Author Archive

As you have probably noticed, we have not posted any articles in the past few days. This was due to a server issue with our back end. The problem has been solved and we are ready to go! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

If you have been shopping for a laptop bag (or any bag at all) recently, you probably have heard of Tom Bihn. Tom Bihn is known for their high quality bags which are actually designed and produced in Seattle. Not only does the company participate in fair labor practices with all US made goods, they also are environmentally conscious. How can you go wrong with a company that cares and makes excellent products?

MacApper is a well established and respected Mac blog. Opened in February 2007 the blog already sees visitors in excess of 250,000/month and has a strong, loyal, and vocal following. The daily lineup focuses on Mac applications, interviews with OS X developers, Mac related tutorials, Application news/updates, opinion editorials, and software giveaways.

We are always looking for writers enthusiastic about OS X applications and similar Apple based geekery. We are currently seeking highly motivated individuals to contribute Mac related articles on a weekly basis. Qualified individuals will be asked to contribute articles and reviews, collaborate with colleagues, and help coordination of weekly columns and articles. We are looking for expert knowledge of OS X and the Mac platform and the ability to write engagingly about our subject matter.

As you all probably already know MacUpdate is having a huge bundle sale right now with a $474.76 value of apps going for only $64.99. A new app, WhatSize, has ben added to the bundle — but only for the first 3,500 buyers. WhatSize helps you find out what files are taking up your disk space and then allows you to remove/move them. In addition, the first unlock goal for Sound Studio is to be lowered today along with the goal for BannerZest. The unlock goal for Parallels will be set high, however, it is rumored that it will be unlocked by early next week along with the addition of a few more apps.

MacUpdate has released their newest bundle which includes 10 Mac apps for just $64.99 (up to a $474.76 value). One of the best features of the bundle is the inclusion of Parallels 3.0 which on its own costs $79.99. The applications include:

Hazel - create rules to automatically sort and organize your files
Art Text - create high quality headings, logos, banners, buttons
MenuCalendarClock - iCal compatible menu-bar calendar.
Leap - advanced file browsing and tagging
StoryMill - creative writing tool to outline, write and publish a novel
Typinator - type common phrases and pictures
DVDRemaster Pro - recompress large DVDs to fit on standard DVD5 disc, or for use on the iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV
Sound Studio* - record and edit audio
BannerZest* - create animated Flash banners
Parallels 3.0* - PC virtualization software for Intel Macs. Run Windows in Mac OS X

When opening NewsFire to read my feeds this morning I was notified of an update. As usual, I immediatley downloaded and installed the update. When I took a look at the release notes, I noticed that NewsFire is now free!

NewsFire is a great RSS reader and I have always highly recommended it. NewsFire has a clean interface, doesn’t take away space from the feeds with extra windows, and even has smart feeds. We have reviewed NewsFire in the past if you want a more detailed overview of the app.

9to5Mac is reporting that they just received a tip about a price drop for the current iPhone and iPod Touch lines within the next month or two (possibly at the February 26th event). The price drop of $100 is to be accompanied by the drop of the 8GB iPod Touch (and possibly the 8GB iPhone) from the line. The iPhone price drops are probably to prepare for the introduction of a newer 3G iPhone in late 2008.

Magnetism Studios released a new group iPhone apps today called Springlets. While you usually have to have a hacked iPhone to get third party apps, Springlets take advantage of the Web Clips feature of the iPhone.

Springlets, as they are called, help you save time while doing web searches. The search Springlets include Wikipedia, Google’s “I’m Feeling Lucky,” IMDB, and Chowhound. When you tap one of these Springlets, a dialouge box is opened in Safari asking for your search term. Once entered, the app immediately whisks you away to the results of that search. In the case of Wikipedia, it saves you the trouble from going to Wikipedia, typing in the search, and then checking the search results for the page you were looking for. There are also Springlets for Google Mobile Proxy which allows you to view any page without images (good for those times when Edge is slow) and speed dialing a frequently called number.

In honor of Super Tuesday, Insanely Great Tees is offering their Steve Jobs For President shirt for just $12.

There is a catch, however, you must promise to vote in today’s primaries or later in the election season. If you are going to vote, simply use the coupon code “IPromiseToVote” when you check out!

Two weeks ago, we reviewed and ran a giveaway for UniSudoku, the premier Mac sudoku app. We would like to thank everyone for contributing their thoughts and opinions.

David Ross, the developer of UniSudoku has kindly given us a license to give away. Without further ado, the winner is…

Guillermo Rauch

Congratulations on winning UniSudoku and much thanks again to David Ross. Your license will be emailed to you shortly. Be sure to keep reading and look for more great reviews and giveaways!

You probably read the title wondering, “What is Magnetism Studios?” It is more likely that you have heard of Monkey Business Labs or Insanely Great Tees. Well Magnetism Studios is a new parent company created to combine Monkey Business Labs and Insanely Great Tees along with some other cool new stuff under one roof. I was lucky enough to be able to talk to Joshua Keay, one of the masterminds behind it all.

Last week, we ran a giveaway where readers could submit a new feature they’d like to see in a future version of Undercover.

If you haven’t tried Undercover, you can check out our full review. We highly recommend Undercover to all Mac users (especially those who have a laptop as they are more easily stolen).

With out further adieu, the winners is…

Richard. Richard suggested email updates on your stolen Mac.

Congratulations to our lucky winner (we’ll be in touch shortly), and a big thank you to everyone else who participated. Be sure to watch for our next giveaway.

Most of our readers have probably heard of the popular Japanese puzzle game Sudoku and probably are addicted or at least know someone who is. While there are many apps and widgets for the Mac that allow you to play the addicting game paperlessly, I really think that none provide as many features as UniSudoku.

Read on for a chance to win your own UniSudoku license.

A few weeks ago, the great people over at Orbicule released Undercover 2.0. For those of you who don’t know and haven’t read our review, Undercover is a security tool that helps you recover your Mac if it is stolen.

Undercover 2.0 dramatically reduces its already low memory footprint by about 75% and also reduces its CPU and internet usage by only “calling home” when your network connection changes. They have also added a fail-safe by automatically putting your computer into “Plan B” hardware failure mode if it hasn’t connected to the internet for two months.

Mac users are always looking for ways to make their workflow more productive. Most just concentrate on organizing their time and to-dos, your work environment can also make a huge difference in your productivity. There are many adjustments you can make to your Mac to make it less distracting such as having a clean desktop without icons and auto-hiding the dock. However, even with all this, the menu bar is still there adding brightness to your monitor. Many swear by a black desktop and this makes the brightness of the menu bar even more annoying. MenuShade from Nullriver Software solves this problem by dimming your menu bar.