Mac & Design: The Perfect Mix

We are moving....

2007-05-13T21:58:00.000-01:00

Hello, Hola, Ciao, Salut readers. This post is to let you know that Mac & Design's blog is moving to http://www.macamour.com/blog
Hope to see you there =)

Incredible Shadow Dancers

2007-05-13T04:42:00.000-01:00

I'm speechless...

AOL Radio + Salling Clicker Script

2007-05-11T20:02:00.000-01:00

I'm a fan of AOL Radio especially "AOL sessions".

So here is a "goodie" from M&D.
All you need is an AOL account (or AIM it's the same)
AOL Radio direct download from M&D: here. (it will ask you for your AIM/AOL screename and password when you first start it)
And the Salling Clicker free script: here.

ENJOY!!!!

PS: there's a cool integration of AOL Radio to iChat, when you start listening to AOL Radio while your status is set to "online" the status changes to the current playing AOL Radio Song!
There's also a cool transparent alert that appears each time the song changes on AOL Radio.

Salling Clicker Update!!! Version 3.5 is out!

2007-05-11T19:39:00.000-01:00

I use this application everyday since a year maybe.
But no updates, I thought version 3.1 was the last one. But today, great news! I saw that version 3.5 was out!

So I opened the official Salling Clicker site and I was amazed by the new look of the site. A great flash menu was added which makes the website easier to browse than ever.
The update is free for 3.1 owners, it's a 6.6 mb file.

Salling Clicker is available for Mac & PC, and it is compatible with more than 300 mobile phones, it transforms your mobile phone to a remote contol, we already talked about it here on M&D.

First thing I have noticed: no need to update the Salling Clicker version installed on your phone (still didn't try it with my Symbian Nokia), the soft seems to be faster. A powerpoint script has been added, and there's a better Keynote script too.

I Love Apple (Art)

2007-05-11T16:41:00.000-01:00

Most commonly used passwords Online

2007-05-11T01:04:00.000-01:00

According to PC Magazine, the most used passwords are:

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. blink182
10. (your first name)

Adobe Digital Edition: Smooooth

2007-05-11T00:45:00.000-01:00

Today, when I opened the super heavy Adobe Acrobat Pro 8, Adobe invited me to install a small "application" made in Adobe Flash called Adobe Digital Editions, it reminds me a lot of Adobe Lightroom but for .PDF documents.
It is fast and so smooth: It needs maybe 1 or 2 seconds to start. Impressive!
Animations are superb, especially when you change view. Searching for something in a pdf is super fast. As soon as you start it, it opens the document you were reading like a "resume" function.

You can get it from Adobe Labs website, it's a 2,5 MB file to download, the installer is very special because it's a Flash Window you see in your browser.
Adobe is really reinventing Flash...

Here is the link to Adobe Digital Editions: http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/digitaleditions/install/?source=acrofile

Maybe is it the Adobe Reader killer... It really makes reading a pdf document sooo comfortable!

I fell in love with it!

PS: it is still a beta, and the icon is ugly (not 128x128). Adobe is releasing amazing products these days (Lr, CS3 etc...) but they really do have a problem when it comes to icons :p

M&D News

2007-05-10T22:37:00.000-01:00

Congrats to M&D writers, we have reached the amount of 333 posts! I love this number :p

Roxio introduces: Roxio Crunch

2007-05-10T22:26:00.000-01:00

As the fan of Roxio softs I am, I just purchased "Crunch", I don't really see the "big" difference with PopCorn, but it seems it is more centered on Apple TV.

Roxio Crunch™
Convert DV, AVI, MOV, MPEG-4, MPEG-2, DivX, DVD-Video, Video_TS folders, and more
Automatically add converted video to your iTunes library for easy syncing with your Apple TV, iPod, or iPhone
Powerful award-winning video conversion technology from the makers of Toast®.
Roxio Crunch™ is the essential video converter for your Apple TV, iPod, and iPhone. Take your video in to the living room or the palm of your hands fast and simple. Roxio Crunch is a one-stop shop for all of your video conversion needs. Batch export will make your life even simpler: converted video will be automatically added to iTunes for syncing. Don’t just convert it, Crunch it!

Apple Internet Video Made Easy!

2007-05-10T03:04:00.001-01:00

Now that I am done editing my video masterpiece, it may be time to output the video to a format necessary for the Internet. Uploading a video to YouTube is pretty easy. Making it look good is a bit of a challenge. Most online videos are plagued with artifacts, pixelations, and lag time. But I have a Mac, so I can make a fantastic looking video!

read more | digg story

Apple PRO Application Support Update

2007-05-10T02:09:00.000-01:00

An update for those who runs one of Apple's PRO App like Final Cut, Aperture, or Logic.
It's a light weight update: 8,3 mb.

I Love My Mac (Art)

2007-05-09T05:14:00.000-01:00

iPod Music Server

2007-05-08T05:47:00.000-01:00

Joining the hordes of other fine music servers out there that have caved to the silent iPod demands, Terratec's latest has ponied up the ten-percent in order to boast about iPod compatibility. The NOXON 2 music streamer sports a stylish white, silver, and black motif, a top-mounted iPod dock, USB host port for connecting flash drives and external HDDs, optical audio output, headphone jack, streaming internet radio sans a PC, FM tuner, a wireless remote, built-in in Ethernet, and WiFi to boot.

