Developer’s website: BubbleShare

What’s New:
Version 0.4: Fixed a bug that prevented network access since Mac OS 10.4.3

Developer’s website: Fuco

What’s New:
Version 1.1: This aesthetic update adds a “prettier bezel”.

Developer’s website: Bartas Technologies

What’s New:
Version 1.0b3.1 addresses a server communication issue.

Those of you who have been having trouble logging in with Public Beta 3 will probably not be able to log in successfully with 3.1 right away. The problem on our end has been fixed, but access will need to be restored at the server for some users.

Developer’s website: Postpose

What’s New:
Version 1.2.8 fixes problems with force feedback devices.

Developer’s website: Aspyr Media

What’s New:
Version 1.0.2 Fixes a bug which caused a crash on OS 10.1 and 10.2.

Developer’s website: Pyramid Productions

A sample Freeopardy document (.txt) is included. Use the Freeopardy Editor to create/modify your game. You should probably run through all of your answers fit in the display area before presentation (let me know if there is not enough space too often). The Freeopardy document should not be rearranged in any way.

Play begins with Player 1 selecting a Category and Value. Once the host clicks the selection, plays buzz in using the “`” (the key with tilde), “m” and “-” (minus). Host can stop play by hitting “Skip Current” button, or by setting a time limit to an integer greater than zero before selecting.

Please let me know any problems/suggestions/comments and the situation regarding your email. Freeopardy was created using AppleScript Studio in XCode and has only been tested on Mac OS 10.3 and 10.4, let me know if it works for you too.

Special Thanks to: Jon Nathan – Script Help – Jon’s Little Page of AppleScripts: http://homepage.mac.com/jonn8/as/

Bruce Patterson – Generosity

Stefan Wolfrum – Grade A beta testing

Damian Simmons – Generous and a beta tester

What’s New:
Version 0.9.8.5b:
Multimedia clues now display in the Selection window.
Added the Ring In Buttons window (under Window menu).

Developer’s website: Chris J. Shull

Voice mail has come a long way since those cassette answering machines that had a habit of eating your tape (just as you played back the message from your boss), and you probably traded in your old phone/digital answering machine combo for your telephone company’s voice mail a long time ago. But you’re a Mac user. You have a very capable computer sitting there, not far from the phone line. Isn’t it time you got the software to turn it into a feature-rich message center and automated personal telephone assistant?

That’s where PhoneValet from Parliant comes in. PhoneValet provides voice mail, just like your telephone company does, answering calls with your own recorded message or text message read by OS X’s Text to Speech feature (so you can let Bubbles or Deranged or Zarvox greet your callers). PhoneValet will even let you create unlimited individual mailboxes on a single line (it can also handle multiple lines), so you can have a mailbox for each member of your family. You won’t have to skip through everyone else’s messages to find your own and, as you’d expect with any answering machine, you can screen calls or retrieve messages remotely.

But PhoneValet goes far beyond standard voice mail. PhoneValet is so powerful—and solid—that it garnered a Macworld 2006 Eddy Award. And that was for version 4.0. This new version adds even more features, making it the ideal telephony solution for your small business.

Installing PhoneValet is a snap. You don’t even need a modem—just plug the included Telephone Adapter into a USB port on one end and a phone line on the other and you’re good to go. It will even work with VOIP services like Vonage, and you can share voice and fax on the same line. With so many features, it does take time to configure PhoneValet to your specifications. Fortunately, the documentation is thorough and clearly written, and once it’s set up PhoneValet just works.

When a new call comes in, PhoneValet announces the caller and displays a window with Caller ID information. Call Profiles let you give individual callers personalized treatment, alerting you with a unique ringtone, answering calls immediately instead of waiting for a certain number of rings, playing the caller a custom announcement, or routing them directly to a specific mailbox. You can also use Call Profiles to block unwanted calls, telling telemarketers and spurned lovers not to call again, and then hanging up on them.

You can also create Call Trees, routing calls to the proper voice mailbox or department, or to special announcements (such as office hours). Call Completion Technology™ plays hold music for your callers while paging the proper person or department through your computer’s speakers or, if you have the optional PhoneValet Anywhere software, through any Mac or PC on your network. If you have Call Transfer, PhoneValet can automatically forward calls to another number (your cell phone, for example).

PhoneValet’s tricks aren’t limited to incoming calls; it can also perform magic when you want to make a call, dialing any number from almost any application using the Services menu; from the call log, phonebook, or Address Book; from the menu bar; using AppleScript; or by voice using Apple’s Speech system. You can also record both sides of a phone conversation and save it in the archives. You can automatically record all calls (incoming and/or outgoing) or calls for only specified callers, or start recording manually. Audio can be stored as 3GPP, AAC, or WAV files (one minute of 3GPP audio takes only 76 kb of disk space, and the format is QT compatible).

