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Firefox 3 Download Day is June 17th
As we noted a few weeks ago, the Mozilla team has set up a pledge program to remind Firefox users to download the Firefox 3 browser within 24 hours of its release in order to nab a Guinness World Record. Well, the day is getting close - Firefox Download Day 2008 is scheduled for June 17th around the world. As of 11 AM MDT on June 14th, 2008, 1,221,679 people had pledged to get their copy of the new Firefox release on Download Day. It's not too late to take the pledge and help Mozilla spread browser goodness throughout the planet.
Make your own MMO with MMORPG Tycoon
The TIGSource Procedural Generation Competition is nearing it's finish, and one of the more polished entries takes a fascinating look at MMOs. Titled MMORPG Tycoon, it gives you an MMORPG and demands that you fix it to please the player base. And that's easier said than done.You have the ability to control most aspects of the game world, from where towns are placed, to how high which stats are per class, to where players respawn, to which levels can use which zones. You can also name your MMORPG anything you like as well, meaning that if you want to have your game be called "World of Warhammer EVE Rasa", you can do so!
iStat menus turns 1.3
iSlayer has released version 1.3 of iStat menus, the powerful -- and free -- Mac system monitoring app. There are so many changes that the release notes for this latest update take up an entire page of the iSlayer website. Some of the more notable additions include: Monitoring power, current and voltage sensors on PPC and Intel Macs Controls for PPP and buttons for copying IP (Leopard only) Improved support for VPN connections Better MacBook Air temperature monitoring support (w00t!) I use their calendar / time menu (see screenshot above) in place of the standard Mac time item in the menu bar. I also have to admit to an obsession with following the temperature of the CPU on my MacBook Air. iSlayer requests a donation if you use and like iStat menus. For a download, click here.Thanks for the heads-up on the update, Marc!
Status Screen Saver 1.0
Are you so addicted to RSS, Mail, and Twitterrific that you just can't stand when your screen saver launches? Status Screen Saver might just be the screen saver for you. The awesome thing about this screen saver is that is displays your current unread Mail count, unread NetNewsWire feeds, and even unread tweets from Twitterrific. You can select a screen saver that you have installed in the Status Screen Saver options.Even better, Status Screen Saver allows you to (with some AppleScripting) create your own "modules" which opens up unlimited possibilities to what can be shown in Status Screen Saver. So, if you use something other than the supported applications, you can (if the application is scriptable) make an AppleScript to give a number, then place it in the Screen Saver.saver/Contents/Resources/ directory. Overall, this is a really cool screen saver which can be expanded upon by the user. You can download this free (donations accepted) screen saver by visiting the developer's website.
FlexTD - Free, Fast To-Do Entry
Up until today, entering to-do info into iCal was an exercise for my mouse-clicking finger. I'd click iCal in the Dock, click again on that little pushpin icon, and then finally double-click to create an empty to-do task to fill in. One more double-click, and I could actually edit the to-do and put in the information I needed.Enter FlexTD from flexgames. It's another unitasker, but it does one task very well - just hit a pre-defined hotkey and it brings up a transparent edit window. Type in your to-do, press return, and the info is entered into your favorite Mac calendar app. One suggestion for the developers; the hotkeys only go up to F8, and I'd love to be able to assign something to F13 through F19 on my keyboard. How 'bout it? The app is free, appears as a pref pane in System Preferences, and can start up at login. Many thanks to flexgames for a nice productivity booster!Tip 'o the TUAW homburg to Elsa for the news!
I Love Stars
Potion Factory brainiac Andy Kim has just unleashed a new free app on the world - I Love Stars.This little app does two things very well. First, it displays your iTunes rating (from zero to five stars) in the menu bar for the song that is currently playing, and second, I Love Stars lets you change the rating. All this is done without having to flip between programs. Just glance at the menu bar to see the current rating, or drag across the stars to change your rating.While Alton Brown may frown upon tools that don't perform a multitude of functions, this is one little app that any iTunes fan could love.
Phun 3.5
For (let's say) "phans" of Crayon Physics, Phun 3.5 is a similar kind of physics simulator created by Emil Ernerfeldt for his thesis at Umeå University, Sweden. Not only is it Swedish, but it's just been released for the Mac. Sure, it's rough-around-the-edges, and it follows pretty much none of the Mac's interface or key-combination conventions, but it's sure a fun (with an F) toy. Phun is Universal Binary, and freeware.
Anticipating Indiana Jones? Your Mac is, too
Forget WWDC, the iPhone App Store and the Apple Design Awards. The one thing we want to see this summer is the new Indiana Jones movie!We're sure some of you feel the same anticipation, so why not let your Mac in on the fun? The workers at The Iconfactory have launched their month-long tribute to Dr. Jones with Indy-themed freeware icon sets, one for each movie. So far, the Raiders of the Lost Ark set has been released, while The Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull icon sets will debut later this month.If your using CandyBar (we've written about CandyBar several times), you can make use of the Indy-themed Dock. Finally, round things of with this great desktop picture (it's also available for the iPhone!).
