Virtual II Emulator Updated to Version 7.1

Gerard Puter, the developer of the Virtual ][ Emulator has released an update to the emulator.  Virtual ][ Version 7.1 is primarily a bug fix release witht he following items changed: Fixed an issue that could cause Apple II screen pixels to be randomly shown or hidden. Improved implementation of the “mounted OS X folder” feature to fix an incompatibility with EDASM. Some of the Applescript demos didn’t work in version 7.0; this has been fixed. Virtual ][ is a…

Evernote Hack Exposes 50 Million User Passwords

A security breach with Evernote’s servers has exposed more than 50 million users passwords, causing the Evernote Corporation to issue a complete password reset.  The announcement by the Evernote Corporation states that there was no data exposure but to be safe, the company is forcing all users of the popular note taking service to reset their passwords. The full announcement is at: http://evernote.com/corp/news/password_reset.php

The Northern Spy — In Trade

Apple’s stock continues to behave strangely, but with more explanation in recent weeks. Seems a couple of large hedge funds sold billions in Apple shares over a short period, driving the price down. More recently, another fund manager speculated on a stock split, which caused a short rally in the shares. Yet another wants to extract cash from Apple’s hoard into his own pocket. All these moves are both short-sighted and self-serving. Indeed, it seems to the Spy that any…

MacMate Now Includes Filesharing for Large Files

New York, New York – MacMate, the Mac cloud storage and hosting service, which launched to replace Apple’s MobileMe service in 2012, has added its sixth key feature into the growing MacMate cloud service: FileSharing, the ability to easily send any file, any size, to anyone. With a few clicks, users can drag or select a file to share, add a message and send securely. With a few clicks, users can drag or select a file to share, add a…

Maintain releases Cocktail 5.4.1 (Lion Edition)

Ekero, Sweden – Maintain has announced the release and immediate availability of Cocktail 5.4.1 (Lion Edition), the latest maintenance update of Cocktail for users running OS X Lion 10.7. Cocktail is a general purpose utility for OS X that lets you clean, repair and optimize your Mac. The application serves up a perfect mix of maintenance tools and tweaks, all accessible through a clean and easy to use interface. Cocktail’s features are arranged into five categories that helps you manage…

Peppermint 3 (Linux)

For those interested in running Linux directly or through a virtual machine, this distribution is worth a look. In my case I first tried it on a virtual machine then later on a few bare metal installations. For years I have been saying operating systems (all of them) have become bloated with useless software. The people who created this distribution have proved my point. When running a virtual machine a significant hit in performance is expected. In this case the…

Open Apple podcast talks with Jimmy Maher

This month on Open Apple, the Apple II community’s only co-hosted podcast, Mike and Ken chat with Jimmy Maher, the historian behind the renowned blog The Digital Antiquarian. A published author, Jimmy provides us with his perspective on the pros and cons of going with a publishing house over the recent trend in retrocomputing toward self-publishing. We gripe about the Steve Jobs film sacrificing historical accuracy for mass appeal and recommend some alternative movies that get it right. We’re still loving…

Apple trademarks its Stores to deter copycats

Sam Shead from ZDNet writes that the USPTO has granted Apple a trademark to its stores in order to cut down on copycats. Mr. Shead states, The approval was granted more than two years after the company first filed the application to trademark its stores in May 2010. Apple has requested that no store be allowed to replicate various features, including “a clear glass storefront surrounded by a panelled facade” or an “oblong table with stools… set below video screens flush mounted…

Apple Introduces 128gb 4th Generation iPad

Apple has introduced a 128gb version of the 4th generation iPad with Retina Display.  The new iPad will be available to users on 5 February 2013 but is available for order immediately.   The standard WI-FI model will start at $799 USD with the cellular enabled model costing $929 USD. The Press Release from Apple this morning follows: CUPERTINO, California―January 29, 2013―Apple® today announced a 128GB* version of the fourth generation iPad® with Retina® display. The 128GB iPad with Wi-Fi and…

MyFace for Facebook – A New Facebook Client for iPhones and Macs

United Kingdom – 360 Studios is pleased to announce MyFace for Facebook for Apple iOS and Mac OS X, a new social networking app that provides a great, reliable alternative to the standard Facebook mobile application. MyFace for Facebook is a powerful client that provides all the functionality of Facebook in an intuitive, easy to use interface. Unique MyFace Features: * Simplified navigation and refined user interface * Stunning MyFace HD photo previews and beautiful photo galleries * Integrated Instagram…

