Watch Apple CEO Steve Jobs reveal what's new in Mac.

Watch it here: http://stream.qtv.apple.com/events/oct/0810rtdws876/m_08100053744wuasd_6...

Windows/Mac/Linux: VLC 0.9.3, the bug-fixed, updated version of our favorite cross-platform, hardly-ever-fails media player, is available for download. New to this version are a revamped interface and reorganized menus, an improved playlist tool for more traditional audio-only file browsing and listening (and native playing of YouTube videos), enhanced album art and metadata tweaking, Last.fm submissions, and much more. If you've already grabbed a new copy of VLC from an update, are you liking the new menus and interface, or are you tempted to switch back? Share your take in the comments. VLC Media Player 0.9.3 is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux systems (Windows downloads are currently 0.9.2).

Do you find yourself constantly using the Apple menu to find your recently opened applications? This simple Terminal hack will create a custom Stack on the Dock that will show your recently opened applications. Just open Terminal.app (/Applications/Utilities/) and type in the following command:

Once you type in the command, you will need to restart the Dock by typing "killall Dock" and pressing enter. If you decide you don't want the newly created Stack, just drag it off the Dock like any other Stack.

Gizmodo reviews the EFiX dongle which transforms your ordinary PC to a fullblown Mac Pro. It's really a cheap solution for the ones who think Macs are expensive :)

Read the review here: http://gizmodo.com/5049756/review-efix-dongle-perfectly-transforms-pc-to...

The boys & girls of Lifehacker have shown you how to build your own "Hackintosh", a computer running Mac's OS X system with PC parts. Now The Wired How-To Wiki goes even cheaper, detailing a process for installing the Apple OS on the ultra-portable (and pretty cheap) Eee PC. The method explained requires finding a suitably tweaked OS X image, an external DVD drive, and the patience to run through all the system configuration and terminal tweaks. Once you're up and running, however, the author says it runs decently swift, even with just the stock 1GB of RAM. Hit the link for a complete walkthrough.

The popular open-source VLC media player has released a significant update with an interface refresh for Windows, Linux, and Unix, improved playlist and media library tools, and a whole lot more. The release, codenamed Grishenko, also adds support for more input and codec types, which means that the media player that you can always count on to play back any file you throw at it has gotten even better. VLC 0.9.2 displays album art, includes a metadata editor, scrobbles to Last.fm, and even includes YouTube video support (just give VLC the URL of the video you want to watch). VLC media player is free for all platforms.

Firefox users have been able to open all links clicked within Firefox in a new tab for a while now, but what about us poor Safari users? Well, sure, you could always hold down command while clicking a link, but that's not fun, now is it? With this simple Terminal hack, you will be surfing like a pro!

Just open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/) and type in the following command:

Once you restart Safari, all clicked links will open in a new tab. If you want to reverse the command for some reason, just replace "true" with "false."

Windows only: Desktop application College Alarm Clock wakes you up on time for class (or an irregular work schedule) seven days a week. Set a custom alarm time on a per day basis, Sunday through Saturday, and set the sound to just a plain beep, or choose a song from your computer's digital music library. College Alarm Clock can skip any day of the week, and you can save an alarm schedule to easily switch between holiday break and the new semester of wakeup times. College Alarm Clock is a free download for Windows only.

For more applications regarding alarms (for both Mac & Windows by the way) go to here: http://cybernetnews.com/2008/09/02/cybernotes-free-alarm-clocks-for-wind...

While some are free & some dont.

Mac OS X only: Free iTunes add-on GimmeSomeTune automatically fetches missing album artwork, lyrics, and automatically embeds them in your music library. GimmeSomeTune runs in the background, and in addition to the metadata tools, it also supports scrobbling your music to Last.fm, universal hotkeys, iChat status updates, and even Apple Remote control. Apart from all that, GimmeSomeTune is also an excellent iTunes desktop remote, complete with a fully customizable song notification window. The donationware GimmeSomeTune is a must-have for the iTunes lover, Mac OS X only.

Mac only: XBMC for Mac—the open source media center software that offers a more flexible alternative to Front Row—has been renamed Plex, rebranded, and redesigned. Plex's most recent release includes a new logo, the new Media Stream skin, and a slew of bug fixes. Now, take a look what the rebranded XBMC fork looks like sporting its new name, logo, and Media Stream skin.

The most recent release of Plex is version number 0.5.14, and you can see the list of bugfixes and improvements in the release notes. The developer explains that:

Odd version numbers (0.5.x, 0.7.x, 0.9.x) will always be bleeding edge versions, and even version numbers (0.6.x, 0.8.x, 1.0.x) will be stable versions. This is identical to the system that Linux used to use. This is the 14th release of the 0.5 series, and I hope it proves stable enough so that we can release the first of the 0.6 series soon.

Even though this version is "bleeding edge" according to this versioning scheme, so far it seems very stable to me, and there's no doubt it's beautiful. Go & take a look after the jump.

Next year's 10.6 reference release of Mac OS X promises to deliver technology updates throughout the system without focusing on the customer-facing marketing features that typically sell a new operating system. Here's a look at what those behind-the-scenes enhancements will mean to you, starting with new 64-bit support.

The move toward 64-bit computing is often generalized behind the assumption that "more bits must be better," but that's not always true. In some cases, expanding support for more bits of memory addressing only results in requiring more RAM and computing overhead to do the same thing. However, Apple's progressive expansion of 64-bit support in Snow Leopard will bring performance enhancements across the board for users of new 64-bit Intel Macs. Here's a look at why, along with how it is that every version of Mac OS X since Tiger has advertised "64-bit support" as a key feature.

Read more at: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/26/road_to_mac_os_x_10_6_snow...

Windows/Mac/Linux: Cross platform application Subdownloader makes short work of locating subtitles for your movies. Subdownloader uses a fast hashing algorithm, which, according to the developers, tears through about 4GB of movies per second. The application will search through folders and subfolders and can even handle seasons of television shows. Subdownloader also supports manual searches if you need subtitles for a file or DVD that isn't stored on your computer. Subdownloader is a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux (requires Python to run).

All-things-Mac weblog TUAW highlights a handy Terminal trick for adding OS X's double scroll arrows to both sides of your scroll bar. Just fire up Terminal (it's in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder) and paste (one line):

Mac OS X only: Free application DVD Hunter organizes and categorizes your DVDs on your virtual shelves to help you keep track of your budding collection. DVD Hunter's iTunes-like interface automatically grabs cover art, and it even integrates with Address Book and iCal to help keep track of movies you've lent out. If you're a Mac user looking to organize your DVD collection and you don't feel like shelling out $$$ to do it, the free, Mac OS X-only DVD Hunter looks like a winner.

Are you a Terminal geek (or wannabe, but not the pop star type)? If so, did you know that you can burn discs right from the Terminal window with a simple command and a drag/drop? Open Terminal on OS X & just enter the following command followed by the path to a folder or disk image:

Don't type the "filehere" -- that's where you put the path to the file/folder that you wish to burn. You can either type the location manually or drag and drop the file onto the Terminal window. But that's not all you can do with drutil; you can also eject media from the optical drive by typing "drutil eject." To see all of the available drutil options, just type in drutil for a quick list or man drutil for a full description.