Iphone Updates

Filed under: iLife, Software, Freeware

While most people are probably satisfied to send their photos from iPhoto through their Gmail accounts using Mail, some people would rather have a more direct option. For example, sending large files through Mail seems to be no problem for me, yet from the same network with exactly the same settings, my wife’s Mail chokes and spits and frequently fails when she tries to send a bunch (or even a few) pictures from iPhoto.

Tired of playing with her SMTP settings and getting everything working for one message, just to have it fail on the next one, I finally went in search of a more direct approach. My wife and I are both “switchers,” and back in Windows we were used to Picasa, which has the ability to send photos via a Gmail account built-in. Makes sense, since Google owns Picasa, but that’s exactly what I was looking hoping to get iPhoto to do.

In my searches I came across an iPhoto plugin called iPhoto2Gmail. When I tried it last week, it hung my iPhoto instance every time I tried it and I had to force quit iPhoto. I gave up on iPhoto2Gmail, but couldn’t find anything else. In desperation, I went back to have another look at iPhoto2Gmail and discovered that it had been updated to version 1.0. Crossing my fingers, I gave it a try, and… it works great!

Though I don’t need it on my machine, I really like the direct simplicity of sending my photos from right inside iPhoto, and I think I’ll continue to use iPhoto2Gmail. If you’ve been struggling with sending photos through a Gmail account, this might be a useful option for you.

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Filed under: Airport, Software Update

Now you see it, now you don’t — and now it’s back. The very brief tenure of AirPort Extreme Update 2008-003 (it was available on Tuesday for a while, but then withdrawn) has given way to the shining reign of update 004. The update is a 2.2 MB patch recommended for all Intel machines on 10.5.5, resolving “some issues with Airport connections when roaming in large WiFi networks.”

Some of the commenters who installed the earlier build didn’t experience any obvious ill effects; others reported installation hangs, lockups on reboot or problems connecting to wireless LANs, so your mileage may vary — with any luck the new build has a steadier grip on stability.

You can download the new update via Software Update or (shortly) from the Apple support downloads page.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in

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Filed under: Apple Corporate

You have to admire Psystar’s tenacity. Since Judge William Alsup’s decision to disallow federal antitrust claims against Apple in Psystar’s countersuit, Psystar is amending its countersuit, alleging the misuse of copyright based on different antitrust claims.

It boggles the mind.

Apple is already suing Psystar, of course, claiming that they are violating Mac OS X’s End User License Agreement (EULA). Psystar, in its new set of counterclaims, says that Apple is improperly extending the scope of copyright law to include its argument that Psystar broke the EULA.

Psystar claims that — while admitting that it can’t make arguments based on federal antitrust law — Apple has “leveraged” the power granted them by the Copyright Act and extended it to lock in users post-sale. This, Psystar says, is unlawfully monopolistic, and makes Apple’s copyrights unenforceable.

Psystar is also seeking to prove that Apple’s behavior is illegal under California’s unfair competition statute.

The judge will decide in January if the new claims can be argued in court.

[Via Ars Technica.]

TUAWWith new claims, Psystar tries another angle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Tips and tricks, iPhone

The blog Tap Tap Tap has posted a wonderful list to 10 iPhone tips and tricks you should know, including taking a screenshot (here’s our how-to on that trick), enabling caps lock and customizing the home button’s function. Definitely check it out.

While we’re on the topic, here are a few of our own favorites

• The homescreen shortcut in firmware 2.2. With a click of the home button, you can jump to your first home screen.
• How to enable passcode protection. It’s bad enough that you left your iPhone at the post office. At least the shmoe who finds it won’t be able to call China.
• Pause an application download. Because sometimes you just don’t have a free 90 seconds.
• Go Geocaching with an iPhone 3G. Who needs an additional GPS device?

Is your favorite trick not on either list? Let us know!

TUAWVery useful iPhone tips originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPhone, iPod touch

In my post yesterday I whined quite a bit about how it was hard to get control of mail on the iPhone because there was not a unified mailbox. The post obviously struck a nerve, because there were lots of responses and in our little poll most people seemed to agree that mail was pretty much a mess and needed some love from the Apple development team.

