Apple’s third retail store in Manhattan appears set to open on December 7, just in time for the shopping season. The new store is located on West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue, a two-story corner space in the city’s Meatpacking District.

The new store is said to feature a large glass circular staircase. Although, Apple will neither confirm or deny this.

Skype has released Skype for Mac 2.7.0.195 beta, an update of its Internet telephony application for VoIP (voice over IP) communication with Skype-to-Skype voice calls, instant messaging, and file transfers. This beta release adds Leopard compatibility and 640×480 resolution for video conversations at up to 25 frames per second. Skype is free (except for SkypeOut service) and is available for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and up (Universal Binary) with versions for Linux, Windows, and PocketPC also. Skype for Mac 2.7.0.195 beta is a beta version that may still contain some bugs, if you want to use a more stable version download Skype 2.6.

Google announced today that it will apply to bid on Monday for 700 MHz wireless spectrum in the FCC auction that begins on January 24, 2008 and will end when there are no new bids. Some experts believe that will be sometime in March 2008. This is the spectrum that the TV broadcasters will leave on February 19, 2009 due to the mandated switch to digital TV.

With Google’s approximately $13 billion in cash-on-hand they are in a good position to bid in what could easily exceed the potential $4.6 billion bid on the airwaves. Of course Google can enlist partners and a variety of financing mechanisms.

Continue reading Google To Bid on 700 MHz Wireless Spectrum…

Microspot has introduced a new version of DWG Viewer 1.6.6, ($55, free upgrade to registered users) their 2D AutoCAD file viewer for the Mac users.

DWG Viewer allows Mac users view 2D design files created using Autodesk’s popular AutoCAD drafting software, which is Windows only. You can show and hide individual layers, zoom in and pan around the document, use markup tools and add textual annotations, You can also print and save files as PDFs. DWG Viewer has been updated to support AutoCAD 2007.

DWG Viewer 1.6.6 is now Universal binary so it runs natively on both Intel and PowerPC-based Macs. System requirements are Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later, G4/700MHz or faster, 250MB RAM and 100MB HD space.

Panic the makers of two of my most used Mac apps Transmit and Coda have brought Mac users CandyBar 3. CandyBar 3 - $29 (free 15-day/250-icon limit trial) is new for Leopard and allows for easy customization of your Mac’s icons and Dock. The new version has a new interface and now has the “pixadex” built right into the application taping the power of Leopard’s Quick Look feature.

Continue reading OS X Leopard Tip #21: View Contents of Folders and Zip Files with Quick Look Plugins…

Quay 1.0 is a utility that brings back hierarchical popup menus for folders and hard drives to the Dock in Leopard to make it more like Tiger’s Dock.

In addition to hierarchical menus, it adds sorting of menus by name, date modified, data created, or kind, along with options to show small or large icons, see invisible items, or browse into packages and bundles. Quay is 7 Euros or about $10 US for Mac OS X 10.5 (Universal Binary).

Continue reading OS X Leopard Tip #20: Use iChat to Remote Control Your Mac Across the Internet…

Continue reading OS X Leopard Tip #19: Turn Off Countdown and Flash in Photo Booth…

Continue reading OS X Leopard Tip #18: Running Internet Explorer in OS X without Windows…

DEVONtechnologies released updates for DEVONthink, DEVONagent, and DEVONnote adding compatibility for Mac OS X 10.5 and also improve application functionality.

Google released an updated version of Google Desktop for the Mac that now includes support for Google Gadgets, which are cross-platform, widget-like, mini applications with dynamic content.

According to Google, Mac users can now run Google Gadgets side by side with Apple Widgets in Dashboard and have the same gadgets on their Mac, iGoogle page and Google Desktop Sidebar.

Google also allows you to just install the Gadget manager without the desktop search component. Just click on “Choose your own features” and uncheck “Fast and easy Search.”

Verizon has announced it will use Long-Term Evolution [LTE] a new standard that promises 100 megabits per second downloads and 50 megabits uploads with lowering latency to 20 milliseconds. This would make online games, high-quality two-way video, and other time-sensitive features more practical. Speeds of course vary in the real world. Trials are expected to start sometime in 2008.

Continue reading Verizon To Migrate 4G LTE with Trials Starting Next Year…

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson claims that a HSDPA version of the iPhone is coming.

“You’ll have it next year,” Stephenson said in response to a question about when the 3G iPhone would debut.

He said he didn’t know how much more the new version will cost than the existing model, which sells for $399. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs “will dictate what the price of the phone is,” he said.

Stephenson also chimed in on Verizon’s announcement this week that they’d be opening their network to a degree, calling the announcement “overblown.” “The industry’s headed that way,” he said. “We are probably one of the most open networks in the world, not just the U.S.”

Apple has announced they will be discontinuing support for Tiger Boot Camp Beta (as of December 31) introduced in April 2006. The Boot Camp beta allows Tiger users to install Windows on their Intel-based Macs, making it easier for Windows users to switch to a Mac.

Existing Boot Camp beta participants can keep their Windows partitions, but the software that manages installations will be deactivated, and Apple will no longer provide updates, requiring users to upgrade to OS 10.5 Leopard if they wish to add to or modify the Boot Camp partition.