Your iPod as a security key

PodSmith 1.0 turns your iPod into a security key for your Mac, making it possible to lock the screen, specified folders, or specified applications until you plug in your iPod. It can also synchronize Safari bookmarks, Address Book entries, and iCal calendars automatically. PodSmith is US $20 for Mac OS X 10.3 or later.
http://www.makienterprise.com/podsmith/index.html

Apple II emulator for Mac OS X

Virtual ][ 4.0 is an Apple II emulator for Mac OS X. It offers emulation of the Apple II, II+, and IIe, support for USB gamepads and joysticks, save state and resume, Epson FX-80 emulation, support for all graphics modes, emulation of peripherals (including floppy disk, cassette tape, hard disk, and more), Z80 emulation for running CP/M, insertion and removal of emulated peripheral cards, and much more. This release adds Mockingboard emulation. Virtual ][ is US $49 for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4. http://www.xs4all.nl/~gp/VirtualII/

Batch file renaming utility

FileWrangler 1.2 is a batch file renaming utility with user-definable folder recursion, use of a file's "enclosing folder" as part of the file name, natural language date input, and more. This release adds definable configuration sets, RTFD document support, preferences, and other changes. FileWrangler is free (donations accepted) for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. http://homepage.mac.com/christopherdrum

GUI access to MySQL databases

YourSQL 1.8e is an open source application that provides graphical, Mac-like access to working with MySQL databases and makes it possible to create and modify MySQL databases without using command-line tools. Recent changes include an updated JDBC driver, tooltips for toolbar items, CSV export, an option to include column names when exporting to CSV or Excel, improvements for Tiger, optional export of tables as Excel workbooks, preview before final import, and more. YourSQL is free for Mac OS X 10.3 and up. http://yoursql.ludit.it/

Share and synchronize Mac OS X Address Books

seeCard Rendezvous 2.1 uses Rendezvous to share and synchronize Mac OS X Address Books. It allows sharing your Address Book, viewing other shared Address Books, synchronizing your local Address Book with a remote one, browsing and saving shared data, and more. This release adds support for Tiger and the ability to use static links as well as Rendezvous/Bonjour. seeCard Rendezvous is 19.95 Euro for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4. http://www.turingart.com/seeCard.htm

Publish and sycnchronize address books live between your Macs

Menu for running system tasks

MainMenu 1.4 provides a menu bar menu for running system tasks, including repairing disk permissions, running maintenance scripts, updating prebinding, cleaning caches, flushing the lookupd cache, rebuild Spotlight indexes, verification and removal of .plist preference files, and more. This release adds the ability to enable/disable Dashboard, a fix for a bug that kept the Spotlight index from being rebuilt, the ability to selectively eject disks, and other changes. MainMenu is free for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. http://mainmenu.xmgfree.com/index.html

Back-up your iTunes 4 Music Library file

iTunes Library Manager 4.2 allows you to make a back-up copy of your iTunes 4 Music Library file and save multiple copies of various library/playlist configurations which the applet can retrieve at any time. It saves separate preferences so that each library can have its own settings (including Music folder location). This release adds support for iTunes 4.9. iTunes Library Manager is US $5 for Mac OX X 10.2 through 10.4 with iTunes 4.0 or later.
http://www.malcolmadams.com/itunes/itinfo/ituneslibrarymanager.shtml

Capture any audio playing on a Mac

Ambrosia Software's WireTap Pro 1.1.1 can capture any audio playing on a Mac, regardless of source, and save it to disk. It can save recordings directly to iTunes or an iPod, includes presets for different types of recording, integrates with iCal for scheduled recordings, and can record microphone and Mac audio simultaneously. This release adds the ability to buffer over 4 GB of audio, reduced CPU use during recording, indication of overdriving on meters, and a number of bug fixes. WireTap Pro is US $19 for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4.
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/

Audio Hijack Update

Audio Hijack Pro 2.5, adding an AAC quality selector, more variables when setting ID3 tags and file names, a "Stop Recording After" option to the Silence Monitor, full AppleScriptability, support for radios like Griffin's RadioSHARK, a plug-in that accepts input from multiple applications, the capability to record all audio emanating from your Mac at the same time, a check to make sure scheduled recordings don't overlap, and more. It's a significant update, and is free to registered users. But if you don't already own a copy of Audio Hijack Pro and want to record Internet radio programs, rip your old vinyl albums, or just about anything else related to recording audio, it's worth a look.
http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

Virtual PC 7.0.2 Gains Full Tiger Compatibility

Microsoft has released Virtual PC 7.0.2, a free minor update that provides full compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. In particular, the update fixes problems under Tiger with Virtual Switch, Zero Configuration Printing, and the Dock Start Menu. The update is a 17 MB download and will update versions 7.0 and 7.0.1. Microsoft also announced that new copies of Virtual PC 7 purchased before 30-Sep-05 would be eligible for a US $30 rebate.
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/misc/vpc7_0_2.xml

QuicKeys X3 3.1 Supports Automator, Adds Toolbars

Startly Technologies has released QuicKeys X3 version 3.1, adding support for incorporating Automator workflows into QuicKeys shortcuts and bringing back SoftKeys, which provides a translucent toolbar with 10 slots for holding shortcuts. Smaller improvements include a new option for the Open Items action that lets you specify on the fly which application to use, the Action Palette for providing faster access to shortcuts within QuicKeys Editor, and the capability to trigger shortcuts based on the mounting or dismounting of specific drives or network volumes. QuicKeys X3 3.1 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later and is a 14.1 MB download. It's a free update for users of QuicKeys X3; updates from previous versions run between US $30 and US $70, and new copies cost US $100. http://www.quickeys.com/products/qkx.html

Convert email

Emailchemy 1.6 converts email from most popular email applications to standard, portable formats, including RFC-822 mailboxes, comma-separated value files, and Apple's Mail.app format. This release adds an mbox conversion wizard, a maildir/maildir++ conversion wizard, support for AOL Windows PFC files, a traveling license for technicians, and other changes. Emailchemy is priced starting a US $25 for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4, Unix/Linux, Solaris, and Windows. http://www.weirdkid.com/products/emailchemy/index.html

Apple releases iSync 2.1

Apple has posted iSync 2.1 for Mac OS X 10.4.x (Tiger), which synchronizes compatible applications, including Address Book and iCal calendar, and iSync compatible mobile phones or Palm OS devices.
The new release supports compatibility for more devices such as the latest Motorola, Nokia, Panasonic and Sony Ericsson phones. For a complete list of supported devices check: http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html
iSync 2.1 is available either through Software Update, or as a 3 MB standalone download. http://wsidecar.apple.com/cgi-bin/nph-reg3rdpty1.pl/product=07203&platform=osx&method=sa/iSync21.dmg

Folder synchronization utility

QuickSync 1.1 is a folder synchronization utility that can work with any device that mounts on the desktop. It includes automatic sync options, bidirectional or unidirectional sync, session saves, reports of copied and synced files, and support for FTP, SMB (Samba), and Appletalk shared folders/drives. This release adds task scheduling, which makes it possible to automatically synchronize folders at a specified time. QuickSync is US $20 for Mac OS X including Tiger. http://www.fornextsoft.com/index.php?page=quick

Add auto-save

SaveMe 1.2 adds auto-save to "virtually every Mac OS X program." It saves files at specified intervals from once every 30 seconds to once a day and can save all documents open in an application. This release adds optional alerts before saving, improved documentation, and fixes for some compatibility bugs. SaveMe is US $20 for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and 10.4. http://www.goldfishsoft.com/saveme.html

Apple Updates iPhoto

iPhoto 5.0.3 addresses issues with Tiger compatibility, Book and Print ordering, and Smart Albums. According to Apple:
• On Tiger, images are no longer color-shifted after editing (Mac OS X 10.4.2 update required)
• Book layouts will not change when moving an image on a page
• An issue was addressed that caused some book orders to be cancelled
• Smart Albums will display correctly in other iLife applications.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/iphoto503update.html
iPhoto 5.0.4 addresses an issue with browsing photos that have been auto-rotated by a camera (32.9MB).
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/iphoto504update.html

Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

O'Reilly & Associates announced the release of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition by David Pogue. Designed to help beginning to intermediate Mac users as well as Windows switchers, the Tiger Edition covers all the changes in Mac OS X 10.4, including Spotlight, Automator, Dashboard, and other features. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition is US $29.95 [US $19.77 from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596009410/ma cintoucwebsite].

Web authoring application

RapidWeaver 3.1.2 is a web authoring application that offers standard page styles and pre-designed site themes, creation of navigation bars and buttons from menus, .Mac and FTP publishing, RSS support, iPhoto integration, drag-and-drop page rearrangement, and other features. This release adds podcast publishing support, a page asset manager, smart updates, preview in place, faster photo album previewing, improved styling controls, and other changes. RapidWeaver is US $34.95 for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. http://www.realmacsoftware.com/rapidweaver/index.php

Synchronize Entourage contacts, calendar, and tasks

e2Sync Tiger 2.0 is an iSync conduit for synchronizing Entourage contacts, calendar, and tasks data with any iSync-compatible device. It also synchronizes with iCal, Address Book, and .Mac and can keep two copies of Entourage in sync with each other. This release is for Tiger only and adds the ability to choose contacts individually and to sync contacts, events, and to-dos by category. e2Sync Tiger is US $39 for Mac OS X 10.4. http://e2sync.com/

Auction creator and manager for eBay sellers

iSale 2.0 is an auction creator and manager for eBay sellers. It offers offline preparation, management of multiple auctions, iPhoto and iSight integration, .Mac integration, Smart Groups, and other features. This release adds direct posting of auctions to eBay Stores, support for image hosting on FTP servers, an improved Category Browser with a Favorites tab, eBay-style preview, better navigation, an enhanced Dashboard widget, and other changes. iSale is US $39.95 for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. http://www.equinux.com/us/products/isale/

Resize, delete, and create partitions on hard drives without destroying the data

SubRosaSoft's VolumeWorks 1.3.3 can resize, delete, and create partitions on hard drives without destroying the data on the drive, with support for ATA, SCSI, Firewire, and USB drives. This release adds a revised interface and keyboard navigation and now comes on a bootable Tiger CD. VolumeWorks is US $49.95 download (US $59.95 for CD) for Mac OS X 10.2.8 through 10.4. http://www.SubRosaSoft.com/Mac_Software/OS_X/Drive_Repartition/VolumeWorks

Replace the desktop with a screen saver

xBack 3.5 replaces the desktop with a screen saver that runs behind desktop icons. It can play all Apple screen savers and creates an xBack menu for configuration and operation. This release adds support for Quartz Composer and adds a preference for running at a lower priority. xBack 3.5 is US $10 for Mac OS X 10.4 with Quartz Extreme. (Version 3.4.4 is available for Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3/) http://www.gideonsoftworks.com/xback.html

xBack running Flurry showing the saver browser and the xBack menu

Apple's Sales up

Industry analysts examining Apple's Wednesday earnings statement concurred that the most interesting information revealed was the strong growth of Macintosh computer sales. As discussed in Apple Computer Inc.'s fiscal third quarter conference call, sales of Macintosh computers have risen 35 percent over the year-ago quarter, which gave the Apple products triple the sales rate of other computer vendors.

According to the International Herald Tribune "Apple Computer moved up a notch to become the No.4 seller of personal computers in the United States in the second quarter as Macintosh sales soared by one-third, according to two reports. Lenovo, the Chinese company that owns the IBM personal computer brand, lost share. Apple won 4.5 percent of the market to trail Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Gateway, the market research company IDC said." IDC's rival Gartner put Apple's share at 4.3 percent.

Predictive-search extension for Safari

David Watanabe's Inquisitor 1.0 is a predictive-search extension for Safari. It augments the Safari web search field with a live predictive search that includes auto-completion of keywords and query suggestions based on your personal search history and common queries involving the keyword. Inquisitor is free (donations requested) for Mac OS X 10.4. http://www.inquisitorx.com/

The Macintosh iLife Book

Jim Heid's The Macintosh iLife '05: An Interactive Guide to iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, and GarageBand covers Apple's iLife suite along with the iPod and .Mac, provides advice on integrating these digital hub tools, and includes a DVD with two hours of instruction. Both the book and the DVD have been updated to cover all the new versions, including GarageBand 2.0. The Macintosh iLife '05 is US $34.99 [US $23.99 Amazon http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321335376/macintoucwebsite/ref=nosim].

Easily schedule maintenance in Tiger

Jim Mitchell's Yasu 1.3.2 is a Mac OS X utility that provides a graphic interface for common maintenance tasks, including repairing permissions, updating prebinding, clearing caches, and running daily, weekly, and monthly cron jobs. It also includes log clearing for system and application logs, reset of trusted applications, and other tasks. This release has been developed for Tiger only and includes extra Tiger-specific System Cache cleaning routines, plus a fix for a bug that prevented Safari cookies from being properly removed. Yasu is free (donations requested) for Mac OS X 10.4. (Version 1.0.3 is available for Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3. ) http://www.jimmitchelldesigns.com/yasu.html

Quiz Maker

QuizMaker Pro 5.6 can create, archive, administer, grade, and analyze multiple choice, matching and short answer quizzes. This release adds the ability to speak questions and answers while taking a test, a test-by-test option to prohibit seeing scores when finished, help available during tests, and other changes. QuizMaker Pro is US $18 for Mac OS X, Classic Mac OS, and Windows. http://www.classonesoftware.com/

Store serial numbers, registration details etc

The Serial Keeper 3.3 and information about those numbers, including the name used to, purchase date, email address used, order number, and more. This release adds import/export of entries via XML, hiding of unused entries, a drop-down Info Sheet, opening or deletion of multiple entries at once, and other changes. The Serial Keeper is US $10 for Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS. http://www.byrdsoft.com/products/tsk/

