Category: Mac

Twitter has hit something of a boom recently. From a small tech startup in San Francisco a mere seven years ago, it has blossomed to one of the largest social networks globally and the tenth most visited site on the Net. The influence of Twitter can be seen everywhere — from TV shows with hashtags in the corner to big companies promoting their brands and products with @names and hashtags — and the words “retweet” and “follower” have entered the prestigious Oxford English Dictionary as proper English words.

The Mac certainly isn’t left out here and you’ll be glad to know that there’s plenty of choice when it comes to Twitter clients. In this roundup, I take a look at eight of the best and weigh up the pros and cons of each one. If you’re unsure about which Twitter client to use, or simply fancy switching to another one, then read on for my recommendations.

1. Twitter (official)

Despite the fact it received its last update a year and a half ago (back in June 2011), the official Twitter app for OS X is still going strong. Those who used Tweetie will recognise the interface (Twitter snaffled up the company back in April 2010) and it’s good for first-time Twitter users due to its ease-of-use and simplistic interface.

The problem with the official app, though, is that it’s lacking many of the features seen in other Twitter clients, such as support for more image services and support for notifications in Mountain Lion. The lack of updates has meant that the app also hasn’t kept pace with the redesign of Twitter and its new Connect and Discover tabs, which is a real shame.

Advantages: Simple, easy-to-use design.
Disadvantages: The app is now starting to show its age. Lack of advanced features.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6 and above

2. Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is a more powerful and customisable offering than the official client and has retained the old column view from the previous version (which was acquired by Twitter in May 2011). There are plenty of features to keep even the busiest Twitter user happy, including scheduling of tweets, streaming and notifications.

Although the reviews on the App Store still lament the app’s change from the original version, there’s still plenty to like about Tweetdeck. I personally find the interface a little too “busy”, especially with the streaming feature however the fact it is owned by Twitter (and benefits from more active development) means that new features are being introduced all the time.

Advantages: Columned view with plenty of powerful features.
Disadvantages: You’ll need a Tweetdeck account in addition to your Twitter account to sign in. The interface can overwhelm at times.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6 and above

3. Tweetbot for Mac

Ever since Tweetbot was released it has become one of the popular alternative Twitter clients for Mac. Tweetbot boasts a wealth of features, including iCloud timeline sync with the iPhone and iPad versions, support for a wide range of third-party image and video services (including Cloudapp and Droplr) and full integration with Mountain Lion.

Anyone who has used the iPad version of Tweetbot will be familiar with the app’s interface, with easy access to your mentions, direct messages, lists and so on on the left hand side and even the gestures are the same – swipe left to view your conversation and right to view a tweet in a bit more detail. The app has received favourable reviews however the high price may be a slight cause for concern for some customers.

Advantages: Outstanding integration with the iOS version and a wide range of features.
Disadvantages: Interface may not please some. High price and no free trial.

Price: $19.99
Requires: OS X 10.7.4 and above and a 64-bit processor

4. Twitterrific

Twitterrific is a lightweight yet powerful Twitter client for OS X with a nice range of features that will please most Twitter users. The interface is really easy to use and has a nice coloured interface, with different ones for mentions, direct messages and so on. You can also switch between a dark and light theme, depending on your tastes.

It’s a pity that the Mac version of Twitterrific didn’t receive the same treatment to its interface like the iOS version did a couple of months back, but there’s still hope that this will be refreshed in the near future. And at $9.99, it offers almost precisely the same features as Tweetbot at half the price. There’s also a free (but ad-supported version) if you want to try before you buy.

Advantages: Good range of features in a neat interface.
Disadvantages: Needs more harmonisation with the iOS versions.

Price: $9.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 and above

5. Osfoora

Osfoora (don’t ask me where the name comes from!) is a relatively simple Twitter client that is great for people who don’t want to be overwhelmed by fancy interfaces and tonnes of unnecessary features. There’s support for muting particular Twitter users, read later services (including Instapaper and Pocket) and multiple accounts.

There are a few limitations to Osfoora, such as no pull-to-refresh but overall it presents itself as a well-rounded Twitter client. My only worry is, though, that at $5.49 there are more powerful Twitter clients out there for OS X and customers may feel inclined either to go for a cheaper option or splash out and get a Twitter client with more features.

Advantages: Decent range of features for such a small app.
Disadvantages: A little too expensive for what it’s offering.

Price: $5.49
Requires: OS X 10.6 and above

6. Socialite

Socialite works with both Twitter and Facebook and also syncs with Google Reader to aggregate your RSS feeds and your Flickr account. Aside the standard features that you would expect from a Twitter account, the app also allows you to organise all your social networks into folders, which is extremely useful if you manage a number of different accounts.

Socialite is a very customisable application and you can play around with many different aspects of it – especially the user interface. It also provides full support for notifications in Mountain Lion and integration with third-party services such as Instapaper. For $9.99, it’s great for managing multiple accounts and you could dispense with all other Twitter clients – if you don’t mind the slightly cumbersome Timeline view.

Advantages: Fantastic handling of multiple social networking accounts. A great “all-in-one” application.
Disadvantages: Can be quite awkward to use, especially in the Timeline view. No support for Tweet Marker.

Price: $9.95
Requires: OS X 10.6 and above

Which One To Download?

I hope this roundup has helped you sift through all of the Twitter clients for OS X out there! Of course, I haven’t included all of them – rather my six favourite apps – and there’s still, at least, the Twitter web app that’ll work on almost any Mac, as well as Mountain Lion’s native Twitter integration. And really, each app has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you’ll need to pick the best one for you. If there’s another app that I’ve forgotten, then please include it in the comments below!

Screenwriting is not for the weak of heart. Writing the next blockbuster to break into Sunset Blvd is no easy task, and the required applications to do the job often come with an expensive price tag. The film industry itself mostly forces you to use a specific formatting for your scripts and spend more than 200 bucks on an application that is not even that good.

Highland is the prime resource for screenwriters that use the Fountain syntax to write their screenplays. It’s a minimalist, almost distraction-free writing environment that is closer to iA Writer or Byword rather than any other screenwriting application. So if you have any interest in learning a little bit about the struggles to write down your favorite films or have no clue what is this Fountain thing, keep reading.

Explaining Fountain

By now you probably heard of Markdown, right? It’s a popular plain-text editing syntax developed by John Gruber to make writing for the web easier. This article you’re reading was written in Markdown, for example, then converted to HTML for publishing in WordPress. We can say, generally speaking, that Fountain is the Markdown for screenwriters.

Before Markdown, anyone with the proper knowledge could still open up any text editor and type an article in HTML. The syntax just made things easier on the eye. Fountain, on the other hand, gave screenwriters a completely new opportunity: to write whole scripts in plain text.

This not only gave writers the chance to work on their screenplays for free, but also to write them down on any text editor while still respecting the industry standards. Wanna write an entire screenplay on TextEdit? Now you can.

If you get into trouble memorizing the syntax, you can download my TextExpander snippets and edit them as you please.

Open the way for Highland

Highland is a project recently released on Mac App Store after a long beta. It is created by the same team that brought us Fountain, which includes the renowned screenwriter John August. Highland is an application to edit and export screenplays using Fountain, PDF or FDX (the extension for Final Draft files, which is the Hollywood sweetheart). We’ll get into that. But now let’s talk about its gorgeous interface.

Write in a better environment

Highland has the cleanest interface among all screenwriting-specific applications. It has a sidebar with three simple options: Editor, Preview or Export. There’s a tiny page icon on the left corner to check your current page or jump to any other. If you may consider the option to go Full Screen, that’s all it offers initially.

