This week, Google announced an official version of Google Chrome, a result of the Chromium project, at the Web 2.0 Summit in California. What that means is that outside of nightly developer builds, this version—build 4.0.223.8—is the first official release build of the software. While the Windows version has been official and crushing it for quite some time now, Google certainly took their time on the Mac side. However, if you plan on trying out Chrome for Mac, I would definitely say it’s worth the wait, as I have been using it for quite some time now on my machine even in the earlier builds.

Some of the most interesting features for Chrome lie in the simplistic and minimalistic interface. As you would expect, the normal navigational buttons are near the top of the screen with the address bar. However, unlike most browsers, Chrome places the tabs above the address bar and bookmarks bar instead of below it. To me, this doesn’t really alter how I use the software much, but it is sort of a refreshing change. Furthermore, the way Chrome handles tabs is really great. For instance, you can drag and drop tabs into new windows or from one window to another simply by moving them with the mouse.

Another interface aspect of the Chrome browser is the themes that can be applied. All you need to do is go to the theme page and install one straight from there in order to get a fresh new look. While I haven’t looked through all the themes, though, I have stuck with the default one, as it works very well with the look and feel of my Mac.

As far as features go, there are some things I like about Chrome other than the speed. For one, it will show you the actual URL of a link along the bottom when you hover over it, which is nice. Furthermore, it has a top sites feature much like that of Safari. All this said, there are still some issues that exist with the software. For instance, sometimes I’ll have to revert to Safari to get Java based components of sites, such as Facebook’s photo uploader.

Either way, I strongly suggest you try this piece of software out. It can be downloaded at google.com.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Remember about a month ago when the team over at Dropbox submitted their iPhone application to Apple for review for the App Store? Yea, we know it’s been a while. Well that application has now been accepted and is available as a free download through the App Store! You can get it via their website or straight through iTunes. The application allows you to download Dropbox files locally to your iPhone, view them over the internet, and sync files.

Well, as any geek would, I have already downloaded and checked out the application, and my first impressions are great. The application is extremely simple and quick and does exactly what you would expect. You can easily browse your files over the internet using the iPhone’s style of navigation. Furthermore, if you want to save a file for quick viewing offline later, you are able to favorite it very easily. It does have support for emailing links to files and viewing PDFs, too, which is nice. I highly suggest you check it out if you are a Dropbox user!

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

If you haven’t installed iTunes 9 yet, I recommend you head to Software Updater on your Mac and do so. It offers a variety of user interface improvements, as well as a couple new features. Included in those features is Twitter and Facebook integration. By this, I mean that iTunes users can now right click on the arrow to the right of a song or album and click either “Share on Twitter” or “Share on Facebook” to tell all of their friends about it. But what does this mean?

On the outside, it certainly means Apple is taking a step towards integration into some of today’s popular social networks. While I’m sure this will help drive some sales to iTunes music, I don’t see it as being anything absolutely groundbreaking in terms of functionality; users could’ve always just copied and pasted the link themselves. This just makes that easier. However, it is interesting in that it shows that Apple is now becoming more active with social media in one of their core products. It is great to see such a large company embracing the power of these tools, even if in such a simple way.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Some applications, or even some ideas, just make you want to write about them. They make you grab that (virtual) pencil and put down your opinion for the world to read.

Bodega is one such application. The team responsible for this new product (IDFusion Software and Centrix.ca) aims to solve one of the ancient problems of the Mac users developers community: application search and distribution.

The Application

As the successful App Store already solved the problem for iPhone and iPod users, Bodega wants to bring an elegant and organized way to search, find, install, and keep track of all our favorite applications on the Mac. A very Mac-like program resembling a little shop would present you with a variety of categories, a shelf of featured products, and the essential search engine.

Two of the nicest and more original features of Bodega are the local applications section (which allows you to keep updates track of your installed apps, and even the ones you didn’t buy through Bodega), and the press links section (which helps not only users who may want to find reviews about possible purchases, but also developers who may want to link reviews, news, or blog spots regarding their applications.

Bodega is a very responsive and light app (I’ve never been a fan of the slow-loading iTunes App Store); it has some nice New Releases, Shopkeeper’s Picks, Top Free, and Top Paid Downloads sections. The money is supposed to be made by sponsors’ ads, which will be nicely displayed on the store, not the apps.

Developers Playground

If you’re a developer and you want your application to be sold in the Bodega, you can become part of the developers group by opening a free account.  Once you confirm your account, you will be able to add applications press links, generate reports, see ratings/comments about your applications, and much more. There’s even a dedicated place for all of you Mac developers at this stand with all the information you need to know to get started.

Once an app is submitted, the guys in charge will, as they say, “... moderate it strictly to ensure it’s a legit submission, test links, and make sure it’s not malware.” I’m sure they’re working hard to make this a pretty straightforward and objective process. Learning from Apple mistakes on the evaluation of submitted applications could be a way to go here.

Bodega currently has over 170 applications on its shelves, and a lot more coming its way. Time will determine the future of this initiative. Users, developers, and the Bodega team’s ability to improve and promote their work will be a key factor of success. So far, the idea is great, the application is promising, the hopes are high, and the support undeniable for these guys who dared to bring a solution to the Mac software-distribution table.

Product [Bodega]

Full Story » | Written by Juan Gonzalez for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Wolfram|Alpa—a popular, new knowledge engine—caught the geeks by storm a while back when it launched. This site is much different from Google in that it aims to answer your questions by analyzing your words and then creating graphs and charts to display the answers. The company has now launched an iPhone specific website that fans can check out when searching on the go. It looks much like what you would see on an iPhone app, but it doesn’t quite feel as nice. That said, it is nice to see them making an effort for mobile users.

There is also a webpage where you can offer suggestions and ideas to the company as to where the mobile use of this site should go in the future. One thing I would recommend first (which I’m sure plenty of people already have) is an iPhone specific app, as the interface will be much easier to manage and will work much more efficiently.  I’m sure we will see one soon, and I’ll be sure to download it as a companion to my Google Mobile app when it comes out.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: Twitter client/social networking management
Format: Download (10.6 MB)
System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5
Review Computer: 2GHz 17” Intel Core 2 Duo iMac, 1GB RAM, 256MB ATI Radeon 1600
Price: Free
Availability: Out now (beta)

The signal-to-noise ratio for Twitter is starting to reach a critical stage; you can get so caught up with the amount of information—if that is the proper word for Twitter—coming at you from so many sources that at this point you need a way of filtering what you see and when you see it, along with a method of handling the information that you put out there.

Nambu, currently in beta, is the latest Twitter/social networking client that helps you juggle all this data. At its heart, it’s a simple Twitter app; you can post your 140 character messages to the world. But Nambu also lets you manage multiple Twitter accounts, lets you coordinate them with Twitter-friendly services like Identi.ca (an Open Source version of Twitter) and FriendFeed (Ping.fm support for posting to other services is supposed to be forthcoming, but currently disabled). So, with one application you can send updates to several services, rather that updating each one manually. Another benny; it features Growl support.

Posting long URLs and pictures is handled by two other services: Tr.im and Pic.im, which require you to register for an account. I would like to have seen more options here, especially ones that don’t require another damn log-in, but one account works with both services, which not only store your links and pictures, but give you information on how many clicks, etc. your link has recieved (note, however, that this info is not unique to your link, but to the shortened URL in general). Speaking of links, Nambu also keeps a list of all the URLs you’ve sent or recieved, and expands them for you. Trending topics, the current hot fad on Twitter, also gets a screen, broken down by “Current” trends, today, and this week.

Nambu has three layouts. One column simply displays all your accounts in one panel. The two column view has a Mail.app feel to it; the first column breaks each of your accounts down by Feed, mentions, DMs, posts you’ve sent, favorites, and then allows you to filter people you follow into groups (the default being Business, Family, and Friends, though you can edit these to your liking).

