MacBook, PowerBook, iBook, and other portable computing is covered
in The 'Book Review. iPod, iPhone,
and Apple TV news is covered in The iOS News
Review.
All prices are in US dollars unless otherwise noted.
News & Opinion
Troubleshooting
Apple Updates
Reviews
Tech Trends
Software
News & Opinion
10 Safari Tips
MacGroup's Terry White has posted ten useful tips for Safari
users.
- Use Tabbed Browsing
- Mail this page
- Use the Built-in RSS reader
- Create a bookmark button for your favorite sites
- The Back button is a menu
- Create a dynamic dashboard widget
- Use Private Browsing to hide your tracks
- Dynamically spell check your web input
- Show Status bar
- Get to your friend's websites quickly
Editor's note: Several of these features, such as using tabbed
browsing and the menu available when using the Back button are common
to many browsers. dk
Link: 10 Safari
Tips
Opera 10.5 Grabs Browser Speed Crown
Computerworld's Gregg Keizer reports:
"Opera Software's beta
of Opera 10.5 leapfrogged every rival to become the world's fastest
[Windows] browser, benchmark tests show.
"Released on Thursday and powered by a new JavaScript engine, Opera
10.5 beat all comers to easily take the top speed spot.
"According to tests run by Computerworld, Opera 10.5 was nearly 15%
faster than Safari for Windows and almost 20% faster than Google's
Chrome, the previous No. 1 and No. 2 browsers."
Editor's note: Windows only beta so far, alas, although Mac and
Linux alpha builds are available. cm
Link:
Opera 10.5 Grabs Browser Speed Crown
Open Source and Indie Software for Macs
The programs discussed only scratch the surface of what's available.
All software discussed on this site is organized into categories (what
does it do? what does it run on?) and the commercial packages they can
replace.
Top 10 Free Programs
- Firefox is perhaps the best
all-round web browser there is.
- OpenOffice.org provides
you with a free Office suite that's highly compatible with Microsoft's
products - and actually has a few extra tricks up its sleeve (such as a
dedicated drawing program).
- Cyberduck (if you re a Mac user)
or WinSCP (if you re a Windows user) are both excellent and easy-to-use
FTP/SFTP clients.
- For those cases when you need a real text editor you ll want
Notepad++ (on Windows) or TextWrangler (on the
Mac) or Komodo Edit on either.
- Picasa is as
easy-to-use as iPhoto, offers superb integration with Google's cloud
services (of course), and indexes all the images on your hard
disk.
- VLC is great for playing
that weird video file that won't work in QuickTime Player or Windows
Media Player
- Handbrake is great for ripping
DVDs so you can play them from your hard disk
- For 3D modeling, animation, and rendering, Blender's features are hard to beat, and
its price is impossible to beat
- If you need a free alternative to Photoshop you should look at
The GIMP
- Audacity is a
must-have application for anyone who needs to edit or sequence audio
files.
Editor's note: I suggest Mac users check out NeoOffice, a port
of OpenOffice specifically for Mac OS X. For browsing, Camino is a great OS X port of
Firefox, although Camino 2.0 doesn't have all the features of Firefox
3.6. If you're looking for a great messaging client that supports AIM,
Yahoo, MSN, Jabber, and more, you've got to give Adium a try. dk
Link: Open Source
Mac | Windows
Across the Mac vs. PC Digital Divide
Toronto Star's Vivian Song reports that "a resistance movement that
objects not only to Macintosh computers' alien navigational system, but
also to Apple's smug air of self-importance" that is showing up in
Toronto coffee shops.
Link:
Across the Mac vs. PC Digital Divide
Mac Users Locked Out of USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 6 Gbps,
and SSD Support
Of course, we Mac users would be grateful for support of just plain
regular USB 3. As stationstops.com's Chris observes:
"Right now is an interesting time in consumer computing, as there
are a lot of new technologies evolving that add some truly important
and very usable features that wide varieties of users will benefit
from.
"Unfortunately, some of these technologies are going to be
unavailable to most Mac users for some time. It's one of the
disadvantages of Mac's hardware being tightly controlled and locked
down by one company, and the relatively slower approach Apple takes
when deciding which new technologies are important and when.
"Let's take a look at some of these technologies, why they matter,
and how Mac users - especially buyers of Apple's latest iMacs - are
largely locked out of them due to the lack of desktop expansion options
common with PCs. In fact, several new models of PC motherboards are
already in the channel which, when combined with Windows 7, include
complete support for all of them on-board.
