Many users of Cultured Code’s Things, experienced frustration today when they launched the application only to receive a message stating that the program had expired. I wasn’t very happy when I couldn’t view my data, so I went on a quest to find a solution for this problem.  Also, please do not attempt this unless you’re fairly savvy; I don’t want you to screw something up and blame it on me.

Step 1

• Download and install HexFiend - http://ridiculousfish.com/hexfiend/

Step 2

• Launch HexFiend and go to File > Open > Things.app > Contents > MacOS > Things

Step 3

• Perform an ASCII search for 2008. This will take you to the expiration date.

Step 4

• Change the date and save the file. Quit HexFiend and launch Things. You should be in business.

Please note that I do not condone using this method on programs that you do not own.  This is simply a tip to help you get back into your Things data.  When Things is available for purchase, buy it if you like it!

Today, iTunes added HBO programming to its library. Most episodes cost $1.99, though some are slightly more expensive at $2.99 per episode. Original programming currently available includes: Deadwood, Rome, Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Flight of the Conchords, and The Wire. Thank you, iTunes; it’s about time.

This is something I came across last week and felt worth mentioning. BCL Technologies PDF Online can create PDFs from the following formats: MS Word (DOC | RTF), MS PowerPoint (PPT), MS Publisher (PUB), MS Excel (XLS), HTML (MHT), Text (TXT), JPG , GIF, TIFF, BMP, PNG, EMF, and WMF. You upload your file via the online form, supply your E-Mail address, and in a few minutes, you’ll receive the converted file in your inbox.

PDF Online has an iPhone PDF utility that is currently in beta. This service is amazingly simple, yet has the potential to be very useful. To take your office documents with you on your iPhone or iTouch, simply follow the instructions listed on the website:

1. Send an email to iPhone@pdfonline.com with document(s) attached.
2. PDF Online receives your email and immediately convert the attachment(s) to PDF.
3. Once the PDF is ready, PDF Online replies your email with the PDF attached. If you send multiple attachments, PDF Online will send back multiple emails.
4. Retrieve your email from your iPhone, laptop, or any other handheld devices.

I have tested both variations on this service and it really works well.  The mobile version of the service offers fewer conversion options, though.  The supported file formats are:  Word (.doc and .docx), Excel (.xls), PowerPoint (.ppt), Publisher (.pub), Visio (.vsd), and Rich Text Format (.rtf).  The nice thing about the mobile version is that you can still use it regardless of whether or not you want the document sent to a mobile device.

As a bonus, you can download BCL easyPDF SDK, our PDF Programming Toolkit.  A free copy is available for download so that you can implement PDF conversion functionality on your own personal or company website.

Quick Intro: Pixelmator is an OS X based image-editor. Its interface is beautiful and exclusively designed for OS X. Most graphics professionals use the industry standard Adobe Photoshop, however, Pixelmator offers a similar feature-set at an extremely reduced cost. Pixelmator offers many tools that a Photoshop user would recognize and it features layer-based image editing. For the novice or expert user, Pixelmator is a very good choice at only $59. If you were lucky enough to get in on the last MacHeist bundle, you got it even cheaper than that!

Update 1.2 Draftsman

Today, Pixelmator released the 1.2 update. Current customers will receive this update for free. According to the Pixelmator Weblog, the newest features include Rulers, Guides, Grid, Snap, Curves, Color Balance, Auto Enhance, and Polygonal Lasso Tools and Much More. Read more about the latest update here.

Although my interest in Evernote has waned as of late, I thought I should mention that v1.1 for Mac was released today. There are several new features, the biggest being PDF support. You can read all about it on the Evernote Blog.