Digging a little deeper, you can customize the fonts, colors and text width in the Editor panel. Highland comes with two really special fonts for screenwriters, the first one was announced earlier and is the Courier Prime. Hollywood has its reasons for Courier, and if that’s not the font, the producer won’t even touch your screenplay. But Courier is an outdated font, especially with all these Retina displays. Courier Prime is an update and you can read everything about it here.

Highland Sans is another beautiful typeface that comes for a refined editing experience, brand-new and made specially for the app. It looks so good that even with the option to change it to a more familiar font, I doubt to ever do it.

If you search a bit more, you’ll find that the application has a Dark Mode, which is also customizable and I truly recommend you to do try for some more pleasant colors. White characters on black canvas is so nineties.

Previewing, Converting and Exporting

Hollywood takes formatting very seriously and plain text doesn’t format everything automatically. Since its beta, Highland has been the go-to option to previewing and exporting your work into formats you could send to a producer, ones that would look nice enough that he wouldn’t grimace at your script and use it as a door holder. The official version keeps the great Preview mode and the two most important export formats: PDF and FDX.

Still, it is not all about writing in plain text and exporting to reliable formats for a presentation. It also goes the other way around. If you’re working on a script at Final Draft, have an urgent trip scheduled and can only carry your smartphone, you can convert your script to Fountain or plain text with Highland and keep writing in any plain text app.

But what if all you have is a PDF? Yes, it also converts selectable PDFs into editable files. So if you put your hands on a famous screenplay (those with a shot at the Oscars were available online a few months ago for the awards’ consideration), you may import it into Highland, change a few words and pretend to be the next Tarantino.

Now for the third act

If you’re an amateur or professional screenwriter, Highland and Fountain gift the vocation with the flexibility the modern world requires. It is a great environment to write your next film with an attractive price tag, but also a powerhouse of features that will help you shine in the screenwriting business.

Screenwriting is not for the weak of heart. Writing the next blockbuster to break into Sunset Blvd is no easy task, and the required applications to do the job often come with an expensive price tag. The film industry itself mostly forces you to use a specific formatting for your scripts and spend more than 200 bucks on an application that is not even that good.

Highland is the prime resource for screenwriters that use the Fountain syntax to write their screenplays. It’s a minimalist, almost distraction-free writing environment that is closer to iA Writer or Byword rather than any other screenwriting application. So if you have any interest in learning a little bit about the struggles to write down your favorite films or have no clue what is this Fountain thing, keep reading.

Explaining Fountain

By now you probably heard of Markdown, right? It’s a popular plain-text editing syntax developed by John Gruber to make writing for the web easier. This article you’re reading was written in Markdown, for example, then converted to HTML for publishing in WordPress. We can say, generally speaking, that Fountain is the Markdown for screenwriters.

Before Markdown, anyone with the proper knowledge could still open up any text editor and type an article in HTML. The syntax just made things easier on the eye. Fountain, on the other hand, gave screenwriters a completely new opportunity: to write whole scripts in plain text.

This not only gave writers the chance to work on their screenplays for free, but also to write them down on any text editor while still respecting the industry standards. Wanna write an entire screenplay on TextEdit? Now you can.

If you get into trouble memorizing the syntax, you can download my TextExpander snippets and edit them as you please.

Open the way for Highland

Highland is a project recently released on Mac App Store after a long beta. It is created by the same team that brought us Fountain, which includes the renowned screenwriter John August. Highland is an application to edit and export screenplays using Fountain, PDF or FDX (the extension for Final Draft files, which is the Hollywood sweetheart). We’ll get into that. But now let’s talk about its gorgeous interface.

Write in a better environment

Highland has the cleanest interface among all screenwriting-specific applications. It has a sidebar with three simple options: Editor, Preview or Export. There’s a tiny page icon on the left corner to check your current page or jump to any other. If you may consider the option to go Full Screen, that’s all it offers initially.

Digging a little deeper, you can customize the fonts, colors and text width in the Editor panel. Highland comes with two really special fonts for screenwriters, the first one was announced earlier and is the Courier Prime. Hollywood has its reasons for Courier, and if that’s not the font, the producer won’t even touch your screenplay. But Courier is an outdated font, especially with all these Retina displays. Courier Prime is an update and you can read everything about it here.

Highland Sans is another beautiful typeface that comes for a refined editing experience, brand-new and made specially for the app. It looks so good that even with the option to change it to a more familiar font, I doubt to ever do it.

If you search a bit more, you’ll find that the application has a Dark Mode, which is also customizable and I truly recommend you to do try for some more pleasant colors. White characters on black canvas is so nineties.

Previewing, Converting and Exporting

Hollywood takes formatting very seriously and plain text doesn’t format everything automatically. Since its beta, Highland has been the go-to option to previewing and exporting your work into formats you could send to a producer, ones that would look nice enough that he wouldn’t grimace at your script and use it as a door holder. The official version keeps the great Preview mode and the two most important export formats: PDF and FDX.

Still, it is not all about writing in plain text and exporting to reliable formats for a presentation. It also goes the other way around. If you’re working on a script at Final Draft, have an urgent trip scheduled and can only carry your smartphone, you can convert your script to Fountain or plain text with Highland and keep writing in any plain text app.

But what if all you have is a PDF? Yes, it also converts selectable PDFs into editable files. So if you put your hands on a famous screenplay (those with a shot at the Oscars were available online a few months ago for the awards’ consideration), you may import it into Highland, change a few words and pretend to be the next Tarantino.

Now for the third act

If you’re an amateur or professional screenwriter, Highland and Fountain gift the vocation with the flexibility the modern world requires. It is a great environment to write your next film with an attractive price tag, but also a powerhouse of features that will help you shine in the screenwriting business.

Have you ever been transported to a faraway planet after your particle accelerator melted down and become best friends with a giant mud alien? If you have, call me, we should talk, because that is too cool, but let’s be honest with ourselves, you’re probably never going to do anything that cool.

If you want to pretend, though, you should maybe play Another World, because it has all that, a pterodactyl creature, and more. A refresh of the 1991 game, called Out of This World in North America, the 20th anniversary edition of Another World has all the charm and unexpected comradery that made the original so poignant. But is Another World still worth another look after all these years?

Take Me Away

You play as the protagonist, Lester Knight Chaykin, who may have the best name ever. Lester is a particle physicist, so obviously his experiment goes wrong and he’s pulled through space and time to another dimension. He finds himself on a barren planet with toothy slugs to begin and all sorts of other critters later. Imprisoned and forced to break out with a fellow captive, Lester and his new friend “Buddy” attempt to make their way out of the prison and to freedom.

Lester begins the game completely defenseless, and though he picks up a weapon that can provide some protection, any amount of damage causes instant death. Luckily, checkpoints are numerous, because even the best players are going to die a lot. Lester can respawn from the same checkpoint indefinitely, though, so not to worry.

Once Lester finds a weapon, scavenged from a fallen enemy, you’ll really start to make your way. There are three firing modes, the first being the sort of pew! pew! you’d expect from a side-scrolling platformer ported to the Mac from the Amiga. Once Lester has the gun, he can use it to create an energy shield, useful when you’re as vulnerable as this guy. The third mode is a charged burst that can really do some damage, even knocking out walls.

If you’re wondering how you get Lester from Point A to Point B, it’s not so bad. I’m always concerned that platformers are going to feel awkward on a keyboard, but this one didn’t. The arrow keys move you around, and you’ll set a command and a jump button. It’s actually pretty simple without a lot of mapping to remember, but Another World supports a controller (called a joystick in settings) if you’re inclined.

Running, Jumping, Shooting

No one can say Another World isn’t a platformer. There’s running and jumping, you’ll have to avoid enemies, and other enemies with have to be killed. Lester has to make it through a couple of different environments which definitely feel like beating dungeons or Mario worlds. If you’re a fan of platformers and that’s what you’re here for, Another World definitely has everything you’re looking for.

Beyond the platforming aspects, though, Another World turns out to be a bit of a puzzler. You can’t just push Lester and “Buddy” through the maze of tunnels, relentlessly killing enemies, and expect to make it through to the other end. Solving the puzzles becomes part of survival, so while straight platformers are fine, there is a bit more meat on this bone.

The Magic of Video Games

The graphics still look phenomenal, even after more than twenty years. Part of that is definitely the feeling of nostalgia that comes from playing a retro game. If you played the original for the Amiga or one of the ports when you were a kid, the nostalgia will be even stronger. More than that, though, the graphics are surprisingly smooth, and I didn’t find myself wishing for more polygons, the building blocks of video game graphics, the way I usually do with refreshed games.

That’s likely due in large part to how the original was created. Another World had a particularly high frame rate for the time and used vector outlines to create impressive graphics using less storage. Much of the movement in the game was achieved using rotoscoping, a process in which animators trace over real footage. The original rotoscoped animations created smooth graphics then and kept the game from feeling dated even today.

Final Thoughts

I ran into a few problems, playing, though. I run Mac OS X 10.8, and had no problems getting Another World up and running, but it’s supposed to be compatible with 10.7, too. Unfortunately, when I tried to install and run it on my husband’s machine running Lion, Another World said his OS was outdated. Which would be fine, if Another World is only supposed to run on 10.8, but the system requirements support 10.7. There was also sometimes a lag even on my Mountain Lion machine when I would be shooting, especially if I wanted to quickly run away.

Despite the few technical issues I ran into, Another World is just a fantastic looking game with a great story, if you pay attention. Follow it through to the end, and you’ll see a beautiful friendship formed against the bleak backdrop of the alien world. If you played it when you were a kid, it’s worth another playthrough, not just for the memories, but because it’s a great game. If you’ve never played Another World, well, it’s still a great game.

Have you ever been transported to a faraway planet after your particle accelerator melted down and become best friends with a giant mud alien? If you have, call me, we should talk, because that is too cool, but let’s be honest with ourselves, you’re probably never going to do anything that cool.

If you want to pretend, though, you should maybe play Another World, because it has all that, a pterodactyl creature, and more. A refresh of the 1991 game, called Out of This World in North America, the 20th anniversary edition of Another World has all the charm and unexpected comradery that made the original so poignant. But is Another World still worth another look after all these years?

Take Me Away

You play as the protagonist, Lester Knight Chaykin, who may have the best name ever. Lester is a particle physicist, so obviously his experiment goes wrong and he’s pulled through space and time to another dimension. He finds himself on a barren planet with toothy slugs to begin and all sorts of other critters later. Imprisoned and forced to break out with a fellow captive, Lester and his new friend “Buddy” attempt to make their way out of the prison and to freedom.

Lester begins the game completely defenseless, and though he picks up a weapon that can provide some protection, any amount of damage causes instant death. Luckily, checkpoints are numerous, because even the best players are going to die a lot. Lester can respawn from the same checkpoint indefinitely, though, so not to worry.

Once Lester finds a weapon, scavenged from a fallen enemy, you’ll really start to make your way. There are three firing modes, the first being the sort of pew! pew! you’d expect from a side-scrolling platformer ported to the Mac from the Amiga. Once Lester has the gun, he can use it to create an energy shield, useful when you’re as vulnerable as this guy. The third mode is a charged burst that can really do some damage, even knocking out walls.

If you’re wondering how you get Lester from Point A to Point B, it’s not so bad. I’m always concerned that platformers are going to feel awkward on a keyboard, but this one didn’t. The arrow keys move you around, and you’ll set a command and a jump button. It’s actually pretty simple without a lot of mapping to remember, but Another World supports a controller (called a joystick in settings) if you’re inclined.

Running, Jumping, Shooting

No one can say Another World isn’t a platformer. There’s running and jumping, you’ll have to avoid enemies, and other enemies with have to be killed. Lester has to make it through a couple of different environments which definitely feel like beating dungeons or Mario worlds. If you’re a fan of platformers and that’s what you’re here for, Another World definitely has everything you’re looking for.

Beyond the platforming aspects, though, Another World turns out to be a bit of a puzzler. You can’t just push Lester and “Buddy” through the maze of tunnels, relentlessly killing enemies, and expect to make it through to the other end. Solving the puzzles becomes part of survival, so while straight platformers are fine, there is a bit more meat on this bone.

The Magic of Video Games

The graphics still look phenomenal, even after more than twenty years. Part of that is definitely the feeling of nostalgia that comes from playing a retro game. If you played the original for the Amiga or one of the ports when you were a kid, the nostalgia will be even stronger. More than that, though, the graphics are surprisingly smooth, and I didn’t find myself wishing for more polygons, the building blocks of video game graphics, the way I usually do with refreshed games.

That’s likely due in large part to how the original was created. Another World had a particularly high frame rate for the time and used vector outlines to create impressive graphics using less storage. Much of the movement in the game was achieved using rotoscoping, a process in which animators trace over real footage. The original rotoscoped animations created smooth graphics then and kept the game from feeling dated even today.

Final Thoughts

I ran into a few problems, playing, though. I run Mac OS X 10.8, and had no problems getting Another World up and running, but it’s supposed to be compatible with 10.7, too. Unfortunately, when I tried to install and run it on my husband’s machine running Lion, Another World said his OS was outdated. Which would be fine, if Another World is only supposed to run on 10.8, but the system requirements support 10.7. There was also sometimes a lag even on my Mountain Lion machine when I would be shooting, especially if I wanted to quickly run away.

Despite the few technical issues I ran into, Another World is just a fantastic looking game with a great story, if you pay attention. Follow it through to the end, and you’ll see a beautiful friendship formed against the bleak backdrop of the alien world. If you played it when you were a kid, it’s worth another playthrough, not just for the memories, but because it’s a great game. If you’ve never played Another World, well, it’s still a great game.

Here at Envato, we try to encourage all kinds of creativity. From web design to video effects, Envato has most of it covered. What about crafts like collages and scrapbooking, though?

If you are into that kind of creative endeavors, today we have a nice app that you may be interested in. This app known as CollageFactory Pro will get you started with creating collages and greeting cards with ease. Follow us after the break to find out what we think about it.

CollageFactory Pro Overview

CollageFactory Pro is all about creating scrapbooks, posters, greeting cards, and collages with ease. With over 100 greeting card templates, over 50 collage templates, and a easy-to-use editing tools, you can start creating elaborate designs without ever needing to rely on any other application.

When creating cards, you have the ability to drop some stylized frames, maskable objects, and clipart to your project which allows you to customize your card even more. Of course you can always Google up something you can’t find and drag it onto your canvas and you’ll be set, but it is nice to have these bits available.

Crafting with CollageFactory Pro

If you’ve ever used Comic Life or any app like it, you will feel right at home with CollageFactory Pro; things are really straight forward and there is really nothing complex to worry about. If you need to move an item, simply click on it and drag it – yup, that is as difficult as it’ll get.

With CollageFactory Pro you can add text, customize your art’s background, mask photos, and randomize image location or tiles, but what makes CollageFactory Pro more practical is the ability to edit a tile’s attributes. Things like borders, margins, and shadows can all be edited, so you will never be restricted to a certain template – and why should you be, it is all about creating something you want to be proud of, something that you yourself created.

These options are good to have as they give you more control over your projects, but in some areas, CollageFactory Pro just doesn’t deliver. For example, when you are picking styles for your text, the selection you have is rather short and not very appealing. Some styles are so ugly you will probably never use them, so the overall number of available styles becomes even less.

