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Dropbox-for-Google Insync leaves beta, goes free and opens doors for business
Advertising itself as a cheaper Dropbox alternative with a better feature set, Insync has been in closed beta for the last 15 months. Now, they're finally ready to launch with a service that tightly integrates into Google Docs. It's "8x cheaper" than Dropbox, according to their marketing; in fact, the core service is now free, and customers who paid for the service during the beta period will be offered a refund or premium service credit. The only cost for basic membership is the cost of Google storage. Insync brings a number of novel features to the table, differentiating it from Dropbox's current service. For example, you can share individual files with more granularity -- not just as public links, but specifying read-write or read-only permissions. You can also revoke a sharing link, which isn't possible on Dropbox unless you move or delete the shared file. All your files live inside your Google Docs account, but that doesn't mean you're limited to the supported Google file types; any file can be synced over, as long as it's less than 10GB in size (assuming you have that much room in your storage allocation). You can nest sharing privileges so people have access to just part of a folder structure. You can also set re-sharing permissions, specifying whether those you share with can re-share that material or not. Share recipients are not charged against their storage quota. Insync supports multiple Google accounts and uses Google's storage system. Google starts with 1GB free storage, and then moves to 20GB for $5/year up to 16 TB for $4096/year. Dropbox's pricing rates includes 2GB free storage, and then jump to 50 GB paid storage at $10/month. Dropbox's 50 GB will cost you $120/year compared to Google's $20/year for 80 GB. That's $0.25 per GB per year for Google Docs versus $2 per GB per year for Dropbox. To use Insync, you sign in with your Google credentials and permit it to gain access to Google Docs. You then download and install the client software on your computer. From there, you launch, link the Google account to your machine, and you're ready to go. On OS X, all your Google Docs appear in a Finder window. In its current incarnation, Insync feels a lot like Dropbox, including its menu bar widget and small status indicators next to files (both Egnyte and Box.com use similar UI conventions for their respective cloud sync tools). If you're used to Dropbox, then you already know how to use Insync.
WikiLeaks' Spy Files shed light on the corporate side of government surveillance
WikiLeaks' latest batch of documents hit the web this week, providing the world with a scarily thorough breakdown of a thoroughly scary industry -- government surveillance. The organization's trove, known as the Spy Files, includes a total of 287 files on surveillance products from 160 companies, as well as secret brochures and presentations that these firms use to market their technologies to government agencies. As Ars Technica reports, many of these products are designed to get around standard privacy guards installed in consumer devices, while some even act like malware. DigiTask, for example, is a German company that produces and markets software capable of circumventing a device's SSL encryption and transmitting all instant messages, emails and recorded web activity to clients (i.e., law enforcement agencies). This "remote forensic software" also sports keystroke logging capabilities, and can capture screenshots, as well. Included among DigiTask's other products is the WifiCatcher -- a portable device capable of culling data from users linked up to a public WiFi network. US-based SS8, Italy's Hacking Team and France's Vupen produce similar Trojan-like malware capable of documenting a phone or computer's "every use, movement, and even the sights and sounds of the room it is in," according to the publication. Speaking at City University in London yesterday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said his organization decided to unleash the Spy Files as "a mass attack on the mass surveillance industry," adding that the technologies described could easily transform participating governments into a "totalitarian surveillance state." The documents, released on the heels of the Wall Street Journal's corroborative "Surveillance Catalog" report, were published alongside a preface from WikiLeaks, justifying its imperative to excavate such an "unregulated" industry. "Intelligence agencies, military forces, and police authorities are able to silently, and on mass, and [sic] secretly intercept calls and take over computers without the help or knowledge of the telecommunication providers," wrote Wikileaks in its report. "In the last ten years systems for indiscriminate, mass surveillance have become the norm." The organization says this initial document dump is only the first in a larger series of related files, scheduled for future release. You can comb through them for yourself, at the source link below.
