Iphone Updates

For Jim Dalrymple (macworld.com) and his wife and kids, MobileMe is a family affair. The kids use their email-only accounts “to buy a ton of music and videos.” Dalrymple uses “the syncing service a lot. And his wife “uploads and shares pictures constantly.” With his family using the service in completely different ways, for Dalrymple “MobileMe has definitely become an integral part of my computing experience.”

Now, thanks to simultaneous dual-band support, new models of Time Capsule let you enjoy “twice as much Wi-Fi,” says Scott McNulty (macworld.com). They also let you create guest networks with a single click. Or access Time Capsule drives over the Internet. And, “the beauty of Time Capsule,” McNulty reminds us, “is that it just works, silently backing up your Mac over your network without your having to remember a thing.

You may know that you can get a lot of valuable information about a document, application, or folder by opening a Get Info panel. But did you know that Mac OS X Leopard also gives you the option of opening a single Get Info Inspector Panel to get information about multiple documents, applications, or folders? Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

Scott McNulty (macworld.com) gives the new AirPort Extreme a 4.5/5 rating, finding that it “packs a ton of features, as well as speed, into a small, reasonably priced package.” Macworld recommends: “If you’re looking to replace your current Wi-Fi router, you can’t go wrong with the AirPort Extreme. If you’re running a small business, the new guest network feature alone might be worth the $179 price tag.”

Reviewer Joel Santo Domingo (www.pcmag.com) calls the 8-core Mac Pro “one of the most powerful workstations out there” for tasks like video editing and 3-D rendering,” giving it a 3.5/5 rating. He points out that the Mac Pro, like “all Macs, is free of crapware.” And citing its impressive benchmark testing, he concludes: “If you’re an entrenched Mac user in search of more power, getting this is a no-brainer.”

A wicked curve ball earned him a shot at the big leagues, but Dominican pitcher Miguel “Sugar” Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) quickly learns that opposing batters are only one of the challenges he faces as he arrives in Iowa and begins to deal with temptation and disappointment. Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (the team that brought us Half Nelson), Sugar comes to theaters on Friday, April 3.

Stuart Dredge (pocketgamer.biz) reports that games for iPhone and iPod touch registered a near clean sweep of the Mobile awards at this year’s Independent Games Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) “with six of the seven categories being won by games made for Apple’s platform…at a time when indie developers are buoyant thanks to the opportunities offered by the App Store.”

Want to track gas mileage the easy way? Use Gas Cubby. You can enter all the information quickly and easily while your gas pumps. A great addition to iPhone or iPod touch, the app lets you track mileage data for multiple vehicles, create charts, and export the data to a spreadsheetGas Cubby also tracks vehicle maintenance and will even remind you to change your oil.

Newly engineered for Aperture 2, Portraiture 2 from Imagenomic lets portrait photographers dramatically reduce the amount of time spent retouching portraits. Using the new plug-in, Aperture customers can automatically generate skin tone masks, save them as presets, and achieve perfect skin with a click. The plug-in offers extensive controls for refining and previewing masks. Download the trial version today.

“The new (quad- and 8-core) Mac Pros, with their cutting-edge Nehalem processor technology, are able to execute more tasks at a faster clip,” writes Jim Galbraith (macworld.com). “And their new internal design makes adding hard drives, memory cards, and PCI Express 2.0 cards easier than ever. Apple’s most expandable Mac is the pro platform for power users.”

Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, Beta Beat

In the history of marketing battles, The Cola Wars have nothing on the Twitter App War that’s currently raging online. Twitterrific, TweetDeck and others (popular with commenters: Pwitter and DestroyTwitter) are waging the ground battle, while Twitterrific (mobile), Tweetie and TwitterFon (to name a few) are fighting it out in the air.

Today we got our hands on a beta of Lounge, a new client for Mac OS X (and iPhone/iPod touch). It’s definitely got a way to go (I saw more beach balls than Memorial Day at Hilton Head), but I see where they’re going and I like it.

