Dear Aunt TUAW,

I'm a Mac IT professional, and often find myself configuring, troubleshooting, and optimizing wireless networks.

In the past I used AP Grapher to graph wireless strength and find competing Wi-Fi networks as I walk around my clients' offices. This allows me to pick the best channel to use with the least competition, troubleshoot wireless strength, and find the optimal location for my hardware.

In Lion, AP Grapher has gone from unstable to unusable. I've found that it hasn't been updated since 2007.

I have tested other Mac stumbler applications, but have yet to find one that works with Lion. Most crash on launch and others don't reliably detect wireless networks.

Can you recommend a Mac application for graphing my wireless strength and recording info about competing wireless networks?

Thanks!

Your loving nephew,

Aaron

Dear Aaron,

Auntie asked around and it looks like iStumbler will be your best bet. Note that it's currently at its 100 GM Candidate 3 beta stage of development. Another suggestion is the open source KisMAC.

You might also want to try out the Wi-Fi diagnostics app that's bundled with Lion's Core Services.

Hugs,

Auntie T.

Special thanks to Fraser Hess, Adrian Burgess, Alex Patsay, Harris Kleyman, Alex Sebenski and Julian Kussman.

Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a WiFi stumbler app for Lion originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

One major complaint about reading an eBook is the experience; holding an iPad is just not the same as holding a book and thumbing through the pages. This complaint may lose some of its weight if the folks at the KAIST Institute of Information Technology Convergence can get their patented Smart E-Book Interface Prototype out of the lab and into the wild.

The interface uses the private Apple API for the page flip and turns it upside down and inside out. Not only do you get a beautiful page flip like the one in iBooks, you also get page flipping that lets you scan 20 or 30 pages at a time, multiple page flips that are controlled by the speed of your finger swipe, and a way to hold your thumb on one page and flip through the book with your fingers. You can see it in action in the video below to marvel at how the interface mimics the way most people flip the pages of a softcover book.

[Via Macgasm]

Students demonstrate innovative iPad book page flip originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011.

In the next category for the TUAW Best of 2011 awards, we want to know what you consider to be the top iPad utility app of the year.

Before you enter your nomination into the comments at the bottom of this post, please be sure to check that the app you're thinking about is listed in the utilities category in the App Store.

What's in this category? Apps like the Photon Flash (US$4.99) and Skyfire ($4.99) Web Browsers, iHandy Calculator HD Pro ($0.99), Living Earth HD ($1.99, on sale for $0.99), Air Display ($9.99), and 1Password Pro (on sale for $8.99).

There are thousands of additional apps in the utilities category, so let us know what you think is deserving of the Best of 2011. Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting starts soon!

Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 31, 2011.

Nominate your favorite iPad utility app for TUAW's Best of 2011 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011.

In the next category for the TUAW Best of 2011 awards, we want to know what you consider your favorite iPad productivity app.

Before you enter your nomination into the comments at the bottom of this post, please be sure to check that the app you're thinking about is listed in the productivity category in the App Store.

Some of the top apps in this category include Pages, Penultimate, Notability, GoodReader for iPad, PDF Expert, and Skitch for iPad. But there are thousands of other iPad productivity apps, one of which may be your favorite and a potential winner.

It's up to you to tell TUAW about your favorite iPad productivity app. Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting starts soon!

Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 30, 2011.

Nominate your favorite iPad productivity app for TUAW's Best of 2011 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple has released version 5.1.2 of Safari, now available in a Software Update near you. The new version, according to the notes, increases stability, fixes a few issues that could cause hangs and memory leaks, and fixes an issue that would allow web page to flash to white. No more more freaky strobes when loading up a new URL, hopefully.

The patch also allows web pages to show PDF content right inline with the rest of their web material, which is a nice option for programmers who need to show content that way. In fact, we'll just say we're looking at you, restaurants -- can't you just pay someone to translate that menu into CSS and HTML instead of making us read the PDF directly. Sheesh. Safari 5.1.2 is a 40.2 MB update, and does require a restart. Grab it at your leisure.

Safari 5.1.2 out now, fixes memory leaks, stability originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tic Toc for Mac (US$4.99) from Overcommitted is a simple task timer that sits unobtrusively in your menu bar while you work. It's a great option for those who must monitor time spent on a task. There are no client records, project management features or support files. Simply create a task, start the timer and get to it. Here's how Tic Toc for Mac works.

Once installed, Tic Toc places an icon in your Mac's menu bar. Click it to create your first task. A slip appears. Give your task a name and click Save. The task then appears in a list which shows its title, most recent modification date and time spent on it over the last day and the last week. Click Start to begin timing.

The task's title appears next to the menu bar icon (you can turn that off). Finally, set the idle timer to watch for periods of inactivity between five minutes and one hour, so that Tic Toc won't record time accrued while you're away.

