It’s been almost three months since we released Pulsar Public Preview 2, our last update to our XM and SIRIUS satellite radio player Pulsar. Since then, we’ve been hard at work on many back-end improvements, as well as new features. Today, we’re pleased to announce that Pulsar has exited the Public Preview stage, with the release of Pulsar 1.5 ¹.

First among Pulsar 1.5′s many new features is the much anticipated space-saving mini-mode, accessible by clicking the Zoom (+) button. This update also brings support for recording with Audio Hijack Pro. Just right-click a channel and choose Record in Audio Hijack Pro, and a new Session will be made in Audio Hijack Pro, perfect for instant or timed recording. And with Pulsar’s improved interface, there’s no more hunting for the Play button, when you can just click a channel in the list to play it.

Pulsar 1.5 includes all this and much more, and it’s a free update for all licensed users. If you’re new to Pulsar, visit the Pulsar page for more information or just click to download now. If you’re already using Pulsar, just choose Check For Update in the Pulsar menu to update right inside the application.

Footnotes:
1. We originally intended to ship the first non-Preview version of Pulsar as 1.0. Of course, force of habit meant that we accidentally used 1.0 as the version number for Pulsar Public Preview. Our version checking is based on that version number, so Preview 2 was 1.1, and now the final release is 1.5. So it goes. ↩

I always have a good time chatting with Chuck Joiner of MacVoices, and this weekend’s conversation proved no exception. We discussed Airfoil and our new Airfoil Speakers Touch, as well as developing for the iPhone in general.

You can have a listen, right here.

Using our custom Airfoil Speakers software in conjunction with Airfoil, you can already turn any computer into an AirPort Express audio receiver. You can then send audio from your Mac or PC to any other Mac, PC, or Linux computer on your local network, in addition to sending audio to AirPort Express and AppleTV hardware.

Today, we’re happy to welcome a new addition to the Airfoil Speakers family, with the immediate availability of Airfoil Speakers Touch. Using Airfoil Speakers Touch alongside Airfoil for Mac or Airfoil for Windows, you can now send audio from your computer to your iPhone or iPod Touch on the local network. It’s a mobile audio receiver, right in your pocket!

Of course, we’ve also got updates to both Airfoil for Mac (now at version 3.3) and Airfoil for Windows (now at version 2.7), to provide full compatibility with Airfoil Speakers Touch. Both of these are free updates for registered owners, and they both bring many minor bug fixes on top of Airfoil Speakers Touch support, so get them now!

Finally, for users of our unsupported, but still very cool, Airfoil Speakers for Linux, be sure to update to version 2.7. This update fixes several issues with crashes on Ubuntu.

So, those are our Airfoil updates. If you’re new to wireless home audio, you can download free trials of Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows, or visit the Airfoil page for more information. All users, new and old, should be sure to check out all our versions of Airfoil Speakers, including the brand-new Airfoil Speakers Touch, to send audio to computers and devices throughout your home!

Update: For those wondering about Airfoil for iPhone, or Airfoil Remote for iPhone, please see this post. The short version is that much as we’d like it, it’s not at all feasible at this time.

Today we’ve got a couple links for software by Friends of Rogue Amoeba (FoRA). First up is a new version of Snapper, a Windows screenshot utility from our good friend David Hammerton. We mentioned it when the initial version came out a few months ago and it’s better than ever.

The new version has a streamlined user interface and a built-in screenshot hosting feature. Quentin uses it when he’s feeling too lazy to transfer screenshot files between Windows and Mac OS manually, but it’s also just a great Windows tool.

The second application you may be interested in is Birdhouse, an iPhone notepad for Twitter. If you use Twitter, Birdhouse is a fantastic way to jot down notes, store drafts, and publish to Twitter. Made by the fine folks at Sandwich Dynamics, Birdhouse complements your favorite Twitter client, letting you read your timeline anywhere, while you publish right from Birdhouse. Hell, even if you’re not interested in Twitter, the demo video is easily worth watching several times.

And of course, don’t forget you can follow Rogue Amoeba for news and information, as well as the mutterings of my own diseased mind, right on Twitter.