Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac

Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'Parallels Desktop'?: A virtualization application. With 'Parallels Desktop' one can run various versions of Linux and MS Windows.
Cost: Commercial ware: $79.99

url: ‘Parallels Desktop’.

A side note: I also installed 'VMwares' 'VMware Fusion' v. 1.1. The installation of 'VMware Fusion', the installation of various operating systems [Ubuntu linux, MS Windows, etc.], and resultant operation of 'VMware Fusion' parallels that of 'Parallels Desktop'.

url: 'VMware Fusion'.

Also, I have since replaced Apples' 1 GB of RAM (2 - 512 MB memory cards) with 4 GB of RAM. The Mac's speed is noticeable! - whether or not 'Parallels Desktop' and / or 'VMware Fusion' are also running.

Now what?
To install and use 'Parallels Desktop' and / or 'VMware Fusion', continue reading ...



Step 01. Install 'Parallels Desktop' itself.
Such an installation process is like installing most Macintosh applications - you double click on the applications installer, navigate through the process, and a 'Parallels' folder appears in the '/Applications/' folder.

Below are snapshots of the Desktop based image of which, when double clieked on - begins the installation process.

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Below are the resultant windows of the installation of 'Parallels Desktop' and 'VMware Fusion'.
By default, the 'Parallels' and / or 'VMware Fusion' folder(s) will be placed in the '/Applications/' folder. This or these folder(s) can be relocated elsewhere, if preferred.

Figure 17.

Figure 18.


At this point, one can drag 'Parallels Desktop.app' or 'VMware Fusion.app' onto the 'Dock' for easy access, to launch the application.



Step 02. Installing a operating system into 'Parallels Desktop'. Again, similar steps are performed within 'VMware Fusion'.

In the case with 'Ubuntu' one can burn a bootable CD / DVD from which on may boot from and use the Ubuntu OS; or, from which one can install the Ubuntu OS onto the computers' (the Mac in this example) hard disk drive. We will do the latter.

Thus, we first want to 'boot' from the 'Ubuntu LiveCD (in this case from a 'ubuntu-6.06.1-desktop-i386.iso' file).

The steps of booting from 'Ubuntu Live CD' are as follows ...

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At this point 'Ubuntu Live CD' will boot.

Figure 42.

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Soon afterwards, the 'Ubuntu LiveCD' 'Desktop' will appear.

Figure 46.



Step 03. Now, it is time to install 'Ubuntu' v. 6.0.6.1. Again, similar steps would be performed within 'VMware Fusion'.

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The actual installation of 'Ubuntu' v. 6.0.6.1 is completed.



Step 04. Launching and using 'Ubuntu' v. 6.0.6.1, 'Parallels'.

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Figure 68. through Figure 70. show 'VMware Fusion' running 'Ubuntu' v. 7.10.

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To quit 'Parallels Desktop's 'Ubuntu' process - press the "'control' 'option'" keys return the mouse cursor to MacOS X. Then click on the windows right side toolbars' upper right red square; or ...

Figure 71.

... select 'Parallels Desktop's 'Action, Stop' menu item.

Figure 72.

'Ubuntu' will be saved and shutdown.



To quit 'VMware Fusion's 'Ubuntu' process - press the "Command' 'option'" keys return the mouse cursor to MacOS X. Then select 'VMware Fusion's 'Virtual Machine, Shut Down Guest' menu item.

Figure 73.

'Ubuntu' will be saved and shutdown.



To run a virtual operating system (ubl6' [for 'Ubuntu 6.06.1] in this example) from within 'Parallels Desktop' - launch 'Paralles Desktop', and then double click on the desired operating system from the 'New Virtual Machine - Parallels Desktop' window (or single click the deisred operating system, and click on the 'Select' button).

Figure 74.

To start (launch) 'Parallels Desktop's 'ubl6' - click on the resultant windows right side toolbars' green arrow; or, select 'Parallels Desktop's 'Action, Start' menu item.

