TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 05-Jan-09

Audio Hijack Pro 2.9 from Rogue Amoeba offers a redesigned interface with mostly familiar elements reorganized and given a nice shine. The Recording Bin allows post-recording edits to the ID3 metadata tags; previously, you had to import into iTunes or use other software to fix errors or make changes. The new release puts Hijack, Mute, Record, and Split buttons alongside a global LCD-like status display. Updates to Soundflower and other support programs are included, as well as support for embedding artwork. Version 2.9 also removes the potential for crashes with the previous release under Mac OS X 10.5.6. ($32 to register, free update, 7.2 MB)

Firefox 3.0.5 from Mozilla is a relatively minor update to the popular Web browser with changes focusing on various security and stability issues. Notable among these are fixes to the accessibility implementation and a bug that causes crashes when installing multiple signed XPIs simultaneously. Other enhancements include support for the Bengali, Esperanto, Galician, Hindi, and Latvian languages. Users can now also send in OS-specific notes via the crash reporter. (Free update,
17.2 MB)

Camino 1.6.6 from The Camino Project is a maintenance update to the Mac-focused, Gecko-based Web browser. The latest version includes an upgrade to version 1.8.1.19 of the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine, an upgraded version of the code that blocks Flash animations, and enhanced ad blocking. Other changes include a slew of additional languages. (Free, 15.3 MB for English-only or 18.7 MB for multilingual)

Norton Internet Security for Mac 4.0 from Symantec is a major update (the first since 2003) to the suite of Internet security software. This new version includes protection from viruses, phishing schemes, identity theft, and Internet worms, as well as two-way firewall capabilities, file protection, and browser protection. The software automatically detects and removes spyware, viruses, Trojan horses, malware, and Internet worms. It’s compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, and runs natively on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. ($79.99)

Snapz Pro X 2.1.3 from Ambrosia Software is the latest version of the popular still image and video screen capture utility. The update fixes a variety of bugs that could generate absurdly long movies or deliver a -2014 error, cause files saved to the Desktop to disappear, create problems when saving with the Animation codec, cause crashes when saving a movie without a video track, and prevent images without borders from appearing in Preview. Additionally, Ambrosia Audio Support 2.3.9 significantly reduces CPU usage. ($69, free update, 14.1 MB)

Hazel 2.2.4 from Noodlesoft is the latest version of the file-cleanup utility. The new version fixes a bug that caused the attribute picker to display partial results when dismissed and relaunched, a shell script duplication bug, and a crashing bug related to editing AppleScripts in the rule interface. Other changes fix memory leaks, prevent sporadic crashes when logging a failed unarchive operation, stop temporary files from filling the Trash after unarchiving operations fail, improve performance when the metadata field does not exist, and provide interface tweaks. ($21.95, free update, 1.9 MB)

PDFpen 4.0.3 from SmileOnMyMac is a minor stability update to the PDF editing utility. The new version adds unspecified stability enhancements and unnamed bug fixes. All changes have also been made to PDFpenPro. ($49.95/$99.95 PDFpen/PDFpenPro, free update, 11.3 MB)

Typinator 3.3.1 from Ergonis Software is the latest version of the popular auto-typing and auto-correcting utility. The update adds predefined sets with subscripts, subscript characters, and separate auto-correct dictionaries for U.S. and British English. The update also enables users to define set-specific options including defining separate expansion sounds, specifying common characters for abbreviations, and adding notes per set. Finally, Typinator 3.3.1 offers improved Adobe Acrobat support. (19.99 euros, free update, 2.7 MB)

Lightroom 2.2 from Adobe is the latest update to the company’s photo management software, fixing several undisclosed bugs and adding support for the following cameras: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon PowerShot G10, Panasonic DMC-G1, Panasonic DMC-FX150, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Panasonic DMC-LX3, and the Leica D-LUX 4. You can download the update from Adobe’s Web site. ($299 new, free update, 66.2 MB).