Filed under: Apple We’ve had a few concerned readers contact us, worried that Apple has deleted or otherwise discontinued the “Downloads” section of its Web site. Fear not, gentle reader, they are still available in the same place as always: http://www.apple.com/downloads/ . What caused the confusion was the redesign of Apple.com that took effect at the end of last week. In order to make room for an iPad tab in the navigation bar at the top of Apple’s Web site, something had to go. Fortunately you can easily locate the downloads section simply by typing the word “downloads” into the search box. Below the links to Apple products, the iTunes store and the Apple store, the bottom link will bring you to Apple’s downloads page, which has a wide variety of applications available, both from Apple and from various third-party developers. You can also click the Support tab if you’re looking for Apple Support Downloads , where you can find downloads for security updates and “point-releases” of software that you might otherwise update via Software Update. Downloads aren’t gone from Apple.com, just less visible originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Downloads aren’t gone from Apple.com, just less visible originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Downloads aren’t gone from Apple.com, just less visible

Some iPhone applications use the built in features on the iPhone, update and offer promotions for existing iPhone games, or spoil the plots for your upcoming season finale. Gym Finder Gym Finder is as strait forward as you can get with a free iPhone application.  With Gym Finder you can, well, find a gym.  When you open it up you are given a list of popular gym chains like 24 Hour Fitness, Athletic Club, Bally Total Fitness, Curves, Gold’s Gym, and others.  You can select one of these gyms and then it will locate those that are relatively near to your location.  You can select a specific location and it will give you directions utilizing the iPhone Maps feature along with basic contact information.  It is also possible to do this in reverse by searching just by location to find what is near by.  Gym Finder does what it promises adequately, but it does make you wonder why you need a program that is so specific to finding one type of business.  Why not just use a Yellow Pages application?  Why not use the Maps function on its own?  Gym Finder is perfectly reasonable for the purpose it promises, but this is still part of the trend at the iTunes’ App Store that stresses quantity over quality.   iMobsters 28 Favor Points The most important quality that is universal between all text based iPhone MMO RPGs is the constant need for updates and promotions.  iMobsters, which is one of the most popular mafia themed text based iPhone MMO RPGs from the Storm8 tradition, has now released its most recent update.  iMobsters 28 Favor Points is actually more of just a free Favor Points offer than a true iMobsters update.  The reality of iMobsters 28 Favor Points is that it is used to simply to perpetuate interest in the free iPhone game.  Since Favor Points are really the only way that Storm8 can make money off of the iMobsters franchise this is really just to spark interest in what will supposedly just be a later series of purchases.  Inside iMobsters 28 Favor Points you are not going to see much quantitatively different to the base iMobsters software except for the most minor of update changes.  Fundamentally iMobsters remains the same, which puts iMobsters 28 Favor Points into a weird place.  Any free Favor Points package is going to be of interest, and possible necessity, to iMobsters players.  On the other hand, free Favor Points are not going to be really attractive to those who do not already have an interest in iMobsters.  There is nothing about iMobsters 28 Favor Points that is going to attract new players.  If you already play iMobsters then iMobsters 28 Favor Points is going to be one of the first free iPhone downloads on your list, but if not you can forget it entirely. Spoilers For the TV addict in the room online spoilers can be the main source of water cooler gossip.  The ‘there’s an app for that’ logic has infected almost every possible online institution, and this one was a late arrival.  Spoilers is a basic free iPhone application that gives you the available episode information for some of the most popular  on the air.  These are presented mainly in a large list of alphabetical options like Burn Notice, Entourage, Desperate Housewives, Dexter, and others.  These are presented in the largest list in the Shows tab where you can select the shows you want.  You can then find the ones you want and then add them to your Favorites, which will then list them under that specific tabs.  This is really where Spoilers becomes useful, especially once you have established a clear list for your Favorites.  You can also look according to Upcoming Episodes, but it is much more relevant to just get information from the episode specific lists.  All of this is find if Spoilers was more than simply adequate in what it provides.  Spoilers is not extremely detailed in the information it offers about each program, and more often than not you are not going to have access to the entire list of shows you will want.  Program information is limited at any given time, and Spoilers usually has issues bringing up all of what you are requesting.  This does not make Spoilers incredibly useful even in the marginally interesting feature it has.  With the time it takes to sift through the occasional info from the application you can easily use more reliable and complete online sources.

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Mini Reviews: Gym Finder, iMobsters 28 Favor Points, Spoilers

It’s no secret that many recording artists — especially those from the bygone era of the long-form LP record format — prefer listeners to enjoy their music as a whole, rather than on a song-by-song basis. One of the pioneers of such concepts, Pink Floyd, has just scored a legal victory that may change the way we buy such music from iTunes in the future. BBC News is reporting that Pink Floyd has score a legal victory with its record label, EMI, over the company selling its songs by track through Apple’s iTunes Store, according to MacRumors. The high-profile band objects to the label splitting up what it considers to be single pieces of work. “The rock legends, signed to EMI since 1967, said their contract meant their albums could not be split up without their permission,” BBC News reports . “A judge agreed, saying the contract contained a clause to ‘preserve the artistic integrity of the albums.’ EMI has been ordered to pay £40,000 ($60,000) in costs, with a further fine to be decided.” Of course, Pink Floyd’s contract with EMI predates digital music downloads, particularly those from the iTunes Store, which pioneered the “99 cents per track” option that’s become so popular in recent years. Rather than having to buy an entire album just to get one or two favorite tracks, customers can pick & choose which tracks they’d like to own. The band’s lawyers “argued that it made little sense that the contract’s restrictions against the splitting up of ‘seamless’ material would apply to physical distribution while digital distribution would be treated as a ‘free for all.’” EMI argued that the use of the word “record” in the contract suggested that it applied only to physical media. For now, Pink Floyd’s music remains for sale by track on the iTunes Store — so get it while the getting is good, we figure that will change soon enough, and probably start affecting other classic rock bands as well…

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Another Brick in The Wall: Pink Floyd Scores Legal Victory

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 10, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh iWebThemesPark has launched ten new iWeb Themes for Apple’s iWeb. In addition, a free iWeb Theme has been released for all iWeb users. Brand new, amazing and supreme quality iWeb Themes from iWebThemesPark are the perfect way to create or update a website. Some iWeb Templates are recommended for building business websites, so everyone can find a perfect theme for any kind of website. The package of ten themes for an unbelievably low price is most likely to be the best offer ever. iUseMac has announced that it will be featuring the innovative image identification software PhotoBrain at 50% off on Wednedsay March 10th and Thursday March 11th. PhotoBrain is an advanced software for image identification and photo matching, it’s the first image search engine on the local drive to use image identification technology. iUseMac offers popular Mac applications at reduced prices for limited time periods. This offer will start on Wednedsay March 10th and will end 48 hours later. Intego has announced VirusBarrier X6 Dual Protection , featuring the latest version of its acclaimed anti-malware and network security software together with BitDefender Antivirus 2010 so Mac users can protect their Windows installations. The latest version of Intego’s anti-malware and network security program includes new threat-detection techniques, improved methods of detection, combined detection protocols, proactive behavioral analysis, and a full range of defensive functions. Bambooapps today announce Quiet Read Pro , an important update to their popular link management application for Macintosh. Quiet Read lets you save any link for later, and is an unobtrusive, easy to use application that features a clean interface. Quiet Read Pro features a comfortable and simple user interface, providing support for bookmarklets, syncing with MobileMe, short URLs, with list searching and filtering capabilities. Eltima Software has announced the release of Folx 1.0 , a free download manager for Mac OS X

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 10, 2010

Synergy+ hopes to breathe new life into the Synergy KVM switcher project that hasn’t been updated since 2006. Synergy is an open source, cross-platform KVM solution that replaces a piece of hardware with a free piece of software that will let you control the keyboard and mouse on another computer. It works over the local network in your home or business. The problem with Synergy is that it hasn’t been updated since 2006 by its author, Chris Schoeneman. A new team, however, hopes to change that by creating a new version called Synergy+ on Google Code that uses the same source, but it has been updated for 2010. The new Synergy+ can be downloaded for your system on Google Code . via DownloadSquad

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Synergy+ Gets a Fresh Breath of Air

My kid wants an iPod touch for her birthday. I’m inclined to fulfill her wishes, but I’m a little concerned about her looking at objectionable content on Safari or YouTube, or running up big bills downloading apps and music. Does the iPod touch come with parental controls? It does. You can’t limit certain sites in Safari, but you could block the app altogether. And YouTube, the App Store, and the iTunes Store can all be restricted too. To get started, open the Settings app on the iPod touch, then tap General, and Restrictions. You’ll need to enter a four-digit passcode–don’t share it with your kid, obviously

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Setting up Parental Controls on the iPhone and iPod touch

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Steam is finally coming to the Mac, and bringing the entire library of Valve games with it. The popular application is King of the Games on Windows, but now it has expanded its reign to include Mac OS X, too. Steam is a digital games distributor, a social networking platform for gamers, a multiplayer host for huge frag fests, and one of the most essential pieces of software for computer gamers everywhere. And if you still have no idea what we’re talking about, think of game titles like Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Half-Life, Portal, and Counter Strike–these gems will finally be available for Mac heads everywhere. The availability of Steam for Mac gamers means that we’ll finally be able to kick the butts of our PC brethern, without investing in a pricey gaming console, or a Windows PC. Additionally, game publishers will be able to distribute all of their latest game titles via digital downloads, and we’ll be able to play all the various Valve titles across a multitude of different computers, regardless of operating system. We don’t doubt that the Mac versus PC debate won’t continue on for generations to come, but at least there’s finally some common ground. The Steam client for Mac beta will be available in April. To prepare you for the inevitable long nights of multiplayer game playing and trash talking, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of the most essential things you’ll be able to do with the Steam client. Think of it as, a beginner’s guide to a whole new world. Create a personal gaming profile The avatar you choose is the first important step to becoming an integral part of the Steam community. Choose wisely, and your future as an elite computer gamer will flourish. However, if you choose poorly, you may be susceptible to a variety of cruel gamer jokes. See what your friends are up to Valve has managed to virtually emulate those treasured times during our childhood, when you’d head outside just to see what the neighborhood kids were up to.