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Figure 75.



From now on, to start (launch) 'VMware Fusion's 'Ubuntu' - launch 'VMware Fusion', and then double click on 'ul7.vmwarevm' (or single click 'ul7.vmwarevm' and click on the 'Run' button).

Figure 76.

Monday, January 28, 2008

MenuCalendarClock for iCal v. 3.1.0

MenuCalendarClock for iCal v. 3.1.0 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'MenuCalendarClock'?: A customizable menu bar clock / calendar utility.
Cost: Freeware / Shareware ($19.95)

What is downloaded: 976 KB 'MenuCalendarClock-3.1.0.dmg.gz' file.

url: ‘http://www.objectpark.net/mcc.html’ (The is also a 'Microsoft Entourage' available)

What now?
01. Download the 'MenuCalendarClock-iCal-2.7.5.dmg.gz' (for 'Tiger' - MacOS X 10.4.x, or earlier) or 'MenuCalendarClock-3.1.0.dmg.gz' (for 'Leopard' - MacOS X 10.5.x) file.
02. Double click on the '.gz' file to decompress it to a '.dmg' file, which presents an authorizaion (agree) panel. Accepting the agreement results in a 'MenuCalendarClock' disk image appearing on the 'Desktop', and the disk images' 'MenuCalendarClock window displayed. See Figure 01.

Figure 01.

03. Drag 'MenuCalendarClockiCal.app' to any folder on your Mac. Most likely you will drag it to the '/Applications/Utilities/' folder.
04. Double click the newly relocated 'MenuCalendarClockiCal.app' application.

From this point on - one has many options that can be applied. Several are shown below.

By default, the menu bar should now include an entry - similar to Figure 02.


Figure 02.

Click once on any portion of the menu bar 'MenuCalendarClock' item, and its calendar and controls will be displayed.

Figure 03.

To access the 'Preferences' window of 'MenuCalendarClock', click on the 'Preferences' popdown menu button and select the 'Preferences...' menu item.

Figure 04.

Figure 05. through Figure 12. display most of the panel's of 'MenuCalendarClock's 'Preferences' window.

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As you can see, 'MenuCalendarClock' is quite customizable.



Ok, let us customize 'MenuCalendarClock'.

But, first - let us go to 'iCalShare' and download an 'iCal' calendar. In this example I downloaded and installed a 'Philadelphia Flyers 2007 - 2008' (hockey) schedule.

Figure 13.

Once the calendar file ('Flyers.ics' in this example) is downloaded, and double clicked on - 'iCal' will launch. The 'Add events' dialog box will appear...

Figure 14.

... from which 'New Calendar' is selected in the popup menu; and, the 'OK' button is clicked on.

Figure 15.

The 'Flyers' hockey schedule (calendar) is now added to the 'Calendar' column, and its dates displayed. You can now (optionally) quit 'iCal'.

Return to 'MenuCalendarClock's 'Preferences' window, and click on the 'Calendars' toolbar button icon. Place a check mark by 'Flyers' (if it already does not exist).

Figure 16.

'MenuCalendarClock's calendar should now reflect the entries of the 'Flyers.ics' calendar file.

Figure 17.

Let us do one more step - click on the 'Preferences' popdown menu button and select the 'Show Search Field' menu item.

Figure 18.

A search field is now displayed at the bottom of the calendar

Figure 19.

Before testing the 'search' capabilities of 'MenuCalendarClock' - click on any 'Flyers' entry - and note the resultant 'event' entry beneath the calendar.

Figure 20.

Enter' Devils' into the search field, and note the up coming game dates.

Figure 21.

Click on the month field - 'Fefruary 2008' below, and all calendar entries (for 'February 2008') are displayed. Click on the month field again, to remove (not delete) the calendar entries from being displayed.

Figure 22.

The above experience portrays only a portion of the features and customization capabilities of 'MenuCalendarClock'.



