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Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Final Draft 8 Review

Written on August 01, 2009 by Liam Cassidy and 19 people have commented

If you’ve ever harbored the desire to write for the silver screen and tried to do something about it, you’ll already know about Final Draft, the showbiz industry’s favorite scriptwriting software.
Everyone in Hollywood uses it; Studio Execs, beleaguered Producers, hot-shot directors… even Michael Bay uses it, but don’t let that last one put you off. [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: Aug. 1, 2009

Written on August 01, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 1 person has commented

The weekend has arrived, bringing with it the opportunity to reach that perfect state of iPhone-related relaxation: open the App Store and get ready to download the latest recommendations.
Before we get to the weekly picks, it’s time to take our usual look back at Apple news for the past seven days.
First up, more odd goings [...]

Beta Watch: SeaMonkey 2

Written on July 30, 2009 by Charles Moore and 6 people have commented

I’ve been looking for an up-to-date, Gecko-based browser to replace the discontinued Netscape Navigator 9 on my old G4 Pismo PowerBook running OS 10.4 Tiger. Navigato still works well, is based on the now-ancient Firefox 2 and probably has some security vulnerabilities. Firefox 3.5 and Camino 1.6 are great on my Intel Mac, but kinda [...]

SpotInside: A Solid Spotlight Alternative

Written on July 28, 2009 by Charles Moore and 12 people have commented

I have a love-hate relationship with Spotlight, OS X’s convenient and useful, but immensely frustrating search utility. Apple introduced Spotlight with OS X 10.4 Tiger, and tweaked it considerably in OS 10.5 Leopard.
Having a search engine ready and waiting all the time is seductive, and Spotlight is nice to have, but falls short of Apple’s [...]

MainMenu — Keep Your Mac in Shape

Written on July 27, 2009 by David Appleyard and 10 people have commented

Earlier this month, Dare to be Creative announced MainMenu 2.0, an update to its system maintenance utility for OS X. This lightweight application allows you to clean up your Mac, improve system performance and free up hard disk space — all directly from the system menu.
The new release offers a range of improved functionality, an [...]

Booyah MMORPG App Aims to be “World of Lifecraft” for iPhone Owners

Written on July 27, 2009 by Wagner James Au and 16 people have commented

Booyah, which is available as a free iPhone app, is a new social MMORPG from a well-funded startup of the same name. But here’s the twist: Unlike all other online role-playing games (GigaOM Pro, sub required) , you don’t improve your character by performing fantastic otherworldly tasks, like looting dungeons or slaying hobgoblins — what [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: July 25, 2009

Written on July 25, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 5 people have commented

A turbulent week of Apple news comes to a close, but with a selection of new app’s available for iPhone, it’s not quite over yet — it’s time to take a look at this week’s recommendations.
Hold up one moment though as, before we run through this week’s picks from the App Store, we should take [...]

App Review: iBank Mobile

Written on July 22, 2009 by Charles Jade and 3 people have commented

The developers of iBank, the robust alternative to moribund Quicken for the Mac, have gone mobile with their latest product. With iBank Mobile for the iPhone and iPod touch you can bank on the go, but probably not go it alone.
To be fair, there is no perfect personal finance manager (PFM) in the App Store. [...]

Weekly App Store Picks: July 18, 2009

Written on July 18, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 3 people have commented

Once again, it’s that special time of the week when we all join hands, take a deep breath and exhale as we take a spiritual journey through the latest app picks for iPhone.
Before we reach app Zen, however, it’s time for a refreshing run through of the week’s iPhone news and Apple happenings.
Credit cards at [...]

Simplify Your Workflow With Dropzone

Written on July 17, 2009 by Chris Ryan and 6 people have commented

The real power of OS X lies in all of the hidden gems beneath what you see at first glance. Technologies like Expose, Spaces, Stacks, Spotlight and others help users tap the power of their Mac, while keeping the experience sleek and elegant. Aptonic’s Dropzone, a third-party application designed to further simplify your Mac experience, [...]

