After the Zinio freebie deal for the iPhone, there’s even mo’ better reading available for Mac users.

The NY Times released the beta version of the Times Reader for the Mac a few days ago. It’s a good standalone offline reader, and I get mileage out of it on the occasions when that sneaky wifi signal is hiding from me. I can now just read the newspaper, so to speak.

The Times Reader is an app that runs well on its own without the help of a browser, downloading and formatting the day’s issue in a clickable faux newspaper layout. Being a beta, it has its quirks. Mine has the irritating habit of zapping back to the first page of an article when you try to read beyond the first page. It’s an intermittent glitch though. Another niggle I find is that you can toggle a 7-day archive of past issues, but of the four days of downloads I’ve had so far, I can only access the current newspaper; the past few days just seem to disappear. (Maybe I’m just doing something wrong.)

The sections of the paper are aligned on top for quick access. So you don’t get lost wandering in all the verbiage, it helpfully grays out articles that you’ve already read, and if you’ve ever tried reading the New York Times, that’s an awful lot of text indeed, and a gray-out feature like that is really useful.

The only part that doesn’t sit well with me is that it insists on installing Silverlight, Microsoft’s plug-in that is its version of Flash or Quicktime. I try to keep as much Microsoft off my Mac as possible (with the exception of Office, which I can’t seem to wean myself from no matter what I do.)

No offense to my mothership, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, but this newspaper is worth a daily look. All you need is the Times Reader app beta, internet access and a NYTimes account (which is free). Heck, you can even do the daily crossword puzzles.

Zinio, that wonderful source of online versions of your favorite magazines, is field-testing (or as they say, “incubating”) The Zinio Mobile Newsstand, a service made specifically for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, and makes use of the graphics and multi-touch features of these gadgets.

At the moment, all you need do is head on to zinio.com/iphone on your device to get full, free (for now, otherwise it’s US$5 per issue), hi-resolution and fully readable copies of your titles.

Available ones include Popular Mechanics, Car & Driver, Men’s Health, Playboy, Penthouse, Esquire, PC Magazine, Popular Photography, Elle, Technology Review, Reader’s Digest, Macworld US and Macworld UK.

Read them while they last! (And if you know how to tweak Safari to pretend it’s an iPhone, you can read these mags on your Macs as well, in full desktop mode. Heh.)

UPDATE: I’ve gotten more questions about how to tweak Desktop Safari to pretend it’s Mobile Safari for iPhones than is comfortable, so here’s the secret, once and for all: Go to Safari Prefs/Advanced and check the box to enable the Develop menu. Then go to Develop/User Agent and select Mobile Safari iPhone. Have fun.

Man & Machine, who’s suing Apple and CBS for alledged infringement on the use of the Mighty Mouse name, replies to Mac-A-Doodle, via representative Erica Tingler:

Man & Machine, Inc. declines to discuss its trademark-infringement complaint against Apple, Inc. and CBS Corporation, the underlying merits of the case, or any related settlement discussions, since the litigation remains pending. Meanwhile, we remain committed to protecting our rights to the MIGHTY MOUSE trademark and also to finding a fair resolution for all involved parties.

Man & Machine designs and manufactures a completely customizable line of hygienic, cost-effective, water-resistant computer keyboards and mice. They are distinguished by their ability to be washed and disinfected, and matchless in their rugged, sealed design, 100% latex-free silicone construction ideal for medical, healthcare, dental, and institutional environments – the best of breed choice anywhere safety, durability and user health are priorities.”

All I can say is, all right then, may the mightier mouse win.

Update us on how it goes, Ms. Tingler. Good luck.

Psystar, that maker of those uber-controversial Mac clones, has created something else we never thought would see the light of day: Mac OS X Service Pack 1. Well, sorta.

Aside from its brazen hardware cloning, it installs Leopard onto these Frankenstein machines, in direct violation of provisions of the Leopard EULA that forbid 3rd party sales and installs of the operating system. Not cowed in the slightest by Steve & His Legal Eagles, now it even has the cheek to actually improve on Leopard by fixing some inherent problems in the OS, including glitches in Time Machine, Keyboard Viewer and various other niggles.

Beginning this Monday the various patches, bug fixes and workarounds will come preinstalled in shipping units, but existing users can download the bunch, which constitutes what is essentially Service Pack 1, from the Psystar website. Some fixes are specific to their hardware, like one that repairs conflicts between Apple’s Airport Extreme router and the Realtek network card that ships with the Psystar boxes, while some actually improve on Leopard, like support for new versions of Java and adding international standards for networked devices.

Oooh. Now we’ve seen everything. Whoever these guys are, they’ve got big ones, don’t they?

In the meantime, we wonder why Apple hasn’t lowered the boom on these cheeky bashi-bazouks. It’s gonna be fun when it finally happens, that’s for sure.

(Via InformationWeek)

Good question. Honestly, if the new Asus EeePC 900 was available some months back, it might have tipped the scales against some folk’s choice of the ‘ultraportable’ Macbook Air. (Me included.) The new EeePC gets launched in my neck of the woods this coming Monday, and the Doodler got an advance review unit (a 12GB Windows XP version - ugh) to tinker with.

The new, truly ultraportable version removes some of the bigger complaints about the EeePC (screen and storage) and makes it an even more attractive alternative to the MBA, at a fourth of the price. But then again, different strokes for different folks.

If you’re at all curious, I have an unboxing gallery and a quick-and-dirty-review over at my EeePC blog. (Yes, I have a life outside of Macs.)