Apple confirms iCloud won't offer iTunes streaming to iOS
The iTunes Match beta opened up to developers yesterday, and in case you were somehow under the impression that it actually offered streaming of music to your iOS device, you're mistaken. Apple has confirmed, because apparently there was confusion, that iTunes Match doesn't stream music. Instead, the $24.99 a year that you will pay for the service means that any music you download from anywhere will get "activated" as purchased in iTunes, and then you can download that music to any iOS device or Mac that you happen to have. That's still an actual file that will need actual space on the hard drive. Apple says that purchased music can be listened to while it's being downloaded, but it's not like you can have your iPhone full of apps and then still listen to streaming music. In that sense, iTunes Match is more of a sync-ing service than an actual streaming setup. It's too bad -- I'd much rather have Pandora-like access to my music library from anywhere without having to haul all of those files around on my app-filled iPhone. And while you think that distinction might be the issue of some record company's legal text, it's actually an Apple decision, according to the record companies. Apple apparently wants this music to be tied to iTunes, and thus to actual files on your devices. A streaming service could too easily be brought out to other mediums like browsers (which is where Pandora started, incidentally), and thus separated from Apple devices in general. That seems sort of selfish on Apple's part -- I would hope the ideal is that I have access to my music on iTunes all the time, not just when I'm on Apple devices. But for now, this is the way it's done. If you pay up for iTunes Match, you still get all of the service's benefits, but you don't get streaming of your files to or from anywhere. Update: There's some confusion over the word "streaming" here. Streaming, as we're using it, means listening to music without actually downloading it on to your device. This is possible on a Mac with iTunes using the new iTunes Match service (just like it is while sharing a library on Wi-Fi). But it is not possible on an iOS device, even with iTunes Match -- you must download the song to listen to it. You can listen to it while it's downloading, but there will be a file that will take up space on your iOS device.
TUAW's Daily Mac App: Disk Inventory X
With Lion on the way, maybe it's time to give your Mac a bit of spring cleaning. The best place to start is always the hard drive, and Disk Inventory X is a great tool. You let Disk Inventory X scan your hard drive and it creates a visual representation of the used file space on your disk called a treemap. Each of the colored blocks represents a file on your hard drive. They're color-coded by file type, allowing you to visually distinguish documents from media files, applications from fonts. The size of each of the blocks is proportional to its file size, meaning that the bigger the file is the larger the block, which allows you to quickly identify large space hogs. The large purple square in the image above represents the sparse bundle used by FileVault, but you can easily see the digital copies of Inception, Star Trek and Tron Legacy I have stored in iTunes outside the FileVault. Once you've identified an errant large file, click on the block to display information about the file including size, creation and modification date, owner, permissions, file path and format. You can then either reveal the file in Finder or trash it straight from Disk Inventory X. While you can find large files manually with Finder, Disk Inventory X streamlines the process. Download the free Disk Inventory X today and reclaim some of that valuable hard drive.
Tip: iBooks can open EPUB books directly
The latest version of iBooks (or possibly one of the previous versions -- we're not sure when this change went in) includes a helpful little update in it: iBooks now recognizes EPUB files, which means it can open those files directly from anywhere on your iPhone, from your email to a DropBox folder or whatever you've got. That includes Mobile Safari as well -- you can just tap a link to an eBook, and open it right up in iBooks. Where, you might ask, can you find EPUB files? Lots of eBook retailers sell them directly, either in zipped copies or just as a file itself. Or, if you head over to the official format site, you can find a whole list of classic titles all ready to read in EPUB format. And Project Gutenberg also offers most of its titles in EPUB format, so you can grab them from there as well. [via MacStories]
TUAW's Daily App: Dayta
There are lots of apps on the App Store for tracking numbers, like your weight, your golf score, and how many hours you've worked lately, but Dayta serves as one solution for all of those. You can simply create stats however you like, and then track them to your heart's content. You can export them out to CSV files, or you can browse and visualize them directly within the app, doing whatever you want with the raw data that you collect from day to day. Plus, the app was just revamped, so now you get full Retina Display compatibility, lots of new enhancements and performance updates, and even the ability to tweet any data that you happen to input. That seems like an excellent deal for US$1.99. Of course, if you already have a few apps set up for tracking the relevant data in your life (like apps for your calorie intake or your car's gas consumption), that's a fine way to do it. There are definitely apps on the store that will allow for more customization and more specialized tracking than Dayta. But if you enjoy pulling in a bunch of raw numbers and have a few spare stats to check, Dayta might be able to help.
