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The bundle that came for free

MacHeist did it again!
Usually their app bundles typically deliver a dozen Mac applications at a significant discount.
The latest bundle is even more affordable: it delivers you 6 Mac applications ($154 value) for Free!

* Mariner Write requires 500,000 total bundle participants to be “unlocked”.

My favorites?

I love WriteRoom (in fact I’m writing this very post with WR now) for its simplicity and ingenuity: it’s really “distraction-free” writing – with some pluses.
You get a Matrix-like editing screen that’s really good if you need to concentrate only on writing – and you ought to!

Since I’m an avid Twitter user, Twitterrific is a valuable tool!
Just like WriteRoom, you get a full-featured Twitter window that requires very little system resources, stays quietly in the background, allows you to perform all Twitter operations.
(regular price for this jewel is $ 14.95 – for free is a steal!)

I’m intrigued by ShoveBox and still have to fully exploit its features.
I love the idea of being able to stack up all tiny data (URLs, products, single news, snippets of code) that I get into all day.
Hope Shovebox does it in a neat way as it promises: more on this will follow!

Click there to download this free bundle offer from MacHeist but hurry up, offer end November 12th 2009!

(Each application offered represents full licenses.)

Remember that free is the perfect number!

Let’s face it, when it comes to quick-and-dirty missions, there’s no better place than Terminal.
Provided you know how to use it, what to use and which parameter to feed in, you can do almost anything…

Take wget for example, that incidentally is not part of the standard stuff that Mac OS X comes with.

You can bypass almost any browser problems, you just give it a feasible URL and, boom there you are.
It’s by far the best way to get files, updates, SVNs or stuff like that.
It’s also the best way to hack your way through embedded flash videos so popular these days.

Syntax at the lowest level goes like this:

wget [URL]

You can specify a horde of options in between, output dir, HTTP auth options and so on.
My favorite is -b which runs the process into background-land and gives me command line back.

Fact is, as most *nix commands you get source code and so need to compile it.
Here’s a tip: Quentin Stafford compiled a wget so you get binaries comfortably running with Leopard.

Check his page on wget here and download wget Mac OS X-ready binaries from here.

Not a major update but something significant especially to heavy iCal users: iCal got a bunch of much-awaited fixes.

More info on this Apple article.

Update: a friend suggested it’s still available as a (huge) combo update for all previous 10.5 Leopard users (therefore useful when re-installing from 10.5.1 DVDs).
Click here for the Mac OS X 10.5.4 Combo update.

You may not know about Asus Eee PC: it’s an ultraportable PC (or UMPC), with tiny screen, no hard disk (it’s flash-disk based), a webcam and runs natively a Linux version under a Celeron-class processor or Win XP with some hacks.

Since when it has beeb first annouced, the Eee PC has raised mixed blessings.
From my point of view it’s an interesting approach to the portability issue: slimmer, lighter and power-savy.

Now Tuaw comes with this pretty suggestion: why not try to run Mac OS X (intel version) on the Asus Eee PC?

Quoting from Tuaw:

Naturally, this hack falls into a legally gray area, so you’ll want to proceed with extreme caution. You also have to bear in mind that the build of Mac OS X floating around on BitTorrent isn’t exactly legal either, although the PC-patched copy makes for a “moderately easy install.” Based on the specs on the Asus Eee PC, you’ll probably want to stick with Tiger rather than Leopard.

With all this hacking and modding, you’ve got to wonder why Apple hasn’t created a more compact version of the MacBook to compete against this beautiful UMPC. Call it the MacBook Nano and it’d sell like hotcakes.

Full story on Tuaw.

A huge update actually, some 130 MB including:

And much more…

Check the full list on Apple web site here.

The changes were made to all three consumer MacBook models, Cupertino, California-based Apple said in a statement today. Prices for the 1-inch-thick machines start at $1,099.

Some had speculated that the computers would run off flash-based memory or have brighter, energy-efficient screens, but the new machines have only minor adjustments: the lowest-end one will now come standard with 1 GB of RAM and an 80-GB hard drive, instead of 60 GB. It will run at 2.0 GHz instead if 1.88. The higher-end MacBooks receive similarly small bumps: from 2.0 GHz to 2.16, and each of their hard drives jumps up 40 gigs, to 120 (white) and 160 GB (black). Their Super Drives will also become a little bit faster, from 6x to 8x with dual-layer support.

