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Hoping For … [updated]

March 17, 2009 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | 2 comments

My own wish list for the iPhone 3.0 announcement today.

  1. Cut and paste: check
  2. Better power management
  3. Background apps: sorta – push notification
  4. Bluetooth stereo: check
  5. App management tools

Not a long list, but one that would seem to be entirely realistic.

Additional good stuff: landscape in all apps, MMS, voice memos, search all Apple apps (including IMAP email searches on the server) in a dedicated screen, media scrobbling, notes sync.

Very nice set of updates. And, I’m glad they’re all within the current hardware set. I’d hate trying to justify a new phone.

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NewsGator shares details on upcoming NetNewsWire 3.2, 4.0

May 5, 2008 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Ars Technica.)

Brent Simmons of NewsGator gave Ars the scoop about some interesting updates on the way for NetNewsWire, the company’s premiere RSS reader for Mac OS X.

In January NewsGator announced that all of its consumer products, including NetNewsWire, were going free. NetNewsWire 3.1 was released that same month, but Brent isn’t one to let a version sit for very long. Citing NewsGator’s new focus on “[taming] the information overload problem,” Brent is working on NetNewsWire 3.2 and 4.0 almost in tandem, with a decent set of changes and new features already lined up for both.

In NetNewsWire 3.2, Brent has rewritten the RSS parser he’s been using more or less since NetNewsWire’s debut in 2002 (yep, NNW was slinging RSS before you learned the meaning of the phrase “feed syndication”). This and other fixes should let NetNewsWire 3.2 consume one-third the memory, especially for heavy feed users who can’t stop clicking “subscribe.” Brent said he’s shooting for a July release date, possibly sooner, but we aren’t allowed to hold him to that.

Full story here.

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Create iCal events from anywhere

April 15, 2008 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | 1 comment

(Via Macworld.)

While I rely on iCal to help me track meetings and to dos, I’ve always found the actual process of adding new events and to dos much more complex than it need be. Typically I’ll be in some other application when I realize I need to create a new to do or event, so that entails launching iCal, finding the date on which I want to add the event, double-clicking to create the new event, then (thanks, 10.5) pressing Command-E to bring up the edit box. Creating a to do is somewhat easier, but only because iCal won’t let you pick a due date for your to do until after it’s been created. Thankfully, there’s a solution at hand—one that will let you create new events and to dos (to dos can only be created in 10.5), regardless of which program you may be running at the time. As a side bonus, you can even specify most of the fields at the same time, leaving only minor clean-up work to be done in iCal itself. Although you will have to use Automator, the two workflows you’re going to build are about as simple as they get.

Full story here.

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Mac 101: schedule your scripts

April 15, 2008 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW).)

We talk about iCal once in a while. Did you know that an iCal alarm can launch an AppleScript? A recent comment from reader Zach (and subsequent replies) made us think that this tip might be of use to anyone who hasn’t considered the possibilities.

When you schedule an alarm in iCal, one of the options for the alarm is “Run script.” If you select “Other…” from the script selection dropdown, you can choose any AppleScript you want to launch. Then you just tell the alarm when to go off and your script will run.

Full story here.

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Usage tips for the Leopard media browser

March 27, 2008 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via Mac OS X Hints.)

One of OS X 10.5’s new features is a media browser, making your photos, music, and movies available to most any application that can use them. To see the media browser, just select File -> Open in any media-enabled application (your web browser, TextEdit, Word, etc.). In the sidebar of the Open dialog box, scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find the Media section. Click on Music, Photos, or Movies in that section, and the media browser will appear.

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Happy Birthday to Mac OS X!

March 25, 2008 in Apple, Software by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

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:

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