Voices that Matter iPhone: Five iPhone app design mistakes, and how to fix them
TUAW is at the Voices that Matter iPhone developers' conference this weekend, talking to iPhone OS developers of all walks of life. All weekend long, devs are here learning about how to code and design better iPhone applications from some of the best minds and artists on the App Store. We've gathered some wisdom from the hallways and discussions here at the conference, and boiled them down into five different design mistakes that developers need to address before moving into the iPad arena. Hit the link below to see what's going wrong with typical iPhone practices when they are applied to iPad development, and how to do it right.
iPad hands-on: Not a full desktop replacement, but the keyboard works
For all of the back and forth about the iPad over the last week, only a handful of people (including Stephen Colbert) have gotten to actually touch one. Fox News, of all the outlets out there, posted a pretty clean and objective hands-on with the iPad earlier this week, and you can get a pretty good idea of what it's like to actually hold the device in your hands from them. They say that it works well -- the keyboard is about the same as an iPhone keyboard (though they don't say whether they try the hunt-and-peck of the iPhone, or actually try to lay their hands down as if on a laptop), and they agree to what we've heard elsewhere: that while the iPad is a nice computer, it's much more of an iPhone extension than a full laptop or even desktop replacement. One of the most interesting notes is that the much-discussed camera might not be the biggest omission from Apple's tablet -- Fox says that an SD slot or a USB port is a much bigger exception, meaning that if you want to actually do anything with files (view photos or print PDFs) from the iPad, you'll have to transfer them to and from another computer first. Of course Apple is introducing an SD addon with the device, and I thought that I'd heard the Bluetooth connection would print from the iPad, but then of course you've got to have a Bluetooth-enabled printer, and as you already know if you've ever depended on Bluetooth, even then it may be a crapshoot. Still, the device sounds about like what we all predicted a tablet would be: a MacBook Air sort of satellite extension to your household web browsing and minor computing. I still can't wait to get my hands on one -- hopefully we'll get to see a unit in person at next week's Macworld. [via MacDailyNews]
Apple forces Stanza to nix USB book sharing
Those who enjoy USB book sharing their ePub and eReader files in the current version of Stanza [iTunes link] will want to avoid the 2.1 version of the software, currently being distributed in the App Store. The update notes reveal that Apple apparently ordered Lexcycle to remove the USB sharing ability. Unfortunately, Lexcycle is forbidden from explaining why they were told to remove the feature. To me -- and this is pure speculation -- this is Apple's equivalent of giving Amazon the finger. Amazon acquired Lexcycle back in 2009, and that this could be part of a series of moves by Apple to drive people toward the iPad and the upcoming iBooks software. I wouldn't be too surprised if Apple found a way to ban the wonderful Kindle app [iTunes link] from the App Store at some point in the future. Is Apple becoming the next Tammany Hall with Steve Jobs its "Boss" Tweed? For now, to avoid losing USB sharing, remember not to do a bulk upgrade of your apps and avoid any future Stanza updates.
