On Tuesday, shareware developer Maintain released version 4.6 of Cocktail (Snow Leopard Edition), Cocktail, the popular shareware utility program that allows for additional Mac OS X system tests.

The new version, a 2.0 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:

- Added ability to clear data detectors caches.
- Added ability to clear QuickLook caches.
- Added “Prevent name to be included when copying email address” setting (Interface – Mail).
- Added “Enable autoplay” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).
- Added “Show subtitles when available” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).
- Added “Remain in full screen when QuickTime Player is inactive” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).
- Added “Allow simultaneous recordings” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).
- Added “Hide titlebar” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).
- Added “Show movie controls” setting (Interface – QuickTime X).

Cocktail 4.6 retails for a US$14.95 shareware registration fee and requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later to run.

Late Thursday, Axiotron announced a reduced price for the company’s Modbook tablet Mac. The price fell to US$699 for Modbooks built from a customer-supplied MacBook base system and US$1,599 for Modbooks that include a dealer-supplied 2.13Ghz MacBook base system. The holiday discount program runs through December 31, 2009.

Axiotron today also announced that the Modbook Pro tablet computer, unveiled during the Macworld Expo 2009, is planned for release at the end of the second quarter of 2010.

Every Modbook includes a 90 day Modcare warranty on the entire system (including the MacBook base system, whose warranty is voided during the Modbook conversion). Extended warranty options for one or more years are available through participating Axiotron sales partners. Servicing and repair of the Modbook are provided by Axiotron’s service provider network.

Early Thursday, Mozilla.org released version 3.5.5 of its Firefox web browser.
The new version, a 17.7 megabyte download, sports the following fixes and changes:

- Version 3.5.5 fixes three stability bugs.

Firefox 3.5.5 is available in more than 70 different languages and requires a G3, G4, G5 or Intel-based Mac, Mac OS X 10.4 or later and 128MB of RAM to install and run.

If you’ve snagged the new version and have any feedback to offer about it, let us know in the comments.

Late Thursday, Bare Bones Software released version 9.3 of BBEdit, its popular text and HTML editor. The software retails for US$125 for new users. The new version, a 16.1 megabyte download, features the following fixes and improvements:

- Introduces significant enhancements to the Projects feature that debuted in BBEdit 9.0, including support for adding Finder saved searches to projects, and additional flexibility in handling non-text files, including command-driven support for examining files via QuickLook when running on Mac OS X 10.6.

- The BBEdit 9.3 update now lets customers create language-specific ctags data files to serve as completion sources.

- FTP/SFTP browsers now feature a “New” button allowing for the creation of new files and folders directly within the browser window.

- The clippings system has been enhanced to allow combining clipping sets for easier access when working in mixed-language files.

- Attached menu scripts are now easier to manage from within BBEdit’s own preferences.

- BBEdit 9.3 introduces a new command-line tool, “bbfind”, which provides access to BBEdit’s multi-file searching from the Unix command line.

BBEdit 9.3 retails for US$125 and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to install and run.

Apple has released the most recent build of its upcoming Mac OS X 10.6.2 operating system update. Per AppleInsider, sources familiar with the build, titled 10C540 have said that it contains fixes for AirPort performance issues on the newly released iMacs and also resolves a problem which arose when plugging and unplugging a system to an Apple TV. A VMWare fix is also included, presumably for the newly released Fusion version 3.0.

The new build also fixes reported panic issues with USB, Apple Filing Protocol, and some video cards.

In the 10.6.2 update, Apple plans on fixing and tweaking nearly 150 OS X components.

Some components slated for fixes include: AppleBacklight, Battery Menu, Dictionary, Expose, FileSync, Family Controls, Fonts, Front Row, HFS, Inkwell, iPhoto, MobileMe, OpenCL, Parental Controls, QuickTime, Screen Sharing, Spell Checker, Spotlight, Time Machine, and USB.

