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Gas price widget + remote control tool from PocketMac

The fine folks over at PocketMac have released a couple of goodies over the past week. First, a new commercial product, PocketMac Remote: a $9.95 utility to quickly and simply turn your Apple remote into a presentation controller for PowerPoint [as commenters point out, the remote already works for Keynote]. There are a lot of other tools in this area; Mira was just reduced to $9.90, and Sofa Control, the somewhat-pricier Remote Buddy, and the free beta of iRed Lite all can accomplish the same goal. Once I get a chance to test the PocketMac offering against Mira or SofaControl I'll report back on how well it does.

Secondly, just in time for the summer driving season, the free Gas Pump Genie widget is now among the PocketMac offerings. Gas Pump Genie will download the gas prices for your zip code from GasBuddy.com and present them in an, uh, interestingly designed widget. This is all fine and dandy, except for a few issues:

  • the widget is big, unattractive and possibly frightening to animals and small children

  • you have to register for PocketMac's newsletter to get your download link (bad form!)

  • the data for my immediate area isn't as complete as the pricing info on GasPriceWatch.com; your mileage may vary

  • there's already a perfectly good Gas widget that looks nicer, has more features and won't ask for your email address

You make the call. Happy motoring!