Appletell

GhostReader, a nifty text-to-voice conversion software has been updated with the 1.5 release for the Mac OS X. The new release added some natural-sounding Czech, Polish, Swedish and Finish voices as well as some enhancements to the existing voices that the software has. In addition, a pronunciation editor was also introduced to help in modifying/editing the way a word is pronounced, including abbreviations. Even more sweet is the software’s ability to directly export documents to iTunes.

Additionally, the GhostReader 1.5 is now compatible with DOCX and ODT documents. The export to iTunes features also runs in the background, so you won’t get disturbed while doing other things. Aside from these, GhostReader 1.5 is now more responsive when you are speaking selected text and it even works in floating windows now.

If you’re a registered user of the previous version of the GhostReader, you can upgrade to the 1.5 release for free, while those who will use the software for the first in their Macs will need to shell out $39.95. The software works with Macs running OS X v10.4 or later.

Via [Yahoo News] Product [GhostReader]

You may be familiar with Plasq’s popular Skitch screenshot-sharing application, and their comic book application: Comic Life (which was pre-installed on many Macs). Plasq have just released another amazing application called Comic Life Magiq. It sports a brand new interface, which aims to be more easy to use and even fun to use. This is not an update to the original Comic Life software that most of us are familiar with, but rather a “Pro” version of it - with more features and a newer-looking interface. Some of it’s unique features over Comic Life include: Professionally-designed templates and comic graphics, advanced object manipulation, Vector brushes, masking tools, a built-in image editor, and more.

I tried the demo myself and was very impressed by the user interface. It doesn’t feel like a typical Mac application, yet it works in a way that you can use it without prior knowledge - unlike Photoshop, for example, which can be frustrating for new users.

Comic Life Magiq can be purchased for the low price of $40, current owners of Comic Life can get a discount of $20 (includes Mac pre-installs). See Plasq’s official site for more details and a 30-day demo.

Via [MacUser]

Safari has recently made the news quite a bit, but not for reasons Apple should be proud of.  First, back in February, Safari was caught red handed using undocumented API’s that were not yet available to third party developers.  These frameworks were said to give Safari a speed edge over other browsers and sparked a minor controversy stating that Safari was “crippling” other browsers.  Then, in March, iTunes users on PC’s received a nice little surprise in the Apple Software Updater.  What was this?  Apparently, Safari 3.1 was included with the iTunes update, causing Windows users and the Mozilla’s CEO to accuse Apple of “forcing” the download on their customers.  Not to shortly after, also in March, a MacBook Air was the first to fall in this year’s Pwn2Own hack contest.  How did this happen?  The hacker, Charlie Miller, achieved access of the system through a Safari security bug that involved opening a port the hacker could telnet through.  Soon after this, in April, some Firefox users ran tests with the new Firefox 3.0 beta 5 and found it to be faster than Safari 3.1, just shortly after Apple claimed Safari was the “fastest browser.” That’s three bad months in a row.  Get it together, Apple.  If you claim Safari is, “[T]he world’s best browser,” on your site, make sure it is.  Right now people are really upset with it and that’s no way to get its market share up.

However, despite all this bad news, Safari is still a great, functional browser.  Getting a 100/100 on the most recent Acid 3 Test proves one of Safari’s strong points, web standards.  This is great for web developers and really eases the process of making a website.  Another area Safari is glowing is the mobile browsing marketplace as it is the most popular mobile browser in the US. So come on Apple, you can do better.  I love Safari, so give me more reasons to stick with it.

Apple released an update today for Final Cut Studio 2.0, its professional video editing suite of applications for Macs. According to Apple’s changelog, Pro Applications Update 2008-01 includes Final Cut Pro 6.0.3 and Compressor 3.0.3.

The new update for Final Cut Pro resolves five issues including one that would warn that a project file was unreadable or too new for that specific version of Final Cut Pro. A problem with images being scaled when exported from the application has also been fixed; still images are now exported at their native export ratio.

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Yesterday, Apple released yet another update to iTunes: 7.6.2. The latest version brings no major new features, but as usual, bug fixes to “to improve stability and performance.” If you haven’t already, you can download the software update by going to Apple Menu>Software Update. Alternatively, you can download it directly from Apple’s website. Previous updates have shown that they come before iPhone & iPod Touch firmware updates - this could be a sign of a new iPhone firmware soon.

On another note, QuickTime has been updated to 7.4.5, and Front Row to 2.1.3 - again, these updates bring no new features, but bug fixes and performance enhancements. The iTunes and QuickTime updates are available for Windows users too, but obviously not the Front Row update.

Via [TUAW]

Apple today released Security Update 2008-002 for Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.2.

