Our newest application Radioshift hasn’t seen an update in a couple of months, but today we’re happy to unveil version 1.0.5. If you haven’t used Radioshift, it’s our tool for listening to and recording Internet radio. With its built-in guide, you can search over 50,000 radio listings, then listen or subscribe with a single click.

This update adds filtering preferences to the Guide, to enable you to hide listings that require additional software, as well as listings that Radioshift doesn’t currently support. We’ve also improved Subscriptions so that programs are linked from a specific station’s listing. This is especially important for syndicated content that may appear on dozens of stations, such as NPR programs. We’re also always working to improve reliability of recordings, and this update fixes a rare crashing bug with MP3 recordings, along with many other minor issues.

This free update is recommended for all Radioshift users on Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, and can be downloaded right from the Radioshift page. If you haven’t tried out Radioshift yet, grab the free trial, and get started listening to and recording Internet radio content from around the world!

Apple released Security Update 2008-002 yesterday and this led to a problem for some users on Mac OS X 10.5 using our Instant Hijack component. The Instant Hijack component is optionally installed by Airfoil, Audio Hijack Pro, and Nicecast, and enables these applications to grab audio from applications that are already running. Following the Security Update, ssh and some related programs would crash when they were run on Mac OS X 10.5 machines with Instant Hijack installed.

The Fix

First up, the fix - we’ve posted updates to Audio Hijack Pro (now at version 2.8.1), Airfoil (now at version 3.1.3), and Nicecast (now at version 1.9.2).

Each of these updates contains the updated Instant Hijack, version 2.0.3, which will resolve the issue. When you first run any of the aforementioned applications, you’ll be prompted to update your copy of Instant Hijack (provided you have an old version installed). Do so, and you’ll be good to go.

The Problem

So, what caused this issue? This was due to a bug in Instant Hijack and is related to a new security feature in Leopard called position-independent executables (PIE). PIE is related to address space layout randomization. The basic effect is to move programs such as ssh to a different place in memory each time they start, making it more difficult for an attacker to exploit them.

Position-independent executables were available in Leopard from the start, and Instant Hijack was written to take them into account. However, nothing on the system actually used this facility when Leopard shipped. That changed with Security Update 2008-002, which includes a copy of ssh and related utilities which were compiled using PIE. At that point, we discovered that Instant Hijack’s PIE support didn’t work correctly.

Instant Hijack’s PIE support expected the program to be loaded at a random address. However, Leopard’s PIE implementation loads a program’s executable code into memory, and then moves it to a new, random address. Instant Hijack briefly inspects each process as it launches, in order to catch those that produce audio. On something like ssh, it exits very early, but that was enough to cause an issue here. Instant Hijack was left looking for the executable code in the original but since-vacated spot, and this triggered a crash.

Summary

Fortunately, the fix to Instant Hijack was relatively quick and we’ve updated all of our affected software. If you use Audio Hijack Pro, Airfoil, or Nicecast, grab the latest update and install the newest Instant Hijack component. Once you do, you’ll be all set.

Today we’re happy to announce an update to one of our most popular Freebies, SoundSource. Now at version 2, SoundSource features volume controls when used on Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) as well as several other minor improvements.

If you’re not using SoundSource, check it out right on our Freebies. With SoundSource, you can easily adjust what audio devices are set for Output, Input, and Alert sounds, right from the menu bar. With version 2 and Leopard, you can adjust their volumes as well. And of course, you can’t beat the price - $0. Enjoy!

Just over a month ago, we released Airfoil 3, a major upgrade. Airfoil is our tool for sending any audio to the AirPort Express, allowing you to send any audio to your AirPort Express units as well as other Macs running our complimentary Airfoil Speakers application. With the release of Airfoil 3.1, we’re now providing full support for sending any audio to the Apple TV and Airfoil Speakers for Windows!

Airfoil is the first and only third party application to send audio to the Apple TV. Using Airfoil, you can send anything to the Apple TV, not just iTunes. Send audio from media players like QuickTime Player or RealPlayer, or web-based sources like Pandora, Last.fm, XM and Sirius.

Further, with the complimentary Airfoil Speakers for Windows, you can send audio to Macs and Windows PCs running on your network too. AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, Macs, and PCs - Airfoil lets you send your audio, everywhere!

We’ve also updated Airfoil for Windows to version 2.5. Airfoil for Windows is the Windows cousin of Airfoil for Mac, and shares the same basic functionality. Airfoil for Windows can also send audio to AirPort Express units, Apple TVs and other PCs and Macs.

Airfoil for Mac 3.1 is a free update for all owners of Airfoil 3 and Airfoil for Windows 2.5 is a free update for all owners of Airfoil for Windows. New users can purchase Airfoil for Mac or Airfoil for Windows for just $25 each. If you need to run Airfoil on both Macs and Windows, you can even bundle them up for just $40 total!

Visit the Airfoil for Mac or Airfoil for Windows sites to get started sending audio to your AirPort Express units, Apple TV, and other machines. Grab the free trials and start streaming, right now!

It’s been almost a month since version 3 of our AirPort Express extender Airfoil came out (with Airfoil 3.0.1 right behind it), and you folks are absolutely loving this update! Your praise and support has been incredible, and we appreciate it. After another few weeks of users from around the world pounding on Airfoil and sending us bug reports, we’re ready to release Airfoil 3.0.2, a free bug fix update.

Version 3.0.2 includes updates to the Instant Hijack and Soundflower extras, components for pulling audio from already-running applications and all System Audio, respectively. Airfoil Video Player has also received several key updates including improved DVD support for PAL and color-shifted DVDs, as well as better support for subtitled movies. Airfoil 3.0.2 is a free update for all owners of Airfoil 3.

You can learn all about Airfoil on the Airfoil for Mac page then download the free trial. New users can purchase for the low price of $25, while Airfoil 2 users can upgrade for just $10. If your license key begins with TX40-, you automatically receive this upgrade free of charge.