plugins
Latest
Peter Gabriel wants to be your DJ
As if he wasn't already busy, what with being the music legend and all... Peter Gabriel's playlist construction kit The Filter, already available free for iTunes for Windows, is now entering 2.0 alpha test for Mac users. The Filter automatically loads your iPod with custom, mood-relevant playlists and explores your music collection for those gems gathering dust in the corners.Registration for the alpha test is by invitation for now, so you can either send an email from the download page or go straight to the alpha registration and wait to hear back. May I suggest queuing up Plays Live while you wait?Thanks, Shaun!
Hawk Wings updates an already massive Mail plugin list
We mention Hawk Wings from time to time here on TUAW, as it's a great blog for all things Mail.app. One handy resource of Tim Gaden's Mail-obsessed blog that not everyone knows about, however, is its ever-growing directory of plugins, in which Tim relentlessly tracks and categorizes all the 3rd party add-ons, scripts, haxies, tweaks and other Mail goodies. The list was recently updated with 10 new entries, ranging from Note to Self (inspired by Leopard's Mail.app Notes feature) and a Return Receipts AppleScript (you know, that feature where you can bug email recipients with a 'yes I read this' dialog) to a Mail to Yojimbo script for those times when the 'print to Yojimbo' service is less than convenient.Check out the recent update and the full plugin directory for virtually any and every tool you could need to make Mail.app bend to your every whim.
New Chax beta with tear-off tabs, will be open sourced soon
Chax, the handy iChat plugin that offers tabbed chats and much more, has a new beta available that offers tear-off tabs for those times when you don't want to put all your eggs chats in one basket. Announced on the author's blog, this new version also allows exporting activity log data as HTML. Of course, various bug fixes are also included in what is technically 1.4.6 beta 2.The author is also going to release the complete Chax source code once 1.4.6 goes official, offering iChat hackers and other Cocoa-hopefuls a little more help in their quest for creating the next killer __________.You can download your copy of the beta from this latest blog entry.
Keyword Assistant for iPhoto goes Universal
Keyword Assistant is a stellar iPhoto plugin that dramatically simplifies the chore of adding keywords to images. In fact, one could go so far as to say Keyword Assistant brings tagging to iPhoto, but we'll let you judge for yourself. As you can see, it adds a menu item to iPhoto, as well as a simple, smart popup window that allows for comma-separated tags. We call this keyword entry utility 'smart' because it can auto-fill tags keywords from your existing set, (optionally) warn you when creating new keywords, and even auto-fill names from Address Book. It also brings a desperately needed option to iPhoto's preferences: alphabetizing the keyword list. All things considered, this is a utility we can easily refer to as a missing link from iPhoto's current abilities.This can't-iPhoto-without-it plugin just went Universal, and it is still provided as freeware from Ken Ferry's .Mac homepage. KA requires 4.0.3 or 4.0.4 and Mac OS X 10.4.7, and is localized for English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.
Mail attachment reminder saves embarassment
I've done it again -- sent an email that mentions an attachment, and then forgot to attach the file. It's always embarassing. Here's a way to save yourself from similar humiliation. Download this free Attachment Scanner plugin for Mail.app, and install it following the directions on the developer's site. Now when you type "attach," "attachment,", "attaching," or similar words in an email, if you hit Send without actually attaching a document, you'll see a warning like this one: "Message Has No Attachment. Your mail appears to refer to an attachment, but none exists. Do you wish to continue?" If you don't mention an attachment, you won't see anything different than usual. I've been using it all day, and really appreciate getting a second chance to save face thanks to developer James Eagan.[via macosxhints]
Quicksilver del.icio.us plugin updated
For all the Quicksilver users out there, the del.icio.us plugin has been updated for (what I assume is) the recent change in their API that seems to have afflicted every app that has anything to do with access to the social bookmarking service. As one might guess, the del.icio.us plugin simply allows access to one's del.icio.us bookmarks from directly within Quicksilver, just like browsing the bookmarks of any local browsers. The documentation page I link to says the plugin isn't compatible with Intel-based Macs yet, but I'm pretty sure that's outdated, as it appeared in my MacBook Pro's plugin list quite a while ago and has made my life all the better since.
Unit Conversion plugin for Quicksilver
I don't know how long the Unit Conversion plugin has existed for Qucksilver, but I just found it the other day in yet another one of those 'QS spelunking' adventures that many of its users sometimes embark on (I highly recommend them). They're almost always a good time for Quicksilver fans, as one can usually find something new and incredibly useful on just such an adventure.This particular Unit Conversion plugin/module allows a user to type the first half of a conversion in the first pane, tab over to chose the 'Convert to Units...' action, then tab to the third pane to type in the final unit conversion type. Clicking the 'i' on this module once it's installed offers a few examples, such as: 1 mile Convert to Units... km 1 floz Convert to Units... cm3 32 ft/sec^2 Convert to Units... m/sec^2 Keep in mind though that the syntax of your conversion is key; the space between the number and the unit type, for example, is required for this operation to perform smoothly. One thing I can't find, however, is exactly how many times of unit conversions this operation can handle, as a document search at Blacktree's site yields nothing. I guess, as with many other Quicksilver toys, some experimentation is in order.
Download.com posts list of top iTunes add-ons
I could've sworn that Download.com got rid of their Mac software section a while ago, but alas: digg submissions never lie. CNET's Download.com has posted a list of top iTunes add-ons for tackling everything from grabbing album art to watching who is listening to which songs from your library. Included in the list is RadioLover which lets you record streaming radio, as well as iPodRip with (thankfully) an accurate explanation as to why its abilities aren't included in iTunes itself. This list actually part of a guide Download.com wrote called iTunes Advanced, which includes some handy tips for things like adding an equalizer column to your list of songs to easily assign custom EQ settings to specific songs, as well as a list of hotkeys for the default iTunes visualization mode.Seasoned iTunes pros will probably balk at getting iTunes advice from Download.com, but there are probably at least a couple handy tidbits here for just about everyone.
A collection of all available QuickPicks for Backup 3
Wishingline, a web design studio, has done .Mac members a favor and collected most of the QuickPicks that are available on the web for Apple's Backup 3. There are quite a few QuickPicks out there for everything from ecto to PDF documents, Photo Booth pictures to Shiira bookmarks, OmniOutliner documents and much, much more. Wishingline went so far as to list a number of the QuickPicks individually, or simply offer an encompassing package of everything they could find (scroll down about midway on the page for these goodies).The QuickPicks package is offered free from Wishingline, but remember: they didn't have anything to do with creating these (as far as I know); they just tracked them down and zipped them. If you want a QuickPick for one app or another, you should probably consult the app's author or check out these resources for creating your own.[UPDATE: Scott from Wishingline dropped us a comment to let us know that the QuickPicks linked from Wishingline are, in fact, home grown. Thanks for some rockin' QuickPicks Scott!]
Application Enhancer v2.0 goes Universal, with other enhancements
Unsanity has released a Universal Binary version of Application Enhancer, their software preference pane (and set of frameworks) that enables their various handy system hacks and UI additions. Along with Intel Mac compatibility, this update also includes enhancements like: Redesigned the preference pane to be simpler and more accessible. Now follows the precedent set by other Mac OS X services and disables itself if the shift key is held down while booting. While Application Enhancer and some of their products are Intel-friendly, you should check their full compatibility list for details on exactly which apps have made the leap, as some are in a public beta testing phase.Application Enhancer is free and available from Unsanity's website.
Pimp your Camino
Safari isn't the only browser that can pimp it these days, as it looks like Camino has its own custom parts shop now. Pimp My Camino (started by John Hicks; he who set up Pimp my Safari) keeps track of the plugins, addons, haxies and scripts (and more!) for Mozilla's fantastic Camino browser.I don't know how long Pimp My Camino has been around, but they already have a whole slew of stuff like CamiScript (applescripts for saving sessions, grabbing site feed URLs, etc.) and CamiTools (a feature-packed pref pane), ready and ripe for you to blow an entire afternoon tinkering with.
Quicksilver basics: shake hands with your preferences
Yesterday Quicksilver started acting a little goofy, and I wasn't surprised; I have just about every beta and extra turned on as I just can't stop exploring all the neat stuff this app can do. During my troubleshooting efforts I resorted to the simple trick of quitting Quicksilver and simply moving its preference file (located with other preference files in ~/Library/Preferences) to my desktop, forcing Quicksilver to re-create a clean new preference file. This fixed the issue, but it also forced me to dive back into my preferences to tweak, toggle and change some of the options I use to make Quicksilver do what I want.That experience made me realize, however, that part of the Quicksilver learning curve for new users really is to get to know its preferences, since they act as a handy springboard into what Quicksilver is capable of. A lot of fantastic tutorials, like those at 43 Folders and Blacktree's own site (the makers of Quicksilver), sometimes assume that you already know what you're doing with Quicksilver. Another complication is that the actions (and sometimes plugins) used in these tutorials are not installed or enabled by default. Some of the email actions - for example the "send item immediately" action that allows you to email an item to someone without ever touching a mail composition window - are oddly not enabled in a default Quicksilver installation, which means a user has to open Quicksilver's preferences (once invoked, a quick cmd - , does the trick) and dig around in the Actions section to find what they need. Ultimately, I figure there are three key areas of Quicksilver's preferences that might help new or aspiring but confused users get their feet grounded: Catalog, Actions and Plugins, and here is a brief explanation of each: Catalog - this is a pretty straight-forward list of everything Quicksilver keeps track of on your Mac. Looking through the Catalog and the Actions preference panel should help you get a grasp of what items Quicksilver can find and manipulate, and then how you can manipulate them. Actions - this is a list of the defining ability that separates Quicksilver from mere seek-and-find applications. Actions allow you to do something with the item you have found, far above and beyond simply opening it. Actions are (loosely) categorized to help you find your way around: Address Book actions allow you to do more with your contacts, Text actions (an optional plugin) allow you to do things like looking up word definitions right from within Quicksilver and appending text to a file buried somewhere, etc. If this panel doesn't excite your inner productivity geek, you should consider consulting your physician. Plugins - Quicksilver is highly, highly plugin-able, which is where even more of its beauty radiates from. Plugins for Backpack, alternative browser bookmarks, the Mac OS X Keychain, NetNewsWire headlines, a multiple-item clipboard, hundreds of web search engines and much, much more all have your name written on them. Go wild. Quicksilver is one of the few apps that is so different and powerful that the classic "just open and play with it" phrase might not be enough for some users to grasp what's going on. If you are one of these users, I hope this brief explanation will help you to take your first step into the wide, wonderful universe of Quicksilver.
