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Safari's market share on the rise
Safari's market share has been slowly climbing the charts over the last couple of years, and depending on which statistics you google, it has now reached an all-time high of 3.19%, up from 1.93% from June 2005. MacNN interestingly points out that, in a way, this statistic could also be viewed as a (very unofficial) barometer for general Mac usage, since Safari is one of the few Mac-only browsers (though I bet many Mac users ride the Firefox wave as well).Either way, this should be great news for Safari-using web surfers and web designers alike, as the so-called web design 'standards' have yet another browser to get customized and tweaked for.
Opera announces browser release date for Japan
Releasing to the Japanese gaming public on July 24th, the Opera web browser for the DS will initially only be sold online for 3,800 Yen (around $33 US) and come standard with a memory expansion pack. Nothing has been said as to release date for US launch of the browser, but we assume we'll be hearing more once July 24th hits and Japanese impressions are measured.
Sandvox 1.0.2 with new features, demo screencast, intro pricing ends soon
Karelia Software has updated Sandvox, their feature-packed WYSIWYG web design app, to version 1.0.2, bringing a few new features to the table such as a much-requested Format menu. Of course, other bug fixes and the like are included, so check out the release notes for the full details.In addition to a one-hundredth of a point update, Karelia Software has also created a demo screencast for Sandvox which takes (potential) users through the site creation process and demos the many features Sandvox has to offer, such as adding weblogs and photo albums, as well as the Pro feature lineup. Along with the screencast, Karelia Software has also updated their online documentation with "How do I?", troubleshooting and reference sections. Last on the Sandvox update is the impending doom of their introductory pricing offer. Presently, a single regular Sandvox license goes for $39 USD, while the Pro version is $69 USD - but only until Friday, June 16th. I couldn't track down what these prices will bump up to, but I'm sure they'll make these look like a good deal. Get it while it's hot.
iSticky offers notes with reminders, sending via Bonjour, more
Sticky notes are great, but sticky notes that can have reminder alarms, be sent to other Macs via Bonjour, sent over the web and SMS, archived and more - are better. If any of these features have your inner nerd excited, then check out iSticky - a sticky note app on steroids. Also on the feature list are themes, categories, encryption, document linking and more.While we don't think iSticky is Universal yet (at least, the author isn't bragging about it on the site), a demo is available. iSticky also offers a wide range of licenses depending on which features you need and whether you need a family/business pack. Prices run from $16 USD (single license, Bonjour sending but not over the web) up to $90 USD for a 12 license pack with all the toppings. Check it out if Apple's Stickies just aren't cutting it for you anymore.
Taco HTML v1.7.2 is Universal
If Dreamweaver is a bit overkill for some web work on your desk, Taco HTML might just be the editor for you. It's a small yet feature-packed web editor with tag coloring, HTML preview, syntax checking, code snippets and more. It's my favorite editor for HTML pages or tweaking a WordPress PHP page file or two.As far as I can tell, Taco HTML is provided free, and is a Universal Binary. Check it out if you read this post in less time than it takes Dreamweaver to start up.
iComment 4.1 adds comments, trackbacks, webstats to iWeb sites
iComment, as we've mentioned before, allows you to add trackbacks and detailed webstats to iWeb sites, and even comment systems to iWeb sites hosted somewhere besides .Mac. Implementing some of these features can be a bit clunky, as you have to sign up for external services to help drive some of them, however, if you just gotta have comments and webstats the latest version of iComment (4.1) is probably the best way to get the job done.A demo is available, and a license will cost a mere $9.95.
iTMS does storefront customization for radio websites
Two hip-hop radio stations, Power 106 in LA and HOT 97 in NYC, have signed on the dotted line with the iTMS to offer an integrated, customized version of the store right in their own websites. The radio stations can design the store any way they see fit, and feature any artists, recent releases and playlists they want. From some quick browsing, I was able to find the iTMS integration at HOT 97's site, but not at Power 106's.hypebot, the blog where we found this, was quick to point out the vast potential this kind of partnership with the iTMS has for any kind of niche markets, businesses and organizations you can think of: "From skateboard sites selling radical tunes to a museum's site selling period music that matches their exhibitions, this could be a very exciting development for niche and indie music marketers". Indeed, this is a great example of that iPod expansion post Scott had yesterday; it sounds like Apple has plenty of tricks up their sleeve for the iPod and iTMS.