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The Mac Users Guide to Cool Things You Can Do With Steam

We know spring doesn’t officially start for another two weeks, but the way the weather and the sun have been playing with our minds lately, it feels like it might really happen on schedule. Of course, if we know winter, there’s always at least one more trick up its sleeve. But this weather! It almost makes us not want to be inside playing with our tech toys.  So load up these links on your iPhone and get stepping out like us, because it’s another sunshiney week of the best of the best from Mac|Life. Features: – 10 Reasons Why You Can’t Always Rely on GPS on the iPhone – We like to laugh when we see people with smartphones and a GPS system; it seems so redundant. But the iPhone’s GPS isn’t perfect (none are), and you might find yourself needing and not wanting. Here’s how it can happen, in ten easy steps. Worst case scenario isn’t the bear, however; it’s having to use Bing maps. How-Tos: – Getting Started with Final Cut Pro – If there’s anything as complicated and as ever-changing as digital video editing, let us know, because it makes our head hurt. Apple’s good for taking the sting out of lots of things, and Final Cut Pro goes a long way toward doing so, but if you’re just getting started, it’s good to get a little help from your friends. Of course we mean your friends at Mac|Life. Reviews: – CarMD 2100 Handheld Tester – It seems only yesterday we were talking to a coworker who needed just this exactly little handy device. Well, actually, it was over a year ago, but you get the picture. If it had been yesterday, we’d have shoved this article under his nose and told him to diagnose his own car trouble in a snap.

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In Case You Missed It: Mar. 1 – Mar. 7

At the moment I’ve got 1,303 items in the trash bin in my OS X Dock — not that much compared to the usual pile that accumulates there when my normal maintenance has me only cleaning it out once every couple of months. Usually, it’s not a problem. Occasionally, though, I’ll throw something away by mistake, at which point I’m reminded that you can’t just click on the bin and search through the trash like you can with other folders in your Dock. It may sound like a small annoyance, but if I’m digging through the trash, it’s because I really need to find that thing I tossed out. Without a chance to search for it I’m left with no other option but to browse through a pile of files that typically number in the thousands. All this turns a small annoyance into a rather large one. There’s got to be a better way to deal with all this Trash. Ordinarily when searching for files in the Finder you can choose to limit the scope of your search to the current folder by selecting it from the search bar. This is a big help when you know the file you want is somewhere in this folder, but you’re not entirely sure what its name is. But trying this approach after clicking on the trash icon leaves you searching the entire system with no way to limit your scope. I suppose I could just do a better job regularly taking out the trash — this would leave me with fewer files to browse through when the time comes — but I know myself and that’s just not going to happen. Another option would be to write a script to handle trash maintenance, but that might just make a bad problem worse if my script gets rid of something I accidentally threw away before I have a chance to retrieve it. The best solution, it seems, is also the easiest one. I use “Go To Folder” in the finder to navigate to the otherwise hidden trash directory at ~/.Trash and drag that folder into the Dock.

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Quick Tip: Search the Trash in OS X

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Originals Wow, what a list this week. We saw quite a few quality apps drop on the App Store (and I’m not referring to Apple’s removal of risqué apps). I have a bunch of apps below for you to choose from, so I’m confident you’ll find at least one to download… Tune Runner – This game makes use of your own music library on your iDevice already. You play the game by tracing shapes onto the screen for obstacles to keep Groov-EE dancing.  I know, it sounds a bit strange.  Each song creates its own level and worldwide scoreboard, so I’m sure you can find some obscure track to be the world’s best at. NASA Lunar Electric Rover Simulator – When NASA makes an app, you include it on your list.  Or at least I felt the need to.  This app is supposed to simulate a rover on the moon as if we had a base there.  Not sure why they aren’t working harder to make this a reality, but at least there’s an app right? IDK. 3DPong Lite – What’s better than pong?  Probably nothing, but 3DPong is at least something different.  This game is actually pretty stylish, so I dig it, and I think you will too.  Well, as long as you like Pong, but who doesn’t like Pong? AmbiScience – Do you have trouble releasing tension or relaxing?  AmbiScience may be able to help you simmer down now with its seven long and seamlessly looped ambient sounds.  They claims that the kind of sounds this app produces have been “scientifically proven” to gently and naturally sync your mind.  I disagree with the term “scientifically proven” because as far as I’m aware, that’s not possible, but hey, it’s marketing mumbojumbo. VanillaSurf – This app wasn’t released this week, but it is pretty cool.  It’s an alternative to Apple’s own mobile Safari internet browser.  It actually has more features than Safari, including full screen browsing, tabs with support for offline viewing, downloads, bookmarks (import/export), homepage, multiple search engines, private browsing, text browsing and more.  This app is awesome, and it’s free, which is why I’m highlighting it now since I missed it the first time around. Tony Hawk’s Trick Tips Free – So ya wanna be a hipster with some skateboard skills huh?  This app will help you get started with the basics of flatland and ledge tricks, though it will not help you get up as fast after falling as a character on any Tony Hawk game.

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Free apps roundup for February 26th, 2010