Entertain and educate the most important members of your household with this family-friendly guide to the best Mac software, websites, and iPhone apps for kids. And don’t miss our step-by-step instructions for setting up parental controls on your Mac. Let’s play!   When they’re little, kids want to be just like you–pretending to drive the car, borrowing your shoes for dress-up, and yes, pulling up a booster seat to unwind with the family Mac after a hard day in the sandbox. As fun as some Mac staples are regardless of age (Photo Booth, anyone?), your kids deserve some special software just for them–to help them master basic computer skills, stretch their creative imaginations, reinforce educational concepts, and of course, just have a grand old time no matter how young they are. With that in mind, we test-drove 29 Mac and iPhone apps and 12 activity-packed websites just for kids. Some wound up being a little too dumbed down–on the verge of becoming, well, dumb–and our reviews separate the wheat from that chaff for you. Grab the mouse; it’s time to play!   Computer Skills   KidsMouse   KidsMouse teaches basic mouse skills with 18 learning games like ABC Puzzle, Color Ball, and Shape Puzzle. Each is operated using only the mouse or trackpad, and the brightly colored, charmingly illustrated graphics will delight little ones. Some of the games test your child’s sequencing (letters and numbers), shape recognition, and memory, while others just entertain–a bitmap paint program, for example, lets them draw colorful shapes. Really little kids might need prompting from Mom or Dad–ours had fun driving from our lap. We just wished KidsMouse would lock out keyboard input because those keys sure get banged on. Click matching shapes to hear a sound

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Kidding Around – The Best Software and Websites for Kids

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad , iPhone , iPod touch , iDevice Apps , Mac Software Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 12, 2010: Macintosh iPod Macintosh Alesis has announced that the MultiMix 6 USB six-channel USB mixer, is now shipping to retailers. The MultiMix 6 USB is a six-channel desktop mixer designed for easy integration into a computer-based recording environment. This compact mixer is perfect for use in recording setups, video editing and production studios as it outputs not only line-level analog audio, but also stereo 16-bit, 44.1 kHz digital audio over USB for low-noise, simple computer connection. MacinMind Software has released Radiologik DJ 1.7 , optimizing loading and playback for this radio automation and DJ tool. This release includes several optimizations to help ensure the Radiologik system is as reliable and robust as possible for 24/7 radio stations both streaming and terrestrial. Radiologik DJ is the DJ music and playout system for radio or most DJ needs, offering beautiful real radio transitions by employing Track Prep through the accompanying scheduler program. Mode de Vie Limited has announced MyThoughts 1.1 , an update to their popular Mind Mapping software for Mac OS X. Intuitive, flexible and powerful, MyThoughts for Mac provides an ideal solution for those wanting to improve their brainstorming, learning and recall abilities through the use of Mind Maps. MyThoughts for Mac features an intuitive interface that lets the user focus on expressing and developing ideas with fluid, organic, Mind Maps. Bohemian Coding has released Fontcase 1.5 , a free update to the Apple Design Award-winning font manager that is like an iPhoto for your fonts. A few feature-highlights include versatile metadata support, the ability to share fonts on your local network and fantastic ways to preview all your fonts. Version 1.5 adds much-requested auto-activation, duplicates detection, speed increase and stability among other things

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Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 12, 2010

Mac users who regularly exchange files with Windows users are constantly stymied by one of Mac OS X’s biggest limitations — you can read NTFS-formatted Windows disks, but you can’t write to them. Thanks to Paragon’s NTFS for Mac, you can, and the latest 8.0 version brings faster read & write operations as well as 64-bit support for Snow Leopard 10.6. Paragon Software Group has long been a leader in innovative data security and data management solutions, and Mac users have frequently turned to their NTFS for Mac OS X solution to eliminate the barriers between Windows and Mac. The company has just announced NTFS for Mac OS X 8.0 Release Candidate, a free 30-day trial of their latest drivers to read & write Windows-formatted NTFS disks. “We are very excited to offer this new solution to our fast growing NTFS for Mac OS X user base,” said Tom Fedro, president of Paragon Software Group. “Paragon NTFS for Mac 8 is the only solution on the market based on file-system drivers, which makes it unique with regards to stability and performance. Paragon was the first to officially break down the communication barriers between Mac and Windows, and we remain committed to bringing users the newest features with NTFS for Mac OS X 8.0.” Paragon NTFS for Mac 8 achieves the speed of native HFS+ drivers, with test results demonstrating around 90MB per second during read & write operations. The company bills the software as “the industry’s fastest NTFS driver,” with Mac users provided full read & write access to Microsoft NTFS partitions, allowing for easy modification of existing files back and forth between Mac and Windows without additional costly hardware or software. Among the new key features of NTFS for Mac OS X 8.0 are full support for the latest Snow Leopard 10.6 in 64-bit kernel mode, fast volume transfer speed, full read & write access, easy installation and removal, create & repair NTFS partitions under the Mac, use non-Roman characters and languages in your file & folder names, no system degradation during file transfers and no limitations on file or partition size beyond those in the Mac OS X or NTFS specifications. The Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X 8.0 Release Candidate is now available for download from the company’s website and gives full access to the feature set for a 30-day trial. Pricing and availability has not been announced for the shipping product, but Release Candidate users are promised a discounted price when it becomes available. Customers who purchase the current 7.0 version will also be entitled to a free upgrade to 8.0.

