News and reviews of Mac software - the most comprehensive Mac software reviews on the Web

Brushing up with Brush Pilot

James Dempsey — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:34:00 -0700

Jay Hilgert’s Brush Pilot is a simple application that lets you preview, install, and delete brushes anywhere on your hard drive. James Dempsey takes a closer look.

Apple may be exempt from China's Web filter mandate

Owen Fletcher — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:11:00 -0700

Apple's computers and other that do not use Windows appear to be exempt from China's mandate to package new computers with Web filtering software.

Review: Lego Batman: The Videogame

Chris Holt — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Kids will still be drawn to Lego Batman's many character cameos, mixing of Lego and Batman worlds, and silly humor.

Review: Final Draft AV 2.5

Tim Haddock — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0700

For years, documentary-style film and video makers have struggled to use jury-rigged tables within word processing programs to create the unique two-column scripts needed for planning documentaries, commercials, and corporate videos. Final Draft AV 2.5.2 aims to put a smile on those creative faces by taking over such time-consuming formatting duties so that filmmakers can focus their time where it matters—on content.

Mac News Briefs: BenVista releases PhotoZoom Pro 3 photo enlarger

Jonathan Seff — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0700

BenVista's PhotoZoom Pro 3 improves its interpolation algorithm for bigger enlargements and adds multi-processor support. Also, LaCie began selling its 12big Rack systems, and Art Text was updated.

Mozilla slates first Firefox 3.5 patch

Gregg Keizer — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:48:00 -0700

Mozilla will patch the just-released Firefox 3.5 later this month to stamp out several bugs that went unfixed in the final version of the browser.

Create Events-based iPhoto albums featuring specific people

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:34:00 -0700

Learn how to create an album in iPhoto to show all photos from all events that contain at least one photo of a selected person.

Review: Final Draft 8

Tim Haddock — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Final Draft 8 is simpler than ever for beginning users; subtle feature fixes, bountiful script templates, and top-notch support for the production rewrite process ensure that an aspiring A-list writer won’t quickly outgrow the software.

Mac News Briefs: Omni Group releases OmniGraphSketcher

Macworld Staff — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:37:00 -0700

The Omni Group on Wednesday released OmniGraphSketcher, a new graph creation tool. There were also updates to iPod Access, Cocktail, and Mystical Tint Tone and Color.

Cataloging Mail by date

Christopher Breen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:51:00 -0700

If you miss Entourage's Saved Searches when you move to Apple's Mail, put Mail's smart mailboxes to good use.

Google revamps Gmail labels feature for organizing messages

Juan Carlos Perez — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:56:00 -0700

Google will roll out a set of changes to the labels functionality in Gmail to make it easier for people to organize their e-mail messages.

First Look: Firefox 3.5

Rob Griffiths — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:45:00 -0700

What's new and improved in Firefox 3.5? Here's a look at some of the more interesting new features and enhancements in Mozilla's latest release.

Ambrosia releases Soundboard

Peter Cohen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:15:00 -0700

Soundboard is a new audio utility from Ambrosia Software similar to a "cart machine" -- it's a sound loop app for live performances.

Apple releases minor MobileMe Web service updates

David Chartier — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:27:00 -0700

Apple has tweaked and enhanced a number of the features in its MobileMe Web services, bringing, among other things, new capabilities for iPhone 3GS users.

Cooliris even cooler

Christopher Breen — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:04:00 -0700

Cooliris, the visually-compelling browser plug-in, now supports tabbed windows and sharable URLs.

Mac News Briefs: wineCellar 2.0 adds cloud support for mobile access

Macworld Staff — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:42:00 -0700

The new version of Cadent Computing's wineCellar software adds Cadent Cloud for mobile access. Other programs updated include Typinator, Clipstart, and Dictate.

iPhoto 8.0.4 fixes crashing bug, corrects location names

Jonathan Seff — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:30:00 -0700

A minor update to iPhoto '09 fixes a rare crashing bug, and corrects references to a few points of interest and location names that were labeled incorrectly.

Repair incorrect icon associations

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:54:00 -0700

Are the icons for certain file types incorrect on your machine -- zip files appearing as disk image files, for instance? If so, this hint will help you quickly fix the problem.

Firefox 3.5 officially hits the streets

Dan Moren — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:52:00 -0700

The latest update to Mozilla's free Web browser, Firefox 3.5, was released on Tuesday, bringing much-improved performance and new features.

GemFest 2009: All-time favorite affordable software

Roman Loyola — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

As a grand finale to GemFest 2009, here’s a list of some of our all-time favorite Mac Gems.

Kace to boost Mac features in systems management appliances

Philip Michaels — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:36:00 -0700

The company plans to introduce changes to its family of Kbox appliances this summer that will let IT administrators manage Windows and Mac OS X machines from a single interface on a single appliance.

Mac News Briefs: Mimio Studio 6 now available to Mac users

Macworld Staff — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:55:00 -0700

Mimio Studio 6, now available on the Mac, adds multimedia support and makes additional improvements. Other programs updated Monday include Today and Letter Opener.

Hands on with Plex, an alternative to Apple’s Front Row

Aayush Arya — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:13:00 -0700

Plex is a media center for Mac OS X that’s capable of cataloguing and playing back every major video format out there, and it works admirably with the Apple Remote to boot.

Mozilla sets Firefox 3.5 final release for Tuesday

Gregg Keizer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:09:00 -0700

Mozilla plans to ship Firefox 3.5 on Tuesday, bringing the long-awaited upgrade in under its own deadline wire.

