I wanted to bring something a little different to my readers, because I felt it would be the right thing to try and entice you away from your screens for a little while. Spending hours in front of your Mac is a fine way to spend your day, but can induce back ache and eye strain if you overdo it. So, why not pick up a copy of ‘How to Get Rich – by Felix Dennis’.

Now, I am not a massive reader, but two things drew me to this book, firstly the title, as I wouldn’t mind a bit (or a lot) of extra money, but secondly the man behind the book. We have all heard of the publication ‘Mac User’ and some of us may have seen ‘Personal Computer World’ on the shelf, well these are just a few titles by Dennis Publishing, founded in 1973 by Felix Dennis. He sold the two magazines and made millions and continues to do so in various ways.
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Here are a few hopefully useful and informative Mac-related links found both on the MacCast and elsewhere on the series of tubes.

Let’s take a look…

via the MacCast:

• MacCast Episode 170

• Scott gives us his thoughts on Digital Convergence.

• Andrew tries out a new CD/DVD burning Mac app called Disco.

• Adam talks with Doug Bell on the PreviewCast.

• Cynthia lets us know about an update to AppZapper, ver. 1.8.

• Charles says MacHeist is promoting Independent Mac Developers.

• MacCast Episode 170

via the Interweb:

• Yet Another Birthday Importer (YABI): a beta tool that gives Mac users more flexibility with sending important Address Book dates (like birthdays and anniversaries) to iCal. It has a simple user interface, creates read-write calendars (unlike the built in iCal features), and makes the exporting very easy.

• notMac Challenge: If you’re like me, you’ve become weary of paying $99 a month year (thanks Jim!) for the Apple neglected dotMac service. So was the person who setup the notMac Challenge, who is asking the developer community to develop a dotMac substitute, and has setup a bounty-pledge system for the like-minded. I think it’s a great idea, but I was a little concerned about accountability. I’ve emailed the creator to try to find out more, and I’ll post more in the comments, but for right now—buyer (or donator) beware. (linked from MacWorld).

• iTunes is in a slump, no it’s not. Darn, just as I was writing a long post on how Podcasts have replaced iTunes music purchases—I know they have for me!

• Gizmodo: iPhone this Monday, Dec. 18, Brian Lam says, “I guarantee it.” Note: he doesn’t say that “the iPhone” or that it’s from Apple, or if it’s a phone. And doesn’t Apple tend to release products on Tuesdays?

DEVONtechnologies has just updated it’s popular DESKTOP TRANSPORTER software to version 2.0.1. For those who do not know what Transporter is, it is a “remote desktop solution that allows users to use other Macs on either the local network or the Internet without physically accessing them.” Version 2.0.1 adds some bug fixes and a few cool new features. It now includes a status tab which displays your Mac’s local IP address along with what port Transporter is currently listening on. Also in this settings panel is a function to set the resolution/size of the monitor you are controlling. One of the welcome improvements is a greatly improved online help system with details on setting up port forwarding and links to networking tools and utilities. Transporter 2.0.1 is a free upgrade to all Transporter users and for everybody else it is $29.95 with a 4 week trial and discounts for students and teachers.

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 170. Are iTunes sales slumping or not? Apple may be carrier for iPhone service. Three new iPods for 2007? Adobe to release Universal CS3 BETA on Friday. Correction on the show number. Exporting a disk catalog list from the Finder. Explaining the different “types” of memory in OS X. Apple explanation and fix for “blue tint” issue. Re-download old iTunes Podcasts without re-subscribing. iPod Shuffles losing their authorizations? Comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts. Why you can’t curl up in bed with a good 17″ MacBook Pro. Review of Disco. MacCast at Macworld and Mac Podcaster Meetup. 2nd Anniversary Maccast wishes from Frat Pack Tribute Podcast.

New music, I Love My IPod by Daphne Kalfon

So long, Earth. Catch you on the flip side. — Apollo 13 (1995)

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The MacCast always seems to get me thinking. This time, Adam, you got me thinking more and more about the topic of Digital Convergence. There are so many things going on in this area right now, I thought I’d share with you some of my observations.