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Paragon Offers NTFS for Mac 8.0 Release Candidate

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

Section: Mac Software , Home and Personal , Features , Opinions and Editorials Although I’m 100% pro technology, it sometimes takes me a while to embrace a new application. No matter how much buzz it is going on around it, no matter how much my friends tell me to try it, I just don’t feel the need to find out what it is, or how it works. It’s a weird inner process, but it happens. Even fewer times do I get to realize how wrong I was for not giving it a chance sooner, and how much I was missing.  Those are the times I kind of regret my lack of interest, and almost always I tend to compensate for lost time from that point forward. One of the biggest cases of that personal phenomenon is Dropbox, which I completely overlooked despite bloggers, press, friends, and Internet in general.  Nowadays, that’s an application I can’t afford to lose, and I’m willing to pay for it if I have to (I know maybe it’s not a big deal for most of you, but it’s a big thing where I come from). The most recent episode of “the phenomenon” (it’s merely an event, but since it’s my story I get to call it whatever I want) is the application that brings me to my word processor today. This application is called 1Password and, of course, you all know about it since I’m the one late to the party. This is the kind of software that somehow makes you dream about becoming a software developer—specifically a Mac developer, because, let’s face it, on the Mac, first-class applications like this one just shine on.  1Password (next to some of my other favorite apps) is the kind of software that makes me spend time making up things just to interact with it.  Six bank accounts are not enough, I wish I had more to put into it, I wish I had more software licenses, and I need to concentrate and think hard because I know I must have more log-ins in my history. If I just could remember all of them I will be able to continue adding inputs to this 1Password wonder. It was 1Password 3 that finally got my attention

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1Password 3 is “a greatly executed work of art”

Over at Patently Apple , Jack Burcher Purcher reports that Apple is applying for a trademark called “Joint Venture.” The trademark application indicates that this will most likely be some kind of new service offering by Apple. Might Apple start providing on-site service just like Best Buy’s Geek Squad? The key clauses in the patent application seem to indicate this just might be the case: “International Class 037: Maintenance, installation and repair of computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer networks, and consumer electronic devices; information, advisory and consultancy services relating to all the aforesaid.” “International Class 042: Technical support and consulting services pertaining to computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer software and consumer electronics; troubleshooting and computer diagnostic services for computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer software and consumer electronic devices; consulting services in the field of selection, implementation and use of computer hardware and software systems for others.” Would this be a good thing for Apple customers? Certainly being able to purchase additional on-site services directly from an Apple Store would be convenient. The Geniuses stay locked behind the bar (pun intended) and Apple relies on independent third-party sources who are often part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) or Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) to provide on-site service to Apple’s customers. For many of them, paying Apple directly to set up their Xserve or Airport Extreme may be a great idea and would be consistent with the offerings of big PC companies that provide end-to-end support for larger installations. Joint Venture members would be people trained by Apple, and specializing in Macs (unlike Best Buy’s on-site squad).

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Apple “Genius Squad” in the Works?

Over at Patently Apple , Jack Burcher Purcher reports that Apple is applying for a trademark called “Joint Venture.” The trademark application indicates that this will most likely be some kind of new service offering by Apple. Might Apple start providing on-site service just like Best Buy’s Geek Squad? The key clauses in the patent application seem to indicate this just might be the case: “International Class 037: Maintenance, installation and repair of computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer networks, and consumer electronic devices; information, advisory and consultancy services relating to all the aforesaid.” “International Class 042: Technical support and consulting services pertaining to computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer software and consumer electronics; troubleshooting and computer diagnostic services for computer hardware, computer peripherals, computer software and consumer electronic devices; consulting services in the field of selection, implementation and use of computer hardware and software systems for others.” Would this be a good thing for Apple customers? Certainly being able to purchase additional on-site services directly from an Apple Store would be convenient. The Geniuses stay locked behind the bar (pun intended) and Apple relies on independent third-party sources who are often part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN) or Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASP) to provide on-site service to Apple’s customers. For many of them, paying Apple directly to set up their Xserve or Airport Extreme may be a great idea and would be consistent with the offerings of big PC companies that provide end-to-end support for larger installations. Joint Venture members would be people trained by Apple, and specializing in Macs (unlike Best Buy’s on-site squad). It’s always possible that Apple could decide to have Joint Venture members be existing members of the ACN and AASP programs and the trademark could all be about branding. If Apple opts for its own on-site “Genius Squad,” it would likely be biased towards Apple-approved solutions, utilizing equipment that Cupertino sells. This may limit the choice of customers and marginalize third-party vendors that don’t sell items in the Apple Store or web site. Currently AASPs and ACNs don’t work for Apple and don’t always recommend pure Apple solutions for their customers.

