Forum roundup: Leopard tips, 3G iPhone, more...

Forum roundup: MacNN forum goers have compiled a list of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard tips and tricks. The list includes adding Bluetooth devices, customizing the 3D dock, enabling double-finger right clicks on MacBook computers, among others. Some users have also contributed tips for several Apple applications, such as enabling debugging and the tab bar in Safari, in addition to several other hints about Mac OS X services such as Dashboard.

Apple updates Mac Pro firmware, Tiger Airport drivers...

Apple today unveiled two updates, one for its Airport drivers under Mac OS X 10.4.x Tiger, and a firmware update for the Mac Pro (Early 2008), bringing the firmware to version 1.3. The AirPort Extreme Update 2008-001 for Tiger is recommended for all users with Intel-based Macs equipped with Tiger, and is said to enhance the reliability of AirPort connections. The update is 1.3MB, and is available from Software Update, as well as Apple's support page.

Podpro Ski and Snowboard Guides for iPhone...

Outdoor enthusiasts now have instant access to trail maps right from their iPhones. Podpro is offering a free service for skiers and snowboarders that delivers instant access to more than thirty-three of North America's most popular ski resorts. With Podpro's service users can retrieve live weather reports, ski conditions, as well as lodging options from anywhere.

Apple execs make $75 million after stock exercise...

Apple's executive team – with the exception of CEO Steve Jobs and General Counsel Daniel Cooperman – were forced to deal with restricted stock units that were due to expire. Phil Shiller, Bertrand Serlet, and Ron Johnson have each converted 250,000 restricted stock options to shares, and each gave up over 113,000 shares to pay for expenses regarding the matter. This was due to a decision of performing a net-share settle, at a cost of $139.53 per share.

Briefly: Speck ActiveFit Armband review...

In brief: We have a review of the Speck ActiveFit Armband, an Apple Store thief stuffed a 13" MacBook down his pants, MacTech is offering VBA to AppleScript bundles, MacSpeech extends its crossgrade offer, and Photoshop Elements 6: The Missing Manual for the Mac ships.. We have posted a review of the Speck ActiveFit Armband. The inside felt-like material protects your iPod from scratching when it is inserted or removed. The case is sewn onto a breathable mesh pad that extends into a foot-long armband. The armband includes well-secured 1.25" long Velcro strips every inch. The video screen sits behind a flexible thick clear plastic sewn into the case. The Click Wheel is exposed though, so you may want to use a Gelaskin to protect it from grime. All the stitching is clean, straight, but a couple of dangling threads appeared after a few weeks of wear.

Apps: Compost, Lasso Professional

• Compost 1.9 ($13) automatic trash management software for Mac OS X. Solves Trash problems by letting users set a time limit on the trash, cap its size, and maintain a minimum amount of space. This release adds file deletion rules, updated French localization and Polish localization. The new release is is free to all registered users. [Download - 1.4MB]


• Lasso Professional 8.5 ($650) middleware product which bridges the gap between popular Web servers including Apache and IIS and data sources including MySQL, FileMaker, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Openbase, and more. Web sites are programmed in LassoScript including built-in support for authentication, session variables, sending and checking email, PDF creation, and much more. This build includes Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard compatibility and significant stability improvements on Linux. It also includes several new PDF and Image features and updated matcher and comparator features. [Download - form]


• Sandvox 1.2.7 ($50) website creation tool. The new release includes improvements to graphical text title replacement and enhancements to several designs, support for A2 Hosting in the Sandvox Host Setup Assistant, bugfixes and enhancements to improve support for WMV files in pages and pagelets when Sandvox sites are viewed in Internet Explorer 7; and Improvements to the iMedia Browser. [Download - 24MB]


• Owl Country 1.0 game in which you are an owl tired of the sea of pigeons plaguing the Montreal skies, along with the humans indifferent to their infestation. Over the course of one night, ending in sunrise, you must swoop as many pigeons as you can. Developed rapidly by by the TIGSource Ratpack during the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Owl Country features work from the developers behind "Aquaria", "Space Barnacle", "Fez", and "Goo", among others. [Download - 24.8MB]


• TV Station Manager ($20) game that lets you take the control of a small independent television station about to go bankrupt, managing the TV schedule, buying advertising, creating your own TV Shows and much more. Now you can choose directly from the starting menu if to play the game in standard English or in the new German language. Everything in the game has been translated, from the buttons to the movie names and descriptions. [Download - 10.3MB]

TV Station Manager Sim Now Available in German...

Winter Wolves recently unveiled a German language version of its tycoon-style simulation game for Mac and PC, TV Station Manager. The premise of the game puts players in the role of station manager, whose goal is to reverse the struggling company's ailing fortunes and make it profitable again. The game offers all the challenges of authentic studio management including the ability sell advertising to fictional sponsors, create TV shows, and manage staff. TV Station Manager is priced at $20 per license.

DLO adds new Jam Jacket iPod cases...

Digital Lifestyle Outfitters has made several additions to its Jam Jacket family of iPod cases, including new models for the iPod nano and iPod touch. Available today are the Jam Jacket with MultiClip for iPod touch, which features a unique, multi-function "MultiClip," and the Jam Jacket for iPod nano featuring a laser-etched design on the back of the case. Both cases are available immediately for $20. The Jam Jacket with MultiClip for the iPod touch features a unique 3-in-1 integrated clip built into the back of the case. The silicone-covered MultiClip acts as a clip/stand combo, as well as a cable management solution. Users can clip it on their belt, or pop out the MultiClip to use it as a desk stand (both vertically and horizontally)

Objective Development Releases WebYep 1.2.2 Update...

