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GIMP now (finally) available as a native Mac app
This is something that's been a long time coming, and it's finally here. GIMP is an excellent Photoshop-esque open source photo editor. While it's been available on Mac for a long time, it has required the X11 Window environment, which itself needs a separate (and somewhat messy) installation. For a long time, the programmers working on GIMP have been promising to eventually take it native, but it hasn't happened until just recently. As of version 2.8.2, you can now simply go grab the GIMP .dmg file from the main website, and then install and run on your Mac as needed. That's good news for those of us who appreciate a powerful photo editor like this but don't necessarily have the cash for big-name apps like Photoshop or Pixelmator. Congrats to everyone who's worked on GIMP in the past. If you like the app and want to support great open sourced work, they could probably use a donation or two. [via LifeHacker]
NASA goes open source with code portal for agency projects
NASA is consolidating it efforts in open source software and offering the world an easier way to peruse its projects by launching code.nasa.gov. The current version offers a simple directory of open-sourced projects being developed by the agency and points of contacts for each (along with details and a download link, of course). There are two more phases of development planned -- first is to roll out a forum system, then an ambitious full-fledged platform for tracking, hosting and planning the various pieces of software created by the government's space agency. Check out the source for more details.
Apple faces infringement lawsuit over fast booting patent once owned by LG
Apple's facing yet another patent infringement lawsuit -- this time, in Florida, where a company called Operating Systems Solutions (OSS) is taking aim at OS X's fast booting operation. According to court documents, the plaintiff alleges that Cupertino's function (most prominently displayed on this year's MacBook Air refresh) violates at least one protected claim, which details a four-step method for speedy booting, and involves files like config.sys and autoexec.bat (seriously). Interestingly enough, the patent in question was originally granted to LG Electronics, back in 2002, but is currently owned by the little-known OSS. It's still unclear whether or not LG has any involvement with the suit, but we'll bring you the details as soon as they emerge. In the meantime, you can hit the coverage link below to dig in to the full complaint. [Thanks, Lucian]
Notational Velocity ALT adds Markdown support and widescreen view
The runaway success of the iPad has provoked significant demand amongst people who want to seamlessly edit cloud-synced files across their iOS devices and their computers. We've seen a lot of apps vying to be the iOS part of that solution (such as SimpleNote, Elements, WriteRoom, Edito and a whole lot more), but that's only part of the puzzle -- people need something on the desktop end, too. One popular tool for this is Notational Velocity, an open source program by Zachary Schneirov. However, many people aren't entirely satisfied by Notational Velocity's UI and feature set. Because it is open source, developers are free to take the source code, modify it and distribute their changed version -- this is generally called forking in the open source world. We've seen a number of Notational Velocity forks over the years (for example, this one by Steven Frank of Panic or this one by "elasticthreads"). Two days ago, a new edition appeared: from TUAW's own Brett Terpstra comes Notational Velocity ALT (nvALT). nvALT adds several new features to the baseline Notational Velocity app.
Open source license ruled enforceable, hippies rejoice
Good news, open source fans -- copyleft licenses just got a big boost from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which ruled last week that the open source Artistic License is valid and enforceable, and that violating the terms of the license constitutes copyright infringement. (You might be familiar with the Artistic License -- it's what governs Perl.) That's a big deal, as it's the first open source license to get put to the test -- while traditional EULAs have been upheld for years, open licenses hadn't been directly litigated like this yet, and it means that similar licenses like the GPL and Creative Commons now stand on firmer ground. As you'd expect, OSS advocates like Lawrence Lessig and the Open Source Initiative are all pretty pumped about the ruling, with Lessig calling it "huge and important news." We'd agree wholeheartedly, but here's some food for thought while you celebrate in the comments: if you're okay with FOSS software developers enforcing open-source license agreements, are you also okay with commercial software developers enforcing their own EULA restrictions? We can think of one in particular that seems to have people pretty ticked off.Read - InformationWeek articleRead - Lessig blog post
Shiira 2.0 goes official
We've seen the betas for quite some time now, but Shiira v2.0 - the feature-packed open source browser based on the same WebKit that powers Apple's Safari - has gone official. As far as I can tell, the feature list hasn't changed wildly from beta into this full version, but check out some of the slick tricks Shiira has up its sleeve: Tab Exposé (yep: Exposé comes to browser tabs) Sharing bookmarks with Safari Side drawer showing bookmarks and history Search field with choice of search engine Cache control panel Window appearance switching (Aqua and Metal) Enable/disable favicon with bookmark Wheel button operation (open in new tab, and tab switching) Auto-tab for bookmark folder Displaying back-forward list on toolbar buttons Search text field for bookmark and history The feature list is far from over, however, so check out Shiira's official screenshot and features list for more details and even some movies of its features in action. Since Shiira is open source, it's available free from Shiira.jp.
Return of the pineapple: HandBrake 0.8.5b1
First there was HandBrake, then MediaFork... and now, well, just don't call it a comeback: HandBrake 0.8.5b1 is out, incorporating all the library updates from the MediaFork build of the free, open source DVD converter/compressor and adding some new goodies:• User presets • AppleTV and PS3 support • Anamorphic video, even in QuickTime • Surround sound (both AAC 5.1 and Dolby Pro Logic II) • Chapter markers (QuickTime-style) • Official support for the Windows GUI • PPC Linux support • High profile H.264What better way to spend a weekend than converting all your DVDs to show on your AppleTV? Just note that this is a beta version, and the last stable rev of HandBrake (0.7.1) may be more reliable.
Adium devs need YOU
Adium 1.0.1 is a great (and long-awaited) release for the free & open-source multiplatform chat client. The work, however, continues, and the Adium developers are politely asking for your help. First, there are a slew of items that need user feedback, and you can do that, right? Second, additional skilled devs are wanted so that some of the "cool but challenging" features on deck (video and audio chat, anyone?) can be tackled. Let's show the fine folks behind the quacking some TUAW love.Thanks Nik!
The birth of open-source software for your mobile
Ever wonder what the world would be like with open-source software being at the center of all the coolest handsets, from slimphones to semi-smartphones? Although we'll bet Symbian, ACCESS and Microsoft would love to keep their own mobile operating systems to themselves in a way, there may be a glimmer of hope on the horizon for open-source to make its way to mobile of all shapes, sizes and prices. That new software stack in a slick new Sony Ericsson or Samsung handset could one day be drive by a completely open OSS platform under auspices of the Linux GPE project, known as GPE Phone Edition. This marvel will be an open source project with specialties built-in for the mobile operating system environment. The question is -- will manufacturers take a second (and third) look? It looks like fans can try a fully-functional version of this in-process OS using a virtual phone environment on your PC.
MAMP Pro due to ship today
If you're in the web application development world, you know what LAMP means; for everyone else, it's Linux/Apache/MySQL/PHP, the core technologies of gazillions of websites and the defacto "standard stack" for any database-driven project. While every Mac OS X Server install includes all the AMP components, and you can easily install the missing pieces on a standard OS X configuration, it's always nice when someone goes to the trouble of putting everything together in one handy package.The kind people at living-e (makers of webEdition and timeEdition) have been making that handy package for a while now in the form of MAMP, a free bundle of the AMP tools that runs as a standalone website, separate from the default Apache configuration. MAMP is intended for prototyping and development but isn't powerful enough for production use. Now, living-e raises the ante with MAMP Pro, shipping today (price TBD$49 US). The pro version lets you set up unlimited virtual hosts, with individualized MySQL and PHP "sandbox" configs; you can even choose to run sites on PHP 4 or 5, depending on the target environment. The new setup tool also allows you to register your servers with dynamic DNS providers and set up the postfix email server to test mailer scripts.If you've got several projects cooking and you need more capable prototyping than the built-in Apache server can deliver, MAMP Pro might be a good option. As some readers have pointed out, you can accomplish some of the same tricks by combining the free MAMP with the Headdress sandboxing tool, or with the (still in early beta) XAMPP package; your mileage may vary.
As runs the fox so flies the bird
Right behind the update to Firefox, the Mozilla crew has bumped resident email/news/RSS client Thunderbird to version 1.5.0.9. Several security and bugfix changes are included. You can lift your wings and download it at mozilla.org. I will admit that I've never used Thunderbird on a regular basis, as I am bound to Entourage/Exchange at work and I've gotten (reluctantly) used to it. Email clients are like your barber; even if the haircut isn't that great, switching to a new one involves a degree of discomfort. I'd be interested to hear what T-bird users like or dislike most about their feathery friend. (No John Travolta jokes.)
A bootloader for the rest of us
Chalk this one up to a colleague's complaining. One of my cohorts was the mostly-happy recipient of a shiny MacBook Pro today, and he was setting up Boot Camp (with the eventual intent of configuring Linux as well as OS X & Windows) and griping that he wanted to see the EFI bootloader on every restart. "What's wrong with holding down the option key?" we asked him. "Nah," he said, "I want it to ask me each time. I reboot so infrequently, chances are when I do it's because I'm switching OSes." Or something like that. I tend to tune out when people complain; it helps get through the IT day, if you know what I mean.Well, I couldn't let the challenge sit unsolved, so here's one option for eliminating Option: the rEFIt project. This open-source alternative bootloader for Intel Macs will allow you to choose between your installed OSen at boot time, among other helpful features (and was mentioned in the comments to a TUAW post back in August). I'll get my colleague to install it and make sure it doesn't cause his MBP to detonate nearby cable modems or anything else antisocial.