First off, there’s support for multiple accounts, and switching between them is easy. A series of buttons appear horizontally in the left of the window, including “My 2 Cents” (which displays just your tweets), Favorites, Friends, Replies and my favorite, Vanity, which finds all occurrences of your Twitter handle.

Mouse over a user’s tweet to see options to re-tweet, copy the URL, open in a browser and more. I really like the option to view user details, which lets you see just that user’s tweets, his followers, those being followed and profile and URL.

It is kind of wide (wider than Twitterrific but not TweetDeck, of course) so those with small displays be warned. Also, some may be put off by the pastel-colored icons. Still, it shows promise. Check it out if you’re up for it, and provide some feedback to make Lounge better.

TUAWBeta Beat: Twitter app Lounge originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Now you can purchase Apple products for friends, family, and colleagues living in many countries around the world. Instead of hopping a plane, just hop on the Apple Online Store, enter the local store of the country where you want to ship your purchase, place the products you want to buy in your shopping cart, and place your order using a credit card. It’s that simple to shop internationally with Apple.

Ever drag a number of files into the Trash, only to realize that you actually meant to keep one of them? Everyone has. In the past, finding the file you wanted to keep meant dragging them out of the Trash — one at a time or enmasse — and opening them. But Mac OS X Leopard offers an easy way to review such files without removing them from the Trash. See how in the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

Skype for iPhone has arrived and is available to download from the App Store. Here’s a quick gallery tour of its main functions. Click on the image below to start….

“I work almost exclusively with Logic,” asserts A. R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning composer of the music for Slumdog Millionaire. In fact, he’s “been working with Logic for almost 12 years. I use it as my writing tool because I can have it on a desktop or on a laptop. I can carry it all over.” Rahman has “looked at other programs but never cared to try them because the timing in Logic is the best.”

If you own a small business, and you’re looking for ways to increase productivity, let FileMaker help you get better organized with its new FileMaker Business Productivity Kit. Whether you choose the Standard or Service Edition, the kit includes a 30-day trial of FileMaker Pro 10, a great collection of business templates, 30 starter solutions, and free database and marketing guides.

Virtual address card (or vCard) files make it very easy to add contacts to your own Address Book or share your contacts with other people. No need to enter contact data (and risk typos), just drag and drop to have street addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and more added to your Address Book. Want to learn more about vCards and how you can use them? Then take a look at the latest Mac OS X Pro Tip.

“With its sleek lines, thoughtful and minimalist design, large and beautiful screen, robust operating system, polished iLife suite of apps, and updated hardware, the new iMac is a great value for anyone looking for a desktop computer,” asserts Michael DeAgonia (computerworld.com). In fact, he thinks the affordable 24-inch “iMac could be exactly what a budget-conscious videographer or designer might choose.”

I’ve been waiting for Skype on iPhone for at least a year… I’m a Truphone user, but I’m not happy with it, it doesn’t work very well in terms of call quality. I hope the official version would be as good as the desktop application.

Tags:iphone skype truphoneiphone, skype, truphone

Anemones relish Krill shakes. Pelicans won’t eat anything that isn’t perfect. And a diet high in Vitamin C can lead Lemurs to liver damage. So point out the chefs and veterinarians responsible for feeding and caring for the persnickety patrons of two of the more exclusive lunch counters in California: the Monterey Bay Aquarium and San Francisco Zoo. Catch their stories — courtesy of Quest — on iTunes U.

His girlfriend has been kidnapped. And the kidnapper (Aidan Gillen) tells New Orleans detective Danny Fisher (John Cena) that he can get her back only if he survives 12 Rounds of dangerous challenges. The taut thriller, directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cleaner), opens in theaters on Friday, March 27.

Starting today, you can purchase box office blockbusters for download from iTunes in HD for $19.99, and films will be available as iTunes Movie Rentals in HD for $4.99 within 30 days after release. Pre-order Twilight or Quantum of Solace today, and you’ll be able to download them when they become available on March 21 and March 24, respectively. Transporter 3, Punisher: War Zone, and other select titles are available in HD today.

