Apple’s MobileMe calendar is now out of the beta stage! Yesterday, Apple posted a message on their website that all members will now have the option to upgrade (for free, of course).

Highlights include:

*Push notifications*
Among the new features, there is now support for push on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. New events/changes are automatically pushed and synced to your iOS 4 devices.

*Calendar sharing*
Share with family and friends using MobileMe and even allow them to make changes.

*Polished web interface*
The day, week, and month views have all been redesigned, and a list view has been added.

“See Apple’s announcement here.”:http://www.apple.com/mobileme/news/2010/10/new-mobileme-calendar-now-available-to-all-members.html

To get started, just sign in to “me.com/calendar,”:http://www.me.com/calendar and click “Upgrade now.” (For those who had already downloaded the beta and have been using that, you won’t need to do anything further.)

I upgraded last night, and though it took a second try to get everything going, it’s working perfectly. It seems a computer I had previously synced with MobileMe was using 10.5, so it gave me a helpful little popup notice asking me if I’d like to upgrade anyway (to have everything work properly, I need all Macs to be on 10.6). I chose “yes” since that computer is no longer in use (I have since upgraded my workstation). I’m playing with more of the features today, and I suspect this will make iCal much more relevant on my iPhone from here on out!

Be aware that the system requirements for the new calendar are as follows:
*iPhone or iPod touch:* iOS 4.1
*iPad:* iOS 3.2; iOS 4.2 (coming in November) required for push calendar updates
*Mac:* Mac OS X Snow Leopard version 10.6.4
*PC:* MobileMe Control Panel version 1.6.3 and Outlook 2007 or 2010

Though I’m no financial writer, I can still appreciate that Wednesday marked a noteworthy day in Apple’s financial history. For the first time, company share prices rose above $300 and floated there throughout the day, eventually closing at $300.14.

With an open price of $307.47 this morning (Friday), and a media event scheduled next week, things are looking increasingly promising for shareholders.

While I’m about as qualified to offer financial advice as I am to use Windows 7 or pilot a submarine, I can’t help but feel the urge to predict a steady climb for Apple in the coming weeks. Now why didn’t I buy back in January ’09? Marty! Get the DeLorean!

*If you have old, broken, and obsolete electronics, you can recycle them for FREE on Saturday, October 23rd.* We are holding two events–one in our new Manchester, NH location at the Mall of New Hampshire and one at 30 Community Drive, S. Burlington, VT (Ben & Jerry’s offices)–from 9am – 3pm.

*WHEN: Saturday, October 23, 2010 from 9am – 3pm*
*WHERE:* “*Mall of New Hampshire, Manchester, NH*”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Mall+of+New+Hampshire,+Manchester,+NH&sll=44.450387,-73.144741&sspn=0.053673,0.08214&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=The+Mall+of+New+Hampshire,+Manchester,+Hillsborough,+New+Hampshire+03103&z=15 *and* “*Ben & Jerry’s, S. Burlington, VT*”:http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Ben+%26+Jerry’s+Homemade+Inc,+South+Burlington,+VT&sll=44.452715,-73.139248&sspn=0.055019,0.08214&ie=UTF8&hq=Ben+%26+Jerry’s+Homemade+Inc,&hnear=South+Burlington,+Chittenden,+Vermont&ll=44.450387,-73.144741&spn=0.053673,0.08214&z=14&iwloc=A
*WHAT: All computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, cell phones, stereo equipment, digital phones, VCRs, televisions, old cables, connectors, adapters. __We will collect everything electronic except for household appliances.__*

*Be sure to see our website for a full list of what’s accepted* (and what’s not): “Smalldog.com/ewaste2010”:http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste2010/at_kb

All of the ewaste collected will be responsibly processed in the US by WeRecycle. While a small percentage of the ewaste can be salvaged, in most cases ewaste is broken down so elements such as tin, copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron, aluminum can be reused in other electronics. Plastic, steel and glass can also be recycled. Certain waste goes to to manufacturer take-back programs.

Hope to see you there!

Apple computers come with enough software to last a decade of fun use. However, sometimes there are just things you need to do that OS X doesn’t support out of the box. Here’s a list of my favorite free Mac apps!

