Linux News: Mac Apps

Calf Trail Geotags the Road Not Taken
July 20, 2009

In 1895, during the era of Horatio Alger, an obscure poet named Sam Walter Foss published "Calf-Path." It's about men following the road of least resistance and what we call today "thinking outside the box." "For men are prone to go it blind/Along the calf-paths of the mind," Foss wrote. "And work away from sun to sun/To do what other men have done."

Get Off My Platform! Apple Cuts Pre's iTunes Connection
July 17, 2009

There's a lot of interesting activity to consider in the Apple-focused blogosphere this week, but three items in particular look like they might create some fairly long-range ripples. One analyst says that Apple and its iPhone are wrecking the cellular industry. For Palm, that may very well be true -- Apple cut off the smartphone manufacturer's easy Palm Pre iTunes syncing ability.

Photo Mechanic Cuts Photogs' Greasy Grunt Work
July 07, 2009

While programs like Picasa and iPhoto can meet the image organizing needs of many digital photographers, professional and prosumer shooters demand more muscle from their wares. Over the years, they've sought that muscle from applications like Photo Mechanic. The robust image organizer, published by Camera Bits, recently celebrated two milestones.

Telestream Lets Windows Media Flow Into Mac Platform
June 29, 2009

adggIt took Telestream six years after its founding in 1998 to cook up an Apple application, but some 15 million Mac owners are glad it did. That first product, Flip4Mac, which allowed Mac users to import, export and play Windows media video files on their Apple machines, not only made Telestream a shining star in Apple's constellation, but it also marked a new area of business for the company.

Just Because I'm Paranoid Doesn't Mean My Mac Is Secure
June 25, 2009

I was buying a fully loaded Mac to replace the 4-year-old Mac I had at home. Along with Microsoft Office for the Mac, I also wanted to buy a standard security AV and firewall application. The salesperson's response? Not necessary. I was sufficiently chastened by the $2,000-plus tab I had racked up that afternoon to let it go. But years of writing about online security had made me paranoid.

Agile Turns Labor of Necessity Into Best Seller
June 22, 2009

When some PC users move to a Mac, they occasionally can't find an Apple analog for a bread-and-butter application they had in the Windows world. In those cases, most users learn to live without their cherished app. The folks at Agile Web Solutions, though, learned how to build a business on theirs.

Safari 4 Goes to Eleven
June 12, 2009

Apple reports that in the past three days more than 11 million copies of the newly released Safari 4 have been downloaded -- including more than 6 million downloads of Safari for Windows. It is easy to see why -- at least from Apple's perspective. Safari 4 is the fastest browser on the market, the company claims.

Google Chrome Sprouts Linux, Mac Versions
June 05, 2009

Google this week released early developer channel versions of its Chrome browser for the Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Google emphasized that both new versions are very much rough drafts intended for developers, not consumers looking for a smooth browsing experience.

Is Windows App Envy a Thing of the Past?
May 26, 2009

A few years ago, a computer buyer who wanted an Apple Mac may have been forced back into the PC store in order to run the applications he already had, needed, or wanted. Now, though, the Mac and its OS X operating system have risen in popularity and permeate the consciousness of computer buyers around the world -- thank the iPhone and iPod for that.

Apple's Changes Can't Rattle These Bones
May 04, 2009

Text editors aren't the sexiest applications in the Apple Universe, but they have a knack for attracting loyal adherents. That's something Bare Bones Software has been able to count on for more than a decade. The Bedford, Mass., company's flagship product, BBEdit, is in its ninth version and is still going strong.

Omni Group: Charting a Course From NeXT to the Modern Mac
April 27, 2009

In an industry where what-have-you-done-lately is the norm, you might be hard pressed to find someone who remembers NeXT, the company founded by Steve Jobs in the mid-1980s before his triumphant return to Apple. That's not the case at the Omni Group, though, where the management team can trace its roots to the pioneering concern that developed the foundation on which much of Apple's OS X operating system is built.

Mac Enterprise Apps and the Evolution of Open Source
April 21, 2009

It's no secret that Apple has dominated the headlines in computing over the last several years, earning new devotees through consumer-aimed offerings like the iPod, iTunes and the iPhone. Whether purposeful or not, gradually or suddenly, Macs have now roared into the business world.

Now Software and the Mac/PC Office: Diversity in the Workplace
April 20, 2009

While it's always nice to be the first mover in a market, there's some satisfaction in grinding it out in a niche and watching a market move into your wheelhouse. That seems to be the case with Now Software. The Columbus, Ohio, maker of contact and calendar software is poised to take advantage of two burgeoning trends: information sharing and the increased presence of Macintosh computers on business networks.

Group Logic: A Mac/PC Referee for the Enterprise
April 13, 2009

More than a few eyebrows were raised in surprise last year when a survey of global IT administrators and C-level executives revealed that 80 percent of them had Apple Macintosh computers connected to their enterprise networks. Not among the surprised, however, was T. Reid Lewis.

A Proud Handcart on Apple's Railroad Tracks
April 06, 2009

You'd think that having his flagship product torpedoed twice by Apple would turn Dan Wood a little sour toward the folks at One Infinite Loop, but that's not the case at all. "I haven't found any other environment that's anywhere nearly as rewarding as the Mac," the cofounder of Alameda, Calif.-based Karelia Software told MacNewsWorld.

Apple and Adobe: The Odd Couple
March 24, 2009

For more than two decades, Apple and Adobe Systems have enjoyed a mostly cordial relationship that have benefited both companies, especially in the worlds of professional design and photography. As might be expected, though, the enterprises have had their tiffs with each other and the balance of power between the two has shifted over the years.