PhoneValet offers two views of your calls. The main window (above) includes three tabs, displaying your OS X Address Book entries, a PhoneValet phonebook, and a log of all calls. A separate New Calls window (below) displays information about recent calls, but I found the window too bulky to leave open on my desktop. I’d prefer a more svelte interface in one integrated window with multiple views, like iCal’s Daily and Monthly views, for example.

You can make notes for phonebook entries or logged calls in the main window. Logged calls are automatically timed and PhoneValet can generate custom call reports, making it perfect for time tracking and billing. Data can be exported as comma- or tab-delimited files for easy importing into Excel. Recordings and logs can be burned to a CD or DVD for archiving, and the log will prompt you for the archived CD when you do a search in the future.

PhoneValet may not look sexy, but the delight is in the details. It’s designed to work the way you work, automating tasks to make managing calls almost effortless. For example, you can mute PhoneValet’s sounds during specified times, so it won’t announce callers and disturb you at night. Using AppleScript, PhoneValet can pause iTunes and change your iChat status when a call comes in. Scripts can automatically notify you of the location of an area code, copy messages to a PhoneValet playlist in iTunes for copying to your iPod, or read today’s iCal events to you when you call in remotely.

At $170, PhoneValet doesn’t come cheap, but the price tag is worth it (you’re probably already paying seven or eight bucks a month for your telephone company’s voice mail, which does only a fraction of what PhoneValet is capable of doing). If you have a small business, it’s a small price to pay to sound like the big guys. Unfortunately, you’ll need to shell out another $170 for a license and Telephone Adapter for each additional line. If you have multiple users and want to give them access to your PhoneValet data and call announcements through a network, you’ll also need to buy PhoneValet Anywhere ($50 if you order at the same time as PhoneValet, or $60 ordered separately).

This latest version sports a snazzy new icon and includes the latest ClamAV engine. You can schedule scans or virus updates to run when your computer is idle and ClamXav Sentry lets you scan watched folders (such as a download folder) as new items are added. There’s a new contextual menu, too, which makes it a snap to select a file or folder and scan it directly.

Bottom Line: ClamXav is still “the only user-friendly, completely free virus scanner for Mac OS X.”
From: Mark Allan
Price: Free
Platform: Macintosh

Bottom Line: For basic image modifications, ImageWell is quick and easy. Though still in beta, this new version of ImageWell is well worth downloading.
From: xtralean software
Price: Free
Platform: Macintosh (Universal)

Blurb, the book company that lets you self-publish bookstore quality hardcover and paperback books, has finally added TypePad and WordPress.com support to their BookSmart book creation software.

BookSmart slurps the entries from your blog and autopopulates the pages (you also have the option of dragging and dropping entries to build your book). BookSmart doesn’t currently support importing from freestanding WordPress blogs, but you can easily open a free WordPress.com account and import your entries long enough for BookSmart to slurp them.

You can go freestyle, creating any kind of book from scratch, or let BookSmart jumpstart your cookbook, photo book, or blog book (poetry books are coming soon) using customizable templates. Readymade books (templates which already include some content; for example, a Groucho Marx quote in the This Dog’s Diary readymade: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”) are also available for your dog, cat, or baby book.

Blurb is still in beta and the BookSmart software, while easy to use, is a bit slow and buggy. It crashed the first time I imported a single entry from my WordPress.com blog, displaying a good-natured error message:

A 40-page book is $18.95 in paperback and $29.95 in hardcover, which includes a custom dust jacket. When your book is complete, you can offer it for sale in the Blurb bookstore. But if you’re interested in making money from book sales, you’ll need to buy in bulk for a discount (or check out CafePress or LuLu)

The BookSmart software is free and you can preview your finished book onscreen, which should have you salivating for the real thing. You can buy a copy of How to Make a Book (pictured above) for only $14.95, to get an idea of the quality. It includes a $10 coupon toward your next book. Or, download the PDF for free. It’s worth a look even if you don’t publish your book with Blurb.

BookSmart runs on Windows and Mac. Universal. Blurb

I’ve tried various webware apps, but I wouldn’t rely on a webware app for anything that doesn’t already depend on a solid internet connection (a newsreader, for example). There’s no way I’ll use a webware word processor, invoicing application, or anything else I depend on for my business. We’ve already had a couple of blackouts in California this year (at least with a notebook, you can keep working while you’ve got a battery). Then there’s the issue of security. And functionality. I think we’re a long way from replacing software with webware.

What do you think? What webware do you use? Is there a webware app that made a convert out of you?

Google Earth now lets you explore the fourth dimension—time. Peek under the Layers panel, open the Featured Content folder, and select Rumsey Historical Maps. You’ll find a number of historical maps that can be laid over the globe, including World Globe 1890, Middle East 1861, and San Francisco 1853.

