Review: Logitech Kinetik 15.4 Briefcase
For any Mac user on the go, one of the most important accessories is a good notebook bag. One option that was recently unveiled by Logitech is the Kinetik briefcase and backpack, both featuring stylish design paired with good protection for a laptop in the form of the exo-shell construction on the exterior.
Menuet and Art Collecter: Now Charityware
Maybe you have heard of Menuet and Art Collector from Specere Software. Menuet is a neat iTunes controller located in the menubar, with different themes that you can choose from, and Art Collector (bundled with Menuet) fetches your album artwork from Amazon, a feature which is now found in iTunes, but could still be useful for those pesky albums that iTunes doesn’t find the artwork for.
Menuet used to be $13, while Art Collector was $8, but the developers just released them as Charityware. Charityware (or Careware) means that it’s free to use, but the developers requests that you donate to a charity listed on the site, or if you can’t, help out at a local charity, or volunteer some of your time.
Skitch Invite Giveaway
It seems lots of people are really into Skitch! If you don’t know what Skitch is, it’s a drawing, doodling, and photo editing app built and made for Macs. Skitch also includes an online photo storage area, so you can upload and share all your creations. However, Skitch is a beta at the moment, and is only obtainable by invitation.
We couldn’t get this in time for press times yesterday and we felt that just talking about Skitch wasn’t enough. Everyone knows we like to give stuff away here and in true MA fashion we’ve gotten ahold of 25 invites, and we’re giving them away to the first 25 commenter’s on this post. This means that a few of you lucky readers can get a chance to try out Skitch a bit early.
Skitch – Snap, Draw, Share
Like many of us, one of the things I missed most when switching to a Mac was that there was no app that replaced Paint. While there are more powerful apps, such as Photoshop, there isn’t a simple app for users who want to quickly edit their images. Finally, though, there is something that serves this purpose: Skitch.
Yes, Skitch is a simple app, but still incredibly functional and easy to use. There are many ways to get started. You can take a screenshot of your desktop, take a picture with an iSight, look through photos in iPhoto, Aperture, and your pictures folder. You can also drag a photo from anywhere on your computer (and even the Internet) to start editing.
Exposé Hidden Secrets: Keyboard Controls
While you may be a big fan of Exposé, sometimes there may be some functions you wish were enabled. Whether you use a button on your mouse, power corners, or a key on your keyboard, it still could be a bit more functional. One thing that many people wish for in Exposé is keyboard controls, but they actually do exist.
Image Upload Widget: Image Uploading for the Masses
Has there ever been a time when you had a picture on your computer that you need to show someone when you were talking through IM, Twitter, or a forum? For these times, many people browse to ImageShack, find the file on their computer, hit upload, and wait for the image to upload. After they have done that, they have to find the right URL (which is usually the direct one), and paste it wherever it needs to go. As you may have noticed, that is a slow and painful process. Luckily, there is a new cool widget from Model Concept that makes this process much easier.
iusethis: Digg for Mac Applications
I bet many of you go to Digg or a site like it where readers vote on what content becomes popular. What if, instead of looking for new links, you wanted to find some new Mac apps? Then I suggest you check out iusethis. iusethis is a great site where small, relatively unknown shareware and freeware applications can become really popular. While you don’t need an account to browse the site, having an account allows you vote for applications, store the apps you use, and see which apps your friends like too. To show you how useful iusethis is, let’s do a quick search for “alarm“, and see what comes up.
Magnetosphere: Great Visuals for iTunes
When listening to music in iTunes, how many of you put the visualizer on? I used to, but soon I got bored of the same ones repeating, even when I learned how to change them myself. But, after a while of just hiding iTunes, I found Magnetosphere. To install, just download the file for OS X, then install it in the usual way. Once you reopen iTunes, go into View, and go to Visualizer and choose Magnetosphere. Now when you open the iTunes visualizer, you will see some yummy 3D imagery like below.
Interview: Steve Streza of Twisted Ninja Software and Tubular
Although there are a few apps that allow the user to download videos from YouTube, such as TubeSock, there is no true app for browsing YouTube. That’s where Tubular comes in. Recently, I had a chance to talk with Steve Streza, the developer behind Tubular and SnapShooter. We talked about his applications, setup, future projects, and featured a nice bonus at the end for all MacApper readers.
Conner: Hey, thanks for taking the time to talk with me.
Steve: Hey Conner. Thanks for having me.
Conner: For the readers who may not know much about you, what projects and other applications have you done?
Voice Candy Makes Voice Recording Sweet and Delicious
I imagine that some of you have tried to record your voice in GarageBand, and possibly succeeded. I have, but it wasn’t fun to do, and it’s a huge pain in the rear. Luckily, I found Voice Candy. Voice Candy is another small, simple, one-purpose app, similar to the fantastic AppZapper.
While you can record your voice normally, there are also some sweet effects, like Chipmunk, Robot, and even Darth Vader! You can also use Voice Candy to record audio for a quick-and-dirty podcast or to simply remind you to do something, similar to the voice notes feature that you might have on your cell phone.
