Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[OS X 10.6.2 offers tons of fixes, breaks Atom support again]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

This Atom Hackintosh story's been flip-flopping like a dolphin at SeaWorld, but here's the final answer: OS X 10.6.2 is out, and it apparently does not run on machines with Atom CPUs. That's the bad news. The good news is that 10.6.2 offers an absolute smorgasbord of tweaks and fixes. Apple's release notes with one of these OS updates usually include some vague message about improved security and stability, and that's it. This time, there's a laundry list of improvements.

The update, which is around 160MB if you're upgrading from 10.6.1, corrects a few nagging issues in the Finder: Exchange contacts not showing up in Spotlight, flaky menu extras, wonky VPN connections and - this one was a personal peeve of mine - not being able to add photos to Address Book. Also, the problem with opening multiple downloaded files at once (a problem Apple never actually acknowledged) is now fixed. Hooray! The whole list is pretty long, and there's also an extensive list of potential exploits addressed by 10.6.2's security update.

OS X 10.6.2 offers tons of fixes, breaks Atom support again originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>applebug fixesBugFixesos xos x 10.6.2OsXOsX10.6.2securityTue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[One Finger Discount takes on MacHeist with 20% off tons of Mac apps]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/#commentsFiled under: ,

While software giveaway sites like MacHeist allow indie developers to trade a bunch of free copies of their app for publicity and new customers, some developers aren't on board with that arrangement. Red Sweater Software's Daniel Jalkut believes in getting paid for his hard work, so he decided to offer a 20% discount instead of giving his apps away for free.

It turns out he's not alone. In fact, over 80 different Mac developers have joined Jalkut's "One Finger Discount" promotion. That means you have your choice of over 100 apps at 1/5 off (hence the "one finger").

Of course, the promotion includes Jalkut's own apps, the impressive MarsEdit blog editor and Black Ink crossword maker, but there are some other choice goodies there, too. Some of my personal favorites include Flying Meat's Acorn image editor and VoodooPad, and SmileOnMyMac's TextExpander. There are also tons of apps I haven't tried yet, or haven't even heard of. That's the whole point, though: giving you a chance to discover something new at a big discount. Indie developers for the win!

One Finger Discount takes on MacHeist with 20% off tons of Mac apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dealdiscounthggHolidayGiftGuidemacone finger discountOneFingerDiscountos xOsXsoftwareMon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Every now and then I find myself working on slides in Keynote and writing Download Squad posts - and struggling to find a suitable image. Of course, Flickr is the best way to find images - their clear licencing and Creative Commons support makes finding images fairly straight forward. However, getting the image into Keynote isn't entirely painless. The workflow of browsing search results, viewing the image and then finding it at a suitable size (if it exists) takes time - however that's where Viewfinder steps in.

A native Mac OS X application (requiring Mac OS X Snow Leopard), Viewfinder allows you to search Flickr from the desktop apply filters to show only Creative Commons images, and specify a particular image size. Then, once you select an image you can download the image, set it as your desktop background - and most importantly - send images straight to Keynote for your slides.

If you're a heavy keynote user (or blogger) who frequently needs to find Flickr images for your work Viewfinder is indispensible. I've been testing it since early September and found it an incredibly convenient tool to have at hand. A licence costs £15 (roughly $25) and a free demo is available for you try from the Viewfinder webpage.

Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FlickrImage SearchImageSearchMac OS XMacOsXSnow LeopardSnowLeopardFri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Boxee media center to hit beta next month]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Boee Alpha
Media center application Boxee has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past year or two, and for good reason: Boxee provides Mac, Linux, and Windows users with an excellent solution for watching internet video on a TV. While web browsers were generally designed for viewing text and images with video thrown in as an afterthought, Boxee was designed to look and feel more like a consumer electronics application that you can navigate from the couch with a remote control.

Boxee can access online video from services including Hulu, Joost, and BBC's iPlayer. You can use it to enjoy audio and video podcasts. And you can access local media stored on your hard drive.

But despite all of its features, Boxee is still alpha software. That's going to change next month. Boxee is set to launch the first beta version of its software at an event in New York on December 7th. I suppose the day will continue to live in Infamy, although I doubt that decades from now we'll still be talking about it as the date that Boxee went beta.

The new version will have a new user interface, improved navigation, a user-controlled queue, and a new TV and movie search function among other changes.

Boxee media center to hit beta next month originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boxeeboxee-betamedia-centerFri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Voice Mac is a native Google Voice client for OS X]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We recently told you about an Adobe AIR-based Google Voice client with a pretty small featureset. It puts your SMS and voicemail messages close at hand on your desktop, but that's all it does.

