Saturday, December 29, 2007
Apple’s iPhone 1.1.3 to bring Locate Me, Home customization/additions, Google Maps update, more
Gear Live has posted a "iPhone 1.1.3 firmware feature gallery" which shows that Apple's amazing multi-touch device is soon due to get even better... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
AppleScript: Finder commands
Filed under: Features, How-tos
Now that you've mastered the tell command, it's time to introduce some of the other AppleScript commands that you may encounter.Location command
This command will allow you to open a specific location (either on your Mac or on a web server). This command is most often used with the Finder. For instance, if you wanted to open "www.tuaw.com," then you would type:
tell application "Finder" to open location "http://www.tuaw.com"
Remember, when dealing with an application always include quote marks around the application n ame. When you're typing a URL, be sure to include the prefix (HTTP:, AFP:, FTP:, etc.) and include quote marks around the URL. You can also tell a specific web browser to open the URL:
tell application "Safari" to open location "http://www.tuaw.com"
However, if you use the Finder version of the script, it will open your default browser.
Continue reading AppleScript: Finder commands
Permalink | Email this | Comments[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
iPhone firmware 1.1.3 leaked?
Friday, December 28, 2007
MacCamp
Filed under: Macworld, Other Events
Macworld Expo 2008 is fast approaching (it takes place in San Francisco from Jan. 14th to the 18th) and people's social and conference calendars are filling up. If you don't get a chance to cram enough Mac talk in during the conference itself why not stick around for a Mac centered BarCamp called MacCamp?BarCamp, in case you aren't familiar with the term, is a type of 'user generated' conference. There is no set schedule, no set speakers. Attendees make up the schedule as the event goes along, creating sessions that they w ant to participate in and attend. MacCamp is a two day event starting around 6pm on Friday, January 18th. The schedule isn't set, but you can see who will be coming at its Upcoming page (sadly I fly back to Philly Friday afternoon) and check out more on its wiki page.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
First Look: JoeSoft's Stox stock tracking app
Stock trading is becoming increasingly popular as a way for individuals to make money for large expenditures or retirement, while others make a living from the practice, either professionally or privately. As Mac systems become more popular, it is important for the platform to fit in with all aspects of someone's life. ProSoft Engineering recently ... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Pogue: Visual Voicemail 'feature of the year'
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone
There is no doubt that the iPhone is innovative (heck, even ComputerWorld thinks so), and there is also no doubt that David Pogue, New York Times tech columnist, is a big fan of Apple's products. It should come as a surprise to no one, then, that Pogue has included the iPhone on his list of the most important new features in tech of 2007 (the 'Pogies,' as he calls them). Note t hat this list highlights breakthrough features, and not innovative devices as such.Visual Voicemail, one of the iPhone's signature features, was given the nod as the best new feature of 2007. I can't argue with Pogue on this one, Visual Voicemail has really helped me out (and I don't even get that much voicemail. I'm a sad, unpopular man).
What features in Apple's products do you think are the most innovative this year? Personally, I think Quick Look in Leopard is truly a marvel of technology.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Refurbished aluminum iMacs from $1,049
Apple's online store is offering refurbished current-generation aluminum iMacs for as little as $1,0... [ Full story from iPodNN | The iPod News Network ]
DockStar adds RSS and To Do support
Filed under: Software
Mail.app users who are all about information overload rejoice: DockStar has been updated to alert you about even more unread content in Mail. That's right, the little utility that transforms your Dock, Dashboard, and Menubar into a command center for all things Mail.app related now actually handles alerts for everything that Mail.app offers up in Leopard. I am speaking, of course, of both To Dos and RSS feeds. Now you'll never have to guess how far behind you are.This update also includes an additional badge shape and numerous bug fixes and Leopard tweaks. DockStar costs $9.95.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Update: IPNetMonitorX 2.1.5
The network diagnostic toolkit adds signed code (for Leopard), improved RTT calculation for Link Rate, code refactoring incorporated from IPNetRouterX, and other changes. [ Full story from MacInTouch ]
Joystiq Podcast 031 - Best lovers edition
Apple files for GUI, podcast related patents
Apple has filed a new patent detailing a means of easily modifying desktop backgrounds as well as se... [ Full story from iPodNN | The iPod News Network ]
It's not pretty but you can build the LongRanger electric bike yourself
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives
The creators of this contraption could sure use some lessons in industrial design from Apple, or even the creators of the first generation Zune for that matter. However part of the beauty of this bike is that you can actually modify the design since you build it yourself. Atomic Zombie sells the plans for $14.99 online. You then track down the necessary parts, practice your welding skills and bolt in some batteries. The three-battery design shown has a 62 mile range. You could easily modify the design of the frame to accommodate different batt eries or even equal sized wheels. It's not pretty but it will get you where you're going quietly and cleanly. You can check out a video of the LongRanger in action after the jump.
