Filed under: Beta Beat

We haven't exactly been secretive about our distaste for Adobe's Flash Player here at TUAW. Flash on the Mac has traditionally been a terrible resource hog, and while the pre-release of Flash Player 10.1 alleviated (to an extent) Flash's inordinately high CPU usage, many of us still dreamed of a golden age when Flash would be supplanted by something else, especially if that something else was HTML5.

Dream no longer, because the first step toward realizing a Flash-free internet is here. YouTube has introduced an HTML5 beta. The formerly Flash-laden site, whose popularity most likely led to the profusion of Flash on the internet within the past few years, can now be viewed without using Flash at all if you opt into the beta.

The HTML5 option is only available for browsers that support HTML5 (obviously) and h.264. Safari (version 4 and above), Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer with Chrome Frame are a few of the qualified browsers.

There are a few caveats to the HTML5 beta. Videos with ads aren't supported (awww...) – they'll play in the standard Flash player instead. There's also no support for full screen; clicking the little expander button on the lower right corner of the video will instead expand the video within the window to about double the normal size. Honestly, YouTube's full screen video has never impressed me much anyway, so this isn't a huge loss. Macworld notes that you also lose support for annotations and closed captioning, though, which might be a deal breaker for some.

It's not every day that I get to view a product introduction on my iPhone. In fact, today may have been the first time ever that a product intro has been done through mobile messaging.

Eric Hoffert was one of the original developers of QuickTime and is now the CTO for Thwapr, so he really understands video. Thwapr provides mobile-to-mobile video sharing -- in other words, it's a way to create a video on your iPhone and share it with friends on a variety of mobile phone platforms. The idea is that you or your recipients don't need to download any special apps, and that the video is shown in its best possible format for the mobile device that receives it.

That's the idea. However, I found the beta of Thwapr somewhat clunky to use, and I'm not sure I really "get" the reason for the service as it is currently set up. To start with, if I want to share a video message or photo with a friend (at least a short one), I can use MMS. If it's a longer video or I want to share it with the world, I'm going to use something like YouTube and send friends a link. I asked Leigh Newsome, Thwapr's VP of User Experience, why I wouldn't just use MMS?

You know that it's possible to backup your CDs with iTunes and your DVDs with Handbrake, but what about that new Blu-ray disc (BD) you just received during the holidays? Macworld has a good write-up of a beta utility called MakeMKV that will rip both DVDs and BDs to perfect quality MKV format.

Bare in mind that this will require having a connected or internal Blu-ray drive that can read said discs. This is currently a bit of a novelty in most Macs being that Steve Jobs considers the whole thing a "bag of hurt." However, if your system meets the hardware requirements, you're ready to go off on your first Blu-ray ripping journey without the typical mess involved.

Macworld's test resulted in a file nearly 32 GB in size as compared to the original 35 GB on the physical BD. While this is useful for those of you with a farm of terabyte-sized drives at your disposal, for others, a lower quality backup is acceptable. If space is a concern, or you want to put a copy on your Apple TV, it's possible to use previously-mentioned Handbrake or Video Monkey to transcode into a lower quality (but still excellent) file.

MakeMKV is available now for free while in beta. The Blu-ray ripping functionality is only free while the software is in beta so grab it while you can. Once the beta period ends, only the DVD-ripping will be free.

[via Macworld]

LogMeIn, providers of the LogMeIn service for remote control of computers, has opened a public beta of LogMeIn Pro2 for Mac. The company currently provides LogMeIn Free for Mac, as well as LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone [US$29.99, iTunes Link], allowing Mac and iPhone users the ability to securely control remote Macs and PCs from their Apple devices.

LogMeIn Pro2 will be similar in functionality to the existing Windows version. Through the service and software, people can connect to a Mac from a Mac or Windows machine, control it, print documents, and share and transfer files.

Registration is required in order to download the software and set up a remote session on the service, and the developer would like feedback from beta participants. Several beta releases are expected, and registered users will be notified of code updates.

At this time, no pricing is available for the service. The Windows version currently costs US$65 per year, and the Mac beta version is available for free.

[via macnn]

There were two minor video plug-in related updates last night. First Adobe released a new beta of their Flash Player 10.1 beta 2 (this on the heels of a set of security patches for the stable release version last week). Flash 10.1 is introducing a host of new features, but is primarily aimed at the mobile market. Among the biggest new features in 10.1 will be the ability for developers to create multi-touch aware Flash content for a wide range of devices. Looks like Adobe is still hoping to prove Flash worthy for Apple for use on the iPhone.

Along with this beta release Adobe has reminded us that they are abandoning the G3 processor after this upcoming version of Flash. In the release notes [PDF] and in last week's security announcement, Adobe says:

Note: The Adobe Flash Player 10.1 release, expected in the first half of 2010, will be the last version to support Macintosh PowerPC-based G3 computers. Adobe will be discontinuing support of PowerPC- based G3 computers and will no longer provide security updates after the Flash Player 10.1 release. This unavailability is due to performance enhancements that cannot be supported on the older PowerPC architecture.

