iDVD updated to 7.0.3

Version 7.0.3 "improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues".

Update through Software Update or by downloading direct from Apple.

[Source: Macworld]

Pirated iWork '09 contains trojan; fix released

Soon after Apple released iWork '09 during Macworld San Francisco 09, copies of the updated office suite for the Mac started appearing in torrent and warez sites.

Now comes the bad news and not-so-good news.

Bad news: these copies of iWork '09 come with a trojan as reported by a security firm.

Not-so-good news: another security firm has released a free fix for the trojan.

Why did I say that the release of the removal tool is not-so-good news? That's because this provides a solution for people who opted to steal rather than buy the software.

I've pirated software in the past. I still do but not as much as before. I made a firm decision when I switched to the Mac that I was going to lessen my pirating ways, and hopefully, real soon, stop it altogether. I have my reasons which I will talk about soon.

In the meantime, please do not pirate. Almost every commercial application out there has an alternative that is free. May not be as snazzy as the paid app is but it does the job.

If you don't know where to get these free software, you can always ask other users.

MWSF 09: iWork '09

Last January 6, 2009, Apple held its Macworld San Francisco keynote with Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, taking the stage.

During Apple's final Macworld keynote, the company introduced new versions of their multimedia suite, iLife, and office suite, iWork. Apple also released the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which completes the lineup of Apple's portable into the unibody design. Last but not the least, Apple announced DRM-free songs at the iTunes store.

This post will discuss new features in iWork '09.

Apple released their office suite for the Mac on 2005 with Keynote version 2 and the first release of Pages. In 2007, Apple announced the release of iWork '08 updating both Keynote and Pages as well as adding in the spreadsheet application, Numbers. This year, iWork '09 brings more improvements to the office suite as well as introduction of a new service, iWork.com.

Keynote
Keynote was first released on 2003, competing against Microsoft's own presentation software, Powerpoint. Version 2 of the software was sold together with Pages in iWork '05 office suite.

Keynote '09 shows these new features and improvements:

Magic Move lets you move an image from one part of a slide to another part of the next slide using a quick, easy to use process. The change in location, scale, rotation, and opacity are done automatically.

Enchanced theme chooser lets you view the included fonts, colors, and textures more clearly. Eight new themes have also been added

Text- and object-based transition morphs text from one slide to the next slide

New 3D charts and chart animations

Keynote Remote lets iPhone or iPod touch users control their presentation using Wi-Fi. The Keynote Remote app is a $0.99 download from the App Store

Pages
The first version of Pages was bundled together with Keynote version 2 on January 11, 2005 in what was known as iWork '05, Apple's own office suite for Mac OS X. Version 1 was more of a page layout application but later versions saw the word processing aspect of the software improved upon.

Pages '09 lays down the following:

Full-screen view lets the user to see the document full screen allowing the user to focus on what he's working on and hide the distractions from the desktop or from the rest of the opened applications

New Outline mode

Mail merge with Numbers or with Address Book

Enhanced Template Chooser lets previewing and choosing templates easier and more convenient

Ability to insert complex equations into documents via a third-party software, MathType

Numbers
Numbers came late into the game. It became part of iWork three years after the release of the office suite. Numbers is a spreadsheet application that's easy to use and breaks away from the conventional look and feel of other spreadsheet programs.

Numbers '09 new additions are:

Over 250 functions and new 2D chart options added

Formula List view lets you see every calculation in your spreadsheet at one time

With large sets of data, rows can now be grouped according to any data in a column

Linked Charts lets charts created in Numbers and then copied to either Pages or Keynote to stay linked to the original data. Any changes made to the data in Numbers, updating Pages or Keynote requires just one click.

Enhanced Template Chooser lets previewing and choosing templates easier and more convenient

iWork.com
iWork.com was launched as a free beta during Macworld San Franciso '09. It brings iWork documents to the web and allowing for multiple collaborators. The service can be accessed using any web browser running under Mac OS X or Windows. Collaborators can only add notes or comments, not directly edit the document. Apple will eventually shift to a fee-based model once iWork.com is out of beta.

Pricing and availability
iWork '09 is selling for $79 at the US Apple Online Store and Php4,590.00 at the Philippine Apple Online Store. iWork '09 is also available for only $49 with every purchase of a Mac from the Apple Store or from Authorized Apple Resellers.

If you want to save some money, you can get the combo pack of iWork '09, iLife '09, and Mac OS 10.5 Leopard for only $169. Called the Mac Box Set, it bundles all these three together and a very good option for those who haven't upgraded to the Leopard operating system yet. The Mac Box Set is available at the Philippine Apple Online Store for Php9880.

