Adobe's Flash Player has long been a notorious CPU hog on Macs. Every time I hear my wife's MacBook's fans going off like a cyclone on the other side of the living room, I know it's because she's playing Bejeweled Blitz or some other crazy Flash-based game that's pegging her poor machine's CPU to infinity and beyond.

Things are a bit rosier with Adobe's pre-release of Flash Player 10.1. The Windows version has significant improvements, namely support for hardware-accelerated video decoding of h.264 video, but the Mac and Linux versions do not include support for this feature. As usual, Adobe blames Apple for "not being open enough" -- "Mac OS X does not expose access to the required APIs" according to Adobe -- but even without hardware-accelerated video decoding, this pre-release build of Flash boasts significant CPU load improvements over its predecessor.

Anandtech tested the performance improvement of the pre-release version of Flash Player with the following results:

I took the same Office clip I'd been using for all of the other tests and ran it on my Mac Pro at full screen (2560 x 1600). Using Activity Monitor I looked at the CPU utilization of the Flash Player plug-in. I compared both versions of Flash and saw a significant drop in CPU utilization:

Flash 10.0.32.18: 450%
Flash 10.1.51.45: 190%

Going from roughly 450% down to 190% (or a bit over 10% of total CPU utilization across 16 threads) made full-screen Hulu playable on my machine. In the past I always had to run it in a smaller window, but thanks to Flash 10.1 I don't have to any longer.

If you are a sometime PC user you probably know about Orb, a multimedia sharing tool that allows you to access your media from anywhere you have an internet connection and a browser. Now, Orb has come to the Mac and it's got great possibilities -- but it's a mixed bag in terms of reliability.

You can download Orb for free, and set up a no-cost account. The software will index your iPhoto libraries, as well as your iTunes library, both audio and video.

You can then log into your Orb account on any other computer, fire up a browser, and play your media files. Orb has also had an iPhone app that logs you in and gets your media as well. It's been available for a long time, but only would work with a PC-based host. Now your Mac is accessible too.

Orb still lacks a few features you can get on the PC version. One big one is it won't talk to a TV tuner, so you can't look at live video from home on another computer. I expect this will be coming in short order. You can share media with others from the Orb website. They will need a free account, but they can watch a movie or listen to music or view photos just as you do.

Welcome to the first of what we hope will be many, many TUAW Videos to come. We've done lots of video on TUAW, from Macworld Expo coverage to WWDC interviews to fart apps and more. This time we're trying something a bit different. This time we're taking it slow and profiling Mac and iPhone users, developers, mavens and anyone with a story to tell. If you've ever seen MacHeads or Welcome to Macintosh (both of which are awesome), you know there are plenty of passionate Apple fans out there. If you're reading this blog you probably know this, right? Well, now's the time to tell these stories.

We visited Freeverse in Brooklyn, NY and spent some time checking out the factory where Skee-ball, Moto Chaser, Big Brain Games, Burning Monkey Solitaire and the awesome Flick series of iPhone games come from. We found a passionate, creative team of coders and designers working hard to keep you entertained. We also got a peek at Warp Gate, which looks like a huge game to cram into an iPhone.

Watch the video and tell us if you'd like to see more of these profiles. If you're a passionate Mac user with an interesting story to tell you can get in touch with us here.

On an iPhone? Here's the link for the iPhone version of this video.


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When we first heard about the Kanex HDMI + digital audio converter a few weeks ago, I was eager to give it a trial run and see if it managed to deliver on the promise of integrated audio with HDMI video. I've been playing with the $70 unit for a few days now, and the answer is a qualified yes: it does the job, but depending on your home theater setup you may be able to get by with a less expensive option.

The digital-audio Kanex unit ships without a manual and is largely self-explanatory (although the company has now posted a basic user guide and FAQ) -- a female HDMI port on one side of the roughly iPod-sized unit, and three male cables coming out the other side. The cables connect to the mini DisplayPort, optical audio out, and USB port of your Mac; while Kanex does sell a $60 unit that handles audio over USB, this version only uses that connection to power the adapter and does not provide a USB audio interface. If you're running short of open powered USB ports you might opt to plug it into a USB power adapter instead.

In operation, there's not much to worry about: I plugged in all three ports to a unibody MacBook Pro and connected an HDMI display, then went to the normal Mac OS X Displays preference pane, where I found a full assortment of resolutions for my enjoyment. The top few 'television' options may vary with your connected gear; on my test set (a Vizio 42" 720p display) I was able to choose 720p and, oddly enough, 1080i and 1080p. Below that you have resolutions ranging from 640x480 up into the 1600x1000 range.

