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Koi Pond iPhone app offers ''Holiday Mode''

Koi Pond is a cute little inexpensive iPhone/iPod touch app that invites you to gaze in and relax while watching playful koi fish swim. You can run your fingers over the surface of the water to hear the gentle splashing...but don't be surprised if you scare the fish away. Don't worry though; they'll be back and you can even feed them from your fingertips.

In the latest update pushed to Koi Pond users, a Holiday Mode was added that features 2 new Holiday koi, holly leaves, festive lights, special holiday koi food (please do not feed gingerbread men and candy canes to real koi) and when you shake your iPhone, you'll hear sleigh bells.

Koi Pond sells for 99¢.

In Shareware

Posted by RickMacMerc on Friday, November 21 @ 20:54:43 EST
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Italian leather notebook sleeves look like interoffice envelopes

I suppose the question will be asked, "Did an animal really have to die to make a product that looks like something that would have otherwise only killed a tree?" I kind of like the idea of a leather notebook sleeve and why not make it look interesting. When Jobs pulled the MacBook Air from an envelope during one of his presentations, we all knew envelope-style sleeves were on the way and this is just the natural progression of that homage.

Kena Kai has created this protective notebook sleeve that resembles one of those "INTER-DEPARTMENTAL MAIL" envelopes. They're made from full-grain Italian leather and are available in two sizes. The larger sleeve is designed for the new MacBook and the MacBook Air. The smaller sleeve will fit smaller machines that Apple doesn't make...so who cares.

The "INTER-DEPARTMENTAL MAIL" computer sleeves will retail for USD$69.99 for the smaller size we don't care about and USD$79.99 for the one that fits MacBooks and are available in white Italian leather.

In Gadgets

Posted by RickMacMerc on Tuesday, November 18 @ 23:36:33 EST
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Parallels lays it on thick with tongue-in-cheek ad promoting Parallels Desktop 4.0

Poking fun at vaporware hype and the outlandish claims of some software developers, Parallels' latest video promoting the announcement of Parallels Desktop 4.0 went live of YouTube on Friday under the title Man's Greatest Achievement.

While the new edition of Parallels Desktop still allows users to run Microsoft Windows on thier Macs and sports faster performance while using fewer resources, the video jokingly claims it will "stop and reverse the affects of global warming, it will eliminate our need for fossil fuel."

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac is available for USD$79.99. New users can test a free, fully-functional copy for 15 days. Current Parallels Desktop users can upgrade their existing software for only USD$39.99 -- a 50% off promotional price available until November 30, 2008. Users that purchased version 3.0 on or after September 1, 2008, qualify for a free upgrade to version 4.0.

In Announcement

Posted by RickMacMerc on Tuesday, November 11 @ 21:30:23 EST
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Clips: clipboard and TextExpander reinvented?

Clips is a clipboard manager that developer Conceited Software calls, "your Mac OS X clipboard and TextExpander reinvented." Now, I'm a huge fan of TextExpander, so Clips has a lot to live up to for me.

Clips monitors your clipboard and adds anything you copy to its panel. You can even add things to the panel by dragging them to a hot corner. Within the panel, your copied items are organized according to the application you clipped them out of and the Space you were in when you did it. Clippings can also be organized using smart folders or searched. If you find that you are constantly copying the same items again and again, you can use Clips to assign an abbreviation to the clipping (like TextExpander's snippets) or even a full-on key command. All your clips can viewed in the organizer, the panel (a vertical "dock" of clips) or "the board" (shown here-which is kind of like Dashboard for your clipboard).

Intriguing idea.

Clips was updated today the version 1.1.3 with a few bug fixes. Registrations sell fro USD$29.99

In Shareware

Posted by RickMacMerc on Tuesday, November 11 @ 21:15:26 EST
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For the shortcuts masters, Lifehacker has few you might not know about

I need to get better at using keyboard shortcuts. I spend entirely too much time dragging my cursor hither and yon when I'm sure there are key commands that could more evenly distribute my input abuse between the mouse and keyboard.

I caught this article by Adam Pash on Lifehacker today and it gave me a few more key commands to practice and work into my repertoire.

Worth a look.

In Elsewhere on the Internet...

Posted by RickMacMerc on Tuesday, November 11 @ 20:52:25 EST
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Crash Course, Blambot's free font for November

This month, the free font offering over at Blambot is one of those awesome looking "sound effects" fonts that make comic books so exciting to read--Crash Course.

The font's creator, Nate Piekos describes Crash Course:

CRASHCOURSE BB is a tall, chunky sound effects font that's been smashed to bits. It's cracked and splintered for BIG sound effects.

it sounds like it's clobbering time! Crash Course comes in Regular and Italic and the upper and lowercase characters have varied crack patterns.

