Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.
I have an array of application which I use on a regular daily basis for fun, work, and to get specific things done. They range from office application right through to games, what exactly do I use?
OmniFocus is employed as my universal to-do list. All tasks which enter my world are entered into OmniFocus so I can take care of them later. I like having a dedicated to-do application which allows me to clear my head and get things out of the way.
NewsFire is still my RSS reader of choice. I read over 100 feeds on a daily basis and NewsFire allows me to sort through them quickly and efficiently. I thoroughly enjoy the interface of the application and the way it manages my feeds intelligently.
Mail/Safari are two applications which I’m constantly browsing through to read and gather information, get things done, and waste time… Most of my digital tasks and to-do’s are generated through Mail, and most of them are completed using my web browser of choice, Safari.
Twitterrific is an application I use more than once daily..50 times would be more accurate. I’m constantly receiving updates from friends on Twitter via Twitterrific, along with using it to post updates. Twitterrific is by far one of my most active applications.
yFlicks fills in as my “video manager.” Every video I download gets stored within my yFlicks library which is Spotlight searchable making watching and collecting videos enjoyable.
Delicious Library is used to keep a catalog of all my purchased movies, video games, and books. I have shelves setup for Xbox games, Playstation 2 games, and shelves for DVDs stores in different rooms. I really enjoy been able to see all my media virtually in front of me on call.
iTunes is one application I believe all Mac users (and most PC users) have open all day. I’m no exception. iTunes is open 24/7 serving, downloading, and playing media. I couldn’t live without this application, and that will become more-so once Apple release the iPhone which relies on iTunes to sync contacts and media.
Skype. No day would be the same without a rush of constant calls coming through, my days wouldn’t be the same without this application. I rely on Skype to keep in contact with friends, clients, and family around the globe.
How about you, what applications are you using on a daily basis on your Macintosh?
Barry Doyon is a graphic designer who is involved in print, web, and other multimedia work. He was recently featured in my “Top 10 Multi Display Mac Setups” list. After exchanging a few emails with him, Barry agreed to be interviewed about his Apple art centric office and general way of life.
I am a Graphic Designer involved in print work, web, and other multimedia. This involves the use of apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc.. My work varies, from photo editing, website design and maintenance, and print ads for local clients. But recently I’ve been getting into some audio and video work that’s pretty exciting. 

Remember the media player called yFlicks I blogged about a while back? Many Tricks Software have released an update to the application, taking it to version 2.0.
yFlicks is a full-blown movie manager used for organizing your precious home movies, clips downloaded from the web, and so on. It makes finding and watching a movie quick a quick and easy task — without having to import it into your movie manager’s database first and worrying about how to get rid of it afterwards.
If you’re the type of person who loves browsing digital media on YouTube, the video section on Digg or just the general web, this application is designed to fit seamlessly into your workflow to watch, store, and organize video clips.
Performance is very smooth when playing videos, it can get a little sluggish when important clips (as it did when I imported over 350 videos from my external LaCie drive). The interface is very clean and Apple iLife like, collections and playlists reside on the left while video thumbnails are displayed to the right.
According to the Many Tricks blog they are working on “the most intelligent tagging mechanism you have ever seen” for a future update after endless requests for tag support in yFlicks. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us with this supposed mind breaking feature.
I really like yFlicks as now I no longer have videos scattered around my various drives and throughout my system, everything is in one convenient location which can easily be accessed thanks to the Library. I now have iTunes for music, iPhoto and Aperture for images, and yFlicks for shorter media files.
There’s not too much more I could wish for from this application, first time around I found a few faults which have been cleaned up and improved in this version. Looking down the path, I’m excited to see what this “exciting tag feature” has in store.
yFlicks 2.0 costs around $18 USD (15 Euros) and is a free upgrade for registered users of the first version.
In such an overcrowded market, it really takes a good product to stand out and appeal to a large audience. A few months ago my ears were treated and indulged by the most unique looking speaker sets I’ve ever laid my eyes on, the Scandyna PodSpeakers MicroSub 2.1, and the MiniPod SE combined with “The Dockâ€?. These devices can be purchased separately, or in a bundle which includes the Scandyna Microsub 2.1 & Micropod SE Speakers Scandyna sent me.
This has one of the more noticeable talked about designs of iPod speaker systems. The retro look is one I wouldn’t get tired of. A nice little addition is you can operate the speakers with or without the silver feet, making it ideal to be listened to from any location within your home. Continue Reading »
NewsFire just bounced an informed me of a few new articles, one of those was by Honda Wang from Macteens, “Safari On Windows? Why?” I just read the article through and though I’d state my opinion on one of the reasons they ported Safari to the darkside.
Look in the top right corner of your browser, see the Google Search hard coded into the browser? Though so, I see it too. Now open Firefox, Flock, and Camino. See the same thing? You didn’t think companies implement these into browsers for free did you? Apple gets a commission on every Google search completed through the browser toolbar, the same with Firefox, IE, Flock, and all of the other major parties.
Steve Jobs specifically stated they wanted to increase market share by porting the browser, Safari currently holds a 5% market share over the browser industry while the target is 15% according to the keynote slide.
More exposure = more users = more market share = more money from Google. Get the drift? I believe the extra incentive of cash-flow was on attraction to the possibility of the port.
Update: It must be stated this is not my only reason why I believe Safari was ported, although in my eyes it was the standout reason. I’m all for having Safari on the Windows platform, I think it’s a good move on Apple’s behalf.
Update 2: Once again, it must be emphasized that I do not believe this is Apple’s single reason for porting Safari. This is simply one standout reason in my mind of why it could have appealed to Apple. If you think differently, don’t hesitate to let me know.
Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.
The iPod portable speaker market is phenomenal. Hundreds of speakers are available, all with their own unique features, and pros, and cons. However, when I set my eyes upon Altec Lansing’s latest iM7 iPod speakers, I knew that they were unique and different from any other speakers on the market. I wasn’t wrong!
Searching for high quality, stylish, and widely compatible iPod speakers for months on end, I discovered Altec Lansing’s new iM7 portable iPod speakers. After days of researching, and reading about them, I was ready to take the plunge and purchase the speakers.
The iM7’s have a built in iPod cradle, which is compatible with all iPod’s featuring dock connectors, including the iPod mini, and the iPod nano. All future iPod’s, including the iPod shuffle can be played using the audio in port, which is a major reason that I opted for the iM7 above any other iPod speakers, including Altec Lansing’s main competitor product, the Bose SoundDock. Continue Reading »
The Apple Design Awards are officially over for 2007. What is the ADA? Simply told, Apple select and reward the developers they see raising the bar the very most in the Mac software world. Winning developers receive prizes 2008 WWDC passes, MacBook Pros and other great hardware. So who took home the glory at the 2007 ADAs?
Best Leopard App Winner: Delicious Library 2.0
Best Leopard App Runner Up: iBank
Best Mac OSX Developer Tool Winner: CSS Edit 2.5
Best Mac OSX Developer Tool Runner Up: rooSwitch
Best Mac OSX Dashboard Widget Winner: Bart Widget
Best Mac OSX Dashboard Widget Runner Up: Pemdas
Best Science Computing App Winner: Papers
Best Science Computing App Runner Up: Single Crystal
Best Mac OSX Game Winner:WOW Burning Crusade
Best Mac OSX Game Runner Up: Wacky Mini Golf
Best Mac OSX Student Product Winner: Picturesque
Best Mac OSX Student Product Runner Up: Pathway
Best Mac OS X User Experience Winner Coda
Best Mac OS X User Experience Runner Up Sandvox
I’d like to say a big thanks to Craig Hockenberry from the IconFactory for live updates from the awards. Congratulations to all the winners! I can’t wait to see the live demo of Delicious Library 2 tomorrow via the live streaming at the Delicious Generation Party.
My good friend Michael Yurechko has compiled a list of all the tech sites live-blogging the event as it happens. Just as I did for Macworld earlier this year.
I’ll be watching live updates of the keynote via Appletell, Engadget, MacRumors Live, and Ustream. Engadget is my personal favourite due to their excellent image coverage, albeit a little slow. MacRumors is right on the key right away with many small updates. Hopefully AppleTell will meet it somewhere in the middle this year.
As for expectations, I’m going into the event only hoping for a Leopard preview and full details of the iPhone. That way, I won’t be disappointed.
The iVak Domino from Vakadoo is one of the slickest, most simplistic iPod cases on the market at present. The Domino case first appealed to me because of its simple, non-intrusive design which looked very clean and protective. The locking mechanism of the case also looked very unique which convinced me I had to test it out for myself.
The case itself is a hard glossy shell designed to keep your iPod protected while still allowing easy access to its ports. It’s unbelievably thin for a “shellâ€? case, which will appeal to users who want a non intrusive case they can slip into their pocked and forget about. It’s lighter than you would think for a case this sturdy and protective. Continue Reading »
Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.
WWDC is fast approaching and is now less than one week away. That’s 7 sleeps left to go on the calendar of a hardcore Mac fanatic, I for one am looking forward to sitting down Tuesday morning with a nice warm hot chocolate and “watching” the MacRumors text commentary of the Keynote tick by.
We all have our silent (and not so silent) wishes for the event, here’s a few I’d personally love to see, but don’t realistically see happening at WWDC.
Chris Marshall, lives, plays and plays some more in Almerimar, Spain. (Very) occasionally he will venture out and do some work, when he isn’t busy reviewing Mac applications on his blog MyAppleStuff. A keen photographer, avid Harley rider, and full time staff to Moreno his cat, Chris only got his first Mac (G4 17″ PowerBook) in January 2006.
Somewhat older than the current crop of Mac bloggers and podcasters, Chris can be found weekly over at the MacReviewCast podcast trying to make sense of his life!
Each and every Friday I post a desktop wallpaper which I have taken personally on travels and outings with my Canon 350D. The wallpaper is sized at a resoultion of 2560×1600 pixels, big enough to be used on a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display, so no-one will miss out.
