Griffin Announces iTrip Auto for iPhone

Yesterday, Griffin Technology announced the availability of iTrip Auto for iPhone.

The iTrip Auto simply plugs into the dock connector of the iPhone and offers high-quality audio, intuitive controls and Griffin's trademark station-scanning feature, SmartScan. SmartScan makes setup and operation nearly automatic -- it seeks out the best FM frequencies available, then selects the best of the best for use in transmitting the music to the car's FM stereo.

iTrip Auto automatically optimizes output volume, and the user can select stereo or mono modes for best-quality audio. Listeners can control speaker volume from the car stereo controls, eliminating the need to look at the touchscreen to adjust volume level, and features a large, easy-to-read backlit LCD screen for quick, easy reference on the road.

Simple, one cable design combines easy-to-use FM transmitter and auto charger for iPhone

Plugs into the 12V auto power outlet and charges the iPhone as it plays

Power switch with 3-color charge indicator

Save frequencies to four presets; uses any FM frequency from 88.1 to 107.9

Compatible with: iPhone 3G, iPhone, iPod touch (2G), iPod touch, iPod nano (4G), iPod nano (3G), iPod classic, iPod nano (2G), iPod with video (5G), iPod nano (1G)

For more info see the full press release at Griffins website (although we pretty much copied and pasted the full text) or visit the iTrip Auto's web page. We've never used this type of auto audio adapter before so if you have any experience with these kind of set ups let us know. Either post a comment or fire off an email to AYAAW.

Griffin Announces iTalk for iPhone & iPod and iTalk Sync for Mac

On Tuesday, Griffin Technology announced the availability iTalk voice recording app for iPhone and the iPod Touch. Griffin also announced the immediate availability of iTalk Sync, the desktop companion app to iTalk.

Griffin iTalk turns iPhone or iPod touch into an ultra-mobile, super-compact recording unit. This two-part app allows users to create high-quality recordings, and then transfer the recordings to a Mac or PC. Users will appreciate the one-touch recording controls, and the ability to pause/resume recordings and even append to previous recordings on the fly. iTalk is a two-part software application.

Download the iTalk app from the iTunes App Store and install it on your iPhone or iPod touch, for mobile recording and playback. Its companion program, iTalk Sync, runs on your computer to transfer recordings from iPod or iPhone for editing and sharing. iTalk Sync connects to your iPod touch or iPhone wirelessly via your local Wi-Fi network, and makes transfers a snap: just drag the recordings from iTalk Sync's list and drop them onto your desktop. Recordings are saved as high-quality AIFF files, playable in iTunes and most other media players.

High-quality handheld recording

Easy, convenient user interface and controls

Drag and drop file transfers wirelessly to your computer

User-selectable Good/Better/Best sample rate

Pause/resume and append to existing recordings on the fly

Recording on 2nd gen iPod touch works with the addition of Apple's iPhone headset, or with Griffin's updated TuneBuds Mobile and SmartTalk mic/control solutions

For more info see the full press release at Griffin's website.

For a limited time Griffin is giving both apps away free. They don't say how long the "limited time" is so if you want a pretty decent voice recording app combo for your iPhone or iPod Touch and you don't want to pay for it, download them both while you can. There is a small ad that displays across the bottom of two of iTalks 3 screens so perhaps Griffin is testing this as an ad supported app. The ad is very small and unobtrusive so don't let that stop you from trying it out.

Both apps are very intuitive and using them went without a hitch. Syncing via iTalk Sync was painless other than having to turn on Wi Fi on the iPhone. When the app store first opened I immediately purchased nFinity's QuickVoice and it's desktop companion app for the then special introductory price of $9.99 for both. QuickVoice has been a nice app and now nFinity is giving away the iPhone/iPod touch app. You still have to buy the companion app which is currently priced at $14.95 (nFInity's QuickVoice PC page says the regular price is $25). QuickVoice PC is certainly a more full featured app than iTalk Sync. In fact the only thing you can really do with iTalk Sync is wirelessly sync with your iPhone and then drag and drop your recordings to your Mac. iTalk and iTalk Sync are free, however, so they'll no doubt give the QuickVoice combo and all the rest of the voice recording apps on the iTunes app store a run for their money.

