The Kindle app for Mac OS X 10.5 and above is finally available without calling for a glitzy press conference, where this free application weighs in at 22MB. Most folks have been looking out for it since its announcement last October, when the iPad was but vaporware at that point in time. With this app, you can download Kindle books that are under your possession, reading them at your own pace on your Mac. Synchronization of progress is fully automatic, so you can switch between your Kindle and iPhone on-the-fly without missing a beat.
Apple has continued their growth with iPod and Mac sales in February growing 43% year on year.
Analyst Gene Munster with Piper Jaffray issued a note to investors Monday afternoon detailing the latest retail sales data from the NPD Group. Mac sales in the month of February were up 43 percent for the month, which followed a similarly strong January increase of 36 percent. In all, Mac sales for the first two months of 2010 are up 39 percent year over year.
The latest retail data suggests that Apple will sell between 2.8 million and 2.9 million Macs in the March quarter, which is above Wall Street’s consensus of 2.7 million Macs.
Strong Mac sales were accompanied by better-than-expected iPod sales as well, influencing Munster to call February an “impressive” month for Apple. iPod sales in the first two months of 2010 were up 7 percent, an increase in sales for the first time in over a year.
Snowtape is a new Max OS X application that lets you easily find, listen to and record from online radio stations.
It’s like the combination radio/tape deck of the future! If you were fortunate enough to come of age in the age of the mp3, then just think of Snowtape as the awesome “record” button that iTunes doesn’t have.
Snowtape doesn’t just play and record, though. It also lets you name, tag and add album art to your recorded audio files, so they’ll fit right in with iTunes or your iPod. It has other perks, too, like the ability to schedule a recording using iCal, in case you’re worried about missing a favorite radio show. Snowtape makes discovering new favorites easier, too, by building in a directory of stations, and allowing users to add their own stations to the list.
If you need more proof that Snowtape is a really well-thought-out app, check out the integrated editing feature that lets you trim the beginning and end of your recordings. There’s even a companion iPhone app!
Apple on Friday distributed yet another beta of Mac OS X 10.6.3 to its developer community with no known issues, as the update to Snow Leopard moves closer to a public release.
Like numerous seeds before it, Friday’s update was reportedly clear of issues. People familiar with the matter said it is known as Build 10D567, and is available as a 718MB download.
The last beta of Mac OS X 10.6.3 arrived in late February, and it, like Friday’s had no changes made to the software’s enhancements checklist. The forthcoming update improves security and compatibility within QuickTime X, enhances the performance of Apple’s 64-bit Logic Pro suite, and improves compatibility with third-party printers.
Developers have reportedly been asked to focus their testing efforts on printing, Rosetta, iChat, QuickTime and graphics drivers.
The last major update to Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.6.2, came last November, when Apple addressed a guest account bug that could result in a user’s account data being accidentally deleted. The update also added native support for the company’s new multi-touch Magic Mouse.
Apple is also currently working on Safari 4.0.5, which reportedly fixes an issue with the browser’s JavaScript engine. The update will also improve HTML5 video playback, offer quicker loading of the Top Sites panels, faster JavaScript performance, better performance on YouTube, and a smaller memory footprint.
Also in the works is QuickTime 7.66, a maintenance, security and performance release expected to be one of the final updates to QuickTime 7, and a significant maintenance update to the Final Cut Studio and Pro applications.
As you know, the moment that Kindle appeared in the market, the e-readers are getting a lot of attention from companies and users. And the iPad is not an exception, there are a lot of projects involved to develop some interesting features to transform it in a Kindle competitor; but I guess none of them compared with Penguin project.
In this video you can check it out:
You’ll get some nice games for your kids, and an amazing coloring book options. Working with the human body in an anatomy section; a travelling guide; and also “Star Finder” an encyclopedia of the solar system and universe.
One of the strangest options is the “Vampire Academy” that represents a vampire novel that includes a live chat. Not sure if this one will make any difference.
According to MacRumors, the iPad could very well go on pre-order as early as next week. Excited Apple fan boys/girls are surely getting ready to plunk down their hard earned money on a device that people just haven’t figured out if they really need or not. Nevertheless, the pre-order frenzy will surely create buzz and further articles on customer’s experience.
The iPad, which was recently announced by Apple, is supposed to fill the void between our laptop/desktop and our mobile device. Not sure if you really need one? No worries you’re not alone. But rest assured that thousands upon thousands of people will still order the device only to later realize if they really needed it or not.
According to the article the US wi-fi model is the first up, but according to Jobs presentation, the shipping date was still 60 days away. Could the pre-orders be taken this early? Sure they can, and fans will just have to wait to be the first on the block with their new device. What many looking out for is the release of previously unmentioned additions. It’s not unheard of for Apple to add something at the last minute, so fans are looking forward to that opportunity. Right now it’s not a guarantee to even happen, but Apple fans can dream.
Forgive the biblical format of the title, but an announcement of biblical proportions has been unleashed upon the public. Steve Jobs is authorizing a personal biography. After years of reading unauthorized books, years of wondering, years of rumors and speculation, the “official” book has been given the Steve Jobs blessing.
Is this going to be the honest look into his life that we want? Probably not, the unauthorized books will probably hold more truth then anything blessed by him, but for now, it’s an interesting topic.
Personally, as much of a fan of Apple I am, I also can’t deny the presence that Steve Jobs holds. While the company is definitely innovative, I see Steve Jobs walking down a hallway to the sound of the “Imperial March” from Star Wars, with guards on either side. Rumors of new hires being warned not to say “Hi” to Mr. Jobs or else they’ll be fired seem extreme, but not out of the realm of possibility. Do we really need an authorized book? Sometimes the mystique is better than the reality, but according to Macrumors.com we’ll be getting a look into his life sooner than we thought.
Unauthorized books have made him so mad in the past that he’s removed that entire publishing company’s line off of their stores shelves. Should be interesting to see just what he’ll allow us to understand, and perhaps we’ll become sympathetic to his processes.
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.
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!
MockFlow, an online tool that helps you create and share user interface designs, has recently released a new air client for the Desktop, allowing PC & Mac users to enjoy a free platform that makes it easy to create mockups.
The service provide an offline mode where all your changes are automatically stored locally, so you can edit and view mockups even if there is no net connectivity.
According to 
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.
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.