If you're on a Mac, though, you can do a bit better. Voice Mac is a Google Voice client with a threaded SMS view, voicemail downloading, and the ability to make calls and send texts, and Address Book integration.

Voice Mac is certainly not gorgeous, but it has a ton of functionality.

There's an SMS and voicemail/call history browser, and it also has a built-in reverse phone lookup, so you can try to figure out who any mystery calls are from. If you don't use your Voice account frequently, the web interface might be fine for you, but if you're a Voice addict - especially one who uses SMS constantly - Voice Mac is worth a download.


[via Lifehacker]

Voice Mac is a native Google Voice client for OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>google voiceGoogleVoicesmsvoicemailvoipThu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Egoboo is a fun 3D Rogue-like game for Windows, Mac, and Linux]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

I have no idea if Egoboo's original creator named this thing, or if the name came later on after the mantle had been handed down a few times -- and I had absolutely no idea what that word meant... until I punched it into Google! Check out the definition, if you feel the need to know. If not, read on!

Egoboo is a (90 megabyte!!) 3D Rogue-like game. Rogue is a very, very old game -- the original adventure game, really -- and Egoboo builds on its legacy, throws in a little hack-and-slash... and it's even a bit of a RPG! There is loot, there are gribbly monsters that are out to eat your face, and there are plenty of pretty zones to explore (plus there's a map editor!)

To top it all off, it's fully cross-platform (Windows, Mac AND Linux) and has a thriving forum community. It's free of course. Oh, and It's quite brutal. I died several times very quickly, so I'd recommend reading the guide before you jump in.

Download Egoboo (yes, their site is so old it even uses frames! OK, iframes, but still...)

Egoboo is a fun 3D Rogue-like game for Windows, Mac, and Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventurefreegamesopen sourceOpenSourceWed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Windows Live Sync finally gets an update for Snow Leopard]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It's been a long, long wait for Snow Leopard users (myself included) who are dancing with the devil and using Microsoft's Windows Live Sync (formerly Foldershare), but Microsoft have finally announced an update for the application that resolves a long running compatibility problem with Apple's finest.

Wearing version number 14.0.8096.0903, the new release fixes a problem with internal security certificates that completely prevented Snow Leopard users from logging into their Windows Live Sync account.

Announced on the Windows Live Sync blog, the update only includes the aforementioned fix and does not include any new features - existing users who have not migrated to Snow Leopard do not need to upgrade.

I'm pleased to report that i've installed the update and it works great!

Windows Live Sync finally gets an update for Snow Leopard originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As web apps become more powerful, more popular, and more full-featured, they're starting to replace desktop apps for many people. A Mac app called Fluid can pull those web applications onto your desktop and turn them into OS X native site-specific browsers.

Fluid has a lot of advantages compared to running web apps in your browser: you get a Cocoa app with its own Dock icon, automatic unread badges for sites like Gmail and Google Reader, and built-in userscript support. Keeping your web apps in a separate browser also means that they can't be taken down when another site crashes in some other tab. You can even create menubar apps, so your favorite webapp will be close at hand, right at the top of your screen.

To find icons for your Fluid apps, I recommend checking out the Fluid Icons Flickr group. The users there have come up with attractive icons for most of the apps on my list. Chris Ivarson has also designed a handful of great icons for Fluid apps.

Now that you know a little bit about how and why you should use Fluid, give these 10 sites a spin as site-specific browsers!

Google Wave

Google's hot new communication tool is a perfect candidate for a site-specific browser. It's pretty resource-intensive, and it's still in the preview stage, so it's prone to crashes and lag. I haven't found any excellent Wave userscripts yet, and the site's favicon makes a nice enough Fluid icon. If you want an additional icon and a userscript that gives you a badge count for Wave, Devthought has posted them.

Google Reader

A lot of people are already using Google Reader as their main RSS app, so it makes sense to set it up in Fluid. You also get the benefit of an unread count badge on the Dock icon and a bunch of great userscripts. One of my favorites is Helvetireader. Try setting it up with Chris Ivarson's icon.

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10 web apps you should be running on your Mac with Fluid originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appfluidgoogle readergoogle waveGoogleReaderGoogleWavemacos xOsXweb appWebAppTue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Focus Booster helps you stay focused]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Focus BoosterDistraction is the enemy of focus. If you work at a computer all day, the possibilities for distraction are limitless. One way to stay focused is to use the technique of a firmly regimented working period followed by a short break period that I first came across at Merlin Mann's 43 Folders site. His technique suggested using 10 minutes of work followed by 2 minutes of rest, but the recently popular Pomodoro Technique suggests using 25 and 5. Whatever periods you use, the cross-platform Adobe Air based Focus Booster application is just the timer you need to keep you on task.

Focus Booster is a tiny timer that allows you to set a work and rest period, then away you go. You can focus entirely upon your work knowing that a rest period is coming soon, and you can check out your Facebook / Twitter / blog comments / whatever it is you fancy when the time comes.

Focus Booster helps you stay focused originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobedistractionfacebookrest periodrest-periodRestPeriodsshort-breakMon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New Seesmic beta is the first Twitter client to support lists]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Seesmic might not be the best Twitter client, but it is the first to support the new lists feature. Users who sign up to Seesmic's mailing list can get access to the latest beta version of the Adobe AIR-based desktop client, including lists. List support is not complete yet: you can view your own lists and add people to them, but you can't see which lists have added you. It looks like you can create a new list, but you can't, yet -- if you check Twitter's web interface, you'll see your list isn't really there. These features are coming sooner than later, though, and this limited support is enough for Seesmic to call "first!"

I like the idea of lists in a Twitter client, but Seesmic really seems to be taking the kitchen sink approach to development. Last time we wrote about it, Facebook Page integration had just been added. There's a good chance you'll find one killer feature in Seesmic, whether it's pages, lists, or something else, but there'll be a bunch of other features that you don't need. Seesmic's strength is in being the first or only client to implement some of its features, but I think it's spreading a little thin in trying to be a top-flight client for both Twitter and Facebook.

Meanwhile, Seesmic's competitor in the "widescreen," AIR-based Twitter arena, Tweetdeck, is lagging behind on lists. Techcrunch reports that Tweetdeck plans to introduce the feature soon, though, with "extensive" integration.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

New Seesmic beta is the first Twitter client to support lists originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betaseesmicseesmic desktopSeesmicDesktoptwittertwitter listsTwitterListsMon, 02 Nov 2009 13:25:00 EST<![CDATA[15+ great Google Chrome extensions]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

We've already mentioned other ways to power up Google Chrome. Before extensions arrived on the developer channel, Userscripts and bookmarklets were your only options. Both are still great ways to add some kick-ass functionality to Chrome. If you're running the stable or beta builds, you may want to stick to them for now.
Now, onto the extensions!

If you have a favorite that I left off, feel free to share it in the comments!
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Continue reading 15+ great Google Chrome extensions

15+ great Google Chrome extensions originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onsbookmarkletsbrowserbrowserschrome-4chromiumdeveloper-channelextensionsfeaturesgoogle chromegoogle-chromeGoogleChromelistsproductivityUserScriptsutilitiesMon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST<![CDATA[iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

iWork 09Have you ever received an iWork file created in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote on a Mac, and not had any way to deal with it? Next time, try changing the file's extension to .zip, then unzip it with your favorite zip utility. Inside you should find a PDF preview document containing a nicely formatted version of the document in question.

It seems strange that Apple doesn't promote this fact more, as it's a real usability win for iWork users that want to share their documents with non-Mac users. Wouldn't it be nice if Word, Excel, and Powerpoint did this?

[photo by *keng]

iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Afloat is a handy little plugin for your Mac that gives you more control over all the windows you've got open. Once installed, Afloat adds some new options to the Window menu in most applications, allowing you to do some neat tricks. Here's a rundown of the options, which almost all have keyboard shortcuts:

The keep afloat command assigns a window to stay on top of all others. Alternatively, you can pin windows to the bottom of the stack, at desktop level. Window transparency is adjustable using either a slider or keyboard shortcuts. Afloat allows moving and resizing from any part of a window if you hold down cmd+ctrl - just grab an edge to resize, or drag from anywhere to move.

If you use Spaces, you can use Afloat to make a window appear across all Spaces, so you won't lose it when you switch. There's also a neat overlay feature that makes your window transparent and unclickable, so you can use it as a guide while you work with whatever's underneath - I can think of some fun design applications for that one. Afloat also has a hotkey to locate the file associated with the current window, which is something the OS X Finder could probably use as a standard feature.

It's not that Afloat adds essential functionality to the OS. In fact, it's probably overkill for most people, but just about every Mac user should be able to find one feature to like in this handy little plugin.

