Latest News for Apple Investors
From the daily archives:
IvySkin has launched Zappak, the latest product in its line of iPhone and iPod accessories. Zappak works as an extra external battery for mobile devices, charging an iPod or any other USB-powered electronic. The pack can also be used to extend the battery life of an iPhone or BlackBerry. Built-in LED status lights display the amount of energy left within the battery, while the USB cable is attached directly to the case….
IvySkin has launched Zappak, the latest product in its line of iPhone and iPod accessories. Zappak works as an extra external battery for mobile devices, charging an iPod or any other USB-powered electronic. The pack can also be used to extend the battery life of an iPhone or BlackBerry. Built-in LED status lights display the amount of energy left within the battery, while the USB cable is attached directly to the case….
eMedia has released a new version of its guitar-tutorial instructional software, eMedia Guitar method 5. When a microphone is attached, the software utilizes audio recognition technology to provide instant feedback while a user is playing. Notes being played during an exercise or song can be viewed within any screen with the ìearî icon in the upper right hand corner. The function highlights each note with a green indicator….
Filed under: Multimedia, Freeware, Open Source
It’s been a year in coming, but Handbrake, the multiplatform, open-source video transcoder, has been updated to version 0.9.4. It’s one of the tools I included in my list of 10 must-have apps for a new Mac.
That 10% performance improvement estimate appears to be very close to the mark, at least on my MacBook Pro. Using 0.9.3, Handbrake encodes would average around 27 – 29 frames per second when transcoding a VIDEO_TS folder to H.264. In 0.9.4, using the same settings, I’m seeing encoding rates of closer to 30 – 34 frames per second. This means that on my Mac, Handbrake is now transcoding DVDs in real time or faster thanks to the improvements in the new version.
The Handbrake team has trimmed some of the fat from this release. There are no more presets for the PSP, PS3, or Xbox 360; all three have been replaced with a “Normal” preset that should work on any device that supports Main Profile H.264. Handbrake has also removed support for transcoding to AVI, OGG, and XviD. Personally I won’t miss any of these, as I always transcoded to H.264, but for people who are still clinging to AVI (for whatever reason), this update will force them to abandon the format.
Another new feature that looks like it’ll be incredibly useful is Live Preview, which allows you to encode a small portion of the video source using current settings and then see what it looks like. This will keep you from having to encode the entire video only to find out two hours later that one of your settings was off, forcing you to start all over again.
Handbrake 0.9.4 is a free download, available here.
TUAWHandbrake 0.9.4 released, includes 64-bit support originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iPresentee has launched an update to its Keynote Animations package for Apple’s Keynote presentations software. Version 3.0 provides a total of 115 animations, including 35 new animations and 85 carry-overs from the last release. The animations support customization of size, rotation or opacity, while allowing users to add multiple layers. Each animation’s background is transparent for use on any colored Keynote background….
Maxprog has introduced MaxBulk Mailer 7, the latest version of its mail-merging and bulk mailer tool. The app includes document and contact management features, with support for a variety of different text formats and multiple lists. The new version offers additional protection against crashes during mail deliveries, allowing users to continue sending a message after the crash has been resolved, as well as added support for wider range of languages such as Swedish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch….
Pete Najarian said on CNBC's Fast Money that he is thankful for Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) as this stock surged from $80. Pete Najarian doesn't think that you …
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Apple on Tuesday released maintenance updates for iPhoto and Final Cut Server. iPhoto 8.1.1 addresses several issues involving poor performance and accuracy of the facial recognition feature. Users that imported photos of people with iPhoto 8.1 should choose the Detect Missing Faces option to correctly match the faces. The update also fixes a bug with book ordering, along with iPod touch support….
Filed under: iLife, Software, Software Update
If you’re running iLife ‘09, fire up Software Update, because Apple has a bug fix update out for you. iPhoto 8.1.1 “addresses issues affecting face recognition performance and accuracy. It also fixes minor issues in the areas of book ordering, and iPod touch support.”
There’s an extra step for getting Faces recognition working properly if you imported pictures in iPhoto 8.1, which Apple details on the support page for the update:
Important: If you imported photos of people while using iPhoto 8.1, there’s an extra step you should take after installing the 8.1.1 update. Select all those photos, Control-click to open the contextual menu, and then choose Detect Missing Faces. This will redetect the faces in those photos and correct any face recognition issues introduced in iPhoto 8.1. You should not quit iPhoto during the Detect Missing Faces process.
iPhoto Update 8.1.1 is a 12.5 MB update available now in Software Update.
TUAWSoftware Update: iPhoto 8.1.1 released originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
To celebrate Thanksgiving, Agile Web Solutions is giving thanks to its customers this week in the form of a free iPhone app. Previously $7.99, 1Password Pro touch [iTunes link] is completely free until December 1st.
Whether or not you use the excellent Mac edition of this app, which was recently updated to version 3.0, 1Password touch is a great addition to your iPod touch or iPhone. Essentially a password manager, this app stores login usernames and passwords, wallet information like credit card numbers, software license keys, and secured notes behind one or two levels of protection (depending on how sensitive you deem the data). With cut and paste functionality, as well as a built-in web browser, it’s a great way to simplify logging into password-protected sites or even making online purchases. Of course, to get the most out of the mobile version, a copy running on your Mac is a must. With it, you’ll be able to sync your information between the devices.
The standard app is great and all, but since both versions are free for the time being, you might as well grab the Pro. Extra features include folders for better organization, the ability to copy multiple fields to paste elsewhere, and a unique switching mode to quickly copy and past info into Mobile Safari. In addition, there are some Pro-only features on the way including MobileMe and WebDAV syncing (I can’t wait for that!), and Favorites.
If you already have the regular touch edition, make sure to back up your data before removing the old app and upgrading to the Pro version. Those with the Mac application can rely on Wi-Fi syncing to ensure the latest info is on the computer, however Agile has instructions on its site for those without. Once you’ve removed the standard 1Password touch and installed Pro, you can restore the data.
TUAWGobble up this deal on 1Password Pro touch originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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