SlipCover helps make case icons for your media
Here's a cool app we haven't mentioned yet here on TUAW -- SlipCover is an app that will help you put together some beautiful icons for your Mac's media files, from DVDs to video games or anything else that needs a cool looking icon. The app itself revolves around "case" files, which are basically templates like the Blu-ray, PS3, and Xbox 360 branding on their DVD cases, to which you can then drag and drop other media on to (for example, put a Watchmen movie poster on a Blu-ray "case," and you've got an icon that looks exactly like a Blu-ray version of the DVD), and then your media files on there to apply the icon automatically. No more hunting around through file names or weird previews of your media -- you can just browse through a Delicious Library-style set of thumbnails to find whatever you want to watch. Now, you may say that you just get all your media from iTunes, and that those come with thumbnails and covers already, and that's a fair point. But for those of us who obtain media from all over the place, it's nice to have a way to make it look all professional and purty. Slipcover is a free download over on their website. [via Lifehacker]
Snow Leopard quirk prevents opening groups of recently downloaded files
Reports of an odd bug affecting downloaded files in Snow Leopard have been circulating Apple's discussion boards recently. As reported by TidBITS, the issue appears to be affecting all computers running Snow Leopard. While different users have reported varying symptoms and differing circumstances, it essentially boils down to this: if you download a group of files, and then attempt to open the entire group of files at once (rather than opening each file individually), chances are either some or all of the selected files will not open. My initial response to this was that it could possibly be one of those "it's not a bug, it's a feature" ordeals. We have already seen some indications that Apple is working on enhanced security and virus protection in Snow Leopard, so it stands to reason that the operating system may be simply trying to prevent what it thinks is malicious activity by imposing restrictions on what you can and can't do with a newly downloaded file. Of course, that's just my theory, but I'm apparently not the only one who has explored that possibility -- a reader on the Mac OS X Hints forum discovered some hard evidence supporting that theory. In OS X, newly downloaded files are flagged with a "quarantine" attribute, which remains until the file is opened. If this attribute is set when the file is launched, and the file is an application, you would receive the typical "This application was downloaded from the Internet" confirmation before the application is allowed to continue launching. This is nothing new in Snow Leopard, but it would seem that the additional protections and scanning that were added to Snow Leopard most likely prevent opening multiple files so that each file can be individually checked before it is launched. Whether or not this is a serious bug or a minor inconvenience depends entirely on your workflow. Personally, I find that I don't often open multiple files from Finder, as most of the applications I use have the ability to select multiple files from their Open dialog. I can easily see where this might pose significant problems, however. For example, if you do a lot of work with graphics, you might download a several photos from a client, highlight them and open them with a custom tool that automatically resizes and processes for you. With this bug in play, that task would become much more difficult if you had to open each file individually. So what about you? Is this bug bugging you, or is it a non-issue? If you are affected, feel free to chime in with your experiences on the discussion boards, and be sure to let us know in the comments!
First Look: Renamed Renamer renames files and folders
It's not often that I get to write such a delightfully alliterative title to a post. Philipp Mayerhofer, C.O.O. of Dare to be Creative, sent along a note this morning mentioning that his company's file renaming powerhouse had not only been renamed, but that it has a whole slew of new features.The application formerly known as Renamer4Mac is now simply called Renamer (US$29.00), and there's a new website at renamer.com to showcase the app. What does it do? (Hint: the name should tell you a lot) Well, Renamer is a bulk file renamer. When would you use a bulk file renamer? Here's an example -- often, I bring over a pile of photos from my iPhone 3GS using Image Capture, and I save them to a folder on my desktop. They all have really exciting names like IMG_0771.jpg, IMG_0772.jpg, ad infinitum. Read on for more information about Renamer.
