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Filed under: Airport, Widget Watch

iStat Pro 3.3 widget brings temp and fan readings for Intel Macs and more

The feature-packed iStat Pro Dashboard widget is a reigning favorite here at TUAW, and its recent v3.3 update has heralded some handy new features. First, it now includes (though prompts you to install upon first run) a new module that can read the temperature and fan speeds of Intel Macs. That's right - SpeedIt-be-gone. The other nice enhancement is an active AirPort signal quality meter - the AirPort icon in iStat Pro's network section will now dynamically display a quality meter based on the network you're connected to. Of course, for the record, other bugs and "various minor improvements" made this new version, and it's available either by running the widget (it auto-checks for updates by default), or by heading over to iSlayer.com.

Filed under: OS, Apple, TUAW Tips, Universal Binary

TUAW Tip: How to tell if an application is a Universal Binary

You want to figure out if an application is Universal, but you're not sure how to do it? There is a very simple easy way to find out. Simply select the icon of the application you're curious about and either right click and select 'Get Info' or hit Command + i. Either one will get you to the info window about the application you selected.

Look under 'General' and you'll see 'Kind: Application.' Next to that (assuming you're running OS X 10.4) you'll see either 'Universal,' 'Intel,' or 'PowerPC.' This lets you know on what Macs this application will run natively on:
  • Universal runs on either PowerPC or Intel Macs.
  • Intel only runs on Intel Macs (no matter what).
  • PowerPC runs natively on PowerPC Macs (odd, huh?) but the application will, most likely, run on Intel Macs in Rosetta, Tiger's emulation layer. Some applications, such as Microsoft's Virtual PC, will not run on Intel Macs at all.
Finally, another tip for all you folks out there that are using Universal apps on Intel Macs that use plugins which aren't Universal. Assuming you still have the Info window open you should see this 'Open using Rosetta' check box (pictured to the left). This forces a Universal apps to use its PowerPC native codebase (in Rosetta) thereby letting you use your older plugins. Note that this option is only available for Universal applications.

Filed under: Software, Universal Binary

FileMaker ships Universal binaries



Filemaker, today, released FileMaker Pro 8.5, FileMaker Pro 8.5 Advanced, FileMaker Server 8.0v4 and FileMaker Server 8.0v4 Advanced as Universal Binaries. Now, I know most people don't get too excited about database software, however, Filemaker claims that FileMaker Server is 116% faster on Intel Macs as compared to PowerPC Macs while the desktop client is a mere 91% faster.

Besides those incredible speed increases Filemaker added a few new features, chiefly among them something called 'Live Web Data on Demand.' This allows you to save live webpages to your database, and I think that's pretty cool.

Filed under: Hardware, Software

Remote Buddy

Now that most Macs come with a remote, don't you wish you could do a little bit more with it? Now you can, thanks to Remote Buddy. This hand little application lets you control a number of items on your Mac through the magic of Behaviours, which are plugins for Remote Buddy.

Check out their website for a cool video showing off some of the features. There is a 30 day demo available, while a full version will cost € 9,99 (usually € 14,99 but there is a sale if you buy before version 1.0 is released).

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, iMac, Apple, Mac mini, Macbook Pro, MacBook

Intel Mac Temperature Database

Everyone is worried about the heat issues with the new Intel Macs (mostly the portables, but I bet someone out there thinks their iMac gets a little too hot). Now you can compare your MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, or iMac's temperature to other people's machines thanks to the Intel Mac Temperature Database.

Obsessing over your machines internal temperature has never been easier!

[via MacDevCenter]

Filed under: Software, Macbook Pro

CoreDuoTemp

Your new MacBook Pro runs a little hot, but how hot is it? CoreDuoTemp can tell you how hot your CPU is, as well as let you know CPU usages, and frequency. All of this for free? Well, donations are accepted.

Sorry PowerPC folks, this one is Intel Mac only.

Filed under: OS, Software

Apple KB Article: Boot Camp doesn't work with multiple partitions

The first thing I do when I get a new Mac (or a new PC for that matter) is wipe out the hard drive, make two partitions, and do a fresh install on one of the partitions. I then store all my data on the other partition, just in case I ever need to reinstall the OS (is this a fool proof way to back up your data? Not by a long shot, since your data and the OS might be on different partitions but those partitions are still sitting on the same disk).

Why am I talking about this? Because it would seem that people like me are left out in the cold with Boot Camp, since Boot Camp requires an Intel Mac with a single partition to work its magic. This makes sense since Boot Camp uses different partitioning magic, but it is still worth noting.

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