Posted by Daniel Feeney on December 17, 2011
Heckler Design is a firm known largely for its OneLessDesk and Office, however after a successful KickStarter campaign earlier this year, it introduced the OneLessDrop, a weighted tool to keep the power cord off the floor and on the desk. Roughly three months ago, Bluelounge, a company known for its Apple-related accessessories, released the Sumo a tool which dirrectly competes with the OnelessDrop in terms of its function. Determining the better soluction comes down to form and price.
Heckler Design’s OneLessDrop –which now serves as Heckler Design’s logo– was officially funded on KickStarter on March 2, 2011 as a very simple solution to a problem almost everyone has with cords; the second a cord is unplugged it falls behind the desk. With the OneLessDrop, the cord stays put. In addition to power cords, one can use the OneLessDrop with iOS adapters, and various other wires so long as they are not “orca fat.” It’s design is basically an “H” with slots for wires above and below the center bar as well as rubber feet for grip. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on July 13, 2011
AirPlay, among a vast jungle of other features, has been implemented by Apple in nearly all of its products in some way, shape, or form. However, it did not implement it in the fairest manner possible. In other words, Apple was not acting as an equal opportunity AirPlay implementer.
The iOS line is, without a doubt, the crème de la crème when it comes to AirPlay equipped devices. These puppies can push out just about every sound, from virtually any application to an AirPlay-equipped device, whether that be an Apple TV or a set of speakers hooked up to an Airport.
Macs got the short end of the stick featuring just one Airplay-enabled application: iTunes. What about YouTube videos, Hulu, and Google Music? Currently, Snow Leopard does not offer users a way of streaming audio from applications aside from iTunes to AirPlay speakers.
AirFoil is an application that fixes this inequality. It brings AirPlay support system-wide on Macs thereby allowing users to use the TV’s speakers for sound through Apple TV, or, in my case, my Airport’s Swan M10s.
The application itself is rather simple, yet, at the same time, could be loads more simple. That may sound a bit oxymoronic, but let me explain.
AirFoil comes in three parts: AirFoil, AirFoil Video Player, and AirFoil Speakers. AirFoil allows for any application to run its audio through an AirPlay-equipped speaker. AirFoil Video Player allows for media (files and web videos like YouTube and Hulu) to be played at a delay so that both the speakers and the video match. AirFoil Speakers, among other features, turns the Mac into an AirPlay speaker itself.
Having three parts to an application is confusing by any means, but it does not have to be this way; the features of the three pieces could easily be turned into a single window application with adjoined features. Moving between three applications to make use of the application, to me, is a bit much.
Listing all of its features would be tough as there are so many, but I’ll explain how I use AirFoil.
My MacBook has no speakers attached. At most times of the day, it has nothing connected to it aside from a power cord. My speakers are sitting directly beside my computer, though they are connected to an AirPort Express, allowing me to run my iPad and iPhone’s audio through them as well as my Mac’s. Plus, this allows me to walk away from the desk with my computer and still be able to play sound through my speakers.
Unfortunately, due to Snow Leopard’s lack of AirPlay support, the speakers used to be limited to iTunes audio from my MacBook. Now, with AirFoil, I can watch DVDs, NetFlix, Hulu, and YouTube with the superior sound of my Swans without having to connect any wires which is extremely useful, and dare I say fantastic.
In the end, AirFoil offers consumers an arsenal of AirPlay-related features at a very low price ($25), and for that, I completely recommend it. The design could use a change, but it isn’t a deal breaker, not for me at least. Check it out here and give the demo a try. AirFoil gets a 4/5.
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on June 20, 2011
It has been more than a year since I first reviewed Incredible Bee’s MainMenu. At that time, there was only one version, which, according to my review, was something every Mac user needed. I will admit, I had a thing for MainMenu and clean caches back then. As of a few months ago, a rather large update was issued to the application including the release second version dubbed MainMenu Pro. I, being the MainMenu fanatic that I am, had to do another review.
MainMenu is an application that fits with that genre that many applications call home. This includes MacKeeper, MacCleanse, Cocktail, and CleanMyMac. Like everything in this world, applications have different characteristics which make them stand out, and in MainMenu’s case, it is the features. MainMenu Pro has more than 40 features under its belt. Because I cannot come close to covering every one of them, I will highlight the main ones. For a complete list of features, click here. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on June 17, 2011
Our MacKeeper review has gathered countless stories in its comments section, nearly all of which speak of how “terrible,” “bad,” and “awful” the software, as well as the company behind it, ZeoBIT, really is. Having read all the comments and speaking to a few people familiar with the matter, I have decided to shed some light on MacKeeper.
The first area I would like to address is the “fake” websites and misleading advertisements that are floating around the internet promoting MacKeeper and attacking its competitors (Example 1, 2). If one were to Google “MacKeeper review,” the results which appear are vastly “fake” websites setup solely to promote MacKeeper and discredit its competitors including CleanMyMac, MacCleanse, and Cocktail. To anyone unfamiliar with Macs, these websites appear to be trustworthy and legit which, in the end, leads many to pull the trigger on software without really considering all the options –this alone is a bit troubling. Further, the keywords these sites use include “MacCleanse,” “Clean My Mac,” “Cocktail,” and many of its other competitors names. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on June 7, 2011
Our “modern day” society is filled with an over abundance entertainment methods; some people read, others watch television, some play lazer tag, and some exercise –which I never have understood. This list goes on and on, but rather than rambling on over means of entertainment, I’ll get to the point. Though I do enjoy a good book every now and then, there is one thing my day is never complete without: music. But how am I supposed to enjoy it away from my MacBook? Sure, a pair of earphones and an iPod will work, however how are those around me suposed to enjoy the musc? Simple, Jawbone’s Jambox.
What is this “box of jam,” you might ask? The Jambox is a very compact, portable wireless speaker which can handle both multimedia and phone calls. In other words, it is a mix between computer speakers and a bluetooth headset, a comptooth speakset if you will. The Jambox has but three buttons on it: the talk button, the volume increase button, and the volume decrease button. It also has an on/off switch on the side which lights up when the device is on as well as indicates when the device has fully charged (battery easily handles over 10-hours of play time). Lastly, the speaker also has a 35mm audio input jack and a micro-USB port which allows for charging, software updates, and app installations via Jawbone’s MyTalk service. (more…)
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Posted by Charlie Minato on May 30, 2011
Long time no talk. I’ve been a long advocate of TweetDeck, almost since the app was first released in 2008. However, much of my aversion to switching from the Adobe AIR sourced app has been a lack of alternative. I’ve always loved the updating and wider screened nature of TweetDeck. I can appreciate Tweetie, Echofon for Mac, Kiwi and Twitterific, but they never could convince me to leave TweetDeck. Yet, the other day I left, and it wasn’t because I found something that could do TweetDeck better than TweetDeck, it was because I just found a better app, NightOwl. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on April 27, 2011
BlueLounge is among the small group of companies that has yet to release a flop, and for good reason. Throughout this prestigious group, products are designed not only with regard for the shine and glitz, but also function. BlueLounge’s product lineup is aimed at simplifying a users life –physically, not technically– and one of its most popular products has been the CableBox. A few months back, BlueLounge released a new, smaller CableBox, or in other words, the CableBox Mini.
For those who still don’t know what I am talking about, the CableBox Mini is a rather small box, equipped with a power strip, that hides away excess wires.
Obviously, the CableBox Mini was designed for a smaller setup; rather than using it in the living room, it’d be better suited in a smaller workstation. At the same time, and not to sound too contradictory, the CableBox Mini could be used to organize a television setup, just keep in mind the supplied surge protector only has 4 sockets. If you have more than that, I’d recommend taking a look at the original CableBox. (more…)
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Posted by Staff on April 19, 2011
If you are anything like me, you are someone with an abundance of applications and files taking up every last crevasse in your Mac’s hard drive. The problem this hoarding creates is a maze of files and folders that can be a difficult, if not an impossible, labyrinth to navigate. Luckily, there are a few applications available that make sorting through this mess a whole lot easier. LaunchBar is one of them.
LaunchBar is a “smart and powerful, keyboard driven productivity utility that lets you access and control every aspect of your digital life.” Or in other words, a tool that allows a user to perform many functions including calculations, application launching, file locating, iTunes controlling, and quite a bit more in a simple, easy to use application. (more…)
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Posted by Staff on March 26, 2011
If you’re anything like me, your wallpapers are a pretty important part of your setup. There is no escaping it! It is something that is always there, and frankly, Apple’s default backgrounds get old. Unfortunately for me, my life keeps me too busy to be searching around for the perfect wallpaper every time I need a change in venue. Cue Wallpaper Wizard.
Wallpaper Wizard is an application that grants you access to over 100,000 HD wallpapers. To put that into perspective, that is the average number of hairs on a human’s head –I don’t mean Mr. Clean either! Let me start of with the interface.
When one first starts Wallpaper Wizard, a small little window appears that looks like it’s a part of System Preferences –it really isn’t. In this window a user has the option to set the wallpaper to change over a period of time. Personally, I have it set to change every 30 minutes. Like most applications in this genera, there is the option to have the application start on startup. When you launch Wallpaper Wizard, both a dock icon appears as well as a menu bar one. You can look at this in two ways: One way would be that you have easy access to the application, the other would be that the application is taking up unnecessary space. I feel it’d be easier if there were just one menubar icon (edit: if you hit Command+Q on the main app (which is in the dock) the menubar version remains and the dock one quits). (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on March 23, 2011
TwelveSouth and TheMacFeed go together like peas and carrots. I say this because, thus far, we have yet to be disappointed by one of its products –knock on wood. Not so long ago, I received an email announcing the launch of TwelveSouths newest product, the MagicWand; a strip that connects the wireless Apple keyboard and trackpad. A few days later and my review was off; a few second later, my camera died. Weeks later it returned, and my review was back on track for completion. Since you are reading this now, I am guessing you can put the last piece of the story together in your head. Right? Bueller?
The MagicWand is the newest addition to TwelveSouth’s exclusive Mac only product line, and frankly, its got TwelveSouth’s name all over it –figuratively at least. I say this because everything about the thing is simple and the reason for purchasing the wand all together is –you know where this is going right?– to simplify one’s desk. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on February 19, 2011
MacPaw, a company based in the Ukraine, is a great bunch of people who create some truly wonderful applications. They create the super apps of the Mac world. In most of my reviews, I refer to a company, a studio as “it” to be grammatically correct. When it comes to MacPaw, I refer to them as “they” because the team is more than a group of mindless coding zombies, but a family. A family that creates some of the most well known gems on the Mac including CleanMyMac and MacHider. Recently, they launched their newest application with the release of the Mac App Store. It is called Ensoul.
In a nutshell, Ensoul is an application that allows a user to create perfect caller-id photos and homescreen backgrounds for the iPhone in a very simple, easy to use way. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on February 14, 2011
I’m no stranger when it comes to Hyperspaces, in fact, I have done two reviews of it to date. Today is my third. A few days ago, The CocoBots released an all new, long awaited, version of Hyperspaces and Tony Arnold, AKA the man behind the application, asked me to give it a review. Here it is.
Hyperspaces brings many beautiful features to Spaces. Some of its main features include the option to customize the desktop background as well as the menubar translucency of each space, space titles, a pretty menubar drop down to swap spaces quickly, and an extended number of shortcuts. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on January 30, 2011
For the past year or so, TheMacFeed has become really good friends with Moshi, not just because they have great ideas, but because they execute them perfectly. For the past few months, I have been using Moshi’s Palmgaurd, a film that will prevent and protect the MacBooks palm-rest from scratches and everyday wear.
The Palmgaurd takes some time to be applied perfectly. Taking nearly ten minutes to apply, it is neither a quick nor dawdling installation process. However, there is one technique that I used that seemed to make the process easier that involves taping down the center of the adhesive and removing one side at a time. You can view a video of this here. (more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on January 14, 2011
I am a person who has a million and one thoughts going through my head at almost any given moment, most of which are ideas and things to do as well as how and when I will do them. The issue for me is remembering. Normally, I end up jotting them down on a scratch piece of paper which I tend to misplace shortly thereafter. Nowadays, iPhones, iPads, and Macs take the paper out of the equation with apps like Stickies on Dashboard and Notes on the two portables. Over the course of a few weeks, I have been using a new application for taking down these to-dos. It is called Things.
Things is an application that allows you to have your to-do list with you everywhere, from iPhone to iPad to Mac. However, each of these apps costs. Things for iPhone costs $10, for iPad $20, and for Mac $50. Things is a very simple, appealing application that comprised of two columns. One a sidebar, the other a main area. In the sidebar, there are three parts. The first is titled “Collect” which houses the Inbox. The Inbox is a place where most things get tossed into prior to being organized away into a specific location in the app. The next part is “Focus” which is where things (like Inbox items) are organized into. Here, one can schedule re-occuring things to do (such as bills or appointments) as well as add things that need to be done within the same day, the next, even ones that are for a project that has yet to take flight. Lastly is an area for projects which have multiple steps (e.g. a history project or site development). You can read more into the composition of Things here. (more…)
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Posted by Charlie Minato on December 2, 2010
We’ll be blunt: when it comes to protecting your Mac from a virus, there is one name we trust, Intego. Why would we trust Intego over the industry heavyweights like Mcafee and Norton? Because we are talking about Macs and when it comes to Apple, Intego is simply the best. Intego only handles Apple products and therefore not only does the software function better, but it just makes more sense. Would you take your iMac to Best Buy or would you take it to the folks at the Genius Bar? We think the latter and if you need to find the best anti-virus (and everything else nasty for your computer) software, sit back and enjoy the ride.
(more…)
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Posted by Daniel Feeney on November 25, 2010
An ever growing trend for MacBook owners nowadays is to buy a stand, whether it be an Apple-inspired creation or some cool feet, people are flocking to get one. Just recently, I set my sights on the worlds thinest laptop stand, it’s called Aviiq, and after seeing said product, I had to figure out if thin really is better. (more…)
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