The iPhone and virtualization software hold sway in this issue, with Rich Mogull sharing the story of how he used his iPhone to avoid sleeping on an airport floor, Chris Pepper passing along methods of sending SMS messages for free, and David Strom comparing five applications for transferring files to an iPhone. On the virtualization front, last week saw both the release of Parallels Desktop 4.0 and our latest ebook, Joe Kissell’s “Take Control of VMware Fusion 2.” The rest of the issue is a grab bag: Glenn Fleishman looks at a new laptop recovery utility and the release of Safari 3.2, and Adam explains how he figured out how to make VoiceOver read an important button in the Take Control cart. In the TidBITS Watchlist, we cover Firefox 3.0.4, Coda 1.6, PDFpen 4.0.2, iLife Support 8.3.1, and NeoOffice 2.2.5 Patch 3. Finally, please welcome our latest sponsor, MacSpeech, and note that the next issue of TidBITS will appear 01-Dec-08.
As is our custom this time of year, we're taking the 24-Nov-08 issue off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Our next issue will appear 01-Dec-08.
Apple releases Safari 3.2 to repair vulnerabilities and other problems in all versions of its flagship Web browser.
GadgetTrak releases a Mac OS X laptop-recovery program that uses Wi-Fi positioning to identify a missing machine's location and Flickr to upload images of the thief.
MacSpeech is our latest long term sponsor, joining such other stalwarts as Microsoft, Circus Ponies, Fetch Softworks, VMware, Mark/Space, CS Odessa, and Bare Bones Software.
The latest version of Parallels Desktop features performance improvements, enhanced usability features, and bundled software for security, backups, and disk partitioning. It also now supports Mac OS X Server, 64-bit operating systems, and capabilities that will be found in Intel's next generation of processors.
Modern air travel is never easy, but when bad weather diverts Rich Mogull's plane, his trusty iPhone ensures he gets a hotel room for the night with three measly screen taps.
Frustrated with having to pay for SMS messages on his iPhone - both sent and received - Chris Pepper examines alternative ways of sending text messages.
Our latest ebook from Joe Kissell goes in depth with the popular virtualization program VMware Fusion 2, providing real-world advice to help readers install, configure, and run Windows on a Mac with a minimum of fuss.
Looking for a way to transfer files other than your music or photos to your iPhone or iPod touch? David Strom takes a look at a handful of iPhone file transfer apps.
After much hair-pulling, we finally figured out why the Download Ebook button on the last screen of our Take Control shopping cart couldn't be seen by Apple's VoiceOver technology.
Notable software releases so far this week include Firefox 3.0.4, Coda 1.6, PDFpen 4.0.2, iLife Support 8.3.1, and NeoOffice 2.2.5 Patch 3.
This week's TidBITS Talk discussions touch on a broad range of topics: the number of audio files the iTunes Store serves up, viewing PDFs on an iPhone or iPod touch, experiences with PGP, using an unlocked iPhone as a modem, converting AIFF files to MP3, and the differences between Safari and WebKit.