Posts tagged Freeware at The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

Posts with tag freeware

Free Stuff: Keynote Objects

Posted Jun 23rd 2008 6:00PM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Freeware, iWork, Graphic Design

iPresentee, a small company providing themes and objects for Apple's iLife and iWeb software suites, is offering a free download of Keynote Objects.

Keynote Objects is a package of 100 attractive icon-like objects that can be used not only with Keynote, but also with Microsoft PowerPoint and Word. All of the objects have a transparent background, and are easily resized, rotated, made more or less transparent, or shadowed.

I'm actually going to use several of the objects as icons for a new web site that I'm designing, simply because they offer an attractive and cohesive set of art objects. What will you use your free Keynote Objects for?

What's Keeping Me? 1.0.5

Posted Jun 19th 2008 8:00AM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Software, Freeware

Have you ever tried to empty the Trash on your Mac only to receive a dreaded message that said the trash couldn't be emptied because a file was in use? Well, "What's Keeping Me" hopes to solve this problem with it's advanced trash-error detection technology (we kid, it's really just magic).

If you encounter the message that the trash cannot be emptied, just click on What's Keeping Me to see what application or process is keeping the trash from being emptied. You can have What's Keeping Me quit the application or if need be kill (force-quit) the application.

You can download What's Keeping Me from HAMSoft Engineering; this application is freeware, however, donations are accepted.

Growl updated to 1.1.4, fixes "Install Failed" message in Leopard

Posted Jun 18th 2008 3:30PM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Software, Freeware

It was only a couple weeks ago that Growl version 1.1.3 was released, but as some commenters noted on the 1.1.3 post, there was a bug that caused some the inability to install Growl under Leopard. Well, the Growl team has heard your cries and issued an update to Growl that hopes to solve the problem. Some of the bug fixes include:

"Install Failed" message on Leopard is now fixed
Fixed the problem of Growl thinking it was 1.1.2 even after installing 1.1.3
Fixed Growl updater to stop showing updates after you've already installed them
Growl Safari actually works now

You can see all of the improvements before installing by visiting the Growl Version History page. You can also download the new update by visiting Growl's homepage.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Firefox 3 Download Day is June 17th

Posted Jun 14th 2008 5:00PM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Software, Freeware, Internet Tools, Open Source

As we noted a few weeks ago, the Mozilla team has set up a pledge program to remind Firefox users to download the Firefox 3 browser within 24 hours of its release in order to nab a Guinness World Record.

Well, the day is getting close - Firefox Download Day 2008 is scheduled for June 17th around the world. As of 11 AM MDT on June 14th, 2008, 1,221,679 people had pledged to get their copy of the new Firefox release on Download Day. It's not too late to take the pledge and help Mozilla spread browser goodness throughout the planet.

iStat menus turns 1.3

Posted Jun 6th 2008 8:00AM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Software, Freeware

iSlayer has released version 1.3 of iStat menus, the powerful -- and free -- Mac system monitoring app. There are so many changes that the release notes for this latest update take up an entire page of the iSlayer website. Some of the more notable additions include:

Monitoring power, current and voltage sensors on PPC and Intel Macs
Controls for PPP and buttons for copying IP (Leopard only)
Improved support for VPN connections
Better MacBook Air temperature monitoring support (w00t!)

I use their calendar / time menu (see screenshot above) in place of the standard Mac time item in the menu bar. I also have to admit to an obsession with following the temperature of the CPU on my MacBook Air.

iSlayer requests a donation if you use and like iStat menus. For a download, click here.

Thanks for the heads-up on the update, Marc!

Status Screen Saver 1.0

Posted May 23rd 2008 2:00PM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Software, Freeware

Are you so addicted to RSS, Mail, and Twitterrific that you just can't stand when your screen saver launches? Status Screen Saver might just be the screen saver for you. The awesome thing about this screen saver is that is displays your current unread Mail count, unread NetNewsWire feeds, and even unread tweets from Twitterrific. You can select a screen saver that you have installed in the Status Screen Saver options.

Even better, Status Screen Saver allows you to (with some AppleScripting) create your own "modules" which opens up unlimited possibilities to what can be shown in Status Screen Saver. So, if you use something other than the supported applications, you can (if the application is scriptable) make an AppleScript to give a number, then place it in the Screen Saver.saver/Contents/Resources/ directory.

Overall, this is a really cool screen saver which can be expanded upon by the user. You can download this free (donations accepted) screen saver by visiting the developer's website.

