Surf-Bits Link Blog

Griffin Technology Inc., innovator of exciting accessories for Mac and iPod, today announced that they are now shipping the AirClick Remote, a unique wireless remote control for the iPod and the iPod mini.

Unlike conventional remotes, the AirClick Remote uses RF technology that allows users to control their iPod from up to 60 ft. away. Users will not have to be in the line of sight for it to work, making it a perfect solution for using your iPod while in your car, hiking or exercising. RF signals also pass through walls, so you can control your iPod throughout your home. The AirClick remote is compatible with all iPods that have a dock connector, including the iPod mini and the iPod photo. It also will enable the iPod photo to advance pictures while in photo mode. Each AirClick package ships with a remote, a receiver that mounts to the iPod or iPod mini, and a convenient remote cradle and straps for attaching it to an automobile steering wheel, bicycle, or anything that’s handy.

Griffin Technology, Inc, creator of exciting innovations for iPod, Mac and PC, announces the iVault aluminum case for the iPod Shuffle. Griffin, in collaboration with designer Greg Gutierrez, has created a stunning enclosure that incorporates maximum protection with an elegant design.
Machined entirely out of aluminum, the iVault safely encloses your iPod Shuffle, while still allowing total access to the control wheel, audio jack, on switch, USB port, and LED. The front and back halves of the case are joined together by 4 small screws, so your iPod Shuffle is guaranteed to be secure. Lightweight yet strong, the iVault and the iPod Shuffle together weigh less than 1.5 ounces.
Price for the Griffin iVault has been set at $29.99 USD, and it is scheduled to begin shipping in May of 2005. Pre-orders are being accepted at www.griffintechnology.com.

OWC offers three models of the iGuitar - cinnamon, emerald and turquoise - which range in price from $759 to $879. They are immediately available at www.macsales.com/music.

Realmac Software today announced the release of RapidWeaver 3.1 for Mac OS X. This update builds on the phonomal success of the previous version by adding such features as direct FTP publishing, unlimited sub-menus, beautiful CSS based website templates and even better iLife integration.

As well as adding over 30 new features, RapidWeaver 3.1’s site creation process has been re-designed and streamlined to make sure it complies with today’s web standards. Every site produced with RapidWeaver is based on XHTML and CSS, and we have made sure that each site validates with http://validator.w3.org/. RapidWeaver 3.1 is available worldwide today and can be purchased for $34.95 (US) from: http://www.realmacsoftware.com

Thank you Phil Shapiro for this article.
Skype was invented as a free Internet phone service, but with just a bit of creativity you can use it to conduct interviews over the Internet. These interviews can be saved to hard drive, edited and then posted on the web, published via a podcast, incorporated into video or multimedia presentations or distributed via various computer media. This article includes a link to a QuickTime of an interview with an open source advocate in Trinidad and Tobago.

The BBEdit 8.1 update is available free of charge to all registered BBEdit 8 customers. An update package is available for download from the Bare Bones Software web site: <http://www.barebones.com/support/updates.shtml>

Yazsoft announces the immediate availability of Speed Download 3.0.5; a new version of the popular download manager completely tweaked and optimized for the upcoming Mac OS X 10.3.9. Completely re-written with Apple xCode, Speed Download 3 is the leading download manager for Mac OS X providing many new features including turbo-charged downloading, uploading, peer 2 peer file sharing, scheduling, bandwidth management, and more while providing auto-resuming functionality and security at all times. Speed Download 3 is optimized for ALL internet connections.

This update is free to all registered SD 2 and SD 3 users.
Speed Download 3 is available at the low price of $20.
Yazsoft is also offering savings of up to $25 on multiple licenses as well as introducing new discounted ‘Switcher’ pricing for anyone using another Mac download manager and would like to upgrade to Speed Download 3.
http://www.yazsoft.com on (dial-up or broadband).

Jon Johansen’s PyMusique application which allowed purchasing and downloading of music from iTunes Music Store without the normal DRM attached was shut down by Apple, and now is back working again. PyMusique does not write out DRM to the song, leaving it unprotected and free to be used on an unlimited number of machines. Johansen says he wrote the program to allow Linux users to buy music from iTunes music store, the ability to move the music from machine to machine without the DRM is just a nice side-effect. Looks like this serve and volley will continue for a while.

Sony estimates that it will sell over a million units in just the opening days of the release of it’s PSP multi-purpose entertainment device. The PSP will play 3D games, movies, and music. The cost of a PSP including stereo headphones, 32MB memorystick Duo, battery and charger, wrist strap, soft carrying case, and a Spiderman 2 movie will retail for $249.99.

 17 games are available at launch, and cost about $40 a piece, while movies for the PSP will retail for about $20 a piece.  

On the subject of PSP, PSPware has introduced a new software program that allows you to sync your PSP with your Mac computer. It allows your PSP to integrate with iTunes, iPodder, iPhoto, as a backup for your games, and converts your personal movies to the PSP wide-screen format! This is a slick app for you Mac owners out there.

OmniGraffle 3.2 and OmniGraffle 3.2 Professional can be downloaded at <http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/>.

 Yazsoft announces the release of an important update for Speed Download, version 3.0.4.

  What’s new in Speed Download 3.0.4:
• New enhanced Speed Download plugin.
• New vastly superior cookie handling mechanism ensuring perfect compatibility with all sites using cookies.
• New ‘Open With’ option to the SD contextual menu for finished downloads and received files.
• New mechanism to handle sites that use automatic download scripts; no more looping.
• Updated the Growl handling mechanism.
• More compatibility with FTP servers.
• Improved the bandwidth throttling preference setting.
• Improved handling of downloaded movies.
• Updated plugin preferences to handle more file extensions.
• Modified File Sharing preferences so that the ‘Received Files’ folder is only created when needed.
• Best performance and compatibility with MacGameFiles.com and InsideMacGames.com.
• Fixed rare case where speeds would stay stuck at 0.0 KB/s when downloading from certain servers.
• Fixed issue where scheduling date would show 0/0/0.
• Added French localization.
• Added Russian localization.

Other World Computing today announced the latest addition to its impressive line of SuperDrives - the OWC Mercury Pro DVR-109 dual layer DVD-/+ R/RW external solution. As the speediest of OWC’s Mercury Pro SuperDrives, it offers up to 16X DVD-/+ R/RW and up to 40X CD-R/RW burn speeds. OWC’s Mercury Pro DVR-109 external SuperDrive solution includes both FireWire and USB 2.0 ports, supports the burning of up to 8.5 Gigabytes of data or video per disc and comes with a one year OWC warranty. The drive is immediately available for $159.99 at www.macsales.com/MercuryPro.

Allume Systems, Inc., an IMSI company, today shipped a new software suite which also includes a 2 year subscription for free updates of spyware definitions: icSpyware & Anti-Phishing Suite for complete Internet protection against spyware, fraudulent phishing scams and other identity theft tactics http://www.allume.com/win/icspywaresuite/.

Pressure Drop today announces DecoDock, the first stylish dock designed to complement and enhance the iPod shuffle. DecoDock provides an elegant solution for users who want a simple, artistic way to connect their iPod shuffle to their computer. It will be available in April in a variety of colors for $28.99 at www.pdrop.com. DecoDock is the next product released as part of the Art-Techo Movement, Pressure Drop’s mission to create stylish, visionary peripherals that fuse art and technology.