In our giddiness about OS X 10.5.4's release yesterday we neglected to mention that the server version of OS X has also been updated to 10.5.4. The server update (which you can download directly here, or get the combo updater here) includes all the fixes that were in the client version of 10.5.4 in addition to the following, server specific, fixes (this is taken from the KB article describing the update):

• Improves reliability of Directory Services
• Mobile home directories now work on Mac OS X clients bound to Novell eDirectory
• Includes the Web Objects 5.4.2 Update. For more information about the content of this update, see About the WebObjects 5.4.2 Update
• Improves Mac OS X Server Security. For more information on the security content of Mac OS X Server 10.5.4, see this article

Adobe has dropped updates for both Lightroom and Camera Raw. According to the Lightroom team's blog, the updates include all the changes of the previous releases, but also correct a few issues. Lightroom 1.4.1 will keep the EXIF time date field of images from being incorrectly modified, and has fixes for Olympus JPEG files and also DNG conversion. And the Camera Raw plugin update also fixes the EXIF problem as well as the Olympus JPEG features.

But that's more than you wanted to know, right? All you really need to know is that you can grab the update either on Adobe's site, or by hitting "Check for updates" under the Help menu for the Lightroom update and using the Adobe Update Manager for the Raw plugin update. Happy updating!

[Via Ars]

Mac and iPhone/iPod developer Ecamm has just released a major upgrade to their iPhone Drive utility. iPhone Drive allows you to access the user data on your iPhone or iPod touch, both read and write. With it, you can copy files to and from the user partition. So if you need to bring some important files along with you, this utility turns your iPod or iPhone into a portable drive. What it doesn't do is this: It does not create a general-use USB device. You need iPhone Drive on both ends--to put data onto your system and to take it off.

The new 1.4 version provides four major upgrades: you can play any song from your onboard music library directly from the utility, you can access your SMS message archive and call history, and you can view the photos you've snapped using your onboard camera. Obviously these last three options are limited to iPhones only but despite the name, the software works with both iPhones and iPod touches.

These upgrades join iPhone Drive's existing feature repertoire that includes file I/O and read-only access to your music, ringtones, podcasts, audio books and notes. The 1.4 upgrade is free to users who registered versions 1.3 and earlier and $19.95 for new users.

I nabbed Pixelmator last week as part of the Macheist bundle, and I have to say that it's quickly become my photo editor of choice for blogging-- it's quick, beautiful, simple, and perfect for what I need. Of course, what I need is mostly just resizing and cropping (with the occasional color fills or quick brushes), so I'm not a pro photo editor by any means, but as the creators said in our interview, it gets the job done.

And with the new patch 1.1.2, just released today, it gets the job done even better. The patch offers quite a few bug fixes, and a short list of interface tweaks and improvements. Selection tools have been beefed up, as have those color fills (they work in real-time, unlike before, you know, when they worked in fake-time). The update is now available for download over on the site, or should show up in the application as well.

Before we get all excited, let's remember a few things. First, Steve and Co. just thrust a snazzy new laptop upon us. Second, this is probably a maintenance routine that we won't even notice. Thirdly...oh my God new stuff!

We'll keep an eye on the store and let you know if anything new is in place once it comes back online. So keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Update: Is anyone else outside the US and Canada seeing the same thing?

MailTags has received some attention at TUAW. If you're already a fan, you'll be very excited about the MailTags 2.2 Public Beta 3 that was released today. If you're not a current user, this might be a great time to check out a plugin that improves on Mail.app by allowing comments, tags, projects and other metadata to be attached to any message (among other perks).

Version 2.2pb3 introduces "MailTags Extras", which appears to be a plugin architecture for MailTags. It comes bundled with a first round of these extras, which include functionality for iCal Events and Todos and a quick way to color messages with a swatch palette in the sidebar. And as extras, these features can be individually disabled or uninstalled. Throw in some fixes for things like tagging issues, working with preferences and conflicts with other plugins and this is a release worth talking about.

With a final release scheduled for this month, this beta is maturing an already great plugin. MailTags 2.2 (Leopard) will be a free upgrade for registered 2.0 and 2.1 users, and the beta is available now.

For finding updates to all your installed applications, you can go with an annual subscription to VersionTracker Pro or MacUpdate Desktop, or try the free alternative: metaquark's in-development AppFresh (first reviewed here in March). With tight integration to the iusethis application info repository, AppFresh does a spot-on job finding updates to mainstream and indie apps alike, and it's getting better with each release.

Earlier in November, the first preview release with full Leopard compatibility popped up on metaquark's site. I've been using it for a couple of weeks and it works like a charm -- downloading and optionally installing updates found via iusethis' appcasts or Sparkle updates without fuss or complication. If you're a serious update maven, you probably already have one of the pro apps, but if not you ought to check out AppFresh.

Well, it appears to be update day. iPhoto '08 has just been updated. According to Apple, the newest release, pegged 7.1.1, supports Leopard compatibility, improves stability, and fixes some minor issues.

The update requires 10.4.9, iPhoto 7.1 (natch) and the iLife Support 8.1.1 update released last month.

A blue-and-green birdy is tweeting in our ears, this time telling us that iPhones running 1.1.2 firmware have been spotted in the UK during Apple training sessions.