Afloat teaches your Mac's windows some new tricks originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>afloatresizetransparencywindowsSun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Lightweight Mac browser Camino 2 introduces a release candidate]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/lightweight-mac-browser-camino-2-introduces-a-release-candidate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/lightweight-mac-browser-camino-2-introduces-a-release-candidate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/lightweight-mac-browser-camino-2-introduces-a-release-candidate/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mozilla's Camino, the lightweight Mac alternative to Firefox, is getting very close to a 2.0 release. The first release candidate is out now -- you can download it by checking for updates in an earlier version of the browser -- and it's got updates to appearance, security features and more. You'll notice a new, more Leopard-like look for the tabs and toolbars, making Camino blend in better with recent versions of OS X.

One of the best additions to the new version of Camino is a built-in Flash blocker. You can turn it on to block all Flash animations, and then add exceptions the sites whose Flash you actually want to see. Other security features include making use of Google Safe Browsing, which warns you when you're headed for a site that Google has blacklisted for malware or phishing. All-in-all, Camino 2 isn't as feature-packed as Firefox, or as pretty as Safari, but it's lighter than either one (and offers Firefox-equivalent page-load times using Mozilla's Gecko rendering engine).

[via TechCrunch]

Lightweight Mac browser Camino 2 introduces a release candidate originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>browsercaminocamino 2Camino2macmozillarelease candidateReleaseCandidateThu, 29 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Share unlimited media files for free with Libox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Libox got my attention with free and unlimited - as in unlimited - media sharing. It's a new beta desktop application that allows you to share all your photos, videos and music with your friends and contacts. Unlike other social media sharing sites, whose free accounts are 1 GB or 100 photos/files, Libox is unlimited.

A colleague and I gave the app a trial run today and we liked it. After downloading and installing (7.9 MB Mac and Windows) the beta, Libox prompts you to import your files from your computer. The UI is clean, minimalist and intuitive. After importing your media files from your computer, you can share them by email with your friends and groups. Your friends will also have to install the app to open the files you send.

Libox allows you to sync your media files with all the computers in your house. There is also a web app where you can access your media in your browser, however, it is in alpha and can only be used on your local computer and if it is not behind a firewall.

To accomplish all this, Libox uses a combination of P2P networking, cloud and grid computing. It does not store your media or metadata on their servers and when you share media with your friends, Libox creates a "private secure network" on those specific files with those specific friends. The files are received in their original format, no compression, resizing or degradation.

Many questions abound, like how will this service make money? Once out of beta, will it be a paid service? What about the private secure networks? How private and how secure? The web access in alpha - how will that work? What are the compatible file formats? Any plans to add other file types like EPS or Docs? Does Libox work with Linux? Tell us more about the company and mission. Is their plan complete world domination? Is Libox too good to be true?

Stay tuned. Hopefully, we'll get these answers and more if you leave your questions in the comments.

Share unlimited media files for free with Libox originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>free media sharingliboxonline media sharingOnlineMediaSharingsocial media sharingSocialMediaSharingunlimitedunlimited free online file sharingunlimited online file sharingUnlimitedFreeOnlineFileSharingUnlimitedOnlineFileSharingThu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[10 hot Growl styles to make your pop-up alerts really pop]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/10-hot-growl-styles-to-make-your-pop-up-alerts-really-pop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/10-hot-growl-styles-to-make-your-pop-up-alerts-really-pop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/28/10-hot-growl-styles-to-make-your-pop-up-alerts-really-pop/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Growl provides customizable pop-up alerts for hundreds of Mac apps, making sure you never miss an important chat message or completed download. You can use Growl to set an alert for just about anything, and you can also make Growl notifications look practically any way you want. The built-in themes and the list on the official Growl Styles page don't even begin to cover all the options for gorgeous notifications, from the minimal to the very flashy.

Here are 10 lesser-known Growl styles that look a lot nicer than the defaults:

Gallery: 10 Hottest Growl Styles

BasicsB-GreekGlossyBlackiPhonesqueNiqu

10 hot Growl styles to make your pop-up alerts really pop originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>growllistsnotificationsskinsstylesthemesWed, 28 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Get Adobe Lightroom 3 for free! (kinda)]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/27/get-adobe-lightroom-3-for-free-kinda/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta -- photo credit: Adobe Systems
Until April 30th 2010 -- six whole months! -- Adobe Lightroom 3 is available for public beta testing.

In the last week there's been a lot of news regarding Lightroom 3's advanced feature, and now here's your chance to actually give it a whirl!