If you are planning on printing your projects, CollageFactory Pro has an easy way to input custom sizes; with that said, there is no PPI options available. There is also a lack of variety in the ways you can export your projects. With Twitter and Facebook integrated into OS X, you’d imagine at least these would make an appearance with some kind of quick-sharing button.

CollageFactory Pro Drawbacks

When making a purchase of over 20 dollars, you probably want to make sure it isn’t a complete waste of money. Unlike a lot of 99 cents applications, CollageFactory Pro actually costs a bit of money, and this really makes you think.

For what it is, this app is wonderful at what it does, and not only that, but it is simple and easy to use, so kids can use it, your mother or sister can use it, and probably the whole family can get use to making cool elaborate greeting cards.

On the flip side, if you are a Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign ninja, you really don’t need this application whatsoever. Granted, if you just want to hop in and do something simple, sure, why not, but if you know how to use the applications named above, you will have much more control over your projects.

Verdict

CollageFactory Pro can be really fun and essential for someone who enjoys making greeting cards, collages and scrapbooks. The fact that you can get this app and know how to use it by just playing around with it for a few seconds makes it the perfect family app, too.

At its price point, however, it really depends on how many times a week or a month – or a year – you will use this application. If you want a solid piece of software that you can create cool crafts with, this is your app. If you are going to use this for every other Christmas or Mothers Day, you are probably not going to want this as much.

Here at Envato, we try to encourage all kinds of creativity. From web design to video effects, Envato has most of it covered. What about crafts like collages and scrapbooking, though?

If you are into that kind of creative endeavors, today we have a nice app that you may be interested in. This app known as CollageFactory Pro will get you started with creating collages and greeting cards with ease. Follow us after the break to find out what we think about it.

CollageFactory Pro Overview

CollageFactory Pro is all about creating scrapbooks, posters, greeting cards, and collages with ease. With over 100 greeting card templates, over 50 collage templates, and a easy-to-use editing tools, you can start creating elaborate designs without ever needing to rely on any other application.

When creating cards, you have the ability to drop some stylized frames, maskable objects, and clipart to your project which allows you to customize your card even more. Of course you can always Google up something you can’t find and drag it onto your canvas and you’ll be set, but it is nice to have these bits available.

Crafting with CollageFactory Pro

If you’ve ever used Comic Life or any app like it, you will feel right at home with CollageFactory Pro; things are really straight forward and there is really nothing complex to worry about. If you need to move an item, simply click on it and drag it – yup, that is as difficult as it’ll get.

With CollageFactory Pro you can add text, customize your art’s background, mask photos, and randomize image location or tiles, but what makes CollageFactory Pro more practical is the ability to edit a tile’s attributes. Things like borders, margins, and shadows can all be edited, so you will never be restricted to a certain template – and why should you be, it is all about creating something you want to be proud of, something that you yourself created.

These options are good to have as they give you more control over your projects, but in some areas, CollageFactory Pro just doesn’t deliver. For example, when you are picking styles for your text, the selection you have is rather short and not very appealing. Some styles are so ugly you will probably never use them, so the overall number of available styles becomes even less.

If you are planning on printing your projects, CollageFactory Pro has an easy way to input custom sizes; with that said, there is no PPI options available. There is also a lack of variety in the ways you can export your projects. With Twitter and Facebook integrated into OS X, you’d imagine at least these would make an appearance with some kind of quick-sharing button.

CollageFactory Pro Drawbacks

When making a purchase of over 20 dollars, you probably want to make sure it isn’t a complete waste of money. Unlike a lot of 99 cents applications, CollageFactory Pro actually costs a bit of money, and this really makes you think.

For what it is, this app is wonderful at what it does, and not only that, but it is simple and easy to use, so kids can use it, your mother or sister can use it, and probably the whole family can get use to making cool elaborate greeting cards.

On the flip side, if you are a Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign ninja, you really don’t need this application whatsoever. Granted, if you just want to hop in and do something simple, sure, why not, but if you know how to use the applications named above, you will have much more control over your projects.

Verdict

CollageFactory Pro can be really fun and essential for someone who enjoys making greeting cards, collages and scrapbooks. The fact that you can get this app and know how to use it by just playing around with it for a few seconds makes it the perfect family app, too.

At its price point, however, it really depends on how many times a week or a month – or a year – you will use this application. If you want a solid piece of software that you can create cool crafts with, this is your app. If you are going to use this for every other Christmas or Mothers Day, you are probably not going to want this as much.

With two Macs on rotation — an iMac and a MacBook Air — plopped on top of 20 years on Apple’s side of the operating system fence, I’ve come to use a lot of apps. More even than I can think of off the top of my head, in fact. But some stick out as essential daily drivers, without which I’d struggle to get anything done.

Here’s a choice selection of the apps I use and rely upon nearly every day.

Words to Remember

I write for a living, so I take my text editing and word processing apps very seriously. But these days I don’t care much about how they look; I just want to save time and limit the pain of organization. My focus is consequently on two old workhorses, with a third there for assistance.

MacJournal

I like MacJournal because it makes it so simple for me to jump between writing tasks, and to look through old stories. I have different journals for each place I write (or wrote), plus a few extras that help me stay organized. I keep a list of article ideas, like most freelancers, but my list is a series of journal entries that can be quickly and effortlessly executed. MacJournal has fallen behind the times in design and features, unfortunately, but I’m still not convinced that the likes of Day One can do the job I want.

Price: $39.95
Requires: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Developer: Dan Schimpf/Mariner Software

Scrivener

That’s becoming less of an issue, however, as I gravitate further toward Scrivener, which is a brilliant app for large writing projects of all kinds — novels, screenplays, theses, reports, multi-thousand-word articles, poetry, and so on. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but once I’d learned my way around I found it invaluable for coping with complex stories. I especially love the flexibility in viewing documents and integrating research.

Price: $45
Requires: OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Literature and Latte

TextWrangler

I seldom use TextWrangler for any writing, actually, but it’s an essential intermediary between composing and publishing. I’ve set up a script that converts my rich-text-formatted writings into HTML, spitting them out into TextWrangler — where I tweak a few things as required before pushing the text through to the content management system. TextWrangler’s also great for quick editing of scripts and preference files, too.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Developer: Bare Bones Software

To Stay Plugged In

I seldom bother opening my RSS reader (NetNewsWire) on the Mac now that I have an iPad with The Early Edition 2 and Mr Reader installed, but I still very much live on the Internet at my iMac and MacBook Air. To that end, three apps dominate:

Firefox

I favor Firefox to Chrome and Safari for two reasons. While all three major browsers run into issues when you have many tabs open (I’m on tab #378 as I write this, believe it or not), only Firefox has a built-in option to load a tab only after it’s been selected — which negates nearly all problems you could run into from such a habit. My other reason is rather circular in that it’s because I have all those tabs in my Firefox session — to migrate would be a nightmare.

You’re probably wondering why anyone could possibly need 378 browser tabs. It relates to my browsing habits; I like to keep a tab open until I’m ready to not come back, so things to check out later, or to monitor, or that I need for a current project all take a portion. It’s usually between 120 and 200, but I got a bit crazy recently.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Mozilla

Osfoora

I was one of those tragics who stuck with Twitter for Mac long after its development was abandoned, but I finally gave up in November last year. My choice was not flavor of the month Tweetbot, but rather Osfoora, which in its current carnation looks and feels like the natural evolution of Twitter’s forgotten Mac app. My only complaints at this point are that there’s no option to combine multiple accounts into one Timeline view, and that you can’t open a saved search or list in a separate window.

