Parallels introduced a big update today for Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac. It includes new features for Windows 8 users, full USB 3.0 support, and improved Retina display settings. On top of support for Windows 8 tablet gestures, Parallels is including a Windows 8 tile that allows users to access shared Mac apps. According to Parallels, the update also includes faster USB 3.0 performance, an increased limit for virtual machines running large apps, and “Smooth transitions when entering and exiting Coherence mode”:
Now Mac users can enjoy new features including Windows 8 tablet gestures and use a Windows 8 interface tile to access shared Mac apps. These updates, plus the already deep Parallels Desktop 8 integration of Mac OS X and Windows 8, enable people to also use Mountain Lion’s Dictation feature in Windows applications, add Windows apps to Launchpad and the Mac Dock, enjoy brilliant Retina display resolution for Windows apps and more – making Parallels Desktop 8 an ideal way to run Windows 8 on a Mac without rebooting. Expand Expanding Close
Pay with Square at Starbucks: We already knew Starbucks was signed up to bring Square payments to 7,000 of its stores via the newly renamed “Square Wallet” app. Starbucks just confirmed in a press release that starting today it will officially begin accepting Square payments via a scanned QR.
Fantastical for iPhone: Those familiar with the Mac OS X desktop version of the Fantastical app will be pleased to know developers Flexbits have announced an iPhone version is in the works and coming soon. The Mac version is a slick, menu bar item calendar app for access to reminders and calendar functions, but also has support for iCal, BusyCal, Entourage, Outlook, iCloud, Google Calendar or Yahoo! Calendar. You can sign up to find out when it becomes available here.
New app releases:
Clear for Mac:We knew it was coming and today the Mac App Store version of the popular Clear to do app for iPhone officially makes its way to the Mac.
Jingu Friends:Originally available as a BlackBerry app with more than a million downloads since May 2011 and 3.5 million messages sent monthly, the developers of the Jingu Friends app have released an iOS version of the app today on the App Store. The app allows you to discover new people to chat with through a lounge environment that “immediately drops you into a global conversation stream where you can listen or participate.” From there you can find out more about the messaging apps participants use:
All messages posted on Jingu Friends are public, but users can take their conversations private through seamless integration into smartphone messaging apps like BBM, Hookt, WhatsApp and Kik.
FreshBooks for iPad: FreshBooks is coming to the iPad today with version 1.1 introducing a universal app that now supports both iPhone and iPad.
FreshBooks – The Fastest Way To Track Time, Organize Expenses & Invoice Your Clients, Anytime, Anywhere.
Updates:
Pinterest version 2.1: Pinterest is introducing a new feature today that allows users to create up to three secret boards to share with friends and family. In a blog post, Pinterest explained how to use the new feature: “go to your profile, tap on the Boards tab, and scroll down to the bottom until you see a button that says Create a Secret Board.”
• Block or report other users
• Create up to 3 secret boards
• Edit boards from your device
Clear version 1.2:Clear for iPhone gets a big update today that brings iCloud support, the ability to share quotes on Twitter and Facebook, quick list switching, and more: Expand Expanding Close
Aspyr Media is bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops, originally released in 2010 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, to Mac OS X later this month with the release of the game through Steam, GameAgent Store, and a Mac App Store release shortly after. The title will hit Macs for $50 and come bundled with the First Strike Content Pack DLC.
In addition to Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Rezurrection Content Pack will also be available for purchase at launch for $14.99. This content pack will be available through the same retail outlets as the game and as an in-app purchase for those that buy the game from the Mac App Store. The other two Black Ops Content Packs, Escalation and Annihilation, will be available on the Mac later this year as a bundle…Game requirements can be found on the Aspyr.com product page or on GameAgent.com, where players can use the site’s Mac Match feature to determine whether or not the game will run on their machine. To find additional info on the game, including a FAQ, please visit the GameAgent Blog.
Update: Commenters pointed out the update is not going well…so proceed with caution.
As Roxio’s Toast moves from burning DVDs and BluRays to a “media toolkit” that allows easy social sharing and converting of audio/video (as well as burning/archiving), it is also getting updated with new Macintosh features. Today, Roxio’s Optical media burning software goes to 11.1 and adds the following updates:
Toast has been fully Cocoa-ized – Hundreds of changes and fixes implemented as a part of this effort
Added OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion compatibility
Added support for recording to 100GB and 128GB BDXL media
Implemented Gatekeeper Support
Web-Video feature improvements
Requires using Safari to capture web-video
YouTube users may need to OPT OUT of HTML5 Trial
Mountain Lion users will need to update to 10.8.1 or later to publish video to YouTube
Both Parallels and VMware announced new versions of their software over the last 12 hours. Which software do you use to run Windows applications, if any? Do you Virtualize Linux or other builds of MacOS X?
Leave comments on your experience.
For the record, I have been using Parallels to deal with @#$% QuickBooks most recently, but off and on for years overall. VMware has also impressed me when I have tried it. Both products are so much better than the slow SoftWindows- type solutions we had in the PowerPC days.
Following a string of teaser videos in recent months, Sony appears to have confirmed its Sound Forge Pro audio editing software will make its way to Mac. MacRumors pointed us to the video above, posted by FinallyOnMac, which shows the software running on a MacBook Pro.
We can see from the video above that the software has been redesigned for OS X, but we still do not know when the production suite will make its way to OS X or for how much. The PC edition of Sound Forge Pro 10 currently sells for around $375. Its obvious competition is Apple’s own Logic Pro 9 suite, which became a $199 Mac App Store app as of last year, down from the its old $499 Logic Studio offering. We are getting our hands on Sound Forge for Mac soon to give you our first impressions.
For pros, Adobe offers CS6 Creative Cloud for $29.99/month for your first year of membership ($360 for the year or under $1/day). Offers end August 26th and 31st.
A new Wi-Fi scanner tool is in Mountain Lion’s refreshed Wi-Fi Diagnostics Utility, allowing users to easily discover Wi-Fi networks within range and view related data not available from Apple’s Wi-Fi menu bar item. Comparable to third-party Wi-Fi stumbler tool iStumbler, the scan tool provides data for BSSID, band, protocol, channel, signal strength, security, and more. It also has Active and Passive scan modes.
From the window, you can see what networks are in your area and their strength. Some maneuvering of base stations can increase coverage to the outermost areas of your house, and it is much, much easier to see slight differences in numerical signal vs. noise strength over those four waves Apple uses in its Wi-Fi menu.
Additionally, by looking at what Channel (1-13) your base station is on, compared to your neighbors (or other base stations in your house), you can often find the least used channel in your area to improve reception.
We told you yesterday about the Trojan named “Crisis“, also being referred to as “OSX/Morcut-A”, discovered for OS X, but it is considered low risk for users. Today, we get some more details about the trojan with security company Sophos explaining the Morcut Malware features code for controlling the following:
The malware appears to have been specifically created with spying on the user as its goal. There have not been any reported cases of infected users, though, so the threat is still considered low risk.
Just 24 hours after Apple released Mountain Lion, over half of our readers are already on the slightly smaller, big cat. That is an impressive feat for a desktop OS, and it is one made easier by the Mac App Store. We had a bit of a head start with 10 percent grabbing the developer download over the past weeks, and obviously the general Mac populations is probably a bit behind.
Apple officially enabled its Up-to-Date program after launching the new operating system, but some who tried to receive their free upgrade to OS X Mountain Lion immediately ran into problems. Many redemption codes were apparently coming up invalid, so Apple said it would replace the invalid codes over the next three days.
At least a half dozen commenters in the MacRumors Forum claim Apple sent the replacement codes today, but, unfortunately, the codes are for the “OS X Server components of Mountain Lion rather than Mountain Lion itself.” One commenter specifically said an error message appeared that warned the “OSX Server cannot be downloaded”:
[tweet https://twitter.com/snackdog/status/228534270673698816] Expand Expanding Close
One of the big new features in OS X Mountain Lion is the Game Center. This Game Center is cross platform between OS X and iOS. Unfortunately, only a few compatible titles have made their way into Mac App Store for today’s launch. However, some of them are very notable. Some of our favorites include Real Racing 2, Sky Gamblers, and Cut the Rope.
Following this morning’s launch of 10.8 Mountain Lion on the Mac App Store, Apple just launched a separate app as an OS X Server for Mountain Lion. It allows users to add sever functionality to the OS for $20. It is definitely a significant price drop from the $49 Lion server and the $500 or so it cost to add the functionality before that.
OS X Server is the next generation of Apple’s award winning server software. Designed for OS X and iOS devices, OS X Server makes it easy to share files, schedule meetings, synchronize contacts, host your own website, publish wikis, configure Macs, iPhones and iPads, remotely access your network, and more.
Server is now an application you can add to Mountain Lion right from the Mac App Store. Anyone can quickly and easily turn a Mac running Mountain Lion into a server that’s perfect for home offices, businesses, schools, and hobbyists alike.
We received a tip today that may be of interest to QuickBooks users planning to upgrade to Mountain Lion this week. The email below was sent to a reader from Intuit’s QuickBooks for Mac team. It informed them QuickBooks 2011 would not be supported on Mountain Lion. While the email notes “you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you” after upgrading to Mountain Lion, the company will only officially support QuickBooks 2012 on 10.8. The full email is below:
Let’s talk about Mountain Lion!
Like a lot of Mac users, everyone on the QuickBooks for Mac team is excited about the upcoming release of OS X 10.8: Mountain Lion. You may be wondering how Mountain Lion will affect your version of QuickBooks for Mac.
QuickBooks 2011 and prior are not supported on Mountain Lion. (Note that QuickBooks 2012 is supported on Mountain Lion.) Read more about this on Little Square.
If you decide to upgrade your OS, you may find that most things in your QuickBooks for Mac work for you, but if you run into a problem, we may not be able to help you. To minimize the chances of running into issues, you should make sure you’ve installed the latest update for your software. To find and install an update, click QuickBooks > Check for QuickBooks Updates.
If the new features in the Mountain Lion OS aren’t a big deal for you and you don’t want to upgrade either your OS or your current version of QuickBooks, then just stay with your current OS and QuickBooks versions. We can continue to help you with any problems you may run into.
If you must upgrade your OS, but don’t want to upgrade QuickBooks, you can continue safely running QuickBooks for Mac and any other software that may not be compatible with Mountain Lion on a partition. (Note: it’s important that you check all your software on the Mac you use for your business to be sure that it’s all compatible with Mountain Lion.) You can learn more about setting up a partition at this article by Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5845
If you want to run QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion, you should upgrade to QuickBooks 2012 for Mac. That way if you do run into any problems, we can help you. You can find QuickBooks 2012 for Mac on our website at http://quickbooks.com/mac and at most major retailers.
We really appreciate your business and wish you happy accounting whether you choose to upgrade to Mountain Lion or stay with your current version of OS X.
You’ll find great answers to your questions and advice on our Community. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. And Little Square will keep you up-to-date with new developments about QuickBooks for Mac on Mountain Lion.
Update 2: After a brief time online, Apple appears to have taken down the form to request a copy of Mountain Lion. You’ll still be able to request a copy at Apple’s original link following Mountain Lion’s official release.
Update: As noted by MacRumors, Apple’s form to request a free copy of Mountain Lion for new Mac owners is already live on the company’s website. After entering details about your purchase, personal details, and the serial numbers of your new Mac, Apple sends two emails —one with a password protected redemption code and another containing the password— to open it. The redemption code is not yet working in the Mac App Store.
Apple previously confirmed, when it unveiled the new Retina MacBook Pros and refreshed Mac lineups, that Mountain Lion would be available for free to those who purchased a Mac after June 11 through the Up-to-Date program. Since then, Apple has updated its website to confirm the free copy will be available to new Mac owners for 30 days from the release date, which will likely be sometime after tomorrow’s Q3 earnings call. Those who purchase a new Mac following Mountain Lion’s release will also have 30 days to claim their copy on Apple’s website.
We’ve heard a few whispers (3 and counting) that Apple Stores both in the United States and overseas have planned overnights for Tuesday, July 24th. With OS X Mountain Lion launching “in July”, according to Apple, we believe that it is sensible to speculate that this overnight may point to a public launch the following day.
