Touch Mouse [iTunes link] is a free iPhone / iPod Touch application from Logitech that turns your iDevice into a wireless keyboard and trackpad for your Windows or Macintosh computer. It's not a remote control application, so you don't get a view of the computer's screen; you simply get an alternative way to control the mouse pointer and keyboard. Touch Mouse works by relying on a small server software component that you install on your desktop computer that listens for connections from the iPhone app.

This is very useful when you have a computer set up as a PVR. Most of the time, you can do what you need to do with a remote control, but occasionally you'll need to navigate the file system or close a pesky dialog box (no, I don't want to upgrade my antivirus, thanks), and for that Touch Mouse can be very useful.

My one small concern about Touch Mouse is that there is no authentication going on; it appears that any computer that is running the Touch Mouse server software on the same wireless network shows up in the Touch Mouse app. That won't be a problem for me since I'm using it at home on my home network, but it could be a problem in other environments.

[via TUAW]

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Logitech's free Touch Mouse app turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a keyboard and trackpad for your computer originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Though Macs ship with a reasonably good video player in the shape of QuickTime Player, the sheer number of different types of video files that are available out there can be frustrating to keep up with. You have to install various plugins to make QuickTime compatible with them all. Or, you can choose an all-in-one solution like VLC.

Of course, some people are not fans of the look and feel of VLC. If you're in that camp, check out Movist. Movist is another all-in-one video player for OS X that has so far handled every file type that I've thrown at it. You can even go into the preferences and manually control the decoder that you want to use for each file type in case one works better than another.

Movist's UI feels very at home on my Mac, and I like it enough that it has become my default video player. I'm looking forward to see what the next update holds for Movist, which appears to be a very active project hosted on Google Code.

[via MacStories]

Movist is a strong VLC alternative for Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you're looking to implement a secure, private chat environment in your company, have a look at what's going on at Ignite Realtime with their OpenFire real time collaboration server and Spark cross-platform IM client.

Being that they are open source, both OpenFire and Spark are free; that makes it easy to convince management to give it a try.

But the open source nature of the products also means that if they almost but don't quite suit your needs, you can always modify them to fit the bill.

Ignite Realtime also hosts a number of other related projects including SparkWeb, Smack API, Tinder API, Whack API, and XIFF API. If you're an IT manager or developer looking to implement a secure private chat environment, have a look at OpenFire and Spark.

OpenFire and Spark offer secure private chat and collaboration tools originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I've been using Fluid for a couple of years now to create site-specific browsers on my Mac for certain very useful web applications like Gmail, and Jay points out 10 web apps you should be running on your mac with Fluid. Though the current version of Fluid still works well, it hasn't updated in awhile and that got me curious as to what the developer behind Fuild, Todd Ditchendorf, was currently up to.

It turns out he's currently working on a project called Fluidium, which takes the site-specific browser concept of Fluid, and does two important things: it makes it available to developers so that they can create self-contained SSBs that they can distribute, and it open-sources the code behind Fluidium so that developers can not only use it, but they can make changes as they need.

This is some neat stuff, but as a non-developer my main question was, "when will Fluid be updated?" My question was answered on the Fluidium blog, and the answer is soon. First a small update will be released to address some bug fixes, but later we can expect to see a revamped version of Fluid that takes advantage of some of the rewrites Todd did for Fluidium to make it even better.

I can't wait.

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Fluidium lets developers create their own site-specific browsers originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Have you ever wished that you could have a photo booth running at your wedding reception, engagement party, or kegger? If so, you might want to check out Party Booth.

Party Booth is a desktop application that runs in full-screen kiosk mode that allows party guests to walk up to the computer, simply press the spacebar, and pose for pictures. The process is entirely automated. The app allows you to use custom graphics for a border or banner on the prints, allowing you to commemorate your event for your guests. It can also optionally automatically upload photos to Facebook, img.ly, Mobypicture, Posterous, ScreenTweet, TweetPhoto, TwitDoc, Twitgoo, TwitPic, twitrpix, TwitSnaps, and tumblr.

Party Booth is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X and Linux due to it being a Flash application distributed in in Adobe's AIR Runtime. Party Booth will set you back $38US, which is far less expensive than renting an actual photo booth, and you can run a trial of the app for free.

Party Booth turns your webcam into a social-media aware automated photo booth originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Email Uploader: upload email from your Mac to Google Apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trillian chat client gets a Mac version, now in alpha originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

OS X's Spaces feature is a nice implementation of virtual desktops, but I find it can be awkward to move between spaces sometimes. As much as I'm a keyboard shortcut kind of guy, and enjoy the ability to use the keyboard to switch spaces, often times when I want to switch between spaces my hand is already on my mouse. Yes, you can switch spaces by clicking the spaces icon in the menu bar, but there's a faster, more intuitive way.

