MacMost: Archives

Apple shook the Mac software development world this week by announcing that the birth of the Mac App Store also means the death of the downloads section of the Apple web site. In the Windows world developers often need to list their software at dozens or even hundreds of different web sites to be found. But in the Mac world being listed on the Apple downloads section was usually enough. Developers who decide not to move their applications to the Mac App store will now have to look for other ways to be discovered.
While the Mac App Store is destined to become the main way users find and download software, many applications will not be available there because they won’t be able to adhere to the rules. For instance, utilities that need to access system functions to work won’t be allowed. This leaves out many popular applications. Other developers may not wish to give Apple 30 percent of the sale price.
The Mac App Store will launch on January 6. There are rumors that a new version of iWork will be available for download in the store on launch day or soon thereafter.
Apple engineers continued to issue updates this week, including an update to iPhoto that adds back the ability to attach a photo to an email without a complex background.
Sales of the new Apple TV appear to be strong according to Apple as it may top one million units this year. They report that users are renting 150,000 movies and 400,000 TV shows per day.

I think I believed you more when you were tracking big foot and UFOs.

With many households now using more iOS devices than computers, it is important to be able to sync multiple devices to one Mac. This can be done using one of three main methods.

You can import video from video DVDs using Handbrake. This free application will read DVDs and convert the video to formats that you can use on your Mac, iPhone, iPod or Apple TV. You can also edit converted videos in iMovie.

While the set of iMovie 11 titles is more limiting than most video editing tools, you can use some simple tricks to place and style titles. Some of the title options allow you to position the text by simply inserting lines and changing font properties.

The Mac version of the App Store will launch on January 6 according to an Apple press release today. The Mac App Store will operate like the iOS App Store, bringing an easy, centralized way to find, purchase and download applications for the Mac.
According to the release, it will feature categories just like the iOS store, plus featured apps, best selling lists, and so on. Developers will get 70 percent of the revenue from any sale, with Apple keeping the rest to pay for hosting and credit card fees.
Not all applications will find their way into the App Store. Restrictions mean that many utility applications that alter how your Mac works will be not be allowed in the store. These utilities will remain as they are now, sold by the developers directly or through other channels. Some developers may choose to remain independent of the store where they can get more than 70 percent of the sale price and not have to submit applications to Apple for approval. The Mac App Store will also feature free apps.

He’s on the roof waiting for Santa to bring him an iPad. We’ve been married for 10 years, and I still don’t have the nerve to tell him there’s no Santa.

You can add tags to any file in Mac OS X using the Spotlight Comments field. You can then search for files based on those tags. This can help you organize your files when a simple folder system isn't enough.

Learn how to make copies of data CDs and DVDs using Disk Utility. With one optical drive in your Mac, you need to create a temporary disk image on your hard drive. Then use that disk image to create physical copies of your disc.

You can use Automator to alter what happens when a file is added to a folder. In this example, new files added to a folder are then sorted into subfolders according to their type. You can add multiple actions to a folder and then determine which order they are used.

While no big new announcements are expected from Apple during the holiday shopping season, designers and engineers have been busy improving the online buying experience for Apple users.
One such change is the length of song previews in iTunes. Songs that are longer than 2.5 minutes now feature a 90-second preview. At least, in the U.S. iTunes store. But those outside the U.S. have something to cheer about as they can finally take advantage of App Store promo codes. These codes, given out by developers to get reviews and buzz for their new apps, are free coupons that were previously only available for people with U.S. iTunes accounts.
Last month Apple tried to make its iTunes gift card use a little clearer by offering iTunes gift cards with the iBooks icon on them. These are regular iTunes gift cards, but it shows clearly that these can be used for books. iTunes cards can be used to purchase music, apps or books. Apple also offers an Apple Store-specific gift card that can’t be using in iTunes, and a special card that can only be used to purchase an iPhone.

A common request is to include a small image in Apple Mail email signatures. This isn't easy to do, but there is a trick that can be applied to get a small image added to your signature.

Learn how to use transitions between slides and items in iWork Keynote 09. You can add a variety of transitions between slides with many customizable options. You can also add transitions when building individual items on a slide. You can set the build order of items, and even add additional animation for items on a slide.

Learn how to create and modify photo albums that will then appear on your iPhone in the Photos app. You can create them using iPhoto on your Mac, or folders with subfolders on your Mac or Windows.

One of the major new features of iOS 4.2 is AirPrint, the ability to print directly from your iPhone or iPad. Unfortunately, this only works if you have one of the small group of HP printers that supports it. That makes it a non-feature for most people.
But in the future we hope that Apple allows you to print through your Mac. After all, you can print from one Mac to a printer connected to another Mac. So why not extend that functionality to AirPrint?

The 4.2.1 update for iOS brings many new features to the iPad. You can now run several apps at once, organize apps into folders, print to some wireless printers and search inside web pages. There are also improvements to Mail ;and other default apps.

If you are not a computer expert, you may not know some of the terms used to describe your Mac. Learn about your processor, graphics processor, memory, hard drive and other aspects of a computer.

Today is the traditional start for the American holiday shopping season. Here are ten tips for shopping online to buy gifts. Also, check out http://macmost.com/apple-store-discounts for better prices on Apple products.

The long-anticipated update to the iPad version of iOS came out this week. The iPad has now caught up to the iPhone and iPod Touch with many new features.
In particular, multitasking allows the iPad to run several apps at once. Double tapping the home button will bring up a list of currently running apps and allow you to switch between them. Some apps, like Pandora, will already run in the background. This means you can listen to music while you work on other apps.

In Adobe Premiere Elements you can blur out an area using multiple layers and a mosaic filter and matte. You can even make that area move along with an object in the video using the timeline and keyframes.