This year, Mountain Lion isn’t being launched alongside hardware (last year new Minis and Airs launched with Lion) so there is less setup required and accordingly, we’re hearing that the overnights will be smaller. One employee tells us that it is basically just a few guys running around with the master image installing it on every Mac. Notably, some stores we’ve spoken to haven’t heard of any overnight…yet.
On the other hand, Apple often holds Tuesday overnights, so this July 24th overnight may simply be a coincidence, and Apple may not launch OS X Mountain Lion on the 25th. But, there is already under two weeks left in July, and with last year’s launch pattern prime for repetition (launch announcement during the upcoming earnings call), we’d say a July 25th launch is increasingly likely.
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be a $19.99 upgrade which will hit the Mac App Store on launch day. Developers already have what is likely the Golden Master – build number is 12A269, a 4.34 GB Mac App Store download.
A security vulnerability exits in the way that folder permissions are set in certain Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac 14.2 installations. This update resolves that vulnerability.
Improvements that are included in the update
The Office for Mac 2011 14.2.3 Update also includes the following improvements:
This update fixes an issue where some SkyDrive folders in Micorosft Document Connection are displayed as zero-byte files instead of folders.
This update provides critical updates for connection reliability with SkyDrive.
Improvements for Excel for Mac 2011
This update improves stability in Excel when you drag to move a PivotTable row or column.
This update fixes an issue in Excel where #REF is returned even when links are ignored.
Improvements for Outlook for Mac 2011
This update fixes an issue where some IMAP users may receive an “Unknown namespace” error when they try to create special folders (such as Drafts and Sent Items) on the server.
This update fixes an issue with some IMAP configurations where Outlook repeatedly displays “Cannot create mailbox” errors.
This update fixes an issue that causes Outlook not to display details for certain contacts when Lync or Communicator is running.
This update fixes a problem that occurs when users reply to or forward Exchange email messages that were downloaded from Exchange 2007 servers. When this problem occurs, the Date field is missing from the body of the message.
To correct email messages that have already been cached, right-click the folder that contains the email messages, select Folder Properties, and then then select Empty under Empty Cache. Or, you can delete the Exchange account and then add it again to resynchronize the account.
This update fixes an issue where users may have duplication of mail when they use Gmail and connect with Outlook by using IMAP.
This update fixes an issue where some users who have IMAP accounts intermittently receive a “Too many simultaneous connections” error. A setting is now available to control the polling interval that Outlook uses with IMAP servers.
To adjust this setting, select Tools, select Accounts, and then select Advanced for the IMAP account. The setting defaults to synchronize all lMAP folders every two minutes.
This update fixes a connectivity issue that occurs when Outlook connects through a proxy server that uses NTLM based authentication.
Improvements to Word for Mac 2011
This update improves Full Screen View integration with Word.
Previously released improvements included in this update
This update includes all the improvements that were released in all previous Office 2011 updates since the release of theMicrosoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.0 Update. For more information about the improvements in a previous update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
2555784 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.2 Update
2598783 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.3 Update
2644347 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1.4 Update
2685940 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.2.0 Update
2705358 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.2.1 Update
2665351 Description of the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.2.2 Update
Prerequisites
Before you install the Office 2011 14.2.3 Update, make sure that the computer is running Mac OS X v10.5.8 or a later version of the Mac OS X operating system.
To verify that the computer meets this prerequisite, click About This Mac on the Apple menu.
Additionally, you must install the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 14.1 Update before you install the Office for Mac 2011 14.2.3 Update.
To verify that the update that is installed on your computer, follow these steps:
On the Go menu, click Applications.
Open the Microsoft Office 2011 folder, and then open any Office application (for example, open Word).
On the Word menu, click About Word.
In the About Word dialog box, compare the version number next to Latest Installed Update.
How to obtain the update
The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
Updated files
For a complete list of the files that this update adds or changes, double-click the update installer. Then, on the File menu, click Show Files.
Notes
The Office 2011 14.2.3 Update is also available from Microsoft AutoUpdate. AutoUpdate is a program that automatically keeps Microsoft software up-to-date.