The third view resembles TweetDeck and gives you a series of columns that you can arrange and filter as you like: main feed, friends, groups, direct replies, etc. Any category that can be created in the two column view can become its own panel.

I’m not sure that the world needs another Twitter client, but I must say the Nambu beta looks promising, especially for those who use Twitter in a business regard. It easily allows you to organize your feeds and to customize it to suit your needs, and while the URL shortening and Picture features are limited to one service each, those services help you keep track of your links and their popularity.

Product [Nambu]

See more Twitter client reviews.

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Today saw the full release of Apple’s latest web browser, Safari 4. The public beta has been around for a couple of months, so has Apple address the issue that appeared? Is Safari 4 enough to bring you back from Firefox, and enough to make you upgrade from Safari 3? From what I’ve seen so far, I’d say yes.

If you’re currently using the Safari 4 public beta, have a look at where your tabs are positioned. They’re right at the top; the idea was to give each tab a full window. If you tried to move the order, you’d need to select the small corner, otherwise the entire window would move. Not very useful. Now, take a look at the images posted of the full release. You’ll notice the tabs are back where they belong—below your bookmarks. It seemed the majority of users prefer their tabs lower down. It’s usually your first port of call to open a new page, although some people have shown a dislike to this change, and seem to prefer their tabs at the very top of the window.

While a page is loading, you’ll see a new icon in the URL field on the right telling you the page is loading, and giving you the option to cancel loading the page. If you’re visiting a blog or website with RSS feeds, the loading icon will change to one that reads “RSS” once the page has loaded, giving you a direct link to the RSS feed itself. Nothing’s changed here from Safari 3, other than the design of these icons.

Of course, the “report to Apple” icon has been removed in the full version. You can still report any problems you may have with Safari from the Safari drop-down menu, and selecting the “Report Bugs to Apple…” option.

There’s no doubt that Safari 4 is fast; it’s faster than Firefox, Chrome, Opera and IE 8. A new JavaScript engine allows pages to load and render quickly—even with a flaky WiFi connection—and it’s also the first and only cross-platform browser that achieves full marks (100/100) for the Acid 3 tests.

Top Sites and viewing your history in Cover Flow have stayed the same in the full release. We’ll have to dig deep into Safari 4’s files to see if its still keeping an eye on you, but otherwise, things look great in Cover Flow.

Apple didn’t miss much with Safari 4. There are 150 new features that make the everyday user and developer happy using Safari 4. I stayed away from the public beta because of issues around Wordpress and consistent crashing. I’m happy to say the issues around Wordpress have been cleared up, and Safari 4 hasn’t even lagged, let alone crashed.

Grab the download from Apple, and let us know what you think.

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple has been gaining web share—both as a platform and with its Safari browser—at the expense of Windows, a new study reveals. From April 08 to April 09, use of OS X-based browser to surf the internet grew from 7.38% to 9.73%, Safari use (presumably both Mac and Window flavors) rose 6.31 to 8.21 percent, and the iPhone reached 0.55%, up from 0.15%. The iPod touch’s use grew to 0.15%, up from 0.03%.

While Internet Explorer continues to dominate with more than 80% use, its numbers have been slowly slipping, losing ground to both Macintosh and the cross-platform Firefox browser. Hell, even Linux is making gains.

Why are people switching? I’ll grant you that Microsoft has made great strides since Internet Explorer 6 (which is still being used, despite being almost nine years old, rendering problems with modern code, and having a terrible security reputation), but how many people who have tried Firefox, Chrome, or Safari really prefer Internet Explorer? Is this evidence of a shift away from the Windows platform, or just from IE?

Via [ITWire Mobile]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Provides: Access to social network Twitter from Mac desktop
Developer: Atebits LLC
Minimum System Requirements: G4, G5 or Intel Mac, Mac OS X 10.5
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: Free (with ads) or $14.95 ($19.95 from May 4th, 2009)
Availability: Now
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1

Tweetie for Mac was officially released earlier this week, and it has turned out to be just as popular as the iPhone version. There are currently two versions available for the app: ad supported or not. However, the ads in the free version can be turned off. When it comes to Twitter clients, Tweetie is as feature packed as it comes; from @replies to direct messages and search, it has it all.

When you first launch the app, you sign in with your account (and multiple accounts are supported). Then, you are greeted with a beautiful interface that makes tweeting even more entertaining.  Along the left hand column you see the tabs for each section of your Twitter profile, as well as your user image. The tweets are beautifully embedded with easy links to reply to a tweet or check out the user’s profile. Basically, it does everything you would expect your basic Twitter client to do (heck, you even use Cmd-Enter to send a tweet to avoid all those mistakenly published tweets. The things that make it special are its great interface as well as what I will discuss next.

Two of the coolest features the developer included are the ability to see images inline and shorten URLs on the go. If you see an image from TwitPic, Twitgoo, yFrog, or Posterous and click on it, it will open in a appropriate sized HUD window instead of launching your browser. Also, when tweeting, you can simply drag an image to the update box and have it automatically uploaded to your service. Furthermore, you can also shorten links within the update box and never having to go to the actual website. The current sites include bit.ly, is.gd, TinyURL, tr.im, and DiggBar.

There is definitely some work that can be done on Tweetie. Currently, some of the most requested features have been the ability to set the refresh rate and see how many API calls are left.  Also, users would like to be able to easily delete their tweets from within the Tweetie interface. Atebites, the developer, is currently working on some of these, and I’m sure he will have an update pretty soon. That said, the app is better than any other Twitter app I have used on the Mac so far, so I will be sticking with it for a while. It’s clean, it’s Cocoa, and it works.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Possibly the most exciting piece of software for the Mac in a while, atebits has released his long awaited Tweetie client for the Mac.  As I’m sure you know, Tweetie started off as an iPhone Twitter app where it saw enormous success and enjoyment from its users. Therefore, moving it to the Mac was the perfect idea, in my opinion. The application is currently available from the atebits site (which surprisingly hasn’t gone down all day despite being a trending topic on Twitter), and comes in two versions; the free version obviously costs no money, but does display ads (although there is an option to turn them off). The paid version currently costs $14.95, but after May 4th, 2009, it will jump up to $19.95.

Current features include the ability to log in with more than one account, and to your tweets, direct messages, and @replies with a nice, clean interface. There is also built-in support for URL shortening using a variety of services, as well as built-in support for tweeting and viewing images. As with many Twitter clients, you can search trending topics and read user profiles as well.

I highly suggest you check it out and support atebits as a developer. Also be sure to check out our Twitter apps for iPhone and Macintosh round-up.

Product [Tweetie for Mac]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The verdict is in on the trial of The Pirate Bay, the popular torrent site where users can download just about any movie, TV show, or software available. The verdict? Guilty! To the tune of $3.5 million dollars and a year in prison for each of the defendants.

This is, however, only the first trial, and one of the them has already predicted to win on appeal. Unsurprisingly he “borrowed” an analogy from a studio film:

In an Internet press conference this morning, defendant Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi compared the whole trial to (of all things) The Karate Kid, a movie in which the good guy is roughed up by bullies, goes through a long training process, learns to “wax on, wax off,” encounters his bully again in the final round of a karate tournament, and kicks him in the face with his “crane technique.” Kolmisoppi sees parallels. In the end, he insists, “we’ll kick their ass.”

When asked for a reply to this statement, a representative for the movie studios mentioned that Will Smith is in negotiations to remake the film as The Kung Fu Kid featuring Smith’s son and Jackie Chan, with an expected premier as a major tentpole picture in 2010.