Sales of the consumer MacBook and higher-powered MacBook Pro notebooks accounted for 60 percent of Apple’s computer revenue last quarter.

The European Connection

Italians who received news of the spring 2007 MacBook update directly from Apple may have also been tipped off as to a change in the 13.3-inch displays used for the systems.

In its announcement, Apple Italy listed a 250cd/m2 brightness figure for the top 2.16GHz black model. The company has previously refrained from mentioning the display’s specifications in the past, suggesting that the brightness was a selling point for at least the top system.

Europe as a whole also saw the price of the systems drop despite the change, with each system dipping 70 Euros to 1,049, 1,249, and 1,449 Euros respectively.

Final Cut Studio 2 shipping delayed

Apple has given signs that its Final Cut Studio 2 video editing tools will slip past their intended May release window.

Visitors to Apple’s online Apple Store who place new orders are told that both the full version and its two upgrades will ship within 2-3 weeks, putting deliveries into early June. And despite showing an intended release date of May 15th, Amazon as of this writing is currently listing a 1-3 week shipping timeframe for new buyers.

A loud fix as well…

Apple vows to fix speaker issue

“Not all Apple users enjoy being blown away by their systems nor are they from the generation that believes “loud” is the norm,” said one report. “There has been no explanation as to why Apple took the direction it did in regards to this issue.”

Skype-lovers to-do list:

- go & check on www.skype.com,
- log in with your account data (unless you’re already logged in or you use Firefox)
- get some minutes (or SMSs) for FREE!, should be 15 minutes (but check effective call rates!)

As stated on Skype web site, this will work on Fridays for the full month of December!

Mac users only

Update: some users pointed out that this offer may be related to selected countries only.
UK, France & Italy seem to be working fine…

It’s been exactly one year.
Check here…
On November 9th, 2006 I had the opportunity to trade in my (trusted) old G4 1.67 GHz PowerBook in favour of a brand new MacBook Pro 2.16 GHz, with Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB RAM and so on…
Thanks to Enry & Donato for this…

Why am I writing this only now?
Because I got very little time to use it, and had even less time to save all my data/software to ensure a smooth transition from one Mac to another.

I’ll be writing more about this direct experience on Universal Binary, Windows on Mac & so on…

Among all news and new products introduced yesterday, I’d like to highlight iTunes 7 since it features a really nice interface.

iTunes 7

Complete support for new media and contents (more on this later), some interface redesigns along with a new, blueish icon, and a brand new way of browsing through your albums.

We often hear complaints from people missing their album collection and the pleasure of browsing through CD covers: no longer should they complain about it!

iTunes 7 allows Mac and PC users to visually browse like nothing else through their albums with stunning graphics.

This FrontRow-style interface comes from a previous iTunes 6 plug-in from the guys at Steelskies: CoverFlow, the name of this plug-in has been incorporated into iTunes 7; check SteelSkies for more details on CoverFlow.

Check full article about new iPod and iTunes on iPodPalace.com

I guess you’re all used to do Command-Tab all the time to do task-switching and, if you’re a Windows switcher, you’re still more used to the ALT-Tab keys combination.

Witch, from Peter Maurer, comes in really handy since it allows you not only to switch from one task to another, but to switch from each and every open document under every program running.

An easy way to pass from multiple open documents with the simple touch of a switch.

Witch is Universal Binary and comes for free or a donation via paypal to the author.

Check here for more info & download: http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?section=witch

Mac OS X 10.4.5 update is now available: it looks like there are some minor enhancements that require major attention and care when updating.

Read Apple’s note before installing.

Check here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303179-it

Airfoil – 2.0.1 – send any audio to AirPort Express

With Airfoil, you can now send any audio right through your AirPort Express. Use RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, Safari, and almost any other application with your AirPort Express. Using Airfoil you can also send audio from widgets and radios like the RadioSHARK, and tweak the audio with Airfoil’s built-in effects.

Airfoil also adds the fantastic ability to send audio to multiple AirPort Express units at once. It’s now possible to send audio all around your house right from your computer. Don’t spend thousands of dollars on expensive solutions to get your audio throughout your home. “Wire” your whole house wirelessly, using AirPort Express units, and give your audio wings with Airfoil.

Now a Universal Binary, with support for Intel Macs
Requirements: