Category: Software

Donut Games has updated their Rat On A Skateboard app for the iPhone.  Version 1.10 is now available from Apple’s App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/app/rat-on-a-skateboard/id404095058?mt=8 For a limited time, Rat on a Skateboard is also available for Free from the Donut Games website.  For other Donut games for the iPhone, check out the Donut Games website at http://www.donutgames.com

Skyworks Interactive, Inc. has released an update for their 3 Point Hoops Basketball App for the iPhone.  Version 3.3 was released today to address a host of bugs in the App.  For information about the update and other Skyworks Apps,  check out the Skyworks website at http://www.skyworks.com/iphone/ The 3 Point Hoops Basketball application is available for .99 cents from the following page: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/3-point-hoops-basketball-the/id306597349?mt=8

Nuance Communications, Inc. , maker of dictation software products has updated their Dragon Dictation package for the iPhone and iPad.  Version 2.08 addresses some of the localization issues with the program. You can download the iPad / iPhone App for free from http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8 or check their website at http://www.nuancemobilelife.com/ for more information about their mobile applications.

There are a good portion of our readers who know what I’m talking about. At the same time there are more than a few who don’t. I’ll explain what I mean in the title… Modern Intel Macs can be used to run PC software. When I say PC, I do not necessarily refer only to Microsoft and Windows. In this case Ubuntu is an example of a non-Microsoft operating system. Typically this is done in three ways. The first is…

The iPhone / iPad version of the ActiveGS Application version 1.22 is now available in the Apple App Store.    Changes in Version 1.22 include: + 60FPS support for iPad & iPhone4 + CRT Emulation + B&W & Green Monitor The application is freely downloadable from the App Store.  Users can also add their own disk images to the emulator. To get the application go to the App Store at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/activegs-best-of-fta/id405115025?mt=8  

The FreeToolsAssociation has updated the ActiveGS plugin to 3.4.459.  The ActiveGS Plugin, used in a number of websites around the globe, is the centerpiece  of the Virtual Apple ][ website.  (http://www.virtualapple.org) This version of the plugin has the following changes / updates: + version upgraded to v3.4.x! + New SystemParam propery to set parameters that are only read when the emulator is launched/rebooted + Improved .ActiveGSXML error checking For more information about the plugin, check out the ActiveGS Website at:…

The new version of NeoOffice is out. The current version is 3.2. According to their web page at http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php there are updates to font support and support for Lion (OS X 10.7) when it comes out. Their download page insists on a donation to the cause. Considering the quality of this product and the cost of a fully commercial product, for most people a donation would be justified. Those who can not afford a donation can still download and use…

By now folks realise I’m into free stuff. I was looking around some of the social networking sites I frequent when I found this little gem. It’s a live CD with old DOS games for the PC. So why am I writing about it here? Simple answer… It works better on Intel Macs than it does on PCs. Well, at least it does on the machines I use. 😉 The CD contains a whopping 40MB of games. Back in the…

I can hear “Mac purists” complaining about “polluting their computer with foreign software”. Sorry to dissapoint, but no computer, Mac or otherwise, is the be-all and end-all of computers. There are some things which work better on other platforms and conversely there are some things which work better on a Mac. The objective here is to add to the basic functionality of an excellent machine and make it better. As the title suggest Macports is a way to add the…

Apple, Inc. has released an update for iOS.  (http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1358) Version 4.3.1 is intended to fix a number of anomalies in iOS 4.3 including: Fixes an occasional graphics glitch on iPod touch (4th generation) Resolves bugs related to activating and connecting to some cellular networks Fixes image flicker when using Apple Digital AV Adapter with some TVs Resolves an issue authenticating with some enterprise web services The update was not totally unexpected since many users were reporting issues with the iOS…

Actually it’s been out a couple of days now. At first blush (for maybe a couple of minutes), it looks pretty good. According to the various press releases it is faster than the previous version. Without actually timing anything my opinion is that statement appears to be true. As an aside, I’ve been seeing articles around the web suggesting it may be an IE killer on the Windows platform. Installing it on a Mac requires some steps. Connect to http://www.mozilla.com…

This morning while performing my daily internet news gathering I came across an update to an interesting program. Minitube is a You Tube downloader/player. One of the major points the author makes is it doesn’t use the Flash player. In my opinion this makes it fairly fast. This program is available in four forms, Mac, Windows, Linux (32bit binary), and source code. The Mac and Windows versions have demos. I would guess the Linux and source code versions are the…

The annual Pwn2Own competition has had it’s first day results come in. The idea behind the competition is to present some “hackers” with a series of web browsers on various machines. These machines are configured by various software manufacturers. The first hacker to generate a remote exploit on a particular machine gets to keep the machine plus $15,000. Although armed with 62 last minute patches, Safari was the first to go down. It took only five seconds. Next to go…

The Mozilla Organization has released the first Release Candidate fo their new Firefox 4 Internet Browser.  The new browser has come about after a number of delays in the program which initially had the release of the completed browser in February.  However, the program itself is feature rich, with a cleaner and easier to use interface. The new Release candidate should lead the way to a release within a short time frame, however, Mozilla has offered no details on the…

A new way of writing Applesoft Basic programs has been created by Andres Lozano, known in the Apple ][ world as Loz.  Virtual Basic is a complete BASIC with all of the same operators and commands as Applesoft, except that it is written in a style much like other high level languages of the modern era. The entire system for Virtual Basic is a series of python scripts.   If you are writing Virtual Basic programs, they can written using…

Wade Clarke has released an update for his Leadlight Adventure. The game itself is quite the adventure.  Your are playing a girl Belinda who’s world is slowly falling apart.  According to the Leadlight website, “15-year-old Belinda Nettle is studying at Linville Girls High School in Australia’s Blue Mountains. After falling asleep in the library one afternoon, she wakes from her mundane existence into a nightmare. Her classmates are transformed, nameless terrors seek her out across the schoolgrounds, and traps and…

Rovi Corporation announced the release of their latest version of the Roxio Toast DVD burning software.   Version 11.0 which is now available on the Roxio website, with the pro version 11.0 including such new features as: Adobe® PhotoShop® Elements 9 – the latest, full-featured version of the #1 selling consumer photo-editing software for the Mac. The application delivers powerful options that make it easy to create extraordinary photos, quickly share your memories in online albums and unique print creations, and…

The FAA has approved the iPad as a replacement for paper maps in the cockpits of commercial aircraft.  Traditionally, airline pilots have carried reams of the maps of the airports they were flying into and out of, in a specialized flight suitcase.  Now they will really only need their iPad complete with the appropriate maps application such as the one from Jeppesen. According to an article in Bloomberg (http://bloom.bg/fFwLkH), Delta Airlines is one of the major players in the push…

Apple announced their new Garageband App for the iPad.  Complete with Touch instruments, recording studio and and Smart Instruments, the app not only makes the iPad a complete musical instrument but also gives musicians the ability to work on their tracks while they are on the go. The program features Drums, Drum machines, Synthesizers, and Keyboards as well as Guitars and other modern musical instruments.  The multi-touch ability allows the iPad to be played as if playing the original instrument,…

This morning I was dismayed to find that the Opera web browser download was causing a warning when downloading the browser from the Apple website (http://www.apple.com).  Restricted — Ages 17+.  I didn’t want to believe it but it’s true folks and quite frankly it seemed totally inappropriate. Visiting the Apple App Store even as I write this shows the warning is still there. The warning made me wonder at first they decided this particular application needs to be restricted? Pornographic…