Read More...

Macintosh System 1.1/Finder 1.1

2007-05-08T05:39:00.001-01:00

Macintosh System 1.1/Finder 1.1
Originally uploaded by mczolton.

About the Finder.

One of the earliest iterations of the now classic Macintosh system software. Mini vMac emulator.

You can download the emulator from here.

3 New "Get a Mac" Ads Released

2007-05-08T05:34:00.000-01:00

New Mac ads have been released including "Choose A Vista", "Genius", and "Party Is Over".

Here is the link: Get a Mac.

Microsoft's iPhone Killer

2007-05-06T02:12:00.000-01:00

Nice drawing by Buquet.
Steve Balmer with M$ iPhone Killer :p

New UK Get a Mac Ad (Subway Underground)

2007-05-05T20:50:00.000-01:00

The Macbook's power cable is--bar none--one of the most useful hardware innovations to come about it years, on any platform. So it's always surprising that Apple doesn't make more of it in its advertising.

The face of Steve Jobs in a Latte

2007-05-05T20:34:00.000-01:00

Photo by Luke Edgar Seeley, who notes:

I ordered a medium latte at a local cafe and was surprised to find that the barista had, with his mastery of steamed milk, poured a face and the words "I Love Steve Jobs" into my latte.

South Park: Get a Mac Commercial

2007-05-05T20:30:00.000-01:00

Make Quicktime Player Play any movie format thanks to Perian

2007-05-05T20:13:00.000-01:00

This is a present from M&D to all its visitors, it's Perian 1.0b2, you can download it from HERE.

Perian enables QuickTime® application support for additional Media Types including:

* AVI and FLV
* 3ivX, DivX, Flash Screen Video, MS-MPEG4, Sorenson H.263, Truemotion VP6, and Xvid
* AVI support for: AAC, AC3 Audio using A52Codec, H.264, MPEG4, and VBR MP3

Perian 1.0b2 supports .mkv and is a bit faster to me.

You can get the version 0.5 from Perian website.
You can see all supported formats here.
And I also advise you to take a look at the Google Discussion.

A Greener Apple

2007-05-05T00:49:00.000-01:00

Apple has been criticized by some environmental organizations for not being a leader in removing toxic chemicals from its new products, and for not aggressively or properly recycling its old products. Upon investigating Apple’s current practices and progress towards these goals, I was surprised to learn that in many cases Apple is ahead of, or will soon be ahead of, most of its competitors in these areas. Whatever other improvements we need to make, it is certainly clear that we have failed to communicate the things that we are doing well.

Read More...

Auto Rate iTunes tracks

2007-05-05T00:23:00.000-01:00

Maria, we have been spied yesterday!! LOOOOL

I found a soft that will help me to automate the rating process, because when you have a more than 13,000 songs library, you have to be realistic, you will never be able to rate them all!
The solution is: Autorate!

You can get it here.

Apple Most Innovative Company for The 3rd Year in a Row

2007-05-05T00:03:00.000-01:00

According to Business Weel "For the third year in a row, the design-driven masters in Cupertino, Calif., lead the pack of creative firms on our list of the World's Most Innovative Companies. Apple manages to dominate any would-be contenders, beating out two-time runner-up Google with more than twice as many votes."

Read More

M&D's Text Editor

2007-05-04T23:35:00.000-01:00

This is the text editor M&D's template is worked on. I advise this application to any web developper.
I just wanted to say that it is really powerful and really easy to use.
I also love how this application is designed! The buttons remind me of iPhone's icons.

SMULTRON.

About Smultron
A free text editor for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger which is both easy to use and powerful. It is designed to not confuse newcomers nor disappoint advanced users. It has all the advantages of an Cocoa application and some of its features are tabs, line numbers, support for syntax colouring for many different languages, functions list, support for text encodings, snippets, a toolbar, a status bar, preview, split window, multi-document find and replace with regular expressions, possibility to show invisible characters, authenticated open and saves, command-line utility, full screen editing and running commands and scripts from within the application.

Download Smultron.

Ha Ha Ha

2007-05-04T22:30:00.000-01:00

2 Gigas of FREE Back Up Space

2007-05-04T01:09:00.000-01:00

Just discovered a great service called Mozy, it gives you for free a 2 gigas space to back up your datas and it's compatible for Mac & PC. The service permits you to back up automatically your datas on a server and to retrieve them easily too.

You can also get unlimited storage space for only $4.95 a month.

After creating an accout, you'll be invited to Download the sofware: "Mozy".

And then just choose which infos you which to back up like here:

And remember: Your First back up may take several days!

M&D News

2007-05-03T00:57:00.000-01:00

Less but Smarter Labels.
I decided to remove, merge and add many labels, and now the whole labeling logic has changed in the Mac & Design Blog and you'll see how the navigation via the Labels will be much easier.

I also added a calendar for a better browsing throught the archives.

Just try them ;)

Startup key combinations for Intel-based Macs

2007-05-03T00:45:00.000-01:00

After our post on how to start your Mac in safe mode (which interested many visitors it seems), here are the 11 "possible" key combinations for intel based Mac's from Apple.