- USB 3.0
- SATA 3.0 6 Gbps
- High Performance Solid State Disks (SSDs)
"Mac users seeking to upgrade should be aware of these new
technologies and decide for themselves which are important to them over
the lifetime of their next Mac purchase."
Editor's note: We fully expect to see USB 3.0, which will address
all the shortcomings of USB 2.0, in the next generation of Macs. The
only current Macs that have the potential to support USB 3.0 are those
MacBook Pro models with ExpressCard slots and Mac Pros, which have PCI
Express slots.
The new 6 Gbps SATA standard doesn't mean much in the real world
yet, as few hard drives can saturate 3 Gbps SATA. However,
high-performance SATA drives would benefit from the faster protocol.
Expect to see 6 Gbps SATA in the next generation Mac Pro - and likely
the next gen MacBook Pro models as well. Possibly the 2010 iMac too,
but likely not in this year's Mac mini and consumer MacBook.
Any existing Mac notebook can use Solid State Disks,
high-performance or otherwise, as OS X will treat them just like hard
drives. There may be something of a performance hit as they run out of
available drive space. dk
Link:
Apple Mac Users Locked Out of USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 6 Gbps, and SSD
Support
Will the Microsoft Office Ribbon Work on the
Mac?
BetaNews's Scott M. Fulton, III says:
"Microsoft was under no obligation to build a ribbon component,
similar to the one premiered in Office for Windows, for the Mac
. . . Ever since System 7, the menu bar - which remains fixed
to the top of the screen - indicates which application is active. In
Windows, applications have their own menu bars, if they have them at
all; and starting with Office 2007, the ribbon replaced the menu
bar...."
"In Mac OS, you can't replace the menu bar, so a ribbon would have
to find some way of complementing it, sharing the workload with it, in
a way that makes sense to the user.
"And that's the problem: Judging from the one screenshot Microsoft
released yesterday of an early development build of Word 2011 for Mac
(more below), it's not obvious how its implementation
of the ribbon will complement, and coexist with, the menu bar...."
Link:
Will the MS Office Ribbon Work on the Mac?
Mac Users Divided on 'Ribbonizing' of Office
2011
Computerworld's Gregg Keizer reports:
"Some Mac users blasted Microsoft's plan to 'ribbonize' the next
version of Office for the Mac, while others - many of whom said they
also use the productivity suite on Windows - defended the move.
"Office for Mac 2011 will feature a ribbon similar to what Microsoft
debuted with Office 2007 for Windows, and will continue to use in
Office 2010, also on Windows."
Link:
Mac Users Damn, Defend 'Ribbonizing' of Office 2011
Troubleshooting
Addressing Various Noises That May Come from Your
Mac
MacFixIt's Topher Kessler notes that at times you may notice odd
sounds coming from your computer. These can be anything from clicks to
buzzes, to small squeaks that happen either continuously,
intermittently, or in response to various tasks you may be performing
on the system. Most of the time these noises are harmless; however,
there are times when you should consider addressing them.
Link: Addressing
Various Noises That May Come from Your Mac
Addressing Extensively Accessed Hard Drives in OS
X
MacFixIt's Topher Kessler says:
"Depending on how you use your Mac, you may start finding that the
hard drive is being used quite a bit, even when you are not running any
applications. This can sometimes happen even when systems have not been
used extensively.
"There are a number of reasons why the computer's hard drive gets
accessed at high volume, with some instances being normal and expected
use, and others being potential faults or the result of having
installed third-party software."
Link: Addressing
Extensively Accessed Hard Drives in OS X
Apple Updates
Mac Pro Audio Update 1.0
This update is for Mac Pro
(Early 2009) computers running Mac OS X v10.6.2. This update
reduces processor utilization during audio activities, such as playing
or recording music.
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website:
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT4034
File Size: 1.64 MB
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.2
Link: Mac
Pro Audio Update 1.0
Reviews
USB 3.0 Tested 'in the Real World'
PC Mag's Michael J. Miller says:
"I've written a lot about USB 3.0, and finally I've been able to
test an external USB hard drive in the real world. As I expected, I did
see a big improvement in performance, but not nearly the performance
numbers I saw in the demos at the Consumer Electronics Show.