Lightroom is great for every kind of photographer -- casual, avid snapper or professional. It's not a full-featured editing suite like Photoshop, but it does have most functionality that photographers (note: not 'digital artists') might require -- but if you're the kind of artist or photographer that likes to airbrush his works into submission, Lightroom isn't for you. It is a 'digital darkroom and presentation' tool -- so from downloading photos, to sorting through them and producing pretty presentations/contact sheets, Lightroom's the program to use.

For those of you that have used it before, and are wondering why it might be a good time to upgrade (or at least try the beta), here are the new or enhanced features that Adobe are touting:
  • Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
  • State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
  • Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
  • Portable sharable slideshows with audio-designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
  • Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
  • Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
  • New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
  • More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*
And if those bullets got your juices flowing, here's the download link again: Adobe Lightroom 3 Public Beta

Get Adobe Lightroom 3 for free! (kinda) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobebetadigital cameraDigitalCamerafreelightroomphotographytestingTue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[FlagIt! helps tame your Apple Mail inbox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/flagit-helps-tame-your-apple-mail-inbox/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

When it comes to organizing your email inbox, Apple's Mail.app isn't the most sophisticated offering out there. FlagIt! is a mail add-on that lets you quickly mark your messages as urgent, pending or to-do. It adds its own set of flag icons to the seldom-used "flag" column in Mail, and sets the titles of your messages to the corresponding colors.

Once you've installed FlagIt!, you can start flagging by right-clicking (or control-clicking) on messages in your inbox and scrolling down to "Mark." In addition to flagging messages, you can set up custom flags and mark messages as completed right from this menu. All the default Mark menu items are still there, too, so you can mark as read or unread like you normally would. One word of caution to Snow Leopard users: to make FlagIt! work, you'll have to put Mail.app into 32-bit mode. You can do that by selecting Mail in the Finder and doing a Get Info.

FlagIt! helps tame your Apple Mail inbox originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apple mailAppleMailemailflagitmailmail.appSat, 24 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Chrome for Mac is official: developer preview now available]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-for-mac-is-official-developer-preview-now-availab/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-for-mac-is-official-developer-preview-now-availab/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/23/google-chrome-for-mac-is-official-developer-preview-now-availab/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you've been waiting patiently for Google Chrome to come to the Mac, but you're not an early adopter who likes to take chances with nightly builds, you'll be happy to know that the first official Developer Preview of Chrome is out now. Chrome brings speeds comparable to that other Webkit browser you may have tried on your Mac, Safari. It's also got a growing library of themes, in case the default Chrome blue turns you off.

With Safari 4 switching away from the tabs-on-top after trying them out in beta, the orientation of the tabs is Chrome's defining UI feature. Chrome's multi-process architecture also keeps one crashing tab from taking all your other tabs down with it. Sure, you can "restore all tabs" when Firefox crashes, but that's still more of a pain than it needs to be. Chrome is also making strides toward supporting extensions. It'll also import bookmarks and settings from your other browsers, so it's easy to make the switch.

[via Ars Technica]

Google Chrome for Mac is official: developer preview now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chromedeveloper previewDeveloperPreviewgoogle chromeGoogleChromemacFri, 23 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Open Office 4 Kids is good for adults, too]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/open-office-4-kids-is-good-for-adults-too/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/open-office-4-kids-is-good-for-adults-too/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/22/open-office-4-kids-is-good-for-adults-too/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The open source movement isn't just for grown-ups: Open Office 4 Kids is a slimmed-down version of the open source Microsoft Office alternative OpenOffice.org.

The target age group for Open Office 4 Kids is 7-12, but after trying it out, I think there are a lot of adults who would prefer it over MS Office or the full version of OpenOffice. It's available on whichever OS you've set your kid up with: Mac, Windows and (of course) Linux.

Less UI clutter helps make OO4K super-fast. Load times for the app and for creating a new document blew away Office 2008 on my Mac, and I didn't experience any of the annoying lag in loading font menus that I sometimes get in Office.

OO4Kids also has large, very obvious buttons for all of the most common functions of each Office app. The "4Kids" branding is almost a shame, because this could also be Open Office 4 Your Mom Who Always Asks You How To Do Stuff in Office.

On the other hand, I'm glad that any 7-to-12-year-olds who use this app will grow up understanding that Microsoft Word isn't the only way to write a paper.

[via Ghacks]

Open Office 4 Kids is good for adults, too originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>kidsOOoopen officeopen office 4 kidsOpenOfficeOpenOffice4KidsThu, 22 Oct 2009 19:00:00 EST