It's almost autumn (and it sure feels like autumn here in Russia), and the Russian office of Unsanity is busy cranking on updates, ready to be released very soon.

FruitMenu 3.4.2 fixes a bunch of issues with "Application menu as an icon" feature under Mac OS X 10.4, returns the 'Open FruitMenu Items' button to the preference pane, works around an iSync 2.0 bug in Tiger causing it to crash when you hit the Sync Now button under some circumstances, and adds support for the Smart Folders, so you can have your Spotlight searches right in the Apple or Contextual menus.

WindowShade X 4.0.2 fixes some issues with shadows, hot keys, applications compatibility (hello Eclipse users and sorry for all the troubles!), and a bunch of other stuff.

These are not yet publicly available (although they will be in the near future), and if you'd like to give them a try and you're not afraid of potential little bugs, email us at "beta" @ our company + .com. Damn spam email spiders.

Hello, guiTweak!

So we just released ShapeShifter 2.2 It adds a spiffay new module named guiTweak.

This is groovy for a lot of reasons - first off, it's just plain damned cool (yes, I wrote it). It lets you apply Apple's Core Image filters to your existing themes, opening theme-tweaking up to anybody, not just graphic-design types. That's spiffy. It automatically picks up new Image Units, so if you add one, guiTweak automatically becomes more powerful. That's spiffy too. It's the first big feature change in theming in awhile. That's definitely spiffy. The fact that it exists means that I'm finally out of Tiger compatibility coding mode - that's insanely spiffy, at least for me. :)

guiTweak also lets you manage the contents of your guiKit files. If there are variants you never use, delete 'em, or move 'em into a new file, or whatever.

Everything tastes better with pictures and butter, so here's my current setup:

I'm planning to return to Japan for a few months during this winter (as in November, December) and this time I'd like to rent an apartment in the Tokyo area rather than stay in a hotel. Hotels are way too expensive to stay in for that long. Also, it can't be a gaijin house or some other shared place. I have too many quirks and I wouldn't want to wish the pain of staying with/around me on anyone else for that long. I'm not that cruel of a person.

I'm trying to find a place that meets these requirements (listed in order of importance, most important at top):

1. Shower
2. High Speed Internet Access
3. Washer and Dryer (in room)
4. Cable or Satellite TV

I'm so not kidding about the shower being the most important. I'm looking for something like the below pictured shower. A bathtub isn't important, I never take baths. The idea of soaking in my own filth isn't appealing. Basically I just need a shower that has its head 6 feet or so above ground. I'm not familiar with the terms the Japanese use for bathrooms with showers, so I don't know what to look for.

I've been looking at places such as Asahi Homes and Tokyo Apartments.jp. But finding a place with a shower is really, really hard. Especially since I'm a US Citizen and can't pay the key/"gift" fees, nor can I get an guarantor. I don't know anyone in Japan with Japanese citizenship. Even if I did, I'd never, ever ask them to do something like that for me. I'd like to find one around Shibuya/Shinjuku/Roppongi, but that is by no means a requirement. I'm just not used to any other places.

Any help finding a place that meets my requirements would be very, very appreciated. And yes, I've been saving up for this trip for well over a year.