Via [Ars Technica]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Product: Twitter Client
Format: Download (582 KB)
Developer: Goose Apps
Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.5, Twitter account (free)
Processor Compatibility: Universal
Price: Free (beta testing)
Availability: Beta testing (expires July 1, 2009)
Version Reviewed: 0.3.1

Twitter desktop clients: the field is overwhelmingly filled with Adobe AIR applications. These applications don’t usually look all too graceful, and worse (and far less subjective), have huge memory leaks. There are a few other apps that don’t rely on AIR; Twitterrific (my personal favorite) comes to mind. However, there are no Twitter apps on the Market that fit in with the Mac OS X look and feel, and more importantly run natively. Enter “Lounge.”

Lounge began as an iPhone app, and now is in development of the desktop version. This makes it one of the few twitter apps to have a mobile and desktop counterpart. To me, this is the killer feature of Lounge, because it plans to offer “last read” syncing between the two apps, something that Twitterrific doesn’t.

In addition, Lounge is the first Twitter application to look like it belongs on Mac OS X. It has a very native interface, a fact I think may hurt it a little bit in the long run. (See my article on Native UI appearance for an in-depth explanation.) Overall, the interface is slow and has some flaws, but none are major, and I believe they will all be fixed by the time this becomes a final release.

The first issue I find with the interface is the size. The window cannot be any smaller than about 350 pixels across (not including the sidebar, shown above,) a setting much too wide to sit on the side of my screen as Twitterrific currently does. It can be cheated smaller by opening the sidebar, shrinking it, and hiding the sidebar again, but when the app is quit or the window is closed, it will reset. The interface is also very slow. One of the neat things about the Lounge app is its iPhone-like interface paradigms. For instance, clicking on a tweet will slide down more info about the tweeter (below). Unfortunately, this takes a few seconds in the current betas, which is much too long for a “Quick Info” box.

Lounge offers multiple sections in the app (right). The “Friends” section is the one that most people will likely use most of the time. It shows the “normal” Twitter view of your friends and your tweets mixed together. The “My Two Cents” section shows all of the logged in user’s tweets. “Vanity” shows all tweets that include “@yourname” but don’t have it right in the front. This is a really useful view, but weirdly separated from Replies, much like every other Twitter app. I don’t understand why “@AdamFC hey!” and “hey @AdamFC” shouldn’t both count as replies, but I digress. Lounge also has a built-in Twitter search area, something that is definitely a no-brainer. Some of the views are more than a little redundant, and the amount of them could be pared down, but most are useful, and hey, the list can be hidden, so no harm done.

Overall, Lounge doesn’t offer any huge breakthrough features, but it does aggregate common ones very nicely. It could use a bit of flair in its interface, not to the extreme of Twitterrific, but as of right now it could pass for any Apple app. I have a feeling that once it is out of beta, many people will be flocking to Lounge for a nice, native Twitter experience on the Mac.

Download the Lounge beta.

See more Twitter client reviews.

Full Story » | Written by Adam Fisher-Cox for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Today at Boxee’s meetup in New York it was announced that Boxee will be receiving even more impressive updates. Just as you might have suspected, they’ve found a way around Hulu yet again, and this time, it’s not blockable without taking the entire site down. But there’s more. They now have a partnership with Pandora and a new PBS application.

So how did they do it this time? Get around Hulu, that is? Boxee has tweaked their code, and now they have a new XUL-based framework. In other words, they have basically built a browser into Boxee, meaning you can browse to Hulu’s webpage from within Boxee. So, Hulu is back, whether they like it or not. It would have been easier for them to just cooperate, but in the end, users of Boxee actually benefit since this opens up more ways for content to be distributed.

Boxee’s new partnership with Pandora means users will have access to Pandora’s excellent streaming radio. If you don’t already know what it is, Pandora is a streaming radio station that tailors itself to your tastes in music. Not only can you listen to music, you can actually create new stations from within Boxee. First, you give it a hint on what you like by selecting a band or song. Pandora then generates a station for you with similar artists and songs.All that is left to do is give a thumbs up or down for each song, and it only gets better and more specialized from here on out. Alternatively, you could do what Kevin Rose spent some time doing recently; create the world’s most annoying Pandora station to annoy your friends and coworkers by constantly giving a thumbs up to terrible songs and down to good ones. But you’re not that evil…are you?

Boxee now has a more robust API as well, but that probably doesn’t matter to you right now unless you are a developer. In the future, this will mean more and better content for you the user. For instance, the Pandora app I just got done talking about was built using the new API. And if you’d like to install the new PBS app, make sure you download the newest version of Boxee then do the following. Go to the App Box in the main menu, then Repositories, and add dir.boxeehq.com. Now, you can install it.

And as if Pandora wasn’t enough to satisfy your streaming radio needs, they’ve finished RadioTime. It’s an application that lets you stream over 100 thousand terrestrial radio stations from around the world. I’d say I hear the knell ringing for regular radio, but this is made possible in part by regular radio, so here I am, with my foot in my mouth.

So, if you’re a Boxee user already, be sure to update. And if you haven’t taken Boxee for a spin, then you owe it to your media loving self to at least try it out.

Product [Boxee]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The theme of the week is Apple’s Safari 4 public beta that took us all by surprise, and we followed suit with some discussion on the topic. We’ve also got some more articles and reviews that we talked about. Plus we’ve got a special 20% off discount code on the Podium stand that won our recent iPhone stand roundup for listeners. Be sure to subscribe in iTunes and listen all the way to the end for the code!

Here are the links for episode:

• Apple releases Safari 4
• Apple takes huge step forward in Windows app design, step back on the Mac
• Why Apple can do whatever the hell they want to
• Appletell’s iPhone stand showdown

Subscribe in iTunes [Appletellcast]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of us unlucky enough to be forced into Windows (there really should be an organization against such cruelty, but I digress), Apple has been routinely throwing a lifeline: ported applications. We got iTunes and Bonjour, then some great cross-platform MobileMe action along with an awesome port of Safari 3. I have been using the Safari 4 beta for a little over 24 hours now on both Windows XP/Vista and OS X Tiger/Leopard.  Apart from the slight learning curve (where’d my Tab bar go?!), I have to say, I love the OS X version. The Windows side of things is, decidedly, a mixed bag. Apple appears to have answered several major criticisms, though I’m not sure this is entirely a good thing.

Major changes include:

Fitting in:

Safari now looks more like a standard Windows app.  Previous versions stuck with the iTunes/OS X brushed metal interface, which stood out for several reasons: the buttons and scroll bars were standard OS X Aqua elements, rather than standard Windows items.  Sheets, a concept carried over from OS X, were used in place of modal dialog boxes.  About the only Windows interface element Apple did use was attaching the menu bar to each window, rather than docking it at the top.  In Safari 4, all this has changed…and I don’t think for the better.  In the screenshot below, the Safari window looks out of place with the modified Royale theme from Windows XP:

The Certificate inspector, previously a slide-out sheet, has now been converted into a modal window…meaning it’s possible to have it open on top of a window with which it is not associated.  To me, this is a step back in functionality, although the program does look more like a Windows app now.  Notice also that all buttons and scroll bars are Windows standard - no more Aqua UI here!  With all these changes, Safari just looks mildly adolescent, and sorta gawky to boot.  Like it doesn’t quite fit in, even though it’s wearing the right clothes.

Function didn’t follow:

In the Extreme Makeover, Apple seems to have made some OS X specific changes, and then slapped them on the Windows version.  For example, the new tab bar is supposed to have nothing to the right of it (so the new tab “+” button is always the rightmost window element).  But on Windows, the Minimize/Maximize/Close buttons are always to the right, so that little plus sign gets lost in the shuffle.  The Safari icon up in the new Title/Tab bar also clutters things up—again a Windows convention that seems to just get in the way. 