Warp is a system preference pane that adds the ability to simply push the mouse against the side of the screen and move to the next Space. There are configuration settings for how long the mouse needs to remain at the edge before it activates, whether to warp the mouse cursor when switching spaces (so that you can continue one smooth movement as if the spaces were actual screens side-by-side), the ability to wrap around spaces, whether or not to warp on edges featuring the dock or menu bar, and whether to require a click at the screen edge to activate Warp.

You kind of have to try it to understand just how it feels to use, and Warp may well require some tweaking to make it agree with your way of working. But once you get it working, you'll wonder how you could ever live without it.

Warp lets you mouse between Spaces in OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There was a time when having a chat client on your computer at work was considered a no-no. These days, if you're not available via some sort of online chat or instant messaging, you're just not moving at the speed of business.

Many companies have begun using open instant messaging services for their internal discussions, but there are a couple of downsides to this approach. The first is a lack of control, and a potential lack of security. The second is a lack of collaboration tools; it's difficult to share files between multiple people in an instant messaging chat.

HipChat is a new start-up that aims to fix the problem of secure, controlled corporate chat. Based on Adobe AIR which provides cross-platform functionality, HipChat is a fully functional chat client that as GigaOM points out, bears a resemblance to 37Signals' Campfire product. To be fair, the basic layout of an IRC-like chat client has been the same for 15 years, so the similar look is not that much of a surprise.

Where HipChat has a definite advantage is in the fact that it is a desktop client (even if it does unfortunately rely on AIR), not a web client. While there are 3rd-party Campfire clients and even ways to run Campfire in a dedicated single-purpose browser, HipChat is simply a desktop chat client.

HipChat has plans available from $9/month for up to 12 users, to $99/month for up to 100 users, and offers a 30 day free trial.

[via GigaOM]

HipChat is a new private chat service for companies and teams originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you happen to follow Mac indie software development, you've probably heard of Craig Hockenberry, the developer behind Twitterrific. Hockenberry is known for an online persona he sometimes takes on Twitter, where he types in all capitals. This persona is sometimes known as the CHOCKLOCK, and has resulted in people that are "in the know" referring to CapsLock as CHOCKLOCK.

All of that is background to explain why the utility I'm about to tell you about is called CHOCKSEE. CHOCKSEE is a Mac utility that will show you a pretty floating bezel on the screen if you happen to bump the CapsLock key, much like what you see on a Mac if you hit the Eject key.

And that's all that it does. Cute? Definitely. Useful? Kinda, sorta. I mean, there's already a visual indicator that your CapsLock key is on: ALL YOUR TEXT IS IN UPPERCASE LETTERS.

CHOCKSEE visually warns you when your CapsLock key is activated originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For some people, the built-in Mail.app on the Mac is all they need in an email client. For others, it is frustratingly close to being what they need, but lacking in some key areas.

The problem is that because Mail.app comes with every copy of OS X, and it's not a bad email client, the perception among the Mac development community is that there is no money to be made making a better Mac mail client. This is a case where "good enough" seems to be standing in the way of "great".

This scenario frustrated Brent Simmons (of NetNewWire fame) greatly. So greatly, in fact, that he was driven to write a blog post titled Email init begging the Mac development community to get together and collectively write a new, better email client. That post went up on Saturday, January 16, and a little over a week later, quite a bit has happened.

As part of the post, Brent created a mailing list for the yet-to-be-named app, which subsequently has been named Letters. A vote was also held to determine who would act as the President of the project. The role of president will be held by various people, and each president's job will be to marshall the project to the next major version release. The inaugural president for Letters will be John Gruber, who will hold that position until Letters 1.0 is released.

If you're interested in the philosophy behind Letters, check out the Letters vision document that first appeared on the mailing list. You can also follow Letters.app on Twitter.

Letters is a Mac email client that we hope to see one day originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

DoubleTwist makes a deal with T-Mobile, becomes iTunes for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

1Password is finally available for Chrome. Sort of.

1Password is a favorite password manager among Mac users, with a passionate fan base -- and that fan base has been clamoring for a version of 1Password that included Chrome compatibility ever since Chrome was released for the Mac!

Well, the time has come, and an alpha version of 1Password has been released that does indeed support Chromium (the developer version of Chrome). Chromium is necessary because the current version of Chrome for Mac does not support extensions. (You can grab a nightly build of Chromium over here.)

Keep in mind that this version of 1Password is alpha software, and that means it is by definition not yet stable. It also currently only supports the most basic of 1Password functionality: unlocking 1Password and filling in simple login forms.

If you're brave enough to try alpha software, let us know how it goes!

