Home / tuaw.com rss archive / September-08-2007


Growl 1.1. released
Filed under: Productivity, Freeware, Open SourceGrowl is one of my favorite Mac utilities. It adds a system-wide notification system to your System Preferences that other applications can plug into for displaying messages. The version 1.1 update adds a "global positioning system" which apparently keeps notifications from overlaping as well as a close button to notifications (on mouseover), a sound option and various bug fixes.Growl remains a free download.[via Daring Fireball]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Google Reader problems
Filed under: TUAW BusinessSeveral readers have let us know that our feed isn't updating in Google Reader. Our team of crack web ninjas is looking into this and I have faith that a solution will be found shortly. Until that time I suggest Google Reader users visit TUAW.com and repeatedly hit Command-R.Thanks to everyone who let us know.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Mmoires: simple journaling
Filed under: Software, Beta BeatMémoires is a modest piece of software with modest ambitions, but this simple journaling software brings off those aims with style and aplomb. It's basically a diary program with a calendar that helps you keep track of the entries. In many ways this approach is more or less the opposite of the excellent Journler, whose developer seems to take a kind of "kitchen sink" attitude toward features. Nonetheless, if all you want is a simple and stylish program to keep a journal this might be just what you need.Mémoires is in beta and available for download from Coding Robots.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

HD Radios to allow tagging for later iTunes purchase
Filed under: iPod Family, iTSiLounge has an interesting story on upcoming HD Radios from Polk and JBL which will feature an iTunes tagging feature. Basically these radios receive the new HD Radio digital audio broadcasts that are starting to be rolled out around the country (and world). Each will have a tag button that you can press while listening to the radio and it will record the title, artist, etc. of the playing track. You can then plug your iPod into the built-in dock and it will transfer the data over; when you next sync the iPod to your Mac it will transfer the tracks to a "Tagged" playlist in iTunes. You can then preview and/or purchase these tracks as normal from the iTunes Store. Of course it would be rather cooler to have something like this built-in to an iPod with an HD Radio receiver, but I think it's a neat idea nonetheless. The first device to support iTunes tagging will be the Polk I-Sonic Entertainment System 2 (right) available in October for $499.Read ...

Leaked German T-Mobile 3G iPhone ad?
Filed under: Rumors, iPhoneOkay I'll be the first to admit this is pure rumor, but the French mac site MacBidoulle has posted (translation) what appears to be a leaked T-Mobile (Germany) advertisement for a new 3G iPhone to be released on November 12. The specs include HSDPA/UTMS 3G data (up to 3.6 MBmit/s) plus 16GB of storage for €499 (~$684). I have to admit that this smells right to me. It would help explain the US price drop and we already know that T-Mobile will be the German carrier. Furthermore, a 2.5G EDGE phone just wouldn't cut it in Europe. On the other hand, it misidentifies the iPhone as an "iPod," but since Steve Jobs himself occasionally makes the same mistake it wouldn't be that surprising on an early draft. If this is true, the question is: will a 3G iPhone hit the US before Christmas?[via electronista]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

MenuMinder: quick reminders in your menubar
Filed under: Software, ProductivityMenuMinder is a simple piece of software that does one thing, but does it reasonably well. It sits in your menubar and allows you to enter quick reminders to yourself. The reminders pop up whenever you like (though in an unfortunate brushed metal interface, right). You can also set them to be emailed or sent to your phone via SMS. While you can obviously set events in iCal or even use Quicksilver for quick reminders, MenuMinder is extremely quick and straightforward. If, like me, you're often writing little reminder notes to yourself this might be just the ticket.MenuMinder is $10 and a demo is available.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Flickr Find: evidence of iTunes Store movie rentals?
Filed under: iTS, Rumors, Flickr FindMac developer David Watanabe posts a very interesting picture to Flickr. Apparently the result of some kind of error in iTunes, the drop-down menu on the iTunes Store "Report a Problem" page disclosed some very revealing strings. They all seem to fall into the "RentalMovie" category (separate from the "Movie" Category that follows it) and include things like"DidNotReceive" and "WrongVersion." I find the "DidNotReceive" one kind of confusing; that would seem more appropriate for something like Netflix or Blockbuster than a download service. In any case, this should definitely add fuel to the iTunes Store movie rental rumors.[via Digg]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iRing: Automator application for creating ringtones
Filed under: Freeware, iPhoneWe posted yesterday on the MacRumors tutorial on creating ringtones from your own music by changing the file extension. Well the guys over at applegazette have put together iRing a simple Automator application that, well, automates the process. Pretty much all it does is take the AAC file, change the extension, and put it into iTunes. Apparently iTunes has to be closed for it to work properly, but if you don't want to go through the rigamarole by hand, this might be handy.iRing is a free download from applegazette.Update: Alas, events have overtaken this post (which was written the night before). The iTunes 7.4.1 update breaks the very vulnerability this uses. It's against our policy to remove posts, but we should note that this will only work with iTunes 7.4.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

TV out locked in new iPod classic and nano
Filed under: iPod Family, VideoThis is rather disappointing. According to iLounge, Apple has re-designed the TV out functionality of the new iPod classics and nanos so that they no longer work with older third-party TV out cables and docks. Apparently, the new classics and nanos require an Apple authentication chip in the dock/cable to unlock the TV out setting and these chips are only available to official third-party suppliers. At this point only official Apple products and a few select third-party offerings will unlock the TV out setting. The AV cables for the new iPods will reportedly sell for $49 when released.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

RouteBuddy 1.4 adds support for new devices and new data formats
Filed under: SoftwareThough a bit pricey, RouteBuddy is most likely the best Mac GPS mapping solutions. The newest 1.4 update adds support for a new range of Garmin nüvi and zmo models as well as Tom Tom units. In addition, the new version allows importing and exporting data from Google Earth and Garmin's CSV format, which means you can manage Point of Interest (POI) data sets with RouteBuddy.The update is a free for registered users; for everyone else it's $99.50 (plus additional fees for maps) and a demo is available.[via MacMinute]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

iToner 1.0.1 restores compatibility with iTunes 7.4.1
Filed under: Software, iPhoneAs we reported earlier, the iTunes 7.4/7.4.1 update broke a number of officially unsupported third-party extensions. Among these was the recently released iToner ringtone utility from Ambrosia. The new update restores the custom ringtone functionality as well as adding file-dragging from iTunes and improved playlist support. So if you were worried about the long-term prospects of iToner, Ambrosia quick response should ease your mind.iToner is $15 and a demo is available.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Is Apple the new Microsoft?
Filed under: Analysis / OpinionSo claimeth Mike Elgan of Computerworld in his article on PC World: "It's Official: Apple is the New Microsoft." Well, I'm certainly glad that is settled! On to the iPhone news... Wait a moment, on what grounds does Mike base his comparison? I'll break down the points and test their coherence.Mike's first assertion is a familiar one: the iPod + iTunes ecosystem is the worst kind of monopoly, where you must use iTunes with an iPod. He says, "Not fair, you might say. Any hardware device that syncs data with a PC as part of its core functionality has software to facilitate that syncing. True enough. But operating systems have browsers as part of core functionality, too. Doesn't Mac OS X come with Safari? Doesn't the iPhone?"First of all, his argument is akin to saying ATI has a monopoly because you have to install drivers to make their video cards work. Secondly, his parallel to browsers is nonsensical. What does a browser, a completely different...