Is this good news or bad news for the hackers? Well, it's hard to tell but clearly if 1.1.2 is already in use, it hasn't been patched to handle the ongoing exploits that have been filling your RSS feeds the last few hours.

Thanks to "D".

iPhone developer NerveGas has updated his BSD subsystem in preparation for the new iPhone jailbreak. This new release offers tighter code fixes ("less cruft"), a few additions and a few omissions of less useful items. He also removed libarmfp dependencies. In other words, this release brings iPhone users closer to the standard BSD world.

Among other changes, NerveGas has rebuilt the kext tools, added reboot, mknod, a working chown and vmstat. Other new items include chflags, lsvfs, mkfifo (and friends), tee, renice, and cap_mkdb. You might notice one big missing item: minicom. NerveGas will be releasing minicom as a separate package. NerveGas has also updated ssh.

Mac Rumors is reporting that iPhone 1.1.1 is due soon (duh), and they say that it'll bring an International Keyboard, some extra settings for the Home button, the likely WiFi store update, and an update to the Modem Firmware. As usual, this is a rumor, so don't hold your breath-- this could be coming next week or next month.

But there is a little twist that Mac Rumors missed. An iPhone hacker birdie tells me that their open source software unlock actually patches the Modem Firmware to do its thing. Which means that if the Modem Firmware gets a significant upgrade, it's very, very likely that it's game over for the current unlocks.

Now, I'm not sure how iPhoneSIMFree's unlock works-- as far as I know, this might only affect the open source iUnlock app. But while Apple has said they're taking a neutral stance against hackers, AT&T may have pressured them to push back against an unlock. As we've known all along, Apple could choose to update the firmware and break any hacks so far, and with a large upgrade to the Modem Firmware, that could be exactly what they've done.

Unfortunately, TUAW wasn't able to send any of us to San Francisco today (rumor is that McNulty cleaned out the petty cash to buy an iPhone for himself just so he could play NES), but we've got the next best thing-- like true Apple faithful, we're liveblogging the liveblogs. So stay tuned for updates, live from my apartment here in Chicago, on what's happening at the Apple campus in Cupertino.

If you want to see it straight from the source, we'll be watching Engadget, Mac Rumors, Gizmodo, SlashGear, Mac Observer, Stuff, and Macnews.de. I've also got a tab open refreshing the Apple Store, just in case it goes down-- as of this writing, it is open for business just went down at 12:50pm EST. Sure, you could watch all those sites yourself, but why not settle down on this post and let us do it for you? Think of it as one-stop shopping for all your liveblog news.

The event itself starts in about 10 minutes, and our liveblog kicks off right after the jump. Save the Mini!

When Apple makes changes to WebKit - the open source rendering engine that powers Safari - like they just did with the Safari 3 beta, many, many other Mac OS X apps that have anything to do with websites need to do a little catchup so things continue to run smoothly. Shiira, the feature-packed alternative browser, is just such an app that fortunately just made the leap to Safari 3 beta compatibility. Aside from the twelve new localizations introduced in this new v2.2 update, I can't tell what else has changed. Still, if you installed the Safari 3 beta and noticed that Shiira has been misbehaving one way or another, this new version should calm the waters.

We don't have a whole lot to go on for this one, but Apple has released MacBook pro Software Update 1.0. What's in it, you ask? Well, it "provides important bug fixes and is recommended for all 2.2/2.4GHz MacBook Pro models" (the most current ones available as of this writing). Sorry folks, but that's all the update page says. If you don't see this in Software Update, head on over to said update page and get to updatin'.

Something tells me the crew who writes iGTD (fortunately) never really grasped how application version systems work (for the record: I say this with the warmest of intentions; iGTD is the first GTD-based app that I really 'get' and use). Typically, a company releases a 1.0, follows up with a few 1.x.x updates to fix bugs and quirks, and maybe a few 1.x releases that add a new feature or two. But as anyone who has been following the last few minor updates can tell, the new features brought with each 1.x.x release are really worthy of major 2.x and 3.x releases. This morning I woke to just such an update (v1.4.4) that brings a landslide of new and handy feature updates, including:

• F-key integration with Journler, endo RSS news reader, VoodooPad Pro, EagleFiler and WebnoteHappy
  
• exporting smart folders added ('To complete' tab)
  
• Don't forget! feature - use the Tasks menu option to display a sticky reminder about a task... click it to jump to the task
  
• Send to stickies feature - use the Tasks menu option to display selected tasks as Apple Sticky note
  
• E-mail feature - use the Tasks menu option to e-mail selected tasks via Apple Mail
  
• MailTags 2.0. enhancement: flagged e-mails are imported as flagged tasks
  
• MailTags 2.0. enhancement: a prefs setting to use the MT e-mail notes as a name for task in iGTD
  
• last selected smart folder is saved and restored between launches
  
• integration with Services menu (logout/login required): select a text in any app, go to app menu / Services submenu and use the 'iGTD/Put into iGTD inbox option'
  
• new mode for search panel: 'Search by project name or note'
• and much, much more

This update also includes a large batch of bug fixes, as well as enhancements to adding new items to lists that are sorted by various methods. Amazingly, iGTD is still donationware, and this new version should be available by choosing Check for Updates from the application menu, or simply by heading over to the iGTD site.