The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

MacUpdate announced today the release of version 5.0.2 of the MacUpdate Desktop utility, which allows users to manage application and widget software updates on their Mac OS X machines. The new version of the application adds some features and bug fixes as well as support for more languages.

MacUpdate Desktop can track software updates for 30,000 Mac applications, and it also provides update support for applications on the iPhone, although iTunes handles that pretty well. Updates can be triggered manually and individually, or set to install automatically when MacUpdate Desktop is open. It also provides support for updating screen savers and allows users to sort applications into "watch lists," so they can keep track of programs that are more important to keep current than others.

The update includes improved handling of the software it tracks, such as version and application matching, as well as French, German, and Italian localization. Some of the bugs it fixes are community preferences, registration problems, and issues with extracting tar bzip2 and dmg.zip downloads.

There are several update managers out there for Mac OS X (including AppFresh, LogicielMac, VersionTracker Pro, etc.) with fans and detractors of their own. If you've had great or not-so-great experiences with any of the updater tools, let us know in the comments.

Want to win one of two subscriptions to MacUpdate Desktop, courtesy of MU and TUAW? Read on for details!

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Large-scale layoffs have been hitting everywhere in the past year, and Electronic Arts is now no different: according to Gamasutra, the game publisher announced today that it will lay off 1,500 workers by April 2010, after posting a year-to-year decrease in revenue and a net loss of $391 million.

About 1,300 of the freshly unemployed individuals will result from the full closure of some of EA's facilities. This will cost EA money at the outset, but they estimate that by dropping the facilities they stand to save about $100 million annually. According to EA CEO John Riccitello, the cuts are happening in "targeted areas," so the company can focus up on its bigger, more lucrative games.

EA has kept up well with the iPhone platform and has released some of its most popular titles to the App Store, such as The Sims 3, Rock Band, and Spore. Consumers still pay a premium price for them, however. For example, Rock Band costs $9.99 and comes with only 20 songs, and charges 50 cents for each additional song. Still, Rock Band ended up selling well, so maybe we'll be seeing more of EA in the App Store in the coming fiscal quarters.

EA also announced today its acquisition of Playfish, whose primary business is Facebook games, for $300 million. Hopefully out of the layoff ashes rises some brutally addictive social-based game for the iPhone.

If you were contemplating buying one of those shiny new 27-inch iMacs, maybe don't pull the trigger just yet: according to Engadget, many proud new owners of the computer have become annoyed new owners, reporting pronounced problems in particular with Flash playback.

The problem doesn't appear to be a few isolated cases, as two separate threads (here and here) have popped up in the Apple support forums, nor is it a pandemic, as Engadget reports their iMacs are fine. The suggested causes have ranged from a corrupted Snow Leopard build, to a bug that spins down the hard drive, to the nebulous "bad permissions." In the meantime, though, those big beautiful 27-inch screens are playing video like a 128K trying to run Crysis.

A user on the first thread reported that Apple phone support said the problem was with the graphics card, and that it should be fixable in a software update, though another customer who opened a ticket was instructed to exchange the computer itself. Is Apple going to have to smack down another of its chip partners? We shall see.

Volkswagen knows something other car manufacturers don't: they needn't spend millions of dollars on commercials, billboards, and product placement to launch a new car. They just need to make an iPhone application, like Volkswagen has for their latest model, the 2010 GTI, and the money will follow. OK, so the commercials and stuff will probably come later, but for now, the VW GTI is taking off through a free version of Real Racing, called Real Racing GTI [App Store link], available as of today.

Real Racing GTI is a pared-down version of Firemint's Real Racing that Firemint itself has altered: the GTI version of the game has only GTIs to drive and fewer available tracks, but the game mechanics remain the same. There is a heavy social media aspect to the game with the integration of Cloudcell profiles (the same ones used for other regular versions of Firemint games) that allow you to trumpet your GTI-racing abilities on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. All I've been able to glean from the game so far is that GTIs are fast, but will cause you to run into walls a lot, and other GTI drivers are jerks who will ram into you if you try to pass them. No, I'm not just a bad driver. OK, maybe I am, a little.

Along with the launch of the app, Volkswagen is giving away 6 "ultra-special edition" 2010 GTIs, which have special embroidery and carbon fiber accents on the doors and interior, every week for the next 6 weeks. Winning the giveaway has nothing to do with being good at Real Racing (phew!). You can enter via the "Winner's Circle" section on the app, or on Volkswagen's website here. Happy driving!

As data backup and media servers become more prevalent, they also become more complicated, with ever more devices to sync and ways to store information. Today, Iomega released a new NAS appliance that can serve as both a backup device and a media server with a view to streamlining the setup process for home or small business users, while implementing a few features that are more commonly seen in larger-scale networked servers.

The newest iteration of Iomega's NAS appliance line, the dual-drive StorCenter ix2-200, has many of the features that you'd want to see in a media server or a backup target. As a backup device, the StorCenter can be set up as a Time Machine target for Macs and for remote access, so that the user can manage and upload or download files from anywhere with an Internet connection. It has three USB ports that allow direct interaction with other devices, such as external drives or a printer (the unit can act as a print server).