FlexTD - Free, Fast To-Do Entry

Posted May 17th 2008 10:00AM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Software, Freeware

Up until today, entering to-do info into iCal was an exercise for my mouse-clicking finger. I'd click iCal in the Dock, click again on that little pushpin icon, and then finally double-click to create an empty to-do task to fill in. One more double-click, and I could actually edit the to-do and put in the information I needed.

Enter FlexTD from flexgames. It's another unitasker, but it does one task very well - just hit a pre-defined hotkey and it brings up a transparent edit window. Type in your to-do, press return, and the info is entered into your favorite Mac calendar app.

One suggestion for the developers; the hotkeys only go up to F8, and I'd love to be able to assign something to F13 through F19 on my keyboard. How 'bout it?

The app is free, appears as a pref pane in System Preferences, and can start up at login. Many thanks to flexgames for a nice productivity booster!

Tip 'o the TUAW homburg to Elsa for the news!

I Love Stars

Posted May 15th 2008 8:00PM by Steven Sande
Filed under: Freeware, iTunes

Potion Factory brainiac Andy Kim has just unleashed a new free app on the world - I Love Stars.

This little app does two things very well. First, it displays your iTunes rating (from zero to five stars) in the menu bar for the song that is currently playing, and second, I Love Stars lets you change the rating. All this is done without having to flip between programs. Just glance at the menu bar to see the current rating, or drag across the stars to change your rating.

While Alton Brown may frown upon tools that don't perform a multitude of functions, this is one little app that any iTunes fan could love.

Phun 3.5

Posted May 6th 2008 5:30PM by Robert Palmer
Filed under: Gaming, Software, Education, Freeware

For (let's say) "phans" of Crayon Physics, Phun 3.5 is a similar kind of physics simulator created by Emil Ernerfeldt for his thesis at Umeå University, Sweden. Not only is it Swedish, but it's just been released for the Mac.

Sure, it's rough-around-the-edges, and it follows pretty much none of the Mac's interface or key-combination conventions, but it's sure a fun (with an F) toy. Phun is Universal Binary, and freeware.

Anticipating Indiana Jones? Your Mac is, too

Posted May 6th 2008 3:00PM by Dave Caolo
Filed under: Features, Cult of Mac

Forget WWDC, the iPhone App Store and the Apple Design Awards. The one thing we want to see this summer is the new Indiana Jones movie!

We're sure some of you feel the same anticipation, so why not let your Mac in on the fun? The workers at The Iconfactory have launched their month-long tribute to Dr. Jones with Indy-themed freeware icon sets, one for each movie. So far, the Raiders of the Lost Ark set has been released, while The Temple of Doom, Last Crusade, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull icon sets will debut later this month.

If your using CandyBar (we've written about CandyBar several times), you can make use of the Indy-themed Dock. Finally, round things of with this great desktop picture (it's also available for the iPhone!).

Free alternatives to the Macheist bundle + more

Posted Apr 18th 2008 3:00PM by Dave Caolo
Filed under: Software

Many people love the Macheist bundles because of the software. Others like the price. However, we're betting everyone will like some free alternatives to their latest collection -- despite the low price, there's always another, cheaper way.

In a list of freebies compiled by Lifehacker, matching the Macheist options, there are a few standouts: For money management online without the cash layout, try replacing Cha-Ching with the free Mint website. Getting your clipboard multiplier under control can be done at a cost by iClip or freely by Jumpcut. WriteRoom, the distraction-free word processor, is replaced by the web-based DarkCopy among several other options (including Freeverse's free attention-focus tool Think). See Adam Pash's excellent article for the full rundown.

Of course, the price of $49US for the Macheist bundle is pretty sweet, but many people already own or don't need several of the included applications.

Following the example of LH's list, here are a couple of alternative options for the current MacUpdate promo bundle:

For SoundStudio, check out the free & open source Audacity (of course, GarageBand may already be on your Mac)
DVDRemaster Pro's conversion and archiving chops can be met or matched by the lovely and talented (and free) HandBrake
Leap is quite cool and somewhat hard to replicate, but SpotInside is a free Spotlight enhancer that does a nice job too
For the Parallels headliner, you can find cheaper or free Windows emulation/virtualization tools at VirtualBox, iEmulator, and Q

Got other free suggestions for some of the bundled paid apps? Let us know.
Thanks Adam P.

