Palm-Mac

Splash ID standalone for mac

Thanks to Kevin at Talon PR for giving me a freebie copy of Splash ID standalone mac desktop version. As a result I now have to bore you all with a review...ha!..that's the way it goes..

I was quite interested in this as although I prefer to use eWallet as my password manager app on both Palm and Win Mob devices, having stopped using Splash ID on mobiles a while back, I currently have no desktop based application suitable for hoarding important personal info and it was something I had meant to delve into sooner rather than later.

So, for mac boys'n'gals, does it do the job for mac users? I had a couple of reservations about this app prior to firing it up, one being that I had used it in a previous incarnation and had thought the interface to be a bit cheapo looking and hardly befitting of the mac o/s X interface and two, how the heck would I get all the stuff from my eWallet app into it? I didn't fancy having to enter all the stuff manuallyd.

On the first point, I'm glad to report that the look has been jazzed up and the improvement is substantial to the point where it doesn't look out of place on my mac...god, I'm such an eye candy snob but there you go... Next up was setting a password, easy peasy and then a look through the menu to find out how to import existing info..bingo, there is an option for "eWallet" info and others including Splash ID.......err..unfortunately I did however have a problem initially as for some reason it kept crashing when I tried to import my eWallet file. Luckily, I used to use SplashID so I had a "spare" SplashID vid file  lying around and then did some pruning to weed out older stuff and added in newer stuff manually. That was a pain but was worth it in the end.

Those used to SplashID will find their way around very easily as the interface is very familiar. From the Splash blog, here is a list of the new/improved feature set:

• New desktop views - Panel View and Tree View
• Tree View on the handheld application
• Enhanced security - auto lock-out after 10 failed attempts, password strength meter, and password hint option
• Web Auto-Fill - one click to open a website in Safari and login automatically
• Synchronize multiple SplashID databases (with other version 4 database files only)
• Enhanced Lookup feature instantly displays relevant results as you type
• Email securely encrypted SplashID files to other users (from the handheld application too!)
• Add additional standalone desktop users
• Change the database and auto-backup file locations
• Toolbars give you button features where they are needed the most
• Updated icon set with enhanced high resolution graphics
• Fully Leopard compatible
• Universal Binary
• Note: Requires 10.4 or later

All in all, this seems to be a robust and easy to use mac password manager and comes recommended, especially if you are currently using the mobile version as that will make getting your existing info in very simple. Even if you are not, the interface is nice and it is a breeze to add new stuff.

 

Toshiba G710 coming soon...anybody interested?

i What really is the point of this smartphone? Specs wise, it is like something from 2 or 3 years ago...no wifi is tolerable if it comes with 3g, which it doesn't. Throw in a poor 128mb ROM and 64mb RAM and it's all very 2006. It's not that expensive I suppose for an unlocked smartphone but you can pick up a 3g and wifi enabled Asus model with more memory for less which must limit its appeal further. And it only supports 2gb sd cards...poo. It's hard to see a market for this particular phone and where Toshiba think the buyers will come from, it looks remarkably like the Curve in some aspects so I suppose that answers that question.

Furthermore, Toshiba didn't exactly cover themselves in glory, reputation wise, with the G500 and G900 models last year which had some 'issues". In this day and age it just seems a bit odd to bring out a new device with such unappealing specs in comparison to your competitors.

Still, it looks nice and I suppose the built in GPS will be attractive to some.

