News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
One program that I find indispensable on my Mac is SmileOnMyMac’s TextExpander. It lets me define text snippets, such as e-mail signatures, programming code, and so on, and insert them into practically any app via a keyboard shortcut I’ve assigned to each one. For example, I’ve set up a multi-line e-mail signature as a snippet which I can insert into an e-mail message by simply typing “bsig.” (Snow Leopard has added a similar, but less robust, system-wide capability to Cocoa-based text processing apps.)
One of my jobs as a web developer involves managing a rack of Linux, Mac, and Windows servers. Over the years, I’ve used various remote access programs, such as Microsoft Remote Desktop, Timbuktu, and VNC, to control the Macs and Windows machines, but I’ve recently switched to a product called LogMeIn—a hosted service that gives you the ability to remotely control Windows and Macintosh computers via a web browser. (The company has been around for quite a while and provides a free basic remote access service as well as a couple of subscription-based pro-level services.)
I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun on my iPhone. No, I wasn’t making music or playing a game. I was scanning barcodes with Occiptal’s app, RedLaser. Maybe that doesn’t sound like an exciting way to spend a Saturday night, but you really need to try this $2.49 iPhone app. Once you start, you won’t be able to stop.
As you might guess from its name, Pocket Piano, by Better Day Wireless, is an app that turns an iPhone or iPod touch into a mini piano. The app comes in two flavors: the $1.19 version provides just a standard piano sound while the $3.99 version, Pocket Piano Plus, gives you eight additional sounds: electric guitar, sitar, violin, flute, acoustic guitar, harmonica, dog and bagpipes. Other than the additional sounds in the Plus version, both apps function the same.
Ever sing along to a song, only to realise you’re mumbling through half of it because you only know part of the lyrics? If so, give TuneWiki a try. Once available only for jailbroken iPhones, TuneWiki serves as a media player and song lyric database.
I’ve been a musician for most of my life. While I can hold my own writing instrumental music, I struggle with writing lyrics. I usually need “divine inspiration” to get the process started. For even seasoned lyricists, writer’s block can always get in the way of finishing a good song. Song Idea Generator by The Directors Bureau Applications comes to the rescue by helping inspire a songwriter’s creative ingenuity.
Telstra has released The Official AFL App to coincide with the start of the 2010 football season, but while this is likely a welcome addition to any footy fan’s iPhone, t...
As I type these words, I am waiting for Apple's Developer Connection web site to ease up sufficiently for me to download the long-awaited Software Developer Kit for the iPhone (and iPod touch, just by the by). In a way, I hate developer-oriented announcements — "here's a really cool thing we're working on, and it's available now, and hoi polloi can have it in about six months". Actually, it's the six months I hate.
