utilities

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  • Mac 101: Using Keychain Access to remember the password you forgot

    by 
    Steve Sande
    Steve Sande
    06.29.2011

    One of the unsung joys of being a Mac consultant is getting emails from clients with problems that aren't critical enough warrant a billable office visit but still need attention. This morning, I heard from client who needed to add two Macs onto the office AirPort network but couldn't remember the password. Here's how she (and you) can retrieve that password. Most of the time when Mac users are asked to create a password on the Mac, there's a small check box just below asking if you want to "store the password on the keychain." If you're like many Mac users, you're not really sure what that means but you check the box anyway. What it does mean is that the password is then stored in the Mac's keychain, which is Apple's password management system that has been around since the days of Mac OS 8.6. Fortunately, Apple provides an application that you can use to find out what password you used three years ago and have since forgotten. It's called Keychain Access, and it is tucked away in the Utilities folder that resides in your Applications folder. Hint -- if you're not familiar with the Utilities folder, there's a quick way to get to it from the Finder menu bar. Just select Go > Utilities to open a Finder window filled with all sorts of fun apps, from the handy (and dangerous) Disk Utility to the under-appreciated X11. I told my client to launch Keychain Access and then click on the "login keychain" in the list of keychains on the left side of the app window. A list of passwords appears, one of which has a "kind" of "AirPort network password." Double-clicking that entry brings up a dialog similar to the one shown below: See where it says "show password"? A click on the checkbox next to that brings up a dialog that asks for the keychain password, which is generally the administrator password on your Mac. Enter that password and click OK, and you may be asked to enter the password once again. Once that's done, the password should auto-magically appear in the field next to "show password." This trick has worked many times for me when my clients have forgotten a password or misplaced the Post-It Note that they wrote it on. Hopefully it will help out some TUAW readers as well.

  • Trimit reads, simplifies, and condenses web content for social networks

    by 
    Erica Sadun
    Erica Sadun
    06.28.2011

    Trimit is a new app that promises to automatically summarize text. The idea is this: You enter a URL, trimit ingests the web page you pointed to, and then it spits back a condensed version at the length you specify. TUAW had a chance to take an early peek at this app, which is due to launch soon on the App Store. So how did it measure up? All in all, I was impressed by its looks, but not by its functionality. Trimit is visually lovely. But that loveliness has not been designed around a solid user experience. I did eventually get the hang of using the application, but given the number of steps it took to make things happen, I felt that the app would benefit from hiring a usability designer. Here are the steps you need to take for the most common use case: In Safari, find a URL you want to work with and copy it to the system clipboard. The application does not offer a built-in web browser. Tap the link button (it's in the center of the screen, one icon over from the left, looks like a two-link chain). Paste the URL into the "import text source from url:" field. Tap Go and wait. Trimit extracts the content text from the page. Tap on settings. This is the leftmost icon in the middle of the screen. Once tapped, it becomes a keyboard icon. You'll need to use this after picking your destination. Select a destination, like Twitter (which is the top-left of the options). A teeny tiny checkmark appears next to the choice. I could figure out Twitter at a glance, and "f" is probably facebook, but the other options may leave you guessing. After tapping on the destination, once again tap on it, but this time tap and hold until the iPhone vibrates. A pop-up appears. Choose whether you want to compress vowels and/or add abbreviations. Tap anywhere but on the destination again. (It took me forever to realize you could not dismiss the pop-up by re-tapping.) Tap on the keyboard icon to leave the destination settings mode. Shake the iPhone strongly. A gentle shake will not do. And *only* shake in the right mode, which seems to be compose mode or something like that, after destination picking. You'll be shaking your arms off otherwise. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why some massive shakes would work sometimes and others wouldn't. Wait for trimit to compress your message. If needed, further edit the message by hand (so you can add a bit.ly'd source to the summary, for instance). Tap the send button at the top-right corner of the screen. It does not look like a button, just like an arrow, but it is a button. (Other on-screen buttons have shadow effects to show they are tappable buttons that invite interaction.) Select how you want to send the message, e.g., "Twitter it" or "Facebook it" (their phrasing). While these items do explain what each icon means, those same explanations should have been on the destination chooser and should follow the same order. They aren't and they don't. Enter credentials, authorize the application, and send. Tap the keyboard to re-enable the link button. Pull down to clear the previous text (otherwise the app will append new material, not replace it) and confirm your deletion. I love the idea of trimit, but the app itself is a big ol' mess. With this high degree of summarizing, not being able to include a source link is incomprehensible. What's more, people seem to do a much better job of summarizing the cool web pages they just read, whether using a basic tweet test or allowing more lax summaries. For example, consider this Auntie TUAW post. Most people would tweet it like this: "iOS devices are no replacement for Wacom tablets http://aol.it/jx5AvB" 70 characters or so. How does trimit summarize the same material? I am looking for an iPad app that allows it 2 function as a graphics tablet, similar 2 something like a Wacom tablet. No source link, and very little context. Here's another go. Website io9 seemed to like Sunday's True Blood season premiere. What does trimit have to say about their write-up? Con: Sookie is pized that Jason had the audacity 2 sell her (her grandmother's) house, after she's been mizing for over a year. Honestly, do you really want to tweet that out? As if you had written it? I found trimit more concept than execution. I didn't like the "shake to summarize" -- don't build your apps around shake gestures, people -- I wasn't impressed by the summaries, and I found the user interaction crippling. Trimit is an app that should have soared. It is a great concept, but the app doesn't deliver on execution. Trimit will be available on App Store for US$0.99 (introductory price), moving to $4.99 once the initial sale concludes. Product Video

  • TUAW's Daily Mac App: swackett

    by 
    Samuel Gibbs
    Samuel Gibbs
    06.27.2011

    Most weather apps display weather as you might expect with temperature and weather symbols. Swackett, a free (ad-supported) weather app from the Mac App Store, bucks the trend with cute cartoons of people showing the current and forecasted conditions. A "different kind of weather app," swackett shows you your current local weather conditions as well as today's, tonight's and tomorrow's forecast using characters of people wearing "suitable clothing" for each condition. For instance, if it's cool but not cold, swackett shows people wearing a light jacket, jeans and T-shirt. If it's going to rain, you'll see someone holding an umbrella. You'll even come across "easter eggs" for certain weather conditions from time to time, such as characters replicating a scene from Gone with the Wind for hot and sunny weather. A break-down of the day's weather is also displayed in 2-hour intervals along with a 7-day outlook and local, regional and national radar, plus regional satellite maps. Weather information is powered by AccuWeather.com, so there's a good chance your location is available. You can even tweet the current weather condition directly from the app. Swackett is also currently available as a web app (iPhone app coming soon), so you can get your weather predictions in the browser, too. An optional free login lets you save location and preference settings for temperature and other customizable features across devices. If you get sick of the free swackett characters, more can be purchased from the swackett store with "British Invasion" and "The 1950's" available for US$1.29 each. If you're looking for something a little different from a standard weather app that'll make you chuckle, then download swackett for free from the Mac App Store.

  • TUAW's Daily Mac App: AppCleaner

    by 
    Samuel Gibbs
    Samuel Gibbs
    06.23.2011

    Last week on the Daily Mac App we featured the infamous uninstaller AppZapper. Today we've got a fully-featured free alternative, AppCleaner. Available from FreeMacSoft, the freeware (donations accepted) AppCleaner does what it says on the tin. Just like AppZapper, you can drag-and-drop the offending application onto AppCleaner to locate and delete all the associated files. Alternatively you can hit the Applications, Widgets or Others tabs to find and delete things directly from AppCleaner. "Others" thankfully includes Preference Panes, so you can get rid of any unwanted additions to your System Preferences with ease. So far so good, it does exactly what AppZapper does, but it's free. AppCleaner does have one unique feature, however, and that's "SmartDelete." An option in the preferences, SmartDelete allows you to carry on deleting apps the way Apple intended by just sending them to the trash, but with the added benefit of trashing all the associated files automatically. While SmartDelete is running, AppCleaner is supposed to detect that you've trashed an app and offer to find the associated files for you. I couldn't get it to work, but free's free right? If you want to get rid of some applications you've installed but never use, AppCleaner does the job fine. It may not be the most comprehensive Mac cleaning app out there, but as uninstallers go, AppCleaner is free and works great. Perhaps with Lion landing soon, now is the time to start clearing out the cobwebs and get your Mac ready for the shiny new OS X 10.7. Thanks to brijazz for the suggestion.

  • TUAW's Daily Mac App: The Unarchiver

    by 
    Megan Lavey-Heaton
    Megan Lavey-Heaton
    05.27.2011

    The Unarchiver isn't a new utility to the Mac world, and we reviewed an earlier version of it. It's the Swiss Army knife of unarchiving programs and can handle pretty much any file, no matter how ancient, you throw at it. The native unarchiver for OS X is pretty solid in and of itself, but it's nice to have a utility such as Unarchiver around when you need something to tackle anything from Amiga PowerPacker files to StuffIt Archive files. There are a number of unarchiving options, including when you want to create folders for the extracted files or alter the modification date, and the ability to move the original archive file to the trash after expanding the contents. The one thing you can't do is archive stuff. If you want to do that, you can use OS X's built-in archiver, buy the venerable StuffIt Deluxe ($49.99) or spring for the US$19.99 BetterZip. However, Unarchiver is a free download in the Mac App Store, so it's definitely worth having as one of your basic Mac utilities.

  • Alfred 0.9 adds global hotkeys, preference sync and more

    by 
    Dave Caolo
    Dave Caolo
    05.12.2011

    Alfred is a launcher and Finder utility for the Mac that I dearly love. The team released version 0.9 today, which represents another big step toward the 1.0 version. This version adds global hotkeys, sync options, custom terminal commands, improved iTunes DJ and more. Here's a look at what's new in Alfred 0.9. Note that many of these features require the optional Powerpack. Global Hotkeys At the top of the list is global hotkeys. Now you can map a key combination to your favorite application, file or AppleScript and summon it in an instant, even when Alfred isn't the frontmost application. I've already set up a couple for TUAW's back end, Gmail and some other stats. It's super handy. Preference Syncing Those using Alfred across Macs will enjoy preference syncing, which uses Dropbox or iDisk to share a preference file. No more, "D'oh! I'm on the wrong machine for that!" moments. New Hide/Quit/Force Quit Commands So many people use Alfred simply as a launcher, and that's fine. Those who wish for more will find plenty of goodies. For example, I often use Alfred as a spell checker. Just call up its window and type "Spell" plus the word you're after. The correct spelling will be pasted to the clipboard. Version 0.9 lets you hide, quit or force quit an app just as easily. Enter the command and click the target app (or hit its corresponding key combination) for mouse-free action. Also, the iTunes DJ function has been improved. Basically, this Powerpack feature lets you control what's playing in iTunes. Version 0.9 steps it up by letting you add songs to existing playlists on-the-fly. There's more to this update, and we urge you to check it out. The team is working full steam ahead as they approach the 1.0 release, which we're eagerly anticipating.

  • Palua allows you to quickly switch between standard and Apple function keys

    by 
    Samuel Gibbs
    Samuel Gibbs
    04.21.2011

    If you're an Apple keyboard or MacBook user, you'll know how useful the F1-F12 function keys can be when mapped to Apple functions such as brightness control, Expose and play controls. But what happens when you need the function keys to behave in a non-Apple mapped way? Sure you can hold down the "fn" key, but that can get a bit tedious. You could also switch the Apple and standard functions using Keyboard Preferences, leaving Apple functions under the control of the "fn" key, but again, how often do you really need the standard function keys under normal circumstances? This is where the tiny utility Palua, from the folks at Molowa, comes in. It's a minuscule little app that sits in your menu bar and lets you switch between standard function and Apple keys with a quick Cmd+Opt+Tab or via the menu bar. Once you're done with the standard keys, just press Cmd+Opt+Tab again, and everything will be put back to normal - simple and effective. If you're a photo or video editor, someone who works a lot with custom keyboard maps or you just need the standard F1-F12 keys every now and again, then the US$0.99 Palua, available from the Mac App Store, could be just the ticket.

  • Quicksilver appears to be coming back from the dead

    by 
    Dana Franklin
    Dana Franklin
    04.18.2011

    Let's take a moment to appreciate the mouse, the marvel of engineering that made computing accessible to the general public. But, if you've ever watched an expert systems administrator rocket through tasks using nothing but the command line and a keyboard, you know the mouse isn't the world's most efficient way to unleash the power of your Mac. Many of us here at TUAW are devoted fans of the keyboard shortcut super utility Quicksilver. After wandering the wilds of the open source kingdom with mixed results, Quicksilver appears to have been adopted by a small team of developers who released a proper update to the app over the weekend. Originally developed by a shadowy software wizard with the handle "Alcor," Quicksilver lost its only parent to a serious case of got-hired-by-Google-itis in 2007. Before becoming completely inundated with "real work," Nicholas "Alcor" Jitkoff released Quicksilver to the open source community where its development splintered and stagnated. Some of us at TUAW, discouraged by performance issues and compatibility problems with newer versions of Mac OS X, lost hope in Quicksilver and began experimenting with alternatives. Others continued to recommend the free utility, which lets users quickly launch apps, move files, compose email messages and, with a little practice, quickly accomplish a broad range of tasks with nothing but a few key strokes. Now, a team of developers at qsapp.com, who say "Quicksilver is like carrying a light-saber and throwing robots across the room with your mind," aims to unify all of the utility's fragmented open source builds, plug-ins and support groups. The team's latest build, Quicksilver version ß59, addresses a handful of known issues while running the tool on Snow Leopard. Above all, it offers hope for the Quicksilver faithful that someone out there wishes to take ownership of this powerful utility. Mac users can download Quicksilver for free at qsapp.com. [via Minimal Mac]

  • Ask TUAW Video Edition: Migration Assistant

    by 
    Justin Esgar
    Justin Esgar
    03.22.2011

    Today we discuss the Mac OS X Migration Assistant. Joe asks, "What's the best way to transfer my old data on my old MacBook to my new MacBook Pro without erasing new software on the MBP like the new iLife suite?" Well Joe, you and many other TUAW readers are going to learn about the Migration Assistant. The video's on the next page, and as always you can leave questions in the comments!

  • DaisyDisk 2.0 offers scanning multiple discs, in-app deletion

    by 
    Megan Lavey-Heaton
    Megan Lavey-Heaton
    03.10.2011

    In a moment of great minds thinking alike, as TJ Luoma was writing up his Mac 101 on tracking down hard drive space hogs, I was contacted by the folks at DaisyDisk to see if I wanted to take version 2 of their data visualization software for a spin. The core of DaisyDisk is the same as when I first reviewed the software in July 2009. It took roughly six minutes for it to scan my 640 GB drive and display the results in a daisy wheel. The UI was rewritten on Core Animation and it shows. Animation is smooth, and colors are vibrant.

  • Alfred for Mac enhances Apple's Finder

    by 
    Dave Caolo
    Dave Caolo
    02.28.2011

    Alfred is a utility for Mac OS X that's part app launcher, part navigation tool and part web service. In short, it's a productivity tool that sits quietly in the background until you need something -- fast. Imagine a fully fueled 1987 Buick GNX 223 idling in your driveway with the door open, and you'll get the idea. While power users who cut their teeth on custom Quicksilver scripts will walk away wanting, the rest will find Alfred suited to their needs. Here's my look at Alfred for the Mac. Inevitable comparison to Quicksilver I'll get this out of the way now. Comparisons to Quicksilver aren't entirely appropriate, but they're inevitable. Quicksilver is an application launcher and quick means of navigating the Finder. Eventually its developer ceased development, considering the utility feature-complete, not to mention a time-consuming effort that failed to bring in any money. Today, it's maintained by an enthusiastic and talented group of developers. Users enjoy a library of plug-ins and the option to write their own scripts. That's great, but I'm looking for a more turnkey solution. Alfred is it. %Gallery-117775%

  • Mobclix finds the monthly value of an app user

    by 
    Mike Schramm
    Mike Schramm
    02.17.2011

    Mobile advertiser Mobclix put together this infographic supposedly showing the "monthly value of an app user." It's the monthly advertising revenue for each app category listed, divided by the average number of users in a given month. As you can see above, iPhone apps are clearly generating more revenue per user than Android apps across the board, and Utilities apps top the list in terms of monthly value per user, as compared to Entertainment and Games apps. Before you start building an ad-driven Utility app for iPhone, though, don't forget that this chart basically sidelines the population stat. While the "value per user" on Games apps seems low, that's only because there are so many more users in that category. Lots more people, believe it or not, use their smartphones to play games than do actual work. Likewise for the Android listings; we already know that Android mobile app sales aren't quite as high as iPhone app sales, though there are more Android handsets out there than iPhones already. This is more of an interesting look at the people who use the apps. Utilities users on the iPhone tend to be a little more valuable as app users, while Games users are relatively cheap and plentiful. That's a pattern we've seen on platforms before, and things will likely stay that way even as the market for mobile advertising gets even bigger. [via AppAdvice]

  • Virginia pilot program halves electricity bill for charging EVs overnight

    by 
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    02.04.2011

    Regardless of whether the internal combustion engine gets snuffed out this century, EV chargers aren't going to replace gas pumps at the rate they're presently rolling out, so it's quite likely new Leaf and Prius PHEV owners will need to charge at home. How might that affect one's electricity bill? It'll probably go up, but a Virginia utility says that a full tank of juice might not cost all that much. Dominion Virginia Power is volunteering to cut its rates by more than half for off-peak charging as part of a proposed pilot program, whereby 750 lucky EV owners will get enough electricity for a 40-mile commute for just 35 cents so long as they charge overnight. The utility's not talking kilowatt-hours here, but it says it typically gets $0.86 for the same amount. The deal requires the installation of a specially-approved charging station, but Virginia's looking at a second scheme too -- if those 750 agree to pay a flexible off-peak rate of between $0.33 and $0.41 per 40-mile dose, they can power the rest of their house using the budget volts as well. PR after the break.

  • Customizing a Magic Trackpad using BetterTouchTool

    by 
    Kelly Hodgkins
    Kelly Hodgkins
    01.19.2011

    We took a look at BetterTouchTool last year and covered its usage with a Magic Mouse and a MacBook trackpad. As you would expect, this versatile utility can also be used to customize the functionality of the Magic Trackpad. The app features over 50 multi-touch gestures including taps, clicks and swipes for one to five fingers. Each gesture can be customized to perform a wide range of predefined actions or assigned to a custom desktop shortcut. You can even create your own gestures and add button commands (fn, ctrl, command, option) to each one. Besides quadrupling the number of available gestures, these buttons can also be used to prevent accidental activation of a gesture by requiring you to deliberately press a button prior to clicking, tapping or swiping. Gestures and actions are the focus of this application, but it has a few neat tricks up its sleeve that let you snap and resize a window like Windows 7 as well as control the trackpad speed and sensitivity. Combine this tool with a Magic Trackpad and you can supercharge the input methods for your iMac, Mac Pro or Mac mini. If you have a Magic Mouse and a Magic Trackpad, you may want to check out BetterTouchTool. The unique ability of this application to assign actions to tappable hotspots around the perimeter of the trackpad lets you duplicate the functionality of the Magic Mouse and keep all the multi-touch gesture goodness that comes with the Magic Trackpad. BetterTouchTool is available for free from boastr.net. [Via Macworld]

  • LittleSnapper on the Mac App Store and on sale

    by 
    TJ Luoma
    TJ Luoma
    01.14.2011

    LittleSnapper from RealMacSoftware is on sale for US$5 until January 17 through the Mac App Store. The app normally sells for $25, and it had sold for $40 before the Mac App Store. LittleSnapper is a screenshot management application. Think of it as a combination of Skitch and an iPhoto-like application for managing your screenshots. We covered LittleSnapper before, back when it was released in 2008, if you want more information about the app. You can also download a demo version of the app from RealMacSoftware's website.

  • DEVONtechnologies offers four free Mac utility apps

    by 
    Sam Abuelsamid
    Sam Abuelsamid
    11.13.2010

    Like anyone, we always appreciate free stuff. While it's important to be aware that sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get more. Such is the case for a batch of Mac utilities from DEVONtechnologies. For anyone that makes a living sitting in front of a computer screen, little tools that help speed your way through various tasks are always welcome, and at least one of these apps might be just what you've been looking for. When you have a bunch of windows open for various tasks and you need a file or application, using Exposé to get to a Finder window is one approach, but you might find Xmenu to be a more efficient path. Xmenu adds a menu extra to the right side of the Apple menu bar that provides quick access to files and folders on your drive. If you're not sure where the item you want is located, EasyFind supplements Mac OS X's built-in Spotlight with the ability to search for hidden files, search inside packages, and even allows the use of Boolean operators to narrow searches. ThumbsUp enables batch operations on clusters of images to switch formats, resize, sharpen and more. It's not quite like creating a Photoshop action, but for some quick and dirty operations it will do. PhotoStickies is less productivity oriented, but it allows you create an automatic collage of images that you select from your drive. The sticky images can even include live webcam feeds that automatically update. You can grab all four utilities for free at DEVONtechnologies.

  • Calvetica offers a better calendar app for iPhone

    by 
    Erica Sadun
    Erica Sadun
    11.09.2010

    Calvetica, for iPhone and iPod touch, offers the promise of a simple but powerful calendar app. There was a bit of a tussle yesterday in the TUAW back channels as a bunch of us watched the Calvetica product video on the developer's home page. I won, meaning I bought it first to write this review, and I've been playing with it since then. I'm pleased to report that it delivers clean, easy-to-create scheduling. Although it certainly helps to Read The (very brief) FAQ before using the app -- since I wouldn't have figured out the swipe-to-menu feature on my own -- once I got going, I found I could easily create to-do items and set reminders for them with a minimum of taps. Using Apple's Calendar app it can take around 5 taps or up to a dozen or more, not including typing, to set a "simple" reminder on your calendar. With Calvetica, you can double-tap, type and hit Done. Want to delete? Swipe the entry and there's a little trash can icon. It's a wonder Apple didn't think of these interactions. So what does Calvetica offer that the built in iCal does not? For your three bucks, you're buying into design. The developers aren't exaggerating when they promise an "uncluttered, minimalist interface." It's sleek, it's clean, it's nice. It's also powerful; Calvetica integrates with Google Calendar, MobileMe, and built-in local notifications. It works with iCal and, if you use it, BusyCal. Admittedly, I've only been using the application for a day but my initial impressions are positive. Calvetica is staying on my home screen for now as I give it a more thorough work-out in the weeks to come. Oh, and that product video? Seriously hilarious. [For equally attractive and useful task management with a similar aesthetic, check out Teux Deux. Calvetica and Teux Deux even have complimentary icons! -Ed.]

