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Ubuntu One music streaming app updated with AirPlay support
Download Squad tipped us off that the Ubuntu One Music app has been updated to support Apple's new AirPlay streaming system. As such, it can now play music from your iOS device via any Apple TV or Airport Express unit on your network. Ubuntu One is a cloud storage service from the vendor of the popular Linux distribution of the same name. Much like MobileMe and Dropbox, it allows the user to upload files to cloud servers and to synchronize personal information such as calendars, contact lists, and bookmarks -- with support for Linux, Windows, and mobile devices. Unlike the other services, however, Ubuntu One has a strong emphasis on music streaming. It has an integrated music store and allows users to supplant music purchases with uploads of their own music to their cloud space. Store-bought and uploaded files are both available for streaming back out. The iOS app that was updated today is a client for receiving that streaming audio on your iOS devices, over WiFi or 3G connections. This differs from stream-music-from-home services like Simplify Media because it doesn't rely on you having a computer at home powered up to stream the music from -- the files come from the cloud. There is a cost associated with using Ubuntu's system. The service offers 2GB of basic storage for free, but mobile support is $4 a month / $40 per year (the app itself is free) and extra storage, in blocks of 20GB, is $3 per month / $30 per year. As such, Ubuntu One is probably only really interesting to people with lots of Ubuntu computers in their life.
SnowChecker will help you make the jump to Snow Leopard
Most of us here at TUAW jumped aboard the Snow Leopard bandwagon immediately after receiving our upgrade disks -- and I mean immediately. We didn't bother to check out what apps would or wouldn't run, and could have cared less about compatibility with scanners and printers or anything else important like that. No, we just dived into the lake before determining whether or not it was shallow, full of piranhas, or contained hydrochloric acid. That's just us, though -- we like to be able to tell TUAW readers what to expect, good and bad, when a new OS version is delivered. Our friends at Download Squad, however, must still be a little queasy about making the leap, since they posted a quick app review today for SnowChecker. SnowChecker is a free Mac application that does one thing -- it tells you whether or not your applications will run under Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. SnowChecker performs a scan of your hard disk for apps, then compares the list of found apps against compatibility info stored at snowleopard.wikidot.com. It displays the the results, noting which apps are OK, which might have slight compatibility issues, and which will be totally hosed under Snow Leopard. SnowChecker uses a simple green, yellow, red color scheme to pass along the information to you, and often provides quick notes telling you about workarounds or updates that will help get all of your apps working smoothly. If you're a bit on the shy side when it comes to doing upgrades, SnowChecker can make you feel a lot better about making the jump to Snow Leopard.
Get seasick with Liquid Mac
You know that sudden motion sensor that's buried in your Mac to protect your hard drive? Want to have a little fun with it? Then check out Liquid Mac, a neat little app that makes your laptop's screen look like it's filled with colored water. Once you've downloaded the app, select the color and response sensitivity you want, then gently tilt your laptop and watch the fluid splash around the screen. It's oddly soothing, actually, unless you slosh it around too fast and make yourself nauseous.When you tire of making waves, adjust the settings to represent beads and watch it rain on your screen. To see Liquid Mac in action, check out this cool video.
"Podmaps" concept patent sought by Apple
AppleInsider has uncovered news of an Apple patent application for a software concept called a "podmap," which is more or less what it sounds like -- a series of maps or driving directions accompanied by an audio version of the same, downloadable into a portable media device. The way I understand it, think of it not just as downloadable directions, but also a kind of real-world tour. There is even mention of episodic content delivered via RSS.Like many Apple patents, there's no indication (or even suggestion) that anything like this would ever see the light of day, but it does tell us that Apple is looking at doing more with marrying their hardware with maps software, just like the great improvements we saw in the iPhone's 1.1.3 update. Hardly a surprise, too, that a company so strongly turning towards portable computing is thinking about the needs of portable users. But a cool idea nevertheless, and it also confirms that Apple sees the iTS's podcast model as a strong and easy way of quickly distributing content of all kinds.