DivX Connected v1.5 now friends with MKV / H.264
DivX Connected v1.4 brought us the highly anticipated addition of Hulu support last September, and now v1.5 is bringing a few extras that are also quite delicious. The v1.5 Beta, which is out this very moment, adds in support for Matroska (MKV) and H.264, though you'll need the newly unleashed DivX 7 installed in order to experience the magic. The entire changelog is surprisingly lengthy, so we'll point you to the read link for those details as well as a download URL. A demonstration vid is just past the break.[Thanks, Karolis]
Reinvented Software releases Together 2.2
Together (formerly KIT) remains one of my personal favorites in the area of file and note organization. I mentioned it last when the 2.1 release brought an array of oft-requested features. The latest update, version 2.2, adds some welcome additional features and fixes some existing issues. Highlights for the release include: Intelligent automatic tagging: This one is probably the most intriguing new feature, at least for me. It generates a certain number of tags (defined in preferences) based on tags you used on similar content in the past. It doesn't seem to read tags on items that existed prior to the upgrade or enabling automatic tagging, but it learns as it goes once you start using it. It's a little touch-and-go for me so far, but it's apparent that it's picking up on my habits as I continue to add new items. (See the update from the developer at the end of the article). Any or All boolean searches in the tag browser: This one was killing me in previous releases, which always treated multiple tag selections as "any," which (for me) defeated the purpose of multiple selections in a tag browser. Problem solved, the choice can be made in the view options of the tag browser. Groups and Smart Groups can be nested in folders: Depending on your organization method, grouping these items could prove to be a benefit. The previous version added the ability to automatically tag items added to a group or folder with tags set for that folder. With the option to perform that tagging on subfolders, the new group nesting feature allows for a hierarchical tagging system on groups, too. You can wrap selected items in a new group Tabs can be arranged by dragging Tabs can be activated by dragging to them Minimum dimensions can be set when importing web pages as PDFs: I love the PDF import feature of Together, which lets you save a web page as a PDF, keeping all of the text editable but in a more portable format than a web archive. It had a tendency to squish pages with certain CSS layouts, though. Another problem solved. Numerous fixes and features not mentioned in this abbreviated list See the full release notes for Together 2.2 for a more in-depth list of the new features. Together remains $39USD, and is available at Reinvented Software. Update: Together developer Steve Harris adds the following information regarding auto-tagging... "When first enabled, Together builds up a map of the existing documents in your library and their corresponding tags. When documents are imported or saved, Together will analyse their content and tag them based on the tags for similar items. To do this, Together is using a technology called Latent Semantic Mapping, which is built into Mac OS X, and is used by Mail.app to check for junk mail. As with Mail, it's possible the matches won't always be right, so if you change the tags on a document, Together will learn from that and in future, auto-tagging should be more accurate"
Client patches for Wrath of the Lich King
To play Wrath tonight you'll need to update the game. The game installs version 3.0.1 when you upgrade to Wrath, and you'll need to update it version to 3.0.3. That means installing the following two patches: Version 3.0.1 - > Version 3.0.2 Version 3.0.2 -> Version 3.0.3 You are in luck though and don't have to wait around to download them all. We have the files hosted over at our sister site Big Download. Take a look after the break for a complete list of the files you'll need to get.Note: If you saved the files from previous patches, you're all set. But be sure they work and are fully saved before you go out and get Wrath tonight – no need to waste time downloading stuff again.
Mac Automation: Rename multiple files efficiently
With Automator, you can easily streamline common tasks. If you work with many files (i.e. pictures), then you know how easy it is to lose track because of incorrectly named files. With this Automator workflow, you'll never lose your place (or a file) again. Building the Workflow To create this workflow, simply add the following Automator actions (in the same order): Get Specified Finder Items Rename Finder Items When you add the "Rename Finder Items" action to your workflow, Automator will ask if you want to copy the files so you don't mess with the originals. Choose "Don't Add." Configuring the Workflow In the "Rename Finder Items" action, you have almost unlimited choices for renaming schemes. To get started, select a scheme from the first drop-down box. You can choose from: Add Date or time, Add Text, Change Case, Make Sequential, Replace Text, Name Single Item. Once you select your renaming scheme, choose the options you want based on the scheme. For instance, if you wanted the "Make Sequential" scheme, you could choose to use existing naming, or create a new name. You can also select options for where to place the numbers, which number to start counting from, and how to separate the number from the rest of the text. Running the Workflow Once you have your naming scheme figured out, it's time to run the workflow, and have Automator do the heavy-lifting. Drag and drop the files you want renamed onto the "Get Specified Finder Items" workflow. They will be added to the list of files to be renamed. You can then click the "Run" button in the top-right corner of the window. Your original files will be renamed, leaving you with perfectly renamed files. You can now save your workflow. Want more Mac Automation or AppleScript tutorials? Visit TUAW's Mac Automation and AppleScript sections.
