Vonage app halted

post from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network on 26 August 2009 10:40:00 PM. © MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

Apple claims a recently submitted Vonage VoIP application has been delayed due to technical difficul...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=97cb76b91abe31f65da2bb4363697196

Digg this

Chinese iPhone release

post from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network on 26 August 2009 10:40:00 PM. © MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

Apple is nearly prepared to start selling iPhones in China, the company's largest untapped mobile ph...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=be14e1f469755b609ad4104eb02326eb

Digg this

Iowa schools buy MacBooks

post from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network on 26 August 2009 09:20:00 PM. © MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

The Van Meter School District has bought all of its students new 15 inch MacBooks in an attempt to r...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=5e8be77758392a8d9574d4475365462d

Digg this

Lock and Load FCP plug-in

post from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network on 26 August 2009 08:30:00 PM. © MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

CoreMelt has released its newest Final Cut Pro plug-in, Lock and Load. The software is used to stabi...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=3e2ac5099b4569ff6bc586bdc46c2dfc

Digg this

Extensis Snow Leopard Compatibility

post from Manage This on 26 August 2009 08:03:00 PM. © Manage This

Yes, Snow Leopard is coming (early!) We have been testing our products for several months now, but always have to verify them against the FINAL software release.For those who are wondering, here is our (abbreviated) plan regarding Snow Leopard (Mac OS X[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.extensis.com/?p=3504

Digg this

Joe Hewitt on the App Store

post from Daring Fireball on 26 August 2009 07:04:00 PM. © Daring Fireball

Joe Hewitt, advocating for Apple to open the App Store to all technically compliant apps:

Oh, but you say that iPhone apps are different, because they run native code and can do scary things that web pages can’t? Again, you’re wrong, because iPhone apps are sandboxed and have scarcely any more privileges than a web app. About the only scary thing they can do outside the sandbox is access your address book, but Apple can easily fix that by requiring they ask permission first, just like they must do to track your location.

Very similar to Wil Shipley’s proposal. The bottom line is that Apple should remove subjectivity from the review process. That would benefit everyone: developers, users, and even Apple itself.

?

Read The Full Article:
http://joehewitt.com/post/innocent-until-proven-guilty/

Digg this

Slay Sync Services Dragons with Spanning Tools

post from TheAppleBlog on 26 August 2009 07:00:00 PM. © TheAppleBlog

Spanning Tools Logo Who doesn’t battle the Apple Sync Services dragon on a semi-regular basis? Here are a couple of examples from Apple Support about how to resolve problems with this very useful yet unfortunately flawed feature:

There are even more support articles around the web, although I think you get the picture. Let’s be clear, syncing any type of data is not trivial. Syncing multiple forms of data (contacts, calendar, bookmarks, etc.) is even less so.

If you use Sync Services and you don’t have issues, count yourself amongst one of the lucky few. If you use Sync Services and you have problems, then read on…

To cure your Sync Services woes, The folks at Spanning Sync recently released a great set of three applications called Spanning Tools. Here is what the package includes:

Calendar Cleaner: resolves calender conflicts, duplicates, etc.
Contacts Cleaner: resolves duplicate contacts, bad data with contacts and more.
Sync Tune-Up: the big-kahuna tool. This one enables you to completely remove any bad Sync Services data and then start syncing with fresh (clean) data.

Where Sync Services gets crazy is when you begin using additional applications that leverage the functionality. Some of these applications include: MobileMe (AB, iCal, Safari, etc.), Microsoft Entourage, Daylite, Missing Sync, Google Contact Sync (from Address Book), Spanning Sync, BusySync, iSync phones and many, many more

What I like about this software suite is that it is focused. You have a specific toolset to resolve some potentially big data synchronization issues. What’s also great is that this suite of tools is very inexpensive – $20. Thus, for a nice crisp Mr. Jackson, you can own a complete toolset to ensure that your Sync Services data is kept clean, fresh, and consistent.

If you’re looking for a something sync-oriented to add to your utilities arsenal, then definitely head on over to the Spanning Tools site – you won’t regret it.

Read The Full Article:
http://theappleblog.com/2009/08/26/slay-sync-services-dragons-with-spanning-tools
/

Digg this

iFeltThat, Meteorology

post from MacNN | The Macintosh News Network on 26 August 2009 06:40:00 PM. © MacNN | The Macintosh News Network

NotifyMe 1.3 ($4) allows users to create personal reminders, notifications and alerts that take adva...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=e99560ed50176eb0711c37c6f92eb488

Digg this

Why I’ll Wait on Snow Leopard, and Why
Maybe You Should Too

snow_leopard_box A new cat is upon us, but that doesn’t mean I’ll pounce on the latest upgrade, pardon the pun. Dare I admit in public I’m not an early adopter? Hey, if you like living on the edge, go for it. Go ahead and cook your poultry below 165 degrees or eat raw eggs.

