BurnAgain FS: Mount Discs Like Disks
Way back in August, I reviewed an application called BurnAgain DVD, from FreeRideCoding. This application was designed to make it easy to backup files to removable media like DVDs and iPods. Now, BurnAgain DVD has been reborn as BurnAgain FS, with a new interface, new features, and a whole new take on re-burning optical media.
Gluestick: Taking us Back to the Good Old Days
Do you remember when we actually used paper and pencils to create images? Or when we took individual pictures, and glued them together? Both of these past times have now evolved into Photoshop, among other graphic editors. But what would it be like to “glue” photos together in an application? Well, with Consonance Software’s Gluestick, you can. Glue-based image manipulation has been created.
NY Times Reader Beta for the Mac Debuts
In September of 2006, the New York Times released their ‘Times Reader’ for the PC. Times Reader is a desktop client for reading the New York Times the way it was designed to be read: as a newspaper. More accurate layout and typography makes reading the Times a much more enjoyable experience overall. The idea was to have a newspaper that arrived on your desktop each morning, preventing a trip to the front door in your favorite bath robe.
After much evolution and over a year and a half later, the Mac-compatible beta has finally arrived, with only a few weaknesses to be found.
Turn your Mac into a Tape Recorder with TapeDeck
Quite a few years ago tape recorders were very popular, and they are still used today. TapeDeck is an application designed to look, and be used, like an analog tape recorder. TapeDeck works great for many things, from recording yourself playing an instrument or recording a lecture. Just hit record and the tape starts.
Leech: Review and Giveaway
Most of us download at least one thing per day. Some of us like the Safari download manager, but for some of us it just isn’t enough. There are some other managers, like Speed Download, but most of us don’t need all of those features. For us, there is Leech.
Cover Stream: Yet Another Awesome iTunes Controller
These days it seems like iTunes controllers are a dime a dozen, and for the most part, that would be right. However, not all iTunes controllers are created equal, a principle perfectly demonstrated by Cover Stream, an awesome app from the people over at SNARB.TK. This awesome app takes all of the best features from a bunch of other iTunes controller apps and rolls those features into a streamlined, functional application that will make browsing your music a pleasure.
Decompose: Remove Background From Your Images
One of the most helpful features that was introduced to Keynote with Apple’s last revision, was Instant Alpha. Being able to remove the backgrounds of images with solid-colored backgrounds is something that a lot of applications sometimes struggle to do. But what do you do when the back grounds get a little more complicated?
A few weeks ago an application by the name of Decompose was featured on MacUpdate’s MU Promo (I suggest subscribing to both MU Promo and MacZOT’s mailing list. It’s a great was to build up your Applications Folder on the cheap). Decompose is an application that lets you remove the background from an image by selecting the foreground, outline and background of the subject you want the background removed from.
AudialHub: Audio for All
So you just got that new phone (not an iPhone) with a bunch of features that you will never use. But what about the features that you will use, like ringtones? They typically cost $2 - $4, and the quality is usually questionable. How about making your own ringtone from a song that you like, with good quality? If you want to take that path, then Techspansion’s AudialHub may be the tool for you.
Google Reader Gets Some AIR with ReadAir
For awhile now, it has been relatively safe to crown Google as the king of web-based feed readers. The ability to access favorite feeds anywhere through the everyone-and-their-dog-has-one Google account has been indispensable to news-addicts such as myself. Google Reader’s interface (while excellent for a web-based solution) can often leave something to be desired, and still doesn’t quite live up to competitive desktop-based newsreaders.
This is where ReadAir by Adam McGrath steps in. ReadAir is a a desktop interface to Google Reader, courtesy of Adobe’s somewhat-new AIR platform. The result is a very comfortable and beautiful Mac-friendly reading experience that lives outside of your favorite browser. As soon as ReadAir is installed and launched, the user is presented with a simple account login screen, and some General Preferences to control how often feeds are refreshed.
Bokeh Review Giveaway - Concentration For You and Your Computer
Back in February, we reviewed an application called Freeze Frame, from Elgebar Studios. A few days ago, a program by the name of Bokeh (which is replacing Freeze Frame) was released by Ollie Wagner and Geoff Pado. While we here at MacApper have have reviewed apps that cause a computer or a person to complete tasks faster, we have never reviewed an application that can do both. Bokeh is that program.
iCash Giveaway Results
Last week, I reviewed iCash, the finance software from Maxprog. To qualify for the giveaway, you had to submit a comment with a suggestion for a feature. There were many excellent suggestions in the comments and three have been randomly chosen to receive free licenses.
The winners are: Nick C, Jeremy Gaines, and Keith S! If one of those names belongs to you, you will receive your license shortly.
If you didn’t win, don’t worry, you can still download a trial version of iCash from Maxprog (limited to 100 transactions), and the full version is only $39.90.
PulpMotion Advanced: Telling Stories Since 2008
It has been hard to make nice slideshows. Most slideshows are just a bunch of photos thrown into iMovie with the “Ken Burns” effect. But now PulpMotion Advanced, by Aquafadas, allows for an easy way to create beautiful slideshows. PulpMotion Advanced includes 19 themes which allow you to make a perfect slideshow — with a cool look, too. Some of those themes even have different varieties which makes the total number of themes about 50. PulpMotion Advanced doesn’t limit the slideshows to pictures, though; you can even add videos in the mix.
Cents Giveaway Results
Last week I did a review of Cents, from MacMage. This application was a small, simple application to keep track of what you buy. I was also given 3 licenses to giveaway.
The three winners are: dt, Joe Cool, and John
Thanks for participating! The three lucky winners will receive an email from the developer with their licenses soon. Remember, if you didn’t win Cents is available for $4.99 from MacMage.
Find Any Chord in Any Tuning with ChordMate Pro
Sometimes you need a chord and you just don’t know where to find it. The rhetorical situation gets worse if you’re messing around with an alternate tuning that your googled chord charts have never heard of. Harmonic Sense has created a powerful little app that can open up a new musical world for guitar players of any skill level.
Admittedly, I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to music. If I need a chord, I’m going to find it with my ears. But ChordMate makes it easy to cheat. Check out my video review to see some of my favorite features.
VideoDrive Giveaway Results
Last month I reviewed VideoDrive, an application for quickly adding just about any movie file into your iTunes library. The developer, Aroona Software, gave us three licenses to give away to our readers. We had 17 entries, and now we have three winners.
The winners of the licenses are Janko Lauterbach, Maria and systek.
If you won, you should be receiving your license shortly. Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to the winners. For those that didn’t win, VideoDrive costs $14.99.