Apple is already the huge name in the music business with the iTunes Store, and they've made continual inroads into the application, video, and movie markets as well. But what if Apple also became the content provider of choice for TV?

That idea isn't that far-fetched, according to a blog post by Peter Kafka at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital. Kafka reports that Apple has been pitching the concept of $30 monthly TV subscriptions through iTunes to TV networks.

You'll note that I said iTunes. That's the interesting point here -- Apple isn't pushing sending content to a particular device, like the Apple TV that Kafka refers to as "underwhelming" (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) or the fabled Apple tablet / slate / whatever. Instead, the service would be available immediately to the more 100 million iTunes account holders that Apple had as of a year ago. Have a Mac? You're a potential customer. Have a PC? Ditto.

There's only one fly in the ointment -- will broadcast and cable programmers buy into this? Kafka thinks the first content provider to jump would be Disney, which of course counts Steve Jobs as its largest shareholder. Cable companies might not like the loss of their usually overpriced monthly packages to an upstart, or having their bandwidth chewed up by hordes of people streaming HD video. And there's always the question of whether current cable TV subscribers would make the jump to streaming content.

Kafka ends his post with a quote from an unnamed TV executive, who says of Apple's subscription plan "I think they might get it right this time." What's your take, TUAW readers? Do you think the world is ready to purchase all of its video content from Apple? Leave your comments below.

Let me disclose straight away that I've opened packaging on just about every major Apple product released over the past five years and never exerted such effort in opening a little plastic container -- which by the way resembles something you would find sitting on a shelf at Pottery Barn. But seriously, Apple, what is with the tape?

As I stated in the video, certain multi-touch gestures require a great deal of repetitive use in order to acclimate to the Magic Mouse. I am pleased to say, however, now that I'm on on Day 2, the problems I initially experienced with touch-scrolling have largely been alleviated simply by adjusting scroll speed settings in System Preferences>Mouse, which is set at 25% by default. Cranking this up to 50% and beyond made page scrolling must smoother and easier, though upward scrolling is still proving to be a hemorrhoid-inducing experience.

One thing I would like to clarify: in the video I mentioned having rebooted my Mac in order to pair with the Magic Mouse via Bluetooth. This is NOT required. Simply launching the Bluetooth Setup Assistant will begin partnering the mouse with your Mac. I chose the former option because a) I prefer a fresh start when introducing new hardware, and b) I roll that way.

I'm still experiencing lots of unpleasantness with two-finger page swiping though. Apple really needs to allow the user to adjust swipe speed settings by including a slider for that gesture in the Mouse preferences. Perhaps that will come in a future update.

Stay tuned for more hands-on with the Magic Mouse in the coming days.

I have a handful of apps that I use to show off my Mac to those still stuck on the dark side (ahem, Windows users), and ScreenFlow is among them -- heck, it's even the app I use for screen recording Windows (via Parallels). Already the gold standard in the screen recording app genre on the Mac, Telestream's ScreenFlow adds a host of goodies in its 2.0 update. While the new features provide the means for you to enhance the look and feel of your screencasts, they're more notable for better facilitating your screencasting workflow; the end result is more of a one-stop shop for all your screencasting needs.

The first new feature relates to media interaction and management within the app. ScreenFlow 2.0 now allows you to drag, drop and position content from your media list directly onto the main ScreenFlow video canvas. In addition, said media files are now saved within a package. This means that the media files (pictures, music, and movies) you used in your project will be bundled in one place, rather than scattered hither and yon on your hard drive. As a result, you no longer need to worry about the folder(s) you placed your media in.

Prior to 2.0, freeze framing or adjusting the speed of a clip required you to use another video editor, such as iMovie or Final Cut, which was an annoyance given the fact that you had to export the video. In the 2.0 update, however, ScreenFlow has added built-in support for freeze frames and speed adjustments.

And if you yourself need your own personal freeze frame -- er, break -- you can now do so without splitting up clips through the pause and resume feature of ScreenFlow 2.0. While stopping and recording results in a separate clip, pausing and resuming screen recording results in a single clip that can be moved through the editing process as a unit.

As many screencasts eventually make their way onto YouTube, ScreenFlow has incorporated YouTube publishing within the app. No longer will you need to use your browser or export to an iMovie-compatible format to upload your screencast to Youtube. YouTube publishing includes support for distribution control, giving you control over whether or not you want your screencast available for public consumption.

Other notable features in the 2.0 update include:
• New keyboard shortcuts (for resizing the timeline, zoom in and out, and nudging clips)
• Advanced audio edits and audio ducking
• Action curves
• Improved timeline performance and improved export performance
• Support for exporting only part of the timeline instead of the entire document
• Color correction
• Live audio scrubbing
• Snow Leopard optimization

Mac OS X Snow Leopard provides built-in support for screen recording via QuickTime X, and this may serve as a "good enough" solution for basic screen recording needs. But, just as Little Snapper serves as a powerful and elegant screen capturing tool suite over the built-in capabilities in OS X (via command-shift-3 or via the "Grab" app) for more advanced uses, ScreenFlow serves as a compelling screen recording suite for those who want to add extra polish and sheen to their screencasts. And with the 2.0 update to ScreenFlow, Telestream has made adding that extra polish and sheen that much easier.

A 30 day free trial of ScreenFlow 2.0 is available at the Telestream website. ScreenFlow 2.0 is available for USD $99, or as a USD $29 upgrade for owners of previous versions of ScreenFlow. Download and purchase links available here.

Just days after all the hardware updates on Tuesday, Apple has posted two new support downloads.

The first, Pro Applications Update 2009-01, contains several updates for applications in Final Cut Studio. This update includes Final Cut Pro 7.0.1, Motion 4.0.1, Soundtrack Pro 3.0.1, Color 1.5.1, and Compressor 3.5.1.

This update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues.

You can download this update through Software Update, or on the Apple Support Downloads page.

Also, Apple released Apple Server Diagnostics 3X106, which replaces Apple Server Diagnostics 3X104 to provide support for Snow Leopard Server. This is compatiable with the Xserve (Early 2008 or Early 2009) or the Mac mini server config (Early 2009).

This download is also available on the Apple Support Downloads page.

Domestic TV watchers who tuned into the NBC Thursday comedy lineup or the Yankees-Angels playoff game on Fox were treated to three new Get a Mac ads in heavy rotation tonight, all focused on the launch of the latest Windows version. You can watch all three ads (Broken Promises, Teeter Tottering & PC News) over on Apple's site.

While these ads are pretty funny (Broken Promises, in particular, features some excellent work by the wardrobe department), it's not clear if the message of upgrade challenges from XP to Win7 is going to resonate. Apple's marketing team may describe Windows 7 as 'antiquated tech,' but the big M clearly is expecting plenty of PC users to buy brand new machines to run Win7 rather than upgrading their old gear. Will they consider a Mac as part of the mix? We can certainly hope so -- but by all indications, Windows 7 is no Vista, and it's quite a bit harder to sell against an operating system that doesn't actively shoot itself in the foot. Heck, it's possible that there may even be a few Mac diehards in the opening day lines to buy Win7.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

It was freezing this morning as the Manhasset Long Island, NY Apple store opened for business. Employees wearing T-Shirts (they weren't allowed to wear coats), ran up and down the waiting line of hundreds of people both pumping up the crowd and trying to stay warm. The enthusiasm was contagious as orange shirted people shouted out that the store would be open in 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, and then the doors opened to seemingly dozens of Apple workers handing out T-shirts and applauding loudly as each new group of 20 people or so were let in the huge glass doors. The first 1,000 people were handed black T-shirts that said 'Manhasset' on the front and 'Designed by Apple in California' on the back.

The store is free standing and much larger than the one at the Walt Whitman Mall, my usual Apple store. The front and back of the store are glass walls and there is plenty of open space. Hopefully this store will take some of the burden off of the other Long Island stores which are usually crowded and have multi-day waits to get an appointment at the Genius Bar.

If you're in the area, check it out at 1900 Northern Blvd, Manhasset, NY.

Update: As of this writing, Total Apps reports that it's back in the UK App Store. We still don't see it in the US store.

That sure didn't last long. Just shortly after the discovery of a 3G "backdoor" for the EyeTV app, it has been pulled from the App Store.

The workaround let users of the app stream video over a 3G or other cellular network connection, something that AT&T has objected to in the past. Specifically, users can connect to ElGato's My EyeTV service to schedule and stream recordings.

When users try to stream video outside of a Wi-Fi connection, a dialog box appears saying that a Wi-Fi network is required, but streams the video anyway. Elgato says they have just submitted an update to Apple, after Apple removed it from the App Store, removing "test code" that allowed this streaming:

"Some test code that enabled live TV streaming over the cellular network was accidentally left in the the EyeTV App. Apple requested that we remove the code since their agreement with AT&T does not allow redirecting TV signals over the cellular network. The code was removed and a 1.0.1 version of the EyeTV app was submitted," they told TotalApps.