"That is partly because the speed of the USB connection is only one
of many factors that impact real-world hard-drive performance."
Editor's note: Unfortunately, Miller's speed tests only measure
transfer speed between a Seagate
Black Armor PS110 USB 2.0 external drive (if there's
a USB 3.0 version of this drive, Seagate doesn't list it) and the Solid
State Drive in his
ThinkPad T400s (or the hard drive in his
HP Pavilion dv6) via a USB 3.0 ExpressCard adapter, not directly
between USB 3.0 drives, so potential bottlenecks include the
ExpressCard bus, the SATA bus in his laptop, and the SSD or hard drive
installed in the laptop. dk
Link: USB 3.0 Tested:
How Fast Is It in the Real World?
Tech Trends
NEC Works Out How to Triple USB 3.0 Speed
The Register's Tony Smith says:
"Think SuperSpeed USB 3.0's 4.8 Gb/s data transfer speed is
lightning fast? You're wrong, says NEC.
"Today it said it had successfully demo'd a serial bus that it
believes can hit 16 Gb/s."
Link: NEC
Works Out How to Triple USB 3.0 Speed
Software
Introducing Office for Mac 2011: The
Quintessential Teammate
PR: You, the Mac community, have a voice - and at the
Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), we listen. Our charter for
more than two decades has been to use your feedback to build the best
productivity suite on the Mac. Recently you've asked for better ways to
work with colleagues and friends anywhere, anytime, across platforms.
So today at Macworld 2010, we are answering with details on how you can
create and share your ideas using Office for Mac 2011, the next version
of the leading productivity suite on the Mac. The suite has new
connections to Microsoft services so you can work together more
effectively, an updated user interface making tasks easier, and
essential compatibility to ensure your documents look the way you made
them when shared.
"Together with your team officemates, family or classmates you are
part of the community that helps shape each version of Office for Mac,"
said Eric Wilfrid, MacBU general manager at Microsoft Corp. "You've
told us that working together across platforms is a priority to you and
that's why we are making Office for Mac 2011 the best, most compatible
productivity suite on the Mac."
New Coauthoring Tools and Office Web Apps
The new co-authoring tools in Office 2011 give you and your
teammates the ability to work on a file from Word, PowerPoint or Excel
from different locations, brainstorm ideas, and stay on the same page
regardless of time, geography or platform. Co-authoring improves the
processes of working together, removing the pain and frustration of
multiple versions, lost edits, or even trying to set a time for the
group to meet. With this new feature you can keep track of your team
with the Presence Everywhere feature that gives real-time status
updates on who is working on the document directly in the
application.
Office 2011 also delivers a connection to Microsoft Office Web Apps
from the application, giving you a simple way to access and share
Office documents from any machine with an Internet connection. Similar
to the experience in Microsoft Office 2010 for PC users, the Office Web
Apps make it easy to get your work done virtually anywhere. These days
work doesn't stop at your desktop. You need to stay productive with
access to your information no matter where you are, without worrying
about whether or not you e-mailed a crucial file to yourself. Currently
in beta, Office Web Apps are available to both home and business users
(across platforms) and allow documents to be stored via your Windows
Live ID account or on Microsoft SharePoint Technologies.
New User Interface Design: Office for Mac Ribbon
Another big addition to the Office 2011 suite is a ribbon that's at
the core of our next-generation Office for Mac user experiences. We
took your feedback and haven't completely rearranged what you know and
love: the new design is an evolution of the Office 2008 Elements
Gallery and uses the classic Mac menu and Standard Toolbar giving you
the best of both worlds. You can even collapse the ribbon and the
Toolbar for more screen space or for the more advanced users who rely
on keyboard shortcuts. Together these tools make it easy to find and
discover new and frequently used commands. In fact, more than 80
percent(2) of the most used features live in the default view of our
new user experience so you don't have to waste time finding the tool
you need. Built using the latest Mac OS X technologies, the ribbon
delivers a modern and fluid experience and also gives you a more
consistent experience across platforms, which is key to productivity as
75 percent of Mac users also use a PC.(3)
New: Outlook for Mac Supports .PST Import
Along with the updated user interface and quick access to the Office
Web Apps, the MacBU announced last August that Outlook for Mac is
coming to Office 2011, replacing Entourage. Outlook for Mac is a new
application that leverages the Exchange Web Services protocol and is
being built using Cocoa, allowing for improved integration with the Mac
OS. Today we are also announcing that Outlook for Mac will import .PST
files from Outlook for Windows a top customer request. In addition, as
announced last year, Outlook for Mac features a reliable, high-speed,
file-based database with Spotlight search and back-up support from Time
Machine. Outlook for Mac also provides Information Rights Management to
help prevent sensitive information from being distributed to or read by
people who do not have your permission to access the content. Outlook
for Mac provides an integrated solution for managing your time and
information and, when it is used in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange
Server, you benefit from increased collaboration capabilities and
security enhancements.