Synchronize iCal calendars without .Mac

iSynCal 5.1 synchronizes iCal calendars between different Macs without the need for a .Mac account or external WebDav or FTP server to publish the calendars. It offers both two-way and one-way synchronization as well as a plain calendar file copy, iPod synchronization, and scheduled synchronizations. This release adds improved Tiger compatibility and optimizations, color synchronization for iCal Tiger, colored labels to show which items are affected by a sync, and other changes. iSynCal is US $25 for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4 with iCal 1.5 and up. http://ww2.unime.it/flr/isyncal/en/index.html

Search patent applications

Patent Grabber 3.6.1 automates the process of downloading U.S. patents and published applications, European patents and published applications, and PCT published applications for free from public patent archives. This release adds the ability to search patent applications and the ability to retrieve a list of international patents and applications that are related to a U.S. patent or application found in a search. Patent Grabber is US $20 for Mac OS X (including Tiger), Classic Mac OS, and Windows. http://www.blazingdawn.com/household.html

Multiple to-do lists

ToDo X 1.9 offers management of multiple to-do lists, items that can appear in more than one list, import of to-do items from iCal and other applications, unlimited notes attached to an item, and more. This release adds a Make New ToDo service, access to to-do lists through a status item in the menu bar, contextual menus for to-do items, and other changes. ToDo X is US $15 for Mac OS X 10.1 through 10.4. http://www.nomicro.com/Products/ToDo/

Synchronize tracks and playlists from any iPod to any Mac

iPod.iTunes 2.8.8 can synchronize tracks and playlists from any iPod to any Mac, can clone an iPod, and can transfer a music library from one Mac to another via the iPod. This release adds podcast synchronization, track synchronization, playlist synchronization for iTunes 3 and 4, compatibility with the latest iPod firmware, compatibility with PC-formatted iPods, a feature to fix broken ID3 tags on the iPod, and other changes. iPod.iTunes is 29.90 Euro for Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.4. http://www.crispsofties.com/i.i/index.html

New page layout application

BeLight Software released Swift Publisher 1.0, a page layout application for flyers, newsletters, brochures, and similar documents. It includes templates for different types of documents, text flow (column to column or page jumps), layout guides, foreground and background layers, iPhoto integration, transparency control, live text wrapping, on-the-fly page rotation, smart shapes with behavior control, transparency control, 23,000 images, over 100 masks, and other features. Swift Publisher is US $39.95 (US $34.95 download) for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4. http://www.belightsoft.com/swiftpublisher/

Updated iBook and Mini

Apple has updated its iBook and Mini configurations, making 512 MBytes of memory standard across the board, along with Tiger and iLife '05. AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth are standard for all but the entry-level Mini.

The iBook line has been streamlined to a 12" model running at 1.33 GHz and a 14" model running at 1.42 GHz, priced at A $ 1,599.00 and A $ 2,049.00 respectively. Sudden Motion Sensing and the scrolling trackpad (built into PowerBooks) have been added to the new laptops. The Mini now comes in three configurations, priced at A $ 799.00, A $ 949.00 and A $ 1,099.00, with a SuperDrive for the top model. AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth, an 80GB drive and 1.42-GHz processors come with the middle and top models, but a modem is optional for those models. The entry level model remains at 1.25 GHz but gets the memory upgrade and still includes a modem. FireWire remains at the slower 400 Mbps level. Unfortunately, the Mini's 32Mb Radeon 9200 display card did not get an update. Unlike all the current desktop "SuperDrived" Mac systems, the iBook and Mac Mini SuperDrives are apparently single-layer ones.

Drawing application similar to Claris Draw and MacDraw

EazyDraw 1.8 is a vector-based drawing application for technical drawings, illustrations, icons, logos, and similar graphics, with support for Claris Draw, MacDraw, and MacDraw II formats including conservation of all vector information. This release adds Tiger optimization, over 50 new customizable toolbar tools, Keynote export, expanded capability for scaled drawings, improved EPS export with LaTex and PSFRAG support, integrated gZip file compression, improved ICO support, and other changes. EazyDraw is US $115 (US $95 download) for Mac OS X 10.2 and through 10.4. For only US $20 you can get a 9 month license for a full capability version of EazyDraw. http://www.eazydraw.com/

Collect daily news and weather to listen to on your iPod

MaxPod 1.1 is an iPod utility that can collect daily news and weather to listen to, synchronize files between an iPod and a local drive, back up and rename music, and add, modify, and back up notes, maps, and lyrics on an iPod. It includes an auto mode for news weather, email, and file sync. This version has been redesigned and adds podcast downloading within the program, creation of podcast RSS files, and other changes. MaxPod is US $16.50 for Mac OS X or Windows. http://www.lajdesignsw.com/MaxPod.html