Some of you may have heard of the website MacHeist in the past. Basically, MacHiest is a wesbtie where members are given the opportunity to live out some of those secret agent fantasies, including mission briefings, simulated web espionage, and a storyline packed with tech-mystery intrigue. Whilst doing all this, they have a chance of winning Mac software!According to the website, Tens of thousands of MacHeist members have experienced the Mac themed, puzzle filled missions, receiving over a million dollars worth of free Mac software so far.

But all this leads to the MacHeist Bundle. The MacHeist bundle started in December, 2006, and basically offered 10 great programs for Mac, all as a bundle for a very low price.

MacHeist is at it again with a new bundle for only $50US, that comprises of 12 programs. The bundle includes software such as AppZapper, iStopMotion, 1password and even CSSEdit, and lots more. Check it out here. You only have 7 days left to grab a copy!

The link to MacHeist’s website is a referral link, however, we do not profit from you clicking it. They just send us some free software. It really is a great package!

iCab, the Mac only browser in case you haven’t heard of it, has hit 4.0. This new version is now ‘Cocoa only’, which means it should run faster. Some interesting features of iCab are:

• Per URL ‘filters’ which let you block specific content from pages (like cookies that come from a site other than the site you’re visiting - TUAW).
• It also has a few interesting views that show you all the links on a page in a side window, and the source of the page (for the picky ones out there, or if you just want to try something different).
• iCab doesn’t install any system extensions, does not create any “invisible files”, and iCab doesn’t modify the system or any system settings.

iCab is shareware, so you can use it for free but you’ll be constintely reminded by a small widow letting you know how you should register your copy for $25. Personally, I’d rather keep to Safari for free, but this really is some remarkable software worth checking out.

Flickr Uploadr allows you to tag, describe, and organize your photos locally before uploading them to the online photo service, all from the desktop of your Mac. Just recently version 3 of the App was released after being in beta for some time now. The really great feature of version 3 allows reordering of your photos before uploading just by dragging them around which really was the disappointing thing about the old version. Another feature as pointed out at TUAW, is that version 3 also lets you work offline, and once you start the actual upload you can start adding and tagging new photos even before the first batch is finished uploading.

Flickr Uploadr version 3.0 is a free download available from Flickr.

UPDATE: There’s a lot of negative feedback appearing after the release of version 3. Users are saying that it is very buggy and slow to upload. Be cautious when upgrading, and keep a copy of the version 2 installation in case it sucks for you too.

As a kind of update to Bryce’s post Quick Look Your Folder, the same developer has now released a Quick Look plugin that allows you to check all the files archived into a .zip one. The link is here.

Just recently I came across a fantastic little Plugin for Leopard users. Using the plugin from Taiyo@hatena, it’s now possible to Quick Look (a new feature of OS X 10.5) any folder. That way there’s no need to open a folder when you’re not sure if what you’re looking for is inside it.

The plugin’s available HERE.

More iChat Effects is a collection of 24 effects for iChat 4 and Leopard. Some of these effects include a Mono Lisa picture where there’s holes for your eyes and mouth, a backdrop of people in Times Square, and even a spinning 3D Cube with you on the faces. What’s great about it, is that it actually works with Photobooth too. So once you install it, you’ll notice that not only can you turn yourself into a Hologram while talking to friends using iChat, but take a photo of yourself in Holographic form in Photobooth.

Note though that the effects are available for Intel processor. Some could be supported by PowerPC G4 or G5 in Photobooth or iChat, but others not.

You can grab a copy from Apple here.

Rating: 7.5/10

This program is a tiny little App, that deserves a review purely because of it’s simplicity and ease of use.

Open up Heirarchy and all you’ll see is a small vertical rectangle on the left of your screen, with a few folders inside of it. Now, try something for me. Click on one of those folders. That’s what I love about it. Stacks, although similar to this, can be slower and for some reason, far less appealing than Hierarchy.

Another great feature is that you can decide whether the Hierarchy window stays above all windows or just acts as a normal window. One feature I would have liked to see though is the option to have it open automatically when the computer loads. Going into System Preferences and setting it there would take like, 50 seconds or something. I don’t have 50 seconds to throw away like that.

Back on topic now, I’d like to sum up by saying that Hierarchy is some really great, basic software, that can be a really helpful window to have open at crucial times, and best of all it’s free.

The program’s made by Charles O’Rourke and you can get it here.

When someone looks at Final Cut Studio for the first time while in need of a video-editing suite better than iMovie, I can imagine that they would be quite surprised. $1299.00 is quite pricey (sorry Apple) for software, but I’ll admit that if you are going to be using all the features of FCS, it is worth it. However, one should not need to spend 1299 just to get better Mac video-editing than iMovie.

The solution: Final Cut Express.

The news: Final Cut Express 4 is out.

The updates: A new Open Timeline format allows users to mix and match footage from DV, HDV and AVCHD cameras, and there’s now the ability to take iMovie 08 projects up to FCE. According to TUAW, Apple is also shipping more FxPlug filters, as well as LiveType 2 as part of the bundle.

Final Cut Express will now set you back $199 (down from $299) with upgrades from previous versions costing just $99 (Honestly I think they need to lower the upgrade price, but that’s just me).

However, I’m going to stick with Final Cut Studio if you don’t mind.