I'm all for moving forward with tech, and G3 are ancient by today's standards anyway. Besides, how many people will this decision actually affect?

In other plugin news, Perian, which we've mentioned several times here on TUAW, has been updated to version 1.2. Perian enables QuickTime support for additional media types, including:

• AVI, FLV, and MKV file formats
• MS-MPEG4 v1 & v2, DivX, 3ivx, H.264, FLV/Sorenson Spark, FSV1, VP6, H263i, VP3, HuffYUV, FFVHuff, MPEG1 & MPEG2 Video, Fraps, Windows Media Audio v1 & v2, Flash ADPCM, Xiph Vorbis (in Matroska), and MPEG Layer II Audio
• AVI support for: AAC, AC3 Audio, H.264, MPEG4, and VBR MP3
• Subtitle support for SSA/ASS and SRT

This is Perian's first major update since Snow Leopard has arrived. While there are no big new features, it's always nice to see an update after a big OS upgrade just to know that everything works on the new system.

One of my favorite features in OS X is the ability to drag pretty much anything, drop it on pretty much anything else, and have the item be contextually useful in some other application. So pervasive is this gesture that we even waxed romantically about it some time ago. An example of this would be dragging an image from Safari onto an iChat window, allowing you to share the image with one of your buddies.

Enter Droplr. This tiny application sits in your menu bar and allows you to drop all manner of files onto it and share them via a variety of venues such as Twitter or email. The tagline "drag, drop, share" is about as accurate as one can get when referring to Droplr's simplicity in file-sharing. If you're intrigued, head on over to the Droplr homepage and peep the screencast they have made available.

The Snow Leopard-only app and hosting service is available now for free (as in ad-supported) with 1GB storage. Don't be surprised to see a for-pay option with no ads and additional storage in the near future. Go check it out and let us know in the comments how it works out for you.

More Friday Favorites, the apps, tools and accessories that we love to share.

As a writer, I love Scrivener. It's great for managing large and complex projects. But for shorter pieces, this blog post for example, I've found a new favorite, Ommwriter. Brett first mentioned the beta of Ommwriter here a few weeks ago.

Ommwriter is unique as a word processor for several reasons. It only has a full screen workspace. It lacks several of the options of most other word processors (you can only write in three fonts and three font sizes). Even when you minimize its window, there is no Mac-like genie effect – Ommwriter just fades away. But its Zen-like minimalism and lack of options are the point.

Ommwriter puts you in the middle of a secluded snowy landscape on a foggy winter's day. As relaxing music calms you, the words you type appear on your screen as if you were writing them in the sky. It's just you and your thoughts for miles around. And, from just three writings, I can tell you Ommwriter does its job exceptionally well. When I write in it, within minutes I no longer hear the sounds of busy London city life zooming past my flat. You really have to use it to get a good idea of how well it works. For a quick look, check out the video below.

In addition to the snowy landscape there are seven built-in soundtracks and images you can choose from. The guys at a Barcelona creative agency called Herraiz Soto & Co. originally designed Ommwriter as an in-house tool to help their creative people get their thoughts flowing. Now it's available in beta to Mac users here. Let me know what you think of Ommwriter in the comments!

Omniwriter from David Wogan on Vimeo.

Earlier today Google released a beta of their Chrome browser for the Mac, nearly 14 months after the Windows version. Chrome is built on the WebKit engine, just like Safari. I've only used it briefly (I'm writing this post with it now), yet a couple of things are immediately apparent.

First is the lack of a search box. Instead, Google has built the "Omnibox," which combines the search and address field. Begin typing and a list of results appears beneath the text field, including recent browsing history, search options and more. For a complete view, browse all of the results in a new tab. That's neat, but it'll take some getting used to.

When first launched, it offered to import my Safari bookmarks; a task it completed so quickly I thought there was an error. Tabs slide in and out of view and are smart enough (supposedly, I haven't tested this) to isolate crashes and keep them from bringing the whole browser down.

Give it a try, but remember that it's a beta. Leave your mission-critical tasks to the tried and true.

With all the existing iPhone-targeted advertising services out there like AdMob, Adwhirl, and more, is there room for yet another advertising aggregator? The people behind the new .app/ads web site think so. Offering a host of innovative features and control options, this new service provides ways to customize the campaigns that run in the ad space you offer in your iPhone applications.

The .app/ads service is just entering a public beta. Developers can sign up at their website, which is currently up and running. Their Open Ad Integration SDK is available now with pre-compiled libraries and will include the open-source code within the next two weeks. They plan to launch publicly in Q1 2010.

Read on to learn more about this service and why it stands out from the existing pack...

• A redesigned interface
• Improved navigation
• The ability to search for TV shows and movies both on the Internet and on local networks
• A queuing function, most likely similar to what Hulu has now.
• Shortcuts for apps, movies, and other programs

There will be a 4-week early-access period before the beta version is officially released on January 7 at CES. Those who want a sneak preview do need to sign up.

