Apple news blog

For a long time, I’ve wanted the ability for the iPhone to speak the name of the caller, based on matching the inbound number to the numbers in Contacts. I waited and waited for iPhone OS 2.x ad then 3.x to do this for me, and do it better, but got sick of waiting. So instead, I wrote an AppleScript app I call Contact Caller ID + Sound Ringtone Maker [44KB download; Mac OS X Hints mirror (v 1.1)]. I’ve used this script to generate over 100 in-use ringtones, and use it to customize a ringtone for a contact or two almost daily now.

This AppleScript will generate a spoken name file, optionally looking for first, last, and nicknames, for selected Address Book Contacts. For example, “Jennifer Frickin’ Connelly is calling….”. It will optionally add a traditional (or other) ringtone of your choice to either the beginning …

Global Delight today is proud to bundle Voila, the advanced Mac screen-capture, web-capture and image-editing tool, with 9 other quality Mac applications at TheMacBundles. Voila 2.0 offers a wide array of options for capturing snaps from a simple full screen capture to captures involving different shapes, objects, menu, scrolling page, freehand, and webcam images. Voila is an ideal tool for tutorials, business presentations or even basic photo editing.

Dale Webb, Director of The Protocol Centre in Coral Gables, Florida, announced today the debut of Etiquette Avenue 1.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch. Etiquette Avenue puts screens of professional protocol advice in the hands of millions who can use it in ever-more competitive times. It is the first App dedicated to the rules of professional and workplace protocol. Etiquette Avenue’s information is a version of the company’s Best Protocol Practices curriculum updated and adapted to an App.

Yazsoft today announced Speed Download 5.2, a major update to their flagship download manager. Speed Download 5 redefines the Mac OS X download manager by combining four amazing products; a turbo-charged download manager with auto-resuming downloads, a fully featured secure FTP client, a file sharing utility with full encryption, and complete .Mac/iDisk/WEBDAV connectivity into one small and easy to use application. And now with RSS newsreader integration.

Vancouver based Cadent Computing Inc. today is delighted to announce wineCellar 2.0, a major update to their popular wine collection and organizer for Mac OS X and Windows. Perfect for wine aficionados and connoisseurs alike, Cadent wineCellar is a unique application for storing, viewing and retrieving information about anyone’s wine collection. Among version 2.0′s new features is the ability to sync wine entries to the company’s new synchronization service, Cadent Cloud.

About Objects today announced a new public schedule for iPhone Programming Workshop, a hands-on developer training course on the iPhone SDK. The course has been updated to reflect Apple’s recent release of the latest 3.0 version of the SDK. Classes will be conducted July 27 – July 31, and August 10 – August 14, at the About Objects headquarters in Reston, VA, and August 24 – August 28 near the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA.

About Objects today announced a new public schedule for iPhone Programming Workshop, a hands-on developer training course on the iPhone SDK. The course has been updated to reflect Apple’s recent release of the latest 3.0 version of the SDK. Classes will be conducted July 27 – July 31, and August 10 – August 14, at the About Objects headquarters in Reston, VA, and August 24 – August 28 near the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA.

Ergonis Software today released Typinator 3.5, the fastest and most robust version of its highly acclaimed text expansion tool for auto-typing text and auto-correcting typos. Typinator has always shined for its speed and robustness as well as compatibility with arbitrary applications. The new version of Typinator introduces a new technology that makes the expansion and insertion of text even faster than before, reinforcing Typinator 3.5 the fastest and most compatible text expander ever.

Spinapse has announced PixPop, a new series with four games designed for different interests; Dogs, Art, Extreme Sports, and Around the World. PixPop’s tap-and-pop interface is a natural fit for the iPhone and will appeal to players who like matching games, jigsaw puzzles, hidden objects, and other visually engaging games. Additional games in the series are under development, and a free version will be released soon.

Agile Web Solutions has released 1Password touch Pro 2.1, a new, more powerful version of their award-winning 1Password touch for iPhone and iPod touch. With new capabilities like Quick Copy and Paste, a Safari bookmarklet for logging into websites, and compatibility with iPhone OS 3.0, 1Password touch Pro is the best mobile password and identity manager yet. To celebrate, 1Password touch Pro is on sale for a limited time at 60% off in the App Store.