The new build also reportedly restores support for Intel’s Atom processor, which was said to have been blacklisted and might not be supported in the update given its popularity in the “Hackintosh” community.

Mac OS X 10.6.2 is expected to be released sometime this month and will reportedly be around 480 MB in size.

Adium, the open source instant message chat client with support for multiple programs (including AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Yahoo! Google Talk, Bonjour, etc.) has been updated to version 1.3.8.

The new version, a 21.4 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

- Updated pidgin-facebook chat, fixing login.
- Corrected the Events preferences not displaying the correct list on Snow Leopard.

Adium X is available for free and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to run. The program functions as a Universal Binary and runs at native speeds on both PowerPC and Intel-based hardware.

Parallels Desktop 5.0 for Mac shipped today, its developer citing that the latest version of the virtualization software runs 64-bit Windows 7 22% faster than its nearest competitor on a MacBook Pro. Per AppleInsider, the developer said that the tests, conducted by Crimson Consulting Group, also found that the new Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is up to 300% faster for virtual machine operations than its predecessor. In addition, 3Dmark 2006 Professional test scores perform up to 7 times better for 3D and graphics performance.

The latest version of Parallels Desktop boasts more than 70 new features, including a new “Crystal view” mode, which can make Windows completely disappear. The new software also allows users to enable Apple multitouch trackpad gestures such as pinch, swipe, and rotate within Windows.

Other new features include:

- Full support for Aero in Windows Vista and 7 through Windows WDDM driver, including Aero Flip 3D.
Virtual machine size automatically optimized for best performance with Parallels Compressor.

- Improved performance for Linux guest OS from KVM paravirtualization.

- A more Mac-like experience in Windows applications through Apple trackpad gestures technology, horizontal scrolling and the application of full-screen active corners and curl page effect.

- Copy and paste fidelity for formatted text and complete layouts including images, even between Windows and Linux guest OSes.

- Freedom and flexibility to run Windows and Mac applications across multiple monitors.

- Seven times better graphics performance for games and 3D applications than the previous version with Direct X 9Ex with Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 support.

- Superior graphics performance for Linux guests through OpenGL 2.1 support.

- Full hardware resources can be utilized with support for 8 virtual CPUs, 64-bit Windows and Snow Leopard Server 64-bit.

- Easily move PCs (including Windows 7) and third-party virtual machines to the Mac with the enhanced Parallels Transporter.

Parallels is also offering users a free trial of the software, which is available now in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish, and localized versions in Chinese, Czech, Hungarian, Japanese, Polish and Russian are expected in the coming weeks.

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac retails for US$79.99, requires Mac OS X 10.4 later to install and run and includes US$175 worth of additional software: Parallels Internet Security 2009 by Kaspersky with a one-year subscription, Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0, and Acronis True Image Home 2010.

A number of MacBook and MacBook Pro users are reporting that their systems running inordinately hot after upgrading to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, causing their fans to work exceptionally loud. According to CNET, users in this thread on the Apple Support Discussions forums focus the issue primarily on MacBook Pros, though some scattered entries from MacBook owners suggest the issues may be noticed in many of Apple’s notebooks.

Users’ machines tend to run extremely hot, causing the fans to cycle at a high rate and deplete battery power at an accelerated clip. ASD forum user “Ryan83″ reports:

“Fans running constantly at 6000 RPM without any program running – - just letting it idle or running solely iTunes. iPhoto 09 unusable – - when you edit in full screen – - the screen shows colored artifacts all over. Internet has been very spotty and misbehaves.”

Similar symptoms are reported by many of the thread contributors. Typically, CPU usage will spike when users do media-heavy actions with their systems, such as editing photos with Photoshop, cutting movies with Final Cut Pro, or watching media online at sites like YouTube or Hulu. Some users suggest that it could be a hardware issue with the actual fans, though this is unlikely (at least at first). Because most users report the problem after their upgrade to Snow Leopard, chances are it is a software issue. If left unattended, the problem could eventually lead to the fans, logic board, or other hardware becoming corrupt.

