macosx
Latest
Skype 1.4 for Mac OS X ships
Skype version 1.4 for the Mac has begun shipping. Despite my own failure to see the appeal of Skype and its cousins, I know I'm in the minority. This version includes a number of cool changes, like automatically pausing iTunes when a call is answered. Other changes include: Drag-and-drop contacts to calls and chats Emoticons and iTunes track listing Notification of new messages at log in/outSkype requires Mac OS 10.3 or later and is free.[Via Macworld UK]
A Mac streaming solution for the 360
It won't stream video, but TwonkyVision's UPnP MediaServer software will stream music and photos to the Xbox 360 from a variety of platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X. This is great news for users of alternative computing platforms who have thus far been unable to duplicate the functionality of even an iPod or PSP on their 360. TwonkyVision lists the 360 under supported "Media Players" writing "Microsoft only allows to stream music and pictures. Microsoft neither allows video streaming from Windows Media Connect Servers nor from 3rd party UPnP servers." So there you have it. Anyone have any luck with this software and their 360?[Thanks, Clint Thompson]
Tabbed Finder: What do you think?
Today I was forced to use Internet Explorer on a Mac running OS 9, and I immediately realized just how much I've come to rely on tabbed browsing. Opening several windows was a pain, not to mention trying to navigate through the "pile" of windows I eventually created. I spend a lot of time during my day job developing solutions in Filemaker Pro. We've been using tabbed interfaces in Filemaker for ages now, as it's a convenient way to store a lot of information when you've got limited space. So, while struggling with a "tabless" browser and thinking about just how much I like a tabbed interface, I thought, "What if the Mac Finder had tabs?"Above is a very crude (don't laugh) mock up that I quickly created. Similar to multiple desktops, you could hop between dynamically created tabs. Perhaps a "create a new tab" option, or "send this process to tab..." Just thinking out loud, really. So am I crazy? What do you think?
Automator Action: Automatic v.1.0
Creating actions with Tiger's Automator is fun, easy for most users and certainly useful. If you're like me, you already have more than a few custom workflows floating around. "More than a few" can become an unwieldy crowd quickly, which is why I like Automatic so much. Automatic is an Automator action that lists all of your existing workflows and allows you to launch any with a single mouse click. Automatic also includes a dock icon that offers similar access to all your workflows. Pretty nice.
Spotlight, the new Finder?
My files are a mess on my Mac. I try to put them in some order, but no matter what scheme I come up with invariably after a few days I go back to putting everything on my desktop. After awhile of looking at that I create a folder called 'Desktop Stuff' and throw all the files into it. Not exactly the best way to keep myself organized, but the one thing that keeps this from working is deep, fast searching.Enter Spotlight, the Tiger feature that everyone loves, the saviour of the unorganized. Giles Turnbull recently had a chance to see someone from Apple demo Tiger for some journalists. The most interesting thing to come out of the meeting was that the person doing the demo no longer tires to keep his files in order. Why bother, he figures, since Spotlight indexes his file in near realtime.I think I might be in love with an operating system. Tiger, will you marry me? Or at least clean up after me?
You can't hide from Spotlight
Spotlight is one of the 'wow' features of Tiger. Your Windows using friends will drool with envy when you show it to them in action, however, with that said I wasn't too excited about it. Sure, it looks cool and it might be helpful but the search feature in Pather is pretty darned fast, and it hasn't changed the way I use my Mac.After reading this post I am pretty excited about Spotlight because I came to a realization. It isn't about how fast Spotlight is (though that is important) but rather how far reaching it is. Text on a layer in a Photoshop file coming up in the results? Now that's awesome.Now I have to start using Photoshop.
