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Ask TUAW Video Edition: Time Machine over a network
This week, Jude writes in and asks about using a home theater Mac mini as a Time Machine location for his MacBook Pro. We show him how to do this with some tweaking to his MacBook Pro. In the video, we used this code to put into Terminal.app: sudo defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1 Remember, you can leave us questions in the comments! The video is on the next page. Update: The terminal command is if you are using machines that are pre-10.5.6. If you have machines that are 10.5.6 or later you can just connect via Apple File Share and not need the terminal command. If you are trying to backup to a device that isn't running Mac OS X (such as a NAS) then you will need the terminal command.
HSTi debuts StreamStick WiFi dongles for video on demand
Is it a coincidence that "stream" and "extreme" are such similar sounding words? Just take a look at the totally radical dude that's slathered all over HSTi's CES booth and decide for yourself. The follow-up to last year's Wireless Media Stick, StreamStick is a wireless receiver geared at manufacturers that will allow them to provide media streaming from a dedicated device to any number of USB port-packin' TVs, DVD / Blu-ray players, game consoles, and set top boxes, via-WiFi. For the end user, this means that when you plug the USB stick into your TV, the streaming copy of Troll 2 you just rented from Amazon (for instance) will appear as a file that you can click on and play, as if it was locally stored. "The StreamStick," says President and CEO Ramesh Uppal, "enables content providers, of any size, to access a multitude of media players, exponentially increasing their customer reach while realizing new revenue streams that they wouldn't otherwise have." And we know how much you love revenue streams! Check out the PR after the break for all the nitty-gritty.
DropDAV: An easy way to link iWork for iPad and Dropbox
iWork for iPad is an incredibly powerful tool for folks who want to use their iPads as a MacBook Air surrogate. However, if they want to round-trip their documents through the popular Dropbox service, there hasn't been a way to save or open files from within Pages, Keynote, or Numbers for iPad. Until now, that is... DropDAV is a new service from smiles + laughs that provides a WebDAV front end to Dropbox. What that means is that any iPad or iPhone application that can open or save files through WebDAV can now link straight to Dropbox. Since iWork for iPad has always had WebDAV capabilities built-in, DropDAV provides the long-needed door between iWork and Dropbox. To sign up for DropDAV, you just need to have a Dropbox account. DropDAV provides a 14-day free trial; after that time, the cost of DropDAV is 30% of your Dropbox account price. If you have a 2 GB free account with Dropbox, your DropDAV service will be free. Hit the link below to see how it all works.
iTwin USB filesharing solution now shipping in America
Hope you didn't put your life on pause waiting for the iTwin to ship to the US of A, 'cause it took just over a full year to do so. The company's self-named device has finally been listed for sale in America this week, with just 50 limited edition builds able to head out prior to Christmas. If your memory has faded somewhat over the past 14 months, this twin-stick solution is meant to pass files between two USB-enabled devices, but unlike Infinitec's IUM, it's not making any bold promises related to media streaming. The concept is simple enough; just plug one of the twins into your computer, and the other into your pal's computer. It relies on 256-bit AES encryption to keep things secure, and if that's good enough for you, the source link is the where you need to be. These first-run kits are selling for $99 (plus $10 shipping), with a choice of gunmetal gray and lime green awaiting you, and if you miss your shot now, general availability will hit early next month.
LimeWire the online store fades away, LimeWire the file-sharing service soldiers on
In what will no doubt be held up as an shining example of irony in the months and years to come, it seems the RIAA has succeeded in shutting down LimeWire... but only the legal part. The LimeWire Store, which legitimately sold online music, will reportedly close on December 31st, and the site itself states that it won't be taking new customers from now on. Where, oh where will folks get their digital tunes instead? Some might go right back to filching them using LimeWire's peer-to-peer application, which hasn't actually been squashed by the injunction. Yes, a rogue group released LimeWire Pirate Edition last month, a version of the original Gnutella P2P client with all the bloat stripped out and premium functionality turned on, which is apparently receiving so welcome a reception in the file-sharing community that the Lime Group felt the need to issue a cease-and-desist to those distributing the software. Yo ho, yo ho...
New York City walls play host to covert thumbdrives
Back when the walls had ears, spies would store their information in a hidden cache and pass along the location via code. Now, a New York City artist is doing the same with USB flash drives, five of which he's already injected into the city's brick walls. While there some obvious logistical reasons we'd avoid using his creation (not to mention worries about AutoRun in older PCs) we'll definitely keep the idea in mind for Engadget informants who are particularly paranoid about their anonymity. See the first five drives' not-so-secret locations in photos at our source links.
