dropzone
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Blacklight Retribution adds Sonic Tomahawk, Dropzone map
Zombie Studios has updated its Blacklight Retribution multiplayer shooter. The title, which is published by Perfect World, now boasts a new map called Dropzone that hearkens back to Zombie's 2010 Blacklight: Tango Down. Zombie says that due to the map's small size, gameplay will be "fast and frenetic." The team has also raised the level cap from 40 to 50 and added new titles, camouflage, and gear including Riot Shield and Sonic Tomahawk melee weapons. [Source: Perfect World press release]
Daily Mac App: Dropzone circles your life with shortcuts
We first looked at Dropzone a few years ago when it launched for OS X and the little utility app is growing up. Now at version 2.0, Dropzone has a fresh, new circular look that's inspired by Path. It also includes a bunch of small improvements that'll help you manage your apps and files. For those that have never used Dropzone, its a shortcut utility that lets you setup destinations to open up recent docs, send files to an Amazon S3 servers, launch applications, shorten URLs, compress files and more. It includes a variety of built-in destinations that are available from the menu bar. The latest version also includes new Path-inspired, desktop circles. These destinations are fluid and can be changed as your workflow changes. If you're programmer, you can extend Dropzone's functionality using the Ruby API provided by Aptonic. There's also a GitHub repository where users can upload their custom-made destinations. Dropzone is a huge time-saver. I use it regularly to sort important files from my downloads and move them to my documents folder in one, quick and easy step. The Recently Shared feature also makes its simple for me to keep track of the images I've uploaded to Flickr and which ones I haven't.Dropzone is available for US$13.99 from the Mac App Store.
Mac Sale and MacBasket offer up Mac app bundles
The Mac App Store is set to change the way you download and use a lot of software on your Mac, but one thing I hope it doesn't change is the tradition of the Mac software bundle sale. Bundling up indie software and selling it for a relatively huge discount is something that, in my experience, tends to be Mac-specific. Despite the obvious benefits of a nice discount (as long as the software's developers are fairly compensated for their sales), it's also an excellent way to find new software that you might not have purchased separately. I know of a few apps that I would have never bought on my own, but now use every day after picking them up in a bundle sale. There are two bundles going on right now. First, the Mac Sale is up and running right now, offering 10 different Mac apps worth $400 separately for just 50 bucks. There are a few good creative tools in there like Mariner Write and iCollage, and the iPad video converter helps you prepare videos for viewing on your iPad. RuckSack is a useful Mac utility for dealing with archive files like .zips and .rars. The Mac Universe has a discount code for an extra 5% off your purchase, so that's a great deal if you're interested in even just a few of those apps. The MacBasket sale is also underway right now with 10 titles on sale for $49. Great apps like Pear Note, SpeedDownload, and Dropzone are included in the offer. An app like Delta Walker, which compares and syncs files and folders for you, might not sound too useful by itself, but once you have the functionality you'll find it very helpful indeed. I like these bundles a lot -- there's always the question of whether the software's creators are making the money that they deserve, but as long as everyone's in on the agreement, it's a win-win for all.
Dropzone makes it easy to copy files, install apps
We've mentioned Dropzone before as a Friday Favorite, but I just happened across the app while I was trying to solve a problem. I suspect many TUAW readers find themselves in the same situation that I am in: I use a desktop and a laptop. I often find myself wanting to move files between these two machines, so here's what I do: switch to Finder, click on the shared Mac I want, navigate to the folder I'm looking for, and then track down the file I want to copy there and drag it over. I could drag a folder from the other computer to my "Places" sidebar in Finder, but honestly, I just never do. What I wanted was something quick and painless. I tried to whip something up using Automator and Folder Actions where it would copy/move files saved in one folder to the other machine, but even that would get messy. Most often I don't want to move the file, I just want to copy it. I could put the files in Dropbox, but some of these files are sizable (i.e. the 30+ MB iMovie update). To use Dropbox for this would take a long time. Turns out that Dropzone offers the perfect solution: by enabling FTP on both Macs (System Preferences > Sharing > File Sharing, then click the "Options" button, and check the box "Share files and folders using FTP") I now have a drag & drop solution to copying files between computers. Simply drag the file to the Dropzone icon on the dock and then drop it onto one of the many "dropzones" which I have defined, and Dropzone does the rest. Two folders that I added almost immediately? The "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder in the iTunes folder and the Auto Import folder from inside my iPhoto Library (you will have to control-click your iPhoto library and choose "Show Package Contents" to find the "Auto Import" folder). There are several plugins available to extend Dropzone to other services such as ImageShack, TwitPic, Flickr, and more. For Internet services, not only will the file get copied to where you want it to go, but the URL will be placed on the clipboard so you can paste the URL wherever you want it to go. I often FTP files to my website, and files Dropzone FTPs to a website can also support putting the URL on the clipboard. There are several other nifty options, Dropzones for starting the screensaver, putting your Mac to sleep, or drag & drop printing a file to the default printer. You can also zip files (or zip and email them) and many other conveniences. The biggest feature of all was one that I almost overlooked until I watched a screencast from macosxscreencasts.com about Dropzone. A built-in Dropzone called "Install Application" will allow you to drag a .dmg onto Dropzone and have the DMG mounted, the app installed to /Applications, the DMG moved to the recycle bin, and the app launched (it also works with applications which have been .zip'd instead of put into a disk image). If you are anything like me, the "install a new app" process is several steps that you repeat a lot. Dropzone's handling of it is incredibly fast and works really well. If it opens a DMG it cannot handle (such as an installer), it will simply open the folder. Great, start stuff that saves you time and frustration. Remember how computers were supposed to make our lives easier? Dropzone does just that.
Friday Favorite: Dropzone
One of my favorite new tools is Dropzone from Aptonic Software. Cory mentioned it back in early beta, but it's come a long way since then. Dropzone lets you set up "destinations," and when you click its icon in the dock it pops up a HUD-style window with icons for each destination. You can drop files and text onto each icon, or have them launch apps and run scripts with a click. It comes with ready-made destinations for everything from Flickr uploading of dropped images to zipping and emailing a collection of dropped files. The beauty of Dropzone is that the average user can set up all of the destinations they would normally launch other apps for, but users in more advanced stages of geekery can construct their own destinations using the Ruby-based Dropzone API. My personal Dropzone setup includes destinations for creating projects or opening files in TextMate, opening a folder in GitX, sending files to my Amazon S3 account (puts a publicly-accessible url in my clipboard), filing based on OpenMeta tags, mounting and unmounting FireWire drives, making quick Backpack reminders, and the list goes on. I've even got one that scans dropped text for "http://" links and creates a linkbun.ch for me. Some of these scripts I've written, some were just a matter of customizing the existing destinations. Either way, I've got all of these capabilities no more than a click or drag away. Creating your own destinations just requires a little Ruby-fu. "But I'm the farthest thing from a level 12 Ruby Mage," you say. Don't sweat it, let the community do it for you. Several scripts from my personal setup, along with a great selection of others, are available in the user-contributed actions section of the Aptonic Software website. Additionally, included actions like the application launcher allow full customization just by selecting the application to trigger. Dropzone is available for a free trial, and can be had for $10US. Give it a try and see if it doesn't speed up your workflow. If you create any scripts you'd like to share, be sure to let the author know!
Beta Beat: Dropzone for Mac OS X
The Mac OS X Dock is a great UI invention, but it doesn't have all the functionality that it could have. That's why one developer is looking to expand the functionality and make it even better with an application that he calls "Dropzone." Dropzone is a small application that you can install on your Mac, and as the app name suggests, drag stuff onto. When you drop a file on the icon, you will get a list of options depending on what type of file you just dropped. For instance, you could drop a picture onto the icon and get an option to email, send to Flickr, or upload to an FTP server. Different applications can "register" to work with Dropzone by using a simple API, the documentation for which can be found on the Aptonic website. The more applications that decide to work with Dropzone, the better (developers, did you hear that?). There is currently no shipping date set for this handy little Dock tool, but you can check out a teaser video on the Aptonic website, and also apply to be a part of the beta program.