Oh and one more thing. Although the iPhone version of QuickVoice works well and has some pretty cool features (upside down mode for when you want to point the iPhone mic away from you) I can't get the desktop app to import any of my recordings. I go through the motions and it does import something but for the life of me I can't figure out where they go. Add to that the seriously ugly interface and OS X 2002 feel and the desktop app just seems like a bad port from a Windows version. I've filed a support request (there is a serious lack of documentation with the desktop app) so hopefully nFInity will be able to help me figure this thing out. We'll see....

In the mean time check out the iTalk & iTalk Sync screen shots below and the QuickVoice shots below that.

iTalk Sync

QuickVoice iPhone App

QuickVoice Desktop App

Jon Brown Designs Launches Mac Advertising Network

Jon Brown Designs announced today the launch of a free banner and textual ad network for Mac users only: Mac Advertising Network. The service provides a way for Mac related websites to only display Mac related ads. The service is free and allows users to exchange ads with other Mac Advertising Network users.

Mac enthusiasts may advertise their blog, podcast, application and more. Anyone may sign up to the service to place their banner or textual ads. The minimal trade off is adding a banner (or textual ad) to their site. Websites that are on the network will in turn display their ad on rotational basis. The service is free to all comers, and all ads are closely monitored. Only high quality ads related to the Mac community are approved.

"Mac Advertising Network was created out of a barrage of questions from others who were seeking alternative means to advertise their Mac related service or product", cites Brown. "I myself have purchased several apps from ads found on other websites. Hopefully Mac users will join together and help spread the news about all the great websites, apps and more for the Mac community." This is an amazing opportunity for all of Mac Fans.

For more info see the full press release over at prMac. AYAAW signed up immediately. Hey, free is free and you can't buy that at any price! Hopefully you'll soon be seeing the AYAAW moniker on all your favorite Mac sites. Well maybe you won't be all that thrilled about it but we sure will be!

Snow Leopard to Get iPhone-like Text Auto-correction

AppleInsider is reporting that the latest build of Snow Leopard will incorporate auto text correction similar to what's already included on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The revelation comes thanks to the version of Apple's Text Edit that was included in the build. According to AI Text Edit's Preferences sports three new text handling options:

The first, which is already a staple of the company's iPhone interface, offers to correct spelling automatically as a user types. Another offers to automatically insert 'smart dashes' while a user types, while a third feature is simply titled 'Text replacement.'

The features could presumably be extended to all applications that will run on Snow Leopard.

Here at AYAAW we're all for better spell checking and grammar but in our opinion, In order for it to be usable, the auto-correction would have be smarter and less intrusive. Some times you just have to swear and the iPhone is a bit prudish about it. Just let us type &^%$#@ without trying to correct us all the time and it'd be okay.

Snow Leopard and Cocoa

If you're at all interested in Cocoa, Snow Leopard, 64-bit apps, Carbon and that type of goobly-gook, AppleInsider is once again running some nice articles that even the tech-jargon deprived, yours truly, can sort of understand. It's good stuff actually and well worth the read.

One thing I didn't know (ok there are a lot of things I don't know) is that the iPhone is fully Cocoaized. Actually, I'd never thought of it's OS as being Carbon, Cocoa, Vista, whatever. It just is unless it's acting up and then it's a &#$%@!

Apple to sweeten Snow Leopard with more Cocoa (AppleInsider)
Road to Mac OS X Snow Leopard: 64-bit to the Kernel (AppleInsider)

AppleInsider is one of my favorite rumor sites and they also do a bang up job explaining the more technical stuff. Now go do your homework, er... reading for the evening. There will be a quiz tomorrow.

Joseph Henry

New Leopard Tip In The Learning Center

In case you haven't visited there in a while, we'd like to let you know that AYAAW's own Joseph Henry (me), has posted a new tip on the Leopard Tips page of the Learning Center. It's a sweet little tidbit that shows you how to put a virtual aquarium on your desktop (literally): your fish will swim behind the dock, your HD icon, etc., and your starfish will slowly try to climb the glass of your iMac (Cinema display, MacBook screen, you get the picture). Oh and did I mention that you don't have to feed the fish or clean the tank? It's a great visual and your Windows friends will be green with envy.