Other Windows conventions have made it slightly more difficult to use the program, without major user UI modifications.  The loss of the menu bar echoes changes Microsoft made to IE 7, as does the addition of the new settings/tools button (that little gear shaped icon).  In OS X, there is no menu bar loss; it is always at the top of the screen.  By default, however, Safari 4 removes the familiar File-Edit-View (etc.) across the top of the window.  Granted, most functions are accessible through keyboard shortcuts or popup menus, but it is a big loss for any commands that have no alternate means of execution (the Merge All Windows command, for example).

Tabbin’ the day away:

One interface tweak that really kicks the Windows version up a notch is the way that tabs are handled.  In this, Apple has managed to leapfrog all other browsers in terms of user interface; tabs are now much easier to work with.  Exhibit A is the way that the active tab is more clearly highlighted.  Google’s Chrome introduced a great visual paradigm for active tabs, but Apple really upped the ante (the red box was added for emphasis):

Working with multiple tabs is now even easier, since the new “hidden tabs” menu employs some clever shading to let you know which tabs are currently visible, and which are not.  In addition, choosing a hidden tab will advance the entire tab bar, meaning that some tabs are now hidden on both the left and right sides of the tab bar - I am just waiting to see a cool Cover Flow style tab management system (totally eye candy, completely unnecessary…Apple, when you gonna give it to us?):

And finally, Apple has somehow managed to make pop-up and pop-under windows enjoyable (okay, the Netflix and Screensaver ads are not really enjoyable, but their windowing paradigm is).  All windows can be made to display standard UI elements, such as the status bar, tab bar, and address bar.  This is a huge problem on Internet Explorer, which frequently will open a popup that can not be resized, or the address can not be copied because the address and menu bars are hidden.  In Safari, you can have everything:

Final thoughts:

First off, it is great to see that the browser wars really aren’t dead…they just took a strange 10 year hiatus (thanks, IE, you bully).  The internet has evolved, but for so long the browser was stuck in the late 90s.  As for this new version of Safari, remember it’s a beta.  Feedback to Apple regarding the UI changes (improvements?) will probably be considered, and the final release may look a lot different.  So, sound off liberally with your thoughts, and let’s hope the Safari dev team is reading!

Full Story » | Written by Aaron Kraus for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Today, Apple have updated their web browser Safari to version 4. It’s currently in beta testing stages, but is available to the public to download. On the face of it, Safari 4 looks brilliant. A full update that we’ve been waiting for is delivered with some new and interesting features.

Apple like things to be visual. While Windows have menus and tabs to find applications, Apple uses a dock with visual icons of each program. Following this, Cover Flow is a feature in both Finder and iTunes. If that wasn’t too much of a hint, Cover Flow is now featured in Safari. It’s in place as an option to view your browsing history, with a screenshot of each page you’ve visited. I’m not sure how this would affect memory and stability—if your history contains thousands of pages each with their own image—but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough as we begin testing.

Top Sites is another new feature added into Safari 4. With a tap of a key, you’re presented with up to 24 icons of your favorite and most visited websites. You have the option to add sites to this, and lock them in a specific place, so think of this as a visual representation of your top bookmarks. If you’ve bookmarked say, Appletell, you’ll be notified with a star in the corner of the icon to let you know that the website has updated its content since you’re last visit. A great way of keeping on top of your favorite websites you most regularly visit, Appletell being one of these, of course.

While those are the most significant changes, a few slight additions are noticeable too. For instance, tabs are now placed at the very top of the browser. In essence, it makes every page part of that tab, rather than only the content. I’m not sure of the true significance of this, but from using it for a short while, it feels more natural—almost like a bookmark sticking out the top of a book you’re reading, changing to different pages. Management of tabbed browsing is also greatly improved, with more options and flexibility open to the user.

If you’re a Windows user, you’ll be happy to know that Apple have worked hard on improving Safari just for you! The integration with Vista is improved, and the design of the windows now matches Windows’ native look and feel. Previous versions of Safari for Windows were pretty much identical to the Mac versions, and looked completely in the wrong place.

Get the idea for Safari 4, the world’s fastest web browser? Then what are you waiting for? Go download this latest version and let us know what you think. Is the stability greatly improved for you Windows users?

Product [Safari 4]

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Every now and again, it seems a software company sells you their product not just because they want your money, but because they’re genuinely interested in what you’ll do with it. I’ve always had that feeling with companies such as Toon Boom, Boinx and Corel (specifically with Painter). Now, add Mariner Software to that list, as they’ve just announced the launch of writerspub.com.

Mariner develops and publishes various tools for writers, including Mariner Write for general word processing, StoryMill for novels, and Montage for screen and stage plays. Writerspub.com is a place where users of these tools (or any word processing app, really) can publicly share and critique their work and the work of others.

A totally free web site, writerspub.com is designed as an environment for the writer to engage with one another. Those who are new to writing are especially encouraged to participate, as it will allow them to interconnect with both amateur and professional writers. With a writerspub.com account one can can upload a story or other written work, create groups and write reviews. To encourage involvement, writerspub.com has a point-based reward system. The concept is simple – the more the writer reviews others work, posts comments, etc., the more points are earned. After earning enough points, the writer will be able to post his or her own stories for review.

This “The love you take is equal to the love you make” approach guarantees participation in order for the site to be useful, which should help to build a strong community. Yes, we’ll only be reading other people’s works so that our own can be read, but it’s all good. It’ll be a great way to find some gems, and hopefully provide motivation and ideas for our projects. I’ve got my second novel and play sitting in limbo, as they have been for quite some time, and perhaps something like Writerspub.com will give me the incentive to finally get those projects finished.

Features of writerspub.com include:

• A Writers Forum: view announcements; hang out at “The Lounge” and discuss anything you want; learn how to find agents and write synopses; share the craft of writing with other members
• View members who are online at the same time
• Invite friends
• Browse by author or by genre
• Give an opinion or a critique of others work
• Share your vision

“Developing creative writing software is a passion for us,” said Michael Wray, president of Mariner Software. “It just made sense to create a venue for everyone who loves the written word in all its forms, to come together, share and review each others work.”

To sign up for your own personal account, visit www.writerspub.com. If you see a guy in there with a hooded robot for his avatar, that’s me. Say hello.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Boxee has been in private alpha for some time now, and I’ve been out of alpha invites for almost as long as I’ve had access to the app. If you’ve been waiting for that alpha invite, your wait is over. As we reported earlier, Boxee has now changed from private to public alpha.

Boxee is now open for all Mac, AppleTV and Ubuntu users. Windows users will have to do some waiting, as its version of the app has now gone into private alpha, though thousands of invites will be sent out weekly.

But why would Boxee stop there? As if opening the gates of Boxee to the masses wasn’t quite enough to keep everyone happy, and I’m pretty sure it would be, they’ve gone ahead and updated the program while they were at it. Features in the newest version include:

• Joost support - apparently the #1 most requested feature other than an invite. Yay Joost. Sounds like a drink to me.
• BBC iPlayer support - they’ve answered the call from all of the users in the UK to add this functionality. Doesn’t work anywhere but the UK, which is the BBC’s fault. Come on BBC, show some love!
• MTV Music support - that’s right, MTV still plays music, and now you can search for artists or songs in addition to just browsing for tracks.
• More keyboard shortcuts - they don’t really want you to browse with a keyboard, but if you like to break the rules you can Command + Tab to switch to a different program (even in full screen), Command + F to toggle full screen and Shift + Letter to jump in a list directly to that letter.
• More enhancements - now there’s support for dual screens, you can search in Hulu and the most exciting feature, there are now guidelines for developers that will result in more services being added to Boxee.