Apple Updates iOS to Version 6.1

Apple has released an update to iOS.  Version 6.1 of the operating system includes the following improvements: •    LTE support for more carriers (complete list of supported carriers at http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/) •    Purchase movie tickets through Fandango with Siri (USA only) •    iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud •    New button to reset the Advertising Identifier According to the update release notes, the update is available for  iPhone 3GS and later, iPod touch (4th generation) and later, iPad…

Artemis Starship Bridge Simulator Updated to 1.701

Thom Robertson, the guru behind the popular multi-player game Artemis and owner of Incandescent Workshop, has released an update to the iOS version of Artemis to match his PC version of the game.  Incandescent Workshop released version 1.701 includes a number of fixes, new features, and changes including: All references to USFP have been changed to TSN. Engineering damcon systems have been adjusted, so they (hopefully) don’t fall out of sync with the server. Collisions have changed, from a soft…

Putting De-Protected Apple IIgs Software on Hard Drives

I’m a pretty happy camper at the moment. After buying IIGS games like Mean 18, World Games and Winter Games some 25 years ago, I can now finally play them from a hard drive, thanks to some instructions I found on the TABBS CD-ROM. Thanks to Speccie for making TABBS available to all and for some guidance on using Byte Bagger and understanding sector editing! The article by Joe Jaworski can be found here: http://www.whatisthe2gs.apple2.org.za/files/MOVING_DEPROTECTED_SOFTWARE_TO_HARD_DISKS.txt which was originally taken from…

Turn Photography Into a Scavenger Hunt w/ Find It for iOS!

San Diego, California – Brain-new, an emerging new mobile game developer, is excited today to announce the launch of Find It 1.1 onto the App Store. Compatible with the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch this engaging new experience turns social photo sharing into a puzzling turn-based scavenger hunt game! It is a simple yet endlessly entertaining proposition – players simply pick an object for their real world opponents to photograph, and off they go. It’s up to them to put…

Brother Mac OS X Printer Drivers Updated by Apple

Apple has released updated printer drivers for the Brother series of printers.  Version 2.10 of the Mac OS X printer driver was posted last night on the Apple Support website and is now available for download.   The driver coversMac OS X Mountain Lion, Lion and Leopard You can download the new driver from the Apple support page for Brother printers at: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL894

Apple Releases HP Printer Drivers Version 2.12

Apple has updated their printer drivers for the HP series printers.  Version 2.12 (listed as 2.13 on the apple support page) is now available for download and covers Mac OS X Mountain Lion and Lion, as well as Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6) You can download the drivers from the Apple HP Printer support page at: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL907

Apple II Game Server 3.1 now Avaialble for Download

The Latest version of Brendan Robert’s Apple // Game Server  is now available from the Apple // Game Server Sourceforge website.  Of particular note with version 3.1 of Apple // Game Server is the requirement of Java 6 on machines using the Apple // Game Server progam. The Apple // Game Server allows the user to send floppies directly to the Apple II computer over a serial connection, eliminating the need for floppies to play games on an original Apple II series…

Apple II History book available for pre-order

Dr. Steven Weyhrich, a well-known character in the world of Apple II for over two decades, is publishing for the first time a revised and expanded edition of his famous Apple II History in a book called Sophistication & Simplicity: The Life & Times of the Apple II Computer. This book is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com with a price of, at this time, just $20. Despite humble beginnings, today Apple, Inc. enjoys unprecedented popularity and prosperity with its products, and…

ChronoAgent For Mac Updated To Version 1.4

Casselberry, Florida – Econ Technologies updates ChronoAgent for Mac to version 1.4. This update features the addition of ChronoAgent to the menu bar and the transmission of sync and backup results sent directly to ChronoMonitor running on an iPhone. ChronoAgent 1.4 is $10 and as always, all existing ChronoAgent users update for free. No user is ever left behind. Now you can display ChronoAgent on the menu bar providing you with instant notification of ChronoAgent’s status. Know at a glance…

The Northern Spy — Unintended Consequences

The great shift in the computing devices market is well under way, with sales of desktop units tanking, even of laptops flattening out (sic), while those of iPads (there is no tablet market) boom. In this milieu, there are some interesting byplays. First, sales of Windows machines have been hit far harder than those of Macs, and Windows 8 has not helped either Microsoft or the generic box assemblers. Indeed, uptake appears worse than that of Vista, when it first…