Using the Mac Pro computers and the Mac-only microscope software Openlab, Dr. Ahna Skop captures images of cells in her lab during a crucial phase of cell division. A geneticist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Skop hopes Openlab and the Mac can help her better understand cell division defects, anomalous behavior responsible for cancer, miscarriages, and age-related disorders.

“Looks like Apple hit a home run,” reports Stuart Dredge (pocketgamer.co.uk). “Games developers and publishers,” he explains, “have reacted with huge enthusiasm to the iPhone 3.0 software upgrade” and are “champing at the bit to get cracking” with the new Software Developer Kit. Like to hear what some of them are saying?

Did you know that Mac OS X Mail can help you organize the email you receive? In fact, setting up “Rules” in Mail is easy, a simple matter of selecting menu options, adding selection criteria, and choosing folders in which to file your email. By setting up rules, you can have Mail automatically file email by project, sender, priority, or other criterion. Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

Now, thanks to simultaneous dual-band support, new models of Time Capsule let you enjoy “twice as much Wi-Fi,” says Scott McNulty (macworld.com). They also let you create guest networks with a single click. Or access Time Capsule drives over the Internet. And, “the beauty of Time Capsule,” McNulty reminds us, “is that it just works, silently backing up your Mac over your network without your having to remember a thing.

You may know that you can get a lot of valuable information about a document, application, or folder by opening a Get Info panel. But did you know that Mac OS X Leopard also gives you the option of opening a single Get Info Inspector Panel to get information about multiple documents, applications, or folders? Find out how by watching the latest Quick Tip of the Week.

Adding fuel to the fire of speculation that there’ll be new iPhone hardware this summer, Apple Stores in the US have started selling the iPhone 3G at full price without a contract. AT&T started selling “no commitment” iPhone 3Gs last week, but with a one-per-customer restriction. Apple Stores appear not to be sticking to this, suggesting that they’re trying to get old stock out of the way in the next couple of months…

Filed under: Accessories, Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Peripherals, Reviews

This review has an interesting history. Back at the end of January, Polaroid sent a note to TUAW requesting that we ask our readers to join in asking Apple to support Bluetooth printing from the iPhone. Polaroid had a very good reason for doing this, since the iPhone is a phenomenally successful smartphone. Those millions of iPhone users would make a very good market for Polaroid’s new PoGo Instant Mobile Printer, a tiny pocket-sized photo printer that prints out 2″ x 3″ borderless prints.

I asked Polaroid if we could test a PoGo for our readers who don’t own iPhones, and also to see how it works with the Mac. The results of our tests follow, along with details of a giveaway where two lucky TUAW readers can win a PoGo and a 30-pack of the special paper that it uses.

Continue reading TUAW review and giveaway: Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer

TUAWTUAW review and giveaway: Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Hardware, Software, Apple, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

The Game Developers Conference is on in San Francisco, and game companies are starting to pull out the major announcements on what’s coming to the iPhone in the next year. Here’s a roundup of all the titles we’ve heard mentioned already.

• EA announced a huge lineup of ports from their already popular games: everything from Command and Conquer: Red Alert to SSX to FIFA, Madden, and NBA are all coming in some form to the iPhone. They’re also working on bringing over the Wolfenstein RPG and Spore Creatures (which was the DS port of Spore), as well as a big list of casual board games (Scrabble is only the beginning), and versions of Need for Speed: Undercover, and Tiger Woods PGA Tour. And most amazing? All of these are due out before the end of the year. Someone’s lighting a fire under iPhone developers at EA.
• id software announced that they’re bringing Wolfenstein 3D Classic to the iPhone in an official form — that one’s already been submitted to the store and should be out soon.

Click the link below to read on.