•	Size (cc), 62.8mm x115.5mm x 13.2mm,
•	Weight (g)    130g.
•	Display QVGA 65K colours, TFT, 2.46”
•	Camera 2MP
•	Memory 128MB ROM / 64MB RAM, User Memory 60MB                             micro SD slot up to 2GB
•	Interface Bluetooth v1.2 with A2DP/AVRCP, USB1.1
•	Battery 1,050mAh, Standby: up to 200H, Talk: up to 180M
•	Band 900/1800/1900 for GSM/GPRS/EDGE
•	Navigation Built-in GPS
•	Music service Windows Media Player
•	Browser MS IE
•	Messaging SMS, MMS, E-mail, Microsoft Direct push e-mail
•	Sound MP3, AAC, WMA

xbox360 sales hit 10 million mark in USA

Microsoft have just announced, according to xbox360 fanboy site, that US sales of the 360 console have now reached an amazing 10million with worldwide sales now at 19 million, neither of which is to be sniffed at and outstrips rival PS3 and Wii.
However the PS3 has been out for less time & people are still having trouble finding Wii's at times so too much should not be read into "outsripping" comments. It would be more interesting to see a comparison of figures since the other two were actually launched.

"Microsoft announced today that they have officially sold more than 10 million Xbox 360 consoles in the United States, with over 19 million sold worldwide since the product launched in late 2005. The Xbox 360 is the first console of this generation to reach the 10 million mark in the US, a very significant fact according to Don Mattrick, the VP of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, "History has shown us that the first company to reach ten million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry."

DropCopy for mac and iPhone

Very useful and donation-ware application this, which enables you to transfer files between macs and iPhones on a shared network.

All these apps are transforming my iPhone useage, I always sort of knew I was destined to be an iPhone user, after years of struggling with mac unfriendly windows mobile devices it is a boon to be using a device that is so much in sync with my home macs. I had many issues with the Missing Sync windows syncing app, not least of which is their expensive $24.99 upgrade fees for basically getting little else.

I have one problem with DropCopy on the iPhone and it is entirely user-related. When I drop a file on my MacBook onto the desktop icon it gets sent to the iPhone easily enough but when it arrives at its destination it can be hard to find. For example, I sent a picture in jpeg format and sure enough it showed up in the iPhone directory but not in the Photo application. Presumably, I have to move it manually into a suitable directory for Photos to recognise it, how I do that however I have no idea at present.

Mailplane for mac

Have been reading about this of late from various sources including the WMExperts man Dieter, who despite his shady allegiance to mobile devices sporting windows mobile is very much a mac type of guy and for that we can just about forgive him....yep, I think we are big enough to do that.

I must give this a whirl though as it does sound good...you can also attach files, send screenshots and send automatically optimised photos. Basically, it is a desktop version of Gmail for the mac with a whole host of extra features and that fabled mac ease of use. One nice touch is that it puts an icon in the top right menu bar which when clicked on, shows not only some options but also the amount of unread mail and from whom those messages are.

But they are both from different worlds and aren’t friends, yet. That’s where Mailplane comes in to bring them together: Google Mail’s superb SPAM protection, endless storage and global access – and the friendliness of your Mac.

Web apps - Charts

Link: Apple - Web apps - Charts.

About Charts
Create and manage charts of everything. E.g. monitor and track your weight, your expenses, your mileage, temperatures or whatever your want.

You can choose between line, bar and pie charts, different chart color schemes and email the data and the chart to yourself for backup and further processing.

What’s New in this Version
- select different chart color schemes

Zune flying off the shelves...sort of

I don 't know what it is about the Zune but it is taking on the mantle of the Sinclair C5 in terms of un-coolness. It's probably a bloody good mp3 player but it has just been saddled, from day one, with a lesser product tag in comparison to other..ahem..well know mp3 competitors.

Anyway, it has now sold 2 million units...these must be the same people who bought Joe Dolci's "Shaddup Yer Face" record in the 80's or perhaps the vast majority have been bought by non-tech savy mums and dads for their probably less than grateful offsrping. Imagine the horror of being a self conscious, spotty 14 year old and having to whip out the Zune in the school playground when everyone else has an ipod...oh the shame of it and sheer uncool-ness.

This amount sounds a lot but when compared to the 3 million plus ipods being sold in comparison it gives you an idea of its relative under-performance. It is one for the true misguided Windows fanboys who can't bear the thought of putting some cash in Apple's coffers and thus are prepared to use an inferior(?) product and look like chumps to make a point.

