Mac Software

Review: NeatDesk for Mac Scanner/Software Combination

One of the keys to Apple’s remarkable success with their iOS devices is the fact that they control both the hardware and the software side of things. Good software is nice to have. So is nice hardware. But when you put the two together; when the hardware is specifically designed to work with the software and the software is specifically designed to work with the hardware… now THAT is a combination worth speaking about. The result? Well just take a look at Apple’s numbers since the iPhone was first released. The same holds true for Neat’s organizational tools since they…


The Sonos Wireless Home Audio System Review

If Apple were to release a wireless speaker system, it would probably look and function the way the Sonos Zone system does. Fortunately Cupertino doesn’t need to go to the trouble, since Sonos beat Apple to it — and there isn’t a whole lot of room for improvement. Sure, I understand that those opening sentences sound more than a bit fanboyish toward both Apple and Sonos, but hey, I love my Apple products; in the last month or so, I have also become a Sonos evangelist. How much do I like the Sonos system? Let me put it this way:…



Mac App Quick Look: unDock Brings Fast Drive unDocking for Mac

One of the things that bugs me about Mac OS X is the need to physically undock a drive before removing it. I understand the reasons, but it doesn’t make it less annoying and it does not mean I don’t forget to do so sometimes. (And each time I forget I receive the “you forgot to undock the drive you shmuck, and it can do damage!” warning.) unDock doesn’t make drive undocking automatic, but it does make it possible to remove all drives at once. As the app’s description explains, Time machine is wonderful, but it makes a mobile Mac…


An Open Letter to Apple After Microsoft’s Purchase of Skype

Dear Apple, There is big news in the tech sector these days and, one way or another, you are part of all of it. Not a surprise considering the amazing growth you have maintained and the way in which you are shaping the next era of computing. It looks pretty likely that the Nuance deal that has you in a strategic partnership with the voice recognition company is a done deal. Good move! As we wrote last June, Google was eating your bacon in the voice recognition arena and you needed to do something… And fast. Okay, so it took…


DoubleTwist Brings AirPlay to Android

I really like Apple’s AirPlay which allows you to use your Mac or iOS device to stream video or music to an Apple TV, powered speakers connected to an AirPort Express or one of the growing number of AirPlay enabled speaker systems. (In fact we have reviews of two such systems on the way.) I have expanded the “reach” of AirPlay in my home so that it is now available in four different rooms. I have, however, resisted jumping fully in because I don’t want to be completely and totally locked into Apple’s ecosystem. (Like I’m not totally locked in…


Apple Updates iMac All-In-One With FaceTime HD, Thunderbolt and more

As expected Apple introduced new iMacs this morning. While they look the same they have some nice upgrades under the hood. Among the changes are quad-core processors across the line, graphics that are up to 3x faster, Thunderbolt for super-fast data transfer, and a FaceTime HD camera. The 21.5″ model starts at $1,199.00 with the 27″ starting at $500 more. The upper end of the “ready to ship” models line has a 3.1 GHz Quad-Core and costs $1999.99. If I wasn’t so pleased using my 13″ MacBook Air I would be pretty tempted right now. Must… Resist…


Spring Cleaning: If an App Doesn’t Work with Evernote or Dropbox? Buh-Bye!

There are specific iPad applications that are key to my productivity day in and day out, and the “qualities” they need to have if I am to use them has evolved over time. Looking back over the ways in which they have changed in the last year or so, I realized that there is a specific pattern to those applications that have become more central to my work and daily life and those that were once useful but have fallen off the island. Strikingly, these changes have less to do with the applications themselves and more to do with secondary…


Ecamm Printopia for Mac Brings AirPrint Capability to iOS Users with Older Printers

When Apple announced AirPrint for iOS devices, I could almost see Steve Jobs’ point about the “post-PC era”. Being able to print from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch (newer devices with iOS 4.2 or later) wirelessly sounded great. Indeed, Google’s Cloud Print functionality for their Chrome browsers works in a similar fashion. But then I found out how limited the supported list of printers was. Heck, even those of us with Apple Airport Extreme wireless routers that have attached printers could not use AirPrint: AirPrint only works with a network connection to an AirPrint-capable printer. A printer connected to…


How to Fix Ethernet Issues When Running Windows 7 On Your Mac Virtual Machine

I recently upgraded to a 27″ iMac [thanks to a spectacular deal from Dan], and the first thing I did was install VMWare Fusion so that I could run Windows when needed. Well, truth be told, there is only one time that I ever really need to run Windows, and that is when I run Microsoft Money. You see, after nearly three years of using OSX, I have yet to find a money management program that I like nearly as much as Money, Microsoft’s long in the tooth financial software. It’s not an ideal solution, but being able to run…



New Mac Switcher? There’s an App for That!