Continue reading GDC09: iPhone gaming roundup

TUAWGDC09: iPhone gaming roundup originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last week’s Skype for iPhone rumours have turned out to be true, according to the company. Skype’s COO, Scott Durchslag, is reported to have high hopes for the application’s success on the iPhone, saying that “the No. 1 request we get from customers is to make Skype available on iPhone. There’s a pent-up demand.” Apps that integrate with the iPhone’s standard functionality are nearly always a good thing, and Skype will allow users to pull phone numbers directly from the Contacts application instead of having to duplicate and then keep updated this information. That’s a very smart move…

While it’s already possible to access Skype via several third-party applications on the iPhone, until now there has been no official version of the popular instant messaging and voice/video calling service. That could be about to change according to Om Malik at GigaOM, who suggests that a version could be released as early as next week…

Filed under: Software, Deals

The Heist might be over, but the software saving fun is just beginning! Tonight, the MacHeist 3 bundle was revealed in a geek-star studded live show.

This year’s bundle is, from a software perspective, really incredible. I love software bundles because they are a great way to get cool stuff, but the problem is, lots of stuff is frequently repeated across bundles, making it less and less exciting for the more seasoned Mac software-addict. This is not a bundle that can be accused of retreading old software; on the contrary, some new (and high profile) apps are available.

This is the line-up:

• iSale
• Picturesque
• Sous Chef
• World of Goo
• PhoneView
• LittleSnapper
• Acorn
• Kinemac

It wouldn’t be a bundle without unlock incentives, and this year, MacHeist goes all out:

• WireTap Studio
• BoinxTV Sponsored Edition
• The Hit List
• Espresso

And knowing MacHeist, I’m sure there will be other surprises to come as the sale takes shape.

Continue reading MacHeist 3 bundle unveiled

TUAWMacHeist 3 bundle unveiled originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Apple TV

Boxee is having a massive meet-up in NYC tonight and is unveiling a new version of the alpha that brings more features, some Hulu manageability, and a new API. Fire up the update function in your Apple TV or OS X copies of boxee and get in on the fun!

Tonight’s new release brings in some new features and workarounds to existing services:

• The excellent music service, Pandora, is now built-into boxee, using the new boxee API
• Speaking of the API, it should now be easier than ever for users to contribute add-ons to the project to integrate new service
• BoxeeHQ has launched its PBS App Box app. It’s pretty solid and provides access to many of public broadcasting’s best content
• A new XUL-based browser for Hulu and other content. This is big, because XUL is the framework that Mozilla uses for Firefox, meaning, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to restrict access to RSS streams accessed by boxee.
• RadioTime support for over 100,000 terrestrial radio stations that can be streamed worldwide.

If you are on your Apple TV, just go to the Downloads section in Launcher and grab the latest version. Mac users can either download the latest version from boxee.tv or use the new auto-update feature to grab the latest release.

And of course, controlling boxee is now even easier using the free remote for the iPhone and iPod touch.

TUAWBoxee alpha boasts API, Hulu-stomping browser and Pandora originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, App Store

Say the words ‘Facebook‘ and ‘Scrabble‘ in the same breath and you’re likely to get the evil eye from fans of the lamented Scrabulous application that formerly called the social network its wordy home, even though the official game has made its way back onto Facebook. Despite the stomp job on the unofficial version from Hasbro The Hardnosed Holder of the copyright, the game is still addictive in analog, online and iPhone formats.

Now a new version of the iPhone Scrabble game, which previously permitted networked head-to-head play over WiFi, is giving players the option of using the Facebook Connect tools to play against friends far and wide. Announced today at the Game Developers Conference, the FBC-friendly build of the app requires you to add the Scrabble application on Facebook, then log in from the iPhone to connect the two. If you don’t already own the iPhone app, it’s $4.99US. Play can cross over between the web and iPhone versions of the game with no difficulty — I’m loading it up as we speak and challenging my Facebook buddies (who are, without exception, better at Scrabble than I am) to a match or two.

