The return of Smultron
When Peter Borg announced he was no longer developing Smultron, it was one of the sadder days for those who appreciate free and open source software for the Mac. Fortunately, Borg’s five years of effort have been taken up by Jean-François Moy, who has taken the source code and forked it.
Among the early improvements are the ability to duplicate a line and perform string searches in files contained in the parent directory of the current document. He is also considering changes to the icon set and the way the tab bar displays open documents.
On the bug side of things, some users have reported that this latest version of Smultron no longer works with Leopard — an obvious deficiency that should be worked out soon. And as I write this, I notice that even though I have Smultron running, there is a blank space in the dock where its icon should be.
Perhaps most controversial is the idea of a new name for Smultron, but don’t be alarmed — Moy doesn’t appear to be pondering of something radical:
“I’m currently thinking of changing the name of this project to accentuate the difference between the original project and this fork. I would like to keep smultron in it.”
If you have any ideas, you can contact him through the site. Personally, I think he should leave it alone.
Posted Sunday, March 14, 2010 in Updates
Mac becomes Mc
Back in February 2006, when thriftmac was first getting its feet wet, I chose some of the best free Mac apps I could find to get things rolling. Among them was MacSolitaire.
It was — and is — clean, crisp and easy to use. There’s nothing fancy about it, but it works exactly as you would expect — perhaps “standard” would be the best way to describe it. Four years later, which is like 20 years in computer time, I can still recommend it as a good solid way to pass the time playing Klondike.
So what’s changed? The developer, PCV, has come out with McSolitaire 2. At first I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Surely, the “a” between the “M” and the “c” was left out inadvertently. But no. The original MacSolitaire and the newly released McSolitaire are listed as two different apps.
So of course I couldn’t resist comparing the two.
McSolitaire 2’s main claim to fame is the ability to go full screen with the click of a button. This feature only works, though, if buy the iPhone version, which somehow unlocks it on your Mac. (I tried this, but couldn’t make it work. You may have better luck.)
Other than that, the differences between the two are scant. If anything, the original has a few more preferences. For example, you can opt to double-click to move the cards.
Also, the graphics in the free version of the new McSolitaire 2 are not as sharp, likely because they have not scaled down well from the the full-screen option. And the thicker black lines around the cards are unwieldy.
Compare the MacSolitaire Jack of Hearts with the McSolitaire 2 King of Hearts:
Overall, McSolitaire 2 is a disappointment. Unless you really need full-screen, you’re better off sticking with the tried and true MacSolitaire. And while you’re at it, give PCV’s Double a try — it’s a nice implementation of the classic Shanghai-style game.
After years of giving away freeware, PCV is trying to make a bit of money, and who can blame anyone from trying to make a living. Let’s just hope he’s able to iron out the wrinkles in his offerings.
Update: That didn’t take long. McSolitaire 2.1 is now out with a larger default size for the free version. This significantly improves the graphics.
Behold:
Posted Friday, March 5, 2010 in Reviews
Stella
Multi-platform Atari 2600 VCS emulator lets you enjoy favourite games from the 1980s on your Mac such as Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Missile Command and Pac-Man. Download ROMs needed to play the games from AtariAge.
Added to the Games section
Download site
Posted Monday, March 1, 2010
DaisyDisk vs. DiskRing
Last fall, I downloaded a free version of DaisyDisk as part of a MacHeist promotion. It creates a graphical representation of the contents of a folder of your choosing — sort of like a pie chart with concentric bands for each level of data, with the top level in the middle and lower levels expanding outward.
Confusing? Have a look at a sample:
At the right of the graph — not shown in the screenshot — is a colour-coded list of what each section represents. For example, the yellow-orange section close to the middle represents a project, and outward from it are sections representing folders for documents and images associated with the project. You can hover over them to get details such as the location of the folder and its main contents.
But what, you may be asking, has a $19.95 program got to do with freeware? Via the suggestion box, we received a tip about the open source DiskRing, which does much the same thing as DaisyDisk. Have a look at the graph it created of the same folders:
It looks familiar, yet somehow different. The main difference is in the use of colours. DiskDaisy attempts to use shadings of the same colour to represent a folder and its sub-folders. It’s easy to see, for example, that the yellow-oranges go together in a single hierarchy.
On the other hand, DiskRing’s approach to colours seems almost random. If there is a method to it, I couldn’t find it. Still, though, you can puzzle it out by hovering and observing the spatial relationships of the sections.
Another difference is the reported sizes of the folders. Each program lists folder sizes, but — strangely — they don’t agree. DaisyDisk says the main folder shown in the screenshots is 71.3 MB, while DiskRing says it is 68 MB. So who is right? I went to Get Info as the final arbiter, and DaisyDisk was the winner.
We love freeware here at thriftmac, and our sincere thanks go to the developers who make it possible, but in this case the free alternative doesn’t measure up. Keep an eye on DiskRing, though — it could become a contender.
Posted Thursday, February 25, 2010 in Reviews
Compliments of the house
You’re the most beautiful reader who has ever visited thriftmac. You’re brilliant and I admire you.
OK — enough kowtowing. On the other hand, if you like that sort of thing, you can have it on your Mac at regular intervals. Toady is a fun app from Mr. Fridge that pops up a compliment in the top right of your screen at timed stretches of your choosing.
The app is automatically updated with new flattery, so you don’t have to worry about it becoming stale. Admittedly, though, a steady stream of praise could eventually give anyone a swelled head — so you can alternatively set Toady to give insults instead.
“Even your imaginary friends don’t like you.” “You have no friends.”
Hmm, that’s a bit harsh. But what if you were to install it on someone else’s Mac?
Posted Saturday, February 20, 2010 in Playtime
Vienna 2.5 beta
If you’ve ever wanted to tweet or post to Facebook from your news reader, be sure to check out the beta for the next version of the open source Vienna.
We tried it, and — despite the app being in beta — the features worked flawlessly. When you’re in a story you want to share, simply click on one of three icons in the tool bar for Twitter, Facebook and Evernote. You’ll be taken to the site of the service you’ve chosen, with the URL of the story you want to share ready for posting.
Perhaps more exciting than this sharing feature is the advent of plugin capabilities. So far, two types are supported: link plugins that allow sharing of the type described above for Twitter, Facebook and Evernote, and script plugins that allow you to run defined actions through AppleScript.
Plugins are apparently easy to create — no programming expertise is needed. So who knows what cool stuff the Vienna community will dream up. Maybe I could finally figure out how to create my dream script: a button that marks all the stories in a feed as read.
Posted Thursday, February 11, 2010 in Updates
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
Follow thriftmac
|
|
|
|
- » Mac Poker Sites (ad)
Dive into the collection
New freeware
Stuff we like
Link love
Send a suggestion by e-mail-
Spread the word with bookmarks
Shop Amazon at the thriftmac store
Been there, done that, buy the T-shirt!
More games
