Posts tagged with "mac"

Apple Shuts Down Mac OS X Downloads Page

Well, we all knew this was going to happen sooner or later. Apple is shutting down the OS X Downloads page, in lieu of the Mac App Store which is launching on January 6th. Here’s the email Apple just sent out to Mac developers:

Thank you for making the Mac OS X Download site a great destination with apps that offer users new ways to work, play, learn, and create on their Mac.

We recently announced that on January 6, 2011, the Mac App Store will open to users around the world, presenting you with an exciting, new opportunity to reach millions of customers. Since the introduction of the App Store in 2008, we’ve been thrilled with the incredible support from developers and the enthusiastic response from users. Now we’re bringing the revolutionary experience of the App Store to Mac OS X.

Because we believe the Mac App Store will be the best destination for users to discover, purchase, and download your apps, we will no longer offer apps on the Mac OS X Downloads site. Instead, beginning January 6, we will be directing users to explore the range of apps available on the Mac App Store.

We appreciate your support of the Mac platform and hope you’ll take advantage of this new opportunity to showcase your apps to even more users. To learn how you can offer your apps on the Mac App Store, visit the Apple Developer website at http://developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

The Mac OS X Downloads website provided for years a way for developers to showcase their Mac apps for free to the large audience of Apple’s website. It also served as a great way to get new Mac users started on third-part software for OS X. Clearly Apple thinks this is all going to change with the Mac App Store, which will be included in a Software Update for all Snow Leopard users.

No details have been provided about other categories of software currently promoted on the Downloads site, such as Automator workflows and Dashboard widgets.

Apple Launches iAd Producer - HTML & CSS Layout App for iAds

A few minutes ago Apple launched a new app for the Mac called iAd Producer which is aimed at developers and designers willing to create visually rich, interactive iAds. iAd Producer “automatically manages the HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript behind your iAd” and also offers advanced Javascript editing and debugging.

iAd Producer is available for download on Apple’s developer website and it requires Mac OS X 10.6.5, Safari 5 and iOS SDK 4.0. A user guide is available here. Read more

Why Half-Life 1 For Mac Never Came Out→

Why Half-Life 1 For Mac Never Came Out

Jump to the 16-minute mark for the juicy bits. Basically, the game was ready and the developers even managed to deploy a system that allowed Mac and PC users to play together on a special server. The game had a few bugs but was a few weeks away from golden master. Retail stores orders were coming in.

It was done. So why didn’t it come out? Hint: Apple.

[Cocoia via Reddit]

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Back to the Future: The Game Coming To The Mac This Week

Great news, Back to the Future fans and Mac owners: you’re getting a BTTF game for the Mac this week. Telltale Games announced the release date of “Back to the Future: The Game” last week, and it looks like the BTTF franchise will get a series of games for Mac and PC that will be made available as “episodes” from December through summer 2011. The first episode called “It’s about time” is coming out this week, on Wednesday. Just in time for Christmas.

First off, those who pre-ordered the game will get a free copy of Puzzle Agent and will also contribute a 1 dollar donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. As for the game, it seems like it’ll be based 6 months after the ending of BTTF 3, and it will be an adventure where you’ll control Marty in his effort to go back in time and find Emmett Brown. Telltale says the game has been developed with the fans of the movie in mind, it will feature alternate timelines and will be the first game for Mac and PC where space and time continuum really matters.

Sounds exciting to you? I’m just worried about the episodic nature of this game series – I never liked games released in episodes. Still, this is Back to the Future we’re talking about and Telltale is well-known for creating sweet gems. Which means I’ll be waiting eagerly for the game to come out on Wednesday.

With Beta 7, Sparrow Gets Close To Being The Ideal Gmail App for Mac

It’s been a while since we last covered Sparrow, a native Gmail client for Mac. The first version of the app came out in early October, and the developers have been busy fixing bugs, introducing new features and refining the design in these past two months and a half. What started as a nice Gmail app clearly inspired by Loren Brichter’s Tweetie slowly evolved into a stable, unique and feature-rich Gmail app for the Mac. Read more

iRip 2: The Best Way To Get Anything Out Of iOS Devices

The Little App Factory has published some great Mac apps in the past year. First for me came Evom, a simple and free utility that can save videos from the web (even Flash videos) and convert to a number of different devices, such as iPads or Apple TVs. Then I installed Rivet, another little utility for the Mac that can stream video from your local machine to a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 console in your local network. Works like magic.

Last week I took a look at The Little App Factory’s latest effort, Grappler for Mac. Grappler provides an integrated view to browse Youtube without leaving the app and download videos to convert for an iTunes-compatible format. It’s got a great UI, inline previews and a lot more. Make sure to check out my review here if you missed it. Read more

Want iOS Scrollbars On A Mac? There’s A Theme For That

In case you missed it at Apple’s Back to the Mac event, Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion” is getting redesigned scrollbars and a brand new scrolling system. In fact, Apple is taking iOS’ “rubber banding” effect and minimal, fading scrollbars to the Mac with the next major iteration due next year. As demoed by Apple’s Craig Federighi in the Mac App Store app running on Lion, scrollbars will behave similarly to iOS – you won’t any scrollbar if you’re touching the trackpad. Read more