However, just how far behind the number one device, Apple iPod, has not always clear since Microsoft has been slow to release its sales numbers. Now we have some.

Since its launch in November 2006, the Zune has sold 2 million units. For comparison, Apple sold 10.6 million iPods last quarter. That equates to right around 3.53 million iPods sold a month.

360 and the PS3...GTA4

According to this article twice as many people have bought Grand Theft Auto 4 for the xbox 360 compared to the PS3. I'm not sure if this is hugely significant as it could just mean that 360 owners are a far more blood thirsty, aggressive and anti-social lot, myself excluded anyway (well from the first two anyway) than their PS3 counter-parts.

This is odd as twice this year already, PS3 console sales have been greater than those of the 360. Perhaps, now that Blu-ray has won the day this is encouraging people to go for the PS3 and they will have a future-ish proof DVD player built in. Were some folk holding out buying a console until the HD DVD issue was resolved one way or another?

This guy has an opinion on it too...

I think many people have been surprised to see how well GTA IV is selling on Xbox 360 given the history of the franchise. These sales results add GTA IV to a long list of franchises that have switched over from Playstation to find a new home on Xbox 360 similar to what happened last year with titles like Madden and Guitar Hero.

.mac push email?

There has been some speculation over the last couple of weeks that big changes are afoot with the .mac service and several commentators have been voicing the opinion that it will become far more integrated with future iPhone software developments. One of the big features may be push email from .mac accounts which sounds good but would only be of interest to me if they can filter out the pile of spam crap that still gets downloaded on my IMAP email account.

Gmail has managed to stop 99.5% of junk mail on my IMAP account with them, a feat that seems to have very much escaped Apple's "filters" to the point where I have stopped loading on .mac IMAP on any mobile device and instead use Gmail to fetch my .mac mail, thus taking advantage of the latters excellent spam blocking capabilities. It may be better on a desktop but these days I barely use desktop apps for email, it is all managed on whatever mobile I am using at the time.

There has to be something coming that will make .mac more attractive, at the moment it doesn't seem decent value yet there blocks are in place to build something better and to utilise the service in some capacity on the iPhone. The service has a few good bits, the iDisk feature is potentially a big thing but it and the other parts just do not seem to integrate that well together. What that will be I have no idea as I'm not that sharp technically to know how it could be done.

Sharing gCal with iCal

I have finally started using gCal on a regular basis and I like the fact it is online and changes can be made to entries without the need to be sitting at work and using (being tied to) Outlook. I have now even managed to share it with iCal on the mac using these instructions.

Not that I intend to use iCal much, I've never really used it to date as it is simpler and easier all round to just use gCal. Nonetheless, it is handy to have automatic syncing with gCal as it means I can get all the stuff from gCal onto the iPhone now when I sync via iTunes. A bit of a roundabout way without doubt but mostly effective. Using GooSync on the Centro and this method on the iPhone keeps me up to date and without having to invoke Outlook.

iPhone Jailbroken....who is developing?

I just couldn't wait and the thought of a wide selection of applications was far too tempting for me. It's a bit ironic as we are now probably just a month away from the official launch of "proper" applications via the iTunes store so I really should have just hung in there. I used ziPhone to do just the Jailbreak bit, I don't need it unlocked but rather just wanted to try out some of the apps.

First time I used the jailbreaker things went badly awry and for a while I feared I had a dead iPhone but following the recovery instructions included with the app I managed a full restore via iTunes...phew. Since doing it I have noticed one or two issues, none which have lasted long, including loss of volume...all volume, which was sorted by a switch off and on of the phone. I'm sort of assuming here that when I do the v2.0 update, when it becomes available, it will un-jailbreak the iPhone for me, I hope so at least as there will not be any need for the apps on board at the moment once official ones start rolling out.

