UPDATE: UIF (Universal Image Format) is another one of MagicISO’s proprietary image formats that no other software recognizes. You can easily convert these to standard ISO with Luigi Auriemma’s ‘UIF to ISO converter’!

.DAA is a proprietary image file format developed by PowerISO. It’s not free and is often used within filesharing communities to compress CD/DVD images. While it’s great for reducing file sizes, its exclusivity to PowerISO makes it horribly inaccessible. Wouldn’t it be handier to have it in the ubiquitous ISO-format instead? PowerISO provides a free converter for the Linux and Mac terminal, but it requires Windows users to buy the full version. Conversion of files works in the trial-version, though is limited to a maximm filesize of 300MB — a pathetic limitation, since CD images are generally larger than 600 Megs.

Luigi Auriemma has created a handy command line tool that converts .DAA to .ISO, which can be burned with any burner and mounted with free software like Daemon Tools. The latest version also includes easy-to-use dialog boxes for selecting source and destination paths.

Download (23.2 KB) from Luigi Auriemma’s webpage.
Linux and Mac versions here.

Yes, it’s the same LimeWire we all know as the popular peer-to-peer client that’s opened its own music store. It will be offering all of it’s track sans DRM, at a blasting $0.27 per track, provided you go with their subscription model. The top of the bill ‘Platinum’ model costs $19.99 a month and will enable you to download 75 tracks. Subscription is not mandatory, users can still purchase tracks separately for $0.99, a price common to most online music stores.

The initial store will be loaded up with some 500,000 tracks, all encoded at 256 kbps in MP3 (VBR). Also, their LimeWire client will soon be updated to integrate the store, alongside the regular file-sharing feature-set. International customers will have to sit tight for now, though, since clientele is currently limited to the US, due to licensing issues.

What makes this store interesting isn’t the fact that it’s DRM-free or downright dirt cheap, it’s the irony of it all. LimeWire is - after all - one of the leading platforms for illegal music downloading. Their motivation for the music store:

“We think purchase links should appear alongside Gnutella search results, similar to how Google keeps sponsored links separate. We believe a significant number of users will choose to purchase content if the presentation is convenient and unobtrusive, the price is right, and the product isn’t hindered by DRM.”

I think they may have a point, but is their price low enough to overcome the threshold of filesharing? Or are they trying to white-wash their image for some obscure reason?

The ultimate tool for control freaks: ‘Taskbar Shuffle’! Aside from being able to categorize your windows in virtual desktops with Vista/XP Virtual Desktops, you can also organize the buttons on the taskbar. Why would you want that? Don’t think there’s a real reason, other than being strongly clung to daily habits. Although, you could make a good case of improved productivity, too.

• Download Taskbar Shuffle
  For Windows Vista/XP/2000/NT/98/95

After this gizmo’s installed, all you need to do to order the buttons differently is click and drag. It’s as simple as that. System tray icons can also be dragged around, if you hold the CTRL-button whilst doing so.

A great little tool for the frenzied computer user.

When the 1.1.3 firmware upgrade came along for the iPod Touch, I decided to hold off a little. The additions to the OS were Mail, Maps, Stocks, Notes and the customizable Home Screen. The upgrade cost 20 USD or 17.99 EUR. Short thereafter 1.1.4 was released, which caused the notification for the ‘January Software Upgrade’ to disappear.

Afterwards I decided to purchase the upgrade anyway, but couldn’t find a trace of it anymore. The link on Apple’s website points to a page in iTunes, but clicking on the ‘OK’-button resulted into a blank page. Over and over again.

After some Google-foo I found the following link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=271872604&s=143441. From here, I was perfectly able to purchase the update after all.

I wonder why Apple doesn’t make it easier for them to haul in even more money.
Ah well.

(Source: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1418496&tstart=0)

Google has just released its ‘Google Sky’, which allows you to ‘pan the heavens’ as you would a map of the Earth. It’s built on the same Google Maps technology and can be found at sky.google.com. Prior to the web version of Sky, Google created Google Mars, Google Moon and finally integrated Google Sky into the desktop app Google Earth. The web version provides the following feature-set:

• Search the ‘tens of thousands’ of indexed named objects
• Infrared, microwave, ultraviolet or x-ray views
• Best images gallery from Hubble and other telescopes
• Planetary positions and constellations
• ‘Earth & Sky’ podcast gallery
• No download needed

It’s a pretty cool site, though still needs some work, in my opinion. And, of course, you can’t just zoom in ‘infinitely’ like you can on Maps or Earth. Nonetheless, if you’re interested in this kind of stuff, you’ll find it pretty interesting.

Synchronize multiple (primary and secondary) Google Calendars to Outlook and your iPhone/iPod Touch for free with OggSync.

• Download OggSync 3.22 for Outlook (direct link)
• www.oggsync.com

The iPhone and iPod Touch don’t support calendaring very well out of the box. Apple provides some rudimentary implementation for Microsoft Outlook on the Windows side (the majority of the user base is Windows-users – after all). And that’s pretty much where it stops. Most likely, when the iPhone SDK makes its debut the tables will turn once the third-party developers get their foot behind the door, but for now we’re stuck with Outlook.

The only way to get your Google Calendar(s) onto the iPhone* (i.e. without hacking) is to go through Microsoft Outlook. This means you’ll have to subsequently synchronize your calendars with Outlook and then with the iPhone. Furthermore, the latest version of the ‘Home & Student’ edition of Office [2007] doesn’t come equipped with Outlook anymore, like previous iterations used to. If you’re a Windows user and want calendaring on the iPhone, you’ll have to acquire Outlook first.