Finally, to have 'MenuCalendarClock' launch each time your Mac is turned ON or rebooted, or you log in - add 'MenuCalendarClock' to the 'System Preferences' 'Accounts' 'Login Items' list.

You Control: Tunes v. 1.6.1

You Control: Tunes v. 1.6.1 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x)* compatible]

What is 'You Control: Tunes'?: A menu bar list of 'iTunes' controls.
Cost: Freeware - $0.00. ( requires free serial number** )

What is downloaded: 3.1 MB 'you_control_tunes.dmg' file.

web page: ‘http://www.yousoftware.com/tunes/’

* - Not on my MacBook (late 2007), running 10.5.0, at the Macs@PACS meeting. However, when at home and connected to the internet - 'You Control: Tunes' did properly launch, etc.** - Obtain free serial number here.

Remember - enter a bogus first and last name, and then enter any set of alphanumeric characters followed by '@mailinator.com'; such as 'qwerty01@mailinator.com' (also, remember to write them down). After clicking the 'Submit' button - open another another web browser window, go to 'mailinator.com', and check for any e-Mail messages to 'qwerty01'. From the reply by 'yousoftware.com' write down the provided serial number. You now have the information needed to register 'You Control: Tunes', from within the application.

What now? -
When double clicked on, 'You Control: Tunes' add four menu bar icon buttons. Three of which control 'iTunes' and the fourth (when clicked on) presents a menu item list (see Figure 01.).

Figure 01.

Let us look at the 'Configure...' window.

Figure 02.

Removing the 'Display Controls in Menu Bar' check mark allows one to replace the menu bar controls with a Menu icon or Menu Title (in text). Figure 03. shows a 'Menu Title' of 'iTunes'.

As shown above - 'iTunes' in the 'Menu Title' textedit field can be changed.
Also, via the 'Menu Icon's 'From File...' button - one can navigate to any '.icn' file, and have that graphic displayed in the menu bar instead (of the controls, or a 'Menu Title').

View Figure 03. and notice that the currently playing 'iTunes' songs' (Title, Artist, Album, Duration, Composer, Track Number, Genre, and Year) information is displayed within the menu list. That is because the 'Show Current Track' check box (of Figure 02. above) has a check mark, and its associated 'Inline' check box has a check mark.

Figure 03.

If the 'Show Current Track' check box has a check mark, but its associated 'Inline' check box does not have a check mark - the menu list would only display 'Current Track', and you would have to select the 'Current Track' menu item to have its associated menu list presented. See Figure 04.

Figure 04.

You want options? - 'You Control: Tunes' has many many options. Such as the style of the controls displayed on the menu bar, or how about ...

Figure 05.

... scrolling of the playing songs' title (on the menu bar)?, as well as ...

Figure 06.

... 'Growl' like screen notices? - via an 'Overlay Window' feature. See Figure 07. to enable / disable the overlay feature.

Figure 07.

Want still more control of the 'Overlay Window'? If so, thcn click on the 'Advanced Settings' button. A 'Window Position' drop down sheet will appear. Here you can set the screen location, fade in, display, and fade out times of the 'Overlay Window'.

Figure 08.

Figure 09. shows an 'Overlay Window' example - when the song 'Daydream Believer' started to play.

Figure 09.

Also, and optionally, click on the 'About You' tab - and a new panel will appear, from which you can remove the 'Auto Check For Updates' check boxes' check mark.

Figure 10.



Finally, to have 'You Control: Tunes' launch each time your Mac is turned ON or rebooted, or you log in - add 'You Control: Tunes' to the 'System Preferences' 'Accounts' 'Login Items' list.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

XScreenSaver v. 1.6.1

XScreenSaver v. 1.6.1 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'XScreenSaver'?: A folder of 210 screen saver files.
Cost: Freeware - $0.00.

What is downloaded: 27.2 MB 'xscreensaver-5.04.dmg' file.
Decompressed '.dmg' file: A 78.2 MB disk image (a virtural disk / folder) of 210 screen saver files and a 'READ ME' file.

web page - to view snapshots of screen savers: ‘snapshots'
web page - to download '.dmg' file from: ‘download.html'

direct download link: 'xscreensaver-5.04.dmg'

What now?
01. Download the 'xscreensaver-5.04.dmg' file.
02. Double click on the '.dmg' file to decompress it - resulting in a 'XScreenSaver 5.04' disk image appearing on the 'Desktop', and the disk images' 'ZScreenSaver 5.04' window displayed. See Figure 01.
03. Decide which screen saver file(s) you want to install, and which 'Screen Savers' folder to drag the file(s) to. See Figure 02.
For screen savers to be used only by the current user - drag the file(s) to the '~/Library/Screen Savers/' folder.
For screen savers to be used by all users of the Macintosh - drag the file(s) to the '/Library/Screen Savers/' folder.

[ Click on each picture to see in full scale ]

Figure 01.

Figure 02.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Free ware, Share ware, Commercial ware

List of applications demo'ed at 26. Jan. 2008 Mac@PACS meeting:

XScreenSaver v. 5.0.4
You Control: Tunes v. 1.6.1
Butler v. 1.4.5
MenuCalendarClock for iCal v. 3.1.0
Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac



XScreenSaver v. 1.6.1 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'XScreenSaver'?: A folder of 210 screen saver files.
Cost: Freeware - $0.00.

What is downloaded: 27.2 MB 'xscreensaver-5.04.dmg' file.
Decompressed '.dmg' file: A 78.2 MB disk image (a virtural disk / folder) of 210 screen saver files and a 'READ ME' file.

web page - to view snapshots of screen savers: ‘snapshots'
web page - to download '.dmg' file from: ‘download.html'

direct download link: 'xscreensaver-5.04.dmg'



You Control: Tunes v. 1.6.1 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x)* compatible]

What is 'You Control: Tunes'?: A menu bar list of 'iTunes' controls.
Cost: Freeware - $0.00. ( requires free serial number** )

What is downloaded: 3.1 MB 'you_control_tunes.dmg' file.

web page: ‘http://www.yousoftware.com/tunes/’

* - Not on my MacBook (late 2007), running 10.5.0, at the Macs@PACS meeting. However, when at home and connected to the internet - 'You Control: Tunes' did properly launch, etc.
** - Obtain free serial number here.

Remember - enter a bogus first and last name, and then enter any set of alphanumeric characters followed by '@mailinator.com'; such as 'qwerty01@mailinator.com' (also, remember to write them down). After clicking the 'Submit' button - open another another web browser window, go to 'mailinator.com', and check for any e-Mail messages to 'qwerty01'. From the reply by 'yousoftware.com' write down the provided serial number. You now have the information needed to register 'You Control: Tunes', from within the application.



Butler v. 1.4.5 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'Butler'?: Is a task manager. The tasks can be managed with menu bar, popup menus, keyboard equivalents, hot (screen) corners, and events.
Cost: Donationware - $18.00

What is downloaded: 1.8 MB 'butler.dmg' file.

url: ‘http://www.manytricks.com/butler/’



MenuCalendarClock for iCal v. 3.1.0 ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'MenuCalendarClock'?: A customizable menu bar clock / calendar utility.
Cost: Freeware / Shareware ($19.95)

What is downloaded: 976 KB 'MenuCalendarClock-3.1.0.dmg.gz' file.

url: ‘http://www.objectpark.net/mcc.html’



Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac ['Tiger' (MacOS X 10.4.x) and 'Leopard' (MacOS X 10.5.x) compatible]

What is 'Parallels Desktop'?: A virtualization application. With 'Paralles Desktop' one can run various versions of Linux and MS Windows.
Cost: Commercial ware: $79.99

url: ‘http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/’



Detailed reviews of the above applications will appear soon. Return to blog regularly to view.

