Mel's 2014 holiday gift ideas
My assignment: Suggest gifts for family, friends and even yourself. My list is things I use and adore, or things I want to buy. I'll offer some thoughts on hardware and software. Let's get right to it.
Prop 'n Go iPad stand
I bought a new iPad Air 2 this year, and it's a joy. But the Apple case is really a poor stand, because if the iPad is on a soft surface, like a bed or couch, hitting the home button will knock the iPad over every time. Prop 'n Go to the rescue.
The stand's creator, Padded Spaces, has a whole line of sturdy stands for every iPad model. That means when you get a new iPad, you aren't running out to buy a new stand. They have a large range of adjustment, and your iPad simply won't tip over. The Prop 'n Go iPad holders start around $35.00 and I use mine all the time around the house.
Pixelmator for Mac and iPad
Who would have thought quality image editing would be so reasonably priced. If you have a photo buff on your holiday gift list, consider Pixelmator. On the Mac, it costs just US$14.99, a far cry from a Photoshop subscription but a very capable app. The iPad version is also very hot. It packs a lot of pro-level tools, including a repair tool that is just about the equal of Photoshop's Content Aware Fill. Remove people or objects from a photo without leaving a trace. Pixelmator for the iPad is $4.99. I reviewed the iPad version and was duly impressed. Your photographer friends will love you for these.
Adobe iOS apps
Adobe hasn't been standing still either. They have a variety of apps that leverage their new subscription service, letting you start work on an iPad, and finish up on your laptop or desktop. Standout offerings include Adobe Photoshop Touch, Adobe Photoshop Mix, Lightroom and Adobe Voice which let's your easily create striking presentations for family, or work. I'm not wild about the whole subscription idea, but Adobe has kept faith with subscribers and they are adding new apps and whole new categories of creative software. Most of these apps are included with your monthly Creative Cloud subscription and are first rate.
Pages for iOS
Even though Microsoft is offering Office for the iPad after a long delay, I still like and prefer Pages. The templates are beautiful, and Apple of course knows how to make an app really sing on an iPad or iPhone. Recent buyers of Apple hardware get Pages for free, and the rest can pay $9.99. Pages for Mac is also free for many users, and the iOS apps and Mac app syncs through the cloud. It's really useable, and very mature. A great and useful gift, or let your Xmas list know it might be free.
FiiO X1
Apple broke a lot of hearts by killing the iPod Classic. I loved the storage with room for many hundreds of albums. I didn't like that Apple still stubbornly refuses to support high resolution music files either for playback or for sale in the iTunes Store. A terrific solution is the new FiiO X1 Digital Audio Player for $99.99.
You'll have to add a microSD card up to 128 GB, but this little player can let you listen to just about every type of high resolution music file, including APE, FLAC, ALAC, WMA, MP3, OOG and WAV at resolutions up to 192kHz/24 bit. Plug in some quality headphones or use the line out for your audio rig or computer and you'll have great quality at a very attractive price. I think Apple has missed the high-rez boat, but this new FiiO is a great substitute. Plug in into your Mac and it appears like a hard drive. Drag your music files to it and you are good to go with 12 hours or so of battery life. You can certainly buy more expensive portable audio players, but the FiiO is tremendous bang for the buck.
Those are my pics. Some a bit unconventional, but all worth a look for those on your gift list, or for yourself.