Reminder: Keep your patch files
Eyonix told us all when 3.0.2 was released that we'll need to keep the patch files we get. If you delete the patch files you'll need to redownload everything you got with patch 3.0.2 three weeks ago, and patch 3.0.3 which you'll get today.That's a lot of downloading, and potentially on clogged servers around the internet as millions of people rush to play Wrath of the Lich King as soon as it's released. Further, do not count on mirrors to be working when Wrath hits. Chances are they will be overloaded as well.The best thing you can do is to take all your 3.x patch files later tonight and copy them to a folder tucked safely away. Preferably someplace where your kid(s)/girlfriend(s)/boyfriend(s)/parent(s) can't get at them.
Wrath of the Lich King manual discovered in WoW patch
World of Warcraft forumite Maeglin made an interesting discovery: hidden deep within the files in the WoW game directory, you'll find the manual for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. Presumably it was added in the latest patch. If you want to take a peek, head over to to the folder "World of Warcraft \ Data \ enUS \ Documentation" and open up "Manual_WLK.pdf."In it you'll find a bit of lore, some nice artwork, a map of Northrend, and basic info on many of Wrath's new features. The best part is probably the "Special Thanks" section of the credits at the end, in which many of the folks who worked on the game were given the opportunity to write in whatever they liked. There are some funny entries -- including the Shoegaze band Asobi Seksu, Mountain Dew, and Han Solo "for shooting first."WoW Insider notes that not all the info in the manual is up to date, so it stands to reason that the manual coming with the final game at retail will be slightly different.[Via WoW Insider] One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Wrath manual hidden in latest WoW files
If you just can't wait to read the Wrath of the Lich King manual, Maeglin of Khadgar made an interesting discovery -- it's already on your computer. Inside your World of Warcraft folder, if you go to the Data folder, and then "enUS" and Documentation, you'll see a PDF file called Manual_WLK. It's the Wrath manual in black and white -- there are good writeups in there (spoiler-free, as far as I could tell) on the story so far and Northrend, and some cool concept art for weapons and other sights of the next expansion. The credits are in there, too, and make sure to go to the very end to read all the thanks from Blizzard -- some of them are pretty funny.This likely isn't the final manual -- there's something in the Death Knight description that still says runes can be customized, and while we heard that earlier in development, it's since been removed from the class. And it's in black and white, while we'd expect the full manual to have color when it's finally printed. But it's a cool find, and something to tide you over until you can get the real thing on release day (which, as you can see from our countdown, is growing ever closer).Thanks, Wes R.!
How to uninstall the PTR client
A minor but important point: do not run the uninstaller to remove the Public Test Realm (PTR) client, just delete the PTR folder. Most people can find the PTR client inside the "WoWTest" folder, which resides in the "World of Warcraft" folder. More specifically, you should be able to locate the WoW Test folder in "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\World of Warcraft\". If you have MacOS X the "WoWTest" folder is stored in "Macintosh HD::Applications::World of Warcraft".Other people can find the PTR client inside of the folder "C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft Public Test" in Windows Vista and "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft Public Test" in WindowsXP. MacOS X users can find the files in "MacintoshHD::Applications::World of Warcraft Public Test".This important bit of information came from blue poster Maaven on the official forums today. With Patch 3.0.2 being released tomorrow, the PTR client is useless and came be safely removed. But be sure that you remove it the way Maaven suggests.WoW Insider will have a lot of 3.0.2 coverage tomorrow. We'll also be keeping the light on tonight and will get you the patch notes as soon as they appear.