Mac 911 Lightning Round

Christopher Breen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:39:00 -0700

Quick answers to short questions.

Plex media center software competes with Front Row

Aayush Arya — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

If you have an even moderately large media library and like the idea of having everything neatly catalogued and readily available at the press of a button, or if you simply like watching high-definition movies, then you should try Plex.

Review: EVE Online: Apocrypha

Peter Cohen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:29:00 -0700

if you’re willing to invest the time and effort to get the most out of this incredibly deep and intricate game, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more rewarding experience.

Review: ShoveBox 1.7

Jeffery Battersby — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0700

ShoveBox 1.7 provides a simple, intuitive way to organize a variety of information without becoming burdensome.

SousChef: iTunes-like recipe organizer

Jackie Dove — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

SousChef is a recipe organizer with an iTunes-RSS feed sensibility that can help you get your meal off to a good start.

Cooliris helps showcase photos and videos

Kris Fong — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

Cooliris is a super-handy browser plug-in that lets you scope out images and video content in a unique way, displaying everything in a full-screen, horizontally expanded, interactive 3-D “wall” view.

News: Toon Boom Studio 5 released

Jackie Dove — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:53:00 -0700

Toon Boom Animation has rebranded its animation application as an educational tool for multi-technique animation. It's also added a stop-motion animation feature to version 5.

Change color of BBEdit and TextWrangler 'invisibles' characters

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:35:00 -0700

Learn how to change the color of the special characters that BBEdit and TextWrangler use to display invisible characters, such as tabs and line breaks.

VideoDrive makes video file conversions easy

Jeff Carlson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

VideoDrive aims to make video conversions easy.

Review: Caboodle 1.3

Nathan Alderman — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Caboodle 1.3 is less expensive than many rivals, but offers fewer features and less polish along with its lower price tag.

Mac News Briefs: Snowtape adds online radio directory

Macworld Staff — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:57:00 -0700

Snowtape, which an Internet radio recording app, now features an online radio directory that automatically updates once new stations are available. Profcast and SQLiteManager also saw new updates on Thursday.

Evernote enables collaborative notebooks, with a catch

David Chartier — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:19:00 -0700

Evernote is a multi-platform service for storing and syncing notes, photos, and other files. Today, the company enabled sharing, allowing users to collaborate on everything from projects, to research, to family shopping—but with a catch.

Apple gets stay lifted in Psystar case

Philip Michaels — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:45:00 -0700

A bankruptcy judge lifted the automatic stay in Apple's ongoing copyright infringement suit against Psyster, setting the stage for the November trial to begin as scheduled.

Reduce system workload during drive cloning

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

Cloning your Mac's hard drive as part of your backup strategy? Then make sure that Spotlight isn't active on that drive before you start cloning it.

New loop library recreates classic 8-bit sounds

Peter Cohen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:35:00 -0700

8-Bit Weapon: A Chiptune Odyssey is a new loop sample library culled from classic 70s and 80s-era computers and video games.

Tangerine creates iTunes playlists based on tempo

Kris Fong — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

When you want to create iTunes playlists based on tempo or need to find the BPM of your songs, Tangerine makes the process incredibly fast and easy.

Mac News Briefs: iBank updated in advance of iPhone app release

Macworld Staff — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:07:00 -0700

Version 3.5 of iBank expands the personal finance manager's syncing capabilities. Other programs updated Wednesday include VMware Fusion, Slideshow, and FlightAlert XT.

HFS+ for Windows makes Mac volumes accessible to Windows PCs

Peter Cohen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:20:00 -0700

HFS+ for Windows is a PC utility that makes Windows talk with HFS file partitions, used by Macs.

Adobe releases Lightroom 2.4, Camera Raw 5.4 update

Peter Cohen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:47:00 -0700

Lightroom and Camera Raw get support for 31 new camera models including new offerings from Canon, Nikon and Hassleblad.

Adobe issues security update for Shockwave Player

Jeremy Kirk — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:17:00 -0700

Adobe Systems released a patch on Tuesday for its Shockwave Player to fix a critical vulnerability.

Apple updates Time Capsule, AirPort firmware and Final Cut Pro

Dan Moren — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 08:47:00 -0700

Apple updated its Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station firmware on Tuesday along with a minor update for Final Cut Pro.

QuicKeys 4 released

Peter Cohen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 07:02:00 -0700

QuicKeys 4, a new version of the long-standing automation software for the Mac, is now available for download.

PulpMotion creates professional multimedia presentations

Kris Fong — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

Aquafadas’s PulpMotion produces professional multimedia presentations that are anything but ordinary.

Review: The Sims 3

Chris Holt — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:30:00 -0700

Pushing escapism to new heights, The Sims 3 is an instant classic for anyone who's a fan of simulation games. The game doesn’t just allow for creativity, but imagination—something that is rare and laudatory in any form of entertainment.

Review: Yojimbo 1.5

Stuart Gripman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:00:00 -0700

Yojimbo is essentially a digital junk drawer: a place for stashing the stuff you want to keep handy. If iPhoto is where you organize images and iTunes manages your music collection, Yojimbo aims to be the bucket where you keep everything that doesn’t fit cleanly into other organization tools.

Mac News Briefs: Navicat Premium manages different database servers

Macworld Staff — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:45:00 -0700

The latest version of PremiumSoft's database administration tools lets users manage different kinds of database servers from one application. Also, BBEdit and Invoices underwent updates, while iPresentee released new Keynote themes.