July 24, 2009 • 3:44 PM 0
On July 21, I moved my blog to a new server. So www.davaomacuser.com no longer points to davaomacuser.wordpress.com.
I’ve already got a few new posts over there so please, come over to www.davaomacuser.com.
I hope you’ll join me there. Thanks!
Filed under: Apple, Inc.
July 21, 2009 • 7:16 AM 0
To help commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar mission, Carina Software is offering two of their applications as free downloads for a very limited time.
SkyVoyager and SkyGazer are astronomy apps for the iPhone and Mac, respectively. These are excellent tools for people like me who enjoy watching the night sky.
These two apps can be downloaded for free only on July 20th. I’ve already downloaded the SkyVoyager app (retails for $14.99, I think). I’m just waiting for a website update for the SkyGazer software.
Thanks to TUAW.
Update:
It turns out I was wrong.
The bad news is SkyGazer is not a free download as I’ve mentioned earlier.
The good news is SkyGazer 4.5 and Voyager 4.5 are on sale for only $0.01 each.
Not exactly free but you can’t beat the $0.01 price tag.
I was also mistaken when I implied that SkyGazer was a Mac only software. Both SkyGazer and Voyager applications are available for Mac and Windows.
By the way, regular price for the downloadable version of SkyGazer is $29.95 and for Voyager, it’s $99.95.
Update 2:
Carina Software has suspended the $0.01 sale of both SkyGazer and Voyager desktop astronomy software for Mac and Windows due to server overload, according to The Mac Observer.
However, their iPhone apps, SkyVoyager and SkyGazer, are still free until the end of the day.
Filed under: App Store, iPhone OS, OS X, astronomy, free, sale
July 17, 2009 • 11:37 PM 0
According to KLue, a Maxis Communications Berhad press release has confirmed that the official launch date of iPhone 3GS in Malaysia will be on July 31. The press release also gave some details on the pricing of the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3GS as well as the 8GB iPhone 3G. Maxis is now accepting pre-booking on their website for the iPhone 3GS.
This comes after the announcement by Globe Telecom in early July about the July 31st release date of the iPhone 3GS in the Philippines and have started accepting reservations this Wednesday.
The iPhone 3GS went on sale in Hong Kong and Singapore on July 10.
Filed under: iPhone 3GS, Hong Kong, launch, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore
July 17, 2009 • 10:22 AM 1
iMovie 8.0.4 “improves overall stability and fixes a number of other minor issues. The issues addressed include:
This update is recommended for all iMovie ’09 users and can be downloaded via Software Update utility or direct from Apple’s Support page (35.6MB).
July 16, 2009 • 4:34 PM 0
Heads up! Another Globe-iPhone 3GS post.
I’ve just been made aware that Globe’s iPhone 3GS page has been revised. It now shows links to reservation forms the iPhone 3GS. There are three options: existing postpaid subscribers; new postpaid subscribers; or prepaid phonekit. The forms are all identical except under existing subscribers, an account number is required to complete the form.
After the form has been submitted, a message will appear thanking you and telling you to wait 24 to 48 hours for a Globe CSR to contact you.
By the way, you should fill up all the fields. I wasn’t allowed to continue until I’ve filled up “Other Mobile/Landline Number” and “Fax Number”. I just copied my mobile number into those two.
I submitted my form around 1 PM today. I wonder how long it’ll take for them to contact me. I should come up with a list of questions to ask.
Filed under: iPhone 3GS, Globe, Philippines
July 16, 2009 • 1:58 PM 0
Mika Mobile has released an update to their highly rated zombie slaying game.
Zombieville USA version 1.4 new features include melee weapons, an alternative control scheme, and an option for extra lives.
Zombieville USA is one of my favorite iPhone/iPod touch games. Though the gameplay is relatively simple (kill zombies and kill them good) it does require you to manage your cash and ammo carefully as the game progresses.
When the game was first released it had 15 upgradeable weapons: a selection of handguns, machine guns, shotguns, rocket launchers and gas-powered weapons. The new version adds more to the arsenal: melee weapons. Melee weapons don’t do a lot of damage but are useful in knocking zombies away, especially those that pops up suddenly. There’s also a chance at dealing a critical damage, killing a zombie with one blow.
At the start of the game, the scowling zombie hunter is now equipped with a handgun and a baseball bat. The bat can be upgraded to a sledgehammer for $650. I’m guessing the upgrade after that would be the katana as mentioned on Zombieville USA’s App Store page.
The two other new features can be accessed through the Options menu: extra lives and an alternate control scheme. Players can now choose to have 1, 3, or 5 lives. The extra lives will help give the game longevity and more mayhem. The new control scheme moves the left and right movement controls to the left side of the screen while on the right side of the screen there are the two buttons for attack: red button for the original set of weapons, green button for melee weapons.
These are welcome new features to an excellent game and Mika Mobile promises more new stuff coming.
I’ll be doing a short review of Zombieville USA real soon. Please watch out for it.
