Xyle Scope Review: A Taste of the Real Web
Many of us learn by seeing. That’s how we all learned how to talk and even read. Many programming books do this nowadays: they show you example code, and you can usually understand what is going on. This was the idea Cultured Code had when creating Xyle scope, because this is exactly what it does: it allows you to learn CSS by seeing it.
World of Goo Review: A Fun and Unique Game
The most common misconception of the Mac is that there is a major lack of games. That may have been true a while ago, but not anymore. Nowadays, most developers release Mac and Windows versions of their games, and sometimes there are Mac-only games. Today we are going to talk about a game called World of Goo.
World of Goo is not only available for the Mac and PC, it is also available for the Wii. I will only be talking about the Mac version, but the other versions cannot be much different, so most of what I say will apply all around.
Snow Report Apps Showdown
The App Store has many great types of apps, and many horrible ones. One that may seem useless to most of us is a snow/ski conditions reporter. Although I only go once a year, these apps are still pretty interesting to look at. Don’t tell me you don’t want to know the conditions at your favorite resort all year round. Well, today I will be talking about two of these apps.
HandBrake 0.9.3: Now with More Video Conversion Tools
A few weeks ago, we posted about alternatives to VisualHub and AudialHub, because Techspansion recently shut its doors forever. Just after this was posted, HandBrake received a major upgrade: Version 0.9.3. Handbrake was the premier DVD ripping application for the Mac, and now it supports formats other than DVDs! All you have to do is drag a video file onto its icon and you can convert it just like you converted a DVD before.
Synium Offers Substantial Discounts on All Products
Last week we talked about screen-capturing apps for the Mac. Screenium was our choice because of its features and its price. I am very happy to say that Synium is holding a substantial discount on all of their products–Mac and iPhone. All apps are discounted 50% (except for MacFamilyTree and the iPhone apps). Screenium was great at $29 but it’s an amazing deal at $14.50. We have also reviewed CleanApp and MacFamilyTree. Here is a complete listing of their sales, but be quick, the sale ends on Christmas.
Coupon Code: MFTXMAS08
MacFamilyTree $34.30 (Regular $49)
Coupon Code: XMAS08
Interview with Pieter Omvlee of Bohemian Coding
Recently we talked about Drawit, the drawing app with style. Well, this week we got a chance to talk with the developer of DrawIt (and an upcoming app), Pieter Omvlee.
MacApper: DrawIt is now one of the most popular vector apps for the Mac, so what drove you to create it?
Pieter: DrawIt started I think about four years ago, really as a project to get some basic experience with programming.
I had just switched from Windows to the Mac I noticed there was not a simple drawing application available for the Mac, and since I needed something like that, I decided to create it myself.
Radioshift Touch Review: Radio for your Phone
One of the heaviest hitters in the world of Mac apps is Rogue Amoeba. They have created some of the most innovative audio related apps available: Audio Hijack Pro, Airfoil, and Radioshift. In hopes of extending their success, they’ve developed their first iPhone application: Radioshift Touch. Radioshift Touch is an application that allows you to listen to radio streams from both terrestrial and online stations.
Unfortunately, I feel as though this application falls flat and only really offers the same features as its free counterparts. Like the AOL Radio application, Radioshift allows you to find all your local radio stations and search for others using an intuitive list of music genres. But unlike the AOL app, Radioshift also allows you to search for your favorite station by name.
Classics Review: Classic Novels in your Pocket!
Over the past few years many eBook readers have been released. These have changed how some people read books. Instead of carrying around a heavy stack of books they can use a small device with hundreds of their favorite titles. What if you could read eBooks books without buying a new device? If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, then you’re in luck.
Classics is a new book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch that is meant exclusively for reading popular classic novels. Currently the application includes 14 different titles ranging from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; but more are planned in future updates.
Versions Review: Subversion for the Rest of Us
If you’ve ever done any work where you needed to share files with others, or track changes easily, you know how hard it is to find good software for it. Most people use something called Subversion, which is a simple way (if you have a good client) to share files and track changes at the same time. You can always just use the Shell command, but it’s not user-friendly and it takes more time to do some things. So SVN (Subversion) clients were created. The most exciting and user-friendly of these has just been released: Versions.
Happy Holidays
From all of us here at MacApper we would like to wish you a safe and happy holiday! We are planning some great new things that will be coming in the next few months, so stay tuned for more information. Thanks for a great year and we hope to continue to see you in the future; we couldn’t do it with out you!
