It’s a must-see video of an 8-member group playing a medley of Christmas carols, entirely on iPads and iPhones.
Code 42 Software’s CrashPlan backup software has received a major overhaul, including backup sets, more-flexible scheduling, and an entirely new pricing scheme that gives most users more for their money.
Generosity is a virtue, but it’s possible—even easy—to go overboard in a materialistic age. This year, we’re recommending several bits-not-atoms gifts, experiences instead of objects, and quick downloads for those of you who are looking to cut down on stuff or who need last-minute Chanukah gifts.
To celebrate the seventh anniversary of Take Control Ebooks, we’re having a 50-percent-off sale on all ebooks through the end of the year. It’s the perfect opportunity to pick up titles that will help you learn more about the iPad and iPhone, polish your Mac skills, work more efficiently, and increase your productivity
Thinking about buying a car navigation GPS device? If you have an iPhone, consider the Navigon MobileNavigator app instead, since it has all the same features, done as well as or better than most standalone devices. And because it’s an app, free updates bring bug fixes and useful new features.
Want to put together stunning image compositions without using Adobe Photoshop? Check out cf/x Software’s cf/x alpha, a non-destructive image processor with advanced image transparency and blending tools. Enter to win a copy in this week’s DealBITS drawing!
Looking for an iPhone app to provide weather conditions and forecasts that goes well beyond Apple's bundled Weather app? Adam, who cares deeply about past, present, and future weather, looks at his current iPhone weather app of choice, WeatherBug Elite.
No, really, it is a music video by Jayme Gutierrez about how hard it is to take his laptop apart to clean the fan. It’s remarkably well done, with tons of music video tropes, a catchy song, and a nod to Apple at the end (not that Mac laptops are necessarily all that easy to take apart either!). And you have to love the disclaimer: “This is not a definitive maintenance video.”
If you find that you want both a case and a stand for your iPhone 4 or iPad, look no further than ZeroChroma’s Teatro and Vario shell cases, which have a fold-flat integrated stand that works well.
Building on the success of November’s MacTech Conference, which was aimed at IT professionals and Mac developers, MacTech has announced another conference, with a twist. Called MacTech Boot Camp, it’s a single-track, hotel-based seminar designed specifically to help Mac consultants and other support professionals. A single-day event, it will be held in San Francisco on 26 January 2011, the day before the Macworld Expo show floor opens, making it easy to combine travel costs. MacTech Boot Camp costs $295 through 15 December 2010, or $495 afterward.
Glenn Fleishman lays out the future of Mac networking standards in Macworld, including USB 3.0 and upcoming 802.11ac and 802.11ad wireless flavors, and the seemingly inevitable removal of FireWire.
We’re pleased to welcome a new TidBITS sponsor, BeLight Software, makers of a wide variety of targeted graphics and publishing software exclusively for the Mac.
Most of us associate Netflix with those red envelopes containing DVDs, but Netflix’s members are now watching more content streamed over the Internet than delivered by mail. Because of that change, Netflix is now offering a $7.99-per-month plan that eschews DVDs entirely in favor of unlimited streaming. Simultaneously, Netflix raised the prices of the DVD-delivery plans, with the 1- and 2-disc-at-a-time plans increasing by $1 per month. Although Netflix has continually increased the amount of content available for streaming, only about a fifth of the movies and TV shows in our queue are available for streaming.
The latest generation of the iPod nano is as small as a watch face, causing an increasing number of companies to come up with cases and bands that allow you to wear the diminutive music player on your wrist. Jason O’Grady at ZDNet has an overview of the current crop of iPod nano watch bands.
AT&T customer support offers confusing, and apparently incorrect, guidance on the continuing availability of unlimited data plans for those who haven’t changed service since June.