Flash Is Under Development for the iPhone [IPhone]: “
Adobe is actively developing a Flash player for the iPhone according to web site Flash Magazine—now all they’re waiting for is the ‘okay’ from Apple.
(Via Lifehacker.)
How to Customize Your iPod with iPodWizard [IPod]: “
If you’re happy enough with the features your iPod offers out of the box that you don’t want to install a custom firmware like Rockbox, but you’d still like to add a little personal flair to Apple’s cookie-cutter look, you’re in luck. Freeware application iPodWizard customizes the look and feel of your iPod’s interface while still using a customized version of your iPod’s default firmware on the device. That means you still get the same iPod software that you already know and love, but you can skin it to look however you want. Let’s take a closer look at how to customize your iPod with iPodWizard.
Before you put in the effort, it’s always nice to see what you’re working toward. Below I’ve rounded up some of my favorite custom themes, all of which you can install using iPodWizard.
First, download and install the latest version of iPodWizard from the GetiPodWizard web site (as of this writing, the latest version is 1.3). This version of iPodWizard works with every iPod on the market except second and third generation nanos, the iPod classic, and the iPod touch. That means that if you’ve got a first through 5.5 gen iPod or first gen nano, you’re ready to go with iPodWizard.
The iPodWizard Wiki already has a great tutorial detailing the process of installing new themes, so I won’t go into a lot of detail. I will, however, share a few extra tips that would have helped me when I followed their tutorial.
First of all, since iPodWizard patches the firmware that’s already on your device, you need to be able to tell iPodWizard where to find your firmware on your computer. Finding and downloading the latest firmware can be a pain, but if you know where to look, it should already be on your computer. To find it, go to Start -> Run and paste the following into the run box:
That should take you to the directory that holds your latest installed firmware update—it’s the file that ends in .ipsw. (If that doesn’t work, try navigating to a similar folder manually.)
You can find themes on the iPodWizard Theme forum. It’s a bit of a mess to look through, but if you pick your iPod type and sort the thread by number of views—like I did for 5th generation iPod themes—you can find a lot of the best themes really quickly.
Once you’ve got a theme you want to install and you’ve got your firmware handy, installing is a breeze. Just fire up iPodWizard, select iPodSoftwareFile from the Edit Mode drop-down, and select Open iPSW. Next, go to the Pictures tab, click the Load All button, and point iPodWizard at the folder containing the images of your theme. If your theme swaps layout and fonts, you’ll need to perform similar operations on the layout and font tabs.
Once you’ve swapped the files you want to use with the defaults, just click the Write to iPod button. Disconnect your iPod (make sure to eject it properly first), and it should automatically reboot. When it does, your iPod’s sporting a whole new look.
I’m relatively new to theming with iPodWizard, so if you’re an old hand with this customization app, share you expertise in the comments.
(Via Lifehacker.)
iPhone owner survey shows high satisfaction: “A survey conducted by tech blog Technologizer showed that most iPhone owners are happy with their devices, though there is room for improvement.
(Via MacCentral.)
What does it take to set up a Time Capsule? David Alison walks through buying a refurbished Time Capsule from Apple (which saved $50) and setting it up in today’s blog post.
(Via MacMegasite.)
Turn your iPod into a PDA: “Software lets you easily use all manner of documents on your iPod
ZappTek has introduced iPDA 4.2, software that turns your iPod into a PDA.
(Via Macworld UK.)
Microsoft’s “I’m a PC” Ad Airs [Updated, More Ads]: “
Phase II of Microsoft’s $300 million rebranding ad campaign started airing tonight during prime time. The ad showed a series of individuals saying ‘I’m a PC’ in various settings.
The ad is a direct response to Apple’s ‘Get a …”
(Via MacRumors.)
Aluminum MacBook and MacBook Pros Spotted?: “AppleInsider provides some reassurances that MacBook and MacBook Pro updates must be imminent with the new models having reportedly been spotted by sources.
The new 13′ MacBooks, 15′ MacBook Pros and 17′ MacBook Pros are said to share …”
(Via MacRumors.)