Use Pingie to get Macworld alerts from TUAW on your mobile
Next week is going to be a busy one for the Mac blogosphere and TUAW is no exception. Sure, you can watch our Twitter feed for goings-on (we'll be reporting our location regularly), or subscribe to our Macworld 2008 tag feed, but what about keeping tabs while you jog? Enter Pingie. As Nik explains over on Download Squad, Pingie takes RSS feeds and sends SMS messages whenever something new pops up.You can put in pretty much any feed you like, but Dan over at UNEASYsilence was nice enough to create a hot little landing page for TUAW's Macworld feed. Just put your email and phone number in, and you're ready to get updates as we publish them. Please be aware that you're gonna want the unlimited text messaging from whatever carrier you're with-- we don't want iJustine-style bills going to anyone.To unsubscribe from the Pinged feed you can text "Ping Stop" to 95495. Let the pinging begin!
Check out Check Off for a simple to do list
Check Off is a free little tool that sits discreetly in your menu bar and pops open with a single click to display a basic to do list. I wasn't a big fan of Tiger's native to do list so I started using this a few months ago and it's been a pretty handy little app. Though it looks like Apple finally got its act together by incorporating a to do list into Mail.app, but I don't think I'll give up Check Off entirely since its bare bones functionality has come in rather handy sometimes.Check Off is mainly for jotting down quick notes on tasks you need to complete so don't expect it to do a lot of heavy lifting. If you just need something to keep you on track or are looking for another way to send a to do list to your iPod, though, then Check Off is just the thing. It's also somewhat tweakable -- you can drag and drop to sort folders, color-code your entries, and attach notes to each to do, if you're so inclined. Version 3.7 has just been released with Leopard compatibility and a few bug fixes.[Thanks Justin!]
School days: Firefox Campus Edition
More back-to-school suggestions; this one has the advantage of being free. If you haven't already downloaded Firefox for your machine, it's a good idea to have it handy for those occasional sites that aren't Safari-friendly. If you're interested in a few extra plugins with a student-friendly bent, then you might check out the Firefox Campus Edition, which is simply the current Firefox build plus the FoxyTunes, StumbleUpon and Zotero plugins in one convenient package.FoxyTunes (for controlling your music player via the browser) and StumbleUpon (social bookmarking for interesting/useful sites) are both fine, but the real power tool here is Zotero: this research tool, file manager, PDF bucket and citation editor is a boon to anyone working on research projects with Firefox. Given enough practice with Zotero, it might replace a local note manager like Yojimbo or other online tools like Google Notebook.Of course, if you already have Firefox, you can download these plugins (or scores of others) separately, and all three are free. via PaulStamatiou.com
Adium update fixes memory leaks and Safari bugs
The folks behind Adium, the fantastic free and open source instant messaging client for Mac, have released a recommended upgrade that fixes 26 bugs and a bunch of other issues. Update 1.1.2 resolves a memory leak while viewing tooltips and AIM mobile contacts now display correctly. Several issues when using Safari 3.0 Beta have also been fixed, and libpurple has been upgraded to 2.1.1 to add limited MSN support. If you're disappointed that the upgrade doesn't offer any cosmetic changes, you could always dress up the dock duck on your own.
Mailplane 1.51 adds iMedia browser and support for more languages
A new update for Mailplane, an email client for Mac that's dedicated to Gmail, was released today. It sports a handful of bug fixes, integration with the Mac address book, and support for six new languages. An "iMedia browser" was added that allows users to drag and drop pictures, music, and movies right into an email without opening the associated iApp. You can even create a new Gmail account right inside Mailplane, and if you download a lot of files via Gmail, you'll also like the new feature that cleans up the download window at the touch of a button. Though Mailplane is still in private beta, you can apply to be a tester.