So head on over to the Learning Center and check out this amazing tip. Pimping your desktop will help you make friends and influence people. Okay, it probably won't do that but it is pretty cool.

Aquafadas Releases BannerZest 1.2.6

Yesterday, Aquafadas announced the availability of BannerZest 1.2.6. The update includes bug fixes to the Accordion, Coverflow and Hanging themes as well as a new scrolling theme and Sliding Sticker theme. The new BannerZest used the newest swfobject (1.2.1) and adds many new options in several themes.

BannerZest comes in two versions, $129 for the Pro and $49 for the Standard, and sports English, French, Italian, Danish and Japanese language support.

BannerZest is a great product and by far the easiest way to spice up your website with flash banners. Aquafadas offers downloads of both the Pro and Standard versions so try before you buy and see what all the fuss is about.

Paul Thorrott blogs about MyAppleSpace

Idiot extraordinaire Paul Thorrott posted an entry to his "Supersite" for Windows, ripping MyAppleSpace (we posted a blog entry regarding MyAppleSpace as well back on the 9th). Thorrott's lack of brain matter has once again led to unnecessary tripe proliferation on the Worldwide Web and will continue to do so as long as he's allowed access to a computer and the internet.

In case you haven't heard of him, he is a Windows fanboy who's fanaticism knows no bounds. He takes shots at Apple and it's user base every chance he gets. We don't want to encourage upping his "Supersite" traffic by recommending you read his inane blog but if you must, here's the entry about MyAppleSpace. Bring a barf bag though. His "Supersite" is super nausiating to look at and can actually cause permanent cornea scaring as well as night terrors in small children.

Oh, and in case you wanted to comment on the entry, you can't. It appears as though he's disabled commenting.

RWT Theme Bundle on sale at MacZot

MacZot is hosting 30 RWT RapidWeaver Themes at half off for todays deal. The bundle includes some of the nicest, cleanest and fast loading themes there are. Each theme is highly customizable and the bundle also includes 100 additional header graphics, 100 buttons, several icons and some of the PhotoShop files that RWT used to create the various themes. The bundle, normally priced at an already low $44 is on sale today at MacZot for $22. If you RapidWeave you owe it to yourself to snap this bundle up. RWT is one of the top third party RapidWeaver theme developers and provides outstanding customer service.

Don't let this fantastic deal to own 30 high quality RapidWeaver themes pass you by. You have 19 hours, 8 minutes and 47 seconds left to take advantage of this deal.

Weave on!

Ars Technica's Part II of their MacBook Pro review

Ars Technica posted part II of their MacBook Pro review. Part II covers performance and takes a close look at the dual GPU feature.

If you're a power user (or just play one on TV) who depends on your notebook to have a good balance of aesthetics, horsepower, and slick features, the newest MacBook Pro will make a nice addition to your computing family.

Ars Technica is one of the best hardware review outfits out there. They know what they're talking about and if you're in the market for a new laptop, this review is mandatory reading.

Apple had a pretty good quarter

In case you haven't heard, Apple reported $7.9 billion in revenue last quarter and generated $1.14 billion in profits. That's a lot of doughnuts.

"Apple just reported one of the best quarters in its history, with a spectacular performance by the iPhone -- we sold more phones than RIM," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We don't yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple. But we're armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt."

MacRumors has the complete lowdown and breakdown of Apple's fourth quarter results.

John Gruber of Daring Fireball fame has posted an interesting piece on how the iPhone fits into all this.

The entire iPhone platform is only 15 months old. The cheapest model still costs $199. The room for growth in this market is unlike anything Apple has ever seen. So the question is: Despite continuing strong iPod sales and record-breaking Mac sales, how long until the iPhone is undeniably the primary product and platform made by Apple?

It's an interesting piece and well worth a read.

MacBook and MacBook Pro Reviews

The web is alive with glowing reviews of the new MacBooks and MacBook Pros. We've put together a little list of the various reviews so you don't have to go Googling all over the internet just to find them. Good reading!

