Apple Breaking News, Reviews, Tips And Tricks!! : )

Apple Updates MacBooks With Firmware Fixes

straw — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:00:38 +0000

Apple has released firmware updates for its MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. Some of the included updates include “improving the stability of MacBook Pro computer”, “ensing and accuracy of the MagSafe Power Adapter indicator light”, and “the battery charge indicator lights on MacBook Pro (Late 2008) computers” as quoted on the downloads page.

For more information on the firmware updates go to its support page or you can download the updates HERE . Users should download the latest updates to fix the existing problems in their Macs

[via InformationWeek]

Mac DIY: How To Make Your Own Image Automator App

straw — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:04:21 +0000

Automator is an applications that most Mac users do not know about. It is installed by default on most Mac computers and can be found in the Applications folder.

For those who do not know what Automator is, it is an application that allows Mac users to create their own applications to enhance their daily tasks and make jobs a lot easier for them. Today, we will show you how to create your own Automator Action that converts the image format of an image to another format in a few simple steps.

!) Go to your Applications Folder and open Automator, and a new window will allow you to create your new Automator Action.

2) From the Finder Tab, choose “Ask for Finder Items” and check “Allow Multiple Selection”, then choose “Change Type of Images” from the Preview Tab, and check “Show Actions When Run”

3) Now, press Run and try it out on some sample images!! Go to File> Save As and save the file as an Application and you can use this Automator Action like an application anytime you want!!

If you like this tutorial, please subscribe to my feed for daily updates and always update here for more great Apple posts!!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Apple Admits Needs For Mac Anti-Virus Apps

straw — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:32:11 +0000

Macs are not immune to virus- at least that is what Apple claims. For a long time now, Apple has been running its misleading ads, claiming that Apple Macs are immune to virus while Windows are. But noted by Ars Technica, it is most likely due to the recent lawsuits that might have cause it to react this way.

One way or another, Apple has not always been immune to such virus, some variants of RSPlug trojan have been appearing for Mac, though it is not as widely-spread and is harder to activate than its Windows counter-parts. In light of this, Apple has deleted the support article in questions after this issue has been revealed by other sites such as Macworld and ComputerWorld

For now, if Mac users want to be 100% safe and protected against viruses Washington Post Brian Krebs recommend ClamXav, a freeware designed to protect Mac users from virus. But most likely, it is just a false alarm and Mac users should not be over-alarmed.

[Via the Washington Post]

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Tip Of The Week- Changing Boring Icons On Your Mac

straw — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:19:36 +0000

Are you bored with the same icons on your Mac everyday? Here are some simple tips to change the boring icons on your Mac.

1) Go and download some icons from sites that offer these icons for Mac users. Some of these icon sites are Apple, IconFactory, InterfaceLIFT and Pixelgirl Presents. I personally prefer the Leopard icons for Tiger from MacAmour.

2) Right-click on a folder and click “Get Info” and do the same for an icon file you choose and click the icon in the Info Window to highlight the icon.

3) Copy the icon and switch to the Info Window of your Folder and paste it and you would have got yourself a new icon!!

Of course this is a lot of manual work especially if you want to change icons of lots of folder and applications, so here are 2 more Mac applications designed to make changing icons a lot easier.

The first application is a paid application called CandyBar that cost but it offers a lot of features such as changing the icons of applications. In addition you can download exclusive icons that can only be opened with CandyBar. Usage of CandyBar is very simple and should not be major problem for most users. You have to restart the Finder and the Dock after changing icons.

For those who do not like to pay, there is a freeware called LiteIcon, from the same company that made AppCleaner. Its features are less than CandyBar but nevertheless also very easy to use. Also requires restarting the Finder and the Dock after changing icons as well.

So now you know how to change the icons on your Mac, you can change the icons on your Mac once in a while!! If you want to see more Mac tips and tricks, please subscribe to my feed and comment!!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

17 Essential Must-Have Adium Xtras For Your Mac

straw — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:12:42 +0000

Adium is a great IM (instant messaging) application, which allows for lots of customization such as the Dock icons and addition of plug-in and scripts. After using Adium for quite some time, I have compiled a list of 17 essential and must-have Adium Xtras that you should also install if you use Adium a lot!!

Adium iTunes Controller– Allows you to control iTunes without leaving your Adium chats by typing some simple commands. In order to view these command you would have to download the package, which contains a text file containing these commands.

/brb– This humorous script allows you to set really funny and interesting brb messages such as “My finger is stuck in the plug hole.” and “God has summoned me to the toilet.”. Just type /brb into your chat to show these funny brb messages.

Now Playing in Adium– Another nifty iTunes script for Adium. Just type %_nowplaying into your Available message and your Available message will be set to the current song that is playing on iTunes.

Deutschland Adiumy (German Jersey Euro 08)– Great dock icons for avid football fans. Other icons also include the AC Milan Adiumy and VfL Bochum 1848 Adiumy Season 08/ 09 dock icons.

MacBook Adiumy– One of the nicest and beautiful dock icons I ever seen. There are many choice of duck with different colors which changes according to your status, such as when going idle or away. You might also want to download the cute PowerBook Duck as well, which shows the Adium Duck holding a Mac PowerBook.