MAKE: Blog also has a list of nifty Google Earth projects and hacks, including how to make Google Earth movies without buying the Pro version, how to GPS tag photos with Flickr, and how to virtually recreate trips using Google Earth and a GPS.

Via MAKE: Blog

I remember taking a similar test from my band teacher in elementary school. I always wanted to be a drummer. The teacher knocked out a rhythm on the wooden desk with his knuckles and asked me to repeat it. He quickly determined that I wasn’t cut out for drums (I played trumpet instead). But I did better on Mandell’s Tonedeaf Test, scoring an impressive 86.1%, just shy of the 90% scored by those with world-class musical abilities.

Even if you don’t score as well as you’d like, head over to jakemandell.com and listen to his original music, which sounds a lot like the test.

Universal. Mike Piontek

Universal. Hetima

Universal. Marketcircle

Universal. Nathan Barkei

Universal. MacRabbit

Jun Wen Lau

Universal. Sören Kuklau

Via TUAW. Apple

Amua Last.fm player, with detachable song info panel and Growl support, but I wish it allowed you to assign shortcut keys to the Love, Skip, and Ban commands. Note: I’ve experienced occasional crashes, but it’s great when it works. Universal

ABMenu Access your Address Book from the menu bar. Several options let you control the arrangement of contacts, and a floating window displays detailed information. PPC

Alarm Clock Set unlimited repeating or one-time alarms. Wake up to any file or playlist in your iTunes library (or download the sample alarms, which include nature sounds). An “easy wake” option gently increases the volume over time and you can hit snooze using your Apple remote. Universal

Atomic Beef Add items to the Atomic Beef menu by putting them in the Atomic Beef Menu Items Folder, then launch them from the menu. Atomic Beef offers instant image previews and sports a fancy animated atomic icon. Universal

Butler Butler describes itself as “The Original Many-Tricks Pony.” Here are a few of Butler’s tricks: launch applications, open files, manage bookmarks, search the web, control iTunes, and give Spotlight a kick in the pants. Compare with Quicksilver, below. Universal

Camouflage Is your desktop cluttered with icons? Camouflage won’t clean up your desktop, but it will sweep the icons under the rug leaving pure wallpaper. Handy when you need to grab a quick screenshot. Universal

Delibar Delibar won’t let you post to del.ico.us, but it organizes your bookmarks for easy access, displaying recent posts and grouping bookmarks by tags. You can also export a HTML page. Universal

DiskSpy MenuMeters (below) offers a disk activity monitor and much more, but DiskSpy’s icons are more conspicuous and there are several themes to choose from. Universal

GmailStatus Gmail notifier lets you display the number of unread messages, play an alert when new messages are received, and open Gmail with a hotkey. PPC

GimmeSomeTune Another iTunes controller, but GimmeSomeTune is fully customizable and offers a detailed info window, lyrics display, and automatic cover fetching from Amazon. Universal

Google Reader Notifier Displays unread items in your… Google Reader account. Universal

HimmelBar Automatically scans your applications folders (or any other folders you specify) and displays applications and files sorted by folder. Not as sophisticated as Butler or Quicksilver, but sometimes simpler is better. Universal

iSnip iSnip’s Clipboard History remembers multiple clippings and lets you store hundreds of text snippets and paste them from the iSnip menu. Quickly convert clipboard text to a snippet with a shortcut key. PPC

LunaMenu Displays the current phase of the moon. You can also display a floating moon on your desktop, or open a window with more information. Now you’ll know when it’s time to howl. Universal

MenuMeters A longtime favorite, MenuMeters can display any or all of four different meters: system load, disk activity, current memory usage, and network throughput. Universal

MainMenu Run a fistful of maintenance tools and scripts. There are lots of maintenance apps, but MainMenu is the quickest way to toggle invisibles on or off, or force empty the trash. Universal

Quicksilver A Swiss Army Knife of an application launcher, Quicksilver catalogs your applications and frequently used folders and lets you search them adaptively, then perform commands on the results (think Spotlight on steroids). Plug-ins add virtually unlimited functions, like running scripts, dialing phone numbers, and sending instant messages. Is there anything Quicksilver can’t do?

WeatherDock WeatherDock displays more information than the Weather widget (including a 10 day forecast) and saves you a trip to the Dashboard. You can save multiple favorite locations, have WeatherDock speak the weather report (or notify you when the weather changes), and display a floating desktop icon that hides itself when the cursor mouses over it. Universal

Bonus: DejaMenu Not really a menu bar app, DejaMenu puts the application menu in a contextual menu. Instead of having to mouse up to the top of your screen, invoke DejaMenu with a shortcut key (or assign it to the scroll ball on your Mighty Mouse, like I did), and you’ve got your application menus at the tip of your cursor. Universal

Bonus: HotService HotService moves the Services menu to the main menu bar, where you can get to it with one click. PPC

Did I miss one of your favorite menu bar applications? Add it to the comments.

Santa Software

David Watanabe