The Quickest Tip for Time Machine
Time Machine was an awesome addition to OS X, and it works brilliantly. However, to me, it can be a bit annoying to have Time Machine in the Dock; I’m always hitting it when I don’t mean to. So to solve this little problem, I’ve found a better place to keep it…Finder!
Time Machine is part of the Finder (thinking a little outside the box), as it is basically an extension of the Finder’s functionality, so why not make it a little bit more part of the Finder – Drag the Time Machine icon, from the Applications folder onto the top pane of the Finder window, et voilà ! – you can remove it from your dock, and still have a quick way back to the past
CheckUp: A Monitor for Your Mac
There are literally hundreds of ways to monitor your Mac, from the basic Activity Monitor, to the extremely popular iStat; but new to the scene we have CheckUp, which quite frankly blows away the competition in many different ways.
Firstly, CheckUp is great for taking a quick look at everything in your system. I mean everything. Not only does it tell you about the usual CPU usage, and how much memory you’re using; it tells you much more. It tells you how much RAM your Mac can take, what OS it supports, and lots of essential information about your machine (Serial Number etc.), as well as information about installed fonts, Drivers, Apps, Pref Panes and much, much more. This really is an all-around app; but this is just the first of three things that sets it apart.
Revealed: The Reason For Apple Tuesdays
One day of the week is more famous than any other for our favourite, fruit-based company. Tuesday. Everything that is anything at Apple is revealed on a Tuesday, and I believe that a recent Fortune article has revealed why Tuesday is the day.
So “Why?” I hear you ask — well it sounds like it’s all due to Apple’s compulsion for perfection: Marathon Monday Meetings.
After topping Fortune’s coveted “Fortune 500″ list, Fortune has run a series of articles on the company, including an extremely interesting read — a rare interview with Mr Jobs himself, where he revealed the following:
Apple Update Attack: Is 2008 the Year of the Weekly Update?
Tuesdays are nearly always the Apple day of the week. It’s Apple’s release date of choice, and rightly so; it allows stock to be in stores, and hence people’s hands, by the weekend.
But 2008 has been an interesting year, and it all started with a comment at a small event, known as MacWorld from a Mr Steven P. Jobs (ever heard of him, I certainly haven’t):
Aurora 4: A New Dawn
I have been an advocate of Aurora since I found it. It works brilliantly to wake you up to either music, or by turning on the TV, when used in combination with EyeTV. But it’s always been free. Today, Aurora 4 makes the leap from Freeware to shareware with the all new (and I really mean that) Aurora 4.
*Editor: if you make it to the end of this review you will find a nice discount just for MacApper readers.
Welcome To The World: EyeTV 3
It’s been a long time and Elgato managed to keep it under wraps until the weekend, but EyeTV 3 is out and it looks like an excellent update. Included are some long requested features and a much needed graphical overhaul. With all the new features, it looks like EyeTV will remain the best way to watch TV on the Mac.
So, without any further ado, here are they key features of EyeTV 3:
New Interface – EyeTV’s interface now includes CoverFlow. It works exactly the same as iTunes, so if you can use iTunes you can use EyeTV.
Posterino: Create Gorgeous Posters & Postcards (15% off during Macworld)
Photos can be a pain when getting hard copies; iPhoto makes it easy to browse them, but if you want to print them, it’s not that simple or easy to do. Posterino helps you make great photo posters, as well as beautiful postcards without any of the associated hassles.
The Great Mac OS X Freeware List
We here at MacApper love Mac freeware, and try to write about it whenever we can. If we can find a program that does as good a job as commercial offerings, we will do our best to bring it to your attention. Following along that vein of thought we prepared something we think you guys might find useful. It’s a list of the best and most popular freeware for OS X.
The list is sorted alphabetically by category and currently has 57 freeware mac apps.
Office 2008 Available for Pre-Order
It’s January, and it’s Macworld next week, but here’s a tidbit to keep your wallets nice and light.
We saw the introduction of new Mac Pros and Xserves on Tuesday, but with much of the Mac press covering that, it has been overlooked that you can now Pre-Order Office 2008 in any one of the three editions, detailed below.
Microsoft Office is one of the best selling Apps for OS X and love it or hate it, it’s going to be here to stay. However, this is the first time that it has had some real competition in the market space. Although still dominant in productivity apps, Apple’s own iWork is eating into the market, and Office ‘08 sales should be a nice indicator as to whether people have switched, for good.
Signal: A New Kind of iTunes Remote
There are literally hundreds of iTunes remotes, some live on the desktop, others on the menu bar, but this one is a bit different. You can control iTunes on your Mac or PC from your iPhone or iPod touch. And who doesn’t want to do that?
We have seen some attempts at this before, but the implementation was usually slightly weak, and usability was poor. Signal is honestly quite different. You launch the app, and it tells you the exact address to type into your iPod Touch or iPhone. Presto you’re done.
