For the more techy of us, CodeRage has a useful utility which can save us those valuable fractions of a second with Zooom2, which brings with it Leopard compatibility.

Zooom’s core functionality is something that is very simple in concept, but after using the utility you’ll begin to wonder how you could live without it. Through the use of hotkeys (which you can define from the Zooom prefPane) simply clicking and dragging your mouse from anywhere within an application window, you can either drag or resize it to your heart’s content. This doesn’t sound so amazing when you think of ‘metal’ interface apps; you can drag from wherever the brushed metal appears in the border.

After several days of use, even dragging those windows the old way will seem slow. Being able to start dragging or resizing from anywhere within your application soon becomes as intuitive as using command-c to copy or bringing up quicksilver; Zooom is lightning fast to activate so you soon won’t even notice that you’re using it at all.

There are still a few issues that exist with Zooom however. Firstly there are still some problems with compatibility, notably with the older versions of Microsoft Office and (unsurprisingly) Java applications, but CodeRage are very proactive in this area and will often try and adapt the utility if your favorite app doesn’t respond for some reason. There’s also a small bug where if you drag an area that is usually draggable, the window will then jump around, which is rather disorientating.

Zooom2 is available for Leopard users only (Tiger users are stuck with the 1.5.2 release) and is available as Shareware for a reasonable sum of $19.99  although you can trial it for 15 days first.

One of the most common of these goals is to ‘get fit’ with many people setting a target such as running the London Marathon or completing an Iron Man challenge.

Unfortunately, the hardest part of sticking to these self-promises is the ability to stay motivated. After running the same 10-mile route for three weeks it’ll end up being as mind-numbing as the commute to work. Sometimes you might find a little shortcut or diversion that keeps the exercise interesting, but more often than not you’ll never record it and revert back to the boring route the next time you exercise. Berbie Software has a solution to this dilemma, with the excellent TrailRunner; now at version 1.6.

When you first run the application and play around with the interface, your first thought might be, “Hey, this is just a rebranded version of Google Earth!” That’d be wrong; while TrailRunner does present you with a mish-mash of mapping in the main window, from traditional maps to satellite photos, the application has some brilliance under the hood. Once you’ve navigated to a particular area that you want to exercise in, you can zoom in and start laying out ‘tracks’, which act as the foundations for your route.

The idea is to build up a whole network of tracks over time, that you discover while exercising or just plan from looking at the maps, which then gives you plenty of options for the main feature of the app. TrailRunner has the ability to analyse your selection of tracks, and with a few parameters (such as distance) plans a route for you to use. How is this better than looking at a map? Well, TrailRunner allows you to rate your tracks, using the iTunes 5-star system.

As a result the route planner will tend to choose tracks that have higher star ratings to give you a route that you are likely to enjoy completing. This is all well and good, but you can’t exactly cycle down a trail with your MacBook balanced precariously on the handlebars. Fortunately there are a number of export options. For the majority of users, the NanoMaps system will be most useful. This exports the route as a series of images which can be displayed by any photo-enabled iPod, mobile phone or other imaging device.

If you then forget where you’re meant to go, a quick glance at your iPod will give you a local map, orientated to the direction you should be traveling in. For those athletes that are a little more hardcore, the app also supports exporting to GPX, KML and HRM formats, allowing you to use devices such as the Garmin Forerunner. However, that isn’t all. TrailRunner also gives you the features to record your progress, either automatically by importing device data from gadgets such as Nike+iPod or by recording it manually.

After completing a few workouts, you’ll be presented with graphs showing your performance and estimated fitness, which is all very cool if you need to know that kind of stuff. It even has a smidgen of GTD sneaked in, with an exercise calendar telling you when you need to grab your running gear and hit the tarmac. Overall this application is a fantastic way of managing your outdoor exercise regime, giving you an intelligent way of planning and recording your way to completing your goals.

There are still a few issues, such as maps loading a little slowly for my impatient self and you will need to have a look at the tutorials to get the most out of Trailrunner. The amount of map data is also limited slightly, but the application allows you to add maps that you find/buy, which is certainly nice. The one thing it won’t do however, is give you the boot out the door to exercise in the first place!

TrailRunner is well worth a look as Donationware, and I highly recommend giving the developer a little something for their efforts, should you like the app.