QuickTime 7.1.6

2007-05-02T05:48:00.000-01:00

QuickTime 7.1.6 delivers numerous bug fixes, addresses a critical security issue with QuickTime for Java and includes support for:

- Final Cut Studio 2
- Timecode and closed captioning display in QuickTime Player

This update is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

You can get the update from your Software Update menu on OS X or from Apple Support Downloads.

Real Player Update

2007-05-02T05:21:00.000-01:00

Version 10.1.0.490 has been released on May 1st.

About RealPlayer
Whether you’re listening to music or watching a ballgame, RealPlayer gives you the best control of your media. Stream, surf and boogie with these incredible RealPlayer features.

What’s New in this Version
- Several security vulnerabilities fixed
- Improvements for Intel autoupdate components

Download Real Player Update here.

Love & Kiss

2007-05-02T02:03:00.000-01:00

2 B&W images I found randomly on the www.

LOVE!

KISS?

Steve WILL make the Keynote

2007-05-01T20:54:00.000-01:00

Apple announced today that Steve Jobs will indeed be giving the Keynote speech at WWDC 2007.

The keynote speech will take place on Monday, June 11th at 10a.m. PT at San Francisco's Moscone West. Apple will be showing a "feature complete version" of Mac OS X Leopard and will be giving out beta copies to developers for testing.

As announced earlier, the final version of Leopard will ship in October.
The five-day event, scheduled to run from June 11 to June 15, will deliver more than 150 sessions and labs aimed at getting the most out of Leopard. The conference will also include new content to serve a wide range of developers, including Mac OS X Immersion Monday, designed to quickly get developers who are new to the Mac® up to speed; a content and media track that shows developers the best ways to integrate animation, motion graphics, video, rich-media and web-based content into their applications; and dozens of hands-on labs that offer a unique opportunity to work directly with Apple engineers.

Intuos3,WACOM

2007-04-29T20:19:00.000-01:00

It’s ideal for HDTV video editing. Designed for high-end workstation use, the A3 Wide represents the ultimate in a large high-performance graphics tablet.

The ergonomic Grip Pen, in combination with the freely programmable ExpressKeys and Touch Strip, optimises workflow, efficiency and productivity in creative applications.

Soooooo cool!!!!!!! graphic designers will love it =)

Speedy Train

2007-04-28T02:35:00.001-01:00

Speedy Train
Originally uploaded by frogsthatmoo.

A very cool photo from Ian Higgins, known as Frogsthatmoo, he loves fast car like myself, but there's a slight difference between us: he is talented in photography while I'm not.
As the photography lover I am, I really advise you to visit his Flickr, he accorded me a small interview, here are the main lines:

"Basically my photos are all of me randomly being places and taking pictures as I go. Some come out great, while others never even make it past a second glance. Some of my pictures are simply random and unplanned but those are the best ones! My equipment consists of: Me, my Nikon D100, a 105 macro, a 17-35, an 80-200, and lastly a 15mm fisheye. By far my favorite lens is the 105 macro simply because it is pretty versatile. Although the 17-35 is my second favorite. Occasionally I get this urge to take pictures and I get more creative than anything."

Adium + Livejournal

2007-04-27T00:33:00.000-01:00

A short but cool trick for those of you who use Livejournal.

When you create an account at Livejournal.com you get a username.
Go to Adium, and add a Livejournal account: username@livejournal.com and put your livejournal password.
A buddy will automatically be added, it is called: LJ Bot (Frank).
You can via this "buddy" write a post to livejournal from Adium just like this:

Simplicity

2007-04-27T00:28:00.000-01:00

It's a modded OS X very simple but very very nice!!!

Origami: The Japanese Art of Paper Folding

2007-04-26T14:23:00.000-01:00

Although Origami is known to be a Japanese Art or sometimes Craft, it actually started out in China. The Chinese invented paper, and when the invention spread to Japan, so did the art of paper folding. Most Japanese practice origami, but it started out as an art form for religious ceremonies.

Origami simply means to fold paper. Ori means to fold and kami means paper. The art of paper folding reached Japan sometime in the seventh century. At first it was used in religious ceremonies, where pieces of paper were folded in a particular way to have a particular meaning. It was also used for wrapping gifts. Paper was scarce and expensive so that only the rich could afford to use it. Slowly the process for making paper became quicker and cheaper, and everyone had access to it. Once everyone had access the art of origami really took hold. And me personally really like it!

http://www.capitalcomm.com.my a web inspired in origamis

M&D News

2007-04-24T23:20:00.000-01:00

Mac and Design's blog is changing the "look"
As you can see the background now is white, its divided now in 3 colums ( categories, posts, comments) creating an easier and attractive blog for you.
Enjoy readers!

AirForce 1

2007-04-24T03:57:00.000-01:00

M&D News

2007-04-24T03:13:00.000-01:00

Improved labels now with an easier interface, just give it a try, click on a label and watch the results!
Hope You'll love it!

Macromedia RIP

2007-04-24T00:21:00.000-01:00

I installed this morning Adobe Creative Suite 3. And .. deleted all of Macromedia Products in my HD, now, we have to get used to: Adobe Flash, Adobe Dreamweaver...
The suite is amazing!!!

NB: for those of you who don't like or HATE the CS3 default icons, here is a replacement pack with very cool icons.

Adel Djait: a friend, DJ Adel Djait: the blog with Downloadable Mixes

2007-04-23T15:32:00.000-01:00

He's a good friend of mine, he's a 25 years old Tunisian House Music DJ and he just started a blog with downloadable mixes he made. I saw him DJing live many times at a Club called "Club Les Jasmins" and he sets the roof on fire!

