Posts tagged Downloads
FitFu 7/10
Do you ever sit on the couch, and feel as if you should be exercising instead of being so lazy? Well that’s me all the time, usually lounging with my iPhone. When I first discovered FitFu I assumed it was going to be rubbish, I’ve tried a plethora of accelerometer based work out apps and none of them would calibrate right and usually displayed data all wrong. But let me reassure you, FitFu is the first work out app I’ve tried that has got the accelerometer perfect.
The exercises are basic things you could do with out an iPhone (So I could see the $2.00 price tag being decreased to a dollar) but the big innovation I see here is the social networking part of the app and the unlock-able features. The social side works just like Facebook, basically keeping up with friends and making sure they work out. The unlock-able part keeps things fresh. Every time you work out you get points toward a new exercise just like in Wii Fit.
The app can get a bit finicky at times. Sometimes the count will start blurting out tons of numbers when the phone for instance gets a text message. The exercise won’t even begin until you stop squirming which it yells at you over and over again. It can get a little bit annoying. Also it only supports iOS devices with 256 Ram or higher, which was a disappointment seeing my whole family owns iPhone 3Gs.
Overall I really enjoy the app, it is really good for keeping you involved with basic exercises on the go at all times. It is also really nice having the app to keep count while you listen to music.
Reeder RSS Feed Application Beta
When reeder came out on the iPad I fell in love with its silky smooth sepia interface. Now that the Mac AppStore is out, the developer of Reeder is prepping for a future paid release following the free beta testing release issued this month. First off, I love the way it looks on the Mac. It’s undeniably simple, just log into your Google Reader account and instantly it is done loading. All the articles are saved for your viewing pleasure.
The only problem I have to say I have with it is the required google account. Google Reader isn’t the most attractive online program, it has needed an update for a long time, but it does come in handy with the many apps people use Google Reader to make. The beta is free for a limited time. Grab it here.
Tech-Saavy
When I first saw this girl whip out her iPad in class, I always wanted to talk to her about how she uses it and where she got her amazing case. In my head, I have always thought that I and maybe a few other Apple fan boys would be the only ones to choose a 64GB iPad Wi-Fi + 3G over a netbook or a laptop, but here was a normal, busy college girl choosing the most expensive iPad variation over a laptop. I had to interview her, and within a few minutes she managed to sell me all the technology she rocks daily.
As I asked her if I could interview her about her tech set up, I couldn’t help but notice the black cellular band that was on her 3G iPad. 64GB iPad Wi-Fi + 3G’s cost $829. As I gaped at the price she quickly responded, “I bought all my textbooks on my iPad which saves me a lot of money.” I thought to myself, “Saves you a lot of back pain too, sheesh!” In the app shown in the picture above, she has her textbook loaded on the left pane as she takes notes on the right pane. I can’t confirm the exact app she was using here, but there are plenty of great iPad textbook options such as Course Smart and Inkling which are both free. When I re-evaluated her purchase, having unlimited Internet data and 64 gigs of media all in a one pound tablet sounds really fantastic.
The case she uses is called the Targus Truss Case for iPad, which runs for $50 dollars respectively. The case has a real leather exterior with a turquoise cleansing microfiber interior, which to me is well worth $50, but some how she managed to pick one up for $25 at the Apple Store! “When I had the Apple case it kept getting grungy and when I got sick of cleaning it all the time, I returned it,” she said as she pointed out how scratched up my Apple branded case was getting. The Targus Truss case is even more multifunctional than the Apple branded iPad Case. When you open it there are 2 grooves, which allow you to prop up your iPad and use it in different viewing angles. You can also flip the case over to use your iPad traditionally. If turquoise and black isn’t your thing, there are more color variations on Amazon to chose from.
In the end of my interview, I came to the conclusion that the iPad is just as good if not better than a laptop for mobile computing. She managed to find a way to make the iPad replace a laptop completely and in the most elegant and affordable way. Despite the price she paid, she makes all of the extra features she paid for work for her daily. If you don’t need flash to do homework on the go, (more than 75% of the web is now HTML5) then you can save a lot of money by getting an iPad instead of a laptop.
If you or someone you know has cool technology choices send me some pics and a story at johurimam@me.com.
Skype Beta 5 (for Mac)
Skype is a genius program, there isn’t many applications for chatting that work between the Mac and PC as well as Skype. Unfortunately, being as judgmental as I am, I never used the app consistently because personally I thought it was ugly. Yeah I know, give me crap about being superficial, but it is true. iChat gives a beautiful, clean and easy to use interface that works, unlike Skype at the time being which had a clunky disorganized interface. Skype’s new beta for Mac put it in the Mac standard realm, I’m talking Noah approved visuals and ease of use. Here’s my take on the new update. You should start this download as you are reading.
New Look: Streamlined Simplistic but much fatter.
The gaps are almost too much for me to handle but it ends up looking pretty nice once you’re used to it. The task bar on the left shows who’s online and previous video conversations you can relaunch instantly. The upper right hand corner has your calling options. (Add friend to conversation, send files, video call and call.) You also get options to switch to SMS mode and to send animated GIFS. Overall this look passes.
Calling: I don’t think anyone actually internet calls people anymore unless you are really worried about the minutes. The new calling interface allows you to call them through your contact’s phone number and through their Skype ID which has been implemented on other versions but the new Mac version is very clean and has visual clues behind all of its features.
Video Calling/Conferencing: iChat is not the only player now. The Mac beta of Skype includes video conferencing for free compared to the Windows version that is out of beta which requires a trial followed by a paid subscription service. I have no idea why Skype charges for this service to be completely honest. iChat does it for free. I hope the Mac having free video calling will mean that Skype will eventually trash their cash tiers for video conferencing. Note: To start video conferencing with Windows users they will have to start the trial of the video conferencing service which gives you a good 9 days of multiple face action.
You also get this new Growl-esque widget that lets you multi-task and see what conversations are going on in the background compared to having Skype always in the foreground. This was a needed Mac improvement.
Chatting: You can start group conversations easily which is great. If you pair this super fast chatting program with your iOS device trust me, chatting has never felt more right. iOS 4 has super fast background notifications with the Skype app. Even when you are on the computer, your iOS device will receive a push notification faster than your computer. I actually had no idea it was running until a friend asked if I wanted to video chat in the middle of my class.
Figure 1: iPhone 4 receiving updates quicker than the Skype for Mac program. This was by a few seconds. Disregard my HORRRIBLE-y stated question as well as the sentence structure of this apology forgiving my grammar.
Problems: None with Skype, more with its mobile counterpart.
Skype can’t do anything about this but I wish there was instant replying to these obtrusive notifications which of course come instantly. There is also no video conferencing for the iPhone 4. This was available through Fring but Skype decided to take its services out of the app all together.
Hyperdock: Get it While it’s free
Hyperdock gives Mac the only reason I would want to buy a PC. It has Aero-Snap, Window views from hovering your mouse over an app and quick tools on hovered apps.
This is what happens when you hover over an app. You get a call out with the windows open. Kind of like group expose but a little bit easier to manage.
I love this view. The controls are very useful and I am freaking obsessed with cover art.
Here is the iCal hover controls. Way better than the current in your face annoying alert!
GarageBand 11’
The track volume bar is now bundled with the track settings bar. A huge deal for me. I hated having to click through tons of menus just to add a few fades on the last garageband.
Unfortunately I don’t use this app whatsoever because I don’t do music here. Logic Pro yes, just not here. I am also not a song write so this review is what I think is pretty nice. If you want a whole review of the amazing new features in garageband click here.
Sadly I don’t even find trying these features worth my time but you may find them useful. Groovematching definetly sounds cool.
The colors feel more subdued. I also feel less bumps and clicks across the road.
iMovie 11’
iMovie has some new features that make it a lot more fun and a little bit easier to use. All these new features to me are strictly fun and games and not Final Cut Pro esque updates. The photo above depicts the new audio waveform tool which is pretty useful and a huge step for iMovie but me being a Final Cut Pro junkie honestly this review is going to sound not a little bit biased but a lot more biased.
These features are all under the clip tab.
Faces comes to iMovie which is a good thing I guess. iMovie uses your faces data primarily for themes and Trailers.
Be afraid of this feature. Trailers are fun to make but they are very very cheesy. I expect this feature to become even more popular than those parody Hitler videos on the web. It’s really simple to use and it pretty much does all the work.
That’s the new iMovie. Yes very silly update but you know you might have fun with some. Unless your’e me and you make fun of people that actually use iMovie. Just kidding, kind of.
iPhoto 11’
The new edit feature has been remastered and is very simple and fun to use. iPhoto has no real aesthetic changes except for in fullscreen mode where it just transforms into a giant iPhone. The app definitely feels smoother. If you look at the screen shot above, the new glassy bar storing all your photos makes switching between photos in the view so much easier.
This is the new find faces feature. Faces is definitely getting smarter to me. Right when I launched the app it found 544 pictures of me stored on my Mac. In the photo above it literally knew every single person. I just confirm it.
I really like that Apple took UI elements from iOS. Simple things like these pop up menus that make iOS so clean are FINALY coming to OSX.
The fullscreen view is so iOS it just makes me want to touch through my photos. I have not really found it usefull considering how much I multitask on my Mac but once Lion comes out I can see myself really using this feature.
Facebook Integration: It’s really nice that it pulls all your photos from Facebook. It takes quite a while to download though and the photos are of course very lo-res. I also find it freaky that it connects your Faces tags with Facebook now.
Those are all the new things that I liked about the new iPhoto. There are new slideshows you can check out but I have never played or watched a slideshow on my Mac ever.
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