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Mar 31

Version 3.2 of Paint.NET Pushed Out the Door

This article was written on December 13, 2007 by CyberNet.

Most of you know by now that Paint.NET is one of my favorite image and photo editing solutions. Of course it’s free which is part of the reason, but the big reason it ranks high on my list is because it’s basic yet offers some advanced, more powerful editing features. To boot, it’s easy to understand and to use which is important. Yesterday they launched Paint.NET version 3.20 (no beta) with several new features, and of course the typical bug fixes. You can get it one of two ways – if you already have a version of Paint.NET installed, you go go to the Help menu in the program and click “Check for Updates.” If you don’t have it installed, you’ll want to go to www.getpaint.net and download it there.

The last beta release that we mentioned was version 3.10 which came out back in August. At that point, they introduced new features like the “soften portrait effect” and the “ink sketch effect” which makes a photo look like it was sketched by someone. Between then and now, they must have been working pretty hard because there are yet more new features to add to the list. Here’s what you’ll find in this final version:

Choose between a fixed ratio or a fixed size when you use the Rectangle Select tool
Look for the selection combination mode which is accessible from the toolbar
“Flood mode” for the Magic Wand and Paint Bucket tool are accessible from the toolbar (continuous or global)
Effects menu has been reorganized and all effects are classified under sub-menus
Enhanced “frosted glass” distortion effect
Enhanced “twist distortion” effect
and more…

The list of changes is actually quite long and if you’re interested in seeing exactly what all has been changed, just check out the Paint.NET blog. While this release adds all kinds of new features, I’m most excited for Paint.NET version 4.0 which is still a long ways away. They say it’ll be released maybe in early to mid 2009 but it is going to be completely rewritten which according to their site “should enable such features as layer masks, adjustment layers, effect layers, composite layers, effect and adjustment chaining, soft selections, scripting and recorded actions, a completely new brush system,” and more. I can’t wait!

Daily Downloads: Paint.NET, Songbird, and DivX

Daily Downloads: Paint.NET and FastStone

Daily Downloads: CDBurnerXP & Paint.NET

Half of Firefox Extensions Not Compatible with 3.1

Mar 30

iTunes 9.1 now available, brings iPad syncing and iBook support

Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, ipad, itunes, os x, OsX, Software, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, update

Hot on the heels of a ginormous OS X update comes this, the freshest version of the music management software that everyone loves to hate. iTunes 9.1 is live and available to download, bringing with it support for iPad syncing (you know, that little tablet that arrives on Saturday?) as well as the ability to “organize and sync books you’ve downloaded from iBooks on iPad or added to your iTunes library.” The new version also gives users the ability to rename, rearrange, or remove Genius Mixes, but we’re fairly sure you stopped caring after hearing the first point. It’s weighing in at around 97.3MB (give or take a few KB), so fire up Software Update and get it going… if you dare.

Update: We’re hearing that the new version renames “Applications” to just “Apps” and the Genius Mixes / iPhone / iPod touch sync pages have been retooled. Anything else major? Let us know in comments!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iTunes 9.1 now available, brings iPad syncing and iBook support

iTunes 9.1 now available, brings iPad syncing and iBook support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 30

Screen Grabs: Nate Archibald dials up Google Latitude to locate poor Jenny

Posted in: Android, android market, AndroidMarket, app, droid, Google, GoogleAndroid, moto, motorola, smartphone, Software, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, video

Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

Oh, Jenny Humphrey — will you ever learn? It’s not at all smart to sneak out at night wearing a seductive outfit, only to find your way into a club, get drugged and open yourself up to all sorts of regrettable mischief. Thankfully, Gossip Girl‘s own Nathaniel Fitzwilliam Archibald is an experienced Droid owner, and he’s also in the business of saving damsels in distress. Having Google Latitude just a click away sure is convenient, but having this particular gal’s phone number just a Tommy Tutone jam away doesn’t hurt, either. Makeshift vid of the rescue is just past the break.