Office for Mac 2011 will be available later this year. For updates
on all things Office for Mac, follow the team on Twitter and on
Facebook.
Link: Microsoft
Macintosh products
OpenOffice.org First Out of the Blocks in the 2010
Office Software Race
PR: At the start of its tenth anniversary year, and with over
three hundred million downloads recorded in total, the OpenOffice.org
Community has announced the release of the latest version of its
personal productivity suite. OpenOffice.org 3.2 gets to work faster,
offers new and improved features and functionality, gives better
compatibility with other office software, and fixes bugs and potential
security vulnerabilities.
OpenOffice.org's Writer module.
OpenOffice.org 3 is the world's leading free personal productivity
software. The basic components, which include word processor,
spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, formula and database capabilities,
can easily be supplemented by extensions downloaded from the
OpenOffice.org extensions repository. In just over a year from launch,
OpenOffice.org 3 had recorded over one hundred million downloads from
the central download site alone, and the number continues to rise.
Users range from individuals with a single PC to corporates with many
tens of thousands of users.
OpenOffice.org 3.2 new or improved features include:
- faster start up times
- improved compatibility with open standard (ODF) and proprietary
file formats
- improvements to all components, particularly the Calc spreadsheet,
with over a dozen new or enhanced features
- the Chart module (usable throughout OpenOffice.org) has had a
usability makeover as well as offering new chart types
OpenOffice.org's Calc module.
Chris Goddard of Affiliorama.com is looking forward to the new
release: "Four years ago we were an entrepreneurial start up, and the
zero-cost OpenOffice.org was an obvious choice purely on financial
grounds. We continue to use OpenOffice.org now for other reasons: its
stability and functionality has kept up with our fast paced work
environment; and because it's open source, finding good troubleshooting
advice, or customizing the program is incredibly straight forward. We
regularly promote OpenOffice.org as a viable Microsoft alternative to
our more than 30,000 members, and we hope the new version encourages
many more to follow our successful example."
Florian Effenberger, Marketing Project Lead of OpenOffice.org,
explains: "Some people are currently locked in to other personal
productivity tools - maybe by corporate IT policy, or by tie-in to
other legacy software. For everyone else, we want OpenOffice.org to be
the 2010 office software of choice, and 3.2 takes us another step
towards that goal".
OpenOffice.org's Impress module.
All users are encouraged to upgrade to the new release. Anyone still
using OpenOffice.org 2 should note that this version was declared 'end
of life' in December 2009, with no further security patches or bugfixes
being issued by the Community. Enterprise support with longer
lifecycles might be available from distributors as well as commercial
vendors, like Oracle, the project's main sponsor.
OpenOffice.org's Draw module.
A full guide to new features is available at the Website. The
security bulletin with full details of the potential vulnerabilities
fixed will be published here one day after this announcement.
Link: OpenOffice.org
New Beta of Google Chrome for Mac Adds Extensions
and More
PR: Since we released Chrome for Mac in beta last December,
we've been busy adding new features. Today, after some incubation in
the developer channel, we're happy to make some of these features more
widely available. The new beta release of Chrome for Mac offers
extensions, bookmark sync, and more.
With this new version, you'll be able to install any of over 2,200
extensions (and counting!) currently available in Chrome's extensions
gallery. Extensions can add useful, informative, fun, or quirky
functionality to the browser. You can manage your extensions by
clicking on the Window menu and choosing "Extensions."
For this release, we remained focused on providing a snappy, safe,
and simple browsing experience on the Mac. If you haven't tried Chrome
on the Mac yet and are curious about its features, this video will take
you on a brief tour:
Those of you who use several computers will now be able to keep your
bookmarks synchronized between them. If some of your computers aren't
Macs, don't worry: bookmark sync works in Chrome for Linux and Windows
too. We also added bookmark and cookie managers in a way that feels
completely at home on the Mac. For technically-oriented users, our new
Task Manager will help you keep tabs on all of your tabs.