There were also many people who made very valid comments about other things that were missing from mail, and I wanted to share those as well. Here they are, in no particular order.

• Mail needs to allow searching. With a lot of messages things are difficult to find. (The people who invented Spotlight on OS X shouldn’t find that too difficult)
• People want individual signatures for each email account. Again, not rocket science.
• Many readers wanted to see quick on-screen buttons to move expeditiously from one mail account to another.
• Others wanted to make sure accounts stayed separate. I agree with this, I just wanted a visual or virtual joining of the messages so I would not have to finger dance all over the screen to navigate between accounts. In other words, the way it works in Apple Mail in Leopard.
• Finally, as with all things software, people wanted software switches to turn these features on and off.

It may be that Apple is just getting these features ready for the next iPhone software update, or they may still be ignoring these issues. I have to think if they are using their iPhones at all over in Cupertino, these items will be high on their list of fixes.

Thanks to all who participated in the poll — even those who thought everything was just dandy in iPhone mail.

TUAWiPhone mail: the sequel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Freeware, Snow Leopard

MacFUSE is awesome. It allows you to mount a remote server’s filesystem, view your iTunes library in Finder, read from and write to NTFS hard drives, and much more! With all of this functionality crammed into a free product one would think it could not get any better. Amazingly, it has.

The latest version of MacFUSE was released yesterday and with it comes several new features, including 64-bit support for Leopard systems with 64-bit processors, experimental support for the impending release of Mac OS X 10.6 (AKA Snow Leopard), and even a new preference pane that eases the installation and upgrade procedure of MacFUSE. The preference pane is a GUI for the Install/Update Engine introduced in version 1.7 for the purpose of providing developers a simpler mechanism for distributing MacFUSE with their FUSE filesystem packages. More information about what is included can be found in the project’s changelog.

MacFUSE is a free download and, unlike the previous release, includes support for 10.4 and 10.5 in the same package.

[via Lifehacker]

TUAWMacFUSE updated to 2.0 now includes 64-bit and Snow Leopard support originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Keep your Bluetooth headset safely and comfortably at your side or on your car visor with this ClipPod from Speck Products!

Just 24 hours after iXit launched its UK Tickets application for the iPhone, hundreds of theatre ticket searches have been performed and it’s proving to be popular with Brits and those visiting the UK. While it’s possible to search for an buy tickets for West End shows via the Safari browser and ticket vendors’ own web sites, this application streamlines the whole process…

Truphone has announced that its Anywhere service is now available for the iPhone, allowing users to make international and long distance calls by simply dialling a local number, with the rest of the call being connected via VoIP. Users can also receive calls via the service, allowing for free calls between two iPhones…

Mike Wendland (freep.com) is sold on the Mac in general and the MacBook in particular. In fact, as part of his “12 Days of Christmas Tech Gift Guide,” he says that “when it comes to a notebook computer with power that rivals a desktop and portable convenience that can do just about anything on any operating system platform, I have one suggestion that I truly believe fits everyone: Get a Mac.”

Watch the Treasure of The New York Pubic Library to sense the breadth of materials that New Yorkers can enjoy by visiting their Public Library. The videos available on iTunes U introduce you to the library’s Art Deco collection, offer a glimpse of The Katharine Hepburn Papers, and let you sample some of the delights in the library’s extensive collection of menus and cookbooks. What other treasures can you find?

Before it reaches theaters next Friday, you can enjoy multiple clips and the third trailer from Will Smith’s new film Seven Pounds on the Movie Trailers site. Directed by Gabriele Muccino (who directed The Pursuit of Happyness), the emotionally charged Seven Pounds also stars Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson.

Custom designed, this holder works with your iPhone 3G or iPhone. Slide & go! Your Smartphone conveniently slides into place and is held securely at all times.