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Nate Archibald dials up Google Latitude to locate poor Jenny

Screen Grabs: Nate Archibald dials up Google Latitude to locate poor Jenny originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 30

Verizon begins Android 2.1 update rollout for Motorola Droid

Posted in: Android, cdma, droid, exclusive, leak, leaked, moto, motorola, smartphone, Software, Today's Chili, update, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

Flippin’ finally, right? Verizon Wireless put the long-awaited Android 2.1 update on hold for its cadre of Motorola Droid owners earlier in the month, with an all-too-vague “TBD” as the only detail as to when we could look for it to actually, really land. We’ve just happened upon what looks to be an internal Verizon email that went out this morning, and sure enough, it sounds as if the update will at long last begin hitting Droid owners in just a few minutes. At noon on 3/30 (that’s today, vaquero), a grand total of 1,000 users will receive notification of the update, while 9,000 more will get a similar alert just before midnight. If all goes well, the rest of ya will see v2.1 slide down starting on Thursday, though it looks as if patience will be your only friend as you await your turn. Head on past the break for the full memo, but don’t get your hopes up too high — wouldn’t want to be let down again, would you buttercup?

Continue reading Verizon begins Android 2.1 update rollout for Motorola Droid

Verizon begins Android 2.1 update rollout for Motorola Droid originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 30

Windows 7 is safer when the admin isn’t around

Posted in: Hacks, Microsoft, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, OsX, research, security, Software, stats, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, Windows7

Not that we necessarily needed a report to tell us this, but the fewer privileges you afford yourself as a Windows user, the more secure your operating system becomes. Such is the conclusion of a new report from BeyondTrust, a company that — surprise, surprise — sells software for “privileged access management.” The only way we use Windows 7 is as admins and we’ve never had a moment’s bother, but some of you like stats, and others among you might be involved in business, which tends to make people a little more antsy about these things. So for your collective sake, let there be pie charts! The report looks into vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft during 2009 and concludes that all 55 reported Microsoft Office issues and 94 percent of the 33 listed for IE could be prevented by simply running a standard user account. Or using better software, presumably. Hit the PDF source for more info — go on, it’s not like you have anything better to do while waiting for the Large Hadron Collider to go boom.

Windows 7 is safer when the admin isn’t around originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 29

Apple updates Snow Leopard to 10.6.3, loads of minor quirks get patched

Posted in: Apple, Mac, mac os x, MacOsX, operating system, OperatingSystem, os x, OsX, Software, software update, SoftwareUpdate, Today's Chili, upgrade

Nearly five months after OS X 10.6.2 hit the pipes (and just seven months after 10.6.1), Apple has updated its Snow Leopard operating system to v10.6.3. Weighing in rather heavily at 757.3MB (when you upgrade from 10.6.2, anyway), this mammoth update brings along a laundry list of fixes, including improved reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X, a resolution to an issue that prevented files from copying to Windows file servers and boosted reliability of third-party USB input devices. You can check the full changelog after the break, but in all honesty, we’re guessing that the unwritten change is integrated support for Intel’s mobile Core i5 / Core i7 chips, both of which should become options on the MacBook Pro line as early as ~~tomorrow~~ last week. Fire up Software Update to get the download rolling, but only if you’re kosher with subjecting yourself to all sorts of unknown application breaks. We’re installing it ourselves here at Engadget HQ, and we’ll update the post if anything catastrophic happens.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Apple updates Snow Leopard to 10.6.3, loads of minor quirks get patched

Apple updates Snow Leopard to 10.6.3, loads of minor quirks get patched originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mar 29

Encyclopædia Britannica Comes to iPhone

Posted in: Phones, Software, Today's Chili

britannica

Chopping down trees, filling them with words and pictures and sending pushy salesman out to offload them on the never-never to hicks and social climbers seems plain weird these days, and Britannica, the encyclopedia people, seem to get that. After seeing its business withering, the 32-volume set of books shrank onto CD-ROM, then jumped to the internet. Now there is one more way to avoid filling your bookshelves with the $2,500, Renaissance Binding 2010 Encyclopædia Britannica: An iPhone app.

