We’ll be posting info on updates of some of our favorite software along with some high profile apps that are pretty essential to anyone on a Mac or iThing, just in case you missed them. This information is brought to you by updates I get from developers and my own software use, but mostly by MacUpdate, although not officially, because that is what I use to keep all my apps up to date. I also like to add some value by throwing in some extra notes from my experiences. So let’s get to it!
Mac
This app is great if you want to access PDF documents, ePub books, or other readable, in different formats. Excellent for managing books on a Kindle from your Mac.
New Features
- Edit book: Add a tool to check spellings, access it via Tools->Check spelling…. The calibre book editor now has builtin spellcheck. You can install new dictionaries via Preferences->Editor->Manage spelling dictionaries. It comes with builtin dictionaries for English and Spanish. You can add OpenOffice dictionaries (in .oxt format). The tool checks spellings in all HTML/OPF/NCX files in the book, taking into account any language declarations in the book, so that it will work correctly on multi-lingual books as well. The code is very new, so there may well be bugs. As you type spell checking is not yet implemented.
- Kobo driver: Support firmware version 3.3
- Device driver for Tolino Vision on windows
Bug Fixes
- Amazon metadata download: Fix Editorial Reviews not downloading into the comments section for some books
- DOCX Input: Fix some text highlighting colors in the DOCX file not being correctly translated during conversion.
- Wireless device driver: Fix incorrect syncing behavior when book matching is run for a second time while connected. This happens when the user changes the library or selects ‘Update cached metadata on device’.
- Searching: Fix searching by date not using the system locale to interpret dd/mm vs mm/dd dates on windows
New news sources
- Various new and updated Spanish news sources by Marc Busque
Improved news sources
- Barrons
- Creative Blog
The rare times I tweet from my Mac, I just use the built-in Mavericks feature, but I use Tweetbot for iPad and iPhone all the time, and the Mac version brings the same intuitive interface to your desktop. One of the more expensive Twitter clients out there ($20 on the App Store), but Tapbots makes very classy, well done products.
- Fixed the issue where large image thumbnails could be blurry.
- Fixed the issue where clicking on usernames or links in a status detail or direct message would not work.
- Fixed the issue where using command-w to close tweet window could leave the username/hashtag completion popup on the screen.
- Visual fixes to the profile view when it animates.
- Fixed the issue where dragging the main window from retina to non-retina screen would draw the window frame incorrectly.
Version 6 of VMware’s virtualization software is optimized for the latest Macs and ready for OS X Mavericks and Windows 8.1.
Resolved Issues
- Connecting USB devices while Fusion is running will not cause the Connect to Mac prompt to appear. USB devices are now able to connect to a virtual machine.
- Performance and compatibility with USB audio and video devices has been improved.
- Virtual machine crashes when the Mac comes out of sleep mode have been reduced.
- Locking the system, and then returning to the OS X 10.9 desktop while the virtual machine is running, no longer causes a black screen to be displayed.
- Resolved an issue that could cause the default web browser to be reset in a Windows 8 virtual machine.
- Resizing a Windows XP virtual machine window no longer causes the window to turn black.
- Virtual machines in full screen mode no longer display a black bar at the top of the screen.
- Winlogon.exe now works correctly when using Windows XP in a Boot Camp partition.
- Single mouse clicks are interpreted as double-clicks when running Windows XP virtual machines on OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
- Virtual machines no longer show a black screen when using Apple TV as an external display.
- VMware Fusion no longer stalls when using a restricted virtual machine without a network connection.
- Improved the ability to use two monitors with the same virtual machine.
- Virtual machines can be started and shutdown from the VMware Fusion menu when VMware Fusion is not open.
- Compatibility issues between shared folders and QuickTime for Windows have been resolved.
- The graphics for Solidworks and JavaFX applications have been improved.
Security Issues
- VMware Fusion has been updated to resolve the Heartbleed issue described here. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2014-0160 to this issue.
iPhone
Paper – stories from Facebook 1.1
Paper seems to be getting better, and the interface is as stunning as ever, but I still have to flip back and forth between Paper and the Facebook app to get at everything I need. For browsing your News Feed though, it’s hard to beat.
- Birthdays and events: Never miss a chance to celebrate! Just tap the notifications globe and scroll down to see important dates ahead.
- Photo comments: When words aren’t enough, now you can add photos to comments to show how you feel.
- Group updates: Don’t miss posts from your favorite groups. Swipe down to open the Main Menu. Tap the More Options icon to the right of the Search box. When you see your groups, check the new unread counts to catch up on the posts you’ve missed.
- New story buttons: To keep up with the latest stories in a section in fullscreen view, or to catch the newest stories in the next section, tap the new story arrows when they appear.
- More article covers: 9 new article covers join our collection, making easier to spot your favorite sources on Paper. Keep an eye out for Fox News, Bloomberg News, Mashable, FT, kottke, Popular Science, The Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair and Hacker News.
- Basic accessibility: All of your sections now support basic accessibility features, and we’re working to extend accessibility throughout the app.
- Groups: Now you can create groups for the people you message most. Name them, set group photos and keep them all in one place
- Forwarding: Want to send a message or photo to someone who isn’t in the conversation? Just tap to forward it
- Plus, continued improvements to make the app faster and more reliable
- Free Calls: Talk as long as you want and stay in touch wherever you are. (Calls are free over Wi-Fi. Otherwise, standard data charges apply.)
iPhone & iPad
Speaking of the Facebook app, it was updated too, to version 9.0…unfortunately I do not see any justification for a whole +1.0 to the version number. Except for the Nearby Friends feature added to the sidebar (which they don’t mention), it seems exactly the same. Here’s the info about it.
- Reply directly to comments on stories by Pages that have this feature turned on
- Group admins can easily review and approve pending posts by group members
- See posts about trending topics highlighted in News Feed on iPad