Limewire ordered to disable 'all functionality,' company pledges to keep operating... somehow (video)
Today marks another sad day for the three people out there using P2P sites to share open source software and copyright-free materials -- plus all the other millions of people downloading illegal stuff. The RIAA has been involved in a legal battle against popular P2P client Limewire for years now and back in June it finally got the verdict it was looking for. A federal court found that the Lime Group, which maintains and distributes the software, did not take "meaningful efforts to mitigate infringement." Now, that same court has issued an injunction ordering that Lime Group disable "the searching, downloading, uploading, file trading and/or file distribution functionality, and/or all functionality." So, you know, pretty much turn the thing off. We're not sure when that'll happen, but we're guessing soon, and while a Lime Group representative indicated a desire to move forward and work with the record labels that seems awfully optimistic. You see, the court still hasn't decided how much the Group owes in damages, and we think that rather than working with them going forward the RIAA would prefer to put this lime in a coconut and, well... [Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy Rookie Cookie]
Dropbox updates iOS apps, announces App Directory
The Dropbox app for iPhone and iPad has been updated recently. There's a UI redesign in there now that takes full advantage of the Retina Display, so your shared files will look better than ever. The iPad version has gained a landscape view, and the app will now finish uploads and downloads in the background. Dropbox also allows file caching now, so once you've viewed a file, you won't have to go back and in and re-download it again. I presume that means only while the app is running -- if you have to actually close the app for any reason, you might have to connect up to see the file again. [Update: No, cached files remain accessible even without network access. –Ed.] But you can find out for yourself because the Dropbox app is free (as long as you sign up for a free account with their excellent service). The company has also released something called the App Directory, which is an online database of iPhone and iPad apps that will work in conjunction with Dropbox and its file sharing capability. You can browse, review, and rate Dropbox compatible apps (and actually, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Mobile apps are included as well, if you happen to have one of those phones), and even follow links straight from the listings to download and use whatever apps you need. If you save a lot of things on your Dropbox account, you might want to take a look through there. There's standard stuff like GoodReader and Documents to Go, but odds are that, even if you've found another use for sharing on Dropbox, there's probably an app to help you do it. Note: Please don't put Dropbox referral links in the comments. They will be deleted, and repeat offenders will be banned.
Libox streams your entire media collection anywhere... so long as your upload speed rocks
So look, we're not necessarily in the business of bursting bubbles, but Libox's new beta service isn't nearly as radical and game-changing as it'd like you to believe. Instead of being a limitless version of mSpot, this particular file streaming service -- which enables users to stream their entire media collection to any device with a web browser gratis -- isn't a cloud service. Instead, it's an optimized P2P system which still relies on your home PC to be on, connected, and hooked to one wicked ISP that doesn't cap your uploads at 20kbps. Still, "unlimited" is pretty tempting if you're kosher with the requirements, so tag those links below to find your way in. [Thanks, Mark]
Dear Aunt TUAW: Transferring iWork files from iPad without iTunes
Dearest Aunt TUAW, Is there a way to transfer files from apps like Keynote and Pages to a computer that does not have iTunes installed? Yours truly, Nephew Jack Read on for Auntie's answer.
Notepod+ helps you sketch your iPad ideas
From the makers of the Notepod comes the Notepod+, which does for the iPad what the original paper version of the iPhone accomplished. It allows you to sketch out any app ideas or UI insights you might happen to have laying around. One of the refrains we heard from at Macworld last week was that the iPad was a completely different animal -- apps on the new device won't (and shouldn't) be the same as apps already running on the iPhone (even though iPhone apps will work on both devices). So if you want an iPad-sized, erm, pad to draw your ideas on, Notepod+ is it. And as you can see in the picture above, it doubles as a mousepad and/or a plain old pen-and-paper notetaker as well. The pad itself is US$19.95, and wireless filesharing comes free -- just rip the top page off and mail it out to anyone you want to share it with!
