May 13 - 11:30am EDT   Group Logic on Tuesday released ExtremeZ-IP 5.2, which extends support for the latest Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard capabilities, including Time Machine backups. This release also combines the functionality of company's leading ExtremeZ-IP File and Print Servers into a single solution, allowing all customers to leverage the ExtremeZ-IP Zidget that enables easy service discovery and setup without using the legacy AppleTalk protocol. Group Logic says that ExtremeZ-IP is "the only" Windows solution to deliver complete support for the Mac file and print sharing and that it is now also the only solution to enable Windows servers to be used for Time Machine backups. [full story]

April 24 - 2:05pm EDT   VMWare Fusion 1.1.2 has been released, adding enhanced support for the MacBook Air. The new release also enables Time Machine backup of virtual machines, adds support for Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions, and is now available in Simplified Chinese. In addition, VMWare can now properly disconnect USB devices connected to the virtual machine when shut down, making the USB devices available again to the Mac. It also addresses problem with wireless bridged networking in some cases not being able to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server. [full story]

March 22 - 4:25pm EDT   On March 19th, Apple released a nonspecific update regarding its Airport ecosystem and Time Machine – simply stating optimizations and driver fixes – but it is revealed to allow Time Capsule-like functionality with standard Airport Extreme Base Stations. According to Macworld, the update allows users to back up using Time Machine to a standard USB hard drive that is connected to an Airport Extreme Base Station. [full story]

March 21 - 9:35am EDT   Apple is now facing its first lawsuit involving Time Machine, court filings show. The Texan company Mirror Worlds has accused Apple of infringing on four patents: three of these relate directly to a "document stream operating system," while the fourth covers an attached information management system. The document streams depicted group many different file types together, arranged chronologically and in piles; this most closely resembles the Time Machine backup software in Mac OS X Leopard, but may also cover the sorting system on iPods and iPhones, for chronological items like podcasts. [full story]

March 19 - 5:20pm EDT   Apple today released a combination update for Time Machine, bundling with it Airport driver fixes. What the update actually fixes is unclear, simply stating "This update is recommended for all users and includes compatibility improvements for using Time Machine with Time Capsule, as well as AirPort driver fixes." The update is available through Software Update under the Apple menu, but Apple has not released its typical accompanying web pages on its support site. [full story]

March 10 - 12:30pm EDT   While all new Macintosh computers come with Time Machine, Apple’s unique backup program that allows you to go back and retrieve previously deleted files or older versions of recently modified files, you can’t use Time Machine unless you also have a second volume. To take the guesswork out of which type of external hard disk to buy, Apple offers Time Capsule, a simple, fool-proof external hard disk specifically designed to work with Time Machine. The simplicity of Time Capsule is apparent when you open the box and find just four items: the Time Capsule unit, a power cord, an installation CD, and a printed setup manual. [full story]

March 3 - 7:05pm EST   Apple's Time Machine software, which serves as part of the company's recently-shipped Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' operating system, is a "no-fuss backup system" according to one review. Glenn Fleishman in the Seattle Times says Time Machine's "no-click solution" is key for average consumers who don't want to spend hours setting up a complicated backup system. "Time Machine doesn't have a button and doesn't occupy your attention while operating," Fleishman said. "It just backs up." [full story]

February 14 - 7:30pm EST   In brief: We have a review of mStation's 2.1 Stereo Orb, a Toon Boom Harmony update has been released, Rush Limbaugh complains about Time Machine, Back to My Mac, and there's a new fix for AppleScript's interaction with Google Desktop in Leopard ... We have posted a review of mStation's 2.1 Stereo Orb, which provides deep, rich bass and upscale features at a lower price than most other systems with a sub-woofer. This charming, yet innocuous little ball packs quite a punch. The matching colored plastic covered dock attachment is interchangeable with any of the six included iPod adapters. These are held in place by rubber rings, which is another sign of attention to audio ... [full story]

February 14 - 4:30pm EST   Sometimes backing up your crucial files is not enough. Ordinary backup programs may copy your files and Time Machine can retrieve files that you may have changed or deleted. Unfortunately, if your Macintosh hard disk completely fails, backups and Time Machine can only recover your data, but they won’t help get your Macintosh back up and running in a hurry. That’s where SuperDuper! comes in to save the day. Instead of just copying individual files, SuperDuper! clones your entire hard disk, preserving your complete Macintosh program settings and files. SuperDuper! can even share an external hard disk with Time Machine. Now Time Machine can protect individual files while ... [full story]

February 7 - 5:30pm EST   Among the flurry of Apple patent applications that surfaced today, no less than 10 filings relate to the company's iChat and Time Machine. The Cupertino-based company's Time Machine-related patents cover methods and a computer program for providing a user interface that includes earlier versions of data, true to the software's ability to 'move through time' to prior versions of documents and files via a graphical user interface. iChat-related patents describe video communication systems and methods, as well as sharing graphical user interface output in a chat environment. Another iChat-oriented patent details sharing application output in a chat environment. [full story]

January 23 - 4:15pm EST   In brief: Japan's NTT DoCoMo telecommunications company is reportedly adding .Mac mail access, while Apple let slip a potential feature in a future revision of Time Machine. When DoCoMo launches its ConnectMail service next month, it will be adding .Mac email compatibility as well. According to Akihabara News, the service will allegedly act as an IMAP mail account, leaving the copy on the .Mac server proper. DoCoMo's ConnectMail service carries a yearly cost of ¥4800. [full story]

December 15 - 12:15pm EST   Micronet recently announced full Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard compatibility for several of its hard drive and RAID products. The Fantom family of drives – the Titanium II, G-Force Megadisk triple interface, G-Force SCSI and FCAL RAID, Titanium Mini – have all been made compatible, as well as the Micronet SR4, and PlatinumRAID. In addition to Leopard support, the Fantom drives and Micronet USB, Firewire, and eSATA drives can be used in conjuction with Time Machine, Apple's included backup utility for Leopard. [full story]

December 13 - 12:45am EST   Prosoft Engineering recently announced Leopard support in Data Backup 3.0.4, a simple, full-featured backup utility. Originally released on March 27th, Data Backup 3.0 brought a number of improvements and changes over v2.0, taking advantage of services that are resident in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard, allowing for quicker backups. CD and DVD backups were also improved, allowing large sessions or large singular files to be burned across multiple disks. Users can also make multiple copies of a backup, and leave the process unattended in a multi-disc situation if they have a sufficient number of burners. Data Backup 3 is available directly from Prosoft, and through ... [full story]