Friday, September 28, 2007
Mac Virtualisation, Parallels vs Fusion
11:43PM Gina Trapani | Mac only: We fell in love with Mac virtualisation software Parallels Desktop the minute it got released, because running both OS X and Windows on the same machine is such a huge productivity boost. Since then, the more established player in the virtualisation market, VMWare, has released Fusion for OS X, which also runs Windows and various flavors of Linux for the same price. Macworld calls it “a very close call between these two excellent virtualisation programs.” What are you using? More »
In brief
11:38PM Gina Trapani | Five years after everyone stopped using their software anyway, AOL releases a beta of AOL Desktop for Mac. More »
Practical Applications for Dental Floss
11:00PM Lifehacker US Edition | Because it’s so sturdy, dental floss has its uses beyond mouth hygiene. You can repair shoes with it, cut cakes with it, and keep your gadgets’ plastic caps intact with it. But did you know you could also sew with it, use it as a clothesline, tie a strong knot with it to keep your suitcase closed, and silence a dripping faucet? Traveler’s weblog Gadling suggests these tips and others without requiring extra baggage. What other hacks do you have for dental floss? Share your tips in the comments. Clever Uses for Dental Floss [Gadling] More »
Notifir – notification tool for Digg
2:58PM Sarah Stokely | The How to Split an Atom blog has reviewed the beta version of Digg monitoring and notification tool, Notifir. If you’re a power user/commenter on Digg, some of the features sound interesting. The review picks a few holes in the software but says:
“Currently, Notifir provides a dashboard of stories that you have submitted to Digg in the last 24 hours. It can tell you who Dugg it and gives you a platform from which to submit additional articles. I think the most interesting thing that it has going for it is that it provides a list of articles from “commonly promoted sources†and lets you submit these stories with a click of a button. For power users in the making, this can save you quite a bit of surfing time.”
Participants in the Notifir beta can vote on which features should be developed, which is cool. And if you read the comments you’ll also see the Notifir founder responds to some of the critical points of the review. Nice to see them responding to community feedback.
How To Review Notifir [How To Split An Atom]
More » The Gawker Guide to Conquering all Media
1:38PM Sarah Stokely | Our pals at Gizmodo pointed out that Gawker – publishers of Lifehacker US – have published a book. The self-deprecatingly titled Gawker Guide to Conquering all Media boasts a hilarious YouTube ad. Check it out:
More » 
10 reasons to buy an iPod Touch over an iPhone
1:20PM Sarah Stokely | If the announcement of the iPod Touch made you wonder whether to go for its sleek goodness now, rather than hanging out for the iPhone, ZDNet’s article “10 reasons to buy an iPod Touch over an iPhone” may help.
The two most compelling arguments in my mind are the fact that waiting for a later gen iPhone should see it move up from 2G to 3G or HSDPA 3.5G, and the fact that unlike iPhone, you don’t need to worry about signing a ridiculous 24 month lockin contract for a iPod Touch!
If you’re thinking about the iPod Touch versus iPhone dilemma, what are the important issues for you?
10 reasons to buy an iPod Touch over an iPhone [ZDNet] More » Roundup of Apple Updates
1:15PM Sarah Stokely | Danny Gorog at APC has helpfully written a roundup of the numerous updates which Apple has put out this week. It’s worth having a look as it includes a rundown of what updates you might need to install, and why. The updates cover hardware, iLife, iWork, iTunes and the iPhone.
Apple updates nearly everything, including iPhone [APC] More » 
IsoHunt disables US access to trackers
1:12PM Sarah Stokely | MPAA 1: IsoHunt 0. Major bit torrent and P2P index site IsoHunt has announced that it has disabled US users from accessing its trackers, due to legal pressure being applied by American movie industry group, the MPAA.
This announcement went up on IsoHunt’s site yesterday:
“As of earlier today, we have disabled access from users in the US to our trackers, until further notice. This goes for ALL trackers (torrentbox, podtropolis) we run. This is due to the US’s hostility towards P2P technologies, and we feel with our current lawsuit brought by the MPAA, we can no longer ensure your security and privacy in the US. So, if you’re outside the US, you may notice less peers. We encourage you to add other public, unhampered trackers to torrents you post, in addition to Torrentbox and Podtropolis’s trackers.”
More » 
A Look at Amazon MP3
11:00AM Adam Pash | US-centric: Starting Tuesday, Amazon launched Amazon MP3, a new online digital music store selling DRM-free MP3s for $US0.89 to $0.99 a la carte or $5.99 to $9.99 per album. That’s as cheap or cheaper than the iTunes Music Store but without any of those pesky DRM restrictions or codec issues (everything supports the MP3). Featuring over two million songs from over 180,000 artists, it’s shaping up to be an extremely viable alternative for purchasing music online. More »
