My very first impressions of the game was this has no depth and I’ll soon get bored, but to be honest, after a couple of goes, and realizing that I needed to change my strategy, I enjoyed the game much more. It does have some difficulty and you can get a little flustered if you get behind and start getting lots of balls and are unable to clear, but when I started to use the bonus balls that came in the right way, I again found some depth to the game.
Continue reading about Flip Disc: iPhone/iPod Touch Game Review
This week we look at Flip Disk, The MacNerdNews, Digital Photography, The Lounge, Freeware plus much more. I want to thank you for downloading and listening to the podcast. We have the best in Mac hardware, software and websites reviews. We have a lot of great folks on today’s episode with their reviews and comments on software, hardware and websites that make using the Mac special. Plus I’ll have the top freeware Mac apps of the week and much more.
You can email me at surfbits at Gmail dot Com. I love to hear from you.
Receive 25% off of all Devon-Technologies software by going to http://www.devon-technologies.com/podcasts
Here is the freeware and shareware I look at during the podcast:
Fruux: http://fruux.com
Video Monkey: videomonkey.org
Sizzling Keys: http://www.yellowmug.com/sk4it
Movie Gallery: http://www.bitfield.se/freestuff
Phoenix Slides: http://blyt.net/phxslides
Pod to Mac: http://www.podtomac.com
Tom Piraino from MacinTomBlog.com and Darren Rolfe from MacWingNut.com joins us with a new segment called MacNerdNews.
Lola Wong has another great MacReviewCast Lounge segment on Favorite and not so favorite Mac Things.
Bart Busschot’s many different projects can be found via his website: www.bartbusschots.ie
Twitter: twitter.com/bbusschots
International podcast: impodcast.tv
“Chit Chat across the pond” on Nosilla Cast: www.podfeet.com
“Introduction to the Terminal” on The TypicalmacUser podcast: www.typicalmacuser.com
Also look for Bart on www.typicalshutterbug.com
The keyboard that was sold as part of the “Logitech Cordless Comfort Duo” set. (The IRISH versions of this keyboard are no longer being manufactured as far as Bart knows.)
The mouse Bart uses is a Logitech LX 8 which he also reviewed on his blog.
Blog post which contains the UK keyboard driver:
Not-so-Fav is Apple’s Mighty Mouse.
Gazmaz Joins us again this week to review:
Disk Flip: http://polar-motion.com/games/flip-disc
Robert Lachman, L.A.Times Staff Photographer joins us. His Web site is PhotographyandtheMac.com, and he talks to me about:
PinHole Day: http://www.pinholeday.org/
Get a Pinhole add-on for your Mac: http://www.holgamods.com/eospinhole/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com
Smugmug: http://www.smugmug.com
Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq
Try the new ENHANCED version of the MacReviewCast:
And now we have the Podcast in Bit-Torrent Feeds! 
… 
You can either click on the podcast link on the left and listen to it via QT from the browser, or you can right click on the podcast link and choose to “download linked file”. That will download the mp3 and you can play it from you hard drive with iTunes.
The right link below is the URL for the podcast RSS feed. Just right click it and choose to copy the address and then paste it in your podcast reader, or ipodder, or newsreader that will download enclosures automatically.
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Continue reading about The MacReviewCast #204: Digital Photography, The Lounge and MacNerdNews
So this week Tim did the MEANEST thing – he asked me to review a competitor to ScreenSteps! At first I thought, “cool!” and then I thought “oh no!” What if I liked it better than ScreenSteps? Would I have the journalistic integrity to say so? Would I lose my advertiser? Clearly the most important thing was my integrity, but dang, I really like ScreenSteps and I really like the developers Greg and Trevor, so what should I do??? I thought, I know, I’ll try it out, and if I hate it, then I’ll review it! Wait, no, that’s not right! shoot, what to do? I had this whole argument with myself in a chat session with Tim, and I think he enjoyed my angst immensely. He did a virtual grin, and emailed me a review license for MacSnapper from kedisoft.com.
Continue reading about MacSnapper: Write Everything Step by Step
I love gadgets and one of the great things about running this blog and the MacReviewCast podcast is the fact that I get to try a lot of the new gear that comes out. Some of it is so good that I end up keeping it and sending them the money. The NewerTech Voyager Q is one of them. It’s just that handy to have around.
We all have external hard drives and after a while they either become outdated because of the size of the hard drive, or the hard drive dies. Some of them you can exchange the hard drives by taking them apart and others make it so difficult that it’s not worth your time. The Voyager allows you pop in hard drives, read and write, copy or restore and then pop them out like a DVD. Simple in concept, but so handy to use that you’ll be filling all those old hard drives you have lying around with data and photos, movies, or music for storage or transporting to other computers. The Voyager is just one of those gadgets that Mac and PC users will love to own.
Let’s take a minute and look at the features and specs on the Voyager.
Main Features:
Supports all 2.5″ and 3.5″ SATA I/II hard drives up to 2.0TB
“Quad Interface” for maximum data transfer rates and system compatibility
Data transfer rates up to 3.0Gb/s (300MB/s)
Hard drive eject lever for safe removal of 3.5″ drives
Hot-Swap functionality for fast access of multiple hard drives
Weighted base and non skid rubber feet for stable operation
Status LED: Blue = Power, Flashing Red = Disk Activity
Compact design…measures 3.937″ x 5.95″ x 3.169″ inches
Whisper Quiet operation…no cooling fan needed
Plug and Play with Macs and PCs
All interface connection cables included
Notice the last one on the list, all cables are included, eSATA, USB, FW400, FW800.
Talking about connectivity, what transfer rates can you expect…
eSATA: up to 3.0Gb/s (or 300MB/s)
FireWire 800: up to 800Mbps (100MB/s)
FireWire 400: up to 400Mbps (50MB/s)
USB 2.0: up to 480Mbps (60MB/s)
The portability makes it easy to carry the Voyager in a bag for travel, or easy to move from Mac to Mac to PC and back again in an office or home. You could find a better looking enclosure for your hard drives, but none that are as easy to access, and so compatible with all your computers. I’m still coming up with new ways of using my Voyager, and I’m certain there will be more as my hard drive collection expands.
The only downside I found was the price for the Voyager Q, Quad interface unit is $95.00 while the price for the S2, USB and eSATA interface Voyager is $50.00. I’d like to see the Quad unit for sale at a lower price point, but the S2 unit is a value if you have the USB2 or eSATA ports available. Do yourself a big favor and check the Voyager out for yourself at Other World Computing.
Continue reading about Direct From Gadget Heaven, The Voyager!
This week we look at Evernote, MacSnapper, Today, the Lounge, plus much more. I want to thank you for downloading and listening to the podcast. We have the best in Mac hardware, software and websites reviews. We have a lot of great folks on today’s episode with their reviews and comments on software, hardware and websites that make using the Mac special. Plus I’ll have the top freeware Mac apps of the week and much more.
You can email me at surfbits at Gmail dot Com. I love to hear from you.
Receive 25% off of all Devon-Technologies software by going to http://www.devon-technologies.com/podcasts
Here is the freeware and shareware I look at during the podcast:
Evernote: A talk with the CEO of Evernote, Phil Libin.
Allison Sheridan from the NosillaCast Podcast looks at:
MacSnapper: http://www.kedisoft.com/macsnapper
David Sparks from MacSparky joins us this week and reviews:
Today: http://secondgearllc.com/today
The Talented Lola Wong does another MacReviewCast Lounge:
This time with Robert Lachman.
Looking for a place to buy old Apple Ear buds?
Robert Lachman’s favs:
Canon CanoScan 8800F Color Film/Negative/Photo Scanner available from Amazon.
Not-so-Fav: The cost to upgrade to Apple iLife ’09:
Robert Lachman’s blog post about getting a twitter mug
Robert Lachman’s website: http://www.PhotographyAndTheMac.com
Bob Hope photos by Mort Lachman
Try the new ENHANCED version of the MacReviewCast:
And now we have the Podcast in Bit-Torrent Feeds! …
You can either click on the podcast link on the left and listen to it via QT from the browser, or you can right click on the podcast link and choose to “download linked file”. That will download the mp3 and you can play it from you hard drive with iTunes.
The right link below is the URL for the podcast RSS feed. Just right click it and choose to copy the address and then paste it in your podcast reader, or ipodder, or newsreader that will download enclosures automatically.
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techpodcasts.com |
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Continue reading about The MacReviewCast #203: Evernote, MacSnapper, Today and the Lounge
Allison Sheridan of the NosillaCast Podcast here. I’ve got a great one for you this week, especially since it gives me the opportunity to tease you! Nothing’ better than that! Okay, time for the problem setup.
My husband Steve has painstakingly taken every one of our home movies on VHS tape and made beautiful DVDs of them. He puts in scene selections, titles, music, they’re just lovely. He burns two copies, one for the safe deposit box with just a small identifying title written on them, and then he makes beautiful covers for the one that stays at home. He makes collages of pertinent photos from that era (actually I did most of these but I finally showed him how because I couldn’t keep up with him!) He makes the plastic case covers and the sticker to go right on the DVD. We heard that the glue from those stickers can hurt the DVD over time, hence the sticker-less one in the safe deposit box, and I know someone out there is saying “but those pens can be bad too…” but there’s a limit to what you can do, right? We’ve got offsite backups, we’re good, right?
I have to admit I’m pretty plugged in when it comes to Mac applications. That is why it is always fun to discover a gem I’ve never heard of. That happened recently with an application from Zengobi software, called Curio.
Curio really doesn’t fit into any easy categories. I guess you could call it a project organization and data collection tool. I’ve come to think of it as a playground for my brain. It has several modules including outlines, notes, mind maps, “to do” lists, PDF annotation, images, and embedded web pages. I’ve used a lot of data collection applications and this one is truly unique. In a lot of ways it reminds me of a wall in my apartment I used in college. I’d tape on notecards, pictures, and ideas. It was very liberating being able to move things around and make new connections. Using Curio, I can now do this on my Mac. You can add and layout pages with whatever modules fit your needs. For instance on one project I have a page with a mind map, another page has a chronological outline, and a third page has links to relevant web pages. You really are limited only by your imagination.
I mentioned this on the podcast a couple weeks ago, and I thought I’d put it on the blog too. I was thinking of selling my Mac Pro, 2006, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66. It has 5 gigs of Ram, a 256 Meg Nvidea video card, a 500 gig hard drive and I’m just putting an eSATA PCI card in it for Dual SATA connections. I have a Bluetooth card in it too.
I’d have to check eBay to see what the going price is, but I’d be where I should be and I can tell you that the product is in very good condition. If you’re interested, drop me an email.
Over the past few years game consoles have aspired to become part of your home network and entertainment system. In addition to their role as gaming devices, they offer media playback and streaming. Out of the box, they function as so-called media extenders via Windows Media Center, and with the PS3 and Xbox360, this is really easily accomplished. The Mac has been a more recent admission to the party, but no less pleasurable a guest, though, as you’ll see, one that has to pay the price of admission to get the most functionality.
Continue reading about Make Your Mac Play with Gaming Consoles
This week we look at Curio, DVD imager, Vector Tanks, gaming consoles, Freeware plus much more. I want to thank you for downloading and listening to the podcast. We have the best in Mac hardware, software and websites reviews. We have a lot of great folks on today’s episode with their reviews and comments on software, hardware and websites that make using the Mac special. Plus I’ll have the top freeware Mac apps of the week and much more.
You can email me at surfbits at Gmail dot Com. I love to hear from you.
Receive 25% off of all Devon-Technologies software by going to http://www.devon-technologies.com/podcasts
Here is the freeware and shareware I look at during the podcast:
Step Zero: Getting Started on a SCUBA Photo Trip: From Listener Adam
Mikogo: http://www.mikogo.com
Isolator: http://willmore.eu/software/isolator
Tracks: http://www.getontracks.org
MyFaxFree: http://www.myfax.com/free
Jim Hicks talks about gaming consoles and the Mac. Here are the links in his segment:
http://mediatomb.cc/
http://www.twonkymedia.com/
http://www.nullriver.com/
http://cynicalpeak.com/
http://www.riverfold.com/software/wiitransfer/
http://orb.com/
Allison Sheridan from the NosillaCast Podcast looks at:
DVD Imager: Linked on Versiontracker
David Sparks from MacSparky joins us this week and reviews:
Curio: http://www.zengobi.com
Gazmaz Joins us again this week to review:
Vector Tanks: http://www.vectortanks.com
The talented Lola Wong brings us another MacReviewCast Lounge episode, this one with Darren Rolfe AKA MacWingnut:
Macwingnut’s favs:
iLap from Rain Design: http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilap.html
Snowflake microphone from Blue: http://www.bluemic.com/products/snowflake
Eyeball microphone from Blue: http://www.bluemic.com/products/eyeball
Not-so-Favs:
Screen-protectors and their tendency to never quite be perfectly flat.
Useless Apple Earbuds included in the package.
Here’s some potential headphone replacements:
Shure headphones:
Etymotic headphones:
and if you want to stick with apple:
Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic:
Macwingnut’s sites & twitter:
http://www.macwingnut.com/
http://twitter.com/macwingnut
Try the new ENHANCED version of the MacReviewCast:
And now we have the Podcast in Bit-Torrent Feeds! …
You can either click on the podcast link on the left and listen to it via QT from the browser, or you can right click on the podcast link and choose to “download linked file”. That will download the mp3 and you can play it from you hard drive with iTunes.
The right link below is the URL for the podcast RSS feed. Just right click it and choose to copy the address and then paste it in your podcast reader, or ipodder, or newsreader that will download enclosures automatically.
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techpodcasts.com |
Technorati Tags:
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Continue reading about The MacReviewCast #202: Curio, DVD Imager, Consoles and More
I came across a FREEWARE App that does a job for me when I have two windows open for comparison, and I just had to send in a short and sweet review, as the App makes my life just that little bit easier.
So the problem, like a lot of people I keep track of our family finances on a spreadsheet. We have a monthly budget which I compare and reconcile against our account. Now I’m able, with secure access to our bank, to extract our statement details in a .csv form. This I do and place it next to my budget spreadsheet to make sure I’m not spending more money than I should. I find myself both in Excel and Numbers grabbing the corners and positioning the file and then moving the other sheet, grabbing the corner and adjusting, and this is always more of an annoyance than anything else.
So here are a couple of free and simple applications that I’m sure you’ll either find really useful, or you’re someone who is quite happy with what your Mac gives you at the moment in that case I won’t take to much of your time.
The software is free and comes from a UK software developer called Arten Science. The first one is a simple large digital clock that floats on your desktop. Now you can’t adjust the colors and you can’t adjust the size but if you want a quick large alternative because you need to watch the clock, then hey, this will do just the job.
It wasn’t so long ago that I reviewed Creaceed’s High Dynamic Range (HDR) application and Aperture plugin, Hydra. If you’ve never heard of HDR before, it is the process of taking multiple exposures of a subject and combining them into one picture that more closely resembles what you see with the human eye. When done right, it is wonderful. When overdone, it looks bizarre. Wikipedia explains it quite well.
Anyway, I was impressed with Hydra when I last reviewed it but recommended using the stand-alone application over the Aperture plug-in. At that time, the Aperture plug-in hadn’t caught up with the stand alone application feature set. With version 2, it does now.
This week we look at Hydra, TwoUp, AirPhones and Freeware plus much more. I want to thank you for downloading and listening to the podcast. We have the best in Mac hardware, software and websites reviews. We have a lot of great folks on today’s episode with their reviews and comments on software, hardware and websites that make using the Mac special. Plus I’ll have the top freeware Mac apps of the week and much more.
You can email me at surfbits at Gmail dot Com. I love to hear from you.
Receive 25% off of all Devon-Technologies software by going to http://www.devon-technologies.com/podcasts
Here is the freeware and shareware I look at during the podcast:
Insignia Model: NS-DCC5HB09:
MacVideoTunes: http://brpg.hp.infoseek.co.jp
PS3 Media Server: http://code.google.com
Plex: http://www.plexapp.com
Fluid: http://www.fluidapp.com
PostBox: http://www.postbox-inc.com
K9 Web Protection: http://www1.k9webprotection.com
David Sparks from MacSparky joins us this week and reviews:
Hydra: http://www.creaceed.com/hydra
Gazmaz Joins us again this week to review:
TwoUp: http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/twoup
Robert Lachman, L.A.Times Staff Photographer joins us. His Web site is PhotographyandtheMac.com, and he talks about:
ScreencastsOnline
Lynda.com
Kelby Training
Robert’s New Camera: Panasonic DMC-ZS3K
Lola Wong joins us again with Episode 8 of the MacReviewCast Lounge
Apple Keyboard
ipod touch
Rode podcaster
Not-so-Fav (love/hate relationship for Gazmaz) the Mighty Mouse (again!)
Gaz’s sites: http://www.formaceyesonly.com
Twitter
Try the new ENHANCED version of the MacReviewCast:
And now we have the Podcast in Bit-Torrent Feeds! …
You can either click on the podcast link on the left and listen to it via QT from the browser, or you can right click on the podcast link and choose to “download linked file”. That will download the mp3 and you can play it from you hard drive with iTunes.
The right link below is the URL for the podcast RSS feed. Just right click it and choose to copy the address and then paste it in your podcast reader, or ipodder, or newsreader that will download enclosures automatically.
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techpodcasts.com |
Technorati Tags:
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Continue reading about The MacReviewCast #201: Hydra, TwoUp, AirPhones and More
With the ever increasing sizes of media files, data files, and Time Machine backups, external storage is becoming a necessity for all Mac owners. This year at Macworld I met with the people from G-Technology concerning their G-Safe drives and they were nice enough to loan me one for a little while for a closer look.
The G-Safe is a self enclosed two drive Raid array. Like all G-Technology products, it is built, well, like a Mac. The case is rugged aluminum and the power supply is built-in. The name “G-Safe” is not clever marketing. This thing is built like a tank. No cheap molded plastic here. It includes FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connectivity. With the right cable, it will work via FireWire 400. It also includes G-Technology’s 3-year warranty.