App Review: Phaze — Futuristic Racing Action

Written on July 17, 2009 by Andrew Bednarz and 2 people have commented

Years ago I discovered a little futuristic hovercraft racing game on the PlayStation called Wipeout. The concept was simple, and in many ways it was pretty much the same gameplay as Mario Kart or Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart. What set it apart was that there were no cartoon graphics, and no toy weapons, just stunning [...]

Mozy vs. Carbonite: Mac Backup Smackdown

Written on July 16, 2009 by Dave Greenbaum and 95 people have commented

If you look at the amount of advertising out there these days, you’d think the Mac vs. PC war is a mere slap fight compared to the war being raged for your data backups. They want your data, and they want it now!
In one corner you have Mozy, which shares corporate DNA with former Mac [...]

10 Instant Messaging Apps for the iPhone

Written on July 15, 2009 by Mark Crump and 31 people have commented

When push notification finally made its way to the iPhone, a lot of people were anticipating IMs pushed to their iPhone. At first, I scoffed at this idea. I’d always figured IMs were based around the “instant” part of the phrase, and someone pushing an IM to me might be disappointed if I don’t get [...]

Document Palette: Creating New Documents From the Desktop

Written on July 14, 2009 by James Dempsey and 12 people have commented

Windows users have long had the ability to create a new document for any application they have installed from the desktop with a simple right-click. Many switchers probably miss that capability, and I must admit that I never understood the need for it on the Mac — until I actually started using it.
Document Palette, a [...]

App Review: Doom Resurrection — Casual Slaughter for the Masses

Written on July 13, 2009 by Charles Jade and 5 people have commented

Doom Resurrection is aptly named, the archetypal shooter having risen from the grave for the iPhone and iPod touch. The thing is, though, when the dead return, they never come back the same.
You know the story: future, Mars, research facility, teleportation experiments, hell unleashed. Mayhem ensues as you, the sole surviving marine, attempt to thwart [...]

App Review: Rolando 2 — Roll On the Second Coming

Written on July 09, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 3 people have commented

Rolando 2 is the sequel to Rolando, a game which proved that the iPhone can compete with Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS in the handheld console wars.
Just over a year after opening, the App Store is coming into its own. Indeed, there’s the dodgy dirge of novelty joke apps, but at the other end of [...]

The Ultimate MacBook Pro Protection Suite by Moshi

Written on July 07, 2009 by David Klein and 17 people have commented

I’m a huge fan of Moshi’s Apple-centric line of products and accessories. In fact, my entire collection of Apple products has now been complimented by Moshi. For example, I use the iLynx USB/Firewire hub and Celesta keyboard with my iMac; my iPhone is protected by the iGlaze 3G; and recently, my Macbook Pro experienced a [...]

Dock Gone: Say Goodbye to Your Dock

Written on July 07, 2009 by James Dempsey and 21 people have commented

When Apple introduced the Dock with OS X, people immediately either love it or hated it. Over time, we all got used to it. Among some of the usability complaints about the Dock is the fact that without hacking, you can’t simply get rid of it. Hiding the Dock will only get you so far – it still pops-up at inopportune times. If you’re frustrated by the inability to completely hide the Dock, there is a simple solution.

Weekly App Store Picks: July 4, 2009

Written on July 04, 2009 by Olly Farshi and 9 people have commented

It’s that time of the week — when we welcome you to the weekend with a selection of the freshest picks for the iPhone from the App Store.
Hold your horses, though, because before we dive headfirst into a glorious ocean of iPhone apps, I’ve got a roundup of notable Apple news from the past seven [...]

Rise of Lost Empires: Like Warcraft for iPhone, but Not Nearly as Good

Written on July 03, 2009 by Darrell Etherington and 6 people have commented

I think I may have achieved a grasp of Gameloft’s concept design strategy for their iPhone catalog. It seems to have something to do with being “inspired” by titles and franchises that are already wildly successful. You can’t help but see the similarity between Hero of Sparta and God of War (even syntactically). Likewise, with [...]