The MacBundleBox

The MacHeist 3 challenge is proving to be good fun with some tricky puzzles and free software, and the promise of big savings when the final bundle in unveiled. Anyone looking for a software bundle now should take a look at the MacBundleBox, a package of (currently) 13 apps for the usual $49.99. There’s a mix of utilities and creative apps on offer and 5% of the proceeds go to charity, so while it may not be anything revolutionary it’s certaily good value.

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Picasa for Mac released

Google has released a version of its Picasa photo editing/management for the Macintosh. Currently a Beta, Version 3 of the software is missing some features of the Windows and Linux versions  but adds the ability to import from iPhoto. Most importantly, and unlike iPhoto, Picasa doesn’t store another copy of each photo you edit and works happily with an existing directory tree. This should help to keep the size of photo collections to a minimum, and also work better with other apps. I’ve been trying Adobe’s Lightroom V2 recently which also can work from an existing directory tree. Picasa runs very fast on my Hackintosh so will probably become the app of choice for quickly previewing and searching for Photo’s, while Lightroom will be used for editing.

OpenOffice.org release 3 available now

The big push doesn’t start until Monday, but the third release of the OpenOffice.org office suite is now available from mirror servers. I grabbed the Mac version (with native Aqua interface) from the UK mirror server a short time ago but there is a long list of worldwide mirror servers at the distribution.openoffice.org site.

I had a quick play with the suite this morning and so far I’m impressed. The Writer component managed to import my CV (resume) with no problems. It’s a Word document with lots of fancy tables so the software coped well to keep all the elements where they should be. The interface looks a little dated with white toolbars, but for a free office suite the Mac version of OOo 3.0 looks like a highly usable bargain. Also available for Linux, Solaris and Windows, read on for a screenshot gallery.

Mac OSX 10.5.5 released

Available now through Software Update or as a direct download, the 10.5.5 update ‘is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac‘.

I haven’t had the chance to test this on my hackintosh yet so that’s the next task. Read on for the complete list of fixes.

QuickPwn Mac screenshots

I just got the chance to try QuickPwn on the Mac and take a few screenshots to show the stages of the process. There are some differences from the Windows version I previously used, the program takes you through the whole jailbreaking task instead of passing you to a terminal program, and it detects your device automatically. I was disappointed to no be offered a choice of what software gets installed, so didn’t go through with the jailbreak. Here’s the screenshots of what I did.

QuickPwn for Mac released

Following the release of QuickPwn for Windows and updates to PwnageTool for the Mac, QuickPwn has finally been released for Mac. Details from the iPhone Dev Team blog indicate the Mac version of QuickPwn is only compatible with firmware 2.0.2 at the moment, and until demand settles down it will only be available as a Bittorrent download. No problem there, it only took a couple of minutes to complete when I just tried it so there’s plenty of seeders out there. I’ll give it a try in the morning, and post screenshots if anything looks different to the previous QuickPwn for Windows.

Psystar Sues Apple, claims anticompetitive practices

In an unexpected move, Mac clone maker Psystar has counter sued Apple, accusing the company of restraint of trade and other violations of antitrust law. Apple had originally filed a formal complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 3rd. Now that Psystar has responded, Apple has 30 days to reply to the allegations.

Psystar are looking to challenge the EULA of Mac OSX, which states that the operating system can only be used on Apple hardware. It’s starting to sound like a David and Goliath battle, but if the comment on Engadget that ‘EULAs have traditionally been upheld in California and Florida’ is any indication Psystar has a tough battle ahead.

This is one case that could have a huge impact on the future of Mac OS, especially the right to run it on non-Apple hardware. The chance to buy a legal copy of OSX for a hackintosh would be a big improvement, even though it’s looking like a very slim possibility at the moment.

Read more at

Appleinsider – Macworld – Engadget – Techradar

Security Update 2008-005 released

The latest Apple security update is now avaliable, and has installed fine on my hackintosh. There’s no major changes with this, and the kernel is still version 9.4. As usual be sure to make a backup before installing. For more information on what security fixes are included visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2647

MobileMe problems continue…..

…..but not for me. As blogged yesterday, MobileMe is now off my computers, and I’m back to syncing my iTouch through iTunes. Calendars are once again as they should be, even if the calendar colours don’t match (a small price to pay for actually having them on your mobile device). I’m currently testing an alternative for keeping contacts and calendars in sync, so more to follow if it works out.

Removing MobileMe wasn’t difficult, the first step was to sign out in System Preferences on the Macs and delete the account from the iTouch. Getting the correct calendars back on the iTouch was slightly more involved. All the calendars were deleted from iCal, and this was synced to the iTouch. Then the backup was restored to iCal and the data was synced again.

Getting the Macbook back in sync was simply a case of restoring the iCal data that the hackintosh had backed up. It looks like the calendar issues I suffered are a bit more widespread than I realised. TUAW have an article detailing how to back up Address Book and iCal data, and at Macfixit there’s some suggestions that may help with the synchronisation issues.

Since this is a commercial product (and I pity anyone who payed up rather than trying the 60 day trial) is this level of problems acceptable? Maybe Apple should do the right thing for it’s users, refund their money and put the MobileMe service back into Beta where it belongs.

Virus protection for the iPhone: Why?

There’s been a growing trend recently to question the behaviour of antivirus software vendors, who’s scaremongering tactics say you must buy their latest product or meet a certain silicon doom. The corporate antivirus market is a far calmer and sensible place, where the product must protect the machine and disrupt the user as little as possible. Contrast this with the domestic market where products have to add new features every year to persuade you to upgrade, and remind you those features are helping.