Apple releases Plugin Manager 1.7.3

Apple releases Plugin Manager 1.7.3: “Apple today released Plugin Manager 1.7.3 via its Software Update application or on the Web…”

(Via MacMinute.)

Photoshop Elements 6 now shipping

Photoshop Elements 6 now shipping: ”

Filed under: Software

After a delay and then a pre-order period, Adobe has finally begun shipping Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac.

This is good news for me, as my old copy of Elements 3 won’t work on Leopard at all (I know, I’m a cheapskate). Some of the new goodies in version 6 include a new Quick Selection tool and tabs for quickly jumping between different functions. This version also makes it super easy to create photo books, greeting cards and more.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 runs on Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (so PowerPC-users aren’t left out in the cold). A single license will cost you $90US, though registered owners of older versions can upgrade for $70US with an in-box, mail-in rebate (or via adobe.com).

[Via MacNN

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Happy Birthday to Mac OS X!

I was among those who paid for the Public Beta in September 2000. What a journey it has been! -Tim Godby

Happy Birthday to Mac OS X!: ”

Filed under: OS, Cult of Mac, Apple, Apple History

This weekend marked a very special date as Mac OS X turned 7 years old. Mac OS X was launched on March 21, 2001. Throughout the years, Mac OS X has definitely seen its share of changes. In these 7 years, OS X has been through 6 versions (7 if you include the first public beta version). Below is a list of the version names, numbers and launch dates of each Mac OS X release:

• Mac OS X Public Beta (September 13, 2000)
• Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah (March 21, 2001)
• Mac OS X 10.1 Puma (September 25, 2001)
• Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar (August 23, 2002)
• Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (October 24, 2003)
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (April 29, 2005)
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (October 26, 2007)

You can read the initial launch press release on the Apple PR website. Be sure to check out our collection of Mac OS X screenshots. What was your first version of Mac OS X?

Gallery: Mac OS X History

[images courtesy of Wikipedia]

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Music sharing, near and far

Music sharing, near and far: ”

Filed under: iPod Family, Software, iTunes

iTunes has historically made sharing music with friends something of a hassle. It’s not impossible, but it’s not a ‘Just Works’ scenario. It does, however, make it ridiculously simple to erase your friend’s iPod, but I wouldn’t call that a feature. The advent of library sharing on a local network did allow for some semblance of communal music, albeit within fairly strict confines. However, a variety of solutions exist for achieving a more social level in your audio pursuits.

iPod users quickly realize that the first step is to achieve bi-directional transfer from their portable device to the computer. Several great utilities exist for augmenting iTunes’ sync capabilities. We’ve mentioned Podworks before, and Senuti is a long-standing favorite. We’ve also covered iPod.iTunes, which recently underwent an update. Any of these tools can get your music from your iPod into iTunes, including your friends’ iTunes, but I’ll take the safe road and mention from the start that music sharing is for personal use only (which will seem increasingly ironic as you read on, but I’m sure you know the rules well enough that I don’t need to elaborate).

Sharing your audio files over wider network also requires some additional software. There’s Simplify Media, which we highlighted last year. You’ve also got KavaTunes, a shareware app that makes a web page from your music collection that looks and acts just like iTunes. And now we’ve got Mojo.

Mojo

Mojo makes it simple to view, play and download music from other Mojo users. You control a buddy list, allowing only certain people to access your music. And the great part is that the standard version of Mojo is free. There’s a PRO version – starting at $10.95 for 3 licenses – that adds playlist subscription, but the functionality of the free version is otherwise unlimited (reader Disconnect points out that the free version is limited to 3 Internet users, a fact I missed because I didn’t add any more than that. Local network sharing is unlimited, for what it’s worth).

Mojo is fairly adept at automatically navigating many network configurations and multiple protocols, automatically detecting other Mojo users. A helper app runs in the background (optional) and provides a constant connection to your authorized friends. Your available Mojo friends appear in your buddy list, and you just select a connected buddy to browse the music they’ve made available using Mojo’s (not bad-looking) interface. DRM songs display in red, and actions taken on them will offer to let you jump into iTunes to authorize your machine. It also detects songs that already exist in your iTunes collection and greys them out. They’re still playable, but the option keeps you from downloading duplicates. Songs downloaded through the interface can be automatically added to iTunes, with several options for automatic organization.