This is a great update for previous users of Boxee and a great starting point for everyone else. Congrats on the job so far, Boxee.

Product [Boxee]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Pandora, one of the most popular online streaming music sites around, is also well known for their killer iPhone app. This iPhone app, which has previously allowed users to stream music over EDGE, 3G, and Wifi, has recently been updated to version 2.0 and brings a host of new features. Two of these most prominent updates add features to the app that make the music browsing experience more like that off the actual iPhone iPod application. For example, double tapping the album cover will now cause it to flip around and show the artist’s bio and song information. Furthermore, tilting the iPhone sideways will bring up a coverflow view that gives access to recently played songs.

These aren’t the only improvements the Pandora iPhone team has brought to the software, though. On top of those, the bookmark feature now allows users to get 30 second playback previews. And last but not least are the sharing features that have been polished. It is now easier to create playlists from songs as well as actual emails to recommend songs for your friends.  If you haven’t used the app or service before, I strongly recommend it. Head over now and get it for free on iTunes.

Product [Pandora] Via [Ars Technica]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Boxee has proven itself to be one of the most popular closed alpha applications. It started as a flavor of XBMC only on the Mac. Since then, it’s made its way to the AppleTV, and has added support for Hulu and so many other online media sources. The only real problem with Boxee thus far has been its closed alpha status, but that’s about to change.

It’s understandable; since the program is still alpha, it’s not expected to work perfectly. The developers have also wanted to gradually scale their servers to handle the program. But its popularity has been bothering the developers to open it up to everyone, and that’s exactly what they are going to do on January 8th, 2009. As an added bonus, they’re working hard to mail out invites before December 25th for all non-windows users who’ve signed up for an invite. Happy holidays.

Via [BoxeeBlog]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Google added support for CalDAV back in July.  But now they’ve improved that feature, which means syncing between iCal and Google Calendars is easier than ever.

To set up syncing between iCal and Google, first make sure you actually have a calendar set up with Google. All you really have to do is log in to Google Calendar.

Now start by downloading Google’s tool, Calaboration. After unzipping the tool and launching it, sign in to your Google account.

The window now displays all calendars that are set up with your account. Check the calendars that you want access to in iCal and click Add to iCal.

Calaboration now makes sure that iCal isn’t running and does all of the hard work setting up CalDAV accounts in iCal. When you next launch iCal, your Google calendars will be fully synced and editable.

If you’re scratching your head as to why you’d want to sync to a Google Calendar, then consider this. You can keep track of your personal (public) schedule and let friends, family or anybody, really, have access to that information on their computer. Now you’ll never have to tell them (again and again and again) when you’re working; just update your Google calendar and save yourself from the headaches. And thankfully, setting this up is pretty painless as well.

First, log in to Google Calendar and go to Settings.  Click the Calendars tab and find the calendar that you want to share and click on it’s label. Towards the bottom of this page are a few calendar addresses.

Now you have to choose between a public or private calendar. Public calendars are searchable through Google, so it’s your call as to whether you want strangers finding your calendar with a search. You can make your calendar public in the Share This Calendar tab and use the first set of addresses.

If you choose to stay private, just use the private address. This will give you control over who has access to the calendar. You can share your calendar with people by clicking the HTML button and sending them this link.

If they have a Mac (and thus iCal) it can automatically be synced to their computer. Copy the iCal link and send it, along with the following instructions, to anyone you wish. Feel free to use my generic template if you like.

I’ve set up my schedule so you can view it on the internet. If you’d like to have my schedule available and constantly updated on your Mac, it’s pretty easy. Just copy the following address and do the following.

[Insert your iCal link here]

1. Open iCal
2. Click Calendar in the menu bar followed by Subscribe
3. Paste the link that I sent to you here
4. Click Subscribe and OK
5. All done

This process will add a new calendar under the Subscriptions section in the sidebar. After clicking Subscribe, you can change some values, such as the calendar name or label color, but the default values will work fine.

This is a great way to share a schedule with friends and family.  And best of all, it’s not that hard.

Product [Calaboration]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The folks at boxee have update their fantastic media application to support Netflix streaming on the Mac, among other things.

The good news is that Netflix works just like you’d expect it to on the Mac. There is full support for Instant Queue, recommendations, browsing, searching and Netflix Watch Instantly.

The bad news is that Netflix is only currently supported on the Mac. The Apple TV’s processor just couldn’t handle it. But that’s not to say that future updates won’t support it, because they’re still trying.

But let’s not let Netflix claim the whole update. The newest alpha update to boxee also includes:

• Improved Hulu support
• Improved YouTube support
• Support for TheWB.com
• Support for MTV Music
• Support for the Boston Globe’s The Big Picture - it’s a photo-blog that boxee wanted to experiment with and may add similar services in the future if response is good.
• Rewritten plugins for CNN, Flickr, Picasa and Apple Movie Trailers
• Tons of bug fixes and other improvements

Overall, this is a fantastic update, well worth the download. Perhaps in a future update the Apple TV will also support Netflix. That would be awesome.

Product [boxee

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Although there are already platforms like Dropbox and MobileMe for the Mac when it comes to syncing your data with the cloud, these solutions may not be right for some users. Those people will be happy to know that Microsoft’s Live Mesh platform has now made its way to your Mac OS X machine. All that’s required is a small application and a Windows Live ID, and you’ll be on your way to adding Mac computers to your Live Mesh account and staying in sync with the cloud.

Like MobileMe and me.com, Live Mesh has a website (mesh.com) that allows its users to get and download their content and files from any computer. In the storage area, MobileMe quadruples the storage of Live Mesh, with a nice sized 20GB compared to Mesh’s 5GB. However, when it comes to price, Live Mesh can’t be beat. MobileMe will run you $99 a year whereas Live Mesh is 100% free. The choice is yours now between these options, I leave it up to you to make the right one.

Via [The Unofficial Apple Weblog]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of you eagerly awaiting the native Qik iPhone application to appear in the App Store so you don’t have to jailbreak, you will be very delighted to hear that some progress has been made with the overall process.

This week Qik announced a website specifically optimized for Safari Mobile on the iPhone that will allow iPhone users to watch Qik videos (unfortunately, not live streams yet). Although the other half of the equation—actually being able to stream from the phone—isn’t there, the native application is still in the works. In the words of Bhaskar Roy, Qik’s co-founder, they’re stilling waiting “... to build a few things in our product prior to submitting it.” When it’s launched, I have a feeling it’s going to be good.

I’ll admit that a Qik website isn’t as good as a native application would be, but their website offers some nice features. Logged-in users are able to due some minor editing of their profiles via the iPhone site, such as adding titles, descriptions, and tags to videos. As mentioned above, users will not, however, be able to watch live streams, just Quicktime formatted videos that Qik users have saved on their profiles.

Let us know what you think of the site!

Via [ArsTechnica]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

For those of you who love Boxee for your Apple TV, you’ll be delighted to hear that the Boxee team has released an update in response to the Apple TV 2.3 software update. However, this isn’t the only good news coming out of Boxee recently; they have also received $4 million investment from Spark Capital and Union Square Ventures. Obviously, Boxee is very excited about this, and plans to do some exciting things with their software that will make them “The software running tomorrow’s living room, where the Internet, social networks and TV are intertwined.”

With thousands of users, Boxee is an interface that allows users to access content from third party providers such as Hulu, CBS, and Comedy Central over the Apple TV. On top of this, Boxee supports almost all audio and video formats as well as many social networking sites like Flickr, Twitter, and Picasa. Yet the best part about this company is how they handle their customers. In a recent survey on their blog, they asked their users what they want to see come next to the Boxee software, which is a great decision for their company.

Hopefully, we’ll see more success from Boxee in the future.