The impact of the following issues are nothing less than dramatic . . .

• Professional music and video is now competing with amateur music and video (the democratization of content).
• New devices are being introduced daily that can support all different kinds of media.
• People don’t have any more TIME to spend on content/media absorption

than they already do today (most important).

• Viewing habits of an attention-span challenged generation are kicking in (people want shorter bursts of content).
• VOIP is now ubiquitious and PC video chat applications actually work.

Traditional media, brick and mortar retail stores, service providers, and new network-based services are all hardening for battle. The consequences of this battle will be severe and permanent.
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I was recently invited to sit down with one of my listeners who is also a podcaster. Laurence Anderson and Douglas Bell do a show called the Previewcast. Larry wasn’t able to make the recording, but Doug and I had a nice time chatting about Apple and Macs among other things. The Previewcast recently received one of the infamous Apple legal letters because of some images used in their album art. The story made for a fun start to our conversation. Things went on from there and I had a great time. If you want to take a listen the show was just posted up on the site. Enjoy.

AppZapper 1.8, an application that allows you to uninstall any application, widget, preference pane or plugin was released. When you drag and drop an application to be uninstalled onto AppZapper, it goes through the system to delete preferences, caches and support files that many applications generate when they are launched. This latest version runs on Mac OS X 10.4 and above.

The 1.8 version of AppZapper includes the new UnZap feature. If you accidentally zap an application you can use the UnZap feature to restore the application and its related files. In addition, there are improvements to the zapping engine, support for zapping on localized systems and authentication for non-admin users.

All current users of AppZapper can update for free.

You can buy AppZapper for the low price of USD$12.95. The Family Pack which registers all members of the same household sells for USD$18. A free shareware version that allows you to zap five times before you are required to purchase the software is also available. If you would like more information about AppZapper or would like to purchase it visit www.AppZapper.com

MacHeist Kicks Off “The Week of the Independent Mac Developer” with Bundle Sale
I don’t know about you, but I am a huge fan of MacHeist. If you don’t know what it is then you can find articles all over the internet about it. However, this week and this week only, they will be selling a wonderful bundle of apps for $50. And the best part is 25% of the proceeds will go to a charity of your choice. The apps you will get are: Delicious Library, Boinx’s FotoMagico, DEVONthink Personal, ShapeShifter, RapidWeaver, iClip 4, Disco and a Pangea game of the your choice. The charities you can give to are: The United Way, Direct Relief International, AIDS Research Alliance, Preventcancer.org, The Nature Conservancy, the World Wildlife Fund, The Hunger Project and Save the Children. Best of all, if $50,000 is raised then you get NewsFire and if $100,000 is raised you will get TextMate. This is a great chance to buy some great shareware for a discount that goes to a great cause.

Apple thinks you should try their digital photography program Aperture. They think if you try Aperture that you will like it. They believe that so strongly that they want to let you try it free for 30 days.

Manage thousands of images with complete control and flexibility. Sort through shoots and choose selects in record time. Make professional-quality adjustments with simple, powerful tools. Whether you shoot RAW or JPEG, Aperture puts everything you need into one unrivaled application. Try it free for 30 days—and don’t worry, Aperture never changes a pixel of your originals. So start today, experiment with abandon, and see how simply amazing your photography can be.

Download your free copy here

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A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 169. Apple acquires Proximity asset management company. Kevin Rose leaks new iPhone info. Universal Photoshop in Q2 2007? New Zealand iTunes and Apple Online Stores arrive. Apple claims no ownership of “podcast”. Apple gains right to “digital media” download patent. Another Apple Rumor roundup. Correction on the Beatles. Resolution Independence. The good, the bad, the really ugly. Saving photos from damaged flash cards. What to do if your Mac got the “blues” after 10.4.8 update. MPEG video files get “muxed” up in Quicktime. Cataloging your archived files

New music, Baby It’s True by Mario Carrillo and the Bashers

One hundred thousand sperm and you were the fastest? — Vertical Limit (2002)

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