Version 1.1 of ExpanDrive, the utility we reported on earlier that gives you SSH/SFTP server access that's transparent to the OS, hit the streets today. In addition to features like "Reconnect at Login" and several interface/usability tweaks, it now supports AppleScript.

The AppleScript library is simple, providing identity elements for each drive, and 2 commands: connect and eject. Nothing earth-shattering, but it's even better at workflow integration and automation now. A little code, and...

tell application "ExpanDrive"
repeat with aDrive in drives
connect aDrive
display dialog "Connected: " & server of aDrive
end repeat
end tell

Set it up with ThisService and you've got hotkey mountable/unmountable servers! If you haven't checked it out yet, grab the free demo ($29 to purchase).

Flow, a pleasant FTP client for the Mac, has definitely come a long way since we last took a look at it (so very long ago). Flow just hit version 1.0, and here are some of the new features:

• QuickLook
• Built-in editor
• FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, .Mac, and local FTP
• Droplets to upload quickly
  

Flow is designed specifically for Mac OS X Leopard (version 10.5). Flow costs just $29; you can also download a free 15-day trial version then buy a license. I am an adamant Transmit/Panic addict; however, Flow has such a great Aqua-licious UI and feature list, that I may make the jump (sorry Panic guys).

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Forklift, the split-pane file manager with support for multiple network protocols, is officially at version 1.5 now. We covered the initial release a while back, and we're excited about the progress it's made. With an interface update (Leopard goodness) and some behind-the-scenes tweaks, it's turning into a sweet piece of work.

Forklift has always been of interest to me, with its support for SFTP and Amazon S3, but my previous experiences with Forklift had shown it to display a tendency toward a little sluggishness and the occasional poorly-timed crash. This latest version has not only been stable for me, but has been snappy. And by that I mean speedy to the extreme, especially when dealing with (S)FTP servers and S3. Ten times faster on remote transfers, actually, according to their own benchmarks.

Quick Look and FXP Copy (server-to-server file transfer) round out a great feature set. If you're looking for a Finder add-on/replacement (or a great FTP client), definitely download the trial. At $29.95, it's quite reasonably priced for what it can do. And for current users the upgrade is free and will fix quite a few shortcomings you may have noticed thus far. Version 1.5 is Leopard-only, but 1.2 is still available for our striped friends.

I just got finished putting ExpanDrive by Magnetk through its paces. In fact, I've been using it all morning and I'm duly impressed. It's an application that allows you to mount SFTP filesystems as local drives. I've used other MacFUSE-based systems in the past and I'm pleasantly surprised to find that ExpanDrive is more responsive and provides nearly seamless transparent access to my remote SFTP servers.

Aside from creating .DS_Store files on my remote volumes, it's a very fluid way to access remote files. It works with Subversion (and other versioning schemes, I assume), allowing apps like TextMate with support for Subversion to work as though you had the repository set up locally. TextMate creator Allan Odgaard even offers his endorsement. And it has great connection recovery that even allows you to take a laptop to another network and never notice a change in the status of the mounted servers. With labeling, Spotlight comments and full transparency, workflow integration is about as easy as my (possibly limited) imagination can fathom.

ExpanDrive has an introductory price of $29, with a demo available.

[via Daring Fireball]

Update: I'm told by the developers that the .DS_Store issue has been cured. That and several UI improvements will be available in the next version, scheduled for release by tomorrow.

Over at the #iphone channel at irc.osx86.hu, the thoroughly awesome NerveGas has figured out how to enable ssh on the iPhone without using restore mode. The secret lies in overwriting an existing binary and plist to trick the iPhone into calling chmod on the Dropbear ssh server and making it executable.

At this time, NerveGas has used Nightwatch's compiler to create iPhone-compatible versions of curl and ps as well as a number of other useful Unix utilities. (He's working on grep, as I write).

So what does this mean? Well, once you've got ssh installed on your iPhone and active, you can access your iPhone from a shell on your Mac. You can send and retrieve files using scp or sftp. And you can use the compilation toolchain to build other Unix utils or even your own software. It's just a short matter of time until perl and other command-line utilities are iPhone-ready.

Cyberduck is the free, open source FTP/SFTP client for Mac OS X that I've been using for about a year now. It works quite well, is full-featured and free (I said that already, right?). You can also get a Dashboard widget, Growl notification and Quicksilver integration for Cyberduck.

Version 2.6 is now available, and changes include:

• Turkish Localization
• Automatic software update
• Dashboard Widget included
  
• Reintroduced transcript drawer in browser window
  
• Transcript drawer added to transfer window
  
• Option to use Network Diagnostics upon failed connections

Cyberduck requires Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.

Who better to explain the ins and outs of the twisted FTP world than Steven Frank, one of the minds behind Transmit? Well, that's exactly what Steve has done for us on his blog. If you don't know your SFTP from your FTPS then this is the article for you.

Sure, he recommends that you try his company's FTP application, but that doesn't mean he isn't FTP knowledgeable.

I keep a lot of backups safely tucked away on my online storage space. So, I spend a decent amount of time each weekend either in Terminal or Transmit. However, that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to check out alternate FTP clients. Yummy FTP looks pretty good.

It has support for both FTP and SFTP, automatic failure recovery, folder synchronization and more. What I really like are the "bookmarks." Basically, they're droplets that you can point to any directory in your online space. From there, you just drop a file you want transferred onto the bookmark and off it goes. Yummy FTP is good about asking if you want to make a new bookmark for new directories, as well as where you'd like them stored.* Other features include:

• Easy scheduling setup
• Can be scripted with Applescript
• Remote editing with your favorite editor

Yummy FTP requires Mac OS 10.3 or later, and costs $25US for a single license. A fifteen day trial is available.

*Yes, I know that the current version of Transmit lets you create droplets as well, but I liked Yummy FTP's method.