Those in New York City who want to attend the beta unveiling can reserve a spot. A live stream will also be provided through Boxee's blog or directly through the program itself.

In a move sure to rile up the crowds of people (including our very own Erica Sadun) who have converted cheap Intel Atom-powered netbooks into tiny MacBook-like hackintoshes, several sites are reporting that Apple will kill support for the battery-sipping CPU in the next release of Snow Leopard.

For most netbook manufacturers like MSI, Dell, and ASUS, the Intel Atom line of energy-efficient microprocessors has been the perfect CPU due to its low cost. Cheap prices on these netbooks, often below US$300, have made them the choice of many Mac users who want a very portable and affordable laptop solution that they're not currently getting from Apple.

The word from many developers who are testing the most recent build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 Snow Leopard is that support for the Atom CPU is gone. Either the hackintosh owners will have to run Mac OS X 10.6.1 for the foreseeable future, or some enterprising hacker will build a patch to add Atom support back to the upcoming OS release.

Like the current syncing struggle between iTunes 9 and the Palm Pre, this may turn into a tit-for-tat battle between Apple and the hackintosh community -- or it might be the end of the road for Mac OS X on the featherlight PCs.

[via Engadget, OS X Daily]

Want to see something scary this Halloween? Like, perhaps, a browser that doesn't coddle you with all that silly stability and reliable performance? Feel like spending a little time on the bleeding edge? You too can taste the future (which, I am told, has a distinctive metallic tang) by downloading the first public beta of Firefox 3.6, now featured over at the Mozilla developer blog.

The next release of the open-source browser includes more flexible video options, better Javascript performance, updated font support and single-click appearance customization through the Personas skinning system. You can read more about the 3.6 changes from a web development perspective here.

The Mac version requires Mac OS X 10.4 or higher, and you can get it from the beta download page. Happy surfing!

I discovered Gruml a while back, but didn't write about it right away because there were too many glitches in the first beta to make it really interesting. Thankfully, recent releases have smoothed out the vast majority of the kinks, and I can now present -- with gusto -- a great RSS reader that interfaces with Google Reader.

NetNewsWire switched to syncing with Google Reader back in July, and I was pretty excited. Google Reader has been an amazing tool for me in the RSS world, and the more apps I have that all sync with it, the happier I am. However, despite seemingly endless trials and searches, I haven't really found the app that can top a Fluid SSB with a good userstyle. Gruml comes the closest so far, and it's free (at least right now, I'm not sure what the future holds after beta).

One of the things I like about desktop clients (when it comes to RSS readers) is scriptability. Gruml currently lacks the AppleScript dictionary that, say, NetNewsReader has, and I'd love to see it implemented. The keyboard navigation is decent, but not yet up-to-par with Google Reader's web interface, which can be navigated entirely with the keyboard. It might not make a difference to a lot of folks, but when I'm cruising through headlines I like to be all-keyboard when possible. The "Send Article to ... " menu is fantastic, covering 12 services ranging from Delicious to Twitter, and including Facebook, Ping.fm and Posterous. Note-taking, starring and sharing are all very well done, and sync perfectly with Google.

Despite rumors that the Google Chrome Web browser for Mac would not ship until 2010, it appears that the golden version of the new browser may be heading to Macs a lot sooner than expected.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that CEO (and former Apple board member) Eric Schmidt and co-founder Sergey Brin had a few things to say about the new browser, including (according to 9to5Mac) that Chrome browser for Mac will ship in "a couple of months."

Apparently, the relatively slow adoption of the beta version of the browser has been due in part to the fact that development of the Mac version has lagged behind work for other platforms. To quote Schmidt, "The fundamental story about Chrome is speed. We were hurt by slowness to bring out a Mac version. People who move to Chrome have trouble moving back because of the speed."

The Mac beta version is available and can be downloaded by those who are willing to use a browser without certain privacy features that is "not appropriate for general consumer use." I've had it on my Macs for about the last week and have been impressed with the speed of page rendering, although not with the current compatibility with some sites.

So, TUAW readers -- is Google Chrome (the browser, not the OS) too little, too late? Or is it a web browser that will make a difference on the Mac platform? Voice your opinions in the comments section below.

In the last few days, two builds of Mac OS X 10.6.2 Snow Leopard have been seeded to the Mac developer community. The latest build, 10C591F, is 456.8 MB in size and adds about a dozen changes to the fifty or so tweaks in the prior build.

Apple has asked developers to test nearly 150 specific areas in order to make the new version of Snow Leopard as clean as possible. Known issues that are outstanding and have yet to be addressed include Core Data output, video corruption, and occasional hangs within System Preferences.

With another release of Snow Leopard pending, I thought we could have a little fun with a poll. Given that it took 88 days for 10.5.2 to hit Software Update after the initial release of Leopard, it may be too soon for another Snow Leopard cub to show up (November 24th would be 88 days). Of course, the past isn't any indication of future Apple OS release dates, so your guess is going to be as good as mine. If we don't have a date range listed that's you think is plausible, let us know what your guess is in the comments.