1Password alpha version available for Chrome(ium) originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Propane: a beautiful desktop client for Campfire originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Some technologies get way more hype than they really ought to, given the lack of real-world utility they offer. If you ask me, the king in this category is the idea of using a 3D user interface for computing.

Since the early 90's, people have speculated about a great new paradigm shift away from the desktop metaphor to a more "natural" three-dimensional interface where the user navigates a virtual building to interact with the various data on their computer, and later on the web. While this has been successfully implemented, nobody is arguing it's a more efficient way to compute than the traditional 2D desktop.

For the past few years a new 3D approach called BumpTop was announced that maintains the desktop metaphor, rather than switching to a different paradigm. It received a lot of press with interesting and impressive looking demo videos, and eventually released a Windows implementation. And now BumpTop is available for the Mac in both a free and Pro version ($29 US).

So, is the concept of a 3D desktop going to revolutionize computing? In a word, no. It's fun to play with, but it certainly doesn't make me feel more productive. Now, to be fair, my Mac doesn't have multi-touch, and BumpTop Mac includes multi-touch capabilities that could make it easier to use. But I have a hard time thinking of BumpTop as anything more than a sophisticated toy.

At the end of the day, what I like about computing is that it's easy to keep things organized. I don't want my computer's desktop to look like my real desktop does. It's messy enough as it is.

[via Technology News]

BumpTop 3D desktop comes to the Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Mozilla will unleash Firefox 3.6 tomorrow!

Mozilla will unleash Firefox 3.6 tomorrow! originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Pop quiz: what's the largest photo site on the web? Flickr? Photobucket? Picasa? Nope, it's Facebook.

Like me, you might find that fact a bit surprising, since we don't immediately think of Facebook as a photo sharing site -- that's just one of its features.

What's even more interesting when thinking about Facebook as a photo sharing site is that it has a built-in permission system that says that if you are tagged in a photo, you are given permission to see that photo.

A new Mac and Windows application called PhotoGrabber uses that permission (and your credentials) to go harvest all of the photos it can find of you on the service, and download them into a local folder. It can also download all the photos you have access to of your contacts.

Interestingly, it doesn't appear to download profile pictures, but sticks strictly to photos where the target person has been tagged.

[via Lifehacker]

Download all the Facebook photos you're tagged in using PhotoGrabber originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boxee gets a business plan: Subscription content coming soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

About a week ago I posted about an AppleScript that you can use to create a new text file in the Finder folder that you are looking at. I was a little bit surprised by the reaction; some people thought it was a great idea, while others thought it ridiculous and couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want to do that.

Well, if you fall into the latter camp, you might as well skip the rest of this post.

But for those of you that, like me, find it useful to be able to create a new text file right in the finder, you're in luck. Jonas Wisser, the man behind the original script has created a new version of it with some added ease of use.

Jonas' new script will now ask you for a file name for the new text file (you don't need to add .txt, it will do that automatically), then automatically open the new file in your text editor of choice. Slick.

If, like me, you're using the Alpha version of the new Finder add-on Total Finder that Jay posted about, you'll want to note that there seems to be a conflict between Total Finder's Visor function and the new New Text File Here script that causes all new scripts to be created on the desktop instead of in the folder being viewed. Jonas is aware of the issue, and has promised to look into it, though it may or may not be something that can be solved in AppleScript. The workaround is to turn the Visor feature of Total Finder off, or uninstall Total Finder.

[via MacStories]

Updated script makes creating text files from Mac's Finder even easier originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There has been a lot of hype around the release of the new Mac note taking app Thoughts by green&slimy software, and it has now been released. We've already got a ton of note taking applications to choose from -- like Evernote and Notational Velocity -- so what does Thoughts bring to the table to set itself apart?

As far as I can tell, Thoughts wants to be the pretty girl at the party. They're not trying to compete on features with the likes of Evernote, and they're not trying to compete on speed with the likes of Notational Velocity. Instead, they're taking the approach that note taking is more fun when it feels more like actually taking notes in a notebook.

The app is gorgeous, and very much a part of the delicious generation of software that puts a very high emphasis on aesthetics. You can create notebooks, add pages to notebooks, and even do some advanced formatting like adding tables to your pages. It also has wiki-like features allowing you to link to other pages within a notebook, to websites (of course), or even link to a message in Mail.

The fancy user interface includes animated page turns, and you can use mouse gestures to mimic the act of actually flipping pages. While this is a nice gimmick, it's certainly not the fastest way to navigate.

With a substantial price tag of 24 Euros, Thoughts has some stiff competition from the free note taking app crowd. I can imagine that people who are transitioning to using a computer from writing their notes in notebooks might enjoy the familiar interface, though.

Thoughts is a pretty new note taking app for Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Jan 2010 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.