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Parallels Desktop Release Candidate 2, uh, released
Get your mice clicking ladies and gentlemen, as Parallels has offered up the final test version of Parallels Desktop for Mac, their virtualization software that allows you to run almost any OS right within Mac OS X. With this version, however, Parallels has increased the app's final price to $79.99, as they have incorporated their Compressor Server tool (due to user feedback) into the software package for streamlining and optimizing your virtual machines and the amount of disk space they occupy. The beta testing pre-order price of $39.99 is still in place, and probably more appetizing than ever. Other new features and improvements in the Release Candidate 2 include: Significantly improved performance Improved USB performance and broader device support Improved Host-guest networking Automatic network adapters now switch on-the-fly Guest OS no longer steals host IP address in some DHCP servers Fullscreen mode is now customizable Integration with Virtue is now bug-free Customizable Ctrl + Click mapping Guest 32bit color is supported when Parallels Tools is installed Improved Shared folders performance Resolved shared folders/MS Office incompatibility issues Windows 98 no longer consumes 99% host CPU even when idle (in VT-x mode) Also note that if you download this newest release, you must re-install the Parallels Tools for guest Windows installations (NT/2000/XP/2003). As with previous beta releases, this download is free before the software package goes official.
QuarkXPpress 7 released, but not as a Universal
QuarkXPress 7 has hit the streets, but it oddly isn't a Universal Binary (Steve Jobs, if you remember, announced at January's Macworld event that Quark had a beta UB version available). A UB update to version 7 is reportedly going to be made available later this summer (I guess Adobe isn't the only big software house having trouble). This new version brings plenty of new features to the table including enhancements to typography, color management, transparency (apparently it can do such advanced things as color opacity, drop shadows and alpha channels now), non-destructive mask manipulation, revolutionary 'Composition Zones' which let you design once and use anywhere with live updates, as well as improvements to productivity and collaboration, output and digital workflow and much more. Check out Quark's entire new feature list for the full details, as well as Macsimum News with summaries of what all the new features mean to you.Quark is also taking QuarkXPress on tour through seven US cities as well as Toronoto, Canada. Take a look at their schedule for details and registration information.
Enable an advanced edit mode in iPhoto 6
Rob Griffiths at Macworld has stumbled upon an advanced edit mode in iPhoto 6 that offers some advanced functions when using the Retouch or Red-Eye tools. When using either of these tools, you can hit ctrl-caps lock-9 (yes, I said caps lock) to switch on these specialized cursors that allow you to fine-tune the affected areas and intensities that will be applied to your image.Check out the Macworld article for the full run-down on how these tools work and how you can customize them, as well as an example of their abilities.[via Daring Fireball, image via Macworld]
EazyDraw 2.0 - illustration and drawing for Mac OS X
EazyDraw dubs itself as a "balanced vector drawing application," and from browsing its feature list, that sounds just about right. It looks like it has a nice array of illustration tools and abilities including some CAD-related features like wall and window tools, as well as drawing on a grid. EazyDraw can even import and edit old school files from Claris Draw, Mac Draw II and Mac Draw Pro.EazyDraw is a Universal Binary, and a demo is available. Licensing the app, however, is a little strange: a full download license can be had for $95 (CD in the mail is $115), but you can also purchase a nine month license for a mere $20. Take that as you will, but if you've been looking for a solid and feature-rich illustration app, EazyDraw probably has you covered.
Create events and todos from Mail.app messages with Event Maker
Event Maker allows you to create iCal events and todos from Mail.app messages, or simply from scratch. It looks like it has a more navigable UI, especially for keyboard junkies like myself, and a side drawer allows for adding alarms.Event Maker is available right now from Mac Update, where the author has posted a request for server space to enable an automatic update feature. Also, the app's author, Mike Abdullah, has requested help with drawing some toolbar icons, so head over to Hawk Wings for the details and contact info if you can lend an illustrative hand.
Flock updates to 0.60, adds features
We've covered Flock before, but just in case you didn't catch our previous posts, here's a quick rundown: Flock is an OS X/Linux/Windows open source "social web browser" built on the Firefox core, offering various well-integrated tools for contributing back to the web you're browsing. Amongst other things, it has a built-in blogging tool, bookmarks are saved to online sharing services (del.icio.us, and now Shadows), Flickr surfing/uploading and a whole lot more.I bring this all back up because I just noticed that Flock has updated their developer preview to version 0.60, with a lot of additions and improvements: drag and drop Flickr uploading, searching Flickr by tags and text, a new blog editing engine with support for categories in WordPress and other MovableType-based blogs, the shelf can act as a topbar, a new online bookmark service (Shadows.com) with support for private online favorites (del.icio.us doesn't do that), a Technorati topbar, a better RSS reader and more.While Flock is still a developer preview - which really means pre-beta - I recommend you still give it a look. I heard a podcast interview with one of their higher-ups who didn't recommend anyone pick it up as their main browser, but they still do a good number of things that either haven't been done in other browsers, or simply aren't done nearly as well through plugins and extensions. You can download the developer preview here, as well as a full list of release notes and changes here.[UPDATE: I'm not sure what's up with the Flock download page, but version 0.60 is apparently not available for download (the links point to the previous 0.4.10 version). TUAW reader Joel noted in the comments that the most recent version, 0.5.10, is available from the hourly builds page.]
BuddyPop makes Address Book useful
Continuing on my quest for apps that make me go "that should've been in OS X," I found BuddyPop at the ever-useful Hawk Wings. BuddyPop makes Address Book a bit more accessable and useful by offering a searchable pop-up window for your contacts. A user-definable keyboard shortcut calls the highly-configurable pop-up window, and various pieces of contact info are linked to actual applications. Clicking on a phone number can call the contact using Vonage or Skype, while clicking an email address opens a message addressed to the contact. This is the kind of super-handy stuff that really should have been built into operating systems years ago, in my humble opinion. BuddyPop costs 10 € (10 euros) which the Unit Converter widget tells me is just under $12 (USD).Like Tim Gaden over at Hawk Wings, however, Quicksilver does all this stuff for me already, and much more. But for a lot of people who simply need quick access to contacts and not all the (sometimes confusing) extras of Quicksilver, I'm sure BuddyPop is a great, functional solution.