Electronista's 13" MacBook Review
Ars Technica MacBook Pro Review Part 1
Houston Chronicle's 13" MacBook Review
iLounge's 13" MacBook Review
CNet's Hands On Review of the MacBook Pro
PC Magazine's 15" MacBook Pro Review
PC Magazine's 13" MacBook Review

Intego warns of MacGuard scam

Computer security firm Intego is warning today of MacGuard: a bogus website that claims to sell Mac security software. Once a gullible web surfer gives them credit card info Intego states,

it is likely that you will find additional charges on your credit card. ArsTechnica reports that more than 30 million people have been scammed by such software.

The bogus software claims to search your hard drive for Adware, Spyware and Trojans and then rid your system of these vile, malicious creatures. It also claims to do this in realtime so new threats will never even reach your desktop.

So, intrepid AYAAW readers, beware and be on guard for MacGaurd.

Disclaimer: We here at AYAAW don't use any type of security or virus detection software, just OS X's built in firewall. Seems to us that since there are NO KNOWN viruses and only a couple trojans (which you have to download and install) that can affect OS X there simply is no reason to buy this type of software. Prudent and wise internet surfing is advised and for the love of God don't download anything from an untrusted, unknown website. The biggest threat to OS X users are sites that use social engineering to lure people into downloading and installing malware or to divulging confidential personal information like credit card numbers. Just don't fall for either and you should be fine.

Disclaimer 2: We're not saying not to buy software to secure and protect your Mac. That would be reckless of us and we would never advise that. All we're saying here is that WE don't use this type of software and until there is a credible, non social engineering type threat, we're not going to lose any sleep over it. We practice safe surfing here as we're sure you do.

November iPhone 3G Case Round Up

We know you care about your brand-spanking new iPhone 3G and would hate to see anything happen to this beloved wonder of modern electronic gadgetry. Obviously you're going to buy a case for it, right? The problem is there are just so many to choose from. What's a new iPhone 3G owner to do? Stay tuned for AYAAW's mega iPhone 3G case roundup and review, that's what!

Hopefully, sometime in early November your favorite Apple site (AYAAW) will be running the most complete iPhone 3G case review ever. We say hopefully because we're still waiting for a few of the cases to show up. They're on their way but who knows how long it'll take them to get here. The roundup will happen in November but exactly when is still a little unsure, hence the "hopefully".

Here are the cases that we'll for sure be reviewing:

Marware: Flexi Shell with Screen Protecter
PDO: Sleek Crystal Case with Screen Protecter
Griffin: Clarifi and Nu Form
Case-mate: Clear Naked case
Speck: See Thru and Pixelskin

We're still waiting to hear back from these manufacturers:

Belkin: Clear Acrylic Case
Incase: Slider Case
More-thing: Mono Series Silicone case
Seidio: Innocase II Surface
Agent 18: Clear Shield
IvySkin: XyloT3 Clear Case
Scosche: KickBack

Hopefully we'll get review units for most, if not all of them. Have you seen or read about a case that you'd like to see reviewed? Post it in the comments to this article or fire off an email to AYAAW and we'll do our best to get the case and include it in our roundup.

TTFN

Apple revamps laptop line

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few weeks you know that Apple was planning to refresh its laptop line and today they did just that. All new MacBook 13" configurations feature new case designs (unibody aluminum "brick"), glossy glass displays, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor and a new multi-touch glass trackpad/mouse.

New MacBook Pro's come with the new unibody case design, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor. glossy displays and the new multi-touch glass trackpad/mouse. They also come with an extra graphics processor, the NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, which can be turned on by the user to increase performance.

Apple also updated the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 17", mostly just with better specs.

Apple also stated that they'll continue to sell an updated version of the white MacBook, that includes an 8X Superdrive, for $999.

New MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air specs:

The 2.0 GHz, 13-inch aluminum MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,299 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
160GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme® 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.4 GHz aluminum MacBook, for a suggested retail price of $1,599 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook include the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, a 250GB 5400 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare® Protection Plan.