Price: $4.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Said Marouf

MailPop Pro

Gmail in the browser is a pain, but I happen to like its interface — especially the tablet version. So how do I combine the “true” Gmail experience with the convenience of a desktop app? With MailPop Pro, a cool little menubar app that impressed me on review. It offers all the features of Gmail in your browser, only more tightly-integrated with OS X. The highlights for me are keyboard shortcuts, floating windows, and switching between tablet, mobile, and web interfaces.

I’m still waiting for multiple account support, though. And tablet view started misbehaving recently following a change to Gmail’s tablet and mobile interfaces.

Price: $0.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Binary Bakery

A Helping Hand

I use heaps of utilities and in-the-background productivity apps, so I’ve decided to just highlight a few less obvious or controversial choices. Keep in mind, however, that I also make serious use of Evernote, Dropbox, and SugarSync for cloud storage, along with Bartender to keep my menubar uncluttered, iStat Menus (which I reviewed) to monitor my Mac, and PopChar X for special characters. And that’s without going into the irregularly-used tools.

ScreenFloat and Snapz Pro X

Much of my writing involves reviewing apps and games, which requires copious amounts of screenshot-taking. I recently put Snapz Pro X back in the hot seat as my general-purpose screenshot tool, for capturing windows, regions, or the entire screen, after realizing it’s still a powerhouse — despite UI issues.

Price: $69
Requires: OS X 10.7.4 or later
Developer: Ambrosia Software

Meanwhile, I have ScreenFloat for quick last-minute snaps and for floating reference material. It’s particularly useful for this second function, with screenshots floating above everything as you hop between apps or enter information into a full-screen app. My opinion of the app stands unchanged since my glowing review from July last year (I’m noticing a trend here that I didn’t before).

Price: $5.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Eternal Storms

Acorn and Phatch

So what happens when I need to edit one or more of these screenshots? Or what if I need to do a custom graphic for an article header? For anything quick and small, I just stick to Preview, but if I need anything more sophisticated — like batch processing or messing with composites or advanced filters — I have two favorites.

Phatch is a cross-platform photo/image batch processor written in my favorite programming language, Python. What it lacks in style it more than makes up in power and grace, effortlessly resizing, cropping, and applying filters to my images. All I have to do is set up the rules and away it goes.

Price: Free
Requires: Python 2.5 or later and wxPython; here’s a precompiled Universal Binary
Developer: Phatch Team

For the more finicky tasks, like compositing multiple images into one or cleaning up bad lighting, I turn to Acorn, a much cheaper alternative to industry standard Photoshop. It’s not as powerful as Adobe’s juggernaut, but I’d say it’s enough for 90% of the tasks you’d do in Photoshop — at a fraction of the price.

Price: $49.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Flying Meat

CuteClips

Clipboard management apps are a dime a dozen — even to the point where most launcher apps have integrated the feature. But I stick to a little menubar tool called CuteClips, which I can summon with a quick Command-Shift-V shortcut, then pick the stuff I want to paste with arrows and Return, a mouse click, or a tap of a number key (if I’ve assigned it to a specific clip). On top of that, tapping the space bar enables concatenation of multiple clips, one after the other.

Price: $15
Requires: OS X 10.5 or later
Developer: BrikSoftware

TotalFinder and TotalSpaces

I didn’t believe the hype surrounding TotalFinder and TotalSpaces until I picked them both up in a bundle late last year. But now I’m a total convert. TotalFinder adds tabs and a bunch of other cool features to your Finder windows, along with a pop-up floating window that can be called at any time. This has saved me hours in hopping between the Finder and other apps to grab specific files.

Price: $18
Requires: OS X 10.7 or later
Developer: BinaryAge

TotalSpaces returns the grid layout to Spaces, along with custom transitions, a separate overview grid, and more robust options. Like TotalFinder, it changed my workflow for the better — pushing me to finally split independent tasks into separate spaces, vastly reducing window clutter.

Price: $15
Requires: OS X 10.7 or later
Developer: BinaryAge

The Hit List

I tried using several different reminder, planning, and task management apps, but none stuck with me. I’d set them up, force myself to keep things updated, then give up entirely a week or two later. They did nothing to improve my workflow; I just got annoyed at the extra overheads.

Then I found The Hit List, a lightweight task/to-do list that avoids the complexity of OmniFocus and Wunderlist while retaining my three must-have features — start date, due date, and tags. I use it to help me keep track of freelance assignments and to give self-imposed deadlines for pitching ideas.

Price: $49.99
Requires: OS X 10.6.6 or later
Developer: Potion Factory

What About You?

Those are the apps essential to my daily routine. What do you use? And what should I consider switching to? Let us know in the comments below, be sure to check out Jacob’s and Reid’s lists, and stay tuned for the upcoming workflows from others on our team!

With two Macs on rotation — an iMac and a MacBook Air — plopped on top of 20 years on Apple’s side of the operating system fence, I’ve come to use a lot of apps. More even than I can think of off the top of my head, in fact. But some stick out as essential daily drivers, without which I’d struggle to get anything done.

Here’s a choice selection of the apps I use and rely upon nearly every day.

Words to Remember

I write for a living, so I take my text editing and word processing apps very seriously. But these days I don’t care much about how they look; I just want to save time and limit the pain of organization. My focus is consequently on two old workhorses, with a third there for assistance.

MacJournal

I like MacJournal because it makes it so simple for me to jump between writing tasks, and to look through old stories. I have different journals for each place I write (or wrote), plus a few extras that help me stay organized. I keep a list of article ideas, like most freelancers, but my list is a series of journal entries that can be quickly and effortlessly executed. MacJournal has fallen behind the times in design and features, unfortunately, but I’m still not convinced that the likes of Day One can do the job I want.

Price: $39.95
Requires: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Developer: Dan Schimpf/Mariner Software

Scrivener

That’s becoming less of an issue, however, as I gravitate further toward Scrivener, which is a brilliant app for large writing projects of all kinds — novels, screenplays, theses, reports, multi-thousand-word articles, poetry, and so on. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but once I’d learned my way around I found it invaluable for coping with complex stories. I especially love the flexibility in viewing documents and integrating research.

Price: $45
Requires: OS X 10.4 or later
Developer: Literature and Latte

TextWrangler

I seldom use TextWrangler for any writing, actually, but it’s an essential intermediary between composing and publishing. I’ve set up a script that converts my rich-text-formatted writings into HTML, spitting them out into TextWrangler — where I tweak a few things as required before pushing the text through to the content management system. TextWrangler’s also great for quick editing of scripts and preference files, too.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6.8 or later
Developer: Bare Bones Software

To Stay Plugged In

I seldom bother opening my RSS reader (NetNewsWire) on the Mac now that I have an iPad with The Early Edition 2 and Mr Reader installed, but I still very much live on the Internet at my iMac and MacBook Air. To that end, three apps dominate:

Firefox

I favor Firefox to Chrome and Safari for two reasons. While all three major browsers run into issues when you have many tabs open (I’m on tab #378 as I write this, believe it or not), only Firefox has a built-in option to load a tab only after it’s been selected — which negates nearly all problems you could run into from such a habit. My other reason is rather circular in that it’s because I have all those tabs in my Firefox session — to migrate would be a nightmare.

You’re probably wondering why anyone could possibly need 378 browser tabs. It relates to my browsing habits; I like to keep a tab open until I’m ready to not come back, so things to check out later, or to monitor, or that I need for a current project all take a portion. It’s usually between 120 and 200, but I got a bit crazy recently.

