Archives For Mac

Apple related news and tips

I’ve been thinking about getting a Kindle 2 for a while, in fact I was pretty sure I was going to order one this week, but I’m not so sure now.  I was traveling home from NYMC yesterday and was telling my buddy Andy, that this exactly what I wanted, and today Amazon did it.  They released an iPhone / iPod Touch app for that allows you to read any Kindle books right on your device. Some (like Andy) don’t think that the iPhone has the right screen or size for reading, well now we can decide for ourselves.  I’ve tried a number of book readers for the iPhone, but the biggest problem was always buying the content (it was really expensive) or finding a good way to get books I already had on to it.  It looks like this solves both those problems.

Here’s a video about it (it’s a little long, but gives a good overview):

Here’s my quick Pros and Cons to this:

Pro:

  • I don’t have to spend $389 to get access to the kindle content, I can buy it right on my phone.
  • I don’t have to carry another device, I always have my phone
  • If I do get a Kindle all my books that I buy will transfer over to it.
  • Access to the great prices on books in the Kindle format
  • The app is Free

Con:

  • iPhone screen is small, reading experience won’t be as good
  • It will probably have an effect on battery life when I’m on the road
  • I’ll spend more money at Amazon (I’m sure they don’t see this as a con)
  • Purchase process is a little confusing, it would be nice if you could buy it directly from the app instead of through Safari.

If you’d like to read more, here’s a more detailed article: Amazon Kindle App for iPhone

Here’s a link to the App: Kindle for iPhone (opens in iTunes)

What do you think?  Will reading books on your phone be a good experience?

If only it would have been here a week ago.

Mac Bundle Box

Chris —  March 2, 2009 — Leave a comment

MacBundleBox is doing it again.  They are offering a ton of software (14 programs to be exact) at a huge discount!  The total cost of the software purchased separately is $333.82, but for  limited time are being sold for $49.

Some of the more interesting programs are Espionage which allows you to password protect individual folders in the finder, Draw It to create and edit vector art like Adobe Illustrator, Magnet which is a special effects program that allows you to do motion tracking (think changing someone’s eyes or adding a tattoo) and other effects, and Mac Pilot that gives you a safe environment to enable and disable things that would normally require using the terminal.

O top of all these, you also get these:

Relationship
Code Collector
Cover Stream
DEVONnote
Quick Scale
Project Calculator
Transcriva
Involver
Stuf
Blog Assist

Like all of these sort of offers, it is not forever.  TUAW says that it will end on March, 12th so if you are interested, time is of the essence!

Mac vs PC

Chris —  December 23, 2008 — Leave a comment

I’ll let the video speak for itself, but I thought it was pretty cool.

Mac Giving Tree

Chris —  December 22, 2008 — Leave a comment

mac-giving-tree

This is another post for all my Mac friends.  Macheist is giving away free software for Christmas.  There are probably some nice goodies wrapped up under the tree.

Link: Mac Giving Tree

On Wednesday Amazon released Amazon Mobile for the iPhone. Short version: it works. This is a game changer because of it’s revolutionary image-based search feature.

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Mac Update Bundle

Chris —  December 10, 2008 — Leave a comment



Sorry for another sales post, but it’s such a good deal I couldn’t resist.  I know many of you are Mac users, so I wanted to let you know about a great deal on some software.  The folks over at MacUpdate have put together a holiday bundle (click to graphic above to check it out) of software for only $49.

In my opinion it’s worth it for Drive Genius alone.  (Drive Genius is an amazing disk utility that can help recover and fix messed up hard disks.) Rapid Weaver is also a great tool creating websites if you need something a little more than iWeb.

If you’re new to the Mac platform these bundles are great ways to build of library of useful software. Even if you don’t think you will use all the programs, you might surprise your self.

The Mapple Store

Chris —  December 7, 2008 — Leave a comment

Love Apple or hate them, this is pretty funny.

This actually makes an interesting discussion starter on material things.

Mac Users Forum, NYWC Nashville

Chris —  November 25, 2008 — Leave a comment

Thanks for everyone that came out for this.  Here’s the links of all we talked about:

OS X Features that make life easier: Spotlight, Print to PDF, Expose, Spaces, quick look, dashboard, Learn the keystrokes (find them in system preferences under keyboard and mouse (cut, paste, screen capture))
iLife '08 - Apple Store (U.S.)
iLife Suite:

  • iMovie: get old version here: iMovie 6, easy to use movie editor, Final Cut Express 4.0 when you are ready for the next level
  • Garage Band: let students make songs, record worship band CDs
  • iDVD: year end gifts, camp highlights
  • iPhoto: quick slide shows, picture books
  • iTunes (simplify media)

Community -

Podcasts

Blogs

Software Suggestions:

Picks:

For more software check out our Mac Tools page.

Bee Docs’ Timeline

Jeremy —  November 17, 2008 — Leave a comment

This takes your average, boring type of timeline talk and adds an incredibly interesting visual element that transcends the common timeline.

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I’m going to date myself here, but do you remember Polaroid cameras?  I used to love to take pictures and get them instantly.  (Believe it or not, I still have one)  Well, I just found this fun little piece of software that allows you to turn any digital picture into a Polaroid image.  Enter, Poladroid.net.  And the best part is, it’s free!

After you download it and install, just drop your picture on the camera and it spits out your picture complete with sound effects.  Now remember it takes a moment for your picture to develop, so be patient.  They really got the coloring and look just right.  It would be a great tool to use on fliers or calendars. It would be super fun to set it up and let kids make their own.  I just wish it integrated with the built-in iSight on my laptop.

It’s only Mac right now, but the site says Windows is coming soon.

Link: Polaroid.net