TheAppleBlog

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 [...]

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.

Have you ever wanted to copy or convert your personal collection of DVDs for backup or easy viewing on your Apple TV, only to be thwarted by CSS encryption? I feel your pain, and so do the good folks at Metakine. Lucky for us, Fairmount is here to help, and it’s free!
CSS, or Content Scramble [...]

The fear of freedom that Zengobi’s Curio offers users has caused me to write and rewrite this post many times over the past few months. I just haven’t known how best to embody its essence. So before I confuse (and frighten) myself more, I’m kicking this post off with my conclusion of Curio: It’s the [...]

Presenter Pro is a learning resource for professionals and interns alike, coaching you in the ways of effective presenting.
There are three heroes of presenting for me: Merlin Mann, with his deliciously witty and yet precise style; Lawrence Lessig, who takes a high-speed, word-by-word approach; and of course, Steve Jobs, who is alternately expressive, passionate and [...]

The great thing about Twitter is that there are a million different ways to both access and contribute to the content being shared there. The bad thing about Twitter is that there are a million different ways to both access and contribute to the content being shared there.
Nambu is a native OS X application for [...]

I’ve never been as organized as I currently am with the combination of my MacBook Pro, iPhone and Google Calendar. Sure, before I crossed the line to Apple, I had tried to use Thunderbird (with Lightning’s Calendar plugin) to keep organized, syncing to my Windows Mobile phone, but it was always clunky and slow and [...]

A little while ago, QuickOffice ($19.99, iTunes link) brought Word document editing to the iPhone. This week, however, QuickOffice officially loses its corner on that market with the introduction of Documents to Go ($4.99, iTunes link) by Dataviz, a seasoned contender.
The iPhone may not be my device of choice when it comes to doing [...]

With Father’s Day just around the corner (Sunday, to be exact), we here at TheAppleBlog thought what better gift to get that special father in your life than a thoughtful yet handy iPhone or iPod touch application.
Feeling the cash crunch around this particular time? Not to worry, most of the applications mentioned here are free [...]

Back in March, I reviewed the Opera Turbo Labs preview version of the Opera 10 alpha browser incorporating server-side optimization and compression technology that Opera claims can speed throughput over slow connections by reducing the amount of data needed to display Web pages by up to 80 percent — music to my ears, being stuck [...]

Part of me wishes people would stop making great Twitter clients for the iPhone so that I can just pick a horse and stick to it, but another, far larger part of me is thrilled to see TweetDeck (free, iTunes link) come to the App Store. While I stopped using the desktop client in favor [...]

With My Living Desktop, adding a little tranquility to your Mac has never been so easy. With over 30 scenes, and a custom import option, your desktop will never be the same again.

GyPSii brings GPS-fueled social networking to the iPhone, but do we really need to sign up for yet another network?
Any effective social-network connoisseur will already have a bevy of accounts to frequently check. Aside from the regulars — Facebook, Twitter, and so on — there’s already a stack of networks I’ve tried and duly abandoned, [...]

By converting your voice messages into text e-mails, Quick Voice Pro could be a time-saving boon for busy iPhone owners.
Empowered by our emails, tweets, IM conversations, and blogs, we’ve become modern-day information conduits. We collect knowledge, then discharge it into the ether, spurting out a constant fountain of fact, fiction and entertainment.
Quick Voice Pro is [...]

Today it’s the foundation for all modern pre-installed Windows systems. It replaced the aging FAT (File Allocation Table) file system with a leaner, meaner standard. It’s more secure, more flexible, and has more built-in gadgets than a Swiss Army Knife. It’s NTFS, of course — the New Technology File System.
I grew up with NTFS. I [...]

What happens when you bring together four engineers and one über-artist, all sharing a rich background in both game design and development experience on a “very popular 3D earth-rendering application,” lock them all in a studio in Boulder, Colo., and let them loose on the iPhone SDK?
Well, you get Backflip Studios. Pretty obvious really, if [...]

If we were to liken the iPhone to a Greek hero — all muscle-bound and chiseled man-face — it would surely be Achilles, the guy with the wonky heel.
The iPhone is our modern-day electronic hero, savior of our interconnected lives. Yet it is a hero with one tiny flaw, a weakness that even its fondest [...]

iTunes cleanup software TuneUp has been undergoing some exciting changes. Last week, TuneUp launched a new UI, and today the company is announcing the availability of the software at Apple Store retail locations in the U.S. Over 250 Apple Stores will now offer a retail-packaged version of TuneUp for $29.95.
I had a chance to review [...]

As a fan of the Terminator trilogy, I’m fascinated to see how the new movie will fare. I was equally intrigued to take a look at the iPhone game released to accompany the fourth installment in the movie series. Gameloft announced the release last week, and Terminator Salvation is now available to download (iTunes link) [...]

As a general rule, racing games tend to leave me cold. My brother is the car buff and racing fan. I’ve enjoyed a few, like Gran Turismo, but I tend to give them a pass. Need for Speed Underground for the PS2 was another exception to the rule, mostly because of the RPG-type elements of [...]