*System add-ons:*

“*NTFS-3G*”:http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-download/ (SUPER USEFUL; allows full use of Windows and Linux-formatted drives)

“*Perian*”:http://perian.org/ (Used to play most video formats)

“*Flip4Mac*”:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/windows-media-player/wmcomponents (Used to play a single archaic video format [.wmv files])

“*Secrets*”:http://secrets.blacktree.com/ (Preference Pane allowing pretty thorough customization. Be careful, you can screw up your system mighty quickly! However, it lets you set things like Time Machine intervals and the minimize animation “Suck”)

“*iStat Dashboard Widget*”:http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html (Gives hardware information such as temperature, battery health and RAM usage). iStat Menus is even more awesome, integrating this info into your menu bar, and costs $16. Well worth it.

“*Growl*”:http://growl.info/ (Alerts you of events, such as new messages, new mail, etc)

“*DoubleCommand*”:http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/ (Lets you change key mapping. My right option key is an enter key. Also, allows you to flip the Windows and Alt keys when using a keyboard with the Windows key layout.)

“*Cuckoo*”:http://toastycode.com/cuckoo/ (Gives me my handy little Timex-watch alarm hourly)

“*Xmarks*”:http://www.xmarks.com/ for Safari (Allows bookmarks to be synched to a central location)

“*Notify*”:http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_mac.html (Puts gmail widget in menubar, announces new messages)

“*Sizzling Keys*”:http://www.yellowmug.com/sk4it/ (Allows control of iTunes from any application via keyboard commands)

*Programs:*

“*Tweetie*”:http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-mac/ (Favorite Twitter client)

“*Google Chrome*”:http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/landing_chrome_mac.html?hl=en&platform=mac (Favorite Browser) With AdBlock & Xmarks Addons

“*Firefox*”:http://www.firefox.com (Second-favorite Browser) With AdBlock & Xmarks Addons

“*Skype*”:http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/macosx/ (Allows video chat and audio conference calls between Skype users)

“*Adium*”:http://adium.im/ (Fantastic chat client, fully customizable)

“*Alarm*”:http://download.cnet.com/Alarm-Clock/3000-2094_4-88713.html (Plays iTunes music at a specified time of day)

“*LibreOffice*”:http://www.documentfoundation.org/download/ (“NeoOffice”:http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php for the Mac-native interface.) A full office suite, open-source! Previously OpenOffice.

“*VirtualBox*”:http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads (A virtual machine software by Sun Microsystems, allows Windows to run at the same time as Mac OS X. Unfortunately it’s a bit slower than Parallels 6, and a bit more limited, in both features and support. But hey, it’s free and open-source!)

“*Mactracker*”:http://www.mactracker.ca/ (An almost full archive of Apple hardware. Pull up the system specs of your Performa 6220CD from 1995!)

“*coconutBattery*”:http://www.coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/ (Gives you all the data on your laptop’s battery)

“*PandoraBoy*”:http://code.google.com/p/pandoraboy/ (Allows playback of Pandora internet radio from an application instead of a webpage)

“*VLC*”:http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html (Fairly universal media reader for Mac)

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*Editor’s Note*

Here’s a fun add-on for anyone who grew up in the NES/8-bit generation. It’s so cool I couldn’t help but throw it in!

“*Mega Man Effect*”:http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Utilities/MegaManEffect.shtml (Mimics the level start screen/sounds from the classic Mega Man II whenever you launch an application! Good for a quick laugh.) __-BB__

Have a favorite free app or add-on that was left out? Feel free to comment on the “*blog!*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/awesome-mac-addons-and-free/

This week, Apple announced that they will hold a media event next Wednesday the 20th. Dubbed “Back to the Mac,” invitations to the event feature a 3D Apple logo with the image of a lion hidden behind it. Reports from Engadget and MacRumors indicate that the event will occur at 10:00AM PST on Apple’s campus in Cupertino.

The teaser image featured on the invitation has kick-started the rumor mills, bringing about significant speculation that the next major iteration of Mac OS X will be unveiled at the event. The inclusion of the lion potentially hints at the moniker OS 10.7 might take on, all but confirming Apple will continue their “big cat” theme.

This announcement marks the first Mac specific media event in months. With the release of the iPad and iPhone 4 earlier in the year, and the next generation of iPods last month, Apple’s focus has been on their mobile platforms.

Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard is just over a year old, so now seems an appropriate time for 10.7 to be debuted. Enthusiasts have also speculated that the event may see the introduction of new hardware and additional software to supplement a potential OS announcement. With the holiday shopping season fast approaching, a move such as this would seem logical.

Whatever Steve and Co. have up their sleeves will be announced next week. Stay tuned to “*Barkings*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/ and “*@hellosmalldog*”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog for updates.

What are your predictions for Wednesday’s media event? Let us know “*here.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/apple-schedules-back-to-the-mac-media-event-on-oct-20th/