Via [Distorted-Loop] Product [Boxee]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

The Official Google Mobile Blog has just announced that the Google search results pages for the iPhone has just been better optimized. Specifically, the enhancement has something to do with the way search results pages were laid out, making full use of the iPhone’s display panel. According to Google, the enhanced search results pages are now formatted more neatly and appropriately for the small screen of the iPhone. So, if you go to google.com using your iPhone’s Safari browser, you’ll noticed you don’t have to scroll side to side anymore.

Additionally, for local search results, useful links such as “Get Directions” and “Click-to-Call” are now displayed on search results pages. Likewise, maps are also displayed for single listing or through the “Show Map” links for multiple listings of establishments. The classic desktop search results format are also available via the “Classic Link” which is located at the bottom of the search results page.

These are certainly nice additions to the functionality of google.com when using your iPhone. Unfortunately for us non-US iPhone users, the said new features won’t be available for some time. As for you, our dear readers in the U.S., the new format of the Google search results pages is already available, and you can see it if your iPhone or iPod Touch has the the 2.x version of the firmware.

Via [The Official Google Mobile Blog]

Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

I’ve heard people talk about how great Amazon’s MP3 store is, and honestly, I haven’t really cared. I have two problems with it. First, call me old school, but I like physical media. Second, it’s interface isn’t as nice as iTunes. You don’t even have to leave the program that plays all of your music to find, preview and buy more with iTunes. Good news; one of those problems has been fixed by Advantageous mp3.

Advantageous mp3 is a script that you add to iTunes. When browsing the iTunes store for some great new tunes, it can help. Once you find a song you actually want to buy, just highlight it, and run the script by clicking Get MP3 From Amazon. Advantageous mp3 does the rest.

There are a number of great reasons to use this script. Amazon’s MP3s are of better quality than iTunes’ 99 cent standard songs, and they’re DRM-free, which is the biggest reason to buy from them. This script also fixes the interface of Amazon. Amazon is great, but it’s so easy to search right in iTunes and get a preview of songs without leaving the app.

I have a confession. I never buy music from the iTunes store. Actually, I never buy downloadable music. Like I said, I might be old school, but I need to have a physical copy of my media. As a result, I buy all of my music in CD form, often from Half.com. But I still use iTunes to preview songs before buying them. Its interface is perfect; it’s simple, and it works.  The 30 second previews are often enough to judge if a CD is worth purchasing. That said, this script has the best potential of anything to convert me over to download only music.

I’d like to know what you think. Do you buy music online from iTunes or Amazon or are you like me and need a real CD in case your hard drive dies?

Product [Advantageous mp3]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

As a long-time Netflix user, I was one of the many Mac users who were peeved by the delay in getting a version of their stream “Watch Instantly” (WI) service for Macs, and even more peeved when I found out that when the Mac version was available, it was going to be a slow rollout focusing on new users. So, naturally, as soon as I found out that users could opt-in for the beta, I clicked over as fast as I could.

I’m not a complete novice to the service, having installed it on my Boot Camp partition (Windows XP). Having tried the new service, I can say that while one aspect is much, much better on the Mac, the service isn’t yet perfect.

First, the good; installation is a breeze. When installing the WI software (and the Silverlight DRM) on the Windows side, I recall long waits to download the software, install it, authorize it, and being able to walk to the kitchen and fix a snack while waiting for the streaming of the film to actually, you know, begin. And this is on both a wireless network (cable) and a high-speed ethernet connection.

Installation on the Mac, however, is simplicity itself. You download the Silverlight DRM package, install it, then restart your browser (Safari and Firefox, though I’ve tried it on the Flock browser and it works fine). Go into Netflix and find the film you want to watch, and Watch Instantly starts…almost instantly! The long waits for authorization I experienced on the Windows side simply did not happen. Plus, when I went back to rewatch a film I started (under Windows), WI remembered the point at which I’d left, and started playing from there.

Another great thing: Netflix has recently partnered with Starz, meaning that there is a greater assortment of popular movies and TV to watch. I don’t want to be unkind, but a month or so ago, WI’s programming resembled the UHF station on the edge of town. A few fun, wonderful, or just plain weird selections, but most of it was what you’d probably find in the dollar bin at your video store (if it wasn’t already in a bag out back).

Now for the bad (and the ugly); the same as when I used Windows, the video quality could politely be called “adequate.” On my 17” iMac screen with a high-speed ethernet connection, there was heavy artifacting. Like, huge chunks of blocky, discolored video. Forget DVD quality, I’d be happy if the movies and TV I watched were better than YouTube. This problem can be mitigated on other sites (like Hulu) by resizing the window (and playing it off to the side while doing something else), but with WI, you’re limited as to how small you can make the screen (and blowing it up to full size just makes matters worse).

Still, I’m excited about the service, which makes it much, much easier to take a chance on a film or show that I’ve heard good things about, without having to “risk” one of my discs to see if I’ll like it. If Netflix can add more top-tier programs to the service, and most importantly improve the quality of their streams, they may well have the killer app that the entertainment industry is looking for in home delivery.

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Despite some recent MobileMe updates that Apple quietly rolled out in an effort to improve the stability and functionality of their “cloud”-based web service, the service still isn’t performing up to the usual Apple standards. Perhaps this is why the updates haven’t been announced as of late—Apple doesn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up that the service will actually work, finally, as originally advertised.

Last week, I experienced all kinds of funkiness with e-mail: messages wouldn’t send, my in box wouldn’t load up, I couldn’t delete messages, etc. It was annoying, but par for the course since the switch. This morning, however, I couldn’t log in at all. Visiting www.me.com, I was greeted with the following message:

(The message was still up at press time.)

On a whim, I thought I’d try going directly to www.mac.com. After a few slow redirects, sure enough, I got into my MobileMe account was able to access all my information and use the services provided.

So, next time someone screws up the definition of irony, you can point that person to MobileMe for a true example; Apple switched from .Mac to MobileMe in order to improve use and increase functionality of their server-side data management service, but, in order to even access it, you have to use .Mac.

Update: 8:00 a.m.

Reports of similar problems are starting to surface in user forums around the web:

• MacRumors
• MacTalk
• Apple.com

The topic in the Apple forums was created on November 1st, so it seems some people have been having the problem since at least Saturday. Further into that thread is an expanded suggestion of my workaround above, along with an explanation of what’s going on:

It looks like someone messed up the me domain and http://www.me.com/ doesn’t resolve properly to the auth server giving the ‘Not Found: Resource does not exist’ error.

Until Apple fix the problem try using one of the following as a workaround:
http://www.me.com/index.html
https://auth.apple.com/authenticate
https://auth.apple.com/authenticate?service=DockStatus
These should get you where you need to be

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple has quietly updated their start page this week. If you’ll remember, the start page is the first page Safari users see when they boot up the browser for the first time before they set their own home page. As typical with Apple, the web page is both elegant and useful, with links to new products, movie trailers, and hot news headlines. Although this page’s goal is obviously to glorify Apple and their products, Apple has managed to cover that up with usefulness.

On the bottom of this page is a very sleek iTunes Store grid titled “iTunes this week” which does just that; it highlights the popular albums, songs, apps, movies, etc from this week. As usual, it is beautifully designed and contains sharp graphics and nice transitions. If you have some free time, go and check the new design out, it is pretty interesting and can be very helpful if you want to see what Apple has been up to lately.

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

A recent Apple support article details many of the MobileMe improvements made in the late September 2008 update. With a total of 27 improvements, some of them seem pretty important. What’s interesting about this update, however, is that Apple never notified their users, or anyone, about these updates when they were made back in September. Their reason for this is as follows:

Apple is always working to improve MobileMe. Since MobileMe is primarily a server-side, or “cloud”-based, service, the MobileMe team can make improvements and push updates to MobileMe without any action being required of MobileMe customers. Since server-side updates are a bit more innocuous than a standard software update to Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows, it’s easy not to notice that updates are occurring. Usually the only hint of these updates is that things just “work better”.