This app rejection is similar to the removal of the Commodore 64 app, that was pulled after hidden access to a BASIC interpreter was discovered. This removal adds just more trouble and frustration to users and developers, especially because of the current state of the Google Voice app.

[Via Total Apps]

It looks like another day with another update from Apple. This time, iMovie has been updated to version 8.0.5. This updates fixes some minor issues, as well as improve compatibility with the 5th generation iPod nano and some camcorders

These fixes include:

• Improved compatibility with camcorders using the iFrame video format

• Improved compatibility with importing video captured on the iPod nano

• Fixed problems with resizing the iMovie window during playback

This update available and recommended for all users of iMovie '09, it's around 36MB, and it's available through Software Update or the Apple Support Downloads page.

Thanks Mike for the tip!

Ever since I first saw heads-up-displays in science fiction movies like The Terminator, I knew that I had to get my hands on one. How neat it would be to get instant information on anything about anything in my field of vision?

Well, just as the iTablet won't be the Knowledge Navigator, the new buzz-phrase of the year, augmented reality, won't give me Terminator eyes. Such is life.

I tested out a pretty decent augmented reality app called Robotvision [iTunes Link], and for US $0.99 what you get, if you have an iPhone 3GS running OS 3.1 or better, is quite cool. Will it solve your problems, cure the common cold, or tell you anything that more established apps won't? Not really. But tossing a buck on a neat novelty is not unheard of in the iPhone 3GS world.

This one does more than most. First you tell it how widely to search and then, if you're in a highly populated area, you can set up a category ranging from ATMs to Travel Destinations. For the most part, I didn't fool with this since being in the suburbs, I can't be too picky.

Run it and the camera shutter opens. Moving the iPhone around, I found Cousin's Pizza, only 8432.1 miles away. Hmmm. The setting was for 5 miles. Wait, I guess it needed to be calibrated by doing the calibration figure eight wave of the phone. It seems that a lot of GPS apps require this.

OK, much better. It found a bunch of places but they were all stacked on top of one another. No big deal, since when you touch one, you get a screen like the one in the picture. The closest place is displayed first and the right and left arrows take you back and forth through the stack. While an item is in the front pane, you can call them, see them on a map (by cleverly pointing the iPhone to the floor, which invokes Google Maps, but all the stick pins aren't really any clearer than the AR view... maybe less so). You can also hit the Bing button where there might be a review or more information.

The problem is that the direction it puts you in is not quite accurate. It might get you to a nearby corner, but not to the butcher shop itself. I don't think we can slight Robotvision on this, since the not quite pin-point accuracy of the iPhone 3GS GPS has already been talked to death.

What else can this bad-boy do? You can see who is sending tweets in the area you specified, read the tweets and see how far the tweeter is from you. Not enough? Wait, there's more. You can find people in your area who use Flickr, and view their gallery. This doesn't work too well. I set the default for 50 miles and found no one. Then I set it for 25 miles and found one person with a gallery of 10 pictures. I live 30 miles from NYC, so I can't blame it on the boonies. You still want Ginsu knives? Okay, hit the Wikipedia button and see if anything in your range is listed. If so you'll get a bit of text and the option to go to Wikipedia to read more.

I don't know if AR will change the world, or be as successful as either New Coke or the iPod. But I'd suggest tossing a buck at this one. You are guaranteed 20 minutes of awe and then maybe some time to reflect on what you have, once the novelty wears off.

Check out this video for a tour and let us know what you think about this or the idea of augmented reality in general.

When we published our "Ultimate Mac mini Home Theater" guide in August, I drooled along with everyone else at the idea of supercharging my HDTV with a mini for movie and music playback. Something nagged at me, though, as I looked over the options for going from the mini's video-out ports (the current model sports both DVI and Display Port) to the HDMI standard connector that most TVs expect nowadays... how to get that digital audio signal onto the HDMI link, and avoid a second set of cables to handle sound? It seemed less than graceful.

If you want to skip over a clunky external converter box like this one, current minis and other Macs featuring the Mini Display Port connector now have a new option for HDMI; Kanex's two audio-included connectors can put the sound onto the HDMI link where it belongs.

Kanex is selling two models of the connector (both are on extremely limited availability right now, the company says). The $60 Digital Audio version includes a TOSLINK optical connector for premium quality sound, and the USB Audio version delivers analog audio for $50 [as of 10/20, the price has gone up on this unit to $60 as well]. Both let you put all your eggs in the HDMI basket and clear your cable clutter, while simplifying your TV remote input dance as you try to get the audio and video sorted.

We're hoping to get our hands on one of these units soon and we'll let you know how it performs.

Thanks to Michael W. for the tip.