Me, I play it safe. Mac users like everything to work out to the box and a new OS simply doesn?t. Do you really want to spend your weekend messing with a “better” operating system? Ask these guys about that.

I may be a lonely voice among the chorus of praise for Snow Leopard, but here are five reasons why I’m going to wait a bit before hearing this new cat purr.

1. It’s a Point 0 Release

Maybe it’s because I’m married to a Quality Assurance engineer, but I worry about unfixed bugs. I remember 10.5 having a critical data loss bug. Will 10.6 have it? I hope not. What other bugs will be discovered that first weekend? Several. Some could make your Mac virtually unusable, while others will be merely annoying.

Which ones will I face? None. I’ll wait for you all to find them while I sit back and read about your trials and tribulations. Online forums are already full of posts noting the prevalence of software-based kernel panics in Snow Leopard, and undoubtedly there are many bugs waiting to be discovered in the days ahead as the rough edges get sanded down.

2. My Programs May Not Work Properly

In theory, the code has been in hands of developers for a long time and they should have been able to update for full compatibility. However, Apple changes aspects of Snow Leopard after each build, and some builds can introduce bugs very late in the game. Do I have time to check each and every app and make sure it’s Snow Leopard compatible? Some incompatibilities might even prevent an install. 10.5 early adopters ran into big problems with “haxies.” What should we avoid with a 10.6 install? I’ll find out next month I’m sure.

Should I even mention Quicken 2007? If your business relies on Quickbooks, would you trust it in Snow Leopard, especially with older versions Intuit no longer supports? How about old versions of Creative Suite left over from your PowerPC days? Adobe says you’re on your own with that. Programs not designed for Intel-based Macs are the most likely candidates for problems.

If you don’t care about productivity, have fun this weekend. If you use your Mac to help put food on the table, your biggest risk is to lose your primary money maker for a few days. If you can afford the down time in this economy, go for it. I sure can’t.

3. Hardware Could Fail, and Fail Hard

A long, long time ago…I can still remember… How my Mac would start up with a smile. I can’t figure out how to change the words of American Pie to include the day AppleTalk died, but die it does in Snow Leopard, after outlasting System Enablers, floppy drives, and SCSI. That trusty laser printer you connect via AppleTalk becomes a big huge paperweight under Snow Leopard according to most reports. Someone might develop a workaround, but that isn’t going to help you with your deadlines.

Your printer isn’t the only casualty in Snow Leopard. An old Palm Pilot or Palm-based phone is no longer supported, and you’ll be required to buy third party software such as Missing Sync. As of this writing, Missing Sync isn’t fully compatible with Snow Leopard. What other hardware might have problems? Scanners are my next guess. Hopefully your manufacturer will develop a driver if your product is still supported. Speaking of support?

4. Lack of Support by Vendors

A vast majority of the support people you talk with will be completely flummoxed if you’re running Snow Leopard. They already treat you like a second-class citizen because you’re on a Mac. If they ask which version of the OS I’m running and I say 10.6, I suspect their brain will explode right then and there.

Snow Leopard will be blamed, not their product. Cable modem down: Snow Leopard. Printer making grinding noise: Snow Leopard. Health care claim denied: Snow Leopard. You’re probably laughing, but maybe not, if you’re one of many who’s run into something similar.

5. I’m Cheap

Sure, I’ll only pay $10 for the Up-To-Date program and others will only have to pay $29. However, my new iMac works great. Even $10 is an unneeded expense. Why mess with something that’s working well? My system works, I get things done. The last thing I need is to change everything. I’ll give it a few months until 10.6.1 comes out and the early adopters have done the hard work of finding problems.

Who else is going to skip curling up with a new cat this weekend and wait for someone else to find the sharp claws?

Read The Full Article:
http://theappleblog.com/2009/08/26/why-ill-wait-on-snow-leopard-and-why-maybe-you
-should-too/

Digg this

Grosshandel released

Seven Lakes has introduced its merchandise management utility, Grosshandel. The application is inten...

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.macnn.com/click.phdo?i=ec755949758e88b9585c70d1ca8796bc