Browser Speed Tests: The Compiled, Up-to-Date Results [Performance Tests]: “
Back when Firefox 3′s final release candidate dropped, we ran some tests to compare its page-loading, memory use, and technical timing to Internet Explorer 7, Opera, and Safari for Windows. Then Google Chrome arrived, so we pitted it against the betas for Firefox 3.1 and Internet Explorer 8, and shared the results. The tests were by and large the same, but many commenters wisely asked to see all the results, betas or no betas. Well, today we’ve patched together all our data, thrown in a fresh test of the Opera 9.6 beta, and we’re sharing all the graphy goodness. Read on to see a full comparison of the major browsers you can load on Windows.
You can read up on our testing methods in their entirety at the original testing feature. I’ve come to realize, however, that between all three rounds of testing involved, the ’8-page load’ test may be the most vulnerable to variables—some of the pages included are quite dynamic, so if, say, Gizmodo puts up a large number of videos or huge pictures, it could affect the total loading time. Other than that, though, the page-loading tests are run by a human watching a timer, the JavaScript from Sean Patrick Kane’s web test, the CSS from a downloadable form, and memory use from checking Windows Vista’s Task Manager.
No surprise that Opera 9.6′s beta performed just as well as the official release, on start-ups both both cold (right after boot-up) and warm (having launched at least once). I’m heartened to see comparable results between the first batch of browsers I tested and their newer betas.
The next speed test, loading eight pages from a bookmark folder, left me scratching my head. Why did the newer betas take so much longer to load a similar set of pages? As stated above, my best guess is the dynamic nature of at least one page in the group, but Opera was tested separately from the other betas, and didn’t gain much in speed.
It’s hard to beat Safari’s performance in both Cascading Style Sheets and the JavaScript code that fronts so many webapps. It has to be noted, however, that most browsers, other than Internet Explorer, don’t out-run one another by a huge stretch in JavaScript; Chrome and Safari, though, pull ahead on CSS.
It’s reassuring that Mozilla puts so much effort into memory usage in Firefox 3 releases—seeing as how most readers of this site are more than open to extension suggestions.
So that’s all the testing data we have on the latest web browsers here at Lifehacker Labs. Got another set of test results you put faith in? Surprised at any of our outcomes? Tell us about it in the comments.
(Via Lifehacker.)
Columbia, Maryland – Useful Fruit Software is proud to announce Pear Note 1.0, their just released note-taking utility for Mac OS X. At its core, Pear Note integrates audio, video, and slides with traditional text notes. By recording all activity, Pear Note keeps track of what’s going on while taking notes as well as what the user has to say about it. This makes Pear Note incredibly useful for important meetings, class settings, or speeches.
Recording Notes:
Pear Note records audio, video, and what the user does, including typing notes and changing slides, on a timeline. Since keystrokes and slide changes are kept on this timeline, users can easily find what was being said during typing or a particular slide. They can play back an entire recording to recreate a meeting, or jump straight to the point in the audio they care most about.
Searching Instead of Organizing:
With Pear Note, there’s no need to manually organize notes to find them. Users simply bring up search and start typing, and the note they’re looking for will pop right up. There’s no need to manually sort notes into folders or categories. Pear Note finds notes transparently so they don’t have to go looking.
Feature highlights include:
* Records audio, video, every keystroke, and slide changes
* Playback navigation utilizing text notes or slides
* Search to find notes quickly
* Rich Text Notes
* Spotlight support for Pear Note documents
* QuickLook support for Pear Note documents
* Spell Checking
* Import and view slides from Powerpoint, Keynote, and PDF files
Minimum Requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.5 Leopard or later
* Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel
* 6 MB Hard Drive space
* Spotlight must be enabled
* A microphone (if recording audio)
* iSight (if recording video)
Pricing and Availability:
Pear Note 1.0 can be purchased for $39.99 (USD). A free fully functional 14 day demo is available for download.
Useful Fruit Software
Pear Note 1.0
Download Pear Note
Purchase Pear Note
Located in Columbia, Maryland, Useful Fruit Software LLC is a privately funded company founded in January 2008 by Chad Sellers. As a software consultant since 1997, Chad’s experience shifts from system-level and security related development on Linux to the Mac platform. Dedicated to creating useful, well-made software for the Mac, Useful Fruit focuses on ease-of-use, user experience, and simplicity. Copyright 2008 Useful Fruit Software LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Luxembourg – Houdah Software announces the immediate availability of ACTSudoku 1.5. ACTSudoku 1.5 is a major yet free update to Houdah Software’s Sudoku game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The many new features include an intelligent and educational hint option: ACTSudoku may help you take the next step and explain the reasoning behind it. Moreover it is now possible to switch automatic markers on or off during game play.