To use AutoUpdate, start a Microsoft Office program. Then, on the Help menu, click Check for Updates.
For more information about resources for Office for Mac 2011, visit the following Microsoft website:
In March 2011, Apple officially announced that Mac OS X chief Bertrand Serlet would leave Apple after 22 years with Steve Jobs at NeXT and Apple. At the time of the announcement, Serlet said he wanted “to focus less on products and more on science,” but we did not have any other information on what was in the cards for the man Apple credited with the “definition, development and creation of Mac OS X.”
Business Insider has learned that Serlet has spent much of the time since his departure from Apple working with at least two other former Apple employees to launch a cloud computing startup in downtown Palo Alto called Upthere
Some of these job postings also allude to the fact that the startup was founded by high-profile ex-Apple employees.
We have since learned that this is a reference to Serlet (the brains behind Mac OS X) and Roger Bodamer, a former VP of product operations and development at Apple who previously worked at Oracle.
Based on the job postings we’ve seen, it’s clear the startup is looking to rethink the way people store files in the cloud, though just how this service will compare to options like Dropbox or Apple’s own iCloud feature remains unclear.
BlueStacks, the tool that allows Android apps to run on Windows, is now available for Macs.
The software, which is often touted as the “Parallels for Android”, now supports 17 Android apps on OS X. Pulse and Words With Friends are two of the more notable apps packaged in the launch, while high-resolution support for Retina Macs and additional apps are on the horizon.
The company attempted to court more developers—and celebrate the launch of its Mac Alpha —with a mock wedding for Android and Apple at Google I/O yesterday. The free download is available on the BlueStack’s website.
So, you want to manage a project and need the perfect app to aid the process. First decide whether you are a professional manager, or an amateur just seeking a better scheduling app, before jumping into this hands-on. If you are the latter, OmniPlan for iPad is definitely not the productivity app for you. With that said, this review is a little ironic for me. I am probably the most unorganized person alive. Anyway, let’s delve into the nitty gritty on this whopping $49.99 app available at the App Store.
Skype updated its Mac client today to version 5.8 to add full support for 10.8 Mountain Lion and a number of features that aim to bring the app up to par with the current Windows version. Perhaps the most notable new feature included in the update is a refined contact list that replaces the old floating menu. Accessible from the “Window” menu, the new Contacts Monitor (pictured right) provides a simplified view of your contacts in a window that can be repositioned and resized. Skype said it is meant to be much like older versions, such as Skype 2.8, that users seemed to prefer. The new contact list also has filters such as “Friends” and “Family,” and the ability to right-click to start a call or new message.
Another new feature for Skype 5.8 on Mac previously only available to Windows users is access to group screen sharing. The feature is for premium subscribers, but it supports up to groups of 10 with only one member of the group required to have a premium subscription. You will also now be able to share your video feed simultaneously while screen-sharing with multiple users.
A few other updates we noticed in the latest release:
After giving a demonstration for some of the new features in Mountain Lion today, Apple confirmed during its Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that Mountain Lion would ship in July for just $19.99. That price is good for Lion and Snow Leopard users who want to upgrade all their personal Macs. Apple also noted it would be free for all developers attending WWDC. Apple will ship a developer preview today.
We told you about Mac OS X apps AirParrot and Reflection in the past. Developed by app makers Squirrels, AirParrot allows you to mirror your Mac’s screen on an Apple TV-connected TV, while Reflection provides mirroring of iOS devices to any Mac display. The developers have since followed up with updates to both of the apps bringing many requested features such as audio and Mountain Lion support, but they released PC versions of both apps today that allow you to mirror your iOS device to a Windows machine or a PC’s screen to an Apple TV.
As for the Windows version of Reflection, it will release with all the same features as the OS X client, including: screen recording, audio support, frame colors, full screen mode, multiple device mirroring, and more. The first release of the AirParrot PC app will just provide basic screen mirroring features initially due to roadblocks during development. Head developer David Stanfill, who is also the founder of Napkin Studio, told us about the difficulties of bringing the AirPlay mirroring functionality to PCs and provided us with screenshots of the apps below:
