Category: Tutorials

Though Apple have long attracted creative computer use, in the decade since the purchase of Logic Pro from German company Emagic in 2002, Mac has become the premium platform for sound design, recording and studio work, to the point that Apple have become almost synonymous with high quality audio.

Below I hope to make the case that, when it comes to making music with the aid of a computer, a Mac is by far the best choice currently available.

Stability

Compared to Windows, OS X offers a more stable platform overall, which is probably the single biggest reason to use a Mac for audio work. By keeping such complete control over which hardware to support, Apple can offer a highly reliable environment, enabling the user to keep the focus on creation, rather than maintenance.

In addition, though Macs are not completely immune from malware, viruses and trojans, they are still far less likely to contract such problems than their PC counterparts. When setting out for a gig or hosting a session in the studio, musicians, DJ’s and recording engineers need to be able to work with the confidence that their gear is absolutely dependable. You can’t very well stop mid-performance to reboot your computer or install a driver.

Aesthetics

Admittedly this argument is contentious, but I would still like to make it. While taste is subjective, one may reasonably assert that most other computers are simply not as beautiful as your average Mac. There is an experience often felt when using Apple’s products which is difficult to put into words, but important nonetheless and it is a mistake to dismiss this experience as shallow.

For the same reason that some musicians will spend hours cleaning and polishing their 1970′s era Les Paul or carefully consider every shade of finish on their Fender Stratocaster, a beautifully crafted machine like a MacBook Pro will inspire one to create. After all, even the legendary Dieter Rams has cited Apple as the only company currently designing major products according to his principles.

GarageBand

GarageBand

Often cited by musicians as a key reason in favour of making the switch to Mac, GarageBand has enabled a legion of hobbyist musicians and podcasters to create high quality audio recordings with a minimum of fuss. As each new version is released, developers strive to add extra features and flexibility without sacrificing GarageBand’s core strength; its intuitive UI, which hides a wealth of loops, synthesisers and accurate approximations of real world instruments, in addition to an excellent host of lessons from recognised artists, broken down in easy to digest segments.

GarageBand Lessons

There is simply nothing quite like this on any other desktop platform and with iOS now hosting a version of GarageBand, full seamless integration is surely on the horizon. Once the beginner has learned the basics with GarageBand, they can then move on to Logic Studio if more power is needed, finding the same basic principles at work in the powerful and flexible suite of tools.

Logic Studio

The pro choice for music creation, Logic Studio is an unmatched Mac-only suite of tools which includes Mainstage, WaveBurner, the entire five flavours of Apple’s Jam Packs and, of course, Logic Pro itself.

Logic Pro

Though more complex to navigate and use than GarageBand, Logic Pro still does conform to Apple’s UI norms and somebody familiar with GarageBand will be able to begin recording basic tracks with Logic in a very short time. This is just a small percentage of what Logic Pro is capable of though and the software is particularly adept at handling midi controlled soft-synths when compared to other DAW’s on the market – perfect for scoring soundtracks and the like.

Logic Studio's WaveBurner

Also of note are Logic’s on-board software effects, which challenge preconceptions of what a computer is capable of recreating. Software translations of classic 1970′s Marshall stack driven Rock, 60′s Merseybeat and reverb-heavy 90′s Shoegaze tones are all available and more besides. Once one considers these features along with others such as Logic’s Flextime, its advanced mixing and Varispeed, in addition to Mainstage for live performance, it is clear that Logic Studio has the capability of being a one-stop suite for your audio needs.

Logic's Pedalboard

Lying somewhere in-between GarageBand and Logic Studio is Logic Express, which offers much of Logic Pro’s features, but at a more affordable price

Time Machine

While I can’t quite bring myself to get excited about a digital chore as mundane as backing up files, Time Machine at least makes the process simple, with its easy to use system of archiving. Every musician who uses a computer as part of their creative process dreads a catastrophic hard-drive failure wiping out a song, or even and entire album, but responsible use of Time Machine should prove a cornerstone of your backup routine.

Support

Help and Support

Praiseworthy customer support is not unique to Apple but you would be hard-pressed to find any other computer hardware or software company which provides such resources for helping users get the most out of their machines. Free workshops are available from your nearest Apple store, offering advice on managing data and safely backing up files. Though expensive, the extended Apple Care coverage is an excellent warranty and repair service.

Conclusion

The above should not be taken as a dismissal of other hardware and software options. Windows is also host to software which is only capable of running in the Windows environment (such as Fruity Loops Studio) and there is also something to be said in favour of adopting a more widespread OS for your music creation.

The leading Linux flavours, such as Ubuntu, offer a more ‘Mac-like’ computing experience and also come with a very knowledgeable online community, with the additional bonus of having a commitment to staying open and free. However, though the Linux music software scene is burgeoning and may well prove to be a competitor in its own right, the platform isn’t quite there yet in terms of quality audio software.

So, why should you choose a Mac for making music? Any one of the reasons above might not be enough to convince you and may not even sound truly unique among computing platforms. However, when taken in as a whole package, these features together comprise a strong argument for using a Mac as your ultimate music hub. I’ve yet to meet a musician who has made the switch and regretted it!

To-do apps have such a big market, with new ones coming out almost every week. But what about a to-do app made specifically for students? Keeping up with assignments from all the different courses that you have as a student can be pretty difficult.

The app that we are reviewing today is called iHomework, and, as can likely be guessed by its name, its purpose is to help you keep up with your assignments.

Interface

Interface

The interface of the app is very simple and it goes along well with the Mac theme. There is a main panel and two sidebars on the right and left sides. The right sidebar lists courses, teachers, reminders, and reading assignments. The left sidebar is where you see your tasks for the day and check them as they are completed, or pull them up to view them in detail.

The main panel is where you can see your tasks in detail, as well as the area in which you add notes, files, or information to your tasks. The bar on top of the app includes a search bar, the sync button, and buttons to change between the detail and list views, which we’ll get to later. The bar on the bottom reminds you how long it has been since you last synched the app, and it also lets you add tasks, remove tasks, or remove the courses sidebar.

Detail & List Views

List Mode

As we mentioned, you can switch between the two view modes on the app by clicking either of the buttons on the bar on top. The detail view mode is the default mode, and in it you can see the two sidebars and the main panel. This panel will show you details of the currently selected task, such as the title, course, type, deadline, and notes or files associated with it.

The list view mode changes the interface quite a bit; it removes the sidebars and just leaves the main panel and another small panel below it. While using list view, the main panel displays the tasks in a “list”, and has some filters on top of it, like “Complete” and “In Process”, or you could also filter by courses. The small panel will display details of the selected tasks.

Tasks

You can add a new task by clicking the “+” button on the bottom sidebar. Depending on the view mode that you are using, you’ll see the new task displayed in the main panel, where you can fill in all the information that you require from the task. You can simply add in basic information, or you could go deep into it and add files that are related to the task, partners that you are working with, or notes describing the nature of the assignment.

On the other fields you have the title, type, deadline, grade, and course. The title is pretty self-explanatory; it’s the name of the task. The course is one that you can select from the courses you have already created in the courses menu, and it can be used to filter your tasks. The type includes homework, quiz, test, or project. In the deadline field you can put in the due date of the assignment, and in the grade field you can put in what grade you got in the assignment after you get it back.

Once you complete an assignment, you can just check it, which will mark it as done. This does not remove the assignment from your task list for the day, it will just be marked as done so that you know it is complete.

Courses, Reminders and Other Features

Other features

On the right sidebar you have a few buttons called Courses, Teachers, Reminders, and Reading. Under courses, you can add a new one by clicking the plus button on the bottom. From there you can add all the information that you need, such as the name, course number, teacher information, schedule, websites, etc. These aren’t really used within the app, it’s just a nice way to keep things organized.

The other features on the right sidebar work in pretty much the same way. The teacher button allows you to add all of your professors and any important information about them. Another cool feature is the “mini” mode of the app. By clicking a small button on the bottom bar, you can get rid of everything other than the tasks sidebar. This is useful to avoid distractions and help you focus on what’s really relevant: your assignments. There’s also a cool calendar view mode that can help you get an overview of all your due dates.

Syncing and the iOS app

iOS

The syncing process is a bit more confusing than it is in other apps, but it works. You have to put in a login name and password on your Mac, and then go into your iOS device and start syncing so that you can pair both devices.

From then on, every time you want to sync up, you have to put both devices into syncing mode at the same time, and they will automatically sync up. It’s not very convenient and it might work better if it were to complete this process through Dropbox, like Day One does.

You do need to spend another $1.99 to get the iOS app, though.

Conclusion

iHomework doesn’t seem to lack anything; it has support for everything that you might need if you are student. The real problem with these types of apps is having the time and the will to update it continuously with all of your course information and assignments.

Do you think these type of apps are beneficial for students or just another burden for them to deal with? If you are a student, do you use any similar types of apps?

Like most Mac users, I have mixed feelings about the Mac App store. For app users, the App Store makes it easier to find and manage apps all in one place, but largely eliminates the flexibility of free trials. New developers probably enjoy the increased visibility of being in the App Store, but likely lament about the slow acceptance process and numerous restrictions.