ACTSudoku leads the pack of iPhone Sudoku implementations by providing a unique feature set. First and foremost it distinguishes itself by being backed by a powerful Sudoku generator. This generator will produce a virtually unlimited number of Sudoku games for 3 levels of difficulty. All game boards are symmetrical and guaranteed to be solvable by logic only. No guessing or backtracking required. The most noticeable advantage of ACTSudoku is its intuitive touch interface. This sports both positive (green) and negative (red) markers (pencil notes).
How is ACTSudoku unique?
* Advanced game board generator
* Virtually unlimited number of boards to play
* Rotational symmetry
* Boards guaranteed to be solvable by logic only
* No guessing. No backtracking
* Both positive (green) and negative (red) markers (pencil notes)
* Optional automatic markers:
What’s new in ACTSudoku 1.5?
* Intelligent & educational hint feature
* Option to switch automatic markers on or off during game play
* Setting integrated into the application’s menus
* Extensive Sudoku documentation
* Option to use short taps to commit values
* Option to show markers (pencil notes) as numbers
Pricing and Availability:
ACTSudoku is priced at $2.99 USD and available exclusively through Apple’s App Store.
Houdah Software
ACTSudoku
Houdah Support
Houdah Forums
Houdah Software s.a r.l is a small company based in Luxembourg Europe. The company was founded in late 2005 by Pierre Bernard. Apple, Macintosh, Mac, Spotlight, iPhone, iPod, WebObjects and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Los Angeles, USA – MacVide is proud to announce Flash Player 1.7, their standalone Flash player utility for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, Flash Player allows view Adobe (Macromedia) Flash SWF and FLV files.
Flash Player allows you to watch your favorite flash SWF and video FLV files even when you are off line and on the go. It also allows you to watch downloaded flash files from YouTube and other video websites. Macvide Flash Player is a sharp and fully functional flash player. Enjoy your favorite flash games and flash video today.
Feature highlights include:
* Fully support Flash technology
* SWF Player
* FLV Player
* Manul time line control over movie
* Auto Size Determination
* Manual Resize feature
* Easy to use interface
Minimum Requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.4 Tiger or 10.5 Leopard
* Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel
* 5.1 MB Hard Drive space
Pricing and Availability:
MacVide Flash Palyer 1.7 is available for FREE, and may be downloaded directly from the Macvide website.
MacVide
MacVide Flash Player
Download MacVide Flash Player
ScreenShot
Screenshot
Screenshot
Located in historic St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, Intelus, Ltd. is a privately funded company founded in 2001. Leveraging their longtime experience in the video industry, Intelus’ goal is to develop best-of-breed tools for the Mac platform, and lead to the creation of Macvide. Copyright 2001-2008 Intelus, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. Flash, the Flash Logo and Macromedia are registered trademarks of Adobe Inc.
Shreveport, Louisiana – Mudbug Software is delighted to introduce Webify 1.0, their new image editing utility for Mac OS X Leopard. Serving as an easy-to-use image browser, Webify was specifically developed as a productivity tool to help prepare images for the web. Quickly and easily resize, scale, rotate and flip many images at once and save them in JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, PDF, PSD, or TIFF format.
And by leveraging the power of Core Image filters built into Leopard, users may alter the Exposure, Gamma, Saturation, Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, and Sepia of images in batch or one at a time. One of Webify’s most prolific features is its ability to flip images on the XYZ axis, allowing for many creative uses.
Features at a glance:
* Easy Drag and Drop interface
* Serves as a Image Browser
* Resize, scale, rotate and flip (XYZ axis) images one at a time or in batch
* Saves to all popular image formats JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, PDF, PSD, and TIFF
Minimum Requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.5.2 Leopard
* Universal Binary for PowerPC and Intel
* 2.3 MB Hard Drive space
Pricing and Availability:
Webify 1.0 is available for only $20.00 (USD). A single user license covers personal use on a one computer. The only limitation being a transparent watermark over saved images. Once Webify has been registered then the watermark will be removed.
