MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Users hoping to buy a MacBook Air USB Superdrive accessory for use with another Mac or PC other than the MacBook Air may be disappointed to find out that the accessory requires a MacBook Air to run. Electronista explains that the requirement is due to the drive's higher power consumption. While external optical drives have existed that rely on the USB port alone, the particular power demands of ...

MacQuebec (via HardMac) provides a screenshot of the boot menu for the MacBook Air. The Boot Menu is invoked by pressing the "Alt" key during boot and now gives you the option for Wifi networks to boot...

Apple released Pole Position Remix (iTunes Link) game for iPods today on the iTunes store. The newest iPod game is from Namco and refreshes the classic Pole Position game. Race to the finish line in Namco's classic arcade racer, Pole Position, remixed for the iPod. Avoid hitting cars, billboards, and other obstacles and downshift to make hairpin turns without careening off the track. Points...

PowerPage notes that the new MacBook Air lacks a Kensington Security Slot which is used to secure laptops down. One of the little issues that seems to have flown under the radar since Macworld Expo last week is that the MacBook Air doesn't ship with a security slot. That's right, the popular Kensington Security Slot (which has been present on every previous PowerBook to date) has vanished from...

With the release of the MacBook Air, I thought we'd see how many of you actually ordered one. So, the question is.... Poll: Did you buy a MacBook Air? ...

NeatReceipts showed its upcoming Mac version of its scanner/software for cataloging receipts at Macworld. NeatReceipts for Mac scans, saves, and uses optical character recognition (OCR) to save receipt data into a catalogue. It will automatically identify key terms like total, tip, and tax lines and categorize receipts appropriately. A custom-made coverflow view for browsing stored receipts ...

H&R Block showed off its updated tax preparation software at Macworld this week. The software is a universal binary and compatible with Mac OS 10.3.9 through Mac OS 10.5. Tax Cut includes standard features that you'd expect from a tax preparation program, such as the ability to import data from Quicken, TurboTax, or TaxCut in windows or mac flavors. In addition, the premium edition includes...

There were a lot of great products that we've seen on the Macworld floor, but there are some that especially catch your eye. Sometimes it's the display, sometimes it's the product itself. I'll let you be the judge for these two that caught our eye. Zap! Copter A green modified Volkswagen with a propeller on top and a jet-pack on the back? At Macworld no less? Hmm... Zap! is a company ...

Ambrosia Software hosted a booth at this year's Macworld Expo to promote some of their new and upcoming software titles for the Mac. Their most recent utility launch was of WireTap Studio which we've previously previewed ahead of the official launch. WireTap Studio provides some unique tools for anyone who needs to record or manage audio on their Mac....

Startup company Ntractive gave attendees of Macworld San Francisco a glimpse at its upcoming product Elements SBM. Elements SBM tackles an old problem (small business management) in a new and rather innovative way: by creating a hybrid desktop/web application. The result promises to be a solution that gives users the accessibility of web applications with the power, look, and feel of a...

RAGE Software, maker of a suite of tools to assist webmasters in optimizing their websites, announced updates to two of their most popular applications, SERank and Domainer, at Macworld this week. Domainer 1.5 is an update to RAGE's domain administration application. Previously functionality included integration with iCal to alert for domain name expirations and keychain to securely store FTP ...

A new Mac web ad has appeared on the New York Times. Similar to the Don't Give Up on Vista web ad, the Flash-based advertisement crosses over two distinct ad components (skyscraper and leaderboard). The full advertisement is posted on Youtube....

The folks at Ecamm Network in the West Hall were showing off their suite of products. Many probably know them from their product iChatUSBCam, which has allowed USB webcams to work with iChat for some time. However, what was probably the coolest software that they were demoing in their booth was a proof-of-concept that used the iPhone's camera as a remote webcam for iChat. Beyond just being a ...

As a follow up to the 3g Deal Breaker article, I thought I'd write some additional thoughts about the MacBook Air, and some reconsideration of my initial reaction. Traditionally, the "sub-notebook" class of machine has tended to be marketed at the power-user, so that's how many of the media approached the MacBook Air... but that may have been the wrong way to look at it. In speaking to Xavier ...

EA announced at Macworld that they would be releasing Spore later this year simultaneously for PC and Mac. Spore is your own personal universe in a box. In this universe you can create and evolve life, establish tribes, build civilizations and even sculpt entire worlds. In Spore you have a variety of creation tools at your disposal that allow you to customize nearly aspect of your universe:...

The iLidz Personal Media Viewer was previewed at Macworld, promising "a large screen viewing experience at a fraction of the cost." Simply insert your iPhone into the iLidz media viewer, look through the magnifying glass and adjust until focused. Voila. Hands free viewing. I can't say I necessarily felt like I was looking at a large screen, I suppose being hands free while watching a...

Kensington was demoing the sd200v Notebook Docking Station with Video at Macworld this week. The device connects to your Intel Mac via USB 2.0 and provides you with a 5-port USB hub, Headphone jack, Microphone jack and VGA plug (no DVI yet). The VGA plug allows you to add an additional monitor to your laptop which can act to either mirror or extend your laptop screen. Overall the product...

After dropping hints at the launch of a new Mac product in the days before the keynote, Garmin announced the release of Project Bobcat version 2.0.0.0 The beta software allows Mac users to interface with their existing Garmin GPS devices. - Bobcat allows you to transfer waypoints, tracks, and routes between your Mac and Garmin device and manage your data using your Garmin maps. - Bobcat...