Filed under: TUAW Business

Greetings, TUAW faithful! I’m Todd, and after writing for Download Squad for a year, I’m fortunate enough to be able to write for TUAW. A MacBook Pro is my primary machine and I’m rarely without my iPhone 3G (who isn’t?).

By day I’m a systems admin for a school district in central Pennsylvania where I manage a network of about 1400 PC’s, 600 Macs, and 35 servers (a handful of which run Mac OS X). I handle all of the Mac client management, system imaging, and podcast-related functions.

In addition to my day job, a few nights a month I teach at a local career institute covering topics like Apache administration, Active Directory management, and Cisco configuration. I get to work with small classes in hands-on environments which allow the students to get a taste of the real “IT” world.

Drawing from these experiences, I hope to offer insightful articles ranging from the use of Apple products in the classroom to creating Mac system images for mass deployment. I look forward to interacting, sharing, and learning from you and the other great TUAW writers!

TUAWYet another introduction originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Accessories, iPhone

Eco-friendly traveler? Check! Hip professional? Check! Outdoor enthusiast? Check! Hip profess–wait a minute! OK, so Solar Arcadia may not have the greatest product pages around but that does not stop them from offering this environmentally friendly piece of iPhone case awesomeness.

The case is essentially a lithium ion battery pack with a solar panel that doubles as a flip cover for the iPhone. The construction is said to be leather, however I cannot imagine this being very kind to Mother Nature. There is also an LED status indicator that informs you of the capacity of the case’s battery pack when charging and discharging.

The instruction manual notes that an empty iPhone battery can be re-charged in 3 hours when the included Li-Ion battery pack is full. When the battery pack is empty you can set the case to direct charge mode and get your iPhone recharge on straight from the power of the Sun itself!

Note that it does take a full 12 hours of direct sunlight to fully charge an empty iPhone battery, and in December that much sunlight could be hard to come by (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere). However, it is possible to charge the case’s battery pack without being attached to the iPhone. So, if you are on a long flight with a window seat it’s possible to charge your backup battery while watching the latest episode of Family Guy that you torrented bought from iTunes.

The case may not be the most attractive and is not to be used in conditions where it gets to be hotter than 150° F — but these things are unimportant. You care about the environment; this is why you bought a Prius and hold the MPG record for your local hyper-miling club. Now get out there and begin harvesting all of that solar energy! Besides, there isn’t a wind-powered iPhone case available… not yet, anyway.

Thanks Kirk for sending this in!

TUAWSolar powered iPhone case may not work when visiting the Sun originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Accessories, iPhone

Eco-friendly traveler? Check! Hip professional? Check! Outdoor enthusiast? Check! Hip profess–wait a minute! OK, so Solar Arcadia may not have the greatest product pages around but that does not stop them from offering this environmentally friendly piece of iPhone case awesomeness.

The case is essentially a lithium ion battery pack with a solar panel that doubles as a flip cover for the iPhone. The construction is said to be leather, however I cannot imagine this being very kind to Mother Nature. There is also an LED status indicator that informs you of the capacity of the case’s battery pack when charging and discharging.

The instruction manual notes that an empty iPhone battery can be re-charged in 3 hours when the included Li-Ion battery pack is full. When the battery pack is empty you can set the case to direct charge mode and get your iPhone recharge on straight from the power of the Sun itself!

Note that it does take a full 12 hours of direct sunlight to fully charge an empty iPhone battery, and in December that much sunlight could be hard to come by (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere). However, it is possible to charge the case’s battery pack without being attached to the iPhone. So, if you are on a long flight with a window seat it’s possible to charge your backup battery while watching the latest episode of Family Guy that you torrented bought from iTunes.

The case may not be the most attractive and is not to be used in conditions where it gets to be hotter than 150° F — but these things are unimportant. You care about the environment; this is why you bought a Prius and hold the MPG record for your local hyper-miling club. Now get out there and begin harvesting all of that solar energy! Besides, there isn’t a wind-powered iPhone case available… not yet, anyway.

Thanks Kirk for sending this in!