Filed under: App Store, iPhone, iPod touch, update
July 16, 2009 • 11:19 AM 2
iTunes 8.2.1 has been released and though this minor update still has the same obfuscated “provides a number of important bug fixes…”, this time around one thing is clear: an additional “…and addresses an issue with verification of Apple devices” has cut short Palm’s effort to pull a fast one on Apple.
According to AppleInsider, the 8.2.1 update kills the Palm Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes. This comes after Apple’s warning last month saying they can’t guarantee that “newer versions of Apple’s iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.” However, Palm has already advised Pre user of a fix: don’t update.
Kidding aside, one wonders what Palm’s next move will be. I hope it’s something aside from camouflaging the Pre as an iPod.
You can download iTunes 8.2.1 via Software Update utility or directly from Apple’s iTunes page. Download size lists it as 77.3MB, and 75MB for the 64-bit Windows version.
My Mac’s Software Update utility hasn’t found this update yet. Might opt for a manual download instead.
July 16, 2009 • 9:55 AM 3
I caught this product news at The Mac Observer website: Light Crafts, a company that makes powerful, yet easy-to-use and learn digital photo editing software, is offering for a very limited period one of the applications for free to download and own.
Aurora is described as a “powerfully simple visual photo editing, organizing, sharing and storing software that brings out the best in your photos” and is geared towards consumers. You can visit Light Crafts’ Aurora page to know more.
If you’re ready to get your free copy, just click on the “Buy Now for $19.95” button. Then look for the “Discount Coupon” field and type in the code FREE24 then press the button right beside it. Don’t worry, once the coupon code has been applied they won’t ask you for any credit card or other payment information. However, you need to give them a valid email address because that’s where they’ll send you the registration code.
Again, Aurora can be downloaded for free for a very limited time only. This offer will end July 16, 2009 at 9:14 AM EST or July 17, 2009 at 10:15 AM, Manila time. After this promo period, Aurora can be purchased for $19.95 and is available for both Mac and Windows.
Update:
I forgot to mention that once you’ve done with the order form, Light Crafts will send you two emails: the first confirms your order and the second gives you your registration/activation information and a link where you can download a copy of Aurora. The link has an expiration date and there’s a limit to the number of times you can download the software. Aurora for Mac is a 44MB download.
Filed under: third-party, promo
July 16, 2009 • 8:06 AM 0
Apple has seeded beta 2 of iPhone OS 3.1 to developers. One of the new features include being able to connect to a system through Wi-Fi, according to AppleInsider. This potentially could allow syncing without the use of a USB cable though Apple has warned that physical tethering is still the preferred method for its speed and lesser power consumption.
Voice Control via Bluetooth headset is now possible, eliminating the need to rely on a wired headset or the iPhone’s built-in mic for voice commands. Users have the option of saving original copies of videos that were trimmed using the built-in video editing feature.
A new build of the Mac OS X 10.6 (build 10A411) has also been released to developers. This comes less than a week after the release of build 10A402a. This new build is considerably smaller in size (730MB) than the previous one (1.3GB).
Filed under: Apple, Inc., iPhone OS, OS X
July 15, 2009 • 9:38 AM 1
Been looking into getting the new 13″ MacBook Pro soon and instead of paying Apple more to get a memory and hard drive upgrade, I’ll save a lot if I do it myself.
I’ve already done memory module upgrades on a Powerbook, an iBook, an Intel iMac, and a MacBook before, and fairly recently, replaced a MacBook’s dead hard drive for a new one. In all instances I used the web to find tutorials on how to do the job.
With the 13″ MacBook Pro purchase looking, I was glad to find Other World Computing’s large library of tutorials on how to upgrade a memory module or hard drives on a Mac. They also have tutorials on replacing optical drives on some Macs and replacing iPod batteries.
Other World Computing, by the way, is one of the best online resources for computer hardware accessories. Their e-commerce site, macsales.com, has one of the largest catalog for Mac, iPod and iPhone upgrades and expansion products.
OWC makes the 13″ MacBook Pro RAM and HDD upgrades look pretty straightforward. Each video begins with a skill level rating and the average time it should take for the upgrade to complete. The video also shows a list of necessary tools and also some reminders (like anti-static precaution and all that). There are three video qualities you can choose from, choice would probably depend on how fast your internet connection is.
Skill level rating for both RAM and HDD upgrade are “easy” and time required is only take 10 minutes. If the memory module and HDD upgrades are done in just one sitting, it probably just take 15 minutes.
Some notes on removing the bottom cover of the 13″ MacBook Pro:
I’ve read complaints about how the RAM and HDD upgrades are not very user-friendly on the new MacBook Pros. However, based on these two videos I think they’re wrong. It would be interesting to see if someone with little or no experience when it comes to tinkering with computers can at least do the RAM upgrade just by watching OWC’s video.
Finally. A Mac-related post.
Filed under: iMac, Mac, Mac mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, HDD, OWC, RAM, tip, upgrade
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