Today Apple released another relatively major update to Aperture, its professional image editing and management software. Version 2.1, available through direct download or through your computer’s Software Update feature, adds a number of improvements.

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If you are user of Aperture, Final Cut, or Logic, you’ll be interested to know that Apple has released the Plugin Manager version 1.7.3 for its Pro applications. According to Apple:

This update improves reliability for Apple’s professional applications and is recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Express, Aperture, Logic Studio and related SDKs.

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I can’t seem to give it up. My favorite web browser is still Safari.

I know, I know… Firefox is more widely used, Opera has that cool “speed-dial” thingy, but I love Mac. And I love iLife integration. And I love trying to use Apple applications for everything I can. (I’m still holding strong with Aperture!)

Anyway, this morning, Apple made version 3.1 of Safari available for free download. It’s available for both PC and Mac here.

One of my favorite new features (I haven’t spent much time exploring yet) is the Develop menu that can be activated in the program’s preferences. As a web developer, it allows me to quickly analyze a page’s scripts, CSS, image elements, etc, and compare their performance in different browsers. Previously, I’d used the Web Developer extension in Firefox for this purpose.

The detailed documentation on Safari 3.1 from Apple is available here.

So my second-generation iPod Shuffle has been out of commission for a while. It turns on and plays, but will not show up when connected to any computer. I’ve reset, retried, connected to many different USB ports on many different machines…it’s just broke.

I finally got around to trying to get it serviced or replaced last night. This is what I ran into:

The screenshot above (click on it for a larger view) shows that, to get my iPod serviced or replaced, Apple would like me to pay a $59.00 service fee plus $6.95 shipping and handling, for a total of $65.95. Keep in mind that this is to receive a refurbished second-generation iPod Shuffle.

Well, this seemed a bit unusual to me, so I opened up another tab in Safari, navigated to the Apple store, and confirmed my suspicions with this:

Yes. I can buy a brand-new iPod Shuffle for only $49…with FREE shipping! This is almost $17 less than a refurbished model would cost!

For just over $3 more than I was being charged for a used 1GB Shuffle, I could get a new 2GB Shuffle.

Thanks for nothing, Apple.

Not sure why I’ve been on such an iPhone kick today, but I just had to post this article.

In a post this morning, I referred to a draft bill in congress that had the potential to end the exclusive agreement between Apple and AT&T in the US, thus making the iPhone available with other carriers.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Investment Symposium, Tim Cook, Apple CEO, stated that Apple isn’t married to the one-carrier strategy it has used so far, even if it makes the most business sense.

Click here to read the full article at AppleInsider.

As predicted, Apple updated their MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops today, and there are some exciting changes…enough to make my MacBook Pro feel inferior.

Both models now feature the Intel Penryn Pro Core 2 Duo processor with faster processor speeds. As is typical of Apple, the price points for the machines stay about the same while the performance and capacity of the machines goes up.

Read on for the details…

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In an earlier post, I reported that the multitouch features of Apple’s Macbook Air trackpad were apparently strictly software-based leading to the assumption that those features could be ported to existing Mac laptops. MacRumors, this morning, published a story that demonstrates this is not true. According to Apple:

MacBook Air features the most advanced trackpad we’ve ever made, integrating the multi-touch technology from the iPhone. This integrated feature is unique to MacBook Air.

These advanced multitouch features are rumored to be released on some or all future Mac laptops, but those of us with existing Mac laptops are, sadly, out of luck.

I was excited to discover from a macnn article today that the multitouch technology, first released with the iPhone and now existing on the iPod Touch and MacBook Air as well, is simply a software feature. This means that, potentially, the ability to swipe through pages, zoom in and out of images with a pinch or spread of the fingers, or possibly more could be added to existing MacBooks and/or MacBook Pros with a software update.

No official release plans have been laid out by Apple, but it’s exciting news, nonetheless!

Yesterday I told you about the Mac OS 10.5.2 update, but that wasn’t the only news that Apple had in store.

Shortly/immediately after releasing the OS update mentioned above, Apple released a video graphics update. To see this update, you have to first install the OS 10.5.2 update (if you’re running Leopard, obviously), restart, and run Software Update again.

This morning, Apple released an iLife ‘08 update (version 8.2) to, among other things, improve compatibility with…wait for it…Aperture 2!!!! That’s right. This morning Apple released a major upgrade to Aperture. Aperture is Apple’s professional image editing software that, quite frankly, had been rather taken for granted by Apple. Or so it seemed…

I’ve been a loyal Aperture user since, quite literally, day one. I pre-ordered Aperture (and payed highly for it) because it was, far and away, the best image management/RAW processing software on the market…plus, I love Apple. Lately I’ve been entertaining a switch to Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom for my main image management/RAW processing software. I’m very experienced with Lightroom and teach others about it daily during the summer months. Now…I don’t know what to do!?!

Well, I’ll certainly think much harder about sticking with Aperture now. Here are some details:

• If you want to try Aperture 2, there is a 30-day free trial available here. If you are a current Aperture 1.5 user be sure and read the sidebar notes on that page before you go playing with the free trial. You may end up permanently altering your library to a state where you’ll be required to purchase version 2 to access it.
• If you already own Aperture, you can upgrade to version 2 for just $99.
• The full retail price of Aperture 2 has been lowered to just $199! This sets Aperture’s price point $100 lower than that of Adobe’s Lightroom ($299). So, even if you aren’t an Aperture user, or if you are [shudder] a PC user, it’s possible that this may help to bring down the price of Lightroom in the future. Stay tuned for more information.
• Click here to see the “100+ New Features” in Aperture 2. I haven’t looked too closely, but there are few things taken from iPhoto ‘08 that were pretty awesome features!
• I didn’t see this advertised anywhere…I just stumbled across it…but if you purchased Aperture 1.5 recently (basically in the year 2008) you are eligible for an upgrade to version 2 for only $9.95. Click here for details.

I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted with my thoughts about Aperture 2. I will say that this did not come a moment too soon. I was ready to make the switch to Lightroom on a wildlife shoot that I have coming up on Monday!

Apple released its much-anticipated 10.5.2 update for OX 10.5 (Leopard) today. Run Software Update on your Mac to receive the new update. I’ll spare you the details, but information can be found from Apple here.