Appletell

Guy Kawasaki, the original Apple Evangelist, columnist for Macworld and current tech entrepreneur has some simple advice for Apple on the iPhone: open up the development process.

His point is that Apple doesn’t need to exert a huge amount of control over the iPhone app market. The best way to excite developers and users is to have a wide-open market for software, he said.

For those of you two young to remember, Kawasaki was, for many early Mac users, the voice of Apple enthusiasm, sincerely speaking about the greatness of their products and the ways in which they could be used. The recent brouhaha over Apple’s reasoning for disallowing iPhone apps has lead some to call for the return of a public face for the company, who could explain their reasoning, rather than simply issuing authoritarian press releases (or, in true Apple style, simply refusing to comment on the issue altogether).

But the tone of the Macworld piece is much more of a “catching up with an old friend"-ish one: Kawasaki is not (apparently) planning on returning to Apple soon, and is happily working behind the scenes with several tech companies, including one that makes news aggregation even simpler than RSS. As a bonus, Macworld has republished two of his old articles, one lightheartedly comparing the Quadra 800 to a ride in an F-15, and an oddly prescient one about why the Newton should be more like a cell phone.

Read [Macworld]

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.

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Gamers, like all people, tend to be nostalgic for their youth. We wax poetic about Galaga, our first time blowing up the vector graphic Death Star, and almost all of Myst (except the ending...no one liked the ending of Myst).

However, just because a game is old doesn’t make it a classic, and the Topless Robot pop culture blog has compiled a list of The 10 Lamest PC Adventure Games of All Time, several of which were ported to the Mac.

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While we were all busy updating our iPhones and iPod Touches to the iPhone firmware 2.0.2 on Monday, Apple seeded OS X 10.5.5 build 9F17 to developers.

According to AppleInsider, this build brings five new updates, pushing the grand total of code fixes to 120.

Problems addressed include issues with iCal, Back to My Mac, Mail Syncing, and CoreAnimation.

This update is reported to have no known issues. This was also the case with the last update, build 9F15. So, it seems that Apple is tying up loose ends and preparing to release the update to us all. You can expect the release of Mac OS X 10.5.5 to happen in the next few weeks.

Via [AppleInsider]

A number of years back (or even more recently), you might have heard of XBMC (XBox Media Center). XBMC was a way for XBox owners to mod their units into a fully capable media center. That project has continued to progress, and has moved on since its XBox roots. While XBMC is still available, there is an interesting offshoot based on it’s code called Boxee and it’s making its way to a Mac near you soon.

Why soon? Well, that’s because Boxee is still in Alpha, so there are still some wrinkles to iron out here. But that’s not to say it’s not already shaping up to be an awesome application. More on the program, and how you can participate in the alpha testing, after the break.

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More and more people are switching to the Mac these days. I, myself, am a “Windows refugee” who came over to the Mac camp in 2006. I am very happy with my decision to do so, as the Mac is so much more intuitive, easy to use, and secure than Windows.

The learning curve is certainly minimal, especially for tech savvy folks. In fact, I’ve found that the most common problem switchers have is that they overthink the issue—generally, solving problems and performing everyday tasks on the Mac is far more intuitive than the average Windows user is used to.

For those of you who are thinking of making the switch, Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal has put together a nice “switcher’s guide” on his All Things Digital blog. You’ll probably find that switching to the Mac is a lot easier than you may have thought.

Via [All Things Digital]

If you are thinking about signing up for .Mac in anticipation of the release of MobileMe, don’t be too trigger happy and shell out your $99 to Apple just yet. Instead, check out some of these third party vendors for much better deals on Apple’s revamped online application suite. Amazon is probably the best deal because they offer free shipping, saving you up to $22 on the package.

These .Mac retail boxes will still work to activate MobileMe accounts even after .Mac has been discontinued, but if you hurry, you’ll be able to get your coveted @mac.com e-mail address while you still can.

UPDATE: Macworld seems to have removed Amazon’s listing from its site. To see Amazon’s listing for .Mac as well as customer reviews, click here.

Regardless, it seems as though you can get a slightly better deal from CompuDirect.

Via [Macworld]

Have you ever wished you could create your own cookbook using the same software you use to create your delicious cooking recipes? I have, and now I can. Mariner Software has released MacGourmet Deluxe 1.0. This application allows you to keep track of your recipes and wine collection in one convenient application. But what I really like is the fact that “create your own cookbook” feature.

I love cooking, so naturally I downloaded the software to my 17” MacBook Pro. I’ve used many recipe applications in the past, and it’s similar to a few of them I have used. MacGourmet Deluxe allows you to whip up your own recipes, edit them, share them with your friends and family, and post them on the web. Free recipes are also included with this application. If you’re a meal planner, MacGourmet has you covered. Not only do you have the option of creating your own meal plans, you also are able to integrate them with iCal.

More features after the break.

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Opera has just released version 9.5 of its operating system for Mac and PC. It’s a free download, weighing in at 15.6MB.

Some of the features include…

• “QuickFind" options for customizing the browser
• Improved security with “Fraud Filter” and content blocking
• Tabs and Sessions

The browser scores an 83/100 on the Acid3 test. You can download the browser here if you’re interested in giving it a spin. Opera is also available for your Mobile phone or PDA.

Product [Opera]

Although I enjoy playing video games, I really don’t get a chance to play them as much as I would like. Priorities such as family, work, and life in general always get in the way. But when I have a chance for some personal time, one of my luxuries is to completely immerse myself in a game. I normally play FPS on my Xbox 360 (Gears of War, Bioshock, and Mass Effect are some of my favorites) and occasionally I’ll play them on my 17” MacBook Pro. I recently heard about a new Mac gaming portal, as TransGaming has recently launched GameTree.

There are a lot of Windows based PC gaming websites online, and now GameTree Online is planning to offer similar features for Mac users. We already have Mac gaming websites that offer similar services, but I’m always happy to see more. Mac gamers will have the chance to download Mac games and write reviews about them. Also, Mac gamers will have the chance to check up on the latest gaming news and participate in a variety of promotional activities.

Details after the break.

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