USB to Ethernet adaptors for Mac OS X

Peter Sichel from Sustainable SoftWorks is once again THE authority in Mac networking. For many years his IPnetRouter was the tool of choice to connect a ADSL or cableTV internet connection to a complete (Mac) network. Now he has some drivers for USB and USB2 based Ethernet adaptors for MacOSX 10.3 and 10.4, so you even a Mac mini or iBook can have a second Ethernet port.

FileMaker 8 Pro announced

FileMaker announced the immediate availability of FileMaker Pro 8. Same file format as FileMaker 7, includes PDF Maker, an email send and merge, as well as a fast match feature, for easier searching of databases. A mobile version called FileMaker Mobile 8 for PalmOS and Windows Mobile should be available within a few weeks.

Make volume 03 arrived

Make volume 03 arrived! Besides Wired magazine the only paper based publication, that I read on a regular basis. Just great!

ZyXEL AG-225H WLAN finder and USB adapter

The ZyXEL AG-225H is IEEE802.11b/g/a USB 2.0 adapter with wireless hotspot detector. The LiIon battery lets you do hundreds of scans. The graphic LCD shows hotspots with SSID, encryption requirements, signal strength, band used, and channels used.

Dell DLP projector with 1400*1050 resolution

Dell introduced the 5100 MP, a DLP projector with 1400*1050 resolution, 3,300 ANSI lumens and 2,500:1 contrast ratio for 3500$. During normal operation the noise output is 37 dBA, in eco-mode only 31 dBA.

SuperDuper!

As a long time Mac user (since 1984) a have one really big complaint about MacOSX, and that is the incapability of the Finder to easily copy a bootable System folder to an external disk and boot from there. Enter SuperDuper!, a 20$ software for MacOS X, that allows you to copy entire disks, even in the unpaid version. The paid version has tons of additional features, but all with a really easy and understandable user interface. Highly recommended and compatible with MacOS X 10.4, too.

Postfix Enabler for Mac OS X

Postfix Enabler for Mac OS X lets Mac users set up a fully functional, buzzword compliant mail server in less than a minute for 10$.

DNS Enabler can set up a Domain Name Server on Mac OS X with just one click and WebMon allows you to set up PHP, WebDAV, and SSL on OS X's built-in web server.

Madsonline Lucille

The Madsonline Lucille is a 65 watt AC adapter specifically for the 15" and 17" PowerBooks and includes USB and Firewire power ports, too, now all for 78$.

USB 5.1 sound adapter for 30$

The 3D Mobile Sound Card is a USB 5.1 sound adapter for 30$. No driver necessary for MacOSX. Attention: they are taking preorders for this product. The delivery time will be 45 days after they have received 100 paid preorders through paypal.

SanDisk Ultra II SD plus USB

Just found this review in The New York Times about the SanDisk Ultra II SD plus USB , a SD card with built in USB interface, so you can use it like a normal USB flash memory stick. Cost is supposed to be only 5$ higher than the normal version, but right now it is only available for the high speed (and pricier) versions.

Nokia Smartphone Hacks book from Oreilly

Nokia Smartphone Hacks is a great collection of tips and tricks to make the most of your Symbian 60 mobile phone.

Project BlackDog USB powered Linux handheld PC

Portable computing redefined: BlackDog is a PowerPC based Linux handheld with USB port for power and connectivity to a host PC (as a virtual CD-ROM), a fingerprint reader for security and 256 or 512MB of flash memory for locally storing applications and data. You just plug it into a normal Windows PC, and it takes over the screen, keyboard, mouse and network stack of the host PC. After disconnecting it from the PC you leave no traces.

SwitchRes X, complete control over your monitor with MacOSX

Similar to PowerStrip for Windows, SwitchRes X is a 15$ shareware, that allows you to use all the resolutions that your graphics chip can display, but MacOS X doesn't handle natively. Especially great if you want to connect LCDs, Plasmas and projection devices to your Mac.

Benq P50 with 2 SIM slots?

I heard a rumor, that there is a version of the new Benq P50 for the Chinese market, that has 2 slots for SIM cards, so you can use two different providers at the same time. Does anybody here know any details on this? Right now the one SIM version should be available in Singapore and on the Philippines, possibly in Italy, too.

ScanTango, MacOSX document scan application for Fujitsu, Visioneer and TravelScan scanners

I have been waiting for something like this for so many years, that I nearly gave up looking for it. Then last January at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco I saw this tiny booth from Mindwrap, where they showed ScanTango. A document scanning application with drivers for the Visioneer Strobe XP 100 and the TravelScan 464, two USB powered 4ppm sheetfed scanners for 100$, plus support for a variety of Fujitsu scanners, for 150$. Now there are no more excuses not moving all that paper mess to your Mac in digital form.

iEye Captain, THE extension for EyeTV

If you have a Mac with an ElGato EyeTV box, take a look at the beta version of iEye Captain. It includes many missing features of the original EyeTV software, all for 30 $.

webRemote: control iTunes from anywhere

Another remote control software for iTunes, called webRemote works with any browser and is a 10$ shareware.

USB battery charger

Just found the this USB battery charger at engadget. It charges up to 4 AA or AAA Ni-MH and Ni-Cd batteries via USB. LED indicators show you the charging status. All for around 10$.

harddrive enclosures with USB/Firewire hub for Mac mini

There are some hard drive enclosures with built in USB/Firewire hub especially designed for the Mac mini. They all sport room for an internal 3,5" hard drive, one additional Firewire and 2 additional USB2 ports. Some of them claim 4 USB ports and 3 Firewire ports, but you loose one USB/Firewire port on the Mac mini and one each on the hub to connect them, so you only gain 2 USB and 1 Firewire port. Would be interesting to know who the OEM of these devices is...

BTW: the MicroNet miniMate and the MacWay minipartner are available only including hard drives, while Newer Technology miniStack is available without a hard drive, too. Also available from Other World Computing.

P.S.: I found another one called miniPal from acomdata, that features push button backup via Retrospect Express.

Thanks for the comment about the original drive enclosure from MacPower. I think they are the manufacturer of the harddrive enclosures with USB/Firewire hub for the Mac mini, that all the others are just reselling...

KeyCue for MacOSX: find, remember, and learn menu shortcuts

If you ever used an Apple Newton you know how easy to use a great user interface can be. If you had the Newton keyboard connected and pressed the command key a little bit longer, a window on the screen popped up and showed you all the the command key combinations in the current application. Now this functionality is finally available for MacOSX. It´s called KeyCue and is available from ergonis software for 15$. They have some more interesting software for MacOSX, too, like PopChar X and Typinator .

Freedom Input Bluetooth mini keyboard

At gadgetmadness.com I found a preview of the upcoming credit card sized mini Bluetooth keyboard from Freedom Input. They have a foldable full sized Bluetooth keyboard, too, including drivers for Symbian, Palm and PocketPC.

Mindola PatioTunes: iTunes Remote Control from any browser

Mindola PatioTunes is a new software for MacOSX, that allows you to remote control your iTunes from any browser, even from PDAs.

Saft, full screen Safari extension and more

I found Saft from Hao Li, because I needed a full screen extension for Safari. But it is so much more. Basically it addresses nearly all the shortcomings of Safari, that I can think of, including automatically saving and restoring opened browser windows at quitting and start, great crash protection, all for 12$.

MAKE: volume 2

I received Make: volume 2 via snail mail last week and spent nearly the whole weekend reading it. Besides Wired magazine, this is the only paper based publication I am reading since the Premiere issue. Just a few days ago I thought about a DIY CD changer for ripping CDs to MP3 and believe it or not, there already is an article about this in Make: volume 2. Big wow factor!

30GB ZenVision with VGA screen

Creative has their 30GB ZenVision with VGA screen, CompactFlash slot and FM radio available for pre order in black or white for 400$. BTW: as it is able to play DIVX files, it won´t support "Portable Media Center" from Microsoft.

Samsung Miniket V2 finally with SD card support

As reported by akihabaranews.com the Samsung MiniKet V2 is a 4 megapixel 3CDD camcorder with 10times zoom, that finally looses its dependance on expensive MemorySticks and now uses SD cards. You can use it as an MP3 player, too.

NaturalRecorder call recording software for Symbian60 phones

NaturalRecorder allows you to automatically record all your mobile phone conversations. Available for Symbian60 phones for 12$. Their next version is rumored to include answering machine functionality, too.

Classic runs much better in MacOSX 10.4

By reading my daily macosxhints.com I found this great article 10.4: Use OS X print drivers in Classic. Basically it says, that since MacOSX 10.4 you can use all your MacOSX printer drivers from the Classic environment. No more fiddling around to find (and install!) some old MacOS drivers!

BTW: Since MacOSX 10.4 Classic apps, especially Hypercard, don´t stop running in the background and are now MUCH faster. Exporting of my addresses from Hypercard to a text file for moving it to Palm Desktop and Apple AddressBook can now happen in the background, while I do other things on my Mac. Syncing of the more than 9000 PalmDesktop addresses to my Treo650 now uses only a few minutes, compared to nearly half an hour before.

Now if I only could find a version of Reports for Hypercard, that still runs on MacOSX 10.4 or a Hypercard clone with Reports for Hypercard functionality...

NEC high speed DVD-RAM drives with LightScribe coming at the end of 2005

According to CDRinfo NEC will bring out the NEC ND-4550, a DVD+/-/R/RW/RAM drive with LightScribe support and up to 16 times recording speed, that can't burn DVD-RAM at 2x and 5x. There will be  slimline drive called NEC ND-7550A with LightScribe and up to 8 times recording speed, too.

Nokia 770 does not supply power to the USB cord

I already mentioned the upcoming Nokia 770 linux mini tablet about two months ago. I still don´t have one, but at least I found out one more detail: the Nokia 770 does not supply power to the USB cord, so no way to use USB peripherals, that use USB power, not even low power USB keyboards or mice. Hopefully the next generation of the Nokia 770 will finally have a real SD slot, consumer IR, a powered USB port and eventually a slideout keyboard similar to the OQO UPC or the upcoming HTC Wizard.

Seidio retractable sync/charge cable with button for Treo 650

Treocentral.com has the Seidio retractable sync/charge cable with button for Treo 650 available for 15.95$.