We’ll have a full rundown of GDC opening day iPhone news later on tonight.

TUAWScrabble for iPhone gets a Facebook boost originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

In a new study released by AdMob, the iPhone is rolling over many of the other smart phones in the US and the world in terms of data traffic. You can download the complete study in PDF form here. Highlights of the research include:

• Worldwide, the iPhone makes up 33% of all smart phone traffic
• In the U.S., the iPhone accounts for 49.5 % of all tracked requests
• Against all phones, including non-smart phones, Apple had 11.2 % of mobile online traffic. The iPod Touch was getting 6.7% and the Motorola RAZR has dropped to 2.9% of traffic

From the AdMob research, here’s a look at the top ten smart phones worldwide in terms of Internet traffic.

Other items of note: the iPhone of had 10 percent of traffic in the U.S. in August of 2008, now jumping to 49.5 percent in less than a year.

AdMob notes that the traffic share is not the same as phone sales. The data reflects a combination of market share and data use. It is likely that the ease of use that Safari offers is helping to drive internet data usage, while other browsers may be painful to use and not nearly as inviting.

It’s good news for Apple, and it’s likely that excitement about the iPhone will increase with OS 3.0 being released this summer, along with the likely debut of new iPhone hardware.

AdMob specializes in working with advertisers to get their ads on mobile phones. They also are heavily involved in research to track trends in the mobile space.

TUAWiPhone continues to build momentum originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: iPhone

In a new study released by AdMob, the iPhone is rolling over many of the other smart phones in the US and the world in terms of data traffic. You can download the complete study in PDF form here. Highlights of the research include:

• Worldwide, the iPhone makes up 33% of all smart phone traffic
• In the U.S., the iPhone accounts for 49.5 % of all tracked requests
• Against all phones, including non-smart phones, Apple had 11.2 % of mobile online traffic. The iPod Touch was getting 6.7% and the Motorola RAZR has dropped to 2.9% of traffic

From the AdMob research, here’s a look at the top ten smart phones worldwide in terms of Internet traffic.

Other items of note: the iPhone of had 10 percent of traffic in the U.S. in August of 2008, now jumping to 49.5 percent in less than a year.

AdMob notes that the traffic share is not the same as phone sales. The data reflects a combination of market share and data use. It is likely that the ease of use that Safari offers is helping to drive internet data usage, while other browsers may be painful to use and not nearly as inviting.

It’s good news for Apple, and it’s likely that excitement about the iPhone will increase with OS 3.0 being released this summer, along with the likely debut of new iPhone hardware.

AdMob specializes in working with advertisers to get their ads on mobile phones. They also are heavily involved in research to track trends in the mobile space.

TUAWiPhone continues to build momentum originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Hardware, Developer, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Neil Young (not that Neil Young, the other one), former EA exec and head of ngmoco, fresh from his appearance at the Apple iPhone 3.0 event the other day, showed up on a keynote stage at the Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco to talk about the big, wrapped present that the iPhone and the App Store are to game developers. The platform is “better than the DS, better than the PSP,” he said, referring to Nintendo and Sony’s handheld gaming devices, because not only is tops in terms of usability (it’s “always on, always with you”), and not only is it easier than any other platform to develop for, but the market is gigantic and growing — unlike Sony and Nintendo’s markets, there are no first party titles to compete with.

Which makes a lot of sense (and Young should know — his company is poised to become one of the platform’s early big developers). Other game developers agree, too — according to a survey at Games Beat 2009, the iPhone has beaten out social networks, web-based content and even consoles as the area that has the most potential for gaming. There’s no question at all: the future is extremely bright for gamers on the iPhone.

TUAWngmoco’s Neil Young speaks at GDC keynote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott McNulty (macworld.com) gives the new AirPort Extreme a 4.5/5 rating, finding that it “packs a ton of features, as well as speed, into a small, reasonably priced package.” Macworld recommends: “If you’re looking to replace your current Wi-Fi router, you can’t go wrong with the AirPort Extreme. If you’re running a small business, the new guest network feature alone might be worth the $179 price tag.”

