install Mac OS X Leopard. This is usually “Macintosh HD”. Then hit the “Continue” button on the bottom of the screen.
- Hit the “Install” button at the bottom of the “Install Summary” screen.
- Now you wait. The installation may take between one and two hours.
- When the installation is complete, fill out the registration screen. Congratulations! Now go play with all the nifty new features of Mac OS X Leopard!
Microsoft has released the system requirements for their upcoming Office 2010 suite. Microsoft Office 2010 is scheduled to be released in June, but it has been getting great reviews already.
Key Question: Does your computer require any additional hardware support when moving from Office 2007 to Office 2010?
Answer: No. If you are currently running Office 2007 then you should not face any difficulties switching.
The 32-bit version of Office 2010 will run on the following 32-bit operating systems:
- Windows XP with Service Pack (SP)3
- Windows Vista SP1
- Windows 7
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2003 R2 (with MS XML).
The 64-bit version will run on the 64-bit versions of all of these same operating systems, with the exception of Windows Server 2003 R2.
Our other Crenk coverage on Office 2010:
Michaelv.org has designed one of the coolest retro web apps, or maybe we should say retro OS: Windows 3.11 directly in your browser.
It does not contain all of the Windows 3.11 components, but it does include some of the classic applications that I’m sure you will never forget: Minesweeper, Calculator, Notepad, and many more.
It is written in JavaScript, XHTML and PHP; and let me tell you it has a great performance and usability. Well, actually, we shouldn’t surprise about that since Windows 3.11 only required around 3MB of memory and 15mb in the hard drive.
Enjoy!
For those that are Mac users probably used at least once Password1 as their password manager. Now they have an alpha version of the application available for Chromium.
It is important for you to notice two things:
1. That this version is available in the developer version of Chrome, aka: “Chromium”. But why Chromium and not Chrome? Simply because Chrome Mac version does not support extensions just yet.
2. This is an alpha version; meaning that is not stable and you should expect some bugs.
Since it is an early phase of the software, 1Password will work will several sites appearing in Chromium and will complete filling simple login forms.
Here’s also a simple procedure to install 1Password in Chromium (source):
1. Make sure you have at least 1Password 3.0.4 installed. It just came out yesterday.
2. Install the developer build of Chrome or the latest Chromium. The latest developer version is required to have the needed extensions support.
3. Enter this URL into Chrome’s address bar: http://agile.ws/s/a330894b8 and install the extension from the notification that should appear at the bottom of Chrome’s window.
Swiftfox is an optimized build of Firefox that’s faster and more cutting edge than the regular Firefox distribution. It works with Firefox plugins, making it remarkably extensible. The overall user interface is similar to Firefox, but is a bit more minimalist and clutter-free. Most other features are in line with what Firefox has to offer.
Why you should consider it: If you love Firefox but want something faster and lighter, then Swiftfox is your best bet.
Current release version: 3.5.6
Operating systems supported: Linux
Stainless is a browser created in response to Google Chrome. It utilizes multi-processing architecture like Chrome (which, at the time of inception, wasn’t available for OS X), but also has some excellent features not found in other browsers. One of the most interesting features is the ability to log into one website using two different accounts in separate tabs.
Why you should consider it: The ability to log into a site with different credentials in different tabs makes this an excellent option for many. It’s especially useful if you have, say, work-related Gmail accounts and personal Gmail accounts.
Current release version: 0.7.5
Operating systems supported: OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard.
OmniWeb is a WebKit browser created by the same people who created OmniGraffle and OmniOutliner. It aims to be fun and easy to use (like other Omni products) and shares a similar user interface. It has all the standard browser features we’ve come to expect (including tabbed browsing, bookmarks, and ad blocking), but also includes Workspaces, which lets you save browsing sessions to open later and includes an auto-save option and a built-in RSS reader.
Why you should consider it: For Mac users who want a browser that’s efficient and easy to use, OmniWeb might be just what you’re looking for. It’s appropriate for power users too, and the Workspaces feature is especially handy.
Current release version: 5.0.1
Operating systems supported: Mac OS X 10.4.8 or newer
Why you should consider it: If you want a customizable browser, Maxthon might be what you’re looking for; it’s built specifically for power users. Between plugins, skins, filter packs, and other customizable features, it truly lets you personalize your browsing experience. For parents concerned about their children’s’ activities online, the filters for blocking content can be reassuring.
Current release version: 2.5.11 (the Classic Version is also available: 1.6.5)
Operating systems supported: Windows
Lunascape is the world’s first and only triple engine browser. That’s right: it’s a hybrid browser that runs on Gecko, Trident, and WebKit. It supports plugins and add-ons from Firefox, Internet Explorer, as well as their own plugin platform. It’s touted to be faster and lighter than many other browser options.
Why you should consider it: If you find yourself constantly switching back and forth between browsers (either for cross-browser testing of web designs or because of add-ons available only to Firefox or Internet Explorer), Lunascape is a perfect fit for you.
Current release version: 6.0.1
Operating systems supported: Windows
Flock is probably better known than many of the other browsers above, especially if you’re a social media addict. Flock was created specifically to make managing your social media activities easier from within your browser.
Flock focuses on staying connected through social media by making sharing and publishing things easier. It integrates directly with Facebook, Gmail, Digg, YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, WordPress, Blogger, Delicious, Bebo, TypePad, Picasa, and more. Special features include a People sidebar, a Media bar (to browse photos and videos from your favorite sites), a built-in feed reader, a photo uploader, a blog editor, and more. There are also extensions and custom themes available for download.