TUAWSolar powered iPhone case may not work when visiting the Sun originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, OS

The thing about clones is, they keep regenerating. The latest manufacturer we’ve noticed, Argentina-based OpeniMac, has begun selling Mac clones.

As if using the word “iMac” wasn’t adequate bait for Apple’s lawyers, who are probably en route at this very moment, OpeniMac has begun selling two computers that run Mac OS X Leopard. The OpeniMac features a 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo processor, support for 2GB of RAM, a 320GB SATA drive, SuperDrive and an ATI Radeon HD PRO video card for $990US.

The OpeniMac PRO sports a 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor, support for 4GB of memory, a 500GB SATAII drive, a SuperDrive, and a Nvidia GeForce GS video card for $1,710US. But wait, there’s more! They both come with a built in 6-in-1 memory card reader.

As for their looks … no one said clones had to be pretty.

While the Psystar case waits in legal limbo, it would seem that opportunists are jumping on the bandwagon. Begun, this clone war has.

[Via Engadget]

TUAWOpeniMac is now selling Mac clones originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Swedish company Jays, who launched the q-JAYS in-earphones, has now released its first set of headphones. c-JAYS are light and flexible, made from hardwearing glass-fibre-reinforced nylon which can be folded up for carrying and storage. Jays’ Elastic Multi Layer membrane delivers crystal-sharp, balanced audio with detailed highs, full-bodied midrange, and extended bass. There’s also a new type of cable, Single Crystal Copper, which minimises distortions…

Truphone has announced that its Anywhere service is now available for the iPhone, allowing users to make international and long distance calls by simply dialling a local number, with the rest of the call being connected via VoIP. Users can also receive calls via the service, allowing for free calls between two iPhones…

This intelligently designed flexible-neck mount leverages any cigarette lighter or 12-volt power receptacle. And has a custom fit holder that looks and functions great.

Extra heavy duty mount with pivot action and custom holder that looks and functions great.

Tired of flicking through pages and pages of printed TV guides, or trying to handle your set-top boxes EPG? Tioti TV+ could be the answer. Not only does it provide up-to-date information about what TV programmes are coming up on UK terrestrial, cable and satellite channels, but it will suggest related programmes that viewers may have missed…

Though it’s possible to get individual versions of a number of classic board games for the iPhone, Astraware has announced it latest application that includes eight classic games. Board Games includes chess, backgammon, ludo, checkers, reversi, nine men’s morris, snakes and ladders, and tic tac toe. Not only does it offer solo play against the computer, but two players can either take turns on a single iPhone, or even play over a Wi-Fi network with two connected iPhones…

Today, says Stephen H. Wildstrom, “apps are where the action is, and consumers are reaping the benefits.” Wildstrom points out that “before the iPhone, relatively few owners of any phones — smart or dumb — downloaded applications.” But “‘now everyone wants [an app store],’” he quotes Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, as saying.

“Having downloaded a gaggle of programs,” Ed Baig (usatoday.com) believes more than ever that “the killer app for the iPhone is — drum roll, please — the iTunes App Store.” And he talks about some of his favorite apps, including Pandora, Ocarina, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D, Wurdle, Recorder, and numerous others.

For windshield mounting, this oneÂ’s a winner with its strong suction cup, flexible aluminum neck, and custom fit holder that looks and functions great.

Dual-clip ensures vent mount is tight and secure. Custom fit holder that looks and functions great.

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Reviews, Macbook Pro, MacBook

As many TUAW readers know, I was dealt a bad hand with the last generation MacBook Pros, so I met the new MBPs with open arms. My first impression of the new machines: the new MacBook Pros are absolutely amazing, but not all of the changes are good (we’ll get to those in the second half of the review). Read on as I tackle each of the new features.

The New Design
I think Apple made a big improvement with the new laptop design. Overall, it is sleek and beautiful – the design is reminiscent of the MacBook Air, only thicker. Previous MacBook Pro generations had a physical latch mechanism for opening/closing the screen, but Apple has moved to the newer magnetic latch that can be found on both the MacBook Air and MacBook models.