Some things to check :
- Be sure all your programs are Snow Leopard compatible. Several users reported that updating the notification utility, Growl, to the Snow Leopard ready version, 1.2, solved their overheating issues. Users should open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities) and take a look at any background processes that may be running. If any of those programs are not Snow Leopard compatible, they could be causing the excessive CPU usage and heat production.

- When in doubt, especially if you are under AppleCare, taking your machine to an AppleCare Authorized Technician or an Apple Store is a good idea. You will want to avoid any future damage to your hardware as soon as possible. Keep in mind that a solution may involve reinstalling Snow Leopard. Be sure you have a stable and current backup of all your important data. As we have mentioned in recent articles, the 10.6.2 update for Snow Leopard is expected very soon and includes (based on information from beta releases) a myriad of fixes that may include a solution to the overheating issue. When the update is made available, drop by MacFixIt to get a rundown of all the included fixes.

If you’ve seen this issue on your end or found a workaround or fix of your own, please let us know in the comments.

Ad campaigns will always be snarky, but there are some areas you don’t want crossed. Per AppleInsider, AT&T has filed suit over Verizon’s “There’s a Map for That” advertising campaign, claiming Verizon is misrepresenting AT&T’s coverage areas.

The suit seeks a temporary restraining order and a injunction to stop Verizon from “disseminating misleading coverage maps” of AT&T’s areas of cellular and data coverage. AT&T is also seeking damages in the suit.

The “Map” advertisement displays two competing 3G coverage maps, in which the Verizon coverage area is clearly more widespread than AT&T’s coverage area. The suit contains an AT&T commissioned survey of the ads which found that 53% of those asked interpreted the non-colored areas of the maps to be total gaps in coverage.

AT&T cites that the company had previously contacted Verizon directly on Oct. 7, requesting that the ads be withdrawn or modified, according to the suit. Verizon responded by dropping the words “out of touch” from the ads and included the phrase “Voice & data services available outside 3G coverage areas” in small print at the end of the advertisements.

The complaint lists two TV spots currently airing, dubbed “College” and “Bench,” as well as a print advertisement that has run in various publications.

“The map attributed to AT&T shows large swaths of white or blank space, as if these are areas in which AT&T has no coverage whatsoever,” the suit reads. “By depicting AT&T’s non-”3G” coverage as white or blank space in the map used in Verizon’s print advertisement, consumers are being misled into believing that AT&T’s customers have no coverage whatsoever and thus cannot use their wireless devices when they are outside of AT&T’s depicted coverage area.”

The complaint was filed Tuesday in an Atlanta, Ga., federal court, and requests a temporary restraining order against Verizon to prevent the ads from continuing to air. The suit notes that the ads are airing during the “most vigorous and important marketing season for the wireless industry.”

AT&T claims that the ads in their current form convey the message that AT&T has no coverage in the areas that are blank on the 3G maps that are shown. AT&T contends that the 2.5G (EDGE) network is available in a much wider area, so to imply that there is no coverage is misleading.

According to Reuters, Verizon has responded, saying that the suit is without merit and the advertisements are intended to show 3G coverage only: “The ads in question clearly state that voice and data services are available outside 3G areas.

If two technology companies each worth billions to their assorted stockholders can’t resolve a longstanding issue, then they should publicly insult each other.

According to Gear Diary, Adobe has cast the blame on Apple, changing its Flash download page to display the following text on iPhone and iPod touch units:

Listen up, you may want flash but you can’t have flash- at least not on this device. Why? Don’t blame us. It is certainly doable to enable flash on this thing but Apple RESTRICTS the technology needed to make it happen. And until Apple changes their policy you are out of luck. Seriously, we WANT to give you Flash. It would be our pleasure to give you Flash. We are ready to give you Flash. Seriously! But Apple won’t let us. Adobe – Good. Apple- Bad.

I’m staying tuned until next week when the two companies begin with the “Yo Mamma” jokes, which can only help raise their stock prices.