There is a big range of stuff out there at the moment. I downloaded, amongst others, a native RSS app called mobileRSS and it works well although oddly, when you exit the app and go back in you have to re-download all the articles again. I kinda assumed they would still be there....I then discovered another RSS app called Feeds which I think works better. It stores already downloaded articles so when you leave the app and go back in they are still there. The interface is better too, on mobileRSS the screen is a bit wobbly and it can be hard to line up the articles when scrolling, part of it can veer off left or right unless your scrolling technique is bang on. No such concerns with Feeds though and it has the further advantage of being able to sync feeds via GoogleReader.

I have also loaded on Showtime which lets you record video, a convertor app, an ebook reader, Dropcopy for transferring files from a mac (haven't tried it yet though) and some games. I could only find, oddly, one Solitaire game. Lastly, almost, I have tried a few ToDo apps and have yet to settle on one. There is also a useful app called Categories which lets you add category icons, which you can set yourself, and then hide groups of apps resulting in a less cluttered desktop.

I can't help feeling though that quite a few of the ones I tried out are a bit basic and that official, paid for apps will be on the whole superior in terms of features. It makes me think I'll be happier to pay to get the extra stuff from 3rd party developers which hopefully will lead to greater gadgetry satisfaction.

One further thing which has surprised me is the silence around which developers will be..ahem...developing apps for the SDK, I'd have thought we would know by now. There must be quite a few mac based developers in there porting mac apps to the iPhone and yet we have heard zip all...surely it would be in their interest, or at least they would have nothing to lose by letting us know, to give advance notice. For example, I would love it if there was an iPhone version of Yojimbo and whilst I don't expect a version to be available for launch date, if I know there is a version coming at some point that would stop me wasting money on another lesser app.

Console Wars...PS3 on the up..and we're all Doomed

Despite being widely dismissed by all those connected with the Microsoft xbox360, in much the same way that xbox mags laughed at the perceived threat of Blu-Ray against their beloved leaders choice of HDVD, sales of the PS3 have been rising and rising and narrowing the deficit against comparable 360 sales. Indeed, with one or two PS3 exclusives launched over the past 6 months, it has in fact outsold the 360 on several occassions. Here is the view of the Sony President as told to the BBC:

Speaking to BBC News, Kaz Hirai said the machine would overhaul rivals Nintendo and Microsoft within its 10-year lifecycle.

PlayStation 3 sales have outstripped those of Microsoft Xbox 360 in Europe but it lags behind in North America.

Nintendo's Wii console is the number one next-generation machine globally.

Mr Hirai said Sony was engaged in a "marathon" race with Nintendo and Microsoft.

More than 10.5 million PlayStation 3s were sold worldwide by the end of 2007. To date, in Europe more than five million PS3s have been sold.

I think 360 has to wake up a little, after the flurry of top class games at the end of last year, with the exception of GTA IV, content has been decidely lacklustre since then. I find myself looking at the PS3 more and more these days, particularly as it has a Blu-ray player built in.

On the subject of Grand Theft Auto, I tried to pick up a copy over the Holiday weekend with no joy...all sold out here in Edinburgh which is the first time I can recall a game suffering the same fate. These stats from xbox360 Fanboy suggest a staggering $500 million worldwide was taken in sales in the first week, whapping the pants off Halo3 sales and an amazing 926 000 copies sold in the UK, of which about 40% were for the PS3.

Last and certainly not least comes the great news, for me anyway, that Doom 4 is now in production...yahoo. Unfortunately, it sounds like it has JUST started production and thus it will a long while before we see it on the 360 which is surprising as it now nearly 4 years since the last instalment.

MacHeist » Bundle...bargain software collection

Link: MacHeist » Bundle.

I heard this referred to on one of the Mac podcasts I listen to and it sounds great as some of the apps are very good. All the apps listed on the homepage for just $49 is an amazing deal.