Earlier generations of the MBP had two USB ports, but on opposite sides of the case. When you have cables coming out of both sides, it makes the system almost unusable as a notebook, and makes it look less attractive. Apple has changed this by moving all the ports to the left side of the machine, while the SuperDrive has been moved from the front to the right side. This is a big improvement.

How many people do you know who have successfully upgraded their MacBook Pros hard drive? On previous generations, this task was almost impossible due to the fact that you needed to disassemble the entire machine to reach the drive. Apple now has a door on the bottom that, when opened, gives you instant access to the removable battery and hard drive. You do have to remove the back of the machine to reach the RAM, but it only has a couple of screws.

The new casing feels sturdier when you pick it up; you can definitely feel a difference in the quality of material used to make the new MacBooks. This is largely due to Apple using the new “brick” manufacturing method. In addition, this casing makes the entire computer run cooler … in previous models, you could (almost) fry an egg on the back of the machine, but I haven’t noticed much heat being produced on the new machine.

Continue reading for the full review and pictures…

Continue reading TUAW Review: MacBook Pro (Late 2008)

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Filed under: Humor, Odds and ends, Found Footage, Holidays

No, not really.

The guys at Apple retailer and repair shop BeamEcho in Toronto, Ontario, Canada decided to make a horror epic for the ages and came up with the ultimate nightmare: a Mac virus. Just in time for Halloween, TUAW presents their very scary film. The production values are just what you’d expect for a shooting budget of $6. Watch this one with lights on, kids…

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The All-New mophie ‘Juice Pack 3G’ is designed to more than double the time you can Rock, Talk, Surf and Send with your iPhone 3G.

This slim molded stylish pouch with magnetic lock and belt loop is practical yet classic.

Led by Paul Flicek, researchers at Cambridge University’s European Bioinformatics Institute depend on the Mac to work “on absolute state-of-the-art science,” including such projects as the 1000 Genome Project. From collecting data and handling huge datasets to making it available to the world’s scientists, the Mac helps them move from task to task by providing “the ideal human computer interface,” says Flicek.

Want to upgrade your look? This slim designed mobile case is a must-have. The Hector case from Krusell is handy with its multidapt clip system attached, yet sleek and discreet in its timeless design.

MOTOPURE H15 has the best background noise cancellation, based on independent testing of the top-selling dual-microphone Bluetooth headsets. Take calls from the stadium, crowded restaurant or windy streets. Enjoy pure sound quality on both ends of the conversation with CrystalTalk. The flip design is easy to use – open to talk and close to save battery.

“If you like the LED displays Apple has in its laptop lineup now,” remarks Ken Mingis (computerworld.com), “you’re going to swoon when that same brightness, color saturation and razor-sharp text rendering is blown up on” the new 24-inch LED Cinema Display. “Equally welcome is how the high-quality display becomes a de facto docking station for Apple laptop users,” he adds.

Shopping doesn’t get much better than this. With the free Amazon Mobile app, you enjoy the Amazon shopping experience while on the go. Check your shopping cart, add to your wish list, read customer reviews, see product images, compare prices, track shipping status, and make secure purchases from iPhone or iPod touch. And wait till you try Amazon Remembers.

Filed under: Internet Tools

Netflix has been talking about bringing its “Watch Instantly” movie streaming service to the Mac for a long time, and now Engadget is reporting that they’re finally beginning to roll it out. The “Watch Instantly” service allows unlimited Netflix subscribers to stream about 12,000 TV shows and movies to their computers (or set-top devices), but has been limited to Windows PCs since the service first appeared.

Ironically, this is being made possible thanks to Microsoft’s Flash-wannabe Silverlight browser plugin. As we noted way back in 2007, the holdup was the need for Microsoft DRM on the streaming videos and the new Silverlight-based player incorporates Microsoft’s Play Ready DRM.

Unfortunately, the initial roll-out is limited, but Netflix expects to bring “the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.” Sadly for PPC owners, it will be limited to Intel Macs. Nonetheless, it’s great to see Netflix finally coming through on the promise of Watch Instantly for Mac users.

