Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard has been in the wild for two weeks now, and we’re starting to dig more into the update – including unexpected shortcomings. In this week’s issue, Matt Neuburg writes about how Snow Leopard no longer supports document creator codes, Adam tracks down problems clicking URLs in Preview, and Doug McLean reports on problems sending messages in Apple Mail and how to bring back missing Palm OS-syncing capabilities. On the flip side, Glenn Fleishman reveals hidden new features in the AirPort menu. In other news, Amazon finally does the right thing for Kindle owners whose George Orwell books were removed, and this week was big for telecommunications, with news of a forthcoming Vonage iPhone app, eBay selling Skype, and Adam making his iPhone and Mac work in tandem with Phone Amego. Notable software releases this week include BeLight Software Updates, Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 5, SOHO Labels 4.1, Teleport 1.0.2, Opera 10, Yojimbo 2.0, Omni Group Software Updates, Fetch 5.5.2, SuperDrive Firmware 3.0 Update, Apple Server 10.5.8 Update 1.1, Mac Mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2, HoudahGeo 2.3, Server Admin Tools 10.6, Scrivener 1.52, Apple Network Registration Update 1.0, ODBC Administrator Tool for Mac OS X, Aperture 2.1.4, and Gutenprint Printer Drivers for Mac OS X 10.6.
In a recent KnowledgeBase article Apple acknowledges a bug that can cause some Apple Mail users to be unable to send messages in Snow Leopard. While the company has suggested workarounds, user forums indicate the fixes aren't working for everyone.
Six weeks after the fact, Amazon gives double-plus good customer service to Kindle owners who saw purchased books dropped into the memory hole. Why the wait?
Do you use a Palm OS-based handheld? Although Palm OS syncing via iSync is no longer supported under Snow Leopard, Mark/Space's The Missing Sync for Palm OS offers an alternative.
The new version of Preview in Snow Leopard has a subtle bug that could cause significant confusion for readers of technical documentation containing visible Web URLs.
If you use 1Password in Safari and upgrade to Snow Leopard, you'll either have to run Safari in 32-bit mode or upgrade to the Agile Keychain and use the 1Password 3 beta.
Snow Leopard adds more information to the AirPort menu, making it easier to use Mac OS X to set up networks optimally and troubleshoot problems.
Vonage says that Apple has approved its calling application for the iPhone and iPod touch. This may have greater implications than Skype's iPhone client.
The Internet telephony and chat firm Skype has been sold by eBay to private investors, including Marc Andreessen, a founder of Netscape.
Want to dial your iPhone from your Mac, and have incoming calls announced on your Mac before you answer? Check out Phone Amego from Sustainable Softworks.
In an undocumented and unannounced change, Snow Leopard has stifled an application's ability to mark a document as its own, thus hampering users and developers alike.
Notable software releases this week include BeLight Software Updates, Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 5, SOHO Labels 4.1, Teleport 1.0.2, Opera 10, Yojimbo 2.0, Omni Group Software Updates, Fetch 5.5.2, SuperDrive Firmware 3.0 Update, Apple Server 10.5.8 Update 1.1, Mac Mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2, HoudahGeo 2.3, Server Admin Tools 10.6, Scrivener 1.52, Apple Network Registration Update 1.0, ODBC Administrator Tool for Mac OS X, Aperture 2.1.4, and Gutenprint Printer Drivers for Mac OS X 10.6.
Read on for a collection of links to the most interesting articles and resources that the TidBITS staff discovered on the Web this week.
This week's TidBITS Talk discussions still focus on Snow Leopard, specifically incompatibility with Novell networks and PGP, and finding a replacement for Tex-Edit Plus. Also, readers talk about measuring how much data one downloads from an ISP, using iWork files with SugarSync and Dropbox, and making function keys work on an Apple aluminum keyboard.