Click here to Visit DjayAdel.
The link to his blog is now with "Our Friend"'s list.

Le Premier Tour des Elections Annulé a Cause D'internet

2007-04-22T00:38:00.001-01:00

Depuis quelques jours, un débat agite la blogosphère : faut-il publier dès 18h les sondages "sortis des urnes" relatif au premier tour de l'élection présidentielle 2007 ? Si certains blogueurs souhaitent outre passer l'interdiction, d'autres en appellent à un esprit civique et demande de respecter l'heure fatidique des 20h.

read more | digg story

Empezamos de Nuevo?

2007-04-21T22:26:00.000-01:00

What about iLife'07 and iWork '07?

2007-04-21T21:50:00.000-01:00

s late as mid-2006, Apple had planned to release iLife '07 and iWork '07 in January at Macworld Expo, as the company has done in previous years. But discontent over the quality of some of the new additions to the software, including Apple's first standalone spreadsheet application, saw the release pushed back. At the same time, according to sources, Apple made the decision to wrap Leopard-specific features into the new iLife and iWork suites, originally planned for future releases of the software, possibly to further encourage sales of all three products.

One such feature: The new iLife and iWork suites are reported to take advantage of Leopard's Core Animation, which simplifies the development of animation-rich software, according to another source.

To date, Apple has made no official mention of iLife '07 and iWork '07 and has only gone so far as to say Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will be released in the Spring. The new operating system went without mention at Macworld Expo/San Francisco, but during Apple's recent first-quarter financial earnings conference call, executives reiterated the Spring release date.

Happy Birthday Amine

2007-04-21T00:41:00.000-01:00

Amine's my brother and April 21st is his birthday, so here is an Apple 1 Computer Cake for him!

Revealing missing tracks

2007-04-20T17:40:00.000-01:00

Tired of searching which tracks are missing from your iTunes library?
Try this:Select all of your tracks(command-A) and then Drag them.
The missing tracks will instantly appear:

Living Nowhere

2007-04-20T17:26:00.000-01:00

If you're tired of the monotony of the weather in your country everytime you take a look at the weather widget,try this:
Maintain Alt-Command and click on the sun of the weather widget!

Ciel Compta et le Mac

2007-04-20T00:56:00.000-01:00

This document is from Ciel and I felt sooo good when I read it, because I love Ciel Comptabilité: Ciel is the most used accountancy (they have a suite for Pay, Taxation etc..) software in France (and french speaking countries).

PS: I'm preparing the CPA (Cerified Public Accountancy) exam.
NB: Ciel says it will keep on "Commercialisation" of its software.. which doesn't necessarly means they will improve/update them :(

How to Sync Google calendars on iCal in a click

2007-04-20T00:37:00.000-01:00

This is a very interesting alternative to .mac.
It's Spanning Sync:

"Synchronize Google Calendar and Apple iCal. Share calendars between multiple Macs. Share calendars with your coworkers, family, and friends. And while you're at it, connect Google Calendar to your iPod, mobile phone, and other devices."

Spanning Sync adds a pref pane button which makes the Sync process easy:

How to Sync Google calendars on iCal for EXPERT users

2007-04-20T00:21:00.000-01:00

As a .mac subscriber, I often ask myself if it worths it... Anyway....

Here is the "how to". It's indeed another service provided by the HUUUUGE Google!

1) Install GCALDaemon (Java 1.5 required).

cd /usr/local/sbin sudo unzip /downloads/gcaldaemon-linux-1.x.zip sudo chgrp -R admin /usr/local/sbin/GCALDaemon sudo chmod -R g+w /usr/local/sbin/GCALDaemon sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/sbin/GCALDaemon/bin/*.sh

2) Put a colored label on all folders in '~/Library/Application Support/iCal/Sources'.

open ~/Library/Application Support/iCal/Sources

3) Launch iCal, and create a new calendar, maybe named 'Google'.

Read More...

Pinturas Duncan

2007-04-19T22:51:00.000-01:00

Bringing some Art to the blog. He's one of my fav painters of all. (South African) What an artist! Hope you like it. You can also visit his webpage to see more of his works.

Aperture 1.5.3

2007-04-19T20:33:00.000-01:00

Another update is now available it's for Aperture, version 1.5.3 is now available!

Aperture 1.5.3 addresses issues related to overall reliability and performance in a number of areas, including:

Generation of thumbnails for adjusted images
Entering and exiting Full Screen mode
Working with large sets of keywords in the Keywords HUD
Restoring from a vault
Among the specific issues that have been addressed:
Previews now update properly when images are sent to an external editor.
Leaf Aptus 22 and Aptus 75 images are now imported with the correct orientation.
When folders are imported as projects, the folder structure is now correctly preserved when identically named subfolders are included in the hierarchy.
Reconnecting referenced images that have been externally edited now works more reliably.
Setting the ColorSync profile in the Aperture Print dialog now correctly suppresses color management settings in the Mac OS X Print dialog.