Objective Development, makers of LaunchBar, recently unveiled WebYep 1.2.2 - an update to its content management system designed for small and medium sized businesses. The product enables users to turn any existing site into a fully editable environment, creating and editing pages from within a web browser, on any platform. WebYep also integrates with popular web authoring tools such as Dreamweaver, RapidWeaver, and Freeway.

ivyskin case covers touchscreen, stays functional...

ivyskin has introduced a new case for the iPhone, the Xylo T2. Despite the fact that the T2 is a hard case that covers the touchscreen, ivyskin claims that users can continue to operate their phone, through a design that "passes ultrasonic waves" to the screen without interference. The case is otherwise made of conventional polycarbonate, and is translucent in most areas except for front panels which help it blend in aesthetically.

Freeway 5 Pro, Express go on sale...

As promised in February, Softpress has released both the Pro and Express versions of Freeway 5, its website design program. The software introduces a number of important changes, most notably a set of tools for creating CSS menus. A collection of Google Actions are included for easier Google integration, and Actions from script.aculo.us provide effects such as pulses and fading.

Apple employees steal iPhones: $132k worth...

More than 300 iPhones were stolen from an Apple store in the Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hamshire. The culprits? Two employees: Joshua Garrand, 28, of Methuen, Mass., and Christopher Nashed, 22, of Sandown who have now been brought before the court on felony theft charges of stealing $132,468 worth of iPhones and selling them on the black market. The Eagle-Tribune reports that police wouldn't say whether the men were selling the phones online or how sophisticated their operation wasm but would say that investigators were first contacted by the store in early January. One Salem police sergeant spent three months on the case. One of the suspects, Nashed, is being held on $250,000 bail at the Rockingham County Jail. He is expected to appear today in Salem District Court for arraignment. Garrand, meanwhile is being held at Essex County Jail in Middlesex, Mass.

Checkout 2.0 updates point-of-sale solution...

Werck BV on Thursday released Checkout 2.0, its point-of-sale solution for small- and medium-sized Mac-based stores. Werck, a joint venture between development studio Sofa and small business-focused MYOB US, lets retailers process credit cards real-time and create and manage purchase orders. It also supports multi-user access to the solution over a network and can integrate Checkout data with MYOB AccountEdge or Intuit's QuickBooks Pro for Mac. Checkout 2.0 runs on Mac OS X 10.4.10 or later and is priced at $400; it is a free upgrade for existing users. In the United States and Canada, Checkout 2.0 is sold as MYOB Checkout and will be sold by MYOB US.

Apple WebKit reaches perfect Acid3 score...

The Apple-originated WebKit, an underpinning of software such as the Safari web browser, has become the first public rendering engine to get a perfect Acid3 score, its developers claim. Acid3 is a test site produced by the Web Standards Project, and is used to gauge the conformity of a web browser to both standards and technologies, such as JavaScript. Most browsers fall well short of a 100/100 ranking, such as Firefox 2 -- which scores approximately 53 -- and Safari 3.1, which reaches 75.

Apple looks at fitness system integration for iPod...

Apple may be expanding its reach to include a new fitness system integration for its iPhone and the iPod touch, patent filings indicate. Although Apple already has a similar system, developed in tandem with shoemaker Nike, the Nike+iPod kit currently only works with Nanos, restricting both iPod owners and the marketing options of the corporations. The new system would likely have four components: iTunes-style software, physiological sensors, a rewards tracker and a means of coordinating group activities.

Apple liberalizes Safari license...

Apple has quietly changed the licensing terms of the Safari web browser, reports indicate. While the Mac license remains unchanged, the Windows license has been altered from "allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time" to "allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on each computer owned or controlled by you." The revision date on the license is March 26th.

Dutch iPhone announcement on March 29th?...

An announcement of an iPhone for the Netherlands may come as soon as this Saturday, words from a local retailer may suggest. Dutch Apple reseller The Innovators has stated that it will reveal a new product on March 29th; indications that it may be the iPhone stem from a pair of hints, which first suggest that the product has never been available in the Netherlands to date, and also that it makes it easy to call. The announcement is scheduled for 11AM Dutch time.

RationalPlan project planning app for OS X...

Stand By Soft has released a special Mac OS X distribution of its project management software: RationalPlan is designed to assist project managers in developing plans, allocating resources, tracking progress, managing budgets and analyzing workload. Designed for construction, engineering, services&consulting, software development or any other business field, RationalPlan can help finish projects on time and within budget. The single project version is $57, while the multi-project version offers the ability to handle multiple projects, dependencies between projects, and the ability to share resources between projects; it costs $93. The RationalPlan Project Viewer is available as a free cross-platform download.

Chronos: SOHO Organizer and Notes v7.0...

Chronos LC today unveiled SOHO Organizer 7 and SOHO Notes 7, updates to some of the company's business productivity applications, introducing a number of new features. SOHO Organizer 7, Chronos' alternative to iCal and Address Book, now can display recurring tasks, and allows tasks to show up directly in Day, Week, and Month views. Chronos is selling SOHO Organizer 7 starting at $50, with several different licensing options available.

Adobe offers public beta of Photoshop Express...

Adobe on Thursday morning released Photoshop Express public beta, a free internet-based application that easily and quickly edits and applies non-destructive digital effects to photos. As a beta product, Adobe promised it would solicit user feedback on product features and functionality and continue to evolve the product over time. The application leverages Adobe's image editing technology and allows users to store up to 2GB of images online for free, make edits to photos, and share them online with using social networking site such as Facebook. The free service, which offers a variety of photo management tools, is available online as a beta product, but the company did not provide any details on a final release date.