If you're not using Chrome yet, you can try all of these new
features out by downloading the Google Chrome Beta for Mac. Existing
Chrome users should be automatically updated to the new beta within the
next day just check the About window and look for version 5.0.307.
New in Google Chrome 5.0.307.7
- Extensions (finally!)
- Bookmark sync
- Bookmark manager
- Cookie manager
- Task manager
- Support pinch to zoom on the Mac.
- Cmd-three finger swipe opens prev/next page in new tab.
Video on Chrome extensions: http://tinyurl.com/yd8ulyf
Link: A New Beta
of Google Chrome for Mac - with Extensions and More
Nuance Acquires MacSpeech, Extending Dragon
NaturallySpeaking Family to the Mac
PR: Potentially a huge development for those of us who depend
on, or just prefer to use dictation software on our Macs, Nuance
Communications, Inc. this week announced that it has acquired
MacSpeech, the leading provider of speech recognition solutions for
Apple Macintosh computers. The agreement will allow Nuance to extend
the acclaimed gold standard of dictation software, its Dragon
NaturallySpeaking family of products, to the growing community of Mac
users as a native Mac application.
"We have heard from our customers - and from the Mac community at
large - for years that they want Dragon for the Mac environment," said
Peter Mahoney, senior vice president and general manager for Dragon,
Nuance Communications. "In 2008, MacSpeech licensed our underlying
Dragon dictation technology to deliver MacSpeech Dictate, and the
demand has only continued to grow, fueled recently by our recent launch
of Dragon Dictation for the iPhone. MacSpeech's knowledge of the Mac
platform and its deep understanding of Mac users, coupled with our
decades-long experience with speech recognition and the popular Dragon
brand, will allow us to provide the world's best dictation technology
in a solution that is 100-percent Mac."
Through the acquisition of MacSpeech, Nuance will be positioned to
accelerate the growth opportunity for MacSpeech products by adding
additional research and development support, Dragon brand recognition,
marketing support, and distribution channels. In addition, the
acquisition presents more growth opportunities for Dragon
NaturallySpeaking with new audiences and on new devices.
Dragon has long been the leading speech recognition application on
the desktop, used by millions of people around the world. As demand for
speech has grown, Nuance has sought to make speech recognition
accessible to more people, from more places and devices. Nuance
recently launched the popular Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search Apps
for iPhone, and both applications quickly climbed to the top of the
charts on the App Store. And now automotive manufacturers can harness
the power of Dragon to allow drivers to access dynamic real-time
information and services by voice - right in their cars.
"MacSpeech responded to the growing demand for a native Macintosh,
high-quality speech recognition solution with MacSpeech Dictate
integrated with the Dragon speech recognition engine," said Andrew
Taylor, president of MacSpeech. "We are excited to become part of the
Nuance team and accelerate our ability to deliver great speech
solutions to the Mac community."
Senior Vice President and General Manager, Dragon Peter Mahoney
says: "This is an exciting time for the Mac community - Mac shipments
are up, the new iPad is due to ship in a couple of months, and new apps
(like Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search) are being added to the App
Store every day, revolutionizing how we work, play and communicate.
It's a perfect time for us to open Dragon's doors to the Mac
community!
"I'm sure that folks will have a lot of questions about what today's
news means for Dragon and for Dictate. Rest assured, if you currently
use either product, nothing will change in the near term. In the coming
weeks, we promise to share updates with you as regularly as possible.
On this page, you'll find a copy of the press release that was issued
this morning, as well as a detailed Q&A, and links to important
resources.
"We are thrilled to welcome MacSpeech to the Nuance family and we
look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming
months."
MacSpeech is a Mac-only company dedicated to producing the finest
speech recognition products for Macintosh.
Link:
MacSpeech
Weather Underground Launches
fullscreenweather.com
PR: The world's most interactive weather map from
wunderground.com has just gone full screen, as Weather Underground
announced today the launch of fullscreenweather.com. The ultimate
weather tracking tool, fullscreenweather.com enables anyone in the
world to quickly zoom in on the Google Maps interface to view the most
granular data available from Weather Underground's unmatched network of
over 16,000 personal weather stations before zooming out and scrolling
across the world to view the weather conditions affecting friends and
family.
fullscreenweather.com
Launched in an effort to make weather tracking easier and more
interactive, fullscreenweather.com also allows users to select and view
a high-resolution precipitation layer (radar) or cloud layer
(satellite) plotted on the map - both of which can be animated.
