Photomatix Pro: Total Control Over Your HDR Image
When asking about HDR applications, the one that most often gets recommended (in my experience) is Photomatix Pro. It has many features/options that allow you to ultimately get your HDR image looking the way you envisioned.
Many people think of an HDR image as more of an “artsy” type of photograph, but in reality HDR imaging has very practical uses. It allows you to reproduce the range of tones that our eyes can see, but no camera can capture in a single image. The process of creating an HDR image involves combining multiple images of the same scene at different EV settings; but enough of what HDR imaging is, and onto how Photomatix handles it.
SoundSoap 2: Get Rid of that Unwanted Noise!
A few months ago my school put on a concert of student musical performances. MacBook Pro in hand, I went to the concert, set up in the audio booth, and decided to try my hand at recording some of the songs played. Unfortunately, the conditions and equipment weren’t ideal, and many of the recordings had a large amount of noise.
I then set out to find a Mac application that would allow me to make an attempt at cleaning some of these tracks up. After a little bit of searching, I found a company by the name of Bias Inc., that made an application called SoundSoap which was right up my alley.
Freeware Friday: Anti-Productivity Edition
We have been talking at MacApper for the past few weeks about different weekly “specials†we could do, and one of the ideas that was brought up was a weekly freeware post. This has now evolved into “Freeware Friday,†where every Friday either I or another MacApper contributor will put together a roundup of a few little freeware apps we have been playing around with the past week.
Today, I have put together a list of 4 little applications that will help to kill your productivity (like you even need help with that, right?). They have no productive value, but definitely can get addicting, or are great when you have a little time to kill.
DVD Remaster Pro: Quickly Re-compress your DVD Collection
When it comes to putting DVDs on your Mac, the first application that comes to mind for many is the open-source Handbrake. DVDRemaster Pro, from Metakine, is an application similar to Handbrake. It allows you to re-compress an entire DVD, export a DVD to a device such as an iPod, or rip a raw, uncompressed stream of the DVD to your hard drive.
When you first open DVDRemaster Pro, you have to choose a source. DVDRemaster Pro comes with an application called FairMount, that allows you to mount DVDs like Disk Images.
AppStoreGems Launches: Donating Today’s Revenue to Charities.
Today, a group of iPhone developers has launched a site called “AppStoreGems.†AppStoreGems is the result of a brainstorming session between John Casasanta, and Austin Sarner. They got a few other iPhone devs together, and bought a print ad in Macworld, which came out today. For launch day, the devs of AppStoreGems are donating all of their revenue today to charity.
There are 6 apps that are a part of the AppStoreGems site right now, from 5 developers. The apps are as follows:
OmniFocus: GTD-based Productivity
If you are looking to “get things done” on your Mac, you have plenty of choice when it comes to applications to aid you. Everything from a very minimal to-do list applications like Anxiety, to full blown GTD-based applications like OmniFocus, the application I want to talk about today.
If you are familiar with the GTD concept by David Allen, you will feel right at home with OmniFocus. If you’re not, OmniFocus has a few included actions that will help you get acquainted.
Timeline 3D: Let Your Timelines Enter the Third Dimension
Back in December we mentioned an application called Timeline, from Bee Documents. Timeline is an application that allows you to create (you guessed it) timelines. The version of Timeline mentioned back in December was the 2D version, and today I would like to take a look at the 3D version.
At WWDC this past June, Timeline 3D was awarded runner up in “Best Mac OS X Leopard Application†at the Apple Design Awards ceremony. This should give you an idea of the quality of Timeline 3D. It is very similar to the 2D version, except for a few key differences (one of which I’m sure you have picked out).
Mac Mix Promo: Build your own Bundle
This last year has been chock full of Mac shareware promotions. First, you have your mega-bundles from MacHeist and MacUpdate, then discounts like MacSanta, and-build-your-own-bundle promo Give Good Food to your Mac. A few weeks ago, a splash page was put up advertising the Mac Mix Promo, which told us to “get ready for something totally new.â€
Of course, with the Give Good Food to your Mac promo, the build-your-own-bundle idea is nothing new. The selection of apps for the Mac Mix Promo though, makes it worth looking at. A list of the participating applications and details after the jump.
OmniGraffle: From Mind to Screen
The first thing that my teacher tells us to do when we start a project, is to create a “mind map.†Being a student in the technology age, I like to try and use my Mac for as much of my schoolwork as I can.
Usually, to create a mind map on my Mac, I open up Pages, go into “Page Layout†and join text boxes and pictures together with lines. This method works fine for simple mind maps, but re-arranging boxes is a pain, and it can get difficult to add a little style to the page without making it a mess. OmniGraffle, from the OmniGroup, however, is an application focused on creating diagrams, process charts and more.
ThisService: Use Scripts to Create Services
One aspect of my Mac that I often neglect is the Services menu. It isn’t that I don’t want to use the services within this menu, it’s just that I never think to. There really isn’t anything in there now that I find essential to use.
Browsing through this month’s MacLife issue, I saw that the cover story was “The 30 Best Mac Apps You’ve Never Heard Of.†Going through the list, most have been featured here on MacApper, though the one I want to focus on today, ThisService, was only mentioned in passing. ThisService is an application that lets you take scripts (whether it be written in AppleScript, Ruby, Perl etc.), and turn them into services accessible from the Services menu.