Price: Free
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Mozilla

Osfoora

I was one of those tragics who stuck with Twitter for Mac long after its development was abandoned, but I finally gave up in November last year. My choice was not flavor of the month Tweetbot, but rather Osfoora, which in its current carnation looks and feels like the natural evolution of Twitter’s forgotten Mac app. My only complaints at this point are that there’s no option to combine multiple accounts into one Timeline view, and that you can’t open a saved search or list in a separate window.

Price: $4.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Said Marouf

MailPop Pro

Gmail in the browser is a pain, but I happen to like its interface — especially the tablet version. So how do I combine the “true” Gmail experience with the convenience of a desktop app? With MailPop Pro, a cool little menubar app that impressed me on review. It offers all the features of Gmail in your browser, only more tightly-integrated with OS X. The highlights for me are keyboard shortcuts, floating windows, and switching between tablet, mobile, and web interfaces.

I’m still waiting for multiple account support, though. And tablet view started misbehaving recently following a change to Gmail’s tablet and mobile interfaces.

Price: $0.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Binary Bakery

A Helping Hand

I use heaps of utilities and in-the-background productivity apps, so I’ve decided to just highlight a few less obvious or controversial choices. Keep in mind, however, that I also make serious use of Evernote, Dropbox, and SugarSync for cloud storage, along with Bartender to keep my menubar uncluttered, iStat Menus (which I reviewed) to monitor my Mac, and PopChar X for special characters. And that’s without going into the irregularly-used tools.

ScreenFloat and Snapz Pro X

Much of my writing involves reviewing apps and games, which requires copious amounts of screenshot-taking. I recently put Snapz Pro X back in the hot seat as my general-purpose screenshot tool, for capturing windows, regions, or the entire screen, after realizing it’s still a powerhouse — despite UI issues.

Price: $69
Requires: OS X 10.7.4 or later
Developer: Ambrosia Software

Meanwhile, I have ScreenFloat for quick last-minute snaps and for floating reference material. It’s particularly useful for this second function, with screenshots floating above everything as you hop between apps or enter information into a full-screen app. My opinion of the app stands unchanged since my glowing review from July last year (I’m noticing a trend here that I didn’t before).

Price: $5.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Eternal Storms

Acorn and Phatch

So what happens when I need to edit one or more of these screenshots? Or what if I need to do a custom graphic for an article header? For anything quick and small, I just stick to Preview, but if I need anything more sophisticated — like batch processing or messing with composites or advanced filters — I have two favorites.

Phatch is a cross-platform photo/image batch processor written in my favorite programming language, Python. What it lacks in style it more than makes up in power and grace, effortlessly resizing, cropping, and applying filters to my images. All I have to do is set up the rules and away it goes.

Price: Free
Requires: Python 2.5 or later and wxPython; here’s a precompiled Universal Binary
Developer: Phatch Team

For the more finicky tasks, like compositing multiple images into one or cleaning up bad lighting, I turn to Acorn, a much cheaper alternative to industry standard Photoshop. It’s not as powerful as Adobe’s juggernaut, but I’d say it’s enough for 90% of the tasks you’d do in Photoshop — at a fraction of the price.

Price: $49.99
Requires: OS X 10.6 or later
Developer: Flying Meat

CuteClips

Clipboard management apps are a dime a dozen — even to the point where most launcher apps have integrated the feature. But I stick to a little menubar tool called CuteClips, which I can summon with a quick Command-Shift-V shortcut, then pick the stuff I want to paste with arrows and Return, a mouse click, or a tap of a number key (if I’ve assigned it to a specific clip). On top of that, tapping the space bar enables concatenation of multiple clips, one after the other.

Price: $15
Requires: OS X 10.5 or later
Developer: BrikSoftware

TotalFinder and TotalSpaces

I didn’t believe the hype surrounding TotalFinder and TotalSpaces until I picked them both up in a bundle late last year. But now I’m a total convert. TotalFinder adds tabs and a bunch of other cool features to your Finder windows, along with a pop-up floating window that can be called at any time. This has saved me hours in hopping between the Finder and other apps to grab specific files.

Price: $18
Requires: OS X 10.7 or later
Developer: BinaryAge

TotalSpaces returns the grid layout to Spaces, along with custom transitions, a separate overview grid, and more robust options. Like TotalFinder, it changed my workflow for the better — pushing me to finally split independent tasks into separate spaces, vastly reducing window clutter.

Price: $15
Requires: OS X 10.7 or later
Developer: BinaryAge

The Hit List

I tried using several different reminder, planning, and task management apps, but none stuck with me. I’d set them up, force myself to keep things updated, then give up entirely a week or two later. They did nothing to improve my workflow; I just got annoyed at the extra overheads.

Then I found The Hit List, a lightweight task/to-do list that avoids the complexity of OmniFocus and Wunderlist while retaining my three must-have features — start date, due date, and tags. I use it to help me keep track of freelance assignments and to give self-imposed deadlines for pitching ideas.

Price: $49.99
Requires: OS X 10.6.6 or later
Developer: Potion Factory

What About You?

Those are the apps essential to my daily routine. What do you use? And what should I consider switching to? Let us know in the comments below, be sure to check out Jacob’s and Reid’s lists, and stay tuned for the upcoming workflows from others on our team!

I’m subscribed to a bunch of different cloud storage services, so I have all these extra folders all over my computer. Nothing actually seems to be where it should and it can be hard remembering where I stuck something during my last round of “organization.” I’m on the look out for anything that can really get my Finder organized and save me from myself.

That’s where ClawMenu comes in, as a sort of hybrid of Finder and Launchbar. A place to add shortcuts for your applications, folders and files, it’ll allow you to browse all of that mess, too. How does it stand up against the real thing, though?

This Claw Is Sharp

There are three main panes in ClawMenu, starting with the Finder bar in the black upper space. The upper pane will have three essential folders by default that can’t be removed, but you can add any other folders you need there. For instance, my Applications folder was already sitting tidy up top, but I need to get into my work files a lot, too, so I added my Documents. Everything can be rearranged how you like it and what works best for you.

The center pane works similarly to Finder. Single-click on one of your top pane folders, and it will open up in a familiar columns view. A single click on an entire folder or file will open it up back in the Finder, but hover over a folder or its contents to drill down and get a file preview in Claw Menu. Double-clicking a folder, though, brings up the icons view; you won’t get file previews but you’ll have a lot more space to sort through all your files and folders.

Down in the bottom pane you’ll find the Draft Zone, a sort of quick launch bar or place for you to stick some bookmarks. Add applications here that you access frequently to keep them from crowding your Dock. ClawMenu also lets you pop files into your Draft Zone, so if you have a document you’re always going into or image or HMTL files you need often for a current project, this is the place for those.. Move your shortcuts around so they make the most sense for how you work, and when you don’t need them anymore, delete the one’s you’re done with.

Cat-like Reflexes

ClawMenu seemed to load folder contents within the app and open folders in Finder even faster than browsing in Finder alone. For that reason, it really speeds up moving around Mac OS X. It was simple to add extra folders, if only temporarily, to the top menu pane and then remove them when the project I was working on was done. I wouldn’t normally add temporary shortcuts of that sort to my Finder sidebar, probably because I’m not used to thinking of Finder as that easily changed and put back. With ClawMenu, though, I had the freedom to add anything I needed to the menu pane, even if it wasn’t going to have a permanent use, while keeping my Finder sidebar intact.

If you feel the need for speed, ClawMenu wants to help with that. There are some nifty shortcuts to pull the app up and hide it again, like a repeated keystroke or swiping the mouse to the edge of your display. While the shortcuts aren’t really customizable and you won’t be able to change it to something cool like Command+Option+C, they should get the job done, and customizable or not, they make things a whole lot faster for hiding or showing the app.