The update addresses more than 40 known bugs. AppKit, X11, CUPS, and Foundation are the most addressed in the update. Password problems that might show your passwords to other local users were addresses in the areas of Podcaster, Kerberos, Preview, and Printing.

There is also an issue that was addressed with the Image RAW framework. The bug made it possible for someone to send a maliciously crafted image that could cause application shutdowns: “A stack based buffer overflow exists in the handling of Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) image files. By enticing a user to open a maliciously crafted image file, an attacker may cause an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue through improved validation of DNG image files. This issue does not affect systems prior to Mac OS X v10.5.”

The update is availabl via Software Update and for download for PowerPC [Regular | Server], Leopard [Regular | Server], and Intel [Regular | Server].

Read [About Security Update 2008-002]

This is by no means a guaranteed outcome, but an Apple representative I spoke with seemed very confident that we will see an update from Apple very soon.

I had called Apple about my MacBook Pro. About every 4 times I put it to sleep, it would wake up, but the screen would not come on, and then it would require a force shutdown. Upon reboot, It would tell me that Mac OS X has shutdown unexpectedly. I assume it had a kernel panic, though I couldn’t verify because the screen wasn’t on.  I was also having a problem with using my MacBook Pro in closed lid mode with my external display. As I thought, the Apple rep confirmed that these problems were related. There was apparently a specific run of MacBook Pros with this issue.

Where it got interesting is when he told me that I had two options: either I could do an Archive and Install, or I could wait for the next update. “Oh, great,” I thought, “Either move back to a buggier OS version, or just wait for who-knows-how-long.” Then the Apple rep said, “the update should be coming out very soon.” I asked what that meant, a few months? A few weeks? A few days? His response: “I’m surprised it’s not out yet.”

His advice was to check software update every couple of days.

Here’s what I think is safe to assume, assuming he has the correct information: An update is coming out within the next week or two for Leopard. It is most likely Mac OS X 10.5.3, given that the other solution was to move back to 10.5.0, implying that the problem stems from 10.5.2. Thus, 10.5.3 would logically be the problem solver. And lastly, it fixes this (rather large) MacBook Pro problem, as well as logically bundling other bug fixes.

Start checking Software Update!

With the Apple SDK event happening within less than an hour, people are suspecting pre-made iPhone and iPod Touch apps for the SDK. The BBC is reportedly working on a version of its iPlayer software for the iPhone and iPod Touch. When visiting the BBC iPlayer website through the portable devices, a link appears in the corner of the window, showing that a beta tag. No details have been released, but I hope the BBC will officially launch the beta version of their iPlayer for the iPhone/iPod Touch at today’s event.

The BBC is also working on a Mac version of the iPlayer software, due for release in late 2008. Currently, the only way to view iPlayer videos is through the website, using Adobe Flash (similar to Hulu). BBC TV Shows have also just been released on the iTunes UK Store - although these do cost the normal £1.89. As we mentioned before, they are also exploring the possibility of putting BBC content on to the Apple TV.

Via [MacNN]

The Software Update Icon began bouncing on Monday, this time with an update to GarageBand and Aperture.

Aperture 2.0.1 is recommended for all Aperture 2 users, and Apple states these fixes:

Upgrading libraries from earlier versions of Aperture
Publishing .Mac Web Gallery albums
Preview generation and deletion
Creating and ordering books
AppleScript support
Keyboard shortcut customization
Appearance of metadata overlays in the Browser, Filmstrip, and on light tables
Watermarking of emailed photos
Highlight Hot and Cold Areas
Loupe
Smart Albums
All Projects View
Straighten Tool
Filmstrip
Drag and drop import
Thumbnail generation
Import window
Export plug-in reliability

GarageBand 4.1.2 “improves overall stability and addresses issues with the automation of software instrument parameters, FireWire and USB based audio devices and Magic GarageBand.”

These updates will download through software update, and are also available at Apple.com.

Do you have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Then there’s good news for you. The makers of 1Password, Agile Web Solutions, are creating an auto-fill app for the iPhone. This means on your iPhone, typing passwords are a thing of the past. Instead, let 1Password fill it for you. They managed to do it best with the Mac, by providing a password manager for multiple browsers. I think they can do it for the iPhone too, by being the first. 1Password has seen a lot of updates recently, including a private beta of My 1Password - the web-based version of the software that allows you to access everything anywhere in the world, fully encrypted.

It’s been announced that 1Password will be adding a new version of the bookmarklet feature, with the ability to automatically fill out login info and web forms on your iPhone. David Chartier has had a chance to use it and reports that it is doing well.

You can get more information on 1Password and download a demo at the Agile Web Solutions site. Or you could buy it in the MacHeist bundle.

Via [TUAW]