Always forgetting birthdays? That should become less worrisome now that BusyMac has released a notable update to BusyCal, their iCal-replacement calendar program with sharing capabilities. Version 1.3 adds a new Birthdays calendar that can sync with contact information in Address Book and displays the person's age in the event title. Other new features include integration with Address Book for meeting invitations, the capability to display week numbers, enhanced drag-and-drop capabilities for converting between events and to-dos, and additions to the Help menu. The update also adds French, German, Italian, and Dutch localizations. Several bugs have also been fixed including a few related to iCal syncing, a crashing bug that occurred when sending meeting updates, and a hanging bug that occurred when backing up large attachments. Full release notes are available on BusyMac's Web site. ($49 new, free update, 8.2 MB)
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad, plus the best-selling Take Control ebooks.
Open Files with Finder's App Switcher
Say you're in the Finder looking at a file and you want to open it with an application that's already running but which doesn't own that particular document. How? Switch to that app and choose File > Open? Too many steps. Choose Open With from the file's contextual menu? Takes too long, and the app might not be listed. Drag the file to the Dock and drop it onto the app's icon? The icon might be hard to find; worse, you might miss.
In Leopard there's a new solution: use the Command-Tab switcher. Yes, the Command-Tab switcher accepts drag-and-drop! The gesture required is a bit tricky. Start dragging the file in the Finder: move the file, but don't let up on the mouse button. With your other hand, press Command-Tab to summon the switcher, and don't let up on the Command key. Drag the file onto the application's icon in the switcher and let go of the mouse. (Now you can let go of the Command key too.) Extra tip: If you switch to the app beforehand, its icon in the Command-Tab switcher will be easy to find; it will be first (or second).
Written by
Matt Neuburg
BusyCal 1.3
by Doug McLean 
READERS LIKE YOU! Support TidBITS by becoming a member today!Check out the perks at <http://tidbits.com/member_benefits.html>
Special thanks to Dick Esler, William Sharp, Charles Kuttner, and
Brian Hoberman for their generous support!