I would have liked to have seen a way to get rid of the Dock icon, though. There’s a menu bar icon already, and the Dock icon doesn’t do anything the menu bar doesn’t. I certainly don’t need another do-nothing icon crowding out everything else on my Dock, and with the great shortcuts that bring the app to the fore, the Dock icon is superfluous. I’d really like to see an option to get rid of both icons, letting ClawMenu run invisibly in the background until needed.

Final Thoughts

The big winner for me was the Draft Zone. The iOS style of the Draft Zone allows you to reorder your application and file icons as you desire and bookmark only what you need. Unfortunately, you can’t create folders, but a two finger swipe will create a new page to hold your icons, which is almost like a folder. All of the applications you need first thing can reside on the first page, stuff you need for a hobby can be on the second, and so on. Create additional pages to house files you temporarily want to bookmark for specific projects, and then remove everything on those pages when you’re done.

Everything else in ClawMenu I’ve already got in Finder. It’s just that ClawMenu speeds it all up a bit, and if I ever decide I don’t want all those extra folders I’ve bookmarked in my top ClawMenu pane cluttering up my Finder sidebar, well, they’re not, because I’m keeping it all separate. ClawMenu makes Finder organization easier and lets me put everything exactly where I want it to be without actually having to move anything.

I’m subscribed to a bunch of different cloud storage services, so I have all these extra folders all over my computer. Nothing actually seems to be where it should and it can be hard remembering where I stuck something during my last round of “organization.” I’m on the look out for anything that can really get my Finder organized and save me from myself.

That’s where ClawMenu comes in, as a sort of hybrid of Finder and Launchbar. A place to add shortcuts for your applications, folders and files, it’ll allow you to browse all of that mess, too. How does it stand up against the real thing, though?

This Claw Is Sharp

There are three main panes in ClawMenu, starting with the Finder bar in the black upper space. The upper pane will have three essential folders by default that can’t be removed, but you can add any other folders you need there. For instance, my Applications folder was already sitting tidy up top, but I need to get into my work files a lot, too, so I added my Documents. Everything can be rearranged how you like it and what works best for you.

The center pane works similarly to Finder. Single-click on one of your top pane folders, and it will open up in a familiar columns view. A single click on an entire folder or file will open it up back in the Finder, but hover over a folder or its contents to drill down and get a file preview in Claw Menu. Double-clicking a folder, though, brings up the icons view; you won’t get file previews but you’ll have a lot more space to sort through all your files and folders.

Down in the bottom pane you’ll find the Draft Zone, a sort of quick launch bar or place for you to stick some bookmarks. Add applications here that you access frequently to keep them from crowding your Dock. ClawMenu also lets you pop files into your Draft Zone, so if you have a document you’re always going into or image or HMTL files you need often for a current project, this is the place for those.. Move your shortcuts around so they make the most sense for how you work, and when you don’t need them anymore, delete the one’s you’re done with.

Cat-like Reflexes

ClawMenu seemed to load folder contents within the app and open folders in Finder even faster than browsing in Finder alone. For that reason, it really speeds up moving around Mac OS X. It was simple to add extra folders, if only temporarily, to the top menu pane and then remove them when the project I was working on was done. I wouldn’t normally add temporary shortcuts of that sort to my Finder sidebar, probably because I’m not used to thinking of Finder as that easily changed and put back. With ClawMenu, though, I had the freedom to add anything I needed to the menu pane, even if it wasn’t going to have a permanent use, while keeping my Finder sidebar intact.

If you feel the need for speed, ClawMenu wants to help with that. There are some nifty shortcuts to pull the app up and hide it again, like a repeated keystroke or swiping the mouse to the edge of your display. While the shortcuts aren’t really customizable and you won’t be able to change it to something cool like Command+Option+C, they should get the job done, and customizable or not, they make things a whole lot faster for hiding or showing the app.

I would have liked to have seen a way to get rid of the Dock icon, though. There’s a menu bar icon already, and the Dock icon doesn’t do anything the menu bar doesn’t. I certainly don’t need another do-nothing icon crowding out everything else on my Dock, and with the great shortcuts that bring the app to the fore, the Dock icon is superfluous. I’d really like to see an option to get rid of both icons, letting ClawMenu run invisibly in the background until needed.

Final Thoughts

The big winner for me was the Draft Zone. The iOS style of the Draft Zone allows you to reorder your application and file icons as you desire and bookmark only what you need. Unfortunately, you can’t create folders, but a two finger swipe will create a new page to hold your icons, which is almost like a folder. All of the applications you need first thing can reside on the first page, stuff you need for a hobby can be on the second, and so on. Create additional pages to house files you temporarily want to bookmark for specific projects, and then remove everything on those pages when you’re done.

Everything else in ClawMenu I’ve already got in Finder. It’s just that ClawMenu speeds it all up a bit, and if I ever decide I don’t want all those extra folders I’ve bookmarked in my top ClawMenu pane cluttering up my Finder sidebar, well, they’re not, because I’m keeping it all separate. ClawMenu makes Finder organization easier and lets me put everything exactly where I want it to be without actually having to move anything.

A couple weeks ago we got to talk with Kyle Kinkade, the developer behind a now extinct productivity app called Pomodorable, and he told us about his plans to revive it and turn it into something different called Eggscellent.

The beta for it came out recently and we’ve had the chance to try it. If you are into the Pomodoro Technique, or into managing your tasks and timing yourself to stay on track, you might be interested in it as well. Let’s check it out.

Pomodorable

Pomodorable was a short-lived app that, despite its short life, caught the attention of many of us. It was a simple timer app that worked with the Pomodoro Technique, and ran in your menu bar, making it really easy to start new tasks and check your current progress.

The best thing about it was its “reward” aspect. When you had an active timer, it would be displayed in a floating window that included an animation of a very cool tomato. As you got closer to the end of your “pomodoro” (working time unit), it ripened and grew until it was finally ready by the time your timer was done. It certainly made it more fun to work with this productivity technique, and that’s what so many people loved about it.

Due to copyright trouble with the founder of the Pomodoro Technique, Pomodorable had to be removed from the App Store, something that we covered in our recent interview. However, that’s not the end for this app.

Enter Eggscellent

Eggscellent is the successor of Pomodorable, and you can definitely tell that’s the case since they’re both very similar in a lot of aspects, the most noticeable one being the visuals. Instead of the dark theme of the previous app, Eggscellent uses lighter colors such as white and orange which make it seem much cleaner.

The classic tomato has also been replaced with a timer egg, that spins around and cracks when the timer’s done to reveal an animation of a chicken coming out of it. It certainly still keeps the fun element of the app while avoiding infringement issues. But about the functionality…

How It Works

In this early beta release, the app has kept most of the key concepts from the Pomodoro Technique, although it’s more flexible about them this time around, letting you adjust the specific time that tasks, breaks, and a pause feature must have.

Your tasks live inside the menu bar window in a list where the top ones are the most recent ones. Tasks are marked as completed just by clicking a button next to the name of the task, which will mark it with a red tick. When you add a new task or set one as the active one, a drop down submenu will show up letting you adjust the expected time units to completion, and increase or decrease distractions (internal or external).

When a task is selected, hitting the “Start” button at the bottom of the window will start it up and the hover window with the egg will pop up marking your progress on the current unit.

Features

Besides the basic time tracking functionality, Eggscellent has a few other tricks up its sleeve. It differentiates itself from the competition by being quite customizable. Aside from the already mentioned adjusts to the time that tasks and breaks should last, Eggscellent also lets you automate your tasks by telling it to automatically start breaks, restart activities, mark tasks as done, and move to the next activity based on your expected units and your list of tasks.

