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Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Ommwriter: a Mac writing app that helps you concentrate]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/ommwriter-a-mac-writing-app-that-helps-you-concentrate/#commentsFiled under: Macintosh, Office, Productivity

Ommwriter is a Mac word processor with a bit of a gimmick. Like one of my favorite writing apps for the Mac, WriteRoom, Ommwriter goes full-screen, with a minimal interface and a focus on avoiding distractions. Ommwriter is even more extreme, though, adding a calming background and soothing music to the mix, and restricting your control over text formatting to a bare minimum to reduce fiddling.

The good: that fiddling-reduction thing really works. You can make your text larger or smaller, and choose between three fonts, but that's it. It keeps you away from the controls and focused on your words. Also good: there are 7 different musical selections, and the option to turn the music off altogether (which I recommend you exercise). The default background is quite attractive, but you can switch to basic white if you don't like it.

The bad: your only options for saving your Ommwriter docs are plain .txt or Ommwriter's own format. I suppose that's in keeping with the word-centric theme of the app, but sometimes a .doc comes in handy if you're sharing with an Office-devoted friend or colleague. Also - and this is clearly a matter of taste - the whole zen schtick feels a bit hokey to me. I'm all for removing distractions, and Ommwriter succeeds in that regard (except, perhaps, when it comes to the music) but I prefer the plain black screen and more robust formatting capabilities of WriteRoom.

Ommwriter: a Mac writing app that helps you concentrate originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>distractionsommwriterword processorWordProcessorwritingFri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe Air 2 goes beta, adds tons of new features, sucks a whole lot less]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-air-2-goes-beta-adds-new-features-sucks-a-whole-lot-less/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Adobe, Beta

We've had a love-hate relationship with Adobe Air since it arrived on our desktops. Ram-hungry apps had us seeing red. Still, a few killer apps helped drive adoption - apps like TweetDeck, Times Reader 2.0, and DeskTube. As Air continued to develop, it got leaner and meaner and now version 2 has arrived in beta. Adobe Air 2 is now here, and it's ready to get down to business.

Air 2 features a number of tweaks, updates, and feature additions. For starters, the Air 2 ships with Flash 10.1 beta - which adds GPU acceleration support and so far seems to kick my CPU's ass less often. Air 2 also boasts tighter integration with operating systems and can now access certain mass storage devices like USB flash drives, digital cameras, and flash memory cards. Air 2 can also tap into your computer's microphone.

Webkit has been updated, as has the SquirrelFish Extreme Javascript engine. Those two changes combine for a reported 50% gain on SunSpider benchmarks. There's also added multi-touch and gesture support and better printing and networking (including the ability to listen for incoming socket connections). Got a gigantic display? Air 2 supports a maximum window size of 4095x4095 - a 42% increase, though likely not one you'll benefit from at home.

Processor usage and memory consumption have been addressed, with many Air apps reporting about half the CPU utilization of Air 1. TweetDeck on my system is using about 20Mb less RAM. More efficient use of my hardware? Now that you can enjoy at home.

For more details about Adobe Air 2 check out the embedded clip of Kevin Lynch's presentation from MAX or head over to Adobe Labs, where you can also download the new version. Downloads are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

So far, the Air 2 beta feels like a major step in the right direction for Adobe. As more developers begin taking advantage of the possibilities now available and optimizing their apps for the new version, you may just see some pretty cool things happening on Air 2.

[via Adobe.com]

Adobe Air 2 goes beta, adds tons of new features, sucks a whole lot less originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobe airAdobeAirTue, 17 Nov 2009 03:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Bookmark sync arrives on Chromium for Mac - here's how to make it work]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/bookmark-sync-lands-on-chromium-for-mac-heres-how-to-make-it/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/bookmark-sync-lands-on-chromium-for-mac-heres-how-to-make-it/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/bookmark-sync-lands-on-chromium-for-mac-heres-how-to-make-it/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Macintosh, Google, Open Source, Browsers

We've told you before about Google Chrome's slick new bookmark syncing feature, available in the Windows beta version of Chrome 4. It automatically keeps your bookmarks synced across multiple Chrome installations, using your Google Account. Well, this feature has landed in recent builds of Chromium for Mac (that's the open-source project Chrome is based on). To enable it, you'll first need to grab the latest version of Chromium.

Bookmark sync isn't on by default. To use it, you'll have to pop open your Terminal and do a little command-line magic. You'll want to right-click Chromium, show package contents, and then find Chromium inside the MacOS folder. Drag that to the Terminal, and then add the argument --enable-sync. Chromium should open, and you should see bookmarking syncing in your preferences.

Sign in with your Google account, and your bookmarks will be synced automatically to any other Chromium/Chrome browsers that you sign into. If you want to see where they're stored on the web, check a slightly strange location: a Chrome folder in your Google Docs account.

I know it seems like a lot of trouble to go through for bookmark syncing, but such is the peril of being on the bleeding edge of browser development. Bookmark syncing will very likely pop up officially in the Chrome Mac beta scheduled for early December.

Bookmark sync arrives on Chromium for Mac - here's how to make it work originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bookmarksbrowserchromechromiumgooglesyncFri, 13 Nov 2009 21:35:00 EST<![CDATA[Wally is a kick-ass, connected wallpaper changer for Windows, Mac, and Linux]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/wally-is-a-kick-ass-connected-wallpaper-changer-for-windows-ma/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/wally-is-a-kick-ass-connected-wallpaper-changer-for-windows-ma/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/wally-is-a-kick-ass-connected-wallpaper-changer-for-windows-ma/#commentsFiled under: Fun, Internet, Photo, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux

There are plenty of wallpaper-changing applications out there, and plenty of them can tap into photo sharing sites like Flickr and Photobucket for access to a plethora of images. Still, not many of them are quite as well-connected as Wally.

Even fewer are cross-platform. Wally, though, is happy to share its background-rotating skills with Windows, Mac, and Linux users alike. It's built using Nokia's Qt4 framework and supports an insane number of image sources: local and remote folders (via FTP), and popular photo sites like Flickr, Yahoo!, Panoramio, Pikeo, Ipernity, Photobucket, Buzznet, Picasa, Smugmug, and Bing. You can use any combination of sources you choose by adding and removing them on the settings screen.

Customization options are plentiful, from specifying the delay between image changes to tweaking the size of your local image history store. Images from the 'net are pulled in based on the search terms you specify - and yes, you can shut off Bing's adult filter if you want to.

Wally is free and open source, and pre-compiled downloads are available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The project is also mirrorerd over at Sourceforge.

Wally is a kick-ass, connected wallpaper changer for Windows, Mac, and Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backgroundsflickrwallpaper changerWallpaperChangerwallyFri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Dropbox Votebox lets you decide what they work on next]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/dropbox-votebox-lets-you-decide-what-they-work-on-next/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity

Dropbox is one of my current top 5 favorite apps. It's an extremely useful utility with a few, very powerful, easy to use features, and now they are looking to expand. With Votebox (must be signed in to see the page), they are letting the user base vote on which features they work on next. Thousands of votes have already been cast. Here are the top 5 at the time of this writing.

1. Selective sync. Ability to choose which files or folders get sync'd to which computers.

2. Watch any folder. Sync folders outside the My/Dropbox folder (thus essentially replicating the functionality of SugarSync). This would be sweet, though I wonder how it would affect the current simplicity and performance of the app.

3. Share folders without forcing other members to lose space. I'd be interested to see how they handle this one. It could open up loopholes for vastly expanded storage space for groups of people.

4. Email files to Dropbox. Use an email address to upload files to your dropbox space.

5. Mac resource fork support. Perhaps the most cryptic of the requests. The resource fork is essentially metadata attached to the file that helps the Mac OS understand the file better. It defines things like custom icons, window sizes, menu definitions and the like. It is also how Mac OS can do extension-less file names. These things are generally stripped by backup programs (like Dropbox). This would be an extremely useful feature for Mac users.

Dropbox Votebox lets you decide what they work on next originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>developmentDropBoxfeature requestsFeatureRequestsFri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EventSync - sync Facebook events to your Mac's iCal]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/eventsync-sync-facebook-events-to-your-macs-ical/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity, Shareware

It frustrates me that so many different services have a calendar function, and yet it's still a pain in the ass to make sure that my personal calendar is up to date. More often than not I find myself manually creating events using copy-and-paste, instead of the event being automatically created for me by whatever service I'm using.

If you happen to be a Facebook Events user, a utility called EventSync can help you keep your iCal calendar application on your Mac up to date with your Facebook events. It's smart enough to allow you to choose to sync all events, or only those that you have accepted (amongst other options). Development is active on the utility too, and Hawk Wings reports that version 2.0 will include the ability to display the flyers and images associated with the Facebook events.

EventSync is donationware for the Mac platform.

EventSync - sync Facebook events to your Mac's iCal originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>calendareventicalical calendarical-calendarIcalCalendarmacmac platformmac-platformMacPlatformsyncFri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google Chrome for Mac will hit beta by December]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/12/google-chrome-for-mac-might-be-ready-by-december/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/12/google-chrome-for-mac-might-be-ready-by-december/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/12/google-chrome-for-mac-might-be-ready-by-december/#commentsFiled under: Macintosh, Google, Beta, Browsers

OS X browser geeks, start salivating ... Reports from around the web are saying that Google's Chrome browser might get a finished Mac version in about month. Stephen Shankland at CNET has been vigilantly monitoring the Chrome development mailing lists, and some talk about Chrome's new extensions UI reveals that the Mac launch is scheduled for early December.

Chrome 4 for Windows is in Beta already, while Mac and Linux only recently got their first developer previews. Since the highest-profile new feature in the Chrome 4 Beta is browser actions (Chrome's equivalent of Firefox's add-ons), developers are getting their extensions ready for launch. Apparently, a product manager for Chrome posted a message advising developers to switch to the new browser actions system so they'd have more time to get their code in shape for a beta launch in "early December."

Google Chrome for Mac will hit beta by December originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betabrowserchromegooglemacThu, 12 Nov 2009 21:00:00 EST<![CDATA[OS X 10.6.2 offers tons of fixes, breaks Atom support again]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/10/os-x-10-6-2-offers-tons-of-fixes-breaks-atom-support-again/#commentsFiled under: OS Updates, Security, Macintosh, Apple

This Atom Hackintosh story's been flip-flopping like a dolphin at SeaWorld, but here's the final answer: OS X 10.6.2 is out, and it apparently does not run on machines with Atom CPUs. That's the bad news. The good news is that 10.6.2 offers an absolute smorgasbord of tweaks and fixes. Apple's release notes with one of these OS updates usually include some vague message about improved security and stability, and that's it. This time, there's a laundry list of improvements.

The update, which is around 160MB if you're upgrading from 10.6.1, corrects a few nagging issues in the Finder: Exchange contacts not showing up in Spotlight, flaky menu extras, wonky VPN connections and - this one was a personal peeve of mine - not being able to add photos to Address Book. Also, the problem with opening multiple downloaded files at once (a problem Apple never actually acknowledged) is now fixed. Hooray! The whole list is pretty long, and there's also an extensive list of potential exploits addressed by 10.6.2's security update.

OS X 10.6.2 offers tons of fixes, breaks Atom support again originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>applebug fixesBugFixesos xos x 10.6.2OsXOsX10.6.2securityTue, 10 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST<![CDATA[One Finger Discount takes on MacHeist with 20% off tons of Mac apps]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/09/one-finger-discount-takes-on-macheist-with-20-off-tons-of-mac-a/#commentsFiled under: Macintosh, Commercial

While software giveaway sites like MacHeist allow indie developers to trade a bunch of free copies of their app for publicity and new customers, some developers aren't on board with that arrangement. Red Sweater Software's Daniel Jalkut believes in getting paid for his hard work, so he decided to offer a 20% discount instead of giving his apps away for free.