HSTi Wireless Media Stick hands-on
Now that HSTi's Wireless Media Stick is official, we decided to drop by its CES booth to see what the deal was. Essentially, these Canadian sticks are WiFi dongles covering 802.11a/b/g/n, but the magic lies in their ability to let your computers appear as one USB mass storage device for devices like gaming consoles, digital frames and hi-fi stereos. You start off by plugging a stick into a PC, install the software (installer pre-loaded on the stick), and once connected to the wireless router you choose which folders to share (which is pretty easy, as we saw). You can do the same with more computers but each will require its own stick. From there onwards, plug in another stick into a device that accepts USB mass storage devices, and you'll be able to wirelessly access all the shared files on the network as if they are on one thumb drive. Pretty sweet, huh? And yes, this thing does in fact do exactly what Infinitec's IUM claims to do. For now, HSTi only promises smooth 720p video streaming and Windows-only compatibility, but a future firmware upgrade should make things even more groovy. You can grab one starting January 15th for $119.99 each -- sooner and cheaper than the IUM, but double that figure as you'll need at least two to get things going. Still, it doesn't hurt as much if you think of it as a thumb drive of up to one terabyte (and two in the near future). Update: Whoops! We've just been told that only one stick is necessary -- use the stick to run the configuration wizard on the PCs, then plug it into a media device for use. %Gallery-82524%
Beta Beat: Droplr adds to the quick-share repertoire
One of my favorite features in OS X is the ability to drag pretty much anything, drop it on pretty much anything else, and have the item be contextually useful in some other application. So pervasive is this gesture that we even waxed romantically about it some time ago. An example of this would be dragging an image from Safari onto an iChat window, allowing you to share the image with one of your buddies. Enter Droplr. This tiny application sits in your menu bar and allows you to drop all manner of files onto it and share them via a variety of venues such as Twitter or email. The tagline "drag, drop, share" is about as accurate as one can get when referring to Droplr's simplicity in file-sharing. If you're intrigued, head on over to the Droplr homepage and peep the screencast they have made available. The Snow Leopard-only app and hosting service is available now for free (as in ad-supported) with 1GB storage. Don't be surprised to see a for-pay option with no ads and additional storage in the near future. Go check it out and let us know in the comments how it works out for you.
Ask TUAW: Photoshop alternatives, Windows and Mac file sharing, application switching and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about Photoshop alternatives, Windows and Mac file sharing, graphics problems in Snow Leopard and quickly switching between applications, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions. Matt asks: I don't have the money for something like Adobe Photoshop. What's the best, cheaper alternative? For my money, the best Photoshop alternative at the moment, and one I use every day, is Pixelmator. It has many of the same features as Photoshop like layers, masks, level and curve adjustments and a whole lot more. Plus, it's a relatively simple program to use and is written to take advantage of your Mac's GPU when doing image processing. It also supports most image file formats including Photoshop PSD files and has many useful Automator actions built in. Actually, because Pixelmator is such a good app and takes care of most of my needs, it's pretty rare that I ever open Photoshop anymore. Sadly, Pixelmator is not free, but at US$59.00, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than Photoshop. Some other alternatives include the open source GIMP and its more Photoshop-like cousin GIMPShop. You can also check out Acorn, or if you need very minimal tools like crop and resize, ImageWell. Of course, Apple's built-in Preview.app can handle many of these low-end tasks as well.
iTwin fileshares over CEATEC showfloor, Mac firmware coming early 2010 (video)
Since we last saw iTwin back in September, not much has changed -- two physically synced USB dongles create a AES-256 encrypted connection between two Windows machines for transferring files from anywhere in the world (provided both are connected to the internet, of course). We had a chance to see a controlled demonstration up close at CEATEC, and while it worked as well as expected it to, we're not quite sure the $99 price tag is low enough to pique our interests. We do appreciate the ability to "reverse" the flow of file sharing, but from what we gather it takes both parties to initiate the change -- clearly there's more flexibility in just setting up your own file server, but we're probably not the target audience here. If you're still interested but choose a lifestyle centered around a Mac, we were told an OS X firmware update would be available in early 2010, would apply to all existing models, and would allow both Mac-to-Mac and Mac-to-Windows transferring. Video after the break. %Gallery-74890%
Seagate gets NASty with Pogoplug-based FreeAgent DockStar: hands-on
Hard to believe this is Seagate's first consumer NAS offering (keyword being "consumer"), but sure enough, the FreeAgent DockStar is the company's first major effort to get its own line of FreeAgent Go hard drives onto your network. Without getting into too much detail, this simple dock is essentially a Pogoplug with a built-in cradle for one's FreeAgent Go USB (read: not FireWire) HDD. Thankfully, a trifecta of USB 2.0 sockets are littered about the edges, ensuring that at least three standard USB drives can also be connected and accessed over the web. We've yet to have a chance to put this bugger through its paces, but since we know all about the underlying technology, you can probably learn everything you need to know from our Pogoplug review. For those who'd rather opt for a Seagate'd version of an already available product, this DockStar is shipping today for $99.99. Oh, and we should mention that it comes with a year of the Pogoplug service, but after that, you'll be shelling out $29.99 per year for unlimited sharing and remote access.In related news, Seagate is also introducing three new capacities for its FreeAgent Go family. In addition to the 250GB, 320GB, 500GB and 640GB versions already out there, the range will now include a 750GB, 880GB and 1TB version. Too bad no pricing or release details are available on those, but we'll be keeping an eye out.%Gallery-73065%%Gallery-73143%