In comparison to the dead-tree edition, the iPhone version, concise though it is, looks cheap at $25. It comes loaded with 30,000 articles and 800 pictures (including maps). It is also a svelte 22MB in size, and easily navigable thanks to proper search (it gives nearby suggestion for misspellings). It even has a fun looking “on this day” feature. Best of all, though, is that now we really do have a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Britannica should ‘fess up to this and send a free towel to anyone who buys the app.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 2010 [iTunes]

Mar 28

The Month’s Best Android Apps [Android Apps]

Posted in: Android, Software, Today's Chili, top

Click here to read The Month's Best Android Apps

Android apps keep getting better, and—well let’s just cut to it. You need this month’s apps: better Twitter, neato new ways to search your phone, and a super awesome platform game for diehard Android fans. Updated. More »

Mar 27

Another New Tab Alternative for Firefox

Posted in: Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on April 24, 2009 by CyberNet.

new tab king.jpg

I still feel like I’m in search of the perfect page that is displayed when I open up a new tab in my browser. I used to be one of those people who always used a blank page for performance reasons, but when I started using Opera more I really started to like having the Speed Dial sites at my fingertip. Then other browsers like Google Chrome, Safari 4, and even IE8 started to catch on by trying to make the new tab page a little more useful.

Even though Firefox doesn’t ship with a feature like this it has a leg up on the competition because people can install extensions. Users can try out various alternatives until they find the one that works the best for them, and New Tab King is one of those extensions that’s definitely worth checking out. Here are some of the things it includes:

Access to most visited websites
See your bookmarks
See your recently closed tabs
Instant Google search box

It’s not the most graphical solution out there, but I know not everyone is a huge fan of pretty images. They’d rather just stick to a more text-based layout. If that sounds like you then New Tab King might be perfect. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think.

New Tab King [via FirefoxFacts]

Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Page Gets A Nice Facelift

Download Firefox 1.5.0.2 Optimized For Mac G4 And G5

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.5 Candidate Builds Available

What do you want your Firefox to do?

Mar 26

Office 2008 for Mac Release Date Pushed Back

Posted in: Apple, intel, Mac, Microsoft, performance, Release Date, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on August 02, 2007 by CyberNet.

Office 2004 Mac users were supposed to be getting the newly redesigned Office 2008, but as it turns out the development team hit a snafu. Now the release date for Office 2008 on Macs is getting pushed back from Fall 2007 to January 2008. Yes, all Intel Mac users running Office 2004 have about 5 more months that they will be putting up with the sluggish performance because of running it with Rosetta.

The new target date of January 2008 will put the release just in time for Macworld, which is where all of the biggest Apple fanatics gather at the same time. So what was the cause for the delay? Craig Eisler, the Microsoft Mac Business Unit’s General Manager, said:

There was no one thing that caused the push—it was more of a perfect storm. The switch to Intel processors, the switch to different tools in the development stream, the switch in formats with Office—all of it presented different roadblocks for the team, and we wanted to make sure we could address all of those issues.

If you look at the release history of Office for Windows vs. Office for Mac you’ll find that the Mac version is typically released 6 to 8 months after the Windows version. Office 2008 is going to be one of the longest delays between the Windows and Mac versions coming in almost a year after-the-fact. Technically it is a year and two months if you count when Office 2007 was released to businesses.

Current Mac users will need to use a file converter that Microsoft offers if they want to open Office 2007 documents. However, that only handles Word and PowerPoint documents.

Alright…I’ll close things up with some screenshots from Office 2008 running on a Mac. These were taken back in January, so some things have probably changes since then: