If you are looking for something that adds a bit of the holiday spirit to your Mac, hereis a few free options to help deck your Desktop. MacLampsX 1.2 MacLampsX from The Arctic Mac adds a festive set of holiday lights to the edge of your display. You can make your own bulb arrangements, and…
Jeff Gamet
Jeff Gamet is the Mac Observer’s Managing Editor, and co-host of the Apple Context Machine podcast. He is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X” from Peachpit Press, and writes for several design-related publications. Jeff has presented at events such as Macworld Expo, the RSA Conference, and the Mac Computer Expo. In all his spare time, he also hosts TMO’s Daily Observations podcast, co-hosts The iOS Show podcast, and makes guest appearances on several other shows, too. Jeff dreams in HD.
Articles by Jeff Gamet
NoteMind
Computers are great at creating and storing information, but without a way to organize and sort that information – to build data relationships – itis not really of much value. NoteMind from Synium Software aims to bridge that information gap and help you discover the relationships hiding inside the data on your Mac. Think of…
beaTunes 1.1
Making playlists in iTunes is easy enough, but beaTunes makes it even better. beaTunes analyzes your music so you can build playlists of similar sounding music, and the playlists it builds are surprisingly good. beaTunes is an application that works in parallel to iTunes instead of as a plug-in. Installation is drag-and-drop easy, and the…
Protecting Your Mac From its Best Friend: Electricity
Most people get over the first hurdle of electrical protection fairly easily by using a battery backup, or uninterrupted power supply, that offers some level of line conditioning and surge suppression. Iim partial to the Smart-UPS systems from APC. In addition to protecting your Mac from electrical incidents that come through wall outlets, you also…
School District Dropping Macs for More "Appropriate Technology"
The districtis new director of technology, Eric Willard, claims the move will help students because “most people use Microsoft programs in the real world.” He has developed a task force to help make a plan to implement the transition. “We will have a challenging time at the high school level taking away the Macs,” he…
Apple and Orange Launch Broadband Service in France
The service works out to ?2 (about $2.62) a day for a 1Mbps connection. An 8Mbps connection will cost ?65 (about $85.10). For now, the service is available only in France, but it may extend to other European countries if there is enough interest.
HOBO Pendant G Data Logger
What do you get when you combine a curious mind, a free afternoon, and an affordable accelerometer? You get me recording motion data and having far too much fun when I should be working on something else. The little device that tricked me into spending an afternoon away from my desk in Onsetis HOBO Pendant…
Apple Hot Deals Update For MacMall, O'Reilly, PowerMax
The new MacMall Hot Deals page has offers on The Sims 2 Pets expansion pack from Aspyr, the Viewsonic ViewDock 19-inch LCD display with built-n iPod dock, iF2 portable speakers for the iPod from Sonic Impact, the MacCase Silver Sling laptop backpack, Canonis PowerShot SD900 10-megapixel compact digital camera, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel SLR…
Adobe Announces Photoshop CS3 Public Beta
The public beta is a Universal Binary application, allowing it to run natively on PowerPC and Intel-based Macs – something Mac users have been begging for ever since Apple introduced its Intel-based systems. In addition to support for the current crop of Macs, Photoshop CS3 also includes Non-destructive Smart Filters, a Quick Selection tool, a…
Mac Market Growth to Fuel Earnings
Mac marketshare is expected to continue growing in 2007, and even a small increase will have a big impact on earnings, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. Completion of the transition to Intel processors, improved product availability, the growing Apple customer base, and the ability to run Windows on Macs will all act as…
Macworld Expo Adds Graphic Secrets for Business Session
Topics include: the top 10 design tips for those with zero design skills understanding and managing image resolution adding graphics to Word and Excel documents creating presentations that pop how to share business documents and master PDFs the skinny on image manipulation using Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 Graphic Secrets for Business runs all day on…
Analyst: Strong December Mac Growth Expected
The supply of Macs has been good at the store level, although iPod supplies have been “somewhat patchy” for the December quarter. 95 percent of the stores interviewed reported solid Mac inventory availability. Mr. Munsteris original model for the quarter projected a one percent drop in Mac sales compared to last quarter. He comments “Contrary…
DigitalColor Meter: Finding On Screen Color Values
Point your mouse at the Apple menu…
NuLOOQ navigator
Where do you start with the NuLOOQ? It is an input device, but itis not a mouse. It can open documents, control the Adobe Creative Suite 2 applications, and execute keyboard shortcuts. But itis not a keyboard. No, itis far more. It is… NuLOOQ. Logitech designed the NuLOOQ navigator to improve productivity in Photoshop CS2,…
iPods OK in Australia
iPod owners in Australia can breath a sigh of relief now that a proposed copyright law has been amended so that owning an MP3 player, DVD recorder, or other digital recording devices won’t be a criminal offense. The amended bill was voted on by both houses of Parliament, and goes into effect on January 1,…
Apple Stock Creeps Back Towards $92
Speculation over Apple Computer’s product announcements at Macworld Expo 2007 in January is driving investor interest, along with the company’s stock price, up. As of noon eastern time, that interest had driven Apple’s stock up to US$91.94. Investors are hoping Apple releases the fabled iPhone and a true wide-screen video iPod, and some are speculating…
DVDpedia 3.3
So many DVDs, so many friends to borrow them. For Mac users, the answer is to find a database application that can manage your library and track who has what. DVDpedia handles that task without a hitch, and throws in a wish list just for good measure. DVDpediais iTunes-like interface is both familiar and well…
Disc Cover 1.2.1
Appleis iLife i06 applications make it easy to build your own music albums and DVD movies, but they lack the ability to create really sharp disc and case liner artwork. Thatis where BeLightis Disc Cover comes in. This design tool has everything you need to make great looking music CD, DVD, and photo CD artwork…
Tiger's Built-in File Compression
Control-click or right-click the file or folder you want to compress. Choose Create Archive of from the pop-up contextual menu. Tigeris built-in Zip feature.
Apple Adds More iPod Board Makers
Apple Computer recently added Gold Circuit Electronics (GCE) to its growing list of iPod printed circuit board makers. The total number of companies producing the circuit boards for Apple, according to DigiTimes, is up to seven. The other board manufacturers are Tripod Technology, Nan Ya Printed Circuit Board (NPC), Unimicron Technology, Compeq Manufacturing, Wus Printed…
Britain Approves iPod Radio Transmitters
Britain has finally legalized the use of FM radio transmitters with iPods, and the amendment to the 1949 Wireless Telegraphy Act goes into effect on December 8, according to Townhall.com. Prior to the change in the U.K. law, owners of products like the iTrip and TuneFM were required to have a radio license, and pay…
WTF: The Ultimate Online Font Finder
This godsend of a Web site analyzes a graphic sample of your mystery font and almost always comes back with exactly what you want to know: Which font is that? I started by scanning a font from a printed document.
Bush: No iPods for North Korea
President Bush is attempting to impose targeted trade sanctions against North Korea to deprive Kim Jong Il of the luxury items he enjoys. One of the items on the list: Apple’s iPod. According to Yahoo! News, the items on the sanction list are products that North Korea’s leader personally covets, or gives as presents to…