What's nice is that you can maintain several timers simultaneously (you double-dipper you) and export your data to XML or CSV. From there, simply import with your favorite financial software, project manager and so on.

Tic Toc isn't for everyone. For as much as it does, there's a lot missing. As I said, you won't build projects with Tic Toc or manage client information. But that's really not the point. Those looking for a simple, reliable task timer that works as advertised ought to consider Tic Toc. At five bucks, it's an easy investment.

Daily Mac App: Tic Toc originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When the original iPad was released last April, Glasshouse Apps released The Early Edition, one of the first styled RSS readers for the device. Much like Flipboard and some others, The Early Edition gathered your feeds into a self-curated "magazine." It was nice, but The Early Edition 2 (TEE2) is a huge improvement.

A complete UI redesign, gesture support, Google Reader sync (as well as in-app feed additions) and a fun sharing function make TEE2 a pleasure to use. Here's my look at The Early Edition 2 (US$4.99) by Glasshouse Apps.

Overall UI

Glasshouse went with a newspaper theme. When you first launch the app, a rolled newspaper appears on a hardwood background (reminds me of my days as a paperboy). A progress wheel spins as the app updates your feeds. Once that's done (it was quick over Wi-Fi for me; I was unable to test 3G), your paper "unfolds" and the front page is presented.

Its appearance will be immediately familiar to anyone who's seen a newspaper during the last 100 years or so. The app's title is written in script across the top with the current date just below it. Blurbs from the first three articles can be read, and photos will appear as they're downloaded. Kudos to the Glasshouse team on keeping this initial download nice and snappy. I subscribe to an insane number of feeds and watch as well over a thousand images download (you can track their progress on the front page). Yet, the app's performance never suffers.

Gallery: The Early Edition 2

Unique to the front page is the "Sections" section. If you're using Google Reader as TEE2's source, the sections correspond to any folders you've set up.

To read an article, just give it a tap. The black-and-white layout keeps everything legible, as does the optional style override (more on that later). Additionally, three font size options let you choose the size that's right.

The second page of each issue offers several handy features. A "trending words" feature lists terms that appear frequently; tap each for a list of the top articles. Saved searches offer additional content customization and the Sync Stats let you know the last time the app performed a sync with your RSS source(s). The remaining pages offer individual articles, sorted by topic. This is where the fun begins.

Cool features and other UI goodies

Three super-cool features of TEE2 include the Browse Menu, the Clippings Menu, sharing options and the Toolbar. Each offers a fun and darn attractive way to interact with your news. Here's a look at each.

The Toolbar remains hidden until you need it, which is nice. To produce it, swipe down anywhere on the screen (just not the very top, as that will reveal the iOS 5 Notification Center). The chestnut-brown Toolbar offers access to the app's preferences, brightness settings, help files and sync progress notification.

Among the more interesting options is the Featured Feeds list. Just tap the spotlights icon in the Toolbar and the app "flips over" to reveal a list of suggested feeds across several categories, like Mac + iOS, Business, Entertainment and more. Tap any category to reveal its sources and check those you'd like to subscribe to.

The Browse Menu is also pretty cool. Tap the Toolbar's list icon to produce a list of your defined sections and feeds. Each displays an unread count and an optional star rating. Starred articles go into the clippings file.

Consider the clippings to be a collections of favorite articles. To access it, swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The newspaper will disappear and a box of your favorited articles appears. It looks great, in keeping with the rest of the app. Have I mentioned that The Early Edition 2 is very pretty? Because it is.

Sharing

Speaking of pretty, prepare for some serious eye candy. TEE2 goes all social on you with its sharing feature. To share an article, tap the share button in the article-specific toolbar (available when reading an article full-screen). A "Shared Copy" stamp appears on the article, and a manila envelope UI slides into place, offering to share the article with Twitter, Instapaper, Facebook, Delicious or Read it Later. Once you've set these up, just tap Send and off it goes.

Gesture support

Who has time to tap buttons? TEE2 offers some sweet gesture support. Swipe left-to-right with two fingers to bring up the Browse Menu. Swipe up to produce the Clippings UI (though you can't swipe again to put it away) and swipe down to reveal the main Toolbar. Finally, swipe left-to-right on an individual, full-screen article to dismiss the style override and read it as it appears on its parent website (I much prefer the ad-free style override).

The Early Edition 2 will be available from the App Store on October 20. Note that this is a separate purchase from The Early Edition, and requires iOS 5. In my opinion, it's absolutely worth it. The app looks fantastic, has a clever and engaging UI and is plenty fast. Plus, those who don't use Google Reader aren't out of luck, as you can switch to standalone mode and add feeds a la carte style. I recommend you check it out and curl up with a good read.