Free alternatives to the Macheist bundle + more
Many people love the Macheist bundles because of the software. Others like the price. However, we're betting everyone will like some free alternatives to their latest collection -- despite the low price, there's always another, cheaper way. In a list of freebies compiled by Lifehacker, matching the Macheist options, there are a few standouts: For money management online without the cash layout, try replacing Cha-Ching with the free Mint website. Getting your clipboard multiplier under control can be done at a cost by iClip or freely by Jumpcut. WriteRoom, the distraction-free word processor, is replaced by the web-based DarkCopy among several other options (including Freeverse's free attention-focus tool Think). See Adam Pash's excellent article for the full rundown. Of course, the price of $49US for the Macheist bundle is pretty sweet, but many people already own or don't need several of the included applications. Following the example of LH's list, here are a couple of alternative options for the current MacUpdate promo bundle: For SoundStudio, check out the free & open source Audacity (of course, GarageBand may already be on your Mac) DVDRemaster Pro's conversion and archiving chops can be met or matched by the lovely and talented (and free) HandBrake Leap is quite cool and somewhat hard to replicate, but SpotInside is a free Spotlight enhancer that does a nice job too For the Parallels headliner, you can find cheaper or free Windows emulation/virtualization tools at VirtualBox, iEmulator, and Q Got other free suggestions for some of the bundled paid apps? Let us know.Thanks Adam P.
Anti Keylogger Shield may offer some protection for your account
Hackers are getting more and more brazen lately, hiding various trojans and keyloggers not only in random forum links, but in ad banners and even in electronic devices. Even common sense avoidance of suspicious links and websites doesn't always seem to work anymore. Luckily, there are other tools you can use, such as the Noscript extension for the Firefox browser. Lifehacker reported on a new one yesterday as well: Anti Keylogger Shield for Windows. This freeware program purports to work not by blocking installation of keyloggers, but by preventing them from logging your keys once installed. Lifehacker tested it by loading a keylogger and reported that it seemed to work, at least in that case, as the keylogger's log file was completely empty. Of course, you probably shouldn't just install this program and go off clicking strange links willy nilly, but it does look like it could be one more line of defense in the ever escalating battle to protect your computer and your account from those who would steal it. Plus, it's free, so that's even better. [Thanks for the forward, DrDiesel!]
IBlendIt 1.0.1
If completely useless (but oh-so-fun) is your thing, then why not check out IBlendIt. IBlendIt allows you to get your frustrations out by, you guessed it, blending photos, files, and colors. This is one application that I couldn't resist trying out ... it really does relieve stress (especially after working on that long term paper), but one feature that would be awesome is having it delete the files upon completion of the blending process.If you would like to get your blending on, then why not try out this little free (donations accepted) blending application by downloading it today.
Student-developed titles hit Japan's Download Stations
From late next week, every DS owner in Japan will have totally free access to the first of four student-developed titles. That's because the games in question were originally created under the watchful eye of Nintendo, which is now releasing these at DS Download Stations around Japan. Each game will be available for a fortnight, before sadly disappearing into the ether for ... well, ever.What's really striking about these is their apparent quality -- if you had told us the above shot was taken from a game developed at a professional studio, we'd have totally believed you (in actual fact, it's from Wakerai no Heya Tsuzuki, a touchscreen horror game)! Equally intriguing is Nan de Momo Koko Yasan, which equips players with a "magical paintbrush" with which to color objects. The other titles are Kiki Master and Watashi no Otochabako.It's almost a certainty that we'll never play these ourselves, but we'd love to see a similar initiative happening over here. Tap the youthful minds of the U.S., Nintendo![Via Siliconera]
iNeedFlix
If you are looking for an application that allows you to manage your Netflix queue with Mac style, then iNeedFlix might be for you. iNeedFlix allows you to (as long as you are signed into Netflix through Safari) manage your queue. You can both move and delete items in the list. iNeedFlix interfaces directly with the Netflix server, so changes will be made almost instantly. This is a very simple application for a very simple problem, however, it would be better if you could be signed into Netflix through any browser, not just Safari -- or have this step eliminated completely. If you are looking for a Netflix application for the Mac that is a little more full featured, then look no further than Netflix Freak.You can download iNeedFlix for free from the developer's website or from VersionTracker.
Mysterious Airport dropouts solved?
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You're happily using your Mac (naturally), surfing the net or shopping the iTunes Store, when your WiFi signal suddenly drops. Your Mac sees the Airport Basestation, but it's not letting you out. Only restarting the basestation itself will renew the connection.It's happened to me several times. Often it will be good for months at a time, then execute these random drops several times per week. If you've experienced this too, you know how frustrating it is.Gedeon Maheux of The Iconfactory (and friend of TUAW) has found a possible culprit ... plus a solution that works for him, and hopefully for you too.