IBlendIt 1.0.1

Posted Apr 1st 2008 10:15AM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Software, Freeware

If completely useless (but oh-so-fun) is your thing, then why not check out IBlendIt. IBlendIt allows you to get your frustrations out by, you guessed it, blending photos, files, and colors. This is one application that I couldn't resist trying out ... it really does relieve stress (especially after working on that long term paper), but one feature that would be awesome is having it delete the files upon completion of the blending process.

If you would like to get your blending on, then why not try out this little free (donations accepted) blending application by downloading it today.

iNeedFlix

Posted Mar 3rd 2008 9:00AM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Freeware, Internet Tools

If you are looking for an application that allows you to manage your Netflix queue with Mac style, then iNeedFlix might be for you. iNeedFlix allows you to (as long as you are signed into Netflix through Safari) manage your queue. You can both move and delete items in the list. iNeedFlix interfaces directly with the Netflix server, so changes will be made almost instantly. This is a very simple application for a very simple problem, however, it would be better if you could be signed into Netflix through any browser, not just Safari -- or have this step eliminated completely.

If you are looking for a Netflix application for the Mac that is a little more full featured, then look no further than Netflix Freak.

You can download iNeedFlix for free from the developer's website or from VersionTracker.

Mysterious Airport dropouts solved?

Posted Feb 24th 2008 8:00PM by Dave Caolo
Filed under: Airport, Freeware, Internet Tools

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You're happily using your Mac (naturally), surfing the net or shopping the iTunes Store, when your WiFi signal suddenly drops. Your Mac sees the Airport Basestation, but it's not letting you out. Only restarting the basestation itself will renew the connection.

It's happened to me several times. Often it will be good for months at a time, then execute these random drops several times per week. If you've experienced this too, you know how frustrating it is.

Gedeon Maheux of The Iconfactory (and friend of TUAW) has found a possible culprit ... plus a solution that works for him, and hopefully for you too.

Continue reading Mysterious Airport dropouts solved?

Clutch provides browser control of torrents

Posted Jan 5th 2008 1:00PM by Cory Bohon
Filed under: Software, Freeware

Just yesterday, we told you about the new GUI version of Transmission. For those who prefer remote control, there's also a web UI for the Transmission daemon, called (cleverly enough) Clutch, just updated to version 0.2. Clutch is an easy way to manage your BitTorrent downloads from anywhere you can access the internet.

Clutch is a front-end for the Transmission torrent engine; it doesn't require the GUI version of Transmission, ~~and the two tools don't show each others' download results.~~ but if you use both you may see download results from one tool in the other's list, say our commenters. Clutch uses the web server that's built into Mac OS X, along with AJAX and PHP for the web interface. The app is a self-contained package that has all of the software needed to run the web interface; just open, set a few preferences, and then -- boom -- you're done!

If you do not have a static IP address, or use a dynamic DNS service (such as DynDNS), then Clutch will give you a link to your current external IP address, so you can find and connect to your computer over the internet. You might ask "Why would I want to do that?" The answer is time management: BitTorrent downloads can take a while, much too long for you to wait around, and with this tool you can manage your downloads from work, school, or at the local Starbucks. Using this software means that you will have to open a port in your firewall (the default port is 9091, however, you may set it to use any inactive port above 1024 that you wish). Clutch 0.2 is open source and is available as a free download from the Clutch website.

Next Page >

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Cory Bohon	80	4
2	Robert Palmer	59	46
3	Dave Caolo	56	0
4	Steven Sande	48	20
5	Mat Lu	38	11
6	Scott McNulty	37	0
7	Erica Sadun	34	2
8	Mike Schramm	22	1
9	Brett Terpstra	17	1
10	Giles Turnbull	15	0
11	Christina Warren	13	24
12	Michael Rose	12	19
13	Chris Ullrich	3	0
14	Joshua Ellis	2	3
15	Kent Pribbernow	1	0
16	Jason Clarke	1	0

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Free Stuff: Keynote Objects

What's Keeping Me? 1.0.5

Growl updated to 1.1.4, fixes "Install Failed" message in Leopard

Firefox 3 Download Day is June 17th

iStat menus turns 1.3

Status Screen Saver 1.0

FlexTD - Free, Fast To-Do Entry

I Love Stars

Phun 3.5

Anticipating Indiana Jones? Your Mac is, too

Free alternatives to the Macheist bundle + more

IBlendIt 1.0.1

iNeedFlix

Mysterious Airport dropouts solved?

Clutch provides browser control of torrents

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