Data Rescue II Review

Data Rescue II is an example of the type of software you hope to never use since using it implies that you've lost something important and desperately want it back. When and if you delete your favorite photos and empty the trash, this software will be waiting to help.

There are several competing products for Mac OS X which offer similar features - primarily, the recovery of deleted files. After evaluating several of them and examining the pricing, Data Rescue II came out on top (a competing product suffered from a horrible user interface and crashed when trying to recover data). Recovery is simple: choose one of several scanning methods, click a button, and wait. After the scan is complete, a list of recoverable files sorted by file type will be displayed. Select any files you'd like to recover and let the software do its thing.

In addition to actually working (and completely recovering the author's photos), Data Rescue II featured a clear and easy to use user interface with built in help. For instant gratification, the software can be immediately downloaded after purchasing.

• By Prosoft Engineering, Inc.
• product page.
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Data Loss!

Due to a hard drive crash (oops!) email sent to Chimoosoft between August 7th and August 29th has been lost. If you sent an email during that time period which has gone unanswered, please try again.

Addendum: In the process of recovering lost data, Data Rescue II quite literally came to the rescue; read the Chimoosoft review.  Another program to help prevent problems in the future is Apple's own Backup software, free with a .Mac subscription; read the review.

Stellarium 0.9 Review

Stellarium is a free (and open source) planetarium program for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows which uses OpenGL to render the sky. Unlike competing commercial software, Stellarium is extremely simple and easy to use - no manual required. Set your location using the map, then drag the sky around using your mouse. A toolbar along the bottom lets you toggle displays such as ground, constellations (with or without artwork), atmosphere, nebulae, and more. Simple to use time controls enable play, fast forward, rewind, and return to current time. Some nice touches including random meteors and twinkling stars are also included.

Even if you have access to commercial software such as Starry Night, you may well find yourself preferring Stellarium; it's quick, simple, and easy to use. This software does not suffer from feature bloat. Next time you're planning to go stargazing, check out Stellarium first; or even bring it along on your laptop.

Note that version 0.9 has a few quirks including a problem starting in full screen mode. These issues will likely be addressed soon, so keep an eye on their web site for updates.

• By Fabien Chéreau.
• download
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iPhone Web App

Our first little baby web app for the iPhone is now available! It's called SunMoon and shows you the sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset time for any zip code and date in the United States.

iPhlickr Review

Today marks our first review of a program designed especially for the new Apple iPhone instead of the Mac. Although the iPhone is still a closed platform preventing all but the most serious hackers from altering the installed software, Apple has encouraged people to write web applications specially tailored for the touch interface and small screen.

One of the first apps to appear was iPhlickr; a fun way to browse photos from the popular online photo site, Flickr. Using the app, you can quickly browse the most recently added photos, photos by specific users or tags, your own photos, or the author's favorite feature: interesting photos today. Use your finger to scroll through the thumbnails and click on any of interest for a larger view. If you haven't already done so, try adding a bookmarks folder to the iPhone's Safari browser for storing iPhone tailored web apps like iPhlickr - ours is called "iPhone Formatted." This acts as a sort of "applications folder" for the iPhone.

Due to the nature of web apps, iPhlickr is likely to change without warning. This review refers to iPhlickr as of 7/30/2007 (no version given).

• By Chandler Kent
• iPhlickr Site
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One Quarter of One Million!

All Chimoosoft products taken together have now received well over one quarter of one million downloads (250,000)! Thanks everyone!

Adium 1.0.4 Review

Apple's built in iChat is a great way to stay in touch with your friends or colleagues, but sometimes feels as if it's missing something. The freeware (and open source) Adium client gives users another excellent option which adds oft requested features including tabbed chats, encryption, and much more customizable chat appearances. Although iChat allows encrypted chats between .Mac users, Adium allows point to point encryption between any two Adium users regardless of network. This is a great benefit since most chatting protocols send every message in plaintext across the network making them easy to intercept (especially on public wireless access points).

One of the few features Adium is missing is easy to use voice and video chatting, although the latest versions do include SIP support which should enable this (unclear how to setup). But aside from this, Adium works well and is a good option to try out. Adium supports AIM, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo, .Mac, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, LiveJournal, Lotus Sametime, Novell GroupWise, QQ, SIP, and Zephyr. Also, with such a cute little duck icon, who can resist giving it a try?

• By Adium.
• download (freeware)
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