Security Update

2007-04-19T20:31:00.000-01:00

Security Update 2007-004 is now available on your Software Update, Apple recommends it for all users and improves the security of the following components:

AFP Client
AirPort
CarbonCore
diskdev_cmds
fetchmail
ftpd
gnutar
Help Viewer
HID Family
Installer
Kerberos
Libinfo
Login Window
network_cmds
SMB
System Configuration
URLMount
Video Conference
WebDAV

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61798

Google Hidden Pages Part. 3

2007-04-18T21:39:00.000-01:00

After Part.1 and Part. 2, here is logically Part. 3 (and last)!

Site-flavored search - Enter the URL of a site, and Google will try to infer a profile for the site based on its content.
AdSense for Paper - Google has placed targeted ads in two magazines on behalf of AdWords advertisers.
Dilbert and the Google Doodle. The first and last Dilbert cartoon on Google.
Britney Spears spelling corrections. The data shows some of the misspellings detected by Google's spelling correction system for the query [ britney spears ], and how many different users spelled her name that way. The most common misspelling is "brittany spears".
Google searches related to 9/11. Also Google's condolences.
Google can help your business make more money: promo for AdSense, AdWords and Froogle.
AdWords 2004 - a presentation about AdWords with nice greyscale pictures from Googleplex.
Librarian Center - a newsletter with search tips for librarians.
This page used to be displayed when searching for "jew" because the first results were anti-jew sites and people were disturbed.
Looking for Picasa? What about Urchin?

Apple adds Xvid to QT

2007-04-18T03:01:00.000-01:00

Apple has added Xvid to its online QuickTime Components list. The Xvid-for-QuickTime component, allows you to play and encode Xvid video. Apple states:
“The Xvid component for QuickTime allows users to play & encode Xvids in QuickTime Player. Xvid is a video codec library following the MPEG-4 standard.”
In theory, this means that the Apple TV could also support Xvid video playback.

Why Leopard was REALLY delayed...

2007-04-18T01:41:00.001-01:00

Much to my extreme disappointment, Leopard has been delayed until October. For all you that can’t count, that’s still six whole months away. While Apple may attribute Leopard’s delay to a certain device called the iPhone, the Joy of Tech comic has some other reasons why Leopard is late...

read more | digg story

M&D News

2007-04-16T06:57:00.000-01:00

Just added a new widget (on the left side of the blog) with links to the best download sites for OS X, this link includes the very useful FreeMacWare website which offer only Free OS X Applications to download!

Adobe Announces New Media Player

2007-04-16T06:42:00.000-01:00

Adobe just announced that it is working on a new media player enabling you to watch Flash-based videos and other content while you're offline.

This new player will be built in its Apollo technology.

I guess betas will be available soon.

Visit NewTeeVee for more details.

Think Secret

2007-04-16T06:34:00.000-01:00

It's just a link.. A blog.. It has only 4 posts.. It has nothing to do with Mac but I love the cards and art in it.
It's called "Post Secret" and it claims to be the largest ad-free blog in the world, and I really do think it is.
So I really advise you to take a look.

iPhone Vs. LG Prada

2007-04-16T05:38:00.000-01:00

Many people noticed that Apple's iPhone had a concurrent: the LG KE850 aka LG Prada. We even wrote a post on that here on M&D. Here is a video comparaison between iPhone and LG Prada.

Funny but you won't learn a thing from this debate. :)

Very Cool CS 3 Replacement Icons

2007-04-16T05:16:00.000-01:00

I wrote a post on Adobe's CS3 icons because I didn't like them at all.. It seems many persons share my point of view, and finally some seem to have heard our prayers and created an amazing pack of icons for CS 3 and for Acrobat.

Here is what they look like:

Download the .icns files here and .png files here .
If you don't know how to replace an application's icons go to Jihed's tutorial and change them in 4 easy steps.

These icons have been created by Jeremie Cornelissen (http://www.jeremie.nl/).

iChat AV and USB Webcams

2007-04-16T04:53:00.000-01:00

According to the Apple notes about the 10.4.9 update to OS X, iChat AV is now compatible with USB Video Class webcams (Which means no hack is needed anymore to make USB cameras work on OS X).

Best or advised webcams are:

* The Xbox 360 webcam compatible with any Mac running Mac OS X 10.4.9. No drivers required.
* The QuickCam Ultra Vision and Fusion webcams, image quality is great, they have built in microphones and you just plug it in and it works.
* The Creative Live! cam optia should also work, but it has no mic.

Leopard delay another sign of a shift away from Macs

2007-04-16T00:58:00.000-01:00

Ever since Macworld failed to deliver a single Mac announcement, people have looking to the spring release of the sixth major version of Mac OS X Leopard as the bright spot on Apple's horizon. But now that Apple has delayed its release until October, what does that mean for the next round of Macs?

"it's looking more and more like Apple is pushing the Mac to the back burner as it focuses more effort on its "toys," namely the iPod and iPhone".

A few days after spring arrived, DigiTimes, a Taiwan-based newspaper and Web site with a questionable track record regarding Apple predictions, sent ripples through the Mac community by declaring Leopard would be delayed until October "to allow Apple to make Leopard support Windows Vista through an integrated version of its Boot Camp software."

A few days later, Apple denied the report ... Read More

Michael Simon

Michael is a freelance writer and editor, and paginator for The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He is the author of Failed Attempt, written under the moniker of Morlium, which can be purchased through iTunes or as a full-color paperback.

