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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 16 August 2010

VMware Fusion 3.1.1VMware Fusion, which lets you run Windows and other operating systems on your Intel-powered Mac, has been updated to version 3.1.1. The maintenance-focused update now supports VMware vSphere 4.1 as a guest operating system, enabling you to run ESX without needing spare hardware – though this feature is currently labeled as experimental and the company warns against using it in production environments. The update also addresses an issue with some iSight cameras, removes an incorrect disk error message after a host crash, and corrects an issue where audio recording worked only at 44.1 kHz. VMware Fusion requires Mac OS X
10.4.11 or higher, and of course a copy of Windows if you plan to install that operating system. The download is accessible from within VMware Fusion itself, or from the VMware Web site. ($79.95 new, free upgrade, 434 MB)

Read/post comments about VMware Fusion 3.1.1.

Things 1.3.5 — Cultured Code has rolled out a series of fixes to its flagship task management app Things. The 1.3.5 update resolves several crashing bugs, including crashes when rescheduling to-dos in the Today view. Other improvements include fixes for an issue with iCal calendars not being visible when using Custom iCal Sync, an issue where double-clicking a to-do could open the wrong item in certain views, and an issue with resorting to-dos when filtering by tag. Rounding out the detailed release notes are other fixes addressing localization quirks, toolbar icons, Daylight
Saving Time, project tags, and miscellaneous user interface issues. ($49.95 new, free upgrade, 8.0 MB)

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Office 2004/2008 Security Updates — Microsoft has released a trio of software updates addressing various security issues in its Office suites. The updates – Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.6 Update, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.6.0 Update, and the Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.1.6 – patch an issue where maliciously crafted files opened in Excel or Word could enable an attacker to execute code on your Mac. The Office 2008 update also updates Microsoft Entourage’s time zone information and fixes some Excel crashes that could occur on launch, when sorting merged cells, or editing cells. The updates are free, and Microsoft recommends Office users install them as quickly as possible. Be sure not to cancel or interrupt the installation process, or your Office installation may be left in a non-functional state (if this has already happened, reinstall from your original media and then install all necessary updates before using
Office again).

Read/post comments about Office 2004/2008 Security Updates.

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