Customizable shortcuts for displaying the app’s window, marking interruptions, and stopping timers are also available. There’s audio feedback for a ticking timer, completing a task and/or a break. And if you’d like to set a status message for your IM client when you are working, you can do that as well (with Adium, Skype, and Messages).

Then there’s the most famous feature of Pomodorable, its integration with several to-do apps. It’s still here in Eggscellent, working with Things, Omnifocus and Reminders. If set up, the app will bring over your to-dos and mark them as complete when you do so inside either of them. This feature reportedly had some bugs in the previous app, but it now seems to be more stable and the dev assures us it’s been completely re-done.

Conclusion

Although Eggscellent works pretty well right now, it is still in a very early beta and as the developer told us in a recent interview, there are plenty of new things coming to the app, including an iOS app in the near future and new mechanics for managing tasks and getting things done.

As of now not much has changed since Pomodorable, but that’s a good thing because in its past life that one used to be a pretty great app. We’ll see what Eggscellent has in mind for us later on, and we’ll keep you posted. Right now, you can go and check the open beta for yourself here. It’s free and it works great. And let us know what you think!

A couple weeks ago we got to talk with Kyle Kinkade, the developer behind a now extinct productivity app called Pomodorable, and he told us about his plans to revive it and turn it into something different called Eggscellent.

The beta for it came out recently and we’ve had the chance to try it. If you are into the Pomodoro Technique, or into managing your tasks and timing yourself to stay on track, you might be interested in it as well. Let’s check it out.

Pomodorable

Pomodorable was a short-lived app that, despite its short life, caught the attention of many of us. It was a simple timer app that worked with the Pomodoro Technique, and ran in your menu bar, making it really easy to start new tasks and check your current progress.

The best thing about it was its “reward” aspect. When you had an active timer, it would be displayed in a floating window that included an animation of a very cool tomato. As you got closer to the end of your “pomodoro” (working time unit), it ripened and grew until it was finally ready by the time your timer was done. It certainly made it more fun to work with this productivity technique, and that’s what so many people loved about it.

Due to copyright trouble with the founder of the Pomodoro Technique, Pomodorable had to be removed from the App Store, something that we covered in our recent interview. However, that’s not the end for this app.

Enter Eggscellent

Eggscellent is the successor of Pomodorable, and you can definitely tell that’s the case since they’re both very similar in a lot of aspects, the most noticeable one being the visuals. Instead of the dark theme of the previous app, Eggscellent uses lighter colors such as white and orange which make it seem much cleaner.

The classic tomato has also been replaced with a timer egg, that spins around and cracks when the timer’s done to reveal an animation of a chicken coming out of it. It certainly still keeps the fun element of the app while avoiding infringement issues. But about the functionality…

How It Works

In this early beta release, the app has kept most of the key concepts from the Pomodoro Technique, although it’s more flexible about them this time around, letting you adjust the specific time that tasks, breaks, and a pause feature must have.

Your tasks live inside the menu bar window in a list where the top ones are the most recent ones. Tasks are marked as completed just by clicking a button next to the name of the task, which will mark it with a red tick. When you add a new task or set one as the active one, a drop down submenu will show up letting you adjust the expected time units to completion, and increase or decrease distractions (internal or external).

When a task is selected, hitting the “Start” button at the bottom of the window will start it up and the hover window with the egg will pop up marking your progress on the current unit.

Features

Besides the basic time tracking functionality, Eggscellent has a few other tricks up its sleeve. It differentiates itself from the competition by being quite customizable. Aside from the already mentioned adjusts to the time that tasks and breaks should last, Eggscellent also lets you automate your tasks by telling it to automatically start breaks, restart activities, mark tasks as done, and move to the next activity based on your expected units and your list of tasks.

Customizable shortcuts for displaying the app’s window, marking interruptions, and stopping timers are also available. There’s audio feedback for a ticking timer, completing a task and/or a break. And if you’d like to set a status message for your IM client when you are working, you can do that as well (with Adium, Skype, and Messages).

Then there’s the most famous feature of Pomodorable, its integration with several to-do apps. It’s still here in Eggscellent, working with Things, Omnifocus and Reminders. If set up, the app will bring over your to-dos and mark them as complete when you do so inside either of them. This feature reportedly had some bugs in the previous app, but it now seems to be more stable and the dev assures us it’s been completely re-done.

Conclusion

Although Eggscellent works pretty well right now, it is still in a very early beta and as the developer told us in a recent interview, there are plenty of new things coming to the app, including an iOS app in the near future and new mechanics for managing tasks and getting things done.

As of now not much has changed since Pomodorable, but that’s a good thing because in its past life that one used to be a pretty great app. We’ll see what Eggscellent has in mind for us later on, and we’ll keep you posted. Right now, you can go and check the open beta for yourself here. It’s free and it works great. And let us know what you think!

Imagine you’re walking out of the Apple Store with a brand new MacBook under your arm, or perhaps you’re carting out one of the brand-new wall mounted iMacs (yes, we’re wishing we had one of those — say, the top-speced 27″ one — too). You plug in your Mac, savor the familiar-yet-new startup ding, then connect to the internet. You’re ready to start loading up your Mac with the best apps, and you can’t wait to get it feeling like a productive machine.

Only this time, there’s a twist: you can only install 5 apps. That’s right: you can install anything you want from the net or the App Store, but you’re limited to using the built-in apps and up to 5 more apps you install. What apps would make the cut?

The past few weeks, we’ve been featuring roundups of our team’s favorite apps in the Apps We Use series, and we’ve got a ton more workflows to feature over the upcoming weeks. Some of us have extremely streamlined workflows consisting of only a few apps, while others have a ton of apps they use to get their work done.

If I could only install 5 apps on my Mac, I’d install:

• Dropbox, since all my files live in it
• 1Password, since I wouldn’t be able to login to almost any site without it
• OmniFocus, which holds almost everything I need to do
• Sublime Text for writing, since it’s great for plain-text writing as well as coding
• Transmit for FTP, to publish articles to my site (which uses the flat-file CMS Kirby)

There’s a ton more apps I use daily and that I’d want to use, but these would be the minimum I’d need to keep working. Now, how about you? What 5 apps would you install if you could only have 5 apps on your Mac? Let us know in the comments below!

Imagine you’re walking out of the Apple Store with a brand new MacBook under your arm, or perhaps you’re carting out one of the brand-new wall mounted iMacs (yes, we’re wishing we had one of those — say, the top-speced 27″ one — too). You plug in your Mac, savor the familiar-yet-new startup ding, then connect to the internet. You’re ready to start loading up your Mac with the best apps, and you can’t wait to get it feeling like a productive machine.

Only this time, there’s a twist: you can only install 5 apps. That’s right: you can install anything you want from the net or the App Store, but you’re limited to using the built-in apps and up to 5 more apps you install. What apps would make the cut?

The past few weeks, we’ve been featuring roundups of our team’s favorite apps in the Apps We Use series, and we’ve got a ton more workflows to feature over the upcoming weeks. Some of us have extremely streamlined workflows consisting of only a few apps, while others have a ton of apps they use to get their work done.

If I could only install 5 apps on my Mac, I’d install:

• Dropbox, since all my files live in it
• 1Password, since I wouldn’t be able to login to almost any site without it
• OmniFocus, which holds almost everything I need to do
• Sublime Text for writing, since it’s great for plain-text writing as well as coding
• Transmit for FTP, to publish articles to my site (which uses the flat-file CMS Kirby)

There’s a ton more apps I use daily and that I’d want to use, but these would be the minimum I’d need to keep working. Now, how about you? What 5 apps would you install if you could only have 5 apps on your Mac? Let us know in the comments below!