Five widgets for football junkies
As I write this, there are 12 excruciatingly long days until the start of the 2007 NFL football season. This year, the best-dressed Macs will have spiffy new dashboard widgets to help us follow our fantasy picks, favorite teams, league stats, and every game nuance we can think of. Here are the top five widgets every football fan needs to have: NFL Kickoff 2007 Countdown 4.0 - If you need to know right down to the nanosecond how long it is before kickoff, this widget is for you. Okay, it doesn't offer quite that much detail, but it will get you within the minute range. The rest you can figure out on your own. WagerWidget - If you like a friendly bet to go with your game, the WagerWidget gives you point spreads, odds updates, and other tips you might need to know before you make that call to Johnny NoFingers. Apple's widget directory - There's all sorts of goodies lurking here, like news feeds for the Cowboys and Raiders. Fantasy Control - If you've got a fantasy football team of your own, than this you need this. It offers real-time news and analysis for teams all across the league. (NOTE: Requires the Yahoo Widget installer for Mac) Football Widget 1.1.2 - The granddaddy of all widgets, this cool tool keeps you up to date on everything you need to know: Current scores, previous weeks' results, conference standings and more. Sky Sports Football News Widget - In the interest of fairness, this one's for the Brits among us. I hear your teams play football with their actual feet. What's up with that?
Convert YouTube videos for PSP really easily
The PSP is supposed to play Flash video one of these days ... but considering Sony's slow adoption of features we really want, we wouldn't hold our breath for it. Until then, there's a ridiculously easy solution for converting videos from sites like YouTube ... and it doesn't even involve downloading any software!1. Get the URL of the video you want.2. Copy URL into the "FLV Online Converter" at vixy.net3. Choose "MP4 for iPod/PSP"4. Wait for the conversion, download file, and then save it to your PSP under the "VIDEO" folder.Does it get any easier than this? Not really. I found it to work quite quickly, with some impressive results.[Via Zeropaid]
How to use MacFUSE
Remember MacFUSE? The filesystem that Google's Amit Singh ported over to OS X? Yes, that's the one. Sure, you read about it here on TUAW and thought to yourself, 'That sounds cool but I have no idea why I should care or how I would go about using it.' Fear not, loyal TUAW reader, Jay Savage at Download Squad has got you covered.Jay wrote up a lengthy How To on getting started with MacFUSE. Be warned, if delving into the Terminal frightens you this tutorial is not for you.
Download Squad running '12 days of holiday downloads'
On Friday our friends at sister blog Download Squad began a new series titled 12 Days of holiday downloads, rounding up holiday and Christmas-themed downloads for both Mac OS X and Windows. Day 2 was posted today, and so far it looks like a neat series for those of you who like to get their Mac (and Windows PC) into the holiday spirit. Day 1 covered Snö, an app we've mentioned before, can create a snowfall on your desktop (though, as of this writing, Snö's site seems to be unavailable). Day 2 for Mac (today) covers X-MasTree, which we posted about a few days ago.Frivolous, cycle-wasting apps? Sure. Fun, holiday spirit nonetheless? You bet. Stay tuned to Download Squad for the rest of their 12 Days of holday downloads series for more ways to get your Mac in the holiday spirit.
iTunes song tagging redux
We reported a method for tagging iTunes tracks and creating on-the-fly playlists way back in January. However, it involved using Quicksilver and a couple of home-grown scripts, but we can dig it if some of y'all aren't down with a tool as broad-reaching as Quicksilver. Fortunately for the rest of you, a web designer and developer named Steven Campbell has written up a basic method for tagging iTunes tracks and creating playlists based on those tags. It more or less involves revealing the comments column in the song list for easy access, and using a simple system of comma-separated words to get your iTunes tagging on. This can work wonders for Smart Playlists, and Steven offers a few examples in his post.For those still interested in the aforementioned Quicksilver scripts and tools, the author has issued a bit of an upgrade and a new script since we first reported them. First of all, the scripts now live at their own domain name, TuneTag.com. The scripts still allow you to tag the song you're listening to on the fly and create on-the-fly playlists from those tags, but the author also added a new script that lets you select any number of tracks in iTunes and tag them all in one fell swoop. As a Quicksilver fan I'm already in love with the power of these scripts, but either method should work well for bringing the web 2.0 tagging craze to iTunes.