[Source: AtomicZombie]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Apples For The Army
The Army hopes a few Apples a day will help keep cybercriminals at bay. [ Full story from Forbes.com News ]
DockStar mail tool adds new clickable indicators
DockStar, which lets you view the status of mail accounts from the Dock, now works with Smart Mailboxes in Leopard, adds new indicators and more. [ Full story from Macworld ]
Infoworld: Hackers take aim at Mac OS X
Among its list of 10 underreported stories from 2007, Infoworld lists Mac OS X's rising desirability of a target for hackers. [ Full story from Macworld ]
Apple, Zune web traffic surge on Christmas
Traffic to the websites for Apple's iTunes and Microsoft's Zune has made major strides on Christmas day, according to new information published by stats tracker Hitwise. The Zune in particular saw major gains, with traffic nearly tripling at 299 percent compared to the Christmas before; the increase was also a 392 percent spike versus the 24th. M... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
iPhone ousted by Google in innovation ranks
Despite its features, the iPhone is not the most innovative development of 2007, according to PC World's top 25 list for 2007. The magazine instead presents the top award to Google Gears, the search engine giant's platform that allows Mac and Windows users to run web apps such as Google Reader and Zoho Writer without an active Internet connection.... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Art Lebedev kills us with Optimus Tactus keyboard concept
Filed under: Displays, Peripherals
[ Full story from Engadget ]
The 25 Most Innovative Products of the Year
Break on through: Among the Innovation Award winners (clockwise from top) are HP's TouchSmart (displaying Microsoft's Popfly), Toshiba's Portege R500 (displaying Mint.com), Seagate's hybrid hard drive, NetGear's Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000, and--no surprise--Apple's iPhone. Make no mistake, the... [ Full story from washingtonpost.com - Personal Tech ]
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Game Room: Need for Speed: Carbon
Unlike other recent Mac releases from Electronic Arts, this racing game is making its first appearance on the Mac. And thanks to its engaging storyline and multiplayer support, it's a welcome addition to the platform. [ Full story from Macworld ]
Apple and Fox Plan Movie Rental Deal - Reports
Apple and Twentieth Century Fox are set to announce a deal that will allow consumers to rent Fox movies through Apple's digital iTunes Store, according to media reports. [ Full story from Baseline Update ]
Shareholders amend backdating lawsuit
Apple shareholders suing officers and directors of the company regarding alleged backdated options filed an amended complaint in San Jose federal court last week adding four additional instances. [ Full story from Think Secret ]
Steve Jobs’ Apple: One of the most dramatic corporate turnarounds ever achieved
A Christmas rally in Apple’s share price made it the world’s third most valuable new technology company... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Apple and Fox Plan Movie Rental Deal - Reports
Apple and Twentieth Century Fox are set to announce a deal that will allow consumers to rent Fox movies through Apple's digital iTunes Store, according to media reports. [ Full story from eWEEK Technology News ]
Fox to Sell Vids Online?
Movie rentals are set to be made available on Apple's iTunes. [ Full story from eWeek Retail ]
Apple’s Brooklyn retail store location uncovered?
Apple’s search for the perfect Brooklyn (NYC) store location now includes... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Amazon adds Warner Music tunes to download service
Aiming to compete with Apple's iTunes online store, Amazon, which also has deals with Universal Music Group and EMI, has priced many of its songs at 89 cents each. Online retailer Amazon.com has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with... [ Full story from ZDNet News - Front Door ]
Fox to Sell Vids Online?
Movie rentals are set to be made available on Apple's iTunes. [ Full story from eWeek Infrastructure ]
Beta Beat: Perian 1.1 hits beta
Filed under: Software, Beta Beat
Psst. Perian is about to enter a private beta for version 1.1. If you recall, last time Perian went into beta mode the software leaked. This was generally a bad thing as a buggy and unstable version made the rounds, hitting Mac Update at one point, before the team was ready for it to go public. This time, they're reacting by limiting the beta list to users who have made donations and help support development. If you've donated to Perian, keep your eyes open for an invitation email.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments[ Full story from The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Analyst: AAPL to Hit $300
Yared Investment Research CIO Georges Yared thinks that Apple's stock climb has plenty of momentum left in it, and that investors can expect that to continue for some time to come. He is so confident that AAPL will maintain its growth path that he raised his target price to US$300
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
New Mac notebook 'confirmed' via concert?
Apple may have tipped off its plans to introduce a notebook at Macworld through its staff holiday celebrations, claims a rumor from BGR. The news cites rap artist and website ally Just Blaze as having received word of a company-sponsored music event for Apple's employees which had several major artists perform without their usual compensation; ins... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Apple patents video, speech, clickwheel tech
A number of patents proposed by Apple, or already awarded to the company, were this week published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Two of these revolve around correcting video images; these include Pulldown correction for progressive display of audiovisual recordings, and Color correction of digital video images using a programmable graphic... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
How much will Apple’s iTunes movie rentals cost and how will they work?
