Mac

RIM set to release Mac-syncing software

The long-awaited BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac is finally at hand, Research In Motion announced Wednesday.

The new desktop software, designed specifically for Mac users, will be available as a free download on RIM's Mac page, starting at 10 a.m. PDT Friday.

BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac allows people to sync data with Mac apps for contacts, appointments, tasks, and notes. The software also allows people to schedule back-ups, encrypt files, and perhaps most importantly, install software updates for their BlackBerry devices.

Apart from the business side of things, RIM said the software features BlackBerry Media Sync, allowing … Read more

HP's upscale Envy 13 reviewed

Even a cursory glance will tell you the HP Envy 13 is a very nicely made premium 13-inch laptop. It's a solid slab of aluminum and magnesium, etched with interesting visual details, and filled with capable components, such as a dual-core low-voltage Intel CPU and discrete ATI graphics.

It's also clearly a shot across the bow of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, even if Hewlett-Packard leaves that challenge unstated. The edge-to-edge glass over the display and oversize multitouch touch pad all add to a Mac-like look and feel. Unfortunately, the Envy 13 is priced more comparably with ultrathin systems … Read more

Social aggregator

Nomee, a dark-themed Adobe AIR app, reenvisions the way you follow social feeds, placing the emphasis on the person or news topic you follow, not just the social network you're on. A card contains several sites or services that are related to the person, like a Twitter stream, Web site, or blog post. Nomee includes cards on celebrities that Nomee staff or other users have created. An integrated newsfeed lets you read all the updates from your cards at once. The draw here is that Nomee lets you control what others see of you if you share only limited … Read more

For Twitter fanatics

Arranged with a side bar and multicolumn view, Seesmic Desktop is ideal for Twitter and Facebook fanatics with multiple accounts. The cross-platform Adobe AIR app collects all status messages from all your accounts in one feed. You have the option of making that status feed the only column, or can keep it as one of three default columns on the Seesmic Desktop interface. Direct replies and messages are the other two options. The app's search box and a text field from which you post your updates give it the feel of a truncated browser.

Seesmic Desktop competently handles the … Read more

Snow Leopard: Enabling the root user

By default, the root user is not enabled in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Enabling it takes a simple procedure by way of the Directory Utility application or via Terminal. In Mac OS X 10.5, Directory Utility was located in the Applications > Utilities folder. In Snow Leopard, this is no longer the case. You can now find Directory Utility in System > Library > CoreServices.… Read more

Filemaker releases Bento 3 for Mac

Filemaker has released the latest update to its consumer database management software, Bento. This latest update, now version 3, includes support for iPhoto data. You can now link your photos to contacts, projects, events, or other data stored in Bento. Improvements to the user interface show a much more visual approach, including a new Grid View of libraries and inclusion of image thumbnails in File Lists and the related data field.… Read more

iWork '09 Update 3 released

Apple has released an update to their productivity suite of applications today. iWork '09 Update 3 is recommended for all users with qualifying systems.… Read more

Mac OS 10.4 and 10.5: Exported CMYK images from Preview may appear inverted

Images with a CMYK color profile may be displaying colors as inverted after they are exported from Apple's Preview application and opened in third-party programs. According to a recently published Apple knowledge base article, CMYK JPEG colors can be distorted depending on the program opening the file.… Read more

Rumor alert: New MacBooks only weeks away

While we've been hearing about a possible fall update to the iMac line, including Blu-ray options, for a couple of weeks now, the online rumor mill has now consigned itself to expecting new MacBook laptops as well. And not just any laptops, but the mythical, long-awaited, low-cost MacBooks that true believers hope will usher in a new age of Apple-based computing for those who find laptops over $1,000 to be out of reach.

AppleInsider says: "The new models, which appear as if they could make their debut alongside a family of more versatile iMacs in the coming … Read more