I find it sort of interesting that Apple would wait almost a month to inform their users about these updates, but I don’t think it really matters as long as the updates improve the service and don’t deal with users’ privacy or personal information. Apple does have a point in that it isn’t really necessary to tell users of updates right away because all of the updating is on their side of the client-server relationship, the users just experience the changes. It all depends on your viewpoint, though. What do you think? Would it have been nice to know about these changes when they actually occurred?

Via AppleInsider

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

One of the biggest complaints people still offer about the iPhone is its lack of photo sharing capabilities. Phones much cheaper and more antiquated than the iPhone have been allowing users to take photos and send them to people quickly and easily for some time now, so why not the iPhone? Well, now it can, kind of, thanks to Memeo Photo from Memeo, Inc., who has also just announced Mac Memeo Share. These programs let individuals share high-resolution pictures and videos directly to the computer desktops of friends and family from a Mac or iPhone. They join the PC version of Memeo Share, enabling consumers to now share pictures across multiple platforms using the program. But there is one important drawback.

MemeoPhoto enables iPhone owners to instantly share photos when on-the-go. After downloading the product from the iPhone App Store, users can take pictures and immediately send them to their Sharing Circles. MemeoPhoto users also instantly and automatically receive photos that others share with them.

In other words, people who receive the images will be able to easily download them to their gallery, provided they also have MemeoPhoto installed on their iPhone. But the functionality doesn’t end with the iPhone:

Memeo Share makes sharing full-quality photos and videos with friends and family easy by offering a better alternative to using email. With the product, consumers no longer have to resize pictures or send them one at a time. Memeo Share also allows individuals to simply share videos, as it seamlessly distributes content behind-the-scenes through user-created Sharing Circles. Additionally, Mac Memeo Share integrates with iPhoto, allowing users to share and receive photos directly from and to the application.

Mac Memeo Share is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4.8 and above and is available immediately in free “Standard” and paid “Premium” versions. The standard version comes with 1GB of online storage space, and the premium version provides unlimited storage for $4.95 a month. MemeoPhoto for iPhone is a free download from the App Store.

Products [MemeoPhoto and Mac Memeo Share]

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

That’s right. We’ve waited long enough for Netflix to roll out the Watch Instantly happiness for Macs. It seems like everything else under the sun got support first, including PCs, set top boxes, and even the XBOX 360, which can barely support its own hardware. What’s the catch? Oh you, you just knew there was something, didn’t you?

There’s always something.

That something isn’t quite that bad, but it is ironic. It seems that Microsoft’s Silverlight is the vehicle that Netflix has chosen to deliver its streaming video to Intel Macs. You read right, Intel Macs. So to anyone still sporting a non-Intel processor, I sincerely hope you don’t buy into the whole Netflix thing in the first place. Alternatively, this could be a great reason for you to upgrade to one of the new MacBooks!

The reason behind Silverlight is its DRMing skills. I have a hard time with any decision that’s made with DRM in mind, though it’s not just Intel Macs that benefit from this choice. Now, Watch Instantly works anywhere Silverlight does, which includes Firefox. So, if you find yourself stuck trying to use a PC, you won’t have to fully submit to Internet Explorer to stream some Netflix.

Personally, I would have rather seen Netflix find a solution that could work anywhere Flash works. That way, Netflix could work on not only the Mac, but also the PS3, and who knows, maybe even the iPhone if Adobe has their way. But, I suppose I should take the victories as they happen. Thanks Netflix…it’s about time.

Here’s the full PR:

NETFLIX BEGINS ROLL-OUT OF 2ND GENERATION

MEDIA PLAYER FOR INSTANT STREAMING

ON WINDOWS PCs AND INTEL MACS

Based on Microsoft Silverlight, New Player Features Enhanced Dynamic Streaming, First-Time Use for Macs and

Breakthrough Navigation for Fast-Forward and Rewind

LOS GATOS, Calif., October 27, 2008 – Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), the world’s largest online movie rental service, today announced it has begun the deployment of Microsoft Silverlight to enhance the instant watching component of the Netflix service and to allow subscribers for the first time to watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their Intel-based Apple Macintosh computers. The deployment, which will initially touch a small percentage of new Netflix subscribers, is the first step in an anticipated roll-out of the new platform to all Netflix subscribers by the end of the year.

Silverlight is designed for delivery of cross-platform, cross-browser media experiences inside a Web browser. It is expected that Netflix members who watch movies and TV episodes instantly on their computers will enjoy a faster, easier connection and a more robust viewing experience with Silverlight, due to the quality built directly into the player. Among the viewing enhancements with the new player is a breakthrough in timeline navigation that vastly improves the use of fast-forwarding and rewinding. The new Netflix player takes advantage of Play Ready DRM, which is built into Silverlight, for the playback of protected content on both Windows-based PCs and on Macs. That had not been possible with previous generation technologies.

“Silverlight with Play Ready offers a powerful and secure toolkit for delivery of dynamic streaming, which offers faster start-up, and higher quality video, adapted in real time to users’ connection speeds,” said Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt. “Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes from the growing library of choices that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next generation improvement of access and quality, on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox.”

Read [Engadget]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

If the two criteria for Mac-ness are “it just works” and being “insanely great,” then Skitch has to be the most Mac-like program I’ve seen in quite some time.

Skitch is a screenshot program, and while there’s nothing wrong with the screenshot capabilities built into OS X (other than it’s deliberately disabled when DVD Player is running), Skitch does everything Grab does, does it better, then adds labeling features you’ll wonder how you ever lived without, along with built-in sharing features that “just work” to allow you pass your pictures on via e-mail, web, and chat.

Currently a free beta from the mad geniuses at Plasq (best known to Mac users as the creators of Comic Life, a program I admire but haven’t found much practical use for), Skitch is a small program that waits in the background until you need to take a screenshot and/or do simple editing to a photo.

To take a screenshot, just click on a button in the Skitch floating panel, or use the shortcut. You can also use Skitch to take a webcam photo (much like Photo Booth). Once you’ve got your pic, you can add text, lines, arrows, boxes, or whatever you like. Now, the neat thing is that Skitch keeps these marks in layers, allowing you manipulate (or remove) them at any point. Skitch also allows you to crop and edit the photos using a simple process; if you pull the outside of the Skitch window, you can resize the photo; dragging the inside part of the window (the edges of the picture) crops the photo.

From there, you can save the photo (as a Skitch file), export it as a JPG, PNG, PDF, SVG, or TIF to your desktop, or upload it using the built-in Webpost feature to your (currently free) webspace on Skitch.com or .Mac (or MobileMe or whatever the hell they’re calling it this week). From the Skitch page, you get a series of links for a variety or purposes: embedding in a web page, sharing via e-mail or chat, or directing people to your Skitch page. You can also set the privacy options for the photo.

For simple screenshots and photo editing, Skitch might be the most intuitive program around. You can register and download the free beta, and watch a video that further explains how the program works.

Product [Skitch]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

While most sites which offer online services are rushing to get into the iPhone hype, the web’s top photo sharing site, Flickr, doesn’t want to join the party yet with a native iPhone app of its own. Instead, Flickr is enhancing its Flickr mobile site to make it more iPhone-friendly. Others who have rushed into making their iPhone apps available in the iTunes apps store have failed to satisfy iPhone users, whereas Flickr’s mobile site has came up with a robust and satisfying Flickr experience on the iPhone.

