A little midnight snack… if you will

Our good friends at Apple have released Mac OS 10.5.7 Update. It’s a rather large update, I will admit (450MB):

The 10.5.7 Update is recommended for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. For detailed information about security updates

You know where to go to get it: Go to your Software Update (and I would recommend doing it overnight since it is so large). Check out Apple’s site if you want more info.

Yes- this coming from a Mac guy. Microsoft’s Cinco de Mayo present for you (unless you work for them) is the first (and I would guess only) Release Candidate.

For those of you new to this whole software development process: Where “Beta” means it’s work in progress, software in “Release Candidate” stage (often abbreviated as “RC”) means that it is likely the version that will officially release, but there still may be bugs and things still may change.

Now, if you are interested in trying out the RC 1, there are few things to keep in mind. First off, it is a 2.3GB download- so start it and… take a nap or something; it’s going to take a while (I started mine before I went to class). Second, RC 1 will overwrite the operating system that is installed on that partition; this means that if you install RC 1 over the Beta version (or Vista), all data will be lost. You may want to consider installing on a different partition. But make sure you backup anything important before installing. Lastly, this is an RC- there still may be bugs, if you need to run something that is mission critical, stick with XP or Vista- something that is actually released.

If you’ve read what I put above (or already know the associated risks of running RC software, the download link it at the bottom. To download, you’ll need a Windows machine, a .NET password (Hotmail or Live mail will work), and a DVD to burn to. You’ll get a product key, and the RC is good until June 1st, 2010.

As I mentioned, I have it downloading right now, and will spend the next few days to play with it- I’ll return with my thoughts later this week or early next week. Enjoy!

Download Windows 7 RC 1 [Microsoft]

As you may know, there are over 100 different apps for using Twitter. However, it seems to me the Windows gets all the good ones. It just so happens that I came up with a great Twitter app that is Mac only.

Nambu is a native Mac OS X application that supports a number of services, such as FriendFeed and Identi.ca, but is extremely strong as a Twitter application, as it has built-in support for tr.im and pic.im.

Nambu has three different views: Standard list view which will automatically integrate tweets from multiple accounts into a single timeline- great if you have multiple accounts from multiple services. Three-pane view, somewhat similar to Mail, with a sidebar allowing you to choose between accounts. And then there is multi-column view which allows you to choose what appears in each column: main timeline, replies, sent messages, etc (a lot like TweetDeck). Also, replies are threaded- a nice touch.

So if you’ve been unhappy with some of the Twitter applications out there, give Nambu a try. It’s Mac OS X only, and it’s free. And if you like Nambu, there’s an iPhone version, too. Tweet on!

Nambu [via TUAW]

I must apologize for the delay on today’s Manic Monday. If you haven’t been watching the Weather Channel at all, Fargo got hit with the worst blizzard seen since 1997, so I spent my day digging my car out of the snow (No, that’s not my car pictured above). That said, a very belated Manic Monday.

• Gmail Enables SMS Messaging From Chat
• Also added to Gmail, a To-Do List
• Google Chrome breaks out of beta. How about a Mac and Linux version?
• Mozilla to pull the plug on Firefox 2 “soon”. Time to upgrade!
• That said, Mozilla added multitouch gestures to Firefox 3.1 for Mac.
• And HP apparently will wipe your hard drive to fix a broken keyboard.
• Canada Increases ‘Music Industry Subsidy’ on Blank CDs. Good day, eh?
• And a Russian has apparently trademarked the emoticon.
• Apple gets official acceleration spec for Snow Leopard.
• Apple and AT&T bring back iPhone home activation.
• Finally, Seadragon is Microsoft’s first iPhone App. Voice Search Next?

And that’s this week’s Manic Monday. I did two installments of Wired For Gifts last week, and I plan to do the same this week, as well as some other tips and tricks in the middle. Enjoy!

You heard it right, folks. Apple has released the 2.0.1 firmware update for the iPhone and iPod touch which brings the much-awaited “Bug fixes”- and boy there are bugs in 2.0.

Hopefully, 2.0.1 will fix some application crashes, as well as crashes related to getting Apps on the device itself and not in iTunes (which I’ve found to be a problem). I’m downloading it right now (at 3:30am Central- I’m crazy) and I will let you know if there is something “big”.

Speaking of Big, the file is 244MB, so you might want to start the download now. You can get it from the usual spots.

With Vista’s transparency standards, some programs look great and other look horrible. Or what if you want transparent windows in XP or 2000? Blend is here to help.

First off, Blend’s system tray utility takes up very little memory (3 MB or less), and is highly configurable without confusing you. Setting Blend to only make certain desktop apps transparent is as easy as either the executable path or drag an icon onto the window you want to tweak.Also from the system tray you can easily kill or suspend transparent objects to save power if need be.

Thats all there is too it- a simple program for simple people, I always say. Blend is absoultly free and works with Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.

Blend [via Lifehacker]

You’ve gotta admit, well done Flash on the web looks pretty darn cool. That said, looking at poorly done flash is almost worse than eating Spam (Austin, MN- I love you dearly). You then find yourself in a pickle: You want to view the site but you can’t disable the bad Flash animation- oh wait- You can in Internet Explorer 7 with an add-on called Toggle Flash.

This simple add-on creates a new toolbar button on your IE window. A single click on the button turns off all Flash animation; and if you want to re-enable Flash at any time, just click on the button again. Pretty darn simple.

Toggle Flash requires Internet Explorer 7 to work. It’s so easy, a Caveman could do it!

Toggle Flash [via Download Squad]

If you are Mac user, you may want to hit up the software updater tonight before bed (if you do such a thing). Apple is pushing three updates: An iTunes 7.6.2 update to “to improve stability and performance” (as the story usually is), a QuickTime 7.4.5 update which promises “fixes that enhance reliability, improve compatibility with third-party applications, and address security issues”, and thirdly, A Front Row 2.1.3 update which will provide you “bug fixes and improved iTunes compatibility.”

Be warned, though, the total update size is over 110MB (so if you have a slow connection, it’s gunna be a while). You can get these update by opening up Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update). Update away!

Today’s download, doesn’t apply to me, as my Mac is a laptop. But if you have desktop Mac that is left on all night, this can prove to very useful, especially if you like to run stuff overnight. Say you are completing a big BitTorrent download or something along those lines—you may have been woken up by an unexpected beep from that always-on Mac. Easy fix with SoundAsleep.

SoundAsleep sets up a mute schedule for your Mac, muting and unmuting the system sound at times you specify. It does one simple thing, so whether you’re using it for a quiet computer at night or you just have a quiet schedule you’d like to keep up with, Sound Asleep is for you.

SoundAsleep is the perfect companion for any desktop Mac. It’s free and Mac only. Now if only my new MotoKrazr did the same thing….

SoundAsleep [via Lifehacker]

Now this is my kind of download: useful and practical. If you’ve been embarrassed by accidentally unplugging your headphones from your laptop and blasting “Pour Some Sugar on Me” to the rest of the world (I’ve done it), then Breakaway could be what you’re looking for.

Simply stated, Breakaway will automatically pause your iTunes music anytime your headphones are unplugged. That’s it. There are some customizable options behind that, but that’s it.

Okay, so that’s the only thing it does, but it’s useful. Breakaway is Mac only and is 100% free.

Breakaway [via Download Squad]