FrogPad the one handed keyboard(http://www.frogpad.com/)


FrogPad™ is a one-handed keyboard to be used with USB Keyboard compatible PDA's, Pocket PCs, Tablet and Wearable PC's, and other mobile applications, such as portable laptops, which utilizes the flexibility and ease of one-handed functionality and the performance of an efficient keyboard.

The FrogPad™ has been designed for fast data entry. The letter layout is based on the percent usage of each letter in the English language. Fifteen letters that are used 86% of the time by typists are placed in the most efficient locations on the keyboard.

FrogPad™ for the Disabled User

At FrogPad™ the mission is to improve the lives of the physically challenged. They understand the frustration that occurs at work when you can’t type at a productive speed because of physical limitations. With FrogPad™ you will soon be on your way to typing 40 words per minute regardless of if you only have the use of one good hand. FrogPad™ also helps physically challenged children to keep up with their classmates at school so that their disability does not interfere with their learning.

Unlike previous approaches to one-handed typing, FrogPad™ is intuitive and uses full sized keys just like the QWERTY keyboard. The letters have been arranged on the FrogPad™ to improve typing speeds over the QWERTY and half QWERTY methods. You may have been unimpressed with chording keyboards because of their awkward look and many complicated key presses. With the FrogPad™ you only need to use a maximum of two fingers at a time to access any letter. Also, the fun attractive look of the FrogPad™ will have all of your friends jealous and wanting one of their own.

The Veterans Coalition Challenge wants to give 1000 FrogPads to each disabled Veteran that wants one, but they need your help. see this url: http://medical.presslib.com/medical-products/607971.htm
Mac World, San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 14, 2008 -- FrogPad, Inc. announces the expansion of the Coalition Veterans Challenge. We asked the question, "What can we the people do for those who have been sent to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and have returned disabled".

We must stand in this question and recognize that there are no politics in a disabled soldier. As the weaponry becomes more sophisticated, the injury becomes more frightful and devastating. These are injuries that will affect the rest of the life of the young soldier. The estimates are that there are over 10,000 Vets returning from these wars without the use of a hand or arm.

FrogPad can do something that the big industrial and military complexes have not offered. FrogPad, Inc. begins the IOOO FrogPad Program . FrogPad products and services that make a difference to each US and Coalition veteran that requires one because of loss of a hand. FrogPad is a simple one-handed keyboard, which can have significant impact on a veteran staying integrated in the IT workplace. This is our effort to demonstrate that even a small Hispanic Woman Enterprise can bridge the gap in International relations.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Fred Slavin

Fred passed away on 18 January 2008, in his young 80s.




Saturday, December 1, 2007

Animoto...a cool video tool

If you don’t think you are a creative person. Or if you just can’t figure out those pesky details when it comes to technology. Then you are in luck, because this application, Animoto, will create some amazing artistic videos for you with little or no technical knowledge.

The amazing thing about this application is the unique approach it takes to every creation. I used different songs with the same slides to see what would result. I was totally amazed at the uniqueness of each movie. The application analyses each photograph and song so that it can appropriately massages them into a visually appealing movie that can be emailed, downloaded, and embedded into web pages. I can just imagine some of the finished products when you introduce creative people to such an application. I personally wasted (not really) several hours when I should have been doing something else. But, then I think of the enjoyment I got from putting my pictures and music together with some professional help.

Animoto Productions is a bunch of techies and film/tv producers who decided to lock themselves in a room together and nerd out. Their first release is Animoto, a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos using their own patent-pending Cinematic Artificial Intelligence technology and high-end motion design. Each video is a fully customized orchestration of user-selected images and music. Produced in wide-screen format, Animoto videos have the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer. They are a welcome end to slideshows.