The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch aluminum MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $1,999 (US), includes:

15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 video memory;
250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire® 800 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.53 GHz aluminum MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;
2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;
320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
two USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB 7200 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm or a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The 1.6 GHz MacBook Air, for a suggested retail price of $1,799 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit high resolution 1280 x 800 glossy display;
1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
120GB serial ATA hard drive running at 4200 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
one USB 2.0 port;
one headphone port;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 1.86 GHz MacBook Air, for a suggested retail price of $2,499 (US), includes:

13.3-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1280 x 800 glossy display;
1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
1066 MHz front-side bus;
2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;
128GB solid state drive;
Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
built-in iSight video camera;
one USB 2.0 port;
one headphone port;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options and accessories for the MacBook Air include the MacBook Air SuperDrive, Apple USB Ethernet Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter, Apple Remote and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The 2.5GHz 17-inch MacBook Pro, for a suggested retail price of $2,799 (US), includes:

17-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1920 x 1200 glossy display;
2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;
800 MHz front-side bus;
4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 512MB with GDDR3 video memory;
320GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;
a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;
DVI output port for video output (VGA adapter included);
built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet port;
built-in iSight video camera;
three USB 2.0 ports;
one FireWire 800 port and one FireWire 400 port;
ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;
one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;
Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and
85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the 17-inch MacBook Pro include a 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, anti-glare display, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

MyAppleSpace.com/m debuts

Well it's about time! Finally, a social network just for us Mac geeks. Introducing MyAppleSpace.com/m: "A little space for the rest of us". I've never really been into the whole social networking thing so I'm not sure what if anything I (or AYAAW) will be doing over there but what the heck. If ever there was a reason to join an online social network, a common love of the Mac and all things Apple is probably as good as any. So, if you're a Mac geek like us (me) then head on over to the first, as least as far as I know of, Apple social network.

Now if someone would just tell me what the /m thing at the end of the title is, I could sleep tonight.

Seriously.
I'd like to know.

Visit MyAppleSpace.com/m

Apple releases Security Update 2008-007

Apple today released Security Update 2008-007 :

Security Update 2008-007 is recommended for all users and improves the security of Mac OS X. Previous security updates have been incorporated into this security update.

Click for more info.

Aquafadas announces VideoPier v1.0 and VideoPierHD

From the press release:

Montpellier, France - October 9th 2008 : Aquafadas is pleased to announce the immediate availability of VideoPier and VideoPier HD v1.0. The VideoPier family of products is aimed at videographers who own MPEG-2 or AVCHD camcorders and who struggle with these video formats on their Mac.

VideoPier and VideoPier HD make it very easy to transfer clips from these camcorders to a central location on their Mac, without requiring any conversion, without any loss in quality. The clips appear grouped by Events in the VideoPier elegant user interface, ready to be viewed, organized and converted to any format. VideoPier handles equally well data that has already been copied to disk and will let you access all your clips easily. In addition, VideoPier HD lets you capture HDV material directly from tape based HDV camcorders.

VideoPier and VideoPier HD v1.0 integrates seamlessly with your other video applications and let you use workflows that are not supported by default on the Mac. One example: still using iMovie06 ? Use VideoPier to acquire data from your MPEG2 or AVCHD camcorder; then use the specifically designed iMovie06 export function to send versions of those clips to iMovie06 in a format it understands.VideoPier comes with an extensive set of export functionality, to iMovie 06/08, iPhone, Quicktime and Final Cut (VideoPier HD only).

If you work with MPEG2 and AVCHD material, VideoPier will make your life a lot easier.

Language support
English, French

Minimum requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 or later
* 1-GHz G4, G5, or Intel-based Mac
*512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)

Pricing and Availability
A single user license for VideoPier v1.0 US$49, and VideoPier HD US$79.

We haven't tried either but we are big fans of another Aquafadas app: BannerZest Pro. If VideoPier is anything like BannerZest, it's a quality app.

Mail Factory from BeLight on sale at MacZot

We here at AYAAW love BeLight software. In fact, it is our opinion that BeLight is one of the premier Mac development houses in operation today. BeLight software titles are powerful and immenently useful. Check out our Art Text 2 review for a more in-depth look at one of BeLight's best apps. Ok, enough blathering and just get to the point!