Freeware N-spirations
In their latest IGN blog entry, N creators Metanet listed a bunch of recommended freeware and shareware games. Some of the picks are pointed out as having helped inspire the N game design. The first, Zone Runner, is described as " You run, jump, and collect gold. And die. A lot. Sound familiar?" Other games mentioned specifically as inspiring include Puchiwara no Bouken (which looks like the missing link between Lode Runner and N) and Super Bubble Blob. Since we claim total ignorance of PC freeware games that are not N or Cave Story, we now have some homework ahead of us! As do you. We normally aren't in the position to link to a bunch of freeware PC games, but this time there's evidence of a direct influence on an upcoming (highly anticipated) DS game.
Clutch provides browser control of torrents
Just yesterday, we told you about the new GUI version of Transmission. For those who prefer remote control, there's also a web UI for the Transmission daemon, called (cleverly enough) Clutch, just updated to version 0.2. Clutch is an easy way to manage your BitTorrent downloads from anywhere you can access the internet. Clutch is a front-end for the Transmission torrent engine; it doesn't require the GUI version of Transmission, and the two tools don't show each others' download results. but if you use both you may see download results from one tool in the other's list, say our commenters. Clutch uses the web server that's built into Mac OS X, along with AJAX and PHP for the web interface. The app is a self-contained package that has all of the software needed to run the web interface; just open, set a few preferences, and then -- boom -- you're done!If you do not have a static IP address, or use a dynamic DNS service (such as DynDNS), then Clutch will give you a link to your current external IP address, so you can find and connect to your computer over the internet. You might ask "Why would I want to do that?" The answer is time management: BitTorrent downloads can take a while, much too long for you to wait around, and with this tool you can manage your downloads from work, school, or at the local Starbucks. Using this software means that you will have to open a port in your firewall (the default port is 9091, however, you may set it to use any inactive port above 1024 that you wish). Clutch 0.2 is open source and is available as a free download from the Clutch website.
HierarchicalDock 1.2 is ready to go
HierarchicalDock is one of the three applications we recently wrote about (along with Quay and OldFolder) that adds hierarchical menus to the Leopard dock. It works easily: Just drag any folder onto the HierarchicalDock icon and presto! It'll behave like a good, old-fashioned dock folder.This week, Eternal Storms Software released version 1.2 of HierarchicalDock. Changes include: Preview listed items with Quick Look The Finder's color labels are displayed You can now set global or per-folder preferences There's more, of course, and you can read the full release notes here. HierarchicalDock requires Mac OS 10.5 or higher, is a Universal Binary and, best of all, free.
Permanent Eraser 2.3.3
Should Auld Acquaintance be deleted... then too bad! Especially if you are using Edenwaith's free Permanent Eraser product. Unlike Disk Utility (and Mac OS X's secure empty trash), this disk eraser will over-write data 35 times (versus secure empty trash's 7 times). What many users don't know is that when you delete a file from your computer, it's not really deleted; the operating system just marks that space as "free." However, this software will over-write the area of the hard drive where the data remains until it is scrambled and unable to be read.This software received a new update yesterday that improves a bug that limited you to deleting 250 files. This application also has full Mac OS X Leopard support; including new icons for Leopard. In addition to deleting files in the trash can, you can also drag files to the icon to securely delete them. This application can be downloaded for free from the Edenwaith website or from Mac Update.[via Mac Update]
GameSetWatch picks top 5 freeware games
Of all the different video game features, the one that's most desirable is obvious: Being free. Now, GameSetWatch has picked their top five games of the year that have the irresistible feature of being deliciously, decadently without cost. What makes the list so special is how varied and original these game are, with GSW putting a heavy focus on indie-developed titles.There some on the list you may be familiar with (Chain Factor for instance), while others may be completely foreign to you. Either way, if the last few weak release weeks have left you hungering for something more substantial, you just might find a few filling meals on the list.
WidgetWatch: DoBeDo ready for Leopard
I don't know what it is-- in all my computing life, I have never once found a ToDo app that's kept me ToDo-ing. I'll decide to get organized, find a system and learn it, and a few weeks later, I'll have about 15 things to do that I never remembered to put on my ToDo list.But maybe DoBeDo can finally break that pattern. It's not actually an app-- it's just a freeware widget, but according to our commenters, it's the best ToDo app/widget/whatever out there. And it's got an amazing amount of functionality for a widget-- it'll sync right up with iCal, and do everything you'd ever want to do with your tasks with just a keystroke. And as of a few days go, it is now updated for Leopard and ready for 10.5 users to "ToDo" as well.Unfortunately, as nice as it is, I doubt it'll break my anti-productivity cycle. But until Apple creates an iWillpower that I can buy and install on my Mac, this will have ToDo.Thanks, BJ!