The heart of Animoto is its newly developed Cinematic A.I. technology that thinks like an actual director and editor. It analyzes and combines user-selected images and music with the same sophisticated post-production skills & techniques that are used in television and film. The technology takes into account every nuance of a song - the genre, song structure, energy, rhythm, instrumentation, and vocals. Whether it's punk, pop, hip-hop or a classical Mozart piece, every Animoto video is totally customized. Even videos generated with an identical set of images and music will each have a completely distinct set of motion design. No two videos are the same. They can be emailed, downloaded, and embedded in pages on websites including social network sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Animoto is also dedicated to supporting new artists and music. So while users can upload their own music, the guys at Animoto also proudly feature a regularly updated selection of fresh music that they truly dig. No stock music, no cover bands, no elevator music, and no wannabe bands.

Animoto is inspired by the digital camera revolution where taking dozens, even hundreds of pictures at a time gives people the ability to think more like a video producer capturing an entire experience, not just individual moments. As users are discovering the limits of traditional photo services, the guys at Animoto are innovating new ways for people to share their stories and express themselves through media.

While based in New York City, they also have an office in San Francisco, the founders are veterans of the entertainment industry and have produced shows for MTV, Comedy Central, & ABC, studied music in London, and played in indie rock bands. They share a passion for helping people better share their stories and express themselves through online media by innovating technologies in the field of video production.

Don’t linger………. Rush to: http://animoto.com/
Take a peak at one of mine: http://animoto.com/play/bbd3c52e591fc0e9bf1411c6af1d9cf3

Monday, November 26, 2007

WD Caviar GreenPower

New 500GB drive promises to save power

By Peter Cohen

Western Digital (WD) on Monday announced that it’s shipping in volume its WD Caviar GreenPower (or GP) 500GB hard disk drive mechanism. The drive costs $149.99.

The WD Caviar GP is a 3.5-inch hard disk drive bound for external enclosures or internal chassis inside computers that use Serial ATA (SATA) interfaces. The “GreenPower” moniker indicates that this unit is especially designed to be power-efficient. WD claims the drive is the industry’s coolest and quietest running eco-friendly 500GB drive.

The GP 500GB model uses the same technology as its 1GB counterpart. It yields and average drive power savings of four to five watts over other drives in its class; WD claims that results in an annual CO2 emission reduction of up to 13.8 kilograms per drive per year, or the equivalent of taking a car off the road for about three days per year.

The drive utilizes special technology that reduces power load during startup, and optimizes spin speed, transfer rate and caching algorithms. It will automatically unload its recording heads during idle periods, for example, which reduces aerodynamic drag. It also reduces less noise and lower vibration rates accordingly.

The drive sports a 16MB data buffer and an average read seek time of 8.9 milliseconds (ms). Transfer rate is 3 Gb/s for the buffer-to-host (SATA) speed, and 1,160 Mb/s for the buffer-to-disk transfer rate.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Leopard Update

Latest Mac OS X 10.5.1 build fixes Finder data loss issue

By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 04:00 PM EST


Apple Inc. on Monday continued to pound away at its first maintenance and security update to the recently released Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard operating system, issuing a new test build to developers that fixes the much publicized Finder data loss issue.

People familiar with the ongoing testing process for Mac OS X 10.5.1 Update say the new build, labeled Mac OS X 10.5.1 build 9B16, was accompanied by a note to developers that specifically mentions a Finder-related fix affecting files that are moved between directories.

It was widely reported earlier this month that Leopard's Finder is affected by a glaring bug in its directory-moving code, which could lead to horrendous data loss if a destination volume disappears while a move operation is in progress.

Those people familiar with pre-release builds of Mac OS X 10.5.1 also added that the software update will deliver an enhancement to Leopard that will allow Apple's Software Update and installer applications to make revisions to application files which may have been moved outside their designated "Applications" directory on Leopard volumes.

As was the case with build 9B13, which was released for private testing last Monday, Apple is reportedly asking that its developers test the latest build broadly, paying particular attention to Time Machine, Mail, iCal, Back To My Mac, Bonjour, AirPort, gaming graphics, networking and the Finder.

Mac OS X 10.5.1 is expected to be released as a free update within a few weeks' time.