Riceballs– The best and nicest emoticon for Adium I ever seen. The emoticons are based on really cute riceballs, and I just love them!! If you want other cute Adium emoticons, check out Pandamotes as well!!

Overture 1928– A futuristic contact list style that fits in with all the colors. Just remember to set the opacity to 40%. To find other contact list styles that you like, just click HERE.

iPhone Message Style– Bring the iPhone user experience with this great iPhone Message Styles. Has slick silky smooth animations as well as lots of variant to choose from. Great for iPhone fans and those who do not have an iPhone.

Renkoo– Another great Message Style for Adium users who love to customize. Renkoo has custom background support as well as many color schemes to choose from. The cool fading effect is also an added bonus.

Super Mario World– A sound set from the game that makes funny sounds. If you do not like the Super Mario World sound set, there are many sound sets to choose from.

Stars– One of my favorite Status Icons which display status icons as stars. Like the Sound Sets, you can also choose lots of Status Icons.

Up2Date Aqua 3.7.1– Futuristic Aqua Service Icons with a glossy touch in it. Up2Date Aqua 3.7.1 looks great with translucent background. Also one of my favorite Service Icons.

Hand-drawn– These hand-drawn service icons are quite curly and distorted, but they add doddles and scribbles to Adium. Also has four different versions such as Handdrawn Color and Handdrawn Chalk.

iChat 4– Adds the Leopard iChat interface to your Menu Bar Icons, even if you do not have a Leopard. Flashy and shows up perfectly in the menu bar. To get more Menu Bar Icons, click HERE.

Skype– Adium by default does not has Skype. In order to add Skype function to Adium, just download the Skype Plugin and you will be chatting to your Skype buddies in no time!! If you have a Skype account try it out and tell me if it works. (I don’t have a Skpe account)

MeBeam Integration– Allows for support for videochat in Adium, with this plugin just added recently. Requires a webcam and headset in order for this to work.

Adium Xtra Updater– With so many Xtras, it is good to ensure that you always have the newest version. So this great app will allow you to check for the newest version of your Xtras and will tell you if there is an update, though the process is a bit geeky with Python and the command line involved.

That is about all for the list of must-have Adium Xtras for your Mac. If you want to get more Adium Xtras, just go to http://www.adiumxtras.com/ for a list of such Xtras. Also, if you like this list a lot, please digg this post, or suscribe to my feed. It will also be great if you could comment and tell me some Adium Xtras that you use as well!!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

6 Essential Mac Apps Not To Be Missed

straw — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:56:54 +0000

With so many brilliant and amazing free Mac softwares, it would be great to to highlight some of the best and essential Mac Applications that you should not miss!! Here is a list of 6 essential apps that I use frequently and apps that you cannot afford to miss. All of these are are must-have softwares, from chatting on IM to reading RSS feeds and much more.

1) Adium– A must-have IM (instant messaging) application. Supports multiple IM protocols so you won’t ever need MSN Messenger or AIM again. Features also include the ability to have multiple chats in a single window as well as enhance its features by downloading add-ons

2) Appfresh– With Appfresh you can always ensure your applications, widgets, preference panes and application plugins are always the most updated version. Appfresh make use of info from the popular Mac Apps website osx.iusethis to ensure that your softwares are up-to-date.

3) AppCleaner– Deleting an application on a Mac is not simple as throwing it into the Trash as preferences and caches files stays on your system, hogging up your precious disk space. In order to delete a Mac App completely, you need an app like Appcleaner. Appcleaner not only does a great job at deleting apps, it also deletes widgets. To delete your unwanted software, just drag and drop, which is really simple.

4) Growl– Provides bubbles-like notifications for many popular apps such as Adium and Cyberduck so you won’t have to divert your attentions away from what you are doing. Customizable themes and setting are a bonus as well.

5) Quicksilver– An amazing productivity app that does what you want- be it opening applications or opening files, Quicksilver does it at the tip of your fingers. Plug-ins and elegant interface also helps to increase your productivity tremendously.

6) Newsfire– A simple and vibrant RSS reader that allows you to view your favorite RSS feeds. Personally, I feel that it is much better than other Mac RSS readers such as Vienna and NetNewsWire, as it gives you better ease of RSS reading with its rich but simple features, while having a low memory footprint.

That is about all the essential Mac Apps that I think you will ever need. If you know of any other Mac Apps that you can’t live without, then click HERE to comment and let me know!! Please also digg this post, or subscribe to my blog feed!!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

uTorrent Beta For Mac Finally Released

straw — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:26:59 +0000

The wait is finally over. The beta version of uTorrent has finally been released. uTorrent has long been know as a freeware BitTorrent client for its high performance and rich features. However, it was only available for Window users for the past few years.

Now that the uTorrent Beta is finally out, you might want to try it out, though it is for Leopard 10.5 Intel Mac users only, However, according to TorrentFreak, there are news that it will be ported to Tiger as well as PowerPC users, so just keep an eye out for that.