A few minutes ago Skype released the long awaited version of Skype 5 for Mac, a new iteration of the world-leading communication tool that brings a lot of new features and a redesigned interface to OS X. Skype 5 for Mac is labelled as a beta product for now.
Skype 5 for Mac brings complete Address Book integration, group video calling (finally, as this was one of the best features of the Windows counterpart), a new mini control bar, support for offline instant messaging, user profiles and a floating dialpad.
According to an industry source contacted by CNET, Intel’s Light Peak technology development is nearing completion and it should be ready to go public in the first half of 2011 – earlier than initially expected. Light Peak is faster than USB 3.0 and can transfer up to 10 Gigabits per second in both directions simultaneously. USB 3.0 is not supported by Apple and a very few other PC makers have implemented the technology in their computers. Most of all, Intel itself hasn’t released chipsets compatible with USB 3.0 yet.
On the other hand, Light Peak has the chance to be backed next year by two major computer makers in the industry, Apple and Sony. Back in 2009, in fact, Intel stated that they had showed early prototypes of Light Peak to third parties and incorporated the feedback they got into their next designs, adding that Apple is an “an innovating force in the industry”. The demo Intel run on stage was based on a Mac, and Sony showed its appreciation for Light Peak in the past, too.
Even though Intel claims that, actually, they’re committed to the USB 3.0 project, it is clear that the money’s on the table with Light Peak, which is faster and lightweight enough to be implemented in new computers without adding bulk or extra space. Apple is expected to reveal new MacBook Pros in the April - June 2011 timeframe – that would be a good time to announce Light Peak coming to the next generation of OS X, wouldn’t it?
With Lion coming next summer, new MacBook Pros and a developer conference in June, the pieces might be coming together pretty soon.
Apple hasn’t publicly addressed the issues yet, and the document clearly says the information are not to be disclosed externally. The document mentions the display flickering issues many users have experienced, together with colors fading to light after waking from sleep. The suggested solution? Close the lid, wait 10 seconds and open the computer again.
Apple also confirms an upcoming software update will fix the issues.
Weet is a great Twitter client for iPhone I reviewed back in September here. Weet had a huge success and it’s one of the most popular Twitter clients currently available in the App Store, but the developers announced they were working on a Mac version and that customers of the iPhone app would be able to gain free access to the beta.
With the latest 1.1.1 update of Weet for iPhone, beta signup to the Mac version is a go. Read more
Some things in life are so cool, geeky – let me just say it, awesome – that you’ve got to see them with your own eyes to believe. I’ve always been attracted by the “digital becomes real” experiments (there’s this video on Vimeo about Facebook, Twitter and OS X created with cardboard I can’t find anymore), and what “interface artist” Johannes P Osterhoff has come up with is just too cool to not end up here in the late night geek coverage of MacStories.
Thanks everyone who entered our giveaways! Names of the winners are listed below, and you’ll receive an email / Twitter DM with the license or promo code later today / tomorrow. As a quick reminder, iPhone promo codes can only be redeemed in the US App Store. Read more
If you own an Apple TV and you’ve managed to jailbreak it, then you must be happy about this: you can install Plex on it. As noted by 9to5mac, you can turn your tiny black Apple box in a dedicated Plex device, with the media server running, say, on your home Mac. Plex is a great looking and full-featured media center for OS X which recently released a great iOS companion app.
Instructions from the developer of the hack are available here, and require some manual hacking.
Apple is now accepting submissions for the Mac App Store. With an email sent to registered Mac developers earlier today, Apple confirmed that Mac apps can now be sent to Apple for approval.
We don’t know which developers are jumping on this today and whether Apple has refined its review guidelines following the many doubts arisen in the past weeks, but we know it’s going to be huge – right?
The Mac App Store is set to open in less than 90 days. We can’t wait.
I haven’t been a huge fan of custom iPhone ringtones until I found out that Apple revised its policy about apps that allow you to edit songs on-device (the revision apparently came with the public release of the Review Guidelines) and directly export them to iTunes. When I did, I downloaded Ringtone Designer Pro for iPhone and started rolling with it.
Last week, though, I also discovered a neat app in the Cydia Store called AnyRing (BigBoss repository, $3.99) that, in a very ugly interface, lets you set any song on your iPhone as your default ringtone. Read more