I set Mojo up on a remote server and made two users, just for fun. I uploaded a few songs and then streamed them back over the Mojo connection. It worked smoothly and I found myself considering relocating my collection to a server with enough storage and automatic backups. That would free up about half of my hard drive and make my songs accessible to any computer with Mojo installed. It might never happen, but I like the possibility … and the idea of doing it for free.

Thanks Zoli!

Misu

But, let’s say you want to share your music with someone standing right next to you. Obviously, the option exists to do some manual transferring of your collection from iPod to iTunes to another iPod, but there’s an easier way on the horizon. Enter Misu, a new application from the developers of Menuet and Art Collector (covered previously).

Misu, which just entered a beta period, offers an extremely simple interface (check out the visuals) for connecting multiple iPods, choosing a source from the detected devices, and melding the music collections together. It compares the libraries of the source and the target iPod(s) and figures out what songs are missing. Hitting the transfer button effectively synchronizes the collections. If there’s more music than will fit, it will offer to stop when the target device is full. Misu doesn’t offer any options for manual management. It also doesn’t currently work with iPod touches, but that functionality is planned.

The Misu beta isn’t publicly available, but the developer is opening it up to TUAW readers. To limit the number of beta testers, the invitation will last for 24 hours, starting this morning. People who get in on the beta will also receive a licensed copy of the final product, free. If you’ve been looking for a program that fills the person-to-person iPod sharing void, grab the Misu beta and take it for a spin. The super-secret code you’ll need is 48372.

You’ll want to set your iPods to disk mode, and you may want to disable the ‘Start iTunes when connected’ option. Have fun with all that legal music sharing.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Journler hits 2.5.4, goes shareware

Journler hits 2.5.4, goes shareware: ”

Filed under: Software

We at TUAW love Journler (OK … we love a lot of things; but that’s beside the point). Journler was recently updated to version 2.5.4, giving many fixes to the note-taking, Swiss Army Knife journaling application. Some of the fixes include:

• Leopard compatibility
• Improved Tiger performance
• Token based tagging
• Built-in blogging removed (added support for 3rd party weblog apps)
• MailTags keyword support
• Importing PDFs got faster

In addition to these features, Journler also became a shareware application. What this means is that when Journler 2.6 is released, you will need to buy a license to keep running Journler; otherwise, you will be limited to a 60-day trial, after which, you will need to buy it. Version 2.5.4 is meant to be a ‘transitioning version’ where you can buy a license now, but these licenses will not be enforced until 2.6. The developer’s blog has the complete details. Until version 2.6, Journler will remain free to download from the Journler/Sprouted website.

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

Analysts: Mozilla’s Safari complaints ‘much ado about nothing’

Analysts: Mozilla’s Safari complaints ‘much ado about nothing’: “Industry analysts say there’s nothing unusual about the way Apple is distributing Safari updates to Windows users, despite complaints from the CEO of Mozilla about the practice.

(Via Macworld.)

Vertus releases new photo editing software

Vertus releases new photo editing software: “Vertus, the graphics and imaging software division of Heligon, has unveiled the Mac-compatible version of Bling! It, its recently released deep-graphic image-editing tool that quickly and easily transforms product shots to create maximum online sales impact.

{ Price: US$49.95 ~ Requires: Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later ~ Free trial available }”

(Via MacMinute.)

Miglia releases TVMini HD Express: One touch TV

Miglia releases TVMini HD Express: One touch TV: “Miglia today announced the release of the Mac-only TV Mini HD Express for US ‘free to air’ digital television users…”

(Via MacMinute.)

Apple releases Safari 3.1 supports Web 2.0

Apple releases Safari 3.1 supports Web 2.0: “Apple today introduced the free Safari 3.1, what the company says the world’s fastest Web browser for Mac and Windows PCs…”

(Via MacMinute.)

The History Channel Lost Worlds for Mac announced

The History Channel Lost Worlds for Mac announced: “Macgamestore.com and Digital Clay Studios today announced the release of The History Channel’s Lost Worlds for the Mac…”

(Via MacMinute.)