MailShot Pro
App Developer: Soluble Apps
Version Reviewed: 1.50
Licence: US$3.99 Universal app compatible with all iOS 3.0 devices
MailShot Pro fills a void yet to be filled in Apple’s iOS version of Mail: the ability to email to groups of people.
GUEST ARTICLE BY: David M. Acklam
I’m involved in several local outreach groups, and I communicate with them regularly using email. Recently I ran into a little problem while trying to do a “group” mail using my iPad instead of my iMac. I discovered that I could not just click on a group in mail and bring the entire group contacts into the “To or Cc/Bcc” address block.
Continue reading »
Download & Listen here
Subscribe in iTunes
On this episode of Not Another Tech Fan Podcast Mark is joined by Dennis Freitas, Jeff Bradbury and Kelly Spore.
We discuss on this episode: G+ and social networking, Technology in education, and RANT: Our likes and dislikes at the moment
Mark can be found at http://about.me/markgreentree and his podcast is Not Another Mac Podcast.
Dennis can be found at http://about.me/dennisfreitas and his podcast is Google Plus Today.
Jeff can be found at www.TeacherCast.net and his podcast is TeacherCast.
Kelly can be found at http://kellysworld.net/
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Peachpit Learning Series
Author: Robin Williams with John Tollett
Publisher: Peachpit Press
ISBN-13: 978-0-321-77701-0, 480 pages
Price: Paperback US$31.99, Book + eBook Bundle US$43.19, eBook Only US$25.59
Robin Williams, author of The Little Mac Book, Lion Edition has teamed up with husband and fellow author John Tollett to release the Mac OS X 10.7 Lion: Peachpit Learning Series book.
The book is delivered through 24 easy to follow lessons and is aimed towards new to medium level users. Experienced users will also find a good level of content and clarity on various topics.
Throughout the book readers will be presented with stunning visual examples to assist with understanding the Lion operating system.
Continue reading »
Download & Listen Here
Subscribe in iTunes
It’s a week of MyMac.com Podcast tomfoolery as many of the shows switch hosts! The Pocket-Sized Podcast was fortunate enough (though that should be taken with a grain of salt) to get Gaz and Guy, the GMen from the MyMac.com Podcast to cover his duties. For some reason, Guy talked about Sharepoint a Microsoft program, while Gaz being more sensible (another grain of salt is required here) talked about his new iPhone 4S. Samsung’s Dutch patent trolling got a bit of a talking to and just why the EU thinks that carrying two cables for iOS devices is better than one baffles them both. Guy knows why most Android devices will never be updated and both GMen are a little perplexed by the change in the name of the Macworld Expo to iWorld.
Continue reading »
Download the show here, and subscribe in iTunes
Guy and Gaz left the studio door unlocked, and the podcast has been hijacked by Scott, Peter, and Patrick. Since Guy and Gaz always proclaim each new episode of MyMac as one of the longest ever, this time it really is! We talk about our experiences with Lion upgrades, Final Cut Pro X, and the iPhone 4S, iOS 5, and iCloud.
It’s the mother of all hijacks, with something from just about every recent Apple product discussed, whether it needs discussing or not.
Can you teach yourself guitar or music theory? Listen to this five minute audiocast and find out.
Click on the blue link above to listen!
SHADOWGUN is available on the iOS App Store
App Developer: MADFINGER Games
Version Reviewed: 1.0.3
Licence: US$4.99 Universal App (runs natively on both iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad). Compatible with iOS 4.2 or later.
SHADOWGUN delivers an audio and visual experience rarely seen on portable gaming platforms. It is the new benchmark for all games to follow.
It is the year 2350. John Slade, a gun for hire, is on the hunt for a geneticist whose experiments have exceeded the acceptable level of his employer, Toltech Enterprises.
As you journey through this futuristic world you will have to annihilate hordes of mutated creatures. They are the minions of the crazy wild-eyed scientist Dr. Edgar Simon. John Slade is joined by S.A.R.A., a personal android assistant. The banter between characters brings a sense of realism, sarcasm, and humour to the storyline.
The game is a third person shooter that has ten levels of non stop action, more than five hours of gameplay, and a series of interesting boss battles along the way.
Continue reading »
Explorer Touch Mouse Limited Edition
Manufacturer: Microsoft
Price: $49.95 (including 2 x AA batteries)
The Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse is a stylish, wireless mouse that offers the convenience of multiple programmable buttons alongside a scroll bar that works both vertically and horizontally. Previously available in glossy black, the limited edition version is burgundy in colour, making it stand out from usual black, beige, silver and white accessories Mac users will be used to.
But while the Explorer Touch Mouse certainly looks good, how does it stack against other high-end mice like those from Apple and Logitech? Does the new Microsoft BlueTrack technology really mean that this mouse will work effectively on a range of surfaces, not just mouse mats?
The Microsoft Explorer Touch Mouse
Let’s talk Mobile Navigators. Those wonderful little programs you pop on your mobile phone, and they tell you how to get from where you are to where you want to go. I love them. No longer do I have to think about how I get to where I am going, I just ask my iPhone to get me there, and I am off. It is just that easy, right?
Continue reading »
Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac
Logitech
$50 US
This new solar-powered wireless keyboard is almost perfect. It works great, but it has some perfectly annoying “features.”
There is no printed manual or full set of Internet instructions. Its web site is incomplete. No built-in indent on the keyboard is provided for storage and travel with its USB dongle. There is no way to know when the caps lock key is activated.
Aside from those four minuses, Logitech has done a stellar job with engineering and design of its new Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac. Solar and ambient light battery charging are effortless. So is power management using a free software download. Battery efficiency is exceptional.
Download and listen here
Subscribe in iTunes.
Why demolish and old building when you could simply refurbish it, and how that relates to old monitors is the focus this week. Do you remember your first color computer monitor? We do, and we thank the geek gods that display technology has kept pace with computer technology over the past twenty years.
Contact the show
feedback@mymac.com and leave a message at 1-801-938-5559
Book Creator for iPad
Price: $6.99
Red Jumper
iTunes Link
About ten years ago I started illustrating a series of children’s books by Mark Creech, a husband of a coworker. We shopped them around to publishers, created PDF ebooks, and made them available for purchase at Lulu.com. When the iBookstore came out I made it a goal to get these books converted for the store. However, this proved to be easier said than done. The books are heavy on layout with text intertwined in images and converting that to an ePub format was not an easy task. I tried converting them in Pages, but that was not easy and I could not get the formatting correct. Not to mention the first attempt was rejected by Apple early this year. Ever since that first attempt I have been exploring other options, but had not found a solution until now. Enter Book Creator for iPad.
Book Creator for iPad is an app for your iPad that helps you create an ePub formatted book which can then be read in iBooks and (if accepted) sold in the iBookstore. When I found out about Book Creator I had to try it, and the developer provided me with the app. I was definitely hesitant. After all, this sounded too good (and too easy) to be true. At $6.99 would this app really do what it claims?
Download & Listen here
Subscribe in iTunes
Scott has an iPhone 4S, and he wants to talk about his feelings about it. Sam Negri Booms along with the Scoshe boomCAN. John Nemo points out the interesting Griffin Stylus + Pen + Laser Pointer. Scott also has a new way of listening to podcasts on his iPhone, and it will leave you Downcast. Continue reading »
Kensington Protective Cover & Stand
Slim case for iPad 2
Price: $39.99
Company: Kensington – Direct link
I look for iPad 2 cases that are thin, lightweight, and cover the back of my iPad. While I like the idea of the Apple Smart-cover, frankly, I don’t think it covers enough for $69. I prefer to look at the high quality cases offered by Kensington.
Download & Listen Here
Subscribe in iTunes
Sometimes shows are so on focus and so well put together that you can’t help but be proud. This is not one of those shows. After taking last week off, Gaz and Guy come out with a show probably not chock full of Apple information but guaranteed to make you laugh nearly as much as we did doing it. Lot’s of Twitter feedback and a discussion about Apple’s Siri iOS program which Gaz has and Guy doesn’t. Some iCloud stuff and Guy talks Sam Negri from MyMac out of buying Lion and that’s a good thing.
One of the many promises of iOS 5 was that it would lead us out of the wired wilderness and into the modern world of over the air updates, syncing, and backups. Anyone with iPhones and iPads knows the pain of constantly having to tether their devices to their computer just to update things like podcasts, and to make sure apps and settings are backed up. Now those things can be done over Wi-Fi, provided a few conditions are met.
Two of those elements, syncing and backups, do or can involve iTunes running on a Mac or PC. Unfortunately, how this works isn’t immediately clear. I noticed another person in my Twitter stream who was equally confused about the backup portion of the equation, specifically as to when backups would occur when syncing an iDevice over Wi-Fi. I’d also seen some comments that Wi-Fi sync would only happen when the device was connected to power, which I personally knew wasn’t true. So I decided to do some testing to figure out exactly what the requirements for Wi-Fi syncing and backups were.
Samson Meteor Mic — Studio USB Microphone
Samson Technologies
$99 US
Samson’s new premium quality, compact, retro-stylish USB microphone is outstanding. No software installation is necessary. Set your System Preferences Sound Input to use the Meteor, adjust your input volume level, and start recording, singing, talking, or playing music with professional results. It’s that easy, and that good.
Continue reading »
Turbo.264 HD
Company: Elgato
Version: 1.2
Requires: 512 MB of RAM, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, QuickTime 7.6 or later
Price: $49.99
Mac App Store link
Turbo.264 HD Software Edition is a simple application that can convert almost any type of video on your Mac to a high quality H.264 file in standard or HD format. The resulting video can be played on iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, Sony PSP, or sent to YouTube.
Continue reading »
Comments. Be heard!