The redesigned Flickr mobile site has higlighted the most frequently and widely used features of the Flickr website and made it quickly accessible once users visit the mobile site using their iPhone. These features—which are all included in the top-screen navigation—are Activity, Contacts and a Link to more Flickr features. In addition, photos are now automatically scaled to fit the iPhone screen. Unfortunately, when displaying photos, other sizes available are not accessible and viewable. And interestingly, the touch-enabled photo enlargement and shrinking feature cannot be performed with the photos. Scrolling through the photos is now better done, although not as seamless as the web-based Flash enabled Flickr site.

Despite its minor flaws, the iPhone-enhanced Flickr mobile is still a useful alternative for the lack of a native Flickr app. To visit the site, just point your iPhone’s Safari browser to m.flickr.com.

Read [News.com]

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Being a Mac user, you’ve probably experienced more than your fair share of headaches as a result of the PC being the industry standard for just about everything. Watching online video is no exception, but Netflix is getting ready to alleviate your headaches before the end of the year with a Mac solution for watching their streaming content online.

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you already know there are thousands of videos available online to be watched instantly…if you’re running Windows, that is. Other than this limiting factor, the system is actually pretty awesome. Just sign in, pick a movie or TV show that strikes your fancy, and seconds later you’re entertained. No waiting for disks in the mail. Plus, if you are so inclined, you can watch an entire season of a TV show in one sitting. Previously, you’d have to watch one disk’s worth of episodes, send it back, get the next disk, rinse, and repeat.

But today, Netflix has announced they will finally be providing a Mac solution for instantly watching videos online.

And, for all of you Mac users (of which I am one) we’ve been busy working getting a solution that will allow you to watch instantly on your Mac. So hang in there - we’ll have something for you by the end of the year.

I used to fire up VMware Fusion with my copy of Vista to use Netflix’s service. Did it work? Kind of. It’s not exactly instant. After five or so minutes of booting up Windows and logging in, you might lose interest.

In any event, if you are a Netflix subscriber, this news should bring a smile to your face. The longest you’ll have to wait for this functionality is three months.

Read [Netflix]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Online retailer Amazon has teamed up with the 800 lb. gorilla of search engines, Google, to announce a new online music store that will allow users to purchase MP3s from Amazon via mobile devices using Google’s new “Android” operating system. Apple immediately announced it would be discontinued, as it “replicates functionality found in iTunes.”

Okay, I made that last bit up.

From Wired:

Owners of the device will be able to browse, search, preview and purchase music on the Amazon MP3 store using the phone’s cellular connection. In order for purchased MP3s to download, the phone must be connected via Wi-Fi. (The mobile iTunes store, on the other hand, remains completely offline without WiFi.)

Oooh, burn! The article goes on to note that in addition to the frustration developers are having with Apple’s policy for iPhone development, there’s the added problem that Apple is limiting any functionality with the iPod bits of the wildly popular phone. Plus, all of Amazon’s tracks are MP3s, which means no DRM.

Via [Wired]

Full Story » | Written by Bill Stiteler for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Recently, Net4Mac released a social networking application designed for users of the iPhone and iPod touch. Net4Mac is a social networking community created exclusively for Mac users. In order to use Net4Mac’s mobile application, you have to create an account at the Net4Mac.com website. You’ll have to be on a Mac computer to complete this process.

You can download Net4Mac’s social networking application by logging onto the AppStore on iTunes. The pricing is very reasonable at $1.99. Initially, it was $4.99, but users complained, so the price was lowered. According to the e-mail I received from Net4Mac, the upgrades will always be free.

Once you have created your account, you’ll now be able to access Net4Mac on your iPhone or iPod touch. Net4Mac allows mobile users to read their messages, send messages, and browse user profiles. More goodies are in store for Net4Mac, and we’ll see them being released in future updates.

Okay, so you’re not interested in the mobile version. No problem; Net4Mac also has the application available for Mac computers. I signed up for this application when it was released earlier this year, and yes, just like the mobile application, you have to be a Mac user to become a part of the Net4Mac social networking community. In that sense, it differs from networking websites such as Facebook or MySpace.

If you enjoy social networking services and would like to interact with other Mac lovers in own virtual community, check out the Net4Mac’s social networking application for the iPhone and iPod touch, and don’t forget to download the Net4Mac application you’ll need that to in order to access it on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Product [Net4Mac]

Full Story » | Written by Opal Tribble for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

By now, Google’s latest announcement is old news: there is a new browser in town. Joining Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer is a new guy, by the name of Chrome. Sporting a WebKit foundation (same as the platform Apple built Safari on), as well as a few other enhancements, Chrome promises to be a speed demon.  Buried in all the hype, however, are a few interesting bits that point to something bigger than just another browser.  Chrome may, in fact, be more revolutionary than it first appears…

Tabbed Browsing:  Not revolutionary.  Not even new.  Tabs predate Web 2.0, and with the release of IE 7, they became the standard browser interface paradigm.  Chrome does the UI a bit differently, with each tab containing its own address bar, back/forward buttons, etc., but that hardly qualifies as major innovation.  What Chrome does differently, however, is something called “sandboxing”.  Each tab is treated as a separate process in memory, meaning if one tab crashes, the whole browser doesn’t go down with it.  If Apple Mail crashes, it doesn’t take iChat with it…by extension, if GMail crashes in one tab, your conversation in Google Talk in another tab continues uninterrupted.

V8 - a Javascript Engine: Again, nothing new.  But V8 is being spun as a platform designed to “power the next generation of web applications that aren’t even possible in today’s browsers”.  Given the jury rigging required to make Google Apps available offline, this is tantalizing.  Rather than building an external Gears-style utility, what if the Javascript engine natively supported offline work?  The cloud may not be available 100% of the time, but if your web apps can keep track of themselves without the help of an active internet connection, then cloud computing may truly be a viable alternative to today’s desktop model.

Neither tabbed browsing nor a speedier Javascript engine are particularly exciting news.  Even the prospect of better tie-ins with Google Apps doesn’t really warrant excitement - you can do just fine with Firefox and Google Docs. What does warrant consideration is the possibility of thin client/kiosk style machines running nothing but Chrome and a few tabs.  Desktop applications need not apply in this world: a web app, residing comfortably in a Chrome tab, provides the same functionality that its bulky, early 90’s-era cousin does today.  Apple tried a similar tactic with development for the original iPhone, which was ultimately unsuccessful.  A UMPC with minimal RAM, a low-power processor, and virtually no built-in storage can comfortably run a browser.  SSDs may finally be truly useful, despite their size limitations.

If constant cloud connectivity is not required, mobile devices can eek out hours of work on battery power without the bloat of an OS.  Apple has done an admirable job of paring OS X to its core components for the iPhone, but a microkernel Linux OS to boot and then web apps loaded from the cloud would still likely shame the iPhone’s OS footprint.  Does Chrome merely expand the range of Google’s activities into browsers?  Or is it the interface to a new era of computing in the cloud?  If so, what devices are you most excited to see running Chrome - anything from a tiny PDA to your refrigerator could run it!

Via [Official Google Blog Entry]

Full Story » | Written by Aaron Kraus for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

There’s a new player the the browser wars, and it’s Google.

Google announced on the company blog today that they will be launching the beta of “Google Chrome” tomorrow morning for Windows, with versions for the Mac and Linux set to roll out in the coming weeks.

This certainly won’t ease tensions in Google’s “Cold War” with Microsoft, as now the folks in Redmond will have another innovate product to “compete” with.

You have to wonder what this means for Google’s relationships with Apple and Mozilla, as well. Google has been the one-and-only default search engine in Safari since its launch, and has also been pushing the “spread Firefox” as hard as anybody for a few years now. Clearly, Google must think they have something special to offer above and beyond what Apple and Mozilla have.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Via [Google Blog]

Full Story » | Written by Michael Goonan for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »