LineFORM
Latest
ICYMI: Perfect temp mug, MIT's wiggly robot and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-621697").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: MIT's Media Lab created the LineFORM out of a wiggly bit of robotics that can morph into different shapes, like a telephone or a data connecting cable. Meanwhile a $130 mug will let you set the perfect temperature for your java. And an Indiegogo campaign for a head-mounted camera that makes users look like waylaid super heros is well short of its funding goal, which is probably good because we would hate to see them out in the world.
Lineform 1.5.1 is out: TUAW readers can save $30
It's been a while since Freeverse's vector application, Lineform, got an update. Lineform 1.5 came out in January 2008, but the Apple Design Award winner has remained unchanged since then. That's not a bad thing; as we've mentioned in the past, Lineform is great vector program. But it's always nice to get new features. Freeverse has just released Lineform 1.5.1, fixing some bugs and adding some new treats for users. Here are some of the highlights: Improved gradient behavior -- you now have more control over your gradients. Improved performance with multiple objects on a canvas Undo now includes the function name, so you can see what you are undoing New Lineform Clips available in the Media Browser. That last item is actually pretty great. Lineform now comes with a bunch of vector clips in various shapes and symbols that you can drag into your documents to use as they are, or edit. You can also add additional vector clips to save and use later. When Robert did a faceoff amongst low-cost vector apps, he commented that having more shapes would be a good addition to Lineform. Lineform now has pre-built polygons and star shapes that can be simply dragged into your project. Plus, Lineform continues to support SVG, PDF and EPS formats and it's easy to apply non-destructive filters to your projects. The guys at Freeverse were also nice enough to extend a $30-off coupon code to TUAW readers! Enter tuawlineform151 when ordering at Freeverse's site and you can score Lineform 1.5.1 for just $49.95. $50 for a vector app that is as powerful and easy to use as Lineform is really, really hard to beat. If you want to give it a trial before buying, you can download it free and use it for 30 days. Lineform now requires OS X 10.5 (previous versions did run on Tiger) and it is a Universal Binary. Existing users can install this free update either by using the built-in update check or downloading the DMG from Freeverse.
Freeverse has a 30% off sale, cuts prices of iPhone apps
Our good friends at Freeverse are having a 30% off sale, one of their biggest lately, this week on almost everything in their catalog, from the tower defense game Horde of Orcs to the award-winning Lineform. The sale lasts through October 7th, and to get the discount, just put "MONTYMAIL" in as a coupon code during checkout. If you've been thinking about picking up one of their apps or games, now's the time.Unfortunately, none of the discounts work for any of their iPhone apps, but they did just drop the price on MotoChaser, one of the best accelerometer racing games available (and featured in the commercial above, on the "funnest" iPod ever), down to $4.99. It's too bad that there's no demo available, but I can tell you that as these accelerometer racers go, it's a good time.
TUAW Faceoff: Low-cost vector design apps
While I'm not a hard-core professional illustrator or cartoonist, I do use vector design tools almost every day. Designing logos, playing with type, and creating quick layouts are things every vector design tool should do well. Adobe Illustrator CS3, of course, is the 800-pound gorilla in this field, and it's my tool of choice. But there are plenty of people who don't need the extensive functionality that Illustrator provides. Plus, Illustrator is something of a resource hog (right now, it's using 176MB of real memory and 1.21GB of virtual memory on my system). Today, I'm going to review four leaner, lower-cost (or free) options from four high-powered indie Mac developers: DrawBerry, EazyDraw, Lineform, and VectorDesigner. Unlike Illustrator, all of these use Mac OS X's built-in Core Image foundation, which makes them very easy to compare to each other. It's high noon for vector apps, after the jump.
All Freeverse games and apps 20% off today only
Freeverse has sent along the heads up on a sale they're having today only. To celebrate "Leap Day" (yes, we're only having this twenty-four hour period today because it's a Leap Year), they're selling everything they got for an extra 20% off whenever you use the code "leapyear" during checkout.What could you buy? Well, you could grab their 3D Desktop Defense-like game Horde of Orcs for a mere $20, pick up Neon Tango (a flashy Asteroids-like shooter) for the same price, or grab Wingnuts 2, which isn't too bad a bit of pick-up-and-play shooting fun, for $24. You could also grab any of the apps they sell for the sale price, too: they've got Comic Life Deluxe for $24 and the award-winning Lineform for $64 after the discount.Yeah, 20% ain't too huge, but hey it's only Leap Day, and if you've been waiting to grab some of this Freeverse 'ware this makes today the perfect time to do it.
Lineform 1.5 update lost in the Macworld shuffle
Chalk this one up to bad press release timing: we neglected to note the release of a major update to Freeverse's Lineform vector art application, announced on January 14 (otherwise known as Steve's Eve). The new version includes full Leopard support and adds hooks for drawing tablet pressure sensitivity, plus many smaller feature and performance updates.Lineform 1.5 is $79.95 either direct from Freeverse or in convenient boxed form via Apple or Amazon. The 8.1 MB demo is downloadable as well. If you're a forlorn Freehand veteran or facing off sticker shock for Illustrator, take a look.
Freeverse holds a 30% off sale
Freeverse, winner of many design awards (and publisher of Marathon on the 360-- I had no idea!) is throwing down with a software sale on their website. By using the code montyrules with any purchase before September 20th, you can pick up any of the software and games they're selling for a whopping 30% off.Heroes V for $35! Euchre (my favorite card game ever) for $14! Wingnuts 2 for $21! And the apps aren't to be scoffed at either-- they've got the great Comic Life, Lineform, and Sound Studio 3 all on sale as well.Woot for Freeverse, and woot for selling great games and apps for cheaper than usual. Now that you guys are flush with money, how about convincing Microsoft to let you put that Euchre game on my 360, too?Thanks, Brian!
Freehand dead, discount crossgrade to Lineform
Rumors of Freehand's demise have been raised and squashed before, but now it's official. Gruber points to this notice that Adobe has canned further development Freehand in favor of Illustrator. Adobe is offering some discounts on Illustrator for registered owners of Freehand, as well as some tutorials aimed at helping folks move over, but they will not be offering any further updates to Freehand. Apparently in an effort to capitalize on annoyance of longtime Freehand users, Freeverse is offering a discount on their competing vector graphics package Lineform. Just enter code "freehand" to get $30 off the regular price of $79.95 until June 1st. This looks like a great deal on Lineform; even if it's not quite as powerful as Illustrator, it's still a substantial vector graphics application for about $50.[via The Apple Blog]
Leopard's iChat Theater could change the way we do... well, everything
It's things like the iChat Theater page at Apple's Developer site that make me just fine with the delay of Mac OS X Leopard. They say 'good things come to those who wait,' but from what I'm reading at the iChat Theater page, that phrase is more like 'fantastic, amazing and mind-blowing things come to those who wait' when applied to the new technologies coming in Leopard. While most of that page is geared towards developers, offering things like code snippets to get them excited and motivated to build their apps to work with Leopard's iChat, the first two paragraphs are enough for 'the rest of us' to get a mouth-watering glimpse of just how much the new iChat could change the way we work and play once Leopard does arrive.In short, iChat Theater is a new feature that will allow the broadcast of, and collaboration on, just about anything we do on our Mac. Of course, a developer will have to design their app specifically to incorporate these new features (hint: submitting feedback and feature requests is a good thing), but just consider the possibilities: instead of having to jam pack all your tech support calls into that once-or-twice-a-year family holiday trip, you can fire up Leopard's iChat and show mom and dad how to make a slideshow in iPhoto over the web, with both video and audio of yourself and iPhoto. Now expand a little: is your job on the verge of granting you telecommuting privileges? Or perhaps you're a teacher or a technology scout for an educational organization? This new Leopard feature opens doors much larger than the one for mom and pop; with iChat Theater, teachers and businessmen alike will be able to work their magic in entirely new ways, and not just with the tools Apple provides. The beauty of iChat Theater is that it's an open platform, so to speak; want to brainstorm in OmniGraffle with a colleague on the opposite side of the country? Need to teach a last-minute digital art class in Lineform for a friend halfway across the world? No sweat. Although I have no idea whether The Omni Group or Freeverse have already hopped on the iChat Theater bandwagon, plenty of comments and requests from their users could probably ensure they do.iChat Theater is gonna be a big'un boys and girls, and I already have a couple handfuls of reasons as to why I can wait for Apple to take their time and (hopefully) get it right.
Lineform 1.3 Updated with PDF Support
We've mentioned Lineform a couple of times, but the newly released version 1.3 of Freeverse's Illustrator alternative vector illustration program adds a significant new feature: PDF import and editing. You can now directly import a PDF into Lineform, resize it, and mark it up with the standard Lineform drawing tools. Other new features include improved SVG support and 256000% (!) maximum zoom.Lineform remains $79.95 and a demo is available.[Via Daring Fireball]
Freeverse announces winner of Lineform contest
Freeverse, the company behind many a fun Mac app, recently held a contest related to their vector illustration program, Lineform. The contest was simple: submit an image made with Lineform and you get a chance to win $1000. Not too shabby. The contest is over, and the winner was Paul Davidson.You can see Paul's work, and the work of the runners up, on Freeverse's website. The original Lineform files are also available for download.
Freeverse announces Lineform 1.2
You may remember Lineform as the winner in the student category of the Apple Design Awards, but now it is now a part of Freeverse's software catalog. $79.99 gets your version 1.2 of Lineform which is a Universal Binary (which Freeverse told me would launch in a second on a MacBook Pro, and they were right).$79.99 for an Illustrator alternative that is Universal? Not too shabby at all.
Inform now Lineform, reaches 1.1
Lineform, formerly Inform, has reached 1.1 and added many features. This $79 graphics program now boasts AppleScriptablity, support for Core Image, media browsing and much more.This program is designed to be powerful but simple to use and seems to be focused on logo design.