In Fonts

Posted by RickMacMerc on Monday, November 03 @ 23:43:14 EST
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iPhone gamers can get a grip with Marware's new accessory

Marware has announced a new 3G iPhone and 2nd Gen iPod touch accessory called the Game Grip that has silicone handle grips to provide comfort for while playing games. It also features a cord management solution that allows you to use your headphones and charging cable while you play.

The Game Grip also supports an optional, removable battery pack solution from Marware (sold separately) that can give you added power while gaming. Simply slide the battery pack onto the back of the Game Grip, attach the cable, and you're done.

The Game Grip for iPhone 3G and the 2ng Gen iPod touch is available in smooth black with blue handle grips and sells for USD$49.99. Marware is taking pre-orders now.

In Gadgets

Posted by RickMacMerc on Monday, November 03 @ 00:57:00 EST
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Look at the pretties! iSkin launches Vibes and Duo for 4G iPod nano

I am usually loath to announce new iPod cases, but these ones look uniquely cool so I had to post a link. iSkin today introduced the iSkin Vibes and Duo, two new cases for the iPod nano 4G.

The iSkin Duo for iPod nano 4G likes like another soft silicone wrapper with a scratch-resistant clear screen protector, a film to protect the click wheal, and an attachable docking port insert. Nothing exciting here. It's available in three bundles (Chill, Cruise and Groove) each containing three skins and sells for USD$34.99. I'm sorry, that's the usual yawn.

What I'm more excited about are the iSkin Vibes. They feature a soft and flexible glass-like finish reflecting one of seven cool patterns that allows the iPod nano 4G's vibrant color to shine through. It offers the same protection (body, screen, click-wheel, docking port) as the other case but looks much cooler. The iSkin Vibes is offered in seven choices: Croc, Enchanted, Ivy, Orbitz, Tao, Argyle, and Camouflage, and sells for USD$24.99.

It's cheaper and it looks better!!

There are also Duos and Vibes for iPod touch, but they're not as cool as the Vibes for nano.

In Gadgets

Posted by RickMacMerc on Wednesday, October 29 @ 21:58:16 EDT
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Tom Bihn adds laptop bags for new 15-inch MacBook Pros to their catalog

I am a huge Tom Bihn fan. This is a company that listens to its customers and makes some great products. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Today, Tom Bihn announced sizes of their Checkpoint Flyer checkpoint friendly laptop briefcase and Brain Cell laptop case specifically for the new 15-inch MacBook Pro.

If you're not familiar with the Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase, watch the video embedded here. It is the first airport security "checkpoint friendly" bag designed specifically for Mac laptops.

The Brain Cell is a laptop sleeve designed to be used alone or clipped securely inside a variety of Tom Bihn bags. Brain Cell compatibility in a Tom Bihn bag means that you will not just have your laptop held securely during transit, it also means if you buy a new laptop of a different size, you need only update the Brain Cell to make it fit in your bag!

The Checkpoint Flyer sells for USD$220 USD (including laptop insert). The Brain Cell (Size 4Z) sells for USD$60. Both are available for pre-order from the Tom Bihn website and ship by late November.

In Gadgets

Posted by RickMacMerc on Wednesday, October 29 @ 21:39:17 EDT
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Is it any wonder the iPhone's USB Power Adapters fell apart? ''Shocking'' photos.

Last month, Apple announced the Apple Ultracompact USB Power Adapter Exchange Program in which it admitted that the adapters supplied with iPhone 3G and sold separately could "under certain conditions" lose its metal prongs in your wall power outlet, creating a risky situation for you as you try to remove them.

At the time, Apple claimed to have received reports of detached prongs on "a very small percentage of the adapters sold", but looking at these pictures of a dissected USB Power Adapter I can't imagine how the instances of "prong failure" could be anything less than commonplace. Depicted here, the prongs only extend into the adapter about 1/8 of an inch and are held in place with some type of glue and a bit of wishful thinking. Nice work.

If you haven't sent your Ultracompact USB Power Adapter in for an exchange, please, do it today.

[ Thanks for the linkage, Gizmodo ]

In Apple / Mac

Posted by RickMacMerc on Tuesday, October 28 @ 14:22:26 EDT
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Koi Pond iPhone app offers ''Holiday Mode''

Italian leather notebook sleeves look like interoffice envelopes

Parallels lays it on thick with tongue-in-cheek ad promoting Parallels Desktop 4.0

Clips: clipboard and TextExpander reinvented?

For the shortcuts masters, Lifehacker has few you might not know about

Crash Course, Blambot's free font for November

iPhone gamers can get a grip with Marware's new accessory

Look at the pretties! iSkin launches Vibes and Duo for 4G iPod nano

Tom Bihn adds laptop bags for new 15-inch MacBook Pros to their catalog

Is it any wonder the iPhone's USB Power Adapters fell apart? ''Shocking'' photos.