Early Edition 2 rebuilt, offers Google Reader sync, UI changes, more originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kitty is a US$4.99 virtual cat. Developed by Alex Komarov (that same guy who created that marvelous accordion application demonstrated at the iPad roll-out), Kitty provides an interactive virtual pet-ownership experience.

I am clearly not the target audience for this app. I have a daughter though, who loves cats and loves apps. I decided to test it out with her.

After spending a while exploring the app, my gradeschooler was quickly looking for some other game to engage in.

"It's a little annoying," she explained to me. "I don't like her purring. She just won't stop the [raspy gagging sound]." When I asked her to elaborate, she said, "At first, she really just seemed to hate me. She kept making [angry rawr sounds]. And then, it's kind of hard to wake her up."

In other words, the cat was acting like a cat.

This application is huge. It takes up 108 MB on your iPad, and works far better on the faster iPad 2 than the original version, as we discovered.

It also worked better for me as a tech demo than an actual application. The graphics are phenomenal -- your touches seem to interact with the fur, you can see Kitty breath in and out.

Unfortunately, the cat is a bit too realistic. Wake her from her nap and she gets pretty cranky. Unlike a puppy, she has absolutely no interest in socializing, being petted, or otherwise playing.

I suspect the target audience for this app is going to be quite small children, who don't mind that Kitty presents an interaction challenge.

As for this adult, my patience wore thin really quickly.

Love the accordion. Gonna pass on the cat.

Daily iPad App: Kitty originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For those users who've decided Final Cut Pro X just isn't for them (and by the sounds of things, quite a lot of people feel that way), there's now hope. According to MacRumors, Apple is once again offering the legacy version of Final Cut Studio for sale, though Apple is being remarkably coy about it. The software suite isn't available on Apple's site or in its retail stores; reportedly the only way to order Final Cut Studio is by calling 800-MY-APPLE and requesting it.

Final Cut Studio is available for US$999 ($899 with an educational discount) and includes Final Cut Pro 7, Motion 4, Soundtrack Pro 3, DVD Studio Pro 4, Color 1.5 and Compressor 3.5. Over the past few months professional users have voiced their displeasure with Final Cut Studio's abrupt discontinuation after Final Cut Pro X's debut, particularly given that many users feel the new version of Final Cut does not meet their needs.

There's no indication how long Apple intends to keep the old version of Final Cut Studio alive and kicking, so if you've found Final Cut Pro X doesn't suit you, you might want to jump on Final Cut Studio (if you haven't already) before Apple changes its mind again.

Final Cut Studio back on sale, Final Cut Pro X haters rejoice originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adobe's new HTML 5 authoring tool, Edge 1.0, is now available for download. Edge aims to be a "web motion and interaction design tool that allows web designers to bring animation, similar to that created in Flash Professional, to websites using standards likes HTML, JavaScript and CSS."

While we give Adobe flack for Flash Player's Mac woes, the truth is that the Flash platform successfully brought a higher level of animation and interaction to the web long before HTML 5 was in the picture. When Apple unequivocally said Flash would not be supported on iOS, I knew Adobe (despite some infamous bluster) wouldn't sit idly by and let HTML 5 be a cash cow for other developers.

Enter Edge, Adobe's effort to offer web developers a choice. Edge 1.0 is a free beta, and more importantly, it's a first version of an application which Adobe states will be developed in the open with the aid of the web developer community. In fact, according to Adobe this isn't even "beta" yet -- they are releasing the application before it even reaches that status in an effort to ensure that what developers want the most gets in the app first. For now, Edge is a very simple (but still useful) tool.

Edge is currently limited to basic animation and simple page layout. Users of timeline-based applications will immediately grok Edge's simple UI and timeline for HTML 5 animation. Of course, just like in Dreamweaver, you can access code directly. Edge creates pretty clean code, but as an early product it isn't doing anything particularly difficult yet. Edge is primarily designed for WebKit-based browsers, as Adobe has contributed to WebKit; the in-app sandbox browser is also WebKit-based.

When I spoke to Adobe I asked about integration with their other products, as I see the Adobe pipeline and workflow being a competitive advantage when comparing Edge to competitors such as Tumultco's Hype. As this is so early in the development stage, I was told that features like integration with other Adobe tools would happen, but at a later date. This initial push is to open the floodgates of feedback, and Adobe will shovel in features as needed.

I do hope Edge is a success for Adobe. While not all of the company's decisions make sense, there's no doubt that Adobe makes strong tools for designers and developers. If Edge helps make better, faster, standards-compliant websites for everyone, I think that's great. Download Edge here and take it for a test drive. Then be sure to let us know in the comments what you think.

Adobe introduces Edge 1.0, the HTML 5 tool with an eye towards open improvements originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.