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Multimedia, Software, iTunes, Apple TV

Update: Original version of this post contained some accidental misinformation. Errors have been corrected.

Azureus was my Bittorrent client of choice back in the day — it used to be open source and easy to use and install, and served up any torrents you’d like. Eventually, however, the app was turned into Vuze, got put under a much more restrictive license and added a bunch of extra content bloat, and I abandoned it in favor of the much simpler µTorrent (unfortunately, it’s not open source either, but you can’t win them all). Now, however, it sounds like Vuze is trying to make things a little easier on their customers — the restrictions are still there, but you can now watch any or all of their content on any or all of your devices, including the iPhone and iPod touch, the Apple TV, and even consoles like the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

It’s only slightly easier — everything still has to be downloaded under the Vuze umbrella, but with just an option, you can drag and drop into iTunes or onto any of your other devices and then sync things out from there. If you do choose to access content through their application, at least you’ll be able to bring what you download out onto the other devices you own.

You can download Vuze over on their site. Downloading content from their network can be done with just the app, though using their comments and Friends system will require a free onsite registration. The device integration currently only works in OS 10.5, though they’re working hard to make it possible in 10.4 as well.

TUAWVuze allows remote playback support to Apple devices originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Hardware, Peripherals, Odds and ends, Graphic Design

A lot of us might not care that the color on our screens doesn’t precisely match reality, but for most designers color matching is a crucial part of their work. That’s why they use monitor calibration systems like the new La Cie blue eye pro Proof Edition (US$429.99) to make sure that what they see on the screen is exactly what they’ll see on a finished product.

The blue eye pro Proof Edition is the blue puck that you see on the left side of the photo illustration at right. It supports monitor calibration and profiling and can provide UGRA (Swiss Center of Competence for Media and Printing Technology) soft proof testing and reporting.

La Cie has announced immediate availability of the blue eye pro Proof Edition, which is compatible with the Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress, Aperture and other design and photography applications. it requires Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later on Intel Macs, as well as a USB port for connectivity.

TUAWJust announced: La Cie blue eye pro Monitor Calibrator Proof Edition originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reviewer Joel Santo Domingo (www.pcmag.com) calls the 8-core Mac Pro “one of the most powerful workstations out there” for tasks like video editing and 3-D rendering,” giving it a 3.5/5 rating. He points out that the Mac Pro, like “all Macs, is free of crapware.” And citing its impressive benchmark testing, he concludes: “If you’re an entrenched Mac user in search of more power, getting this is a no-brainer.”

A wicked curve ball earned him a shot at the big leagues, but Dominican pitcher Miguel “Sugar” Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) quickly learns that opposing batters are only one of the challenges he faces as he arrives in Iowa and begins to deal with temptation and disappointment. Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (the team that brought us Half Nelson), Sugar comes to theaters on Friday, April 3.

I’m getting sick and tired of companies getting free publicity by claiming that Apple is infringing on their patents. It makes a mockery of the whole patent system when companies like Monec decide to pick holes on the flimsiest of pretexts. Get this… because the iPhone is a backlit device with a touch screen, and because Apple approved an application from Amazon that lets users buy electronic books a la the Kindle, the Swiss company has cried foul. This is despite the fact that this “innovative leader in the growth market of mobile communications systems” doesn’t want to show off any of its own products or services (if, indeed, it has any and hasn’t just spent its lifetime filing patents)…

While it’s already possible to access Skype via several third-party applications on the iPhone, until now there has been no official version of the popular instant messaging and voice/video calling service. That could be about to change according to Om Malik at GigaOM, who suggests that a version could be released as early as next week…

Filed under: Software, Internet

Vonage, the international VoIP provider, has just released its Vonage Companion software for OS X. Vonage Companion is available to users who subscribe the the Vonage Pro plan and it basically allows users to use their laptops or desktops to make or receive phone calls. Think of it as Skype but for your Vonage account.