Webify 1.0
Download Webify
Screenshots
Headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, Mudbug Software is a small, independent software company founded in 2007 by Gary Byrd. With a focus on innovation, Gary leverages his longtime experience in RapidWeaver Theme development, and ultimately led to the formation of Mudbug Software. Copyright 2007-2008 Mudbug Software. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Scottsdale, Arizona – Cynical Peak Software is pleased to announce the release of Rivet 1.3, their application for streaming video, music, and photos from Mac OS X to an Xbox 360. Rivet is an easy to use and fun way to play all of your favorite media content from your Mac on your TV using your Xbox 360, including movies, TV shows, music, photos, and podcasts. You can now easily enjoy all of your media on your big screen TV from the comfort of your living room. Rivet 1.3 adds the ability to only display podcasts that you have not listened to and fixes connectivity and display issues.
Rivet enables everyone to quickly browse and view their entire collection of digital media from from anywhere in the house on their Xbox 360. Your Mac’s folder structure and organization is completely reproduced to allow you to quickly find exactly what you want to view. Navigation is now a breeze. You no longer have to search through a long list to find what you want. Dig in and start watching right away.
Feature Highlights:
* Music streaming of your iTunes library
* Photo streaming of your iPhoto library, Aperture library, and user defined folders
* Video streaming from user defines folders
* Full organization support, your mac is recreated on the Xbox 360
* Quick automatic updating on the Xbox 360 when files are added, deleted, or moved
New in version 1.3:
* Added the ability to only display unplayed podcasts
* The “Share checked songs only” option no longer requires the iTunes database to be reparsed
* Better handling of disconnecting and reconnecting to the network when sleeping
* The menu bar icon will no long flicker while viewing a video
* The device description is now in memory and does not use a temp file
* Fixed an issue with allocating a new port when the previous one is in use
System Requirements:
* Requires Mac OS X v10.5 or later
* iTunes for music sharing
* A networked Xbox 360
* 2.7 MB Hard Drive space
Pricing and Availability:
Rivet 1.3 may be purchased for $18.95 USD and comes with a limited streaming demonstration period.
Cynical Peak
Rivet 1.3
Download Rivet 1.3
Purchase Rivet
Screenshot
Screenshot/App Icon
Headquartered in in Scottsdale, Arizona, Cynical Peak Software, LLC was founded in 2003 by President and CEO, Brad Miller, with a focus on bringing high quality software to the Macintosh platform. Copyright 2003 – 2008 Cynical Peak Software, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Hollywood, FL – Marware Inc., designer and manufacturer of innovative products for the Apple market, is pleased to announce the Sport Grip Extreme for the iPod touch 2G. The Sport Grip Extreme is a premium dual colored silicone sleeve containing an anti-microbial additive. The docking port is protected by an easily accessible slot.
Subtle texturing along the sides results in an ergonomic, comfortable and sporty solution to get a firm grip on your iPod touch. The Sport Grip Extreme comes with Marware’s Lifetime Warranty.
Features:
* Stylish, smooth silicone case
* Contains anti-microbial additive
* Unique and attractive design
* Quick and easy access to all iPod touch 2G functionality
* Ultra-slim profile
* INCLUDES: silicone skin, clear film protector, and microfiber cleaning cloth
* Marware’s Lifetime Warranty
Pricing and Availability:
The Sport Grip Extreme for the Apple iPod touch 2G is available in Black/Red, White/Gray and Pink/White. The Sport Grip Extreme retails for $24.99 (USD) and is available now for pre-order online. Please visit online for updated shipping dates. Marware is a leading provider of software and accessory solutions for Apple iPhones, iPods, and Notebooks.
Marware Website
Sport Grip Extreme
Recognized worldwide for innovative, high-quality product design, Marware develops a diverse range of solutions exclusively for the Apple market. Marware products can be found at retail and campus locations worldwide, including Apple stores, AT&T and Borders. For more information call (954)-927-6031 (voice), (954) 927-2477 (fax), or write to Marware Inc., 2402 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, FL 33020 USA. Copyright 2008 Marware Inc. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other brands and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Review: Frotz for iPhone: “Want to really show off the power of your iPhone? Try Frotz, which offers nothing in the way of graphics, but everything in the way of immersive gameplay and huge virtual worlds…all built using nothing more than words!
(Via MacCentral.)
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