Switching to a Mac is exciting and fun, but if you’re coming from Windows it can be quite intimidating. Luckily, the enterprising developers at It’s About Time have a handy app to make that easier for you. Normally it’s $24.95, or bundled as part of a $99 Parallels deal, but right now in the Mac App Store, it’s at the bargain bin price of just $0.99! At that price, even if you’re not a total mac newbie you may want to see if there are any new tricks you don’t already know! Check out the video demo, and then let…


iPhone App Quickie: DropVox Lets You Record Voice Notes and Auto-Save to DropBox

I’m always searching for new ways to use my iPhone to create voice notes and turn them into text. I have found a number of good solutions — primary among them Dragon Dictation. But I’ve always wanted to be able to record a long voice note on the iPhone (Dragon is limited to just 60 seconds at a time) and then 0nce I’m back at my desk, apply the application MacSpeech Scribe to transcribe a long audio recording. The problem I’ve always run into is the fact that many voice note applications don’t record with a quality or a format…


Boom Your Music and Bam! Your Mac’s Sound Will Be Awesome!

Just yesterday I was speaking with a friend who commented that she was continually surprised by the weak volume coming from most MacBooks. “Sure,” she said, “the sound isn’t all that great to begin with but what’s worse is that they just don’t get very loud.” Well that’s not longer an issue thanks to a small utility called Boom. As the product page explains, Boom is a simple volume booster that lets you boost the volume of your Mac and your music files. Using Boom is simple. You know the ways to change the volume of your Mac. Boom provides…


Mac App Store Opens Door to App Store Convergence

With the arrival of the Mac App Store it is easier than ever to see and purchase Mac applications. Having spent some time perusing the App Store over the last few days I was pleased to discover that some of my favorite iOS app are also available for OS X. Of course there is the Mac version of Angry Birds (truth be told, playing it on a touchscreen device is MUCH more enjoyable), but there are also apps like SketchMee. It is the app that that let me make the above picture in a matter of seconds. I love being…


Dropbox Out of Beta… Adds Key Features

This year saw a number of key changes with regard to how I work on a computer and accomplish the many tasks that face me each day. Of course the iPad was central to the changes in my work style since, most days, I carry it instead of a laptop but I don’t think I would call the iPad “My Most Significant Change in 2010. No, I suspect that that title would go to… Dropbox. Thomas turned me on to Dropbox toward the beginning of the year and I have grown increasingly reliant upon it. At first I used their…


Mac / PC Game Review: Left 4 Dead 2

After the protests are over, and the boycotts are all done, what are we left with? A game – that is all Left 4 Dead 2 is, a game. Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) was released in late 2009 for the PC, and recently came to the Mac via Steam. My review is based on having played the Mac version and replaying the PC version for comparison. The Hype: Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to the best-selling and critically acclaimed co-op multiplayer smash from Valve, creators of the Half-life, Portal, Team Fortress and Counter-Strike game properties. With multiple…


Ancestry.com’s Family Tree Maker for Mac Released, Thrilling Genealogy Buffs Like Me

For me, genealogy has been as much a passion as it was a hobby; my maternal grandmother and my uncle started researching their Meador and Bridwell lines years ago, and when I became an adult I picked up where they had left off, expanding the search for my father’s family, the Lipsetts and Hublers, as well. Over the years I have spent countless hours online and in libraries researching and amassing a huge collection of data; I have truly enjoyed discovering information, pictures and stories that have helped me learn more about my ancestors’ lives. Genealogy has given names in…


New In The iTunes App Store- DEVONthink To Go- Take All Your Documents With You!

The iPad took yet another step forward as an amazing productivity device this evening when DEVONthink To Go finally made its appearance in the App Store. DEVONthink is a Mac OS X database program that makes collecting, organizing and manipulating all sorts of files easy. As Devontechnologies explains- Meet DEVONthink — designed to manage and keep in order all those disparate pieces of information so important to your work or studies. As you become more experienced with DEVONthink and its easy, intuitive interface you will quickly find more exciting ways of using your data. DEVONthink stores your documents, scanned papers, email…


Quick Look- iMovie ’11 Movie Trailers… Fast, Easy, Fun

iLife ’11 has a neat new feature for making movie trailers. It is fun, easy to use and… well look for yourselves… From iMove’11 you select, “Create a New Project” and “Movie Trailer”. You pick your theme and then get to work… You change the text in the Outline to be whatever you like… Add clips from the imported movie event clips Then adjust either the text or the clips to better fit the storyboard. You can preview and, when happy, export your new movie trailer. Have you created a trailer using the new software? If you have… check back…


iLife ’11 Includes iOS Compatible Apps? But How Would That Work? I Have One Idea…

A post over on 9to5 Mac points to a new book over on Amazon UK that suggests iLife ’11 is due in November and, surprise surprise… includes iOS compatible apps. That’s all very interesting and would be a nice turn of events, especially since there are a number of tasks I much PREFER to for using an iOS app than on an iMac, but there is one problem… iOS apps are designed for multi-touch. I have to imagine that trying to make them mouse-enabled would be, at best, inelegant. Then I got to thinking… I ALREADY HAVE a multi-touch device…