You can use Vonage Companion to record calls, set-up conference calls (or separate conference calls into separate phone calls), selective call block, call transfers and more.

I don’t have a Vonage Pro account, so I wasn’t able to check out the features firsthand, but flipping through the manual (PDF link) it looks pretty powerful. The biggest benefit to a service like this is the ability to make and receive calls from the road, using your Vonage number and account credentials.

Vonage Companion is free for Vonage Pro customers (existing Vonage users will need to upgrade to a Vonage Pro account) and it works with OS X 10.4.11 Tiger and OS X 10.5 Leopard, though Vonage strongly recommends having the latest security updates and latest OS updates installed. You can download Vonage Companion here (direct .DMG link)

TUAWVonage Companion now available for Mac users originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, Developer

We first started hearing about MacRabbit’s Espresso back in September; six months, a public beta and countless cups of coffee later, Espresso 1.0 is finally ready for sipping!

MacRabbit, makers of the award-winning CSSEdit, parlayed the idea of an HTMLEdit companion app into an all around web development app. Right now, Espresso supports HTML, CSS, XML, JavaScript and PHP — but utilizing plugins (Sugars), Espresso can support more languages and platforms.

Similar to Panic’s Coda (another TUAW favorite), you can also directly publish from the app, using FTP, SFTP, FTP/SSL and Amazon S3.

Espresso shares many interface similarities with CSSEdit and the presentation is very, very polished. If you’re comfortable with CSSEdit, Espresso will likely fit comfortably into your workflow.

We’ll be reviewing Espresso in-depth soon and doing some head-to-head action to see how it stacks up against Coda and TextMate.

Espresso is 59.95€ (about $80 US) and 49.95€ ($68 US) for existing CSSEdit 2 customers. You can try Espresso without limitations for 15 days. Espresso requires OS X 10.5 Leopard or higher.

Thanks Nik!

TUAWTake a shot of Espresso 1.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Bugs/Recalls, Software Update

If you’ve been having issues with corrupted Time Machine images either inside the Time Capsule or connected externally to your base station, the 7.4.1 firmware update (for all base stations from 2007 to today) plus the 10.5.6 update might help, according to TidBITS.

Apple says this update will fix problems that lead up to corruption issues, but TidBITS recommends you essentially start fresh just to make sure — after using the Archive feature in Disk Utility to copy your previous Time Machine disk to an external drive. Don’t have enough drives to do the data shuffle? You can always take your chances that you either don’t have a corrupt Time Machine backup (which is pretty likely, honestly) or do a little soul/data-searching for anything you might want to preserve for posterity.

I don’t use Time Machine as a sort of universal undo, but I understand some might. In either case: update your system and firmware as recommended by the manufacturer.

TUAWTime Capsule disk corruption issues? Base station firmware may fix it originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Accessories, iPhone, iPod touch

Tired of holding your iPhone at just the right angle while on a cross-country trip? Need an easy way to mount the iPhone for casual viewing? We pitted the MovieWedge against the MiniRizer and wound up preferring the MovieWedge for the screen-cleaning surface, portability and design. Now win one of two MovieWedge’s this weekend. To enter, just tell us the last video you watched on your iPod touch or iPhone (or anything, really).

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. (Sorry, we know our international readers want to participate, but promo codes don’t transfer outside the US.)
• To enter leave a comment telling us the title of the last movie you watched.
• The comment must be left before March 22, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: one MovieWedge bean bag for iPhone/iPod touch ($9.95).
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

TUAWWin a MovieWedge for your iPhone or iPod touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stuart Dredge (pocketgamer.biz) reports that games for iPhone and iPod touch registered a near clean sweep of the Mobile awards at this year’s Independent Games Festival (IGF) at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) “with six of the seven categories being won by games made for Apple’s platform…at a time when indie developers are buoyant thanks to the opportunities offered by the App Store.”