Those already using Leopard are probably aware that this cool new feature called Quick Look can be accessed by pressing the space bar while selecting a file. This is specially useful when we you need to check a PowerPoint presentation, for example. While Microsoft’s application runs terribly slow using Rosetta (sometimes even freezing for a while, if the presentation is fullscreen), Quick Look opens the document instantly, showing each and every slide. Check it out! Not working for you? You are probably trying to Quick Look a .pps file. Rename it to .ppt (the only difference between them is that .pps opens the presentation in fullscreen by default, .ppt does not) and try again, you will be amazed. No more PowerPoint freezes!

Another great thing about Quick Look is that it can open open multiple files. It works the same way for multiple files. Just select them in the Finder and press the space bar. Now your window will show a few different buttons:

From left to right: go to previous file, play, go to next file, visual index and the already familiar fullscreen mode. This shows Quick Look is even more useful than one could find it to be. Take the play button, for example. Just select a few images, Quick Look then to fullscreen and press play. Voilà! There’s your slideshow.

Choosing the visual index button you get a glimpse of all your selected files (in a stacks kind of way - the more files, the more it looks like it):

All you need to do is select one of them. Any other tips about Quick Look?

I wouldn’t call this old news, but you may have noticed that the website’s been down for the last couple days, so I could only post this today:

About two days ago, Apple released via Software Update, the new versions of iTunes (7.5) & Quicktime (7.3).

According to MacRumors, the updates are as follows:

iTunes 7.5 - 41.3MB
iTunes 7.5 features the ability to activate iPhone wherever service is offered and support for Phase, a new interactive music game designed exclusively for iPod nano (third generation), iPod classic, and iPod (fifth generation). This release also includes bug fixes to improve stability and performance.

Quicktime 7.3 - 51.8MB*
QuickTime 7.3 addresses critical security issues and delivers:
- Support for iTunes 7.5
- Updated support for creating iPhone-compatible web content
- Updated JavaScript support in the QuickTime Web Plug-in
- Numerous bug fixes

*This release is recommended for all QuickTime 7 users.

For detailed information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798.

If you’re bored of using the ancient Command + Shift + F3/F4 option for taking screenshots, then I seriously recommend checking out Skitch. Currently it’s in BETA and invite/waiting list only, but it should be coming out soon, hopefully costing nothing.

Thanks to Adriel though, I now have a copy to play around with. I love it. The simple and easy to use interface, which has a child-like feel to it, makes taking screenshots, adding some shapes, text, arrows, colour, lines, etc. (you get the point), child’s play.
Basically this is how it works:

Above is the layout. Click Snap and you can take the screenshot. Then the image will appear in the white area above. Now you have the option of editing the screenshot, maybe adding a title or two, along with a colorful arrow… (more to go, keep reading)

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Seashore is an open source image editor for Cocoa.

This program, with it’s easy to use interface makes its simple to edit images. The program is based around GIMP’s technology using the same native file format.
“Seashore features gradients, textures and anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes” according to Seashore’s website. The App also support multi-layer editing and alpha channel editing.

The difference between programs like GIMP, and Seashore, is that the later aims to make image editing simple, and basic enough for everyday users to edit images.

The best thing about this program: It’s Free.

I really do see this as a major issue for Mac Users and the consumers considering to purchase a Mac… playing poker on a Mac. I like to have that occasional game, and I am sure there are 1,000s of other that would too, but the market for online gambling programs on Macs at the moment is very empty at the moment.

Let me explain.

There really is only one major only gambling program for OSX that is actually trustworthy, popular, and works well. Full Tilt Poker. I use it, and I’m sure that a large proportion of Full Tilt’s users are Mac owners too.

But it seems strange, that one poker room should control close to 100% of the OSX Poker market, while there are 100s of poker rooms for PCs. Why aren’t there any other companies trying to cash in on the exclusivity of Mac poker? I have no idea why.

Another option for a trust worthy poker room (from my experience), would be Absolute Poker. Luckily, they give Mac users the option of playing on their poker room using a Java applet. This works pretty well, but can be slow, and the amount of games playable is slightly limited. Also, the chance of your web browser unexpectedly exited is far higher than the chance of an Application quitting.

Either way, there aren’t many options, and this is one software category for Macs that really needs to be improved!

Links
— Full Tilt Poker: http://www.fulltiltpoker.com
— Absolute Poker: http://www.absolutepoker.com
—http://www.macpoker.com
—http://www.maconlinepoker.com

If you know any other great poker rooms for Mac, be sure to comment about them.

UPDATE: I recently found out about another trustworthy one that supports Mac - check out Bodog. Check it out at http://www.bodoglife.com

At the Apple Expo last week, more details were released about Office 2008 for Mac. Microsoft will be offering 3 versions of the new program to consumers.

1. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac

The core suite includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage along with Microsoft Exchange Server support and Automator tools for the ultimate Mac productivity experience. US$399.95 full retail version and US$239.95 for the upgrade version.

2. Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition

This special new addition combines Office 2008 applications with the Microsoft Expression Media digital asset management system and is geared toward professional users who need Microsoft Exchange Server support and Automator tools and are looking for one product to meet their productivity and digital asset management needs. US$499.95 full retail version and US$299.95 for the upgrade version.

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I’ve been trying out this program for a while now called Joost. You may have heard of it, but if you haven’t I’ll fill you in on the details.
The creators of Skype and some other software, wanted to figure out how people could watch free TV. Well, they did it, all using technology similar to Skype, where users download of others, etc.

If you’re still confused, read on for the extract from Joost’s website:
If not, download Joost here: http://www.joost.com/download/macosx/

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