Section: Haven’t caught all of the Appletell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! The iPad: To 3G or not 3G? “We are just past halfway through the 60 day waiting period that Apple announced for the release of the WiFi iPad. While we don’t know everything about the device, we do know there are six different models split in half by a single feature:…” MORE » Appletell reviews Bento 3 for Mac OS X “Provides: Template based database creation and management Format: Digital download or CD Developer: FileMaker, Inc. Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.7, 867MHz PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel processor, 512MB RAM, CD drive Processor Compatibility: Universal…” MORE » Appletell reviews Stinger Table Hockey for iPhone, iPod touch “Category: Stinger Table Hockey Seller: Stinger Games Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2 or later Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch File Size: 10.6MB Version Reviewed: 1.1 Price: $1.99 Age Rating: 4+ Before I begin this review, I should disclose that rod hockey is my…” MORE » Appletell reviews the Beats by Dr. Dre Lady Gaga Heartbeats from Monster “Provides: In ear audio reproduction Developer: Monster Cable Minimum Requirements: Audio source with 1/8” stereo mini-jack Price: $119.95 Availability: Now Quality is almost synonymous with Monster Cable. But the Beats by Dr. Dre Lady Gaga Heartbeats are about more than just great audio, they’re…” MORE » Appletell reviews the Dexim P-Flip Foldable Power Dock “Provides: iDevice external battery, stand and dock Developer: Dexim Price: $54.90 Availability: Now In a sea of boxy, single purpose batteries, one company dares to think different.  Dexim has put some real thought into what an iDevice battery can and perhaps should do for you.  Their…” MORE » Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 1, 2010 “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 1, 2010:  Macintosh iPod Macintosh Divine Fiat has announced The Complete Set, their entire collection…” MORE » Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad product news – March 2, 2010 “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for March 2, 2010:  Macintosh iPod Macintosh The Mac Sale is now live with a new bundle.…” MORE » Story behind Apple startup sound revealed in interview with its creator “Perhaps one of the best known sounds in the geek universe is the startup gong that we Mac users hear almost every time we start up our machines.

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So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Appletell posts for the week of February 28, 2010

Section: Mac Software , Home and Personal , Miscellaneous / Other , Reviews Provides: Template based database creation and management Format: Digital download or CD Developer: FileMaker, Inc. Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.7, 867MHz PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel processor, 512MB RAM, CD drive Processor Compatibility: Universal Price: $49.00 single user, $99.00 family pack Availability: Out now Version Reviewed: 3.0.2 I’m the target audience for Bento 3, and that makes this a fairly easy review to write. I love having database functionality at my disposal, but I’ve never wanted to bother with learning FileMaker just to keep track of my CD collection, family recipes or the Appletell writing staff. More importantly, I didn’t want to pay for the functionality of FileMaker when I knew I wouldn’t use it beyond 20% of its capabilities. So, I’d end up buying multiple proprietary database programs. One for tracking movies and CDs. One for books. One for recipes.

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Appletell reviews Bento 3 for Mac OS X

Section: Haven’t caught all of the Appletell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! CES 2010: The Fingerist iPhone Keytar, rock out with your dock out “It’s called the Fingerist, and no, I didn’t stroll to the wrong expo center.  It’s essentially a speaker dock…in the shape of a keytar! Yes, that’s right, with this you can strap on your iPhone and play fake guitar apps until your fingers bleed.  Of course, you can use this…” MORE » In terms of touchscreen accuracy, the iPhone wins ” MOTO, a company that helps startups, recently did some research on the accuracy of touchscreens on various popular smartphones, and found some interesting results. They created a simple drawing program for each of the devices, and then wrote across…” MORE » CES 2010: The year of 3D ” If there was one resounding theme present at CES 2010, it undoubtedly was 3D. Television makers across the board are producing 3D capable TVs in preparation for what I think is the next best thing since color TV.…” MORE » How to get album artwork for your iTunes song library “Ever since the advent of the iPhone and iPod touch—with their gorgeous displays system wide, and especially while playing music—album artwork has become more and more important to me. I mean, face it, seeing the artwork of the song you’re listening to…” MORE » iPhone 3G/S belt clip shootout “One of the features I consider in iPhone case reviews is whether it comes with a method to attach the case to a belt, pocket, purse strap, or what have you. Few of them do anymore, choosing instead to distinguish themselves with funky features or high fashion. This is unsettling…” MORE » Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – January 12, 2010 “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for January 12, 2010: Macintosh Pixel Research Labs released Ringer 1.1, their iPhone ringtone creation tool for Mac OS X. Ringer 1.1 adds several new features while…” MORE » Appletell reviews Categuru for iPhone and iPod Touch “Category: Word games Seller: Categuru LLC Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch Requirements: iPhone OS 3.1 or later Version Reviewed: 1.0 File Size: 2.4MB Price: $1.99 (a free Cataguru Lite version is available)…” MORE » CES 2010:  We don’t need no stinking Macworld ” Macworld has long been the event for Apple users to gather and interact with the companies that produce their favorite pieces of hardware and software, in addition to Apple.  We all remember last year, when Apple decided they didn’t need…” MORE » Apple reportedly using all of the 10.1 inch LCD and OLED screens ” Over the course of CES, TG Daily came upon a rather interesting rumor after talking to various vendors. As it goes, some companies were trying to get 10 inch screens to use with their products but were met with months and…” MORE » Appletell reviews Pixelmator for Mac OS X “Format: Download Developer: Pixelmator System Requirements: Intel or PowerPC, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, Core Image supported graphics card Review Computer: 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook, 4GB DDR2 RAM Processor Compatibility: Intel or…” MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Appletell posts for the week of January 10, 2010

Section: Software + Apps , Design , Mac + Computers , Software , Reviews Format: Download Developer: Pixelmator System Requirements: Intel or PowerPC, Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, Core Image supported graphics card Review Computer: 2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook, 4GB DDR2 RAM Processor Compatibility: Intel or Power PC Price: $59.00 single user Availability: Out now Demo: Download Despite the vast array of cloud-based apps and free software, many users still have a cadre of tried-and-true desktop programs they consider a must.  It is rare for these users to experience a Eureka! moment and want to convert to a competing app.  Pixelmator, billed as the the world’s only GPU-powered, Mac OS X-only image editor, is one of those programs.  Other reviewers have thrown out the idea that Pixelmator can go head-to-head with Photoshop…I would go so far as to say you could have a toss up between Photoshop Elements/Lightroom and Pixelmator, but I doubt most users of the full Creative Suite version would feel satisfied with Pixelmator’s feature set.  If Adobe’s products keep adding features you never use, however, Pixelmator may just be a (much cheaper) alternative.  Serious Photoshop users take note; if you are doing extensive photo retouching or basic layer-based image composition, Pixelmator blazes by Adobe’s products.  In the time it takes Photoshop to start up, Pixelmator can veni, vidi, vici before the PS splash screen is gone. The Good Pixelmator is FAST .  In testing on both a late 2006 MacBook and a summer 2009 MacBook Pro, the program was fast to start, quick to respond, and snappy in applying filters.  Pixelmator leverages Apple’s Core Image framework, which offloads graphical tasks to your Mac’s graphics card.  This means the speed of the program is based on your GPU and graphics memory.  The late 2006 MacBook did perform rather sluggishly, especially when applying filters to an entire image (back in the day when the PowerPC chip was first introduced, designers used to benchmark systems based on the speed of a Gaussian blur filter).  This result is hardly surprising given the MacBook’s Intel GMA 950 graphics chip.  On the ‘09 MacBook Pro, many of the filters felt real time, especially the Quartz Composer filters (many of them are applied real time to iChat/Photo Booth images as effects).  Filters in Pixelmator render in real-time much like Apple’s Instant Alpha feature in iWork. This familiar feeling is one of Pixelmator’s many standout features. Overall, the program just feels a Mac application (Apple should take note and start making some UI updates to Aperture). All windows use the HUD interface theme, and thoughtful touches throughout—like the fact that the currently selected tool pops from the menu bar—make the program much more visually appealing than its Adobe competitors.  There are even some nifty custom UI elements, such as filter windows that are literally attached to the image being edited, or how the Brush engine, which is one of the shining stars in the program, uses an image well much like OS X to allow drag-and-drop creation of new brushes.  You can even use the crayon box color picker if you want (I know serious artists scoff, but it is a user friendly way to present color choices—better than Microsoft’s little honeycomb color chooser). I used the brush engine to create a new snowflake brush using a snowflake clip art and then made my holiday card for next year. Hey, it is never too early to start! The Great As if speed were not enough, Pixelmator really is an incredibly powerful image editor. The speed can be attributed to the program’s use of Apple’s pre-built image capabilities, but the program’s power and elegance lend it a feeling of composure that make working on an image feel less like work and more like creation.  The interface literally gets out of the way when needed (via the “Hide unnecessary palettes” preference option).  Invoking the Curves adjustment pane causes the other palettes to fade so you can see the changes being made applied to the whole image: Overall, this feels much better than Adobe’s 2 step process of invoking an adjustment pane, making changes and seeing a preview of them (which is ridiculously small), then waiting for your changes to render on the whole image.  Pixelmator shines in both basic image editing and layer-based image composition.  Using the Appletell logo from the top of the site, I was able to compose a new image on 10 layers, adding a sunburst and diamond checkerboard pattern, blending these using full layer blending tools and opacity, then adding several layers of filters/effects.  Most of the abilities are nothing new or revolutionary, but the program’s speed and ease of use made the process feel less cumbersome.  For such a low price point, the program is exceptionally well designed, includes support for my Wacom tablet, and offers a full set of keyboard shortcuts that made sense to both a longtime Photoshop and Mac user

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Appletell reviews Pixelmator for Mac OS X

Section: Software + Apps , Games , Reviews Category: Fantasy MMO Developer: Mythic Entertainment Publisher: Mythic Entertainment System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.5.7, Intel Core Duo Processor, 2GB RAM, ATI X1600 or NVidia 7300 GT with 128MB of Video RAM, at least 15GB of hard drive space for installation. This game will not run on PowerPC (G3/G4/G5) based Mac systems (PowerMac). Review Computer: 2.2GHz 13” Macbook Pro, 2GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM Network Feature: Required (LAN or Internet) Processor Compatibility: Intel only Price: $14.99 monthly subscription, free trial available Availability: Out now The Warhammer games take place in an interesting universe; rather than being set in a Tolkien-insipired, idyllic and mythical England, the ruling empire is stern and Germanic. The enemy is Chaos itself, manifesting in the form of hideous beast men and Lovecraftian monsters who’s aim is simply to spread entropy. The name “Warhammer” itself gives away the tone; rather than the sword of an Arthurian knight, it’s a skull-crushing blunt instrument. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) gets the tone of this right; player characters are not cast as rugged individualists lead by psuedo-story-driven quests that make them feel important. No, right from the start it is made clear that you are one soldier in a war more vast than you can properly grasp. Oh, all the familiar steps are there. You choose a race and a class, you start off on simple quests that lead you to higher levels and better equipment, which lead you on to more difficult quests. But WAR is about large-scale group combat, which is built into the guts of the game. By the time the player has reached the second map of the training level , he’ll be part of mass combat that has an effect on the entire server. It works like this; each side (Empire vs. Chaos) on a server controls several territories

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Appletell reviews Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Section: Haven’t caught all of the Appletell news this week?  Here’s your chance to catch up on this week’s top 10 articles! Appletell reviews TomTom’s car kit for iPhone “Provides: Enhanced iPHone viewing, audio, and GPS Developer: TomTom Minimum Requirements: iPhone 3G(S) and TomTom app Price: $119.95 Availability: Now TomTom might be the first and last name you think of when you consider guidance…” MORE » 25 days of Mac and iPhone savings [updated Dec. 10] “The gift giving season is now in full swing, and will be up through the end of the year. Luckily for you, the deals are in full swing as well. As special offers and giveaways…” MORE » Appletell reviews Lady Gaga iOKI for iPhone, iPod Touch “Category: Music Developer: gridMOB Requirements: iPhone 3.1.2 software or later Compatibility: iPhone and 2nd Gen iPod touch File Size: 71.5MB Version: 1.0 Price: $4.99 Availability: Now The Lady Gaga iOKi karaoke…” MORE » Appletell reviews the GlideTV Navigator “Provides: Wireless touchpad and remote functionality Developer: GlideTV Price: $149.00 Availability: Now GlideTV’s Navigator is another gadget that brings a lot of potential to the table of the home theater Mac Mini setup.  The Mac Mini is a great choice for a home theater Mac, but…” MORE » Five addictive iPhone, iPod touch games to play on the go ” There are plenty of content-rich, in-depth games for the iPhone that will take you hours to complete, and they’re awesome. Then, there…” MORE » Appletell reviews Bioshock for Mac OS X “Genre: First-person shooter Format: DVD Developer: 2K Boston/2K Australia Mac Publisher: Feral Interactive Mac Port: Robosoft Technologies System Requirements: 1.8GHz Intel Macintosh, Mac OS X v10.5.8, 1.5GB RAM, 128MB VRAM, 8GB hard…” MORE » Appletell reviews Wondershare’s iPod Toolkit for Mac “Included: Wondershare Video to iPod Converter for Mac, DVD to iPod Converter for Mac, and TransPod for Mac Format: Download Developer: Wondershare System Requirements: 1GHz Intel Processor, Mac OS X v10.4, 512MB RAM, 60MB hard…” MORE » New Droid ad bashes iPhone for having better hardware, lacks sense ” In a bold new advertisement from Verizon, the company procedes to call the iPhone a “princess” and “digitally clueless beauty pageant queen,” while stating that their Droid is a “robot” that “rips through the web like a circular saw through…” MORE » Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – December 7, 2009 “Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 7, 2009: Macintosh Stand By Soft has released RationalPlan 3.15.7, a powerful project management software application developed to assist project managers in creating plans, tracking…” MORE » Appletell reviews X3: Terran Conflict for Mac OS X “Genre: Space Action/Sim Format: Digital Download and DVD Developer: Egosoft Mac Publisher: Virtual Publishing Minimum System Requirements: 2.16GHz Intel Macintosh, Mac OS X v10.5.7, 1GB RAM, 256MB GeForce 8600 or Radeon X1600 graphics…” MORE » Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell . | Comment on this Article »

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So Hot Right Now: Top 10 Appletell posts for the week of December 06, 2009