Additionally, severe weather alerts that have been issued for the
locations in view on the map are displayed in the bottom corner of the
screen and can be clicked upon to view the full alert weather
statement.
"At Weather Underground we continually embrace the latest technology
trends and adapt to meet our users' changing needs," said Weather
Underground President, Alan Steremberg. "Our Full Screen Weather map
provides a simple yet engaging way for people to view weather
information across a multitude of devices."
Perfectly suited for viewing on any PC or laptop, this engaging new
product was developed with touch screen technology firmly in mind.
Apple iPad users will be able to use the scrolling and zoom functions
and touch any specific weather station to view details.
The world's first online weather service, Weather Underground is
committed to delivering the most comprehensive, reliable weather
information possible. The company's state-of-the-art technology
monitors conditions and forecasts for locations across the world. With
over 16 thousand users contributing local observations from personal
weather stations, Weather Underground is able to provide
up-to-the-minute weather conditions for the most finely targeted areas.
In addition to serving free online weather information to over 18
million unique users every month, Weather Underground delivers
custom-designed weather page solutions to an array of businesses and
media clients - both online and in print.
Link: Weather
Underground
Link: fullscreenweather.com
Logitech Control Center 3.2 for Macintosh OS
X
PR: Logitech Control Center (LCC) is designed to support Mac
OS X and allows you to take full advantage of your Logitech keyboard,
mouse or trackball.
For all supported products, you can program your keyboard and/or
mouse buttons to perform different functions and to take full advantage
of your Logitech keyboard, mouse or trackball.
With the LCC and your Logitech keyboard, you can:
- Browse the Internet using dedicated keys that provide one-touch
access to your favorite sites.
- Launch your email application by pressing a button.
- Play music and control the system speaker using built-in
buttons.
- Open frequently used items, such as documents, folders and
applications, with a single keystroke.
You can also use the LCC with your Logitech mouse or trackball
to:
- Scroll in windows of applications built for MacOS X. You can scroll
up and down with a single keystroke or wheel movement.
- Switch between open applications.
- Show contextual menus with a single mouse click.
- Simulate keystrokes to provide shortcuts to commands you use
regularly.
The download file contains support for the following languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Dutch
- Spanish
New in version 3.2: Snow Leopard support (32 and 64 bit)
System requirements:
- The Logitech Control Center (LCC) supports Mac OS X (both Power PC
and Intel for 10.4.x/10.5.x and Intel 32/64 bit for 10.6.x)
- Logitech USB pointing device or keyboard.
System Support: PPC/Intel
Free
Editor's note: After installing this update on my upgraded Digital Audio Power Mac G4
running Mac OS X 10.5.8, I
consistently got doubled keystrokes on my (admittedly ancient) Logitech
Cordless Keyboard. The only fix was to use the Logitech Uninstall
utility and then install version 3.00, the most recent version in my
download archive. dk
Link: Logitech
Control Center
WritePod 2.3 Note Making App for Use with
iPod
PR: WritePod is a easy to use note making app for iPod. It
has had 1,000,000 downloads and is the #2 best selling iPod app in the
world.
New in version 2.3:
- Bug fixed that app said it was in the 1.1 version.
New in version 2.2:
- WritePod 2.2 now supported GCD, OpenCL, and 64-Bit.
- It also lets you save your note on your iPod (Plus the new 5G iPod
Nano) and then you can open the file and edit it from you iPod on a Mac
OR PC, And supports the new iMacs!
System requirements: Mac OS X 10.5.8 or Later
System Support: Intel
Free
Link: WritePod
NASCAR Widget: Count Down Time Until the Next
Race
PR: NASCAR Widget counts down the days, hours and minutes to
the next NASCAR Sprint Cup directly in your Dashboard. It shows the
next Racetrack and Town where the race will be started and which
TV-Station you should switch on.
System Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
Platform Support: PPC/Intel
Free
Link: NASCAR
Widget
IBM Brings Business-Grade Social Software to
iPhone, Macs
PR: IBM has announced it is delivering business-grade
collaboration and social software for use with the iPhone, iPod touch
or Macintosh computers.
Organizations can now use IBM software for enterprise social
networking; instant messaging; and securely encrypted email and
collaborative applications with the iPhone and Mac.
prnphotos089622.jpeg
The new software includes Lotus Symphony 3.0, IBM's office
productivity suite, which is now available on the Mac, providing
spreadsheets, presentations and documents free of charge. In addition,
new offerings for the iPhone and Mac include Lotus Connections and
Lotus Sametime, which customers can use to build professional networks
with social capabilities such as blogs, wikis, activities and
microblogging, as well as instant messaging capabilities.
Today's news underscores IBM's commitment to expanding its software
to support the increasing global mobile work force and popular consumer
devices. Today, IBM delivers the broadest range of business-class
software for mobile devices, ranging from ecommerce, email and now
social software. General Motors, for example, relies on IBM
collaboration software to increase the agility of its work force
through a wide range of mobile devices, including the iPhone.
prnphotos089625.jpeg
Analysts estimate that mobile devices will exceed personal computers
by 2013 with global shipments of mobile devices growing 46 percent to
more than 250 million in 2010.
IBM's Lotus Social Software can help users share and discover
expertise and content instantly, harnessing the wisdom of the crowds.
IBM has seen increased enterprise adoption with recognized clients such
as Colgate-Palmolive, HSBC, the United Nations, Union-Pacific Railroad,
SunLife, ACI, Sogeti, and NEC.
IBM Sametime brings voice, video, online meetings, enterprise
instant messaging and community collaboration to the iPhone and Mac. It
lowers telephony costs, saves money on Web conferencing services and
increases the tempo of business. Leading companies such as Southern
California Edison and Verizon rely on IBM Sametime.
prnphotos089624.jpeg
IBM is delivering the broadest collaboration capabilities to mobile
users worldwide
IBM is the first to deliver securely encrypted email and
collaborative applications to help streamline the way people work with
Lotus Notes and Domino Software for Mac and iPhone. Developers can
mobilize existing Domino business applications on to devices with
xPages through a rapid application development model.
Lotus Notes and Domino software is used by the top nine aerospace
and defense organizations; the top nine automotive firms; the top eight
banks; the top four makers of consumer products; the top seven
electronics firms; the top eight insurance companies; the top seven
pharmaceutical organizations; and the top nine telecommunications
carriers.
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With Symphony for the Mac, IBM is unveiling the new Lotus Symphony
3.0 beta productivity software and its new features. Symphony provides
documents, spreadsheets and presentations and supports most Microsoft
Office features. The new return on investment calculator demonstrates
the cost savings companies can achieve by switching to Symphony from
other costly office productivity suites. More than 12 million people
have downloaded Symphony for business and consumer use of its
documents, presentation files and spreadsheets.
"A mobile workforce that can tap into the insights and assets of the
entire organization is essential to IBM's vision for a Smarter Planet,"
said Alistair Rennie, general manager, IBM Lotus Software. "That's why
we're delivering all forms of collaboration securely and reliably
across the most popular devices to transform the way people want to
work together."
IBM will demonstrate many of the new capabilities it is bringing to
Apple products at Macworld Booth 1284.
Business Partner Support for Customized Lotus Software on Personal
Devices
Many IBM partners have developed solutions based on IBM Lotus
technology which are available today in the Apple App Store. For
example, SNAPPS has created SnappFiles for IBM Lotus Quickr, available
for download free of charge. Users can access their Quickr places and
files directly from their iPhone or iPod touch, without any
modifications to a user's server.
Elguji Software's IQJam, a question and answer community solution
powered by IBM Lotus Domino and xPages technology, helps organizations
capitalize on the knowledge of their employees. IQJam allows people to
identify who the subject-matter experts are by keeping track of
answered questions and associating them with categories, or IQSpaces,
and tags.
ITANA enables users to access Lotus Notes Tasks and Notebook from
the iPhone. iEnterprises brings its wireless application Mobile Edge to
companies that would like to mobilize Lotus Notes applications, CRM
systems and other business applications on the Apple iPhone, or the
iPad. The turnkey solution enables iPhone users to quickly access and
update their contacts, opportunities and other CRM information as well
as their existing Lotus Notes applications to their iPhone.
Link: Symphony
for the Mac (beta)
Link: Lotus
Social Software