It turns out he's not alone. In fact, over 80 different Mac developers have joined Jalkut's "One Finger Discount" promotion. That means you have your choice of over 100 apps at 1/5 off (hence the "one finger").

Of course, the promotion includes Jalkut's own apps, the impressive MarsEdit blog editor and Black Ink crossword maker, but there are some other choice goodies there, too. Some of my personal favorites include Flying Meat's Acorn image editor and VoodooPad, and SmileOnMyMac's TextExpander. There are also tons of apps I haven't tried yet, or haven't even heard of. That's the whole point, though: giving you a chance to discover something new at a big discount. Indie developers for the win!

One Finger Discount takes on MacHeist with 20% off tons of Mac apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>dealdiscounthggHolidayGiftGuidemacone finger discountOneFingerDiscountos xOsXsoftwareMon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/viewfinder-brings-powerful-flickr-search-to-your-mac/#commentsFiled under: Internet, Macintosh, Blogging, Web services, Yahoo!, Shareware, web 2.0

Every now and then I find myself working on slides in Keynote and writing Download Squad posts - and struggling to find a suitable image. Of course, Flickr is the best way to find images - their clear licencing and Creative Commons support makes finding images fairly straight forward. However, getting the image into Keynote isn't entirely painless. The workflow of browsing search results, viewing the image and then finding it at a suitable size (if it exists) takes time - however that's where Viewfinder steps in.

A native Mac OS X application (requiring Mac OS X Snow Leopard), Viewfinder allows you to search Flickr from the desktop apply filters to show only Creative Commons images, and specify a particular image size. Then, once you select an image you can download the image, set it as your desktop background - and most importantly - send images straight to Keynote for your slides.

If you're a heavy keynote user (or blogger) who frequently needs to find Flickr images for your work Viewfinder is indispensible. I've been testing it since early September and found it an incredibly convenient tool to have at hand. A licence costs £15 (roughly $25) and a free demo is available for you try from the Viewfinder webpage.

Viewfinder brings powerful Flickr search to your Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>FlickrImage SearchImageSearchMac OS XMacOsXSnow LeopardSnowLeopardFri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Boxee media center to hit beta next month]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/#commentsFiled under: Internet, Video, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Beta

Boee Alpha

Media center application Boxee has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past year or two, and for good reason: Boxee provides Mac, Linux, and Windows users with an excellent solution for watching internet video on a TV. While web browsers were generally designed for viewing text and images with video thrown in as an afterthought, Boxee was designed to look and feel more like a consumer electronics application that you can navigate from the couch with a remote control.

Boxee can access online video from services including Hulu, Joost, and BBC's iPlayer. You can use it to enjoy audio and video podcasts. And you can access local media stored on your hard drive.

But despite all of its features, Boxee is still alpha software. That's going to change next month. Boxee is set to launch the first beta version of its software at an event in New York on December 7th. I suppose the day will continue to live in Infamy, although I doubt that decades from now we'll still be talking about it as the date that Boxee went beta.

The new version will have a new user interface, improved navigation, a user-controlled queue, and a new TV and movie search function among other changes.

Boxee media center to hit beta next month originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boxeeboxee-betamedia-centerFri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Voice Mac is a native Google Voice client for OS X]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/voice-mac-native-google-voice-client-for-os-x/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Macintosh, Google, VoIP

We recently told you about an Adobe AIR-based Google Voice client with a pretty small featureset. It puts your SMS and voicemail messages close at hand on your desktop, but that's all it does.

If you're on a Mac, though, you can do a bit better. Voice Mac is a Google Voice client with a threaded SMS view, voicemail downloading, and the ability to make calls and send texts, and Address Book integration.

Voice Mac is certainly not gorgeous, but it has a ton of functionality.

There's an SMS and voicemail/call history browser, and it also has a built-in reverse phone lookup, so you can try to figure out who any mystery calls are from. If you don't use your Voice account frequently, the web interface might