MetaX
Tag your MP4 files the easy way with an app that searches the IMDB catalogue and puts the information in for you. Share data via tagChimp, scan DVD barcodes with iSight and search the Internet for movie posters.
Added to the AudioVideo section
Download site
Posted Friday, February 5, 2010
An iPad future
You know about IT. Depending on the size of the company this can be one guy or a group of guys whose job it is to keep the computers running.
When a server crashes, they get it back on its feet. When someone loses a file, they find it. When someone is baffled by how a program works, they show them how to use it.
We all accept this as normal. Frustrating, but normal.
(Apologies to information technology professionals for oversimplifying your work, but I’m trying to make a point.)
Now suppose I suggested that those same companies create other departments. How about TT (telephone technology)? This group would be responsible for making sure the phones worked and people knew how to use them.
What? Shouldn’t phones just work?
Or how about PT (photocopier technology)? Same scenario. Yes, they break down from time to time, but it would be ridiculous to need full-time staffers to deal with them.
Now try to imagine a future where we don’t need TT, PT or even IT — because we have devices (let’s not even call them computers) that never crash, that keep files where you expect to find them, and are as intuitively easy to use as the photocopier.
In this future, writers could concentrate on writing and designers could concentrate on designing. They wouldn’t have to be “computer savvy.”
Will the iPad — and devices like it — lead the way to such a future? If this is indeed what Apple is aiming for, I hope they make it.
Posted Wednesday, February 3, 2010 in Opinion
Simplify Media
Stream your entire iTunes music collection between computers via the Internet (as long as your library is powered up and online). You can add up to 30 friends’ collections.
Added to the iPod section
Download site
Posted Friday, January 29, 2010
Picasa
Organize photos wherever they might happen to be on your Mac. Easily upload, email and blog about your photos. Integrate with online Picasa Web Albums and sync with the desktop app.
Added to the Graphics section
Download site
Posted Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Dwarf Fortress
Run a dwarven outpost or play an adventurer in a persistent, randomly generated world with distinct civilizations spanning over 1000 years of detailed history, dozens of towns, hundreds of caves and regions with various wildlife
Added to the Games section
Download site
Posted Saturday, January 23, 2010
GIMP vs. Photoshop
Is GIMP just as good as Photoshop? I tried both on a single task to see how they compared. But why even bother with GIMP in the first place? Money, of course.
The last I checked, you could get Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended for the Mac for $162.50 on eBay. There were still nine hours of bidding left, so the price likely went up before it was finally sold.
This is not a bad deal, and you could probably find others. The fact remains, though, that if you want Photoshop, it’s going to be pricey at best.
Since we’re all about freeware here at thriftmac, the alternative is GIMP. Its name is an acronym that stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program, but when pronounced out loud, the word becomes derogatory. Think lame.
Unfortunately, if you’ve had experience with Photoshop (or pretty much any Mac program), your first impression of GIMP will indeed be of something lame. The palettes have cheesy icons and roughly hewn fields and widgets. And you have to use Windows-esque menus attached to the windows with yet more crude icons.
But they say you can’t judge a book by its cover, so let’s move on.
The main area of GIMP presents you with a window and a message urging you to drag a file in to open it. I tried to drag a png graphic from the desktop several times without any luck. But opening it from the menu was no problem, so we’ll let that one pass.
Since the graphic was quite small, my first thought was to zoom in with a keyboard shortcut. With Photoshop you do this with Command+. With GIMP, you simply use + and – to zoom in and out. It’s not quite that simple, though, because to get at the plus-sign on a keyboard, you have to press shift. The minus-sign doesn’t require this. It’s a bit confusing, but not unprecedented.
Next I needed the colour picker. GIMP has a tool that looks a lot like the one in Photoshop and worked as expected. If you’re using the pencil or paintbrush, you can hold down the Control key to invoke the picker. (In Photoshop, use the option key.)
Switching to various tools in the palette is an odd experience. For example, if you want the pencil, and the window where you’re working is highlighted, a single click won’t do. First you must click on the tool palette to highlight it, then you must click again to choose the pencil. There’s none of this in Photoshop (or any other Mac program that I know of), so you’ll have to get used to it.
Next, of course, I had to choose what size I wanted for the pencil. There’s a bunch of presets, or you can type in the number you want. But honestly, the widget for the presets is so poorly done, it will make your eyes hurt. See below:
I soldiered on, finished my work and this is what I got — the little arrow you see here and beside the “Download Site” links throughout thriftmac.
So is GIMP as good as Photoshop? No. But if you can’t afford to take part in the bidding at eBay, it’ll do the job. Perhaps the best thing about GIMP is that it is similar enough to Photoshop that you can use it as training for when you have enough cash to take the next step.
Posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010 in Reviews
Vuze
Bittorrent app lets you find, download and play video files, with support for connecting to devices such as iPhone, iPod, Apple TV PS3, PSP, Xbox 360 and Tivo. Fast and convenient.
Added to the Internet section
Download site
Posted Monday, January 18, 2010
Alpha Alert: TotalFinder
Mac users have long dreamed of the day when Apple would grant their wish of Finder windows with tabs.
How much simpler life would be: instead of windows proliferating as your work progresses, you just stick to the one window with multiple tabs and switch between them. How much more usable Finder would be: it could be pressed into service just like other Mac programs with one-stop shopping.
Many hoped such a thing would arrive with Leopard. But no. With Snow Leopard? No new features really did mean no new features.
Developers have stepped into the breach, though, and one of the results is Path Finder — a killer app that does an amazing makeover of Finder for $39.95. Tabs similar to those found in Safari are but one of its plethora of features.
Seem like overkill? Then how about TotalFinder? Its developer, Antonin Hildebrand, has been toiling in the obscurity of alpha for some time now, but has suddenly found himself cast into the full light of day with the addition of tabs.
He was able to do this thanks to the Chromium codebase, made available when Google came out with its tabbed web browser, Chrome. And, as you may have guessed, the Finder tabs in TotalFinder are just like the ones in Chrome.
It really is a treat to use. Once Chrome for Mac comes out of beta, I may start using it full-time because I like the tabs so much. And to have them in Finder as well would double the pleasure.
Before you rush into a TotalFinder installation, there are a few things you should know. First, it’s alpha. That’s not even as good as beta, which can be dicey. Second, it installs a plug-in called SIMBL, which by itself may be harmless, but may lead to problems down the road if you upgrade your operating system. Third, Hildebrand intends to eventually charge a fee, although there is nothing on the site at this point to indicate how much.
The good news is that uninstallers for both SIMBL and TotalFinder are included, so if you get cold feet, you can make a quick exit.
Of course, the best way to get this tab thing on the road would be for Apple to do it. In the meantime, let TotalFinder show you how your dreams could become reality.
Posted Friday, January 15, 2010 in Reviews
Think about Haiti
We just donated to the Canadian Red Cross relief fund for the earthquake in Haiti. Please think about doing the same.
Canadian Red Cross
American Red Cross
International Red Cross
Posted Wednesday, January 13, 2010 in Site-News
ClipMenu
Menu bar app keeps a history of text and graphics you’ve copied, plus has a section for snippets you can create in categories for use when needed. Completely accessible via the keyboard, using a floating palette.
Added to the Organizers section
Download site
Posted Friday, January 8, 2010
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