Small Carrot for the small screen
A member of Small Carrot asked me to check out the site, and I was incredibly impressed by what I saw. The site offers tons of high-quality ad-free animation, in formats compatible with the PSP, iPod and cell phone. While the programming is excellent, Small Carrot goes a step further than other sites by offering a PSP-compatible version of the site and video RSS feeds. Downloading is quick, simple and intuitive.The site will only work on PSPs with firmware 2.80 or greater due to the naming conventions the site uses. But, for those of you running an older firmware, there's luck: the site will offer 1.0-compatible movies for those browsing on a computer. Not bad at all. Check out the site on your PC, or on your PSP at www.scpsp.com.
BitRocket walkthrough
Just yesterday we wrote about BitRocket, a new open source BitTorrent client for OS X. We also wrote about the fact that some people think that something is rotten in the state of BitRocket, however, after looking at the code myself I can rest easy recommedning the app.Some of you, I am sure, were craving a few more screenshots than the one that I included. Our very own David Chartier has posted a very nice walkthrough of BitRocket on our sister blog, DownloadSquad. Head on over there for a step by step look at BitRocket.
Learn how to do everything using Videojug
We're always on the lookout for new video content to play on our PSPs. If Google Video and video podcasting just isn't enough for you, you might want to try out Videojug. According to the website:VideoJug is every aspect of life explained and illustrated through an ever-growing number of common sense, informative, helpful and entertaining videos. It's like having an army of top-class experts at your fingertips 24/7 to "show you how" and to help you out.So, if you've ever wanted to know how to make gnocchi, how to reset a circuit fuse... whatever comes to your mind, you can check out the site. Conveniently, all videos are provided in iPod and PSP format, so you can learn on the go. If you were intrigued by DS's Down Home Cooking, this might be a nice, free alternative for you.[Via Download Squad]
Comparing iTunes to diet soda
Mr. Linspire himself, Michael Robertson, posted a little ditty about his love of diet soda. He then compares the short shelf-life of diet soda (Aspartame, in particular, doesn't last long) to the potentially limited life span of any DRM'ed music. His case is mycokemusic.com, which just went away once the iTunes invaded the UK. But he predictably turns his gaze to iTunes, the juggernaut of online music. The logic goes, DRM limits you, forces restrictions, which could hamper or completely invalidate your music collection someday. Right now, if you purchased a bunch of songs on iTunes and wanted to switch from an iPod to something else (people tell me others do in fact make portable music players), you would have to burn and re-rip your music as a bunch of MP3's. Or re-buy them all. Sounds like fun, huh? About as much fun as me copying the giant boxes of audio cassettes I have in the garage onto my hard drive, splitting up the tracks, labeling them, and storing them indefinitely. Always nice to see technology making life easier for us... The eternal question: DRM good or DRM bad? If Michael had his way, we'd all be rockin' to MP3's sans restrictions. But then, I don't see a lot of music labels knocking on his door...
Grow a Chi Pet in your Dashboard
Ah, the little plant/potter geegaw known as the Chia Pet. I don't know what meteor the plant came from, but aren't those planters cute? Relive the cuteness with Chi Pet (not affiliated with the Chia Pets of Joseph Enterprises) in your Dashboard. This little widget provides a couple of days of fun as you click the droplet to "grow" your pet's fur. Neglect the pet, and the plant dies. Nobody said life was easy, even for a bunch of pixels. To be honest, the growth cycle isn't that great.[From CoolOSXapps]
Advice for wannabe game developers
The days of the bedroom coder are mostly behind us, though casual games and mini-games still provide the opportunity for a single coder to make it big -- not to mention one-man projects like Rag Doll Kung Fu which don't quite fit into the above categories. If you're interested in running your own game development project, Download Squad has some business advice for you. Covering engines, team-building, documentation, project management, testing, marketing and the all-important "making money", this article is a useful starting point and gives a good idea of what's actually involved in a small-scale game development project. Of course, you'll want to do further research before embarking on such a project yourself.