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Apple “Genius Squad” in the Works?

Filed under: Apple Anyone struggling with the challenge of developing for the iPad , a platform whose hardware has not yet been released, should welcome iSimulate . For just ten bucks, you can test your applications using event inputs from a real device. Yes, you’ll be working with the limited geometry of an iPhone — fewer pixels, not the same device shape — but you’ll gain access to a much wider range of gesture and accelerometer events to help you debug and develop your apps. Using iSimulate involves little more than compiling in a framework and running an iPhone-based application that you download from the App Store. You’ll need to add -ObjC to your linker flags and include the Core Location framework. This latter is needed in order to provide simulated compass and GPS events to your app. Once run in the simulator, iSimulate will automatically find that running app and offer to link to it as shown in this video. It took me only a few minutes to bring my Xcode project into iSimulate compliance and get it working with the iPhone.

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iPhone devsugar: Simulating device events with iSimulate

In a move reminiscent of the warranty extension Apple offered to MacBook Pro owners affected by NVIDIA-gate , the Mac maker announced this week that it would offer a similar consideration to some MacBook owners whose hard drives are crashing. Eligible models (black and white MacBooks sold between May 2006 and December 2007) affected by the problem will be repaired at no cost. On the support page created to describe the problem and the resulting warranty extension, Apple doesn’t mention which brand of hard drives are affected by name, which could mean that the problem doesn’t lie with the hard drives themselves, but with some other system components. Another indication that this is indeed the case is that all capacities of hard drive are also affected. If you’re wondering whether or not you have an affected unit (Apple says only a “small percentage” of users will experience problems), it’s very easy to identify. Your MacBook will just stop working altogether, and any attempts to boot it will result in a screen that displays a folder icon with a question mark over top of it, as in the image below. As someone who’s seen this screen many times while fixing up old PowerBooks, I can tell you it isn’t a heartening experience. Apple describes what you should do if you’re greeted with such a screen: Please take your MacBook to the Apple representative most convenient for you: Apple Authorized Service Provider – Find one here . Apple Retail Store – Set up an appointment with a Genius . If Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider confirms that your hard drive is affected, Apple will replace it with a new hard drive. You will need to have the original OS installation discs that were shipped with your product in order to re-install your operating system, other applications, and any backed up data. If you need assistance finding the best service option in your area, you may contact Apple Technical Support for more information. It sounds like any data you may have stored on the drive will be irrevocably lost if this does happen to you, so if you have one of the affected models and you haven’t yet implemented any kind of backup system, you should probably consider doing so

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Apple Admits MacBook Hard Drives Defective, Offers Free Repair Program

Filed under: Apple Last week I downloaded (but did not install) the iPhone OS 3.1.3 firmware for my 3GS. I wanted to have a copy of the firmware on hand, but didn’t want to upgrade right away. I checked “Do not ask me again” and clicked Download Only. I thought that was the end of the matter. Unfortunately, this Sunday, I plugged in my iPhone and left the room to grab some tea. When I returned, the iPhone was 50% of the way through the 3.1.3 firmware upgrade procedure. It did something I had no idea that it would do: it upgraded me without asking. How frustrating! What’s more, I didn’t have a copy of 3.1.2 on-hand to downgrade to because iTunes automatically deleted the old firmware files and I was using default Time Machine settings; Time Machine does not normally back up ~/Library, the folder that contains the iTunes ipsw files. Fortunately, I had several resources. First, because I had jailbroken my phone and registered my device signature with Jay Freeman’s caching service , I knew I could downgrade my phone. As Jay and I discussed in this LiveCha t from a few months back, Apple no longer allows you to freely downgrade your iPhone software. All firmware installations must be verified with Apple’s signature servers

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TUAW How To: Downgrading your 3.1.3 iPhone to 3.1.2