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Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Open Source, TUAW Labs

I was really disappointed when Google released their Chrome web browser for Windows only. When it comes to browsers, I’ve tried them all. Right now I regularly switch between Firefox and the latest nightly build from Webkit (essentially Safari). Firefox has the extensibility I rely on, while Webkit has the performance I crave. I had hoped that Chrome would magically combine those two crucial traits and become my new go-to browser. Unfortunately, Chrome is not yet nearly as extensible as Firefox, and isn’t available for Mac (yet).

So imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon the latest experimental Firefox build from Mozilla, called Minefield. This Minefield should not be confused with the unofficial optimized builds of Firefox that Brett wrote about, which are also referred to as Minefield. Minefield is Mozilla’s code-name for this generation of Firefox, and the code name is used for unofficial builds to avoid infringing upon the Firefox name.

So, what’s so special about the Mozilla Minefield build? It’s fast… smokin’ fast. This is essentially a version of Firefox with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine under the hood, and as Ars Technica reports, it tests even faster than Google’s V8 JavaScript engine.

As most Mac users have noted, Firefox is kind of pokey on the Mac platform, particularly compared with WebKit or even Safari, and even when compared with Firefox on a similarly spec’d Windows machine. Version 3 of Firefox was supposed to fix the performance problem, and while it’s somewhat better, it’s still not great.

Well, Minefield is great. Using Gmail or even a complex content management system is a breath of fresh air. I feel like my web apps are finally keeping up with me.

There’s one caveat, and it’s a big one: though the current version number is 3.1b2pre (the “b” denoting beta status), this is really alpha software. That means there will be bugs, and you will experience problems. Surprisingly, though, Minefield has been very stable in my testing — not yet crashing in a full day of testing. I have restarted it a couple of times due to suspicion that something strange was going on, but I can’t say for sure if it was.

If you use it with your regular Firefox profile rather than creating a new one, Minefield will complain that most of your extensions are not compatible. Using Nightly Tester Tools, I re-enabled all of the extensions that it disabled, and every single one of them appears to be working normally, even the complicated ones like Better Gmail 2 and TabMixPlus.

I’ve only had a problem with one site so far, but unfortunately it’s a big one: Google Docs. The page simply won’t load. But for now, I’m willing to open WebKit or Camino to edit my Google Docs, because I’m just too smitten with the raw speed that Minefield offers.

One last note: being a nightly build, you will likely find that new versions are available, well, nightly. Mozilla makes the process of upgrading to the latest version virtually painless by using the built-in version monitoring process that Firefox uses.

[via Ubuntu Unleashed]

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The Smartphone Experts CombiFlip Case is made of premium leather and has a removable flip top!

Astraware has announced that Platypus, which we first announced last month, is now available for iPhone via the App Store. “Pilot your trusty Platypus and save peaceful Mungola in the squishiest arcade shooter ever!” is the tag line. Based on the cult Mac classic from Idigicon, Platypus is a fast, fun side-scrolling arcade shooter with a unique difference – every tree, cloud, ship, and enemy was created from modelling clay – so explosions don’t bang, they splat! Defend peaceful Mungola from the invading Collosatropolans using only your trusty F-27 Platypus fighter plane. Shoot down the enemy ships, and collect fruit bonuses and a range of weapon power-ups to aid you in your quest! The game features 20 levels of side-scrolling action, has a choice of two control methods (touch and guide or accelerometer), four worlds to explore, powerups, and Commodore 64-inspired music soundtrack…

Astraware has announced its latest iPhone application: eXact, a deceptively simple, highly addictive brick-sliding puzzle game. “Touch the coloured bricks to slide them from the top, bottom, left and right to make matches of three. Use the bricks on the board to create blocks and make matches. Sounds easy? Plan your moves ahead to make the best matches and score bigger bonuses for larger groups. Use special blocks and power-ups to boost your score!”

Thanks to iPhoto, it’s easy to create professional-quality cards, calendars, or photo books using the photos in your own photo library. But if you’d like your friends and family to receive them by December 25, you’ll need to place your order soon. You’ll find pricing information, shipping deadlines, and helpful tutorials on our website.

