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Latest Gear Live Videos
TotalFinder 1.3.5 updated with Mountain Lion support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
TotalFinder has become essential Mac software here at Gear Live. If you're unfamiliar, TotalFinder is an add-on for the Apple OS X Finder that provides a tabbed interface. That means that you can have multiple Finder instances open in one window, and you an even have multiple tabbed windows as well. Much easier to work with the Finder when you've got TotalFinder running. Version 1.3.5 brings OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.7.5 Lion compatability, as well as Gatekeeper support. Full changelog available after the break.
Click to continue reading TotalFinder 1.3.5 updated with Mountain Lion support
Read More 
| TotalFinder
Gallery: TotalFinder 1.3.5 updated with Mountain Lion support
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Tweetbot for Mac alpha 3 now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Tapbots is iterating quickly on its Tweetbot for Mac alpha software. The original alpha was released just 13 days ago, and the second update (Alpha 3) is already available for download. Tweetbot for Mac alpha 3 addresses the new tweet window/hashtag popover bug that's been causing crashes, while alpha 2 addressed many more issues that were present in the initial release. You can find the full alpha 2 changelog after the break.
Click to continue reading Tweetbot for Mac alpha 3 now available
Gallery: Tweetbot for Mac alpha 3 now available
Next generation iPhone will sport new, smaller dock connector
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Design, Rumors,
Apple is set to do away with its ten-year-old 30 pin dock connector in favor of a smaller, more compact version on the next-generation iPhone that's set to launch this fall. The new 19-pin connector will take up less space, allowing the headphone jack to be moved to the bottom of the device as well.
The move is controversial and will surely upset many owners of third-party dock connector accessories. On the flip-side though, this shows how nimble Apple is willing to be in order to spur progress with its devices. Thankfully, the company will purportedly be offering an 19-to-30 pin adapter to ease the transition.
Read More | Reuters
Gallery: Next generation iPhone will sport new, smaller dock connector
ChargeCard: The iPhone charger that fits in your wallet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Design,
How many times have you been in a situation where your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad was on the verge of death and you didn't have a charge cable with you to charge it up? It's happened to us more times than we'd like to admit, and that's where the ChargeCard comes in.
The ChargeCard has the standard 30-pin Apple dock connector on one side, and a slim USB connector on the other. It folds up to just about the size of a credit card for easy storage in your wallet. End result? You always have an iPhone charger on you. As long as you have a USB port to plug into, you are good.
ChargeCard is currently a Kickstarter project. They've got 37 more days to reach the goal of $50,000, and it's already at $38,456. If you want a chance to get one of your own, you can pledge $20 to pre-order. If the campaign is successful (and it looks like it definitely will be) you'll receive your ChargeCard when it ships in September.
Read More | ChargeCard
Gallery: ChargeCard: The iPhone charger that fits in your wallet
Google just bought Sparrow and killed it
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Google, Software,
The ultra-popular Sparrow mail client is now dead. This morning, Google announced that it had acquired the company and team behind what many called the best Mac and iOS Gmail client. It's great for Google, and well-deserved for the Sparrow team, but as a user, it's disappointing. The company was set to release Sparrow for iPad very shortly, but today Google confirmed that there will be no new updates to the Sparrow apps, nor will it be released for any new platforms. We assume that this means the iPad client is now off the table.
We suspect that the crew behind Sparrow will be rolled into the Gmail team, and we'd even bet that we will see the official Gmail apps for Android and iOS become rebranded and fully-integrated versions of what Sparrow was. If you missed out on Sparrow, you can still get it on the App Store for the time being.
Click to continue reading Google just bought Sparrow and killed it
Gallery: Google just bought Sparrow and killed it
Alfred 1.3 brings Quick Look, File Buffer
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
Another major update to another one of our favorite pieces of software. This time, it's Alfred, the app launcher on steroids. Alfred 1.3 brings a ton of new features and functionality into the mix. We've got the full breakdown after the jump, but the two major features are the File Buffer and Quick Look. You can now use OS X Quick Look within Alfred results to preview the contents of files, while the File Buffer allows you to select multiple files that you'd like to work with through your Alfred commands. Alfred is free, and has a paid add-on called the Power Pack that brings with it a bunch of extra functionality.
Click to continue reading Alfred 1.3 brings Quick Look, File Buffer
Gallery: Alfred 1.3 brings Quick Look, File Buffer
iA Writer update brings full Mountain Lion and iCloud support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, PC / Laptop, Software,
iA Writer, our text editor of choice for the Mac, iPad, and iPhone, has been updated today to version 1.3 for Mac, and version 1.6 for iOS. The update brings:
- Full OS X Mountain Lion support
- iCloud folder support in Mountain Lion
- iCloud folder access in Lion
- Standard window framework
- Improved Markdown and Versions support
- Optimized printing
- Speed increases
In addition, the iOS version also brings full iCloud folder support, and trash bins in iCloud and local storage. iA Writer is currently on sale for $8.99 on the Mac, and 99 cents for iPhone/iPad. We highly recommend it.
Gallery: iA Writer update brings full Mountain Lion and iCloud support
Sprint says it will not charge for FaceTime over Cellular feature
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News,
The other day we talked about how AT&T charging for FaceTime over Cellular is consumer robbery, and today we've gotten word from Sprint that it agrees, and therefore will not be charging customers extra to use the new iOS 6 feature. When iOS 6 goes public this fall, owners of the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, the next-generation iPhone, iPad 2, and the new iPad will all have access to FaceTime when on 3G and LTE connections. According to Sprint, it's "committed to our unlimited data, and that means not charging for data consumption based on the application." Good on them for that. Now we're just waiting on Verizon to make the same move.
Gallery: Sprint says it will not charge for FaceTime over Cellular feature
SpamSieve 2.9.3 released with Mountain Lion, Retina display support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software,
SpamSieve has been updated to version 2.9.3. You are using version 2.9.2. Would you like to download the new version? It includes the following changes:
- Added support for the forthcoming Mac OS X 10.7.5.
- Fixed a bug that could prevent SpamSieve from auto-launching on the forthcoming OS X 10.8.
- SpamSieve is now able to recover from certain unexpected system errors on OS X 10.8.
- Fixed a layout bug in the German-localized Statistics window.
- Improved the Automatically Deleting Old Spam Messages instructions.
- SpamSieve now tells the system that it can use the integrated GPU, which should reduce battery use on newer MacBook Pros.
- SpamSieve’s disk image background is now displayed at Retina quality on eligible Macs running Mac OS X 10.7 or 10.8. (On Mac OS X 10.6, due to an OS bug, it will incorrectly display at double size.)
- Fixed a regression where SpamSieve’s disk image icon didn’t display properly.
SpamSieve is our favorite spam control solution, as it's proven to be an invaluable tool for us over the years. Highly recommended.
Read More | SpamSieve
Gallery: SpamSieve 2.9.3 released with Mountain Lion, Retina display support
Get AppleCare for your new Mac at a discount
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop,
If you picked up the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, or one of the refreshed MacBook Pro or MacBook Air Apple notebooks, it's always a good thing to consider AppleCare. You get an extended 3-year warranty, but the trick is that you should never buy AppleCare directly from Apple! Instead, buy it from Amazon, and you get it for up to 30% less. What's also nice is that when you resell your Mac, the AppleCare Protection Plan is transferable, and therefore you can charge more. Here's a list of the different AppleCare Protection Plans:
Apple Mobile Devices:
- AppleCare Protection Plan for iPad
- AppleCare Protection Plan for all versions of iPhone
- AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod touch/classic
- AppleCare Protection Plan for iPod nano and iPod shuffle
Apple Mac Computers:
- AppleCare Protection Plan - Mac Laptops 13-inches and below
- AppleCare Protection Plan - Mac Laptops 15-inches and above
- AppleCare Protection Plan - iMac
- AppleCare Protection Plan - Mac Pro
- AppleCare Protection Plan - Mac Mini