Though it seems like most Mac app developers are following the crowd to the App Store, there are still some real gems out there that haven’t made the switch. In this round-up, I’ll go through an incomplete list of fantastic apps missing from the App Store that are worth straying to the browser for. (I’m not including free apps or popular, well-known software like the Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suites.)

iStat Menus

iStat Menus is a powerful system monitoring app, which makes realtime status information about your Mac easily accessible from your menu bar. iStat menus is highly customizable, letting you control exactly what information you want displayed, and how the information will look in your menu bar. iStat Menus can monitor CPU usage, battery, memory, disk usage, network activity, hardware temperatures and more. Personally, I use it to keep track of CPU usage from the menu bar, so I can quickly find out which processes are slowing down my computer and how demanding my apps are on my computer’s resources.

various iStat menus

Bjango has decided not to offer their apps for download from the Mac App until it overcomes what they perceive to be significant shortcomings. Their position is cleverly outlined in their timeline of a hypothetical app released through the app store. It’s an interesting, well-argued article, check it out!

Ian Tromp’s Review of iStat Menus

Price: $16
Developer: Bjango

1Password

1Password can keep track of all your login information for the myriad websites and services you sign up for, and makes them all accessible through one master password. I’ve been using 1Password to keep track of web logins, software licenses, bank information and more for the past six months or so, and couldn’t be happier with it. In addition to the copy-and-paste interface, 1Password integrates with your browser (it plays better with some browsers than others, but it’s pretty seamless in Chrome and Safari) so that you can fill out forms and passwords with a few clicks of the mouse, without having to rely on your browser’s own less-than-secure password storage. Agile Bits also created an iPhone version of 1Password that syncs with your Mac, but I personally haven’t found myself using it much.

1Password app interface & Chrome extension

I got my mother a 1Password license for Christmas, and she never stops telling me how much time and frustration it saves her!

In its current form, 1Password can’t be accepted into the App Store because of they way it integrates with browsers.

Quintin Carlson’s comparison of 1Password and Wallet

Price: $39
Developer: Agile Bits

CleanMyMac

CleanMyMac is a handy utility that scans your Mac for any unnecessary files and data, and makes it easy to delete anything you don’t need. CleanMyMac eliminates unnecessary language files, universal binaries, caches, logs, and more. You can pick and choose what you want to keep and delete, and it makes sure you delete files permanently and securely.

CleanMyMac scanning my computer

One of my favourite features of CleanMyMac is the uninstaller: when you drag an application to the trash, CleanMyMac pops up and asks if you want to delete all the extra files that accompany it, so you don’t have any leftover junk from your unwanted apps.

CleanMyMac might not ever show up on the App Store because they offer a 6-month license option for half the price of the lifetime version, and I don’t see Apple supporting that kind of pricing plan at the App Store.

David Appleyard’s review of CleanMyMac

Price: $29.95
Developer: MacPaw

Alfred Powerpack

Here at Mac Appstorm, we frequently extol the many virtues of Alfred, the powerful Spotlight replacement that lets you search your computer and the internet, launch applications, do calculations, and (way) more. The Powerpack extends Alfred with additional, powerful features that take Alfred one big step further. The Alfred Powerpack lets you perform actions on the files you find, like copying, moving, emailing or opening, in addition to it acting as a mini iTunes controller, allowing you to search recent documents and clipboard snippets, launching terminal controls and commands, and more.

Performing actions on a file in Alfred

The Alfred Powerpack lets you do many of the common tasks you perform on your Mac without lifting your fingers from the keyboard or navigating through the Finder. The basic version of Alfred is an indispensable tool for casual and power users alike, but the Powerpack adds a whole extra level of geeky productivity that makes Spotlight look archaic.

Alfred is available for free in the App Store, but so far the Powerpack is only available for download through the website, and the App Store version can’t be upgraded to Powerpack. Alfred’s developers have promised to make the Powerpack available at the App Store in the future.

David Appleyard’s article about Alfred Powerpack Tips

Price: $20
Developer: Running with Crayons

TotalFinder

Since tabbed browsing has become the standard in web browsers, I can’t help but think tabs should be everywhere. In my opinion, any app in which you often have multiple windows open should have tabs (iWork and Microsoft Office, I’m looking at you). The Finder certainly falls under this category for me, and though a tabbed Finder seems like the next logical step to me, I was disappointed to see no Finder improvements at all in Lion.

TotalFinder main interface

TotalFinder is an attempt to correct this oversight, bringing Google Chrome-like tabs to the finder. The basic functionality is pretty much what you’d expect: the tabs work like they do in Chrome, and you can easily drag-and-drop between them.

In addition to the tabbed browsing, TotalFinder also offers a split-window mode, cut-and-paste, system-wide Finder access through keyboard shortcut, and finder organization.

Matt Longman’s review of TotalFinder

Price: $15
Developer: Binary Age

Path Finder

Like TotalFinder, Path Finder brings tabs to the Finder. However, Path Finder also packs in a heap of additional features and is marketed as a fully-featured Finder replacement. Path Finder adds pretty much any feature you wish the Finder had, like dual pane browsing, sorting and filtering, and breadcrumb navigation. My favourite feature of Path Finder is the “Drop Stack” which is like a temporary folder in the sidebar where you can place files as you relocate them.