If earlier reports are accurate, Steve Jobs will soon be in the movie rental business... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Apple patent app details DRM protection for running applications on specific hardware
Apple has filed United States Patent Application... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Amazon adds Warner Music to download service
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with Apple's industry-dominating iTunes online store. [ Full story from Reuters: Entertainment ]
Amazon adds Warner Music to download service
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with Apple's industry-dominating iTunes online store. [ Full story from Reuters: Internet News ]
iPodObserver - "In Rainbows" Hits Amazon Before iTunes
The insanely popular rock band Radiohead made news when it let listeners pay what they like when downloading its In Rainbows album. Rumors began circulating that the band was going to offer the album through Apple's iTunes Store, but it looks like Amazon will get that honor first
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
Amazon adds Warner Music to download service
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Amazon.com has signed on Warner Music Group to its music download service, which aims to compete with Apple's industry-dominating iTunes online store. [ Full story from Reuters: Technology ]
Fox to Sell Vids Online?
Movie rentals are set to be made available on Apple's iTunes. [ Full story from eWEEK Technology News ]
iPodObserver - Apple, Fox May Have iTunes Movie Rental Deal
Apple and 20th Century Fox may have struck a deal to bring digital movie rentals to the iTunes Store. The deal will bring will bring "on demand" movie downloads from the latest Fox DVD releases to Apple's media store
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
Secret Notes: Shareholders amend backdated options lawsuit
Apple shareholders suing officers and directors of the company regarding alleged backdated options filed an amended complaint last week adding four additional instances. [ Full story from Think Secret ]
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Report: iTunes to offer Fox movie rentals
Apple and News Corp. have signed an agreement to offer Twentieth Century Fox movies for rent through the iTunes Music Store, the Financial Times reported Thursday. [ Full story from Macworld ]
Apple, Fox sign iTunes rental deal?
Apple has reportedly signed 20th Century Fox to a new rental service that it is starting, allowing users to rent new releases by the studio, providing a download that expires after a given amount of time. According to The Financial Times, Fox studios will be the first of many to provide media for this rental service, and will also be the first to u... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Apple, Fox iTunes rentals, FairPlay-encoded DVDs?
Apple has reportedly signed 20th Century Fox to a new rental service that it is starting, allowing users to rent new releases by the studio, providing a download that expires after a given amount of time. According to The Financial Times, Fox studios will be the first of many to provide media for this rental service, and will also be the first to u... [ Full story from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network ]
Report: Apple, Fox sign movie rental deal for Macworld
Apple is likely to use Macworld as the venue for an announcement which will see 20th Century Fox license its movies for an iTunes on-demand rental service, according to an article by the Financial Times. The report -- which cites only a "person fa... [ Full story from AppleInsider ]
Apple, Fox seal deal to rent films via iTunes: Financial Times
Apple Inc. and News Corporation’s 20th Century Fox have reportedly forged a deal that will enable consumers to rent the studio’s recent releases via Internet downloads at Apple’s popular iTunes digital media store. [ Full story from MarketWatch.com - Top Stories ]
DVD to iPhone Converter For Mac Released
Aimersoft Studio has released an update to their DVD to iPhone Converter for Mac which, according to the company, is the first Mac DVD ripping software that fully supports Apple's latest operating... [ Full story from iPod Hacks ]
AAPL Closes at Record High of $198.95 Per Share
Shares of Apple, Inc. closed at a new all-time high of US$198.95 per share in light trading Wednesday, and hit a new all-time intraday high as well, trading as high as $200.96 in the afternoon session. The stock ended up giving back most of the day's gains during late-afternoon trading, but still edged up $.15 per share
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
[ Full story from The Mac Observer ]
Adium 1.2 beta sneaks out for Christmas
Filed under: Open Source, Beta Beat
Chances are, some of the Christmas switchers are just now realizing that they've got to find a way to stay in IM-touch with the MSN, Yahoo and other chat service users out there in PC land. Sure, you could run separate clients for each service (or iChat alone for AIM, .Mac and Google Talk/Jabber), but what fun is that? Enter the duck: Adium, the open source and free multiservice chat client.Adium's latest beta, 1.2b5, quacked out the door just before the holiday and is available for download now, as is the 1.1.4 stable release. The 1.2 milestone adds improvements for AppleScript, Bonjour, XMPP, group chat and more; with only a few bugs listed it's probably going to be finished pretty soon (assuming the dev team isn't over-wassailed this week).Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[ Full story from The Unof ficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) ]
Apple faces big challenges in bringing iPhone to India, world’s fastest growing mobile phone market
ringing the iPhone to the world's second-largest nation will present a big set of challenges for Apple... [ Full story from MacDailyNews ]
Apple stock toys with $200 per share mark
Apple's stock briefly traded north of $200 per share on Wednesday, a new high-water mark for the company. [ Full story from Macworld ]