Final Cut Studio 2

2007-04-16T00:34:00.000-01:00

2 days ago I saw a famous tunisian filmmaker buying Final Cut Studio at an Apple Show Room, so.. hope he won't see this post.. Because Apple's home page changed to introdude Final Cut Studio 2!
Which is the perfect tool for any video edition, music edition and mixing, color grading and delivery (in HD of course).
Final Cut Studio 2 integrates:

Final Cut Pro 6
Motion 3
Soundtrack Pro 2
Color
Compressor 3
DVD Studio Pro 4

17", 20" and 24"

2007-04-15T20:35:00.000-01:00

A very cute photo:

Hidden Google Pages (Part. 2)

2007-04-15T10:11:00.000-01:00

Here is part 2 Of the Google site you probably don't know:

Explore Google World from 2003."Work is hard and you need a break. A sun-soaked vacation is just the ticket, but where to begin? With Google there's a world of helpful, time-saving features right at your fingertips."
How to build a better query - useful tips.
Valentine's Day 2001
A Java applet that shows a heart and writes "I love you" in more languages. That was before designing logos for holidays and special events.
20 years of Usenet - including first mentions of Microsoft, Sun, Cisco, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mac OSX and Google.
Statistics about html elements' usage. An average web page uses 19 tags.
In 2003 Google searched 3 billion documents. Now Google has more than 24 billion documents in the index. Also see why size isn't important.
Google ranks #1 in NPD search & portal scorecard measuring loyalty and satisfaction (in 2000).
Google Voice Search - search on Google by voice with a simple telephone call.
Google Keyboard Shortcuts - navigate search results without using your mouse.
Google Compute - put your computer to work advancing scientific knowledge when it's not helping you.

Go to Part 1...

Apple TV: Death of Mac Mini?

2007-04-15T07:30:00.000-01:00

AppleTVHacks.net has published a tutorial on how to run Mac OS X on your Apple TV unit.

Mac OS X running on an Apple TV
A video of the hack and Mac OS X running is available on Google Video.

On my opinion there are chances that the Apple TV becomes a serious concurrent to the Mac Mini!

Cleaning my iMac G5 Fans

2007-04-14T14:57:00.000-01:00

Read Story at Apple Discussions Forum.
And here is the guide from Apple on How to take off the upper fans.

Get Fat

2007-04-14T07:10:00.000-01:00

After the 2 newest "Get a Mac" commercials, Apple has added a third advert called “Stuffed”, in the advert PC is shown to be all bloated from the hundreds of programs installed by the manufacturer.

Too Funny!

M&D on the New 30" Apple Cinema Display

2007-04-13T23:32:00.000-01:00

What a screen! It now supports HD, I know it's an old news but I never saw it for real.
And M&D on it looks so cool!

Look how the keyboard looks small!!

Sticky windows

2007-04-13T15:31:00.000-01:00

This little application is surprisingly good!!It changes any window you're working on in a very little window which sticks to any border of your screen and which can be recalled any moment you want it!
So here's all of the windows you need to deal with when using your mac:

And here are the same windows after "sticking" them!

iPhone delays Leopard until October

2007-04-13T12:26:00.000-01:00

Apple has devoted more of its resources toward iPhone development,that's why Leopard,the next OS X release, is now annouced for October!That said,all of Leopard features will be finished in June and Apple will present the final version in the WWDC 2007!
"We think it will be well worth the wait. Life often presents tradeoffs, and in this case we're sure we've made the right ones."
You can read the official announcement here.

Get a Mac

2007-04-13T11:02:00.000-01:00

Two new Ads are available in Apple's website! They are fabulous!

LaCie:Great accessories for Mac

2007-04-13T10:30:00.000-01:00

LaCie, a brand who is known for its external Hard Drives, is very respected. And it also produces great accessories:
Their recent Hub is very attractive:

Or these Firewire powered speakers:

This Hard Drive was designed by Karim Rashid:it's called skwarim:

Repair Disk just by... booting in Safe Mode Boot

2007-04-12T02:01:00.000-01:00

These days I had a problem with my superdrive and I had to repair my disk.
As you know you can only repair your disk with the OS X DVD. So I felt trapped.
But there was a solution!!! Just boot on Safe Mode repairs the disk.

Here are the 4 steps to Boot on Safe Mode:
1 - Shut down the Mac
2 - Turn it on
3 - As soon as you hear the start up sound , push the SHIFT key and hold it
4 - Release it when you see the flower (loading) in the grey screen

Your Mac will take more time to boot and the fans will make a lot of noise.
When you finally see the long on screen it will be DONE.

To leave Safe Mode you only have to restart your Mac.

PRIDE

2007-04-12T01:42:00.000-01:00

I'M SOOO PROUD OF YOU BABY!

Picasa Web Albums for Mac

2007-04-11T02:46:00.000-01:00

Picasa is a famous soft for managing photos on PC, it really looks like iPhoto by the way it works.
Picasa web album is a Google product (you will need a gmail account) and it's indeed a product that it close to Flickr (maybe a concurrent). The cool feature in Picasa Web Album is the fact that the iPhoto plug-in is free.
It's always nice to welcome a Google product in the Mac World since they often arrive a bit late to us, I still remember how late Google Earth for Mac has been released.

M&D News

2007-04-11T02:15:00.000-01:00

A Favicon finally!