Apple modifies Public Source License to thwart hackers
The InsanelyMac Forum has a post concerning an apparent modification Apple made to their Public Source License, the license that guards the open source portions of Mac OS X such as its Unix kernel, called Darwin. The changes the InsanelyMac Forum cite seem to have been made to set up another roadblock for those who are trying to hack Mac OS X to work on non-Apple hardware, though Apple's site for the license say the latest version is dated August of 2003. Semantics aside, the changes quoted in the forum reflect the application of another fine-toothed comb to what users are not allowed to do with the source they download from Apple's site. Too bad; with Vista receiving mixed reviews, I'm sure Michael Dell would still be interested in offering customers a better choice.
NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta released with Early Access Program
NeoOffice, everyone's favorite implementation of OpenOffice in java, has released a v.2 beta of their suite with a new and improved Aqua-friendly interface. This new version is based on a recent version of OpenOffice (2.0.3), which includes apps for word processing, databases, spreadsheets, drawing and presenting. NeoOffice, however, offers advantages over running OpenOffice on Mac OS X because it doesn't need the X11 Unix environment to run. Moreover, NeoOffice can integrate with the Finder and Mail, which was probably one of the winning attributes that warranted the 'Aqua' addition to the name.The Early Access Program is, in my opinion, a really cool and clever way to bring in some money for the project's hard work (after all, this entire project is made up of volunteers, and somebody's gotta pay the bills). From now until the 14th of August, users can download a copy of 2.0 Aqua for a mere $25. From August 15th through 29th, the price drops to $10. After that, it goes back to free like it's always been. NeoOffice is also selling Early Access subscriptions for $60, which will offer (what else) early access privileges throughout the course of NeoOffice 2.x releases.I personally haven't tried a copy yet (I already - unfortunately - sunk money into Office 2004), but I'm willing to bet with some of the java benchmarks we've seen on Intel Macs, this suite will run pretty well if you have Intel inside. This sounds like a good a case as any to grab a copy early and help support a great project.[via MacNN]
Clarification: Apple has not closed the Intel-based Darwin kernel
OSNews is reporting that Ernest Prabhakar, Apple's Open Source and Open Standards product manager, has stated in the Fed-Talk mailing that Apple has not actually closed Mac OS X's Darwin kernel for the Intel version of the OS; they simply haven't released it yet. Speculation about Apple closing the kernel arose from the fact that other non-kernel Darwin sources actually have been released, and the previous PowerPC-based kernel is still available as open source as well.Ernest wanted to make sure that tech media didn't confuse 'speculation' with 'fact'. A good lesson we all could benefit from.
How To: Run other OSes on your Mac with Parallels Workstation
Parallels has been creating a lot of buzz with their Workstation software that allows Intel Mac users to run almost any version of Windows, Linux and many other OSs right inside of Mac OS X, without the need for shutting down what you're doing in Mac OS X to reboot into the other OS. This 'virtualization' ability of the new Intel chips is a pretty big deal, and from my experience with running Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux on my MacBook Pro, I can understand why.However, all this stuff about 'virtual machines' and using Parallels Workstation to install another OS inside Mac OS X can be a little daunting, so I thought I would put together a basic how-to for anyone interested in this software and what's possible with it. I'll try to explain some terminology to help clear up any confusion, and I will cover using Parallels Workstation to install both Windows XP and Ubuntu, one of the more popular 'consumer friendly' versions of Linux, or so I'm told (disclaimer: I know absolutely nothing about Linux aside from the 'most of it's free' convention and the few headlines that come across digg, so go easy on me if you have Ubuntu questions).Click ahead for my five steps to running multiple OSs with Parallels Workstation in Mac OS X.
Triple boot your MacBook Pro
Booting only two OSs on your MacBook Pro is, like, totally so last week. Aside from earlier reports, it apparently is possible to bring a third OS to the party, as OnMac.net has posted a how-to wiki for booting WinXP, Mac OS X and Linux on a MacBook Pro via Boot Camp (so far, this is untested on other Intel Macs).Gentoo is the version of Linux used in the how-to, but the Slashdot post where I found this is confident that it would be simple to get other flavors of Linux working.But forget all this triple booting stuff... when is someone going to crack the 4 OS barrier? I want a quad boot with Microsoft Bob running on a MacBook Pro!
