Software

An equal-opportunity player

Providing one-stop shopping for all your video needs, open-source Miro deserves much of the praise that's been heaped upon it.

The concept is brilliant, yet simple: create a video player that can subscribe to and download video podcasts while comprehensively managing your saved videos. On the face of it, this might sound like iTunes, but the sharing component is an essential aspect of the program. Miro has always been geared toward video and it shows in the program's design. When you launch the app, a left sidebar hosts a folder tree for managing your videos. The central pane … Read more

End your browser hunt

Apple has published a Windows version of their native browser. No, the sky has not fallen and we have yet to see the spontaneous evolution of avian bacon.

What we do have is a major software publisher porting their once mono-platform browser with strong results. Much like iTunes, the Windows version of the Mac application works fine but lacks a certain tightness. It feels unfinished because it is.

Safari lacks most customization features. Skins and other aesthetic options exist in the Mac version, but not here. Hopefully that feature will come later. Just about the only thing you can alter … Read more

Smooth transitioning

If you're looking for a smooth transition between OS X and Windows on your Intel Mac without rebooting, Parallels is one of the best in its category.

An easy-to-navigate interface helps you install Windows, and once installed makes it easy to switch your operating system on-the-fly. The snapshot feature makes it possible to revert back to a stable system in the event of problems. We really like the Smart Select feature which ensures that whichever system your running, file types associated with either operating system will automatically be recognized and opened by that operating system. Most programs will work … Read more

Shortcut to the World of Google

Google's native iPhone app doesn't stray too far from the Web-optimized version that existed in the archaic age before the dawning of the iTunes App Store. That Google has expanded its supremacy through Web apps should make the revelation unsurprising, though users hoping for more customization should just consider the app a shortcut to Google Search and other iPhone-rendered applications such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Reader.

While the auto-complete search suggestions are quite convenient, we're frankly disappointed that Google hasn't produced individualized applications for these products the way it has separate Gmail, Reader, and … Read more

Make iTunes and Apple TV do your bidding

Some iPhone applications--despite being a whole lot of fun--definitely fall under the "Stupid iPhone Tricks" category. (I'm looking at you, More Cowbell and PhoneSaber.) But not the iTunes Remote. If you have wifi and either an AppleTV or speakers hooked up using AirTunes, then the iTunes Remote is an absolute must-have application. This slick, Apple-made app truly lets you be a "mobile DJ," as advertised. The iTunes Remote lets you connect to all the iTunes music on your computer (or iTunes content on your AppleTV) and control playback using the simple iPod controls you're … Read more

Break out in Warkanoid 3

Although it offers few surprises, this Arkanoid remake makes a mostly solid choice. Like virtually all games in this category, this one follows the standard brick-breaking formula, occasionally offering you power-ups such as multiballs.

The graphics, which reflect a fairly-tale motif, aren't incredible, but they certainly suffice for this type of application. This theme is further echoed in the brick formations you must break, which come in such shapes as castles and dragons. We weren't crazy about the soundtrack, so we appreciated the ability to turn it down.

We were also glad to see options for playing with … Read more

Always-on screen capture

The team behind the screen recording utility Camtasia have released a simplified, experimental version of the technology, packaged into a nice downloadable application called the Jing Project.

Jing makes it very easy to grab screenshots and videos straight from your PC, and then save them or share them on the Web. The coolest part of this experiment--in theory--is Jing's integration with Screencast.com, a hosting service for videos recorded off your computer. Once you've recorded a video, you can save it to your Screencast account, and from there you can get an embed code to put it in … Read more

One killer calendar

Need to keep up to date? Try the unobtrusive but feature-rich Active Desktop Calendar. Launching at start-up, it displays an attractive three-month calendar view on, yes, your desktop. By double-clicking a day or the sidebar, you can quickly access tasks and see details of upcoming events. You also can display Outlook information and download and connect to other people's calendars via a LAN to see changes in their schedules. The program has a simple contact manager as well.

Considering all the cool stuff it does, Active Desktop Calendar doesn't consume much memory. We did notice a few shortcomings … Read more

Add drama to your photographs

Photo to Movie lets you pan and zoom over any number of photos and export to e-mail, web format, or CD-ROM for immediate use. You also can export it to full-quality DV or a custom format for use directly in Final Cut, iDVD, or DVD Studio Pro. The program is fully compatible with iMovie, and once you've mastered its features, you'll find it offers a few advantages over Apple's program. The interface is clean and elegant, providing an extremely intuitive approach when creating movies from still imagery. Starting with a digital photo, you can use the tools … Read more