A folder displayed in Path Finder

I used Path Finder for a long time, but recently switched to TotalFinder because Path Finder doesn’t support Dropbox, which is a total deal-breaker for me.

I don’t know if apps like TotalFinder or Path Finder will end up in the App Store, I’m guessing they probably tweak the OS a lot more than Apple is comfortable with.

Joshua Johnson’s round-up of Finder replacements

Price: $39.95
Developer: Cocoatech

HyperDock

HyperDock brings Windows 7-style window previews and snapping to OSX, showing you a preview of open windows when a dock icon is hovered over, and snapping windows to corners or sides of the screen. HyperDock’s window preview feature is handy, but personally I think it needs a bit more work.

Like I said before, I think tabbed interfaces are key, and HyperDock only shows you the different windows open in each app. I rarely have more than one window open at one time in an app, but usually have a fair number of tabs going in Chrome, Photoshop and Coda.

HyperDock displaying Safari tabs

HyperDock does support tab previews for Safari, and the developer says support for other browsers is on the “to-do list.” I switched from Safari to Chrome a couple months ago, but the HyperDock integration with Safari is really slick, and I could see myself using this app a lot more if it worked with more browsers.

HyperDock also features window snapping, similar to apps like Cinch or BetterSnapTool, which works intuitively and just as well as Cinch for basic window management, but doesn’t have quite as many customization options as BetterSnapTool.

HyperDock probably won’t ever make it to the App Store, since it’s not technically an “app” (it’s a prefpane file) and probably breaks many of Apple’s rules.

Conor O’Driscoll’s comparison of DockView and HyperDock

Price: $9.95
Developer: Christian Baumgart

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscope is a powerful application that allows you to compare documents and review changes easily and quickly. Kaleidoscope works with pictures and with text files, and uses different comparison methods for each. When reviewing a text file, the app highlights changes, deletions and insertions in different colours, allowing you to easily see how a file has changed. This feature seems aimed at developers, with support for version control through Git, Mercurial and Subversion.

I’m not much of a developer, but I found the text file comparison really useful for writing and editing purposes. Rather than using Word’s “track changes” feature, which shows changes all in one document, Kaleidoscope highlights changes in a much more understandable way, with both documents side-by-side.

Comparing images and text in Kaleidoscope

You can also compare images in a number of ways, but I found the most useful comparison method was the “split” view, which lets you control the angle the images are “split” at, allowing you to compare whichever portions of the image you wish.

Joshua Johnson’s review of Kaleidoscope

Price: $41
Developer: Sofa

Concentrate

Concentrate is an interesting little app: it helps you eliminate distractions by letting you set various actions to be excecuted while you’re “concentrating.” Actions include launching and quitting apps, blocking websites, opening documents, running scripts and setting off various reminders.

When I was in school I used Concentrate frequently, and my favourite features were the spoken or Growled reminders: I had it set up so that a Stephen Hawking voice would berate me every half hour or so, and a Growl message would remind me to save changes every few minutes.

Creating "rules" for yourself using Concentrate

Some of us need to be forced to concentrate, and can’t be trusted to stay away from distractions, and Concentrate really helps keep you on track. Though I’m not in school any more, I still launch Concentrate every once in a while when I really need to get something done without the constant temptation of the internet.

Henry Bennet’s review of Concentrate

Price: $29
Developer: Rocket

Papers

Another academic app, Papers helps you find and organize academic papers with ease. Papers is designed for anyone with an overflowing digital library of research papers, studies and the like, using automatic metadata detection or manually added information to organize your papers.

The Papers main interface

I used Papers in school to keep track of endless anthropology articles and assignments, and it was a lifesaver when it came to writing research papers. Mekentosj recently released Papers 2 with some fantastic new features that I haven’t really had a chance to delve into, like support for many different document types, unified search, coverflow interface, word processor integration and more. Papers is a brilliantly handy app for students, and I imagine it would be indispensable for researchers.

Ian Tromp’s review of Papers

Price: $79 (Student discounts available)
Developer: Mekentosj

Conclusion

Though this roundup is far from exhaustive, it shows how many great apps can be found outside of the App Store. Some of the developers of these apps have held back from releasing App Store versions because of their own negative opinions of the platform, others wouldn’t be able to get their apps approved, but they’re certainly still worthwhile apps, and their lack of inclusion in the App Store in no way reflects lesser quality.

What are your thoughts on App Store distribution? Do you think these developers have made mistakes by not taking the platform seriously? With the number of apps in the App Store increasing every day, can these developers still compete?