I recently found this little utility, AtomicParsley, which has the ability to change data within iTunes M4A and M4V files and make iTunes believe they are of a different type. For example, if you rip your own TV shows to the iPod video format directly from the DVDs (instead of buying them through iTMS), the encoded files will be added to iTunes as Movies. Doing a Get Info on the file(s) within iTunes does not allow you to change the type of content you’re inspecting. AtomicParsley can edit the file, changing the very resource (called an Atom) that iTunes uses to differentiate the content type, thus making your DVD rips of TV shows into true iTunes TV Shows. Edited files will appear alongside any purchased TV shows, as well. For the time being, AtomicParsley is a command-line program and requires some basic Terminal knowledge. If you’re unsure of this, be sure to see the short Terminal primer bundled with the download. Changing the information is as simple as ./AtomicParsley /Users/collin/24_1x01. –genre “TV Show” –stik “TV Show” –TVNetwork FOX –TVShowName “24″ –TVEpisode “0101″ –TVEpisodeNum 01 –TVSeason 01. Fill in the details for the show name, TV network, season number, and episode number, and let AtomicParsley do the rest. Upon importing the newly edited file into iTunes, it will be moved to the appropriate category.

Firefox has finally reached version 1.5 for all available systems and is a highly recommended upgrade for all owners of this great browser. There are also G4 and G5 optimized versions for those with the appropriate processors. Lastly, John Nunemaker has some tips to make Firefox look more like a Mac application and hide its multi-platform feel (which is about the only drawback making me use Safari nearly full time).

Jon points out a handy program, FontParade, for previewing your fonts on paper. Sure, you can scroll through a list on screen, but referencing a tangible list is far easier. I’ve never found another program that accomplishes quite what this program does. If you have a ton of fonts to browse through in order to achieve just the right look, give FontParade a whirl.

Jaron Brass showed me a great little tool for checking the life of your PowerBook (or iBook) battery, coconutBattery. It works by doing the appropriate ioreg command and extracting the relevant battery information. It can report the number of charge cycles, the current and maximum charges, and the age of your Mac. I wasn’t even aware all that information was even available to software running on every Mac. In any event, it’s time for me to buy a new PowerBook battery, and coconutBattery helped me easily make the decision by showing exactly where my battery life stands.

A new version of Handbrake is out, which supports the iPod’s video specifications. It also fixes some bugs such as the one I run into — not recognizing certain titles. It also adds basic queue support and multi-thread H.264 encoding. I’m glad to see that this great application is still being developed, as it’s one of my favorite video encoders.