Lame, I know.

The secondary calendars dilemma

The problem with Google’s own syncing app for Outlook is that it only supports 1 calendar, the primary calendar. If you like a certain structure in your events, like I do, this will rapidly become a problem. If you want, it is possible to merge all your calendars into one. In that case, you can go ahead and sync to Outlook with Google’s own app.

In order to accomplish a merged primary calendar, you can:

• Move the events to your primary calendar, or
• Export your entire secondary calendar and import them into your primary calendar

(Google promises to make the multi-calendar feature available in the future, but doesn’t specify a date)

OggSync (Google-Outlook Sync) to the rescue

For those who refuse to make such a sacrifice (hell, I do) there’s a free app out there called OggSync. It’s an Outlook Add-In that supports primary and secondary calendars seamlessly and best of all, it’s free. It docks right into the standard Calendar view as a toolbar and provides you with a few options. Once you’re set, all you need to do is hit the ‘Sync’-button. Magically, GCal events will start to trickle into your Outlook Calendar…

After that, plug in your iPhone and sync away.

Pros:

• Full support for all your calendars
• Support for both Outlook 2003 AND 2007
• Pro version available, but optional
• Free!

Cons:

• A bit of a hassle, but heck, it’s better than nothing, no?
• No calendar coloring support [yet] in Outlook 2007
• An occasional freeze, but they don’t usually linger for long

Download OggSync 3.22 for Outlook (direct link)

Notes

*: You can also access your Google Calendars via the Safari browser on the iPhone. However, this is a static view and means you cannot add or edit events. Furthermore, you will need WiFi availability in order for this work. Experience has shown you don’t usually have wireless around when you need that desperate peek at your calendar.

Over the weekend popular tech sites got themselves engulfed in iPhone 2.0-related stores. Numerous live reporters/bloggers were present, yet they all had a different take on Apple’s presentation related to the soon-to-come 2.0 Software Update and SDK. In search of a neutral stance on things, I found Paul Thurrott’s rather lengthy write-up on the matter.

In case you’ve got an hour and a half to spare and are in for some Apple-bragging, the whole event is up on Apple’s website in both Standard and High Def (QuickTime) video. I wonder why anyone would like to see Jobs’ face up close in HD, though.

A concise version of the event

As always, Jobs starts his presentation with the regular bragging about how fantastic things are going. The iPhone is now n°2 (right after RIM>BlackBerry) in the US smartphone market with a 28% share and accounts for 71 percent of mobile browsing.

Enterprise support

The iPhone is finally going to natively accomodate corporate functionality, in hopes of winning over businesses to acknowledge the iPhone as a true smartphone. When Apple ships the 2.0 software update, the iPhone and iPod Touch will support the following enterprise technologies.

• Full support for Microsoft Exchange
• Push e-mail/calendaring/contacts
• Global address list support
• Cisco IPSec VPN
• Two-factor authentication by means of certificates and identities
• WPA 2 Enterprise, 802.1x
• Remote wipe (over the air)
• Mandatory usage of a PIN

To make this all happen, Apple licensed the ActiveSync protocol from Microsoft.

The software update will be offered to iPhone users for free. iPod Touch users will need to pay a nominal fee, probably (hopefully) similar to the $20 fee for the 1.1.3 update.

Software Development Kit

The SDK is out already and can be downloaded for free*. Apps will be distributed through iTunes via a developer program. Developers can join this program for $99 a year. Companies will pay more ($299, also yearly). Though this looks like a great deal, you must note that the SDK will only work on Macs. Developing for the iPhone/Touch will require more funds than you thought, since you’ll need to purchase a whole new computer, too.

As an introductory to the SDK, Scott Forstall (vice president of iPhone software) outlined the iPhone’s architecture, which borrows heavily from Mac OS X. In fact, it’s comprised of 4 main layers:

• Core OS
• Core Services
• Media
• Cocoa Touch

The most impressive thing about this all is that Apple ported the first three layers from OS X without a lot of modification. The media layer provides several interesting API’s including an embedded version of OpenGL. Electronic Arts has developed a demo version of Spore, which uses the accelerometer for navigation.

Developing for the iPhone will give you all the tools Apple uses for OS X and the native iPhone apps:

• XCode + iPhone emulator: Apple’s Mac OS X-based development environment
• Remote debugger: hook up an iPhone/Touch and debug live
• Interface Builder: toolset for creating the GUI for the app (by dragging around controls, like Visual .NET)
• Instruments: statistics on the debugging app (CPU, File System, Memory Usage)

All APIs are written in Objective-C, a language that resembles C++, C# and Java to a certain degree, but is substantially different from what most programmers are used to.

App Store & iTunes

Every iPhone and iPod Touch that applies the 2.0 update will get a new icon on the home screen. This will initiate the App Store, the portable version of the iTunes Application Store. A user would be able to view the inventory and download/install the desired application without ado. It looks and acts much like the iTunes WiFi Store, but will also work over EDGE. Every application you install will also be automatically updated, too.

Rev Split

Developers get 70 percent of the revenues. The other 30 for Apple will render the hosting and distribution. If a developer decides to provide its application for free, there won’t be any hosting costs either. Credit card fees and marketing costs will also be taken care of by Apple.

The iPhone 2.0 update will become available in late June this year.

*: The SDK has indeed already been finalized. I initially stated that it was still in beta, like the 2.0 software update. Thanks for the feedback, Clak.