Today, MacZot is featuring BeLight's Mail Factory and it's on sale through midnight for $19.95. That's half off for an extremely cool app that makes printing envelops, labels and postcards a breeze. Not only that but with Mail Factory this mundane task is actually kind of fun. With Mail Factory you can print just one envelope or set up a list for batch printing; paste included mail related clipart onto the envelope; choose to print to any of about a bazillion different labels (Avery, DYMO, Xerox and many other label manufacturers that I've never heard of); the list goes on.

If you do any amount of mailing (for your home based business, club, etc.) you really need to download and try out the demo. Like every other BeLight title Mail Factory is a fantastic app.

As of this posting, you only have just over 7 hours to snag this deal, so what are you waiting for? Get over there and do it.

October 14th. Notebook Event

MacRummors is reporting that Engadget and Gizmodo are posting images of an October 14th. "Notebook Event". The invitation simply states "The spotlight turns to notebooks". Is this just a refresh of existing models or might Apple unveil the long rumored "Brick" Macbooks/Macbook Pro's? We're betting on both.

Hey! Why'd they get invites and not us? Er, because they're Engadget and Gizmodo and we're AYAAW, you big dummy! Oh well, someday...

Loghound's RapidWeaver Plug-ins All Updated With Sparkle

Recently, AYAAW noted that third party RapidWeaver developers were starting to integrate the Sparkle updating system into thier plug-ins. One of the top plug-n developers, Loghound, has finished upgrading all his plug-ins with Sparkle. If you use RapidWeaver with any plug-ins installed you know how huge this is. In the not too distant future the first step in troubleshooting RW, "check to see if all your plug-ins are up-to-date" will be a distant, bad memory.

We here at AYAAW use a lot of plug-ins, probably more than your average RapidWeaver user. 16 to be exact, 5 of which are made by Loghound. Add those to the 2 YourHead has Sparklefied and that's the majority of the plug-ins we use on a daily basis. Sweet!

So, AYAAW sends out a big thanks to Loghound for all his hard work. He's top-dog in our book!

Help Us Keep The Lights On!

You might have noticed the small, inconspicuous "Donate" button located down below the Google Ads on the left hand side of the page. If not, go there now. Okay, now that you're back did you donate? To help AYAAW keep the lights on and the top-notch news and reviews coming, please consider making a small (please, no donations over $250,000) donation. I doubt it would be tax deductible or anything like that but making a donation would make you feel good inside. At least it will us.

So, I'm calling on all AYAAW readers (all two of you) to pony up and make a contribution to the AYAAW cause. You'll receive nothing in return except continued news and reviews AYAAW style and perhaps a little good karma. If those things are important to you then you know what to do.

Return to your post now. Good luck and good night.

Tracy Chapman Crashed My iPhone!

You heard it here first: Tracy Chapman can crash an iPhone 3G. Okay, maybe Tracy had nothing to do with it but "Give Me One Reason" was the song that was playing on my car radio when Shazam brought my iPhone to its knees. My phone froze harder than Lake Bemidji in January and I couldn't even reboot holding the power button down. Eventually, after leaving my phone alone long enough for it to go to sleep, I was able to reboot using the power button and things were back to normal after that.

Speaking of Shazam, if you haven't tried it out yet you really should. It's a pretty amazing free iPhone app. Shazam allows you to "Tag" music you hear from your car radio, the TV, the theater, pretty much everywhere. All you do is tap the "Tag Now" button and Shazam will start listening to what ever music is playing. It records a sample (12 seconds is the default) and then sends that off to Shazam the company. Within a few seconds it returns the name of the song, album, artist, label, genre, album art, links to the song in iTunes (so you can buy) and links to any related YouTube videos. It's like magic! You can also attach a picture to the tag (Shazam calls this "Capture the Moment") and share the tag via Mail. Shazam works amazingly well and of the 20 or so songs I've tagged only 1 failed to return a result. It was an old 1950's song that I'd never hear before.

So, the next time you just absolutely have to know the title of the song you're listening to in the elevator, Shazam it. Just make sure it's not a Tracy Chapman song or your iPhone will go wonky. You've been warned.