Bevy Review: A Powerful Application Launcher
If you are like me, you probably have a ton of applications that you use, but you also don’t want to have then all on your dock. Bevy, by bergdesign, is an application launcher that will show you all of your applications in one simple window.
When you first launch Bevy you will want to add a few folders. Just click the gear icon in the top left and select folders. Here you will tell Bevy where to search for applications, and Bevy will display you applications in different sections for each folder. This will let you easily keep things organized. You can also exclude some items that you don’t ever need.
Flickery Review: Flickr on Your Desktop
I assume most of you know about Flickr, the awesome, and free (unless you go pro) photo-sharing service. But it isn’t only for sharing your photos with your friends and family, it is also a great image search engine. Many photos on it are under Creative Commons, and the quality of image you get is much higher than on a place like Google. There have been many iPhone apps that let you access Flickr, but not so many Mac apps (surprisingly). One of the only Mac apps is Flickery.
News: Snow Leopard to Include Anti-Malware Utility
Apple has long used the security of its software as a selling point. While Windows machines are often plagued with viruses, spyware, malware, any number of bad things, Apple users generally go about their days with little or no security protection, because little to none is ever needed. However, starting with Snow Leopard, the company is apparently packaging anti-malware tools into its operating system. This has two effects: firstly, it makes the system more secure, but secondly, it also gives the system the appearance of being less secure. Apple has not yet returned requests to comment on the feature, which is getting analysts and bloggers talking.
Ramp Champ Review: Go to the Carnival on your iPhone
If you are a listener of our podcast, you’ve probably heard us (mainly me) getting all excited about the latest iPhone game , Ramp Champ, from the design geniuses at the Iconfactory and the code gurus at DS Media Labs. Well, today is the day we have been waiting for, the app finally released into the app store late last night and I have been playing it pretty much ever since.
News: Apple Denies Rejection of Google Voice App
In a letter written to the Federal Communications Commission, Apple stated that, rather than rejecting a proposed iPhone application for the Google Voice web service—as had been previously reported by many news agencies—the company was “still pondering” the program. This letter is in response to an ongoing investigation by the FCC into Apple, AT&T, and Google, and their connections to and thoughts about the Google Voice service.
News: Plants Vs. Zombies Coming to iPhone
Earlier this year, PopCap Games once again proved their pedigree as the premiere publisher in the casual games space when it released Plants vs. Zombies to PC and Mac owners the world over. A unique spin on the tower defense genre, Plants vs. Zombies once again proved PopCap’s ability to re-invent the wheel. It quickly earned widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, selling “more briskly in its first 90 days of online availability than any previous game we’ve published,” according to PopCap’s VP of Marketing Ben Rotholtz.
Given PopCap’s track record it only stood to reason that PvZ would be ported to every console known to man. That’s why it comes as no surprise when PopCap Games announced this morning that, in addition to an upcoming port to Xbox Live Arcade and a recent retail box release, Plants vs Zombies will be arriving in the AppStore for iPhone users in late 2009.
News: iTunes now accounts for 25% of all music sales in US
A recent study by the market research group NPD showed that digital music purchases continued their steady rise to market dominance during the first half of 2009. While that fact in and of itself isn’t all that surprising, what share of the overall music market iTunes now makes up is enough to knock the socks off even the most passionate Apple devotee: 25%.
That’s not 25% of the digital market — that’s 25% of the total market. This makes them the largest music seller in the US, beating out their closest competitor Wal-Mart, currently sitting at 14% of total music sales, by a whopping 11 points.
News: Apple—Accidentally and Briefly—Releases Snow Leopard
Earlier today, a listing appeared on the Apple Online store that no one expected. A product was posted claiming to be a Box Set bundle of iLife ‘09, iWork ‘09, and the clincher—the as-yet-unreleased operating system Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. While this was simply the result of a glitch in the store, and not actually the release of the product—which, consequently, was removed as soon as the error was noticed—it adds to evidence already collected that suggests that Apple may be releasing the new operating system much earlier than previously expected.
Opinion: The Developer Connection
What makes a great app? Is it the features? The price? The interface? The answer, of course, is all of these. But even when put together, these aspects don’t always add up to be the ideal piece of software. There’s another part that isn’t always available, but when it is, it catapults an app within range of perfection. This final piece of an app is the user’s connection with the developers.
MacApper Podcast Episode 14: Snow Leopard and iPhone Apps
The MacApper Podcast Episode 14: Snow Leopard and iPhone Apps
This week we discuss Snow Leopard and a few new iPhone apps.