iTwin lets you share files over the internet
Finally, a product that might finally make this whole internet thing worthwhile by allowing someone to copy a file over it. Amazing, right? Okay, facetiousness aside, it's a little hard to get too excited about a product that will obviously cost something yet replicates a task easily performed for free, but the iTwin does make the process even more easy. It's basically a double-sided thumb drive that splits apart in the middle; plug one half into one computer and the other into the second and instantly you can drag and drop files from place to place. An absolute computer novice could handle this, but we have to wonder: how many computer novices are swapping files anyway? If this also allowed remote terminal control so that you could fix problems on your mother's computer while beaming over the latest pictures of the kids (and their illegally downloaded music) we might be a little more optimistic. No mention of price or availability, but there is a video demonstration below proving the tech works -- even if the demo touchpad apparently doesn't. [Via TechCrunch]
Court gives Pirate Bay ten days to scuttle connection to Netherlands
Poor Pirate Bay, all it ever wanted to do was thumb its nose at the music and movie industries, enable software piracy for people all over the world, play cat-and-mouse games with the Swedish authorities, and maybe make a little money along the way. Now, hot on the heels of a verdict that sees four of its founders headed to prison (that is, if they don't win their appeals) three of the group have been ordered by a court in the Netherlands to block all traffic between the site and its country. If this doesn't happen in the next ten days, each of the defendants faces a charge of €30,000 ($42,000) for each day they don't comply. According to the AP, it's "not clear how the court expected the site's operators to block traffic to the site, or whether it can enforce its order if they decline," but soon it looks like the Dutch just might have to learn to buy their Rave Or Die! Mix Series CDs at the Record Exchange like the rest of us. Good luck going legit, guys!
Pirate Bay owners announce give-and-take model, proclaim "filesharers are our best friends"
When the Pirate Bay was suddenly and unexpectedly commandeered by Global Gaming Factory late last month, only a few clues were dropped as to how the new site would proceed as a legally acceptable entity. Now, however, the owners are speaking up, and their business plan sure sounds unorthodox, if not fatuous in nature. In a new report, we're told that the new face of TPB should appear in around a month, and with the refresh will come a handful of "give-and-take" pay models that will somehow please both customers and the top brass within the music industry. Here's how Hans Pandeya, the chief executive of GGF, explains things: "The more you give, the more you get. For the great majority, [the new service] will be free of charge, for a minority it will actually make them money, and for a small portion it will cost them. We know that unless we're able to create revenues for the filesharers they'll just move on to the next free site. Filesharers are our best friends."Mr. Pandeya also affirmed that his outfit was currently in negotiations with some of the music industry's biggest players, and while he wouldn't list 'em by name, he did note that things have been "positive" so far. Another interesting aspect of all this is how it expects to generate revenue outside of actual music consumers. Reportedly, the new site will raise cash "through advertising and by making network data traffic cheaper and more efficient for internet service providers, which would be done by making the filesharing more local, allowing users in the same city to be interconnected as opposed to swapping data across multiple borders." Is P2P 2.0 upon us? Is the conventional subscription model about to be turned upside down by a most unlikely source? If Hans' dreams come true, it sure seems possible.
Pirate Bay acquired by Global Gaming Factory, going legit like Napster
It's true, The Pirate Bay has agreed to being purchased by Global Gaming Factory (owner of a network of Internet cafes and gaming centers) for 60 million Swedish Krona or roughly $7.8 million. According to a press release, "GGF intends to launch new business models that allow compensation to the content providers and copyright owners." In a post on TPB's blog, the rogue file sharing site says that the project has been in the works for many years and should help evolve the site while trying to stay the same. Here's how they put it:If the new owners will screw around with the site, nobody will keep using it. That's the biggest insurance one can have that the site will be run in the way that we all want to. And - you can now not only share files but shares with people. Everybody can indeed be the owner of The Pirate Bay now. That's awesome and will take the heat of us.We'll have to wait and see how this pans out but it certainly smacks of a Napster v2 like situation at first blush. Assuming of course the deal closes by August as anticipated.Update: As a hint, perhaps, of what's to come, GGF also announced the purchase of Peerialism, a software company responsible for developing what GGF calls "P2P 2.0" file sharing technology. [Thanks, JOKR Solutions]Read -- The Pirate Bay blog postRead -- Press Release
