Pros:
A wealth of tools and features, Clean and fluid interface, Robust brush support (Photoshop brush compatible), Illustrator-style vector pen and shape tools, Support for OS X Lion Auto Save and Versions., Export to Mail, iPhoto, and other apps/services, Fresh filters and clever filter interface
Cons:
No adjustment or fill layers, Vector shapes cannot be filled with gradients, Palettes do not snap/dock together
Jim: I love you, Siri
Siri: Impossible
Jim: No really, I love you
Siri: I hope you don’t say that to those other mobile phones, Jim
Jim: No way, I only love you Siri
Siri: You are the wind beneath my wings
Jim: That’s nice. I’m glad you know I love you
Siri: All you need is love. And your iPhone...
The iPhone 4S follows Apple’s recent trajectory of iPhone releases: It’s an object of some appeal to people who last upgraded their phones a year ago, and over the next year a great many of them will find it worthwhile to upgrade to the iPhone 4S. But to all those people who’ve been hanging on to their iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS, the wait is over: It’s time to upgrade without any hesitation whatsoever.
Convert, encode and tag videos with metadata at the same time
Pros: Can convert video and add metadata; offers Apple presets
Cons: Confusing, plain interface
I’ve been using Alfred for many months. On the surface it’s an app launcher, and that’s how I use it most of the time. After assigning a hotkey combination (I chose Command-Space), its main window is only a tap away. From there, start typing the name of the app you’re after and hit Return to launch it.
But that’s just the beginning. Here are some of the other useful tasks Alfred performs for me.
Compared to some of its competitors, the iPhone 4’s battery life is surprisingly good. But few of us would complain about squeezing a few more hours between recharges. And, of course, many iPhone 4s have been in use for over a year now, so their battery life is gradually getting shorter. In my quest to extend my phone's daily life, I tested eight iPhone 4 cases that include built-in batteries for powering the phone.
Want iMac-like performance, without having to buy an iMac? You can get such a machine from Apple if you customize the new Mac mini. Macworld Lab has tested a build-to-order (BTO) Mac mini, and the results in some of our tests are very close to that of a standard configuration 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Core i5 iMac.
The BTO Mac mini we tested doesn’t come cheap, however.
Some folks watch movies, TV shows and videos from the Internet on their TVs by plugging in their computers, using ugly cables, keyboards, or mice that seem out of place in the living room. That PC-to-TV experience is more like using the computer than leaning back to enjoy TV.
So this week, I decided to try out three inexpensive set-top boxes that aim to make this process easier and neater. They are the $100 Roku 2 XS, the $99 second-generation Apple TV and the $199 Boxee Box from D-Link.
Of the three, I’d recommend Apple TV primarily for people who frequently use iTunes, or who own an iPad or iPhone. I’d recommend Roku for people who aren’t hooked on the Apple world and crave simplicity, variety and a low entry price. I’d only recommend the Boxee Box for techies because of its complexity.
Although it’s a smash hit, Apple’s iPad isn’t winning the hearts of users who find it difficult to type on its onscreen keyboard. And even for many who love their iPads for other things and can type shorter items on the screen, the lack of a physical keyboard has meant they still must turn to their laptops for intensive typing tasks.
One solution to this dilemma has been to carry a separate wireless keyboard. But that means carrying two things. So a number of companies offer protective cases for the iPad 2 with low-profile, but real, keyboards built right into their inner surfaces. These keyboards appear when you open the cases, which act as stands for the tablet while you type.
I’ve been testing four such iPad 2 combo keyboard cases.
Pros:
Size and weight
Good screen
Excellent backlit keyboard
Long maximum battery life
CPU performance on par with last year's MacBook Pros
Thunderbolt port
Network recovery
Cons:
No Kensington slot
Network options are a bottleneck for local file transfers
Hard to get the best battery performance in real-world use
Software support for higher resolution display incomplete
iLife software tied to your account, can't be resold with the machine
Network recovery
How fast is a MacBook Air when it's powered by an Intel Core i7 processor? Now that we've posted performance reports for the standard-configuration MacBook Airs, it was time to turn our attention to testing the optional, build-to-order (BTO) configurations of Apple’s latest line of ultra-portable computers.
With OS X Lion pre-installed, the MacBook Air gives users Apple’s latest hardware, including some of the industries fastest technologies and the most modern operating system on the market today.
The 13-inch MacBook Air is the computer that all other laptops will be measured against. It has power, portability, and a sleek design that is only matched by other MacBooks.
For Mac users looking for a relatively inexpensive external backup drive with FireWire 800 connectivity plenty of space, the Western Digital MyBook Studio 3 TB is just the ticket. If you only have USB 2.0 or just need a slow and steady backup drive, there are many other less expensive external drives. For example, Western Digital's WD Elements 3 TB USB-only drive can be purchased through Amazon for about $150; a tremendous bargain.
I like Western Digital's attention to the Mac market, and this drive is a perfect example of the meld of form and function that Mac users love.
Spotify, the popular-in-Europe music subscription service has arrived in the U.S.
The service is available in three flavors—free (you can listen to a limited number of hours of music per month), Unlimited ($5 a month with unlimited listening), and Premium ($10 a month with unlimited listening, higher bit rate tracks, and support for downloads and mobile listening).
I’ve had experience with the current crop of domestic streaming services—Napster, Rhapsody, Mog, and Rdio—and have now browsed through Spotify. Here’s what I’ve found while using a Premium plan.
The US$89.99 Third Rail system includes the iPhone 4 case and a single 'Smart Battery' bundled together, although both components will also be available separately ($39.99 for the case and $59.99 for additional batteries). The case is straightforward black, and it fits snugly on the iPhone 4 with a bit of effort.
Adobe's traditional user base of creatives are some of the most computationally resource-intensive folk I can think of (along with hard-core gamers and scientists). So how does a company like Adobe jump on the tablet money train without having to develop a host of new applications? Let others do it for them. And voila: the Photoshop Touch software developer's kit, which will make it possible to create an ecosystem of tablet-based products capable of driving Photoshop. Along with the SDK, Adobe's delivering three iPad apps designed to use it: Color Lava, Eazel, and Nav.
It's a great idea; since a tablet is too underpowered to do "real" work, why not make it the interface to a computer that does the heavy lifting? Of course, it's not a new concept--just a thin client reborn for the 21st century, or alternatively, turning your PC into a cloud. It will enable app development for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS platforms, in addition to Mac OS and Windows systems.
Plus, since the apps only work with Photoshop CS5 (with a free update patch to 12.04), it may serve as an inspiration for all those laggardly CS4 upgraders to cough up the bucks. Or subscribe. By default, the SDK communicates via iTunes and Bonjour, if you don't have either, you can configure it to operate via a peer-to-peer network.
In my mind, the three apps aren't terribly useful, except as illustrations of a few types of ways the SDK interacts with Photoshop.
In the epic battle among browsers, the latest flanking maneuver comes from the Mozilla Foundation, in the form of Firefox 4 for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. As with recent releases of Safari, Chrome, and others, most of the notable changes are foundational, where they support Firefox’s role as a platform for Web sites and applications. The changes are almost entirely welcome, and improve on the experience for existing Firefox users, though I doubt they’re significant enough to attract users of other browsers to switch.
The iPad 2 is a solid, highly-progressive update and it’s only going to disappoint one kind of consumer: someone who was hoping that Apple would somehow completely redefine the greatest new tech product of 2010 in its second incarnation.
Naw. All of the 2011 iPad’s improvements and new features are answers to the question “What would the first iPad have been like if its engineers had been given another year to work on it?” They’d certainly have tried to make it faster and sleeker, and they’d have figured out how to stick a camera or two in there. Done, done, and done.
The iPad 2 is the same iPad. It’s just better in every conceivable way.
Apple's original iPad has taken off to levels none of us anticipated when it was launched one year ago. Though it has very recently gotten some competition in the tablet space, the iPad still dominates the market and mindshare of new tablet buyers. After having sold 15 million units in nine months last year, Apple has now refined its design with the introduction of the iPad 2.
What, exactly, is new about the iPad 2 that differentiates it from the previous model? That's what we're here to tell you. We reviewed the 16GB WiFi-only iPad—same as the model we used for our original iPad review last year—and for aesthetic purposes, we chose black over white. (What can we say? We like a good visual screen pop.) So, on with the show.
Pros - Ergonomically comfortable body with textured hand grip, recessed on/off button, mode dial, and control wheel, Improved 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko MSC zoom kit lens, In-body image stabilization, Manual exposure and art filters in movie controls, Accessory Port 2 for expanded functionality, Built-in wireless flash control
Cons - No built-in external mic jack—must buy accessory port adapter, Complex menu system, Limited to AVI movie format (Motion JPEG OpenDML)
Price: $199.99 (physical copy with USB microphone), $179.99 (digital download software only), $299 (physical copy with Bluetooth headset)
Wired: Easy set-up and configuration; speech recognition was impressive; plays nicely with Pages; nothing beats being able to work while leaning back in the comfy chair.
Tired: A tad on the expensive side; to get the full use of the software there are a whack of commands to learn; requires more than casual use to get the most out of it.
One of the biggest problems inherent to Mac OSX has been window management. If you have multiple apps and windows open across multiple Spaces, finding the right window can be just as infuriating as trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Enter the application Witch ($14), by Many Tricks, which attempts to simplify window switching in Mac OS X. Is it easy to use? Does it make managing windows more efficient? Let’s find out.
Certain programs you hear about through user buzz, and Pixelmator has been on a lot of people's lips since it made its 1.0 debut. Since my work is about as demanding as it gets for photo and texture editing, I haven't had a chance to get out of Photoshop and see whether the hype is warranted or not, until now. Over the last couple weeks, I've spent some time with Pixelmator to find out what it's great at, what it's bad at, and who it's meant for. I also took some time to compare it to The GIMP and to Adobe's consumer-oriented Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Could I make the switch to Pixelmator for my work? Hell no. Could someone use it for high-quality image editing or Web design? Definitely. Let's delve in and see if it's right for your needs.
For such an eagerly anticipated product, the Verizon-compatible version of the iPhone 4 is awfully unassuming. With a few minor variations, it looks, feels, and works just like the AT&T iPhone 4 that’s been available for the past seven months. Of course, if you’re a loyal Verizon Wireless customer (or an AT&T customer who’s been desperate to switch carriers), the only change that matters is the big one: the network itself.
That’s why the story of this new iPhone 4 is really three stories.
Pros - Fast autofocusing, Weather resistant body, In-body image stabilization, Dual card slots (CF and SD), Wireless flash control built-in, Level gauge, 100% field of view optical viewfinder
Cons - 12 MP sensor, Limited video options, Lackluster high ISO performance above 1600, Only 5 fps burst mode, No mode dial
One of the most popular bits of code around the Macworld offices is Dropbox. We’ve made videos about it, we’ve written about how to get more out of it, we’ve reviewed programs that take advantage of it, and we’ve even given it an Eddy award. But we’ve never reviewed Dropbox itself. So with Dropbox 1.0 for Mac officially released, it’s about time we did. And given that it’s free (more on that below), it’s about as good a candidate for Mac Gems as there is.
Put simply, Dropbox is an amazingly useful combination of a Web service and a Mac OS X program that work together to make your data accessible from anywhere and to keep it synchronized between your computers.
Pros - Simple to use and configure, Solid 1 mbps 3G performance to a laptop
Cons - Only 3G in the face of the onrushing 4G behemoths, Annoying performance limitations with lower-power Wi-Fi devices like tablets and handhelds
The software is usable, and if you want (or need) speech recognition on the Mac, we recommend it. But be aware of the limits here, and recognize that the Windows version remains the far superior alternative for those who have a choice.
Still, given the improvements that the new version brings, we remain optimists about voice recognition on the Mac. Dictate continues to get better, and this version is more robust than its predecessors (I noted only occasional crashes while testing). Recognition is phenomenal, and control is improving. Just know what you're getting—and what you need.
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