It's the pink iPod shuffle you can see in our banner, now the blog has more personnality and is easier to recognize it just by looking in your address bar ;)

A New Feeling (احساس جديد)

2007-04-11T02:14:00.000-01:00

I love the song, I love the video clip, the landscapes, the colors, the "story" : this is really a piece of art!
[Ehsas jdid] became the most successful hit for Ajram since the classical ballad Inta Eih (her fourth single from her [Ah w noss] album. She is currently working on her sixth video album which will be released in the summer of 2007.

Translated lyrics will be the first comment to this post.

Interpreter: Nancy Ajram.

Best Fonts Sites

2007-04-10T23:53:00.000-01:00

Here are the main and best websites to get fonts from, I wrote this post as a sticky note:

Better than Alt+Tab

2007-04-10T23:18:00.000-01:00

Have you ever wanted to switch to a certain window — not just the application it belongs to? While you can use Exposé to switch windows, doing so can be very clumsy if you're the keyboard-only type of user. And don't all of these windows look just the same when they are scaled down?

Here is Witch the application that can do it.
All you need to do is to download the application.
Open the disk image, double click on the Witch.prefpane file -> it will install a new panel in your system preferences. Then go to "universal access" in your system preferences, enable "access to assistive devices".
And then try this keyboard shortcut: alt + tab.

Amazing isn't it? (iTunes was minimized in the dock)

Hidden Google Pages

2007-04-10T17:52:00.000-01:00

Here are the Google pages you certainly have never seen.

You probably know the first one:

Google Mac (The search engine with only Mac related results)
Google Moms (A tribute to Googlers' moms)
Google Adsense For Domains (AdSense for domains allows domain name registrars to fill the otherwise blank pages with AdSense ads)
Google Sets (Google Sets is the oldest Google product that never graduated Google Labs. Using Google Sets, you can create sets of items from a few examples)
Google Dance 2004 & 2005
Get Stock with Google (Google provides stock and mutual fund information since 2001)
Google Doesn't Sell Search Results (Google talks about the integrity of its results and answers this tricky question: "In a world where everything seems to be for sale, why can't advertisers buy better position in our search results?")
Google Wi-Fi (Google provides free WiFi in Mountain View through Google Secure Access, a client that makes the WiFi connection more secure)
Google Newsletter (You knew Google has a blog, but you didn't know they have a newsletter called Google Friends. You can read the full archive)
Chad's Journey to New Jersey (One bike. One Googler. One really long ride)
Google Easter's Eggs (A Java game with an Easter bunny)

Keynote Presentations

2007-04-10T05:39:00.000-01:00

If you have Apple Keynote (part of Apple iWork) here are some funny dowloadable Keynote presentations you can get from my Spymac Disk.
Enjoy :)

April 10th 2007:

* Banos Del Mundo
* Only In..

April 8th 2007:

* Hands

April 6th 2007:

* Oil Money
* Oil Money 2
* Best Ads (you must be over 18)
* Funny Pictures
* BBQ Party
* For Those Days (you must be over 18)
* There Must Be Something Wrong
* The Human Brain is Amazing

Step by Step Guide to iTunes 7

2007-04-10T02:43:00.000-01:00

Beginner's How To concerning the changes made in iTunes 7. Lots of changes have been made in this revision of iTunes. Check out step by step tutorials about all these changes on iUseApple.com. For Beginners to Intermediate Users.

read more | digg story

Complete Guide To OSX Keyboard Shortcuts

2007-04-10T02:06:00.001-01:00

Complete Guide To OSX Keyboard Shortcuts, this guide has every possible keyboard shortcut that one could need for OSX.

read more | digg story

100 Million iPods Sold

2007-04-10T00:35:00.000-01:00

CUPERTINO, California—April 9, 2007—Apple® today announced that the 100 millionth iPod® has been sold, making the iPod the fastest selling music player in history. The first iPod was sold five and a half years ago, in November 2001, and since then Apple has introduced more than 10 new iPod models, including five generations of iPod, two generations of iPod mini, two generations of iPod nano and two generations of iPod shuffle. Along with iTunes® and the iTunes online music store, the iPod has transformed how tens of millions of music lovers acquire, manage and listen to their music.

Read More

Goodies from Apple: iPod images!
iPod (Family)
iPod (4 White iPods)
U2 iPod (Front)
U2 iPod (Back)

Apple's Logo Meaning...

2007-04-09T13:06:00.000-01:00

I was wondering about the meaning of the Apple's logo, a few times now I must admit, but still I think I dont get the answer, I do know there's a meaning...or maybe the meaning is subjective, who knows, anyway here is what I found:

1) Steve Jobs had worked during the summer at an apple farm, and admired the Beatles' record label, Apple. He also believed Apples to be the most perfect fruit. He and Steve Wozniak were trying to figure out a name for their new company, and they decided that if they couldn't think of one by the end of the day that was better than Apple, they would choose Apple. They couldn't think of anything better, so on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer, Inc. was born.

But they needed a logo. The first design included Sir Isaac Newton, a tree and a banner that said "Apple Computer." Jobs decided they needed a less busy logo, one that would signify a brand. The second logo attempt was very similar to the current logo, but without the bite taken out of it. Jobs thought this logo looked too much like an orange. The third attempt was the logo that Apple still uses.

2) "...an Apple with a bite out of it, indicating the acquisition of knowledge."