  • Put your Mac on a diet with CleanMyMac

    by 
    David Winograd
    David Winograd
    10.26.2010

    CleanMyMac by Macpaw software is an amazing bit of Mac utility software that has one purpose in life: to streamline your hard drive by getting rid of all the extraneous stuff that you probably don't know is there and almost certainly don't need. It cleans out all of the useless cache files, logs, languages you don't know or don't want, universal binary code that your specific computer can't use, and other assorted junk, trash, and leftover bits and pieces. It does the job easily, elegantly, and completely. There are a ton of other programs out there that do pieces of the job, but there's no other program that is so complete. Let's take a look at some of the other programs for comparison. To get rid of unused languages that can balloon a program's size up to 70% larger than it needs to be, there's always been Monolingual. It gives you a listing of all the languages on your computer and then lets you pick and choose which ones to keep. Monolingual then deletes all vestiges of the unwanted languages in all your software. It's free, but it hasn't been updated in a couple of years. Although the current version does work with Snow Leopard, nobody knows when it's going to stop working nor does anyone know if it will work with Mac OSX 10.7 next summer. %Gallery-106006%

  • Captio: The simple app that just might change your life

    by 
    Josh Helfferich
    Josh Helfferich
    09.30.2010

    Anyone who knows me will tell you that I have the worst memory. I also have a bad short-term memory. This makes it tough to remember the things that pop into my head throughout the day, and it makes it especially hard to keep track of tasks and other actions that I must take. I've wanted to use my iPhone to "bottle" these fleeting thoughts for years, but nothing on the App Store allowed me to do this without some sort of distraction. Enter Captio, a new app from Ben Lenarts of Boonbits. It's a small note taking application that allows you to capture thoughts, ideas, tasks, and other tidbits of information as they come to you. You may say, "But there are a million of those apps on the store, Josh, you handsome man!" Given, but Captio has one killer feature that everyone else has failed to deliver on: nothing. For example, here's how it works: Step 1: You open the app. Step 2: You type what you need to remember. And that's it. Your idea is in your email inbox. That's what makes Captio so great. You can add a quick photo before Captio whisks the idea out of your mind, but the feature is hidden quite well under the keyboard (as not to distract you). It's one fast app, too. I don't mean that in the same way that reviewers normally say it, either. Captio could outrun Usain Bolt strapped to a rocket cheetah. My iPhone 4 loads it from a cold start in about a second, and it's even quicker when loading from multitasking memory. If you're looking for something to capture everything you need to remember (and capture it quickly), I highly recommend picking up Captio. It's available now on the App Store for a fantastic $0.99. Just be prepared to break the news gently to your iPod icon, though; he won't be happy to lose his spot on the dock.

  • HyperDock puts some Win7 in your OS X Dock

    by 
    Richard Gaywood
    Richard Gaywood
    09.26.2010

    My shocking day job revelation: I write enterprise Java software using Windows. There, my secret shame is finally out. Now that that's off my chest, I have something to confess about Windows 7: Microsoft must be doing something right because I hate it considerably less than any other version of Windows. For example, it might have taken it eight years to bring the draggable reorder feature from OS X 10.0's Dock into the Windows taskbar, but they got there in the end, and I'm a happier user for it. One of the things I quite like is Aero Peek. Suppose you are juggling three PowerPoint presentations because you are a SRS BSNS enterprise user, so obviously, you're not doing anything fun. You move your cursor down to the PowerPoint icon in the taskbar, and three medium sized thumbnail icons pop up, each showing the current window contents of the three PowerPoint windows that you have open. This visual cue makes task switching more efficient. It sounds small, but it's quite a neat little time saver. Sadly, OS X doesn't have anything like this. We've previously covered using Exposé in the Application Switcher, but it's clunky. Wouldn't thumbnails in the Dock be a nice addition to OS X? I certainly think so, and it seems that Christian Baumgart agrees with me because he's written the free-in-beta utility HyperDock to do just that. You can see how it works in the screenshot above; in this case, I moved my mouse over to the Firefox icon, and it presented me with previews of the three browser windows that I had open. But that's not all it does -- check out some more of HyperDock's features on the next page.