Sandvox 1.0 official release
I'm really glad to see all this innovation in WYSIWYG web editing software, and from my experience, Sandvox from Karelia Software is poised to lead the pack. Yes, I've been going on about how excited I am about the iWeb 1.1 update, but after playing with Sandvox's beta editions, I'm going to give this official 1.0 release a good run-through, as it offers quite a bit of power and some nice tricks that other products like RapidWeaver and iWeb can't claim.The feature that impresses me the most about Sandvox is their innovative "Pagelets" feature. Pagelets are small chunks of rich content that you can simply drag and drop around your site's theme. Don't like where your blogroll is? Just drag its pagelet somewhere else. Pagelets in the pro version can also allow you to insert your own HTML and even PHP code into any portion of your site or sidebar. Speaking of site themes: Sandvox's are stellar, and a bit more creative than iWeb's. Sandvox comes with two dozen themes, with more available.Sandvox also does a lot of the, dare I say, 'standard' WYSIWYG web design-ish stuff that I've come to expect on the Apple platform. You can drag your audio podcasts into a Sandvox site and get them submitted to the iTMS, as well as drag images from iPhoto, etc.Overall, despite lightning striking twice for Karelia Software, Sandvox looks like a solid product that presents a strong array of features for the WYSIWYG designer that demands a little more from their web design app.
Inquisitor goes web-based
Inquisitor, the Safari and Camino plug-in that brings Spotlight to searching the web, has been ported to a web-based search engine. Upon entering a search into its pleasantly minimal interface, you will be presented with a list of search recommendations and a variety of search engines to focus on, including digg, Amazon and their A9 search, Flickr, Google, Technorati and Yahoo!. Neat.[via Daring Fireball Linked List]
DS browser screenshots
Some shots for the anticipated Opera browser that is slated to hit a DS near you soon have hit the net, and although there are only 3 of them, we likes what we sees. It appears the browser will be utilized to its maximum potential through the touch screen for both inputting text and zooming in on pages, which is not new news, but seeing it in the flesh makes it a much more appealing prospect. Personally, I'm a Firefox user, but I can see myself giving this a go. What say you fine readers? [Thanks jah75157!]
Camino 1.0.1 with security, Java, Keychain updates
Hot on the heels of Firefox releasing a 1.5.0.3 security update, Camino has been bumped to 1.0.1 with mostly security and bug fixes which include: Fixed several critical security issues, including those fixed in version 1.8.0.3 of the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine. Upgraded the bundled Java Embedding Plugin (http://javaplugin.sf.net) to version 0.9.5 d Improved ad-blocking, especially of German ads Enabled the opening of local SVG files Fixed an issue where Camino on Intel-based Macs was unable to read Keychain entries stored by Camino on PowerPC-based Macs As always, you can snag a copy from CaminoBrowser.org.
Google Importer - search Google with Spotlight
Google Importer is a Spotlight plug-in that can add a Google search to the list of results Spotlight returns. It is installed as a System Preferences pane with options to adjust how many results are gathered from Google, whether to show a link to an actual Google results page, and how many seconds to wait after the last key is typed to begin searching Google. Note: that last option only adjusts how long Spotlight waits to search Google, not the rest of your computer like many users have been asking for.I haven't tinkered around with this, but it sounds like a nice idea as long as it doesn't hang the Spotlight search too much. Google Importer is donationware and available from Caffeinated Cocoa Software.
Safari use up 76 percent
That's up 76 percent from last year. And we're still talking about a 3.19% browser market share, according to Net Applications. Of course, as stated on the Surfin' Safari blog, the hope (for Apple) is to see more WebKit-based browsers out there too. You may recall Nokia's S60 web browser is just such a beast. Whether or not a cell phone browser will make a dent in WebKit's market share? I'll let you decide that one. In the end, I can really only hope all this great market share business is going to make some developers out there (you know who you are) work a little harder to make their websites Safari-compatible. List the worst Safari offenders in the comments, and just ignore Google, where everything is beta. Besides, it could be worse: you could be using Opera.
Freeway 4 Express/Pro - a new take on web design
If you've been looking for a new take on web design apps with a new, unique UI, Freeway 4 Express and Pro might be right up your alley. Freeway 4 sports features like a new dynamic property inspector, a birds-eye site panel, "master pages" for site templates and repeating objects, rich media, actions for automating tasks with simple clicks such as creating button rollovers, .Mac uploading and a whole lot more. The $249 Pro version edges ahead of the $89 Express with features like a link map for site-wide link management, importing Illustrator and Photoshop content and enhanced graphic effects. Check out the full list of Pro-only features to see everything that the extra $160 gets you, or fill out a form (lame, I know) to pick up full-featured demos of either version of Express or any other Softpress Systems Ltd. products.