The editors at PCMAG.com think they know. And they’ve included iMac (“the iconic all-in-one desktop that others try to emulate”), iPod touch (“the best portable media player on the market, period”), and iPhone 3G (“one of the best handheld computers ever”) among their choices for The Best Products of 2008.

Now you can watch The Dark Knight at home. The most popular film of 2008 won wide critical acclaim and has been nominated for multiple awards. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the Warner Bros. film stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Morgan Freeman. You can purchase and download it today from the iTunes Store for $14.99.

Filed under: Internet Tools, Reviews, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Update 2: Box.net will work with first generation iPod Touch units. The team is going to push an update very soon to make this visible on the app description page. You can download the program right now and it is fully compatible with all iPhone and iPod Touch units.

Update: Box.net is looking into why its new app is not working with first generation iPod Touch units and hopes to push out an update soon. We’ll keep you posted!

I love Box.net — the online file storage system that makes it easy to store and share files with other users quickly and easily. A couple of years ago, TUAW wrote up how to use Box.net as an iDisk (and this still works), but now the Box team has made it even easier to access your files while on the go, with the new Box.net iPhone app.

The app, which is compatible with the iPhone and the second generation iPod Touch (sorry 1st Gen touch users!), is simply awesome. Box.net already had an iPhone friendly mobile interface at i.box.net, but while you could access some files from that page, you couldn’t play back media and document viewing was more limited. The new application means you can play back audio and video (assuming the file is compatible with the iPhone 2.1′s firmware support for QuickTime), view PDF or Office files, view photos, and upload photos from your iPhone or iPod Touch directly to Box.net.

Even nicer, the Box.net app integrates directly with your address book, so you can share a folder or individual document with a contact, just by clicking the “Share” button and selecting the contact from the address book. The application also notifies you of any updates or changes made to your box, which is great for individuals who collaborate with other users using a Box.net account.

I have a free Box.net account (which limits me to 1 GB of storage space and puts a 25 MB cap on file sizes), but I was able to access all my files and documents with ease. On my iPod Touch, Box.net loaded PDF files faster than some other tools I have used for PDF viewing, though I did find that network activity did impact overall speed. When the bridged router I use with my non-802.11n devices was in heavy use, it could take quite some time to load a large PDF. When the G router was idle, load time was almost non-existent, even for 8 or 9 MB files.

I don’t have an iPhone, so I cannot vouch for EDGE or 3G speeds — but over WiFi, speed was solid.

The interface of this app, as you can see from the gallery, is just superb. It perfectly matches both the Box.net website and the iPhone user interface guidelines. Maneuvering through files was a cinch and I love the integration with the address book for sharing files or folders. Being able to upload photos directly to Box.net is also pretty great.

If there was anything that could be on my wishlist, it would be the ability to upload other types of tiles to Box.net as well. Of course, you can always e-mail uploads to Box.net, so this isn’t an absolute necessity.

Box.net is free and available from the App Store now.

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Filed under: Software, Odds and ends

The Big Mean Folder Machine is a useful tool from publicspace.net (developers of the indispensable A Better Finder Rename 8) that takes the drudgery out of either splitting files into multiple folders or merging files from different folders.

Why would you want to do either of these tasks? Let’s say you’re trying to back up 30 GB of photographs to DVD. You can either start dragging files to a folder and keep checking with Get Info to see if the folder size is less than the writable size of a DVD, or you can just have BMFM automagically split the group of files into folders that are perfectly sized for DVD burning. Or let’s say that you want to take individual folders for former clients and turn them all into one big “Former Client Archive” folder. It’s easy to merge all of the files in those different folders into one big archive folder. The Big Mean Folder Machine takes care of file name conflicts in that case.

Version 1.5 adds the ability to create deeper hierarchy levels (dependent on the number of files per level) and restores MP3/AAC functionality. A trial version limited to 100 files is available for download, or you can buy the application for $14.99.

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