Product pages:

Keynote

Pages

Numbers

iWork.com

Mac Box Set

Quicktime 7.6 update

Apple has released Quicktime 7.6 with video, audio, compatibility and security improvements.

From Apple's support page, the updates include:

Video:

Improves single-pass H.264 encoding quality

Increases the playback reliability of Motion JPEG media

Audio:

Improves AAC encoding fidelity

Audio tracks from MPEG video files now export consistently

Application Support:

Improves compatibility with iChat and Photo Booth

Security:

Addresses security issues from maliciously crafted media files

This update benefits both Mac OS X and Windows users.

Get the 7.6 update through Apple Software Update or get it from Apple's download section.

Apple updates white polycarbonate 13-inch MacBook

Without fanfare, Apple upgraded its most affordable Mac portable this week.

The $999 white MacBook has been given a processor and graphics chip upgrade which is now similar to its aluminium unibody sibling.

The entry-level MacBook is now equipped with 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared memory, just like the 13-inch unibody MacBook.

Another improvement comes as doubling of the RAM to 2 GBs as default. Bluetooth has also been upgraded to 2.1 from 2.0. The rest of the specifications remains the same.

[source: AppleInsider]

MWSF 09: iTunes Store songs sans DRM

Last January 6, 2009, Apple held its Macworld San Francisco keynote with Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, taking the stage.

During Apple's last Macworld keynote, the company introduced new versions of their multimedia suite, iLife, and office suite, iWork. Apple also released the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which completes the lineup of Apple's portable into the unibody design. Last but not the least, Apple announced DRM-free songs at the iTunes store.

This post will discuss Apple's shedding of DRM from songs sold in the iTunes Store, as well as variable pricing and over-the-air downloads.

when the iTunes Music Store launched on April 28, 2003, it had 200,000 songs in its selection and all of the songs were wrapped in digital rights management or DRM. This prevented the songs downloaded from the iTunes Music Store to be played in no other digital music player except the iPod and just on authorized personal computers.

Almost 6 years later, the iTunes Music Store has sold 6 billion songs and has more than 10,000,000 songs. It also dropped 'music' from its name to become the iTunes Store, as it expanded its slections to TV shows, movies, music videos and iPod and iPhone apps.

Yet another milestone was set last January 6, 2009 as Apple announced that their songs will be sold DRM-free. This means that any song downloaded from the iTunes Store can now be played without restrictions on any number of digital media players that can play the AAC format as well as on any number of PCs.

Songs will also be at a higher bit rate: higher-quality 256 kbps instead of 128 kbps as when the iTunes Store first started out.

Also new is the loss of the fixed $0.99 pricing scheme. The new pricing scheme is $0.69 for back catalog tracks, $0.99 for standard songs, and $1.29 for new or popular releases.

Last but not the least, iPhone owners can now download songs over-the-air using 3G. Before it was restricted to downloading from a Wi-Fi network.

This news is not that relevant to most here in the Philippines. As of moment, the iTunes Store only sells apps for the iPhone and iPods through the apps store. We cannot yet purchase songs, music videos, TV shows or movies.

[source: AppleInsider]

MWSF 09: the new 17-inch unibody MacBook Pro

Last January 6, 2009, Apple held its Macworld San Francisco keynote with Phil Schiller, Apple's senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, taking the stage.

During Apple's last Macworld keynote, the company introduced new versions of their multimedia suite, iLife, and office suite, iWork. Apple also released the new 17-inch MacBook Pro, which completes the lineup of Apple's portable into the unibody design. Last but not the least, Apple announced DRM-free songs at the iTunes store.

This post will give a rundown on what's new with the 17-inch MacBook Pro.

Apple unveiled the new aluminium unibody design last October, giving the 13-inch MacBook and the 15-inch MacBook Pro a more durable enclosure. The unibody design not only made the portables sturdier but also made it more lighter, thinner and more resistant to flexing.

On January 6, 2009, Apple introduced the unibody 17-inch MacBook Pro, thus completing the transition of the entire MacBook family to the new design.

Apple also revealed that the 17-inch MacBook Pro has a built-in battery which last longer and has more charging cycles compared to conventional notebook batteries.

Through advanced chemistry, intelligent monitoring of the system and battery, and what Apple calls Adaptive Charging technology, the new MacBook Pro has up to 8 hours of battery life and 1,000 charging cycles, lasting three times longer than the conventional. All this without adding to the thickness, weight or the cost of portable.

Apple's most powerful notebook has a thickness of 0.98 inches and weighs in at 6.6 pounds. Base unit costs $2,799 with options to upgrade to a faster processor, a bigger hard drive or to a solid state drive, more RAM, and an anti-glare screen ($50).

The new 17-inch MacBook Pro will be available at the end of January.

[source: AppleInsider]