..................By the way, did you know that if you measure the sides of the great pyramid in cubits, add them together and multiply by the hieght, you get...

Steve & Bill Rare Public Appearance (Photos)

2007-04-09T05:34:00.000-01:00

Here are the photos to illustrate this post.

La Vie En Rose (Lyrics and Song)

2007-04-09T04:41:00.000-01:00

LA VIE ROSE (Life in Pink) *

Des yeux qui font baisser les miens
Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche
Voilà le portrait sans retouche
De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

{Refrain/Chorus}

Quand il me prend dans ses bras,
Il me parle tout bas
Je vois la vie en rose,
Il me dit des mots d'amour
Des mots de tous les jours,
Et ça m'fait quelque chose
Il est entré dans mon cœur,
Une part de bonheur
Dont je connais la cause,
C'est lui pour moi,
Moi pour lui dans la vie
Il me l'a dit, l'a juré
Pour la vie
Et dès que je l'aperçois
Alors je sens en moi
Mon cœur qui bat

Des nuits d'amour à plus finir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Des ennuis, des chagrins s'effacent
Heureux, heureux à en mourir

{Refrain/Chorus}

{Nota: variante pour le dernier couplet}

Des nuits d'amour à en mourir
Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place
Les ennuis, les chagrins s'effacent
Heureux, heureux pour mon plaisir

Get Edith Piaf version HERE.

* other interpreters: Céline Dion, Dalida, Diana Krall, Donna Summer, Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong, Emilie Simon, Franck Pourcel, Grace Jones, Jacqueline François, Joséphine Baker, Marlène Dietrich, Mireille Mathieu, Patachou, Patricia Kaas, Tohama, Yves Montand and much more...

Pink T-Shirt Perrier Ad

2007-04-09T04:36:00.000-01:00

A very cool commercial by Perrier featuring a superb pink T-Shirt.

Simple and Great Design

2007-04-09T03:57:00.001-01:00

jovem
Originally uploaded by artenasuavida.

I just love how this room is designed
So simple and so great।

And that iMac G3 makes it even more cute!

This room's design reminded me of Design Milk this site is full of those cute and simply designed stuffs, if you liked this room I think you'll love Design Milk!

iPhone labeled as the real spark for Apple's flame in 2007

2007-04-09T03:14:00.001-01:00

Wealth management experts have banked on the iPhone as the driving force behind Apple's near-future growth -- but cautioned that the fourth major platform in the company's lineup could also eat away at the very iPod share that has helped build its recent success.

read more | digg story

JBL:Sound quality & design for your desktop.

2007-04-07T11:40:00.000-01:00

JBL is a brand whose speakers are known for their remarkable sound quality,but also,since a litte while now,for the great and innovative design of their 2.1 sound systems!
Their systems would fit any mac,with their glossy,really inspired design!
Here's the Creature( the subwoofer really looks like darth vador's head no?):

And here's the Encounter:an alien ship with 2 alien heads on each side:

Finally these are the most recent systems named Spot and Spyro:

Changing your Icons in 4 Easy Steps

2007-04-07T09:04:00.000-01:00

You may know that there are some applications which make it very easy to use a complete set of icons automaticly:all you have to do is chose the set to use.
But there's a way to change quickly the icon of an application or a folder.
1) Chose the folder/application you want and pulse Command-i:
You got this ordinary window:

2) Then open the folder where the set of icons is and do the same with the icon to use
(command-i).
3) Now,in the "information" window of the icon,click on the little picture(the red one in the example) and Copy it:

4 )Finally On the "information" window of you folder,select the original appearance(the Green folder in our case) and paste the one you copied in step 3).
That's it.
InterfaceLift is a great site where you can get a lot of free icons sets and great wallpapers in multiple resolutions!

Color your Dock

2007-04-07T08:43:00.000-01:00

First of all, you need these free applications:Application Enhancer and Cleardock
Then go to your control pannel where you will find this window:

All tou have to do is chose a "fill color",a "shape color" and an "opacity level" to have something that looks like this:

Or untick the "recolor the dock background" to have floating applications:

That's it enjoy!

Kyle, a Friend with a Blog

2007-04-06T18:16:00.000-01:00

A great blog hosted at Spymac Classic's server.
Kyle's a friend before everything and the link to his blog will now join our "Friends" list of links.
His blog is about Fashion, House Music, Madonna, Men and Women.
There are also downloadable great house music tracks, once you visit his blog you won't spend a day without checking it to find new content.
To me it's the Fashionistas' Blog!

Thanks Kyle!

Credits to Maria for the Photoshopped version of Kyle's photo.

How to save a life?

2007-04-06T14:28:00.000-01:00

Take your ipod wherever you go!
An American soldier was shot in Irak,but miraculously survived thanks to his iPod (which prevented the bullet from killing its owner).
Conclusion: iPod=Music+Photos+Movies+Body Armor!

Color inversion

2007-04-06T14:19:00.000-01:00

It's really simple to make your Mac look..let's say different!
Just push simultaneously Ctrl-Alt-command-8.
It's funny.

Nearly all Apple's Ads.

2007-04-06T13:13:00.000-01:00

I've found a website where you can download all of the ads Apple made since its beginnig.
You can take a look here.
And don't forget:you can see the new ads in Apple's website.
I love this one,it's very funny!

Enjoy!