Iomega's put quite a few other bells and whistles into this NAS. The unit can stream media to Xbox 360 & PS3 consoles, and to many iTunes-compatible music devices. It's also Bluetooth-capable, allowing a smart phone to sync with it, but this requires the separate purchase of a USB-Bluetooth dongle. The StorCenter is VMware-certified as an iSCSI and NFS storage device, supports direct streaming from up to five Axis network cameras, and can even serve as a BitTorrent client.

One of the more interesting features for backup use is the device-to-device replication. The StorCenter can be set up to perform any number of "copy jobs" to sync data automatically to and froms various devices and files at scheduled intervals. It also has a QuikTransfer button on its front, to which you can attach any number of copy jobs that will be performed automatically when pressed, rather than having to wait for scheduled maintenance. For example, if you regularly import videos to your computer and want them backed up, synced to the computer upstairs, and put on another external hard drive you carry with you, you can plug the drive into the StorCenter, press the copy button, and voila! It's all done at once! (Of course, you have to set it up that way first. It's a button, not a mind-reader.)

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During the existence of the iPhone, shopping has always been the domain of Safari. Browsing web-based stores could be extremely awkward, thanks to bitty drop-down menus and inadvertent "quick views" of garments that you can't seem to click out of. No longer, my fellow clotheshorses. Today, Ralph Lauren launched a unique iPhone application integrating social media with fashion design and online shopping, called Make Your Own Rugby [iTunes link].

The app centers around Ralph Lauren's Rugby line, launched in 2004, that is inspired by the Ivy League atmosphere circa 1940 and that targets preppy college students. The company describes Rugby as "preppy meets urban," though you will only qualify for street cred through a few light touches such as embroidered skulls. The fact that the skull is embroidered on a varsity sweater probably won't do you much good in the back alleys, but you can hope.

The MYO Rugby app allows the user to select a blank rugby shirt, polo, sweater, or jacket from a set of stock designs and customize it with as many distinguished crests, football-themed patches and letters as they want. You can use it to design and purchase clothing for yourself, or you can be a little more creative (and financially devil-may-care) and make designs to be displayed for browsing in the application or to share with friends.

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Several news sources have been reporting that, at long last, the iPhone will finally make its way to China after Apple was able to strike a deal with China Unicom. However, according to CNW (English translation), the integration of the iPhone may not be so easy; in fact, the App Store, from which customers can buy supplementary applications for their iPhones, presents a rather large problem.

In China, telecommunications businesses must apply for a "value-added telecommunications business license," which certifies that the company is allowed to function in the country, and subjects it to any conditions or standards set by the government, which currently include a minimum registered capital of 10 million yuan and and established reputation to "provide users with credibility and capacity." So far, Apple has not taken any steps toward obtaining this operating license and thereby receiving the approval of the Chinese government, but not a big deal, right?

Unfortunately, the issue is not simple as a bit of paperwork. One stipulation of the license is that the government must be able to monitor the activity of the company. Apple's servers for the App Store are not in China, and so they do not fall under Chinese jurisdiction. If the servers cannot be monitored by the Chinese government to a degree of their own satisfaction, the terms of a telecommunications license will not be fulfilled.

This is not to say that the iPhone can't go to China at all -- if Apple removes the App Store option, their application is otherwise fine. There's an old wives' tale that a sort of Cro-Magnon iPhone once roamed the earth pre-App Store, and they weren't so bad. However, the availability of such a wide variety of apps is one of the main advantages of an iPhone as compared to other smart phones, and that would be a hard leg-up to lose for Apple. Combining this with the lack of Wi-Fi capability, Apple's grapple with China is likely far from over.

Thanks for the tip, David!

The electronic textbooks pandemic, er, market, continues to spread its influence to handheld gadgets: PC World reports that CourseSmart, an e-textbook publisher, has created an iPhone application, eTextbooks for the iPhone [iTunes link], to make its entire 7,000+ title catalog available on your index card of a screen.

CourseSmart, which does not publish books itself, sells downloadable electronic versions of textbooks through its website that can also be viewed online once they're purchased. The free iPhone application just adds an extra point of access, and falls on the "internet" side of the fence-you can't actually download the whole textbook to your phone, so the experience may be a bit shoddy when you're trying to flip through the pages during an exam in a basement classroom.

The application is also continually advertised as allowing access to 7,000 titles, but it is important to note that you only have access to titles you have already paid for through their site (pedantic, I know, but I found myself wondering about this point after reading the announcement). A tiny LCD screen has little value for long library sessions, but the teeny version of your book should work in a pinch when you forget Gauss' Law right before your physics exam. Just hope that your classroom isn't underground.

[PC World via Engadget]

Welcome back to Mac 101, our series of tips for new and novice Mac users.

In the Mac operating system, the term "menu bar" refers to the the horizontal bar at the top of the screen that generally has a little picture of an apple on the left end, the time of day on the right and words like "File", "Edit", "Format" and so on in-between. Found it? Good, because understanding how this bar works is essential to getting the best out of your Mac.

In this bar, there are two constants: one is the apple, on the far left, and the other is Spotlight on the far right. Clicking the Apple logo on the left gives you access to all the vital functions of your computer, like Sleep, Restart, and Shut Down, as well as the "About This Mac" window and the option to check for software updates.

Save for the apple, the left side of this bar will change depending on which application you have selected. For you switchers, it's similar to the bar that is found at the top of each window in Windows, but cuts down on the space each window occupies by having all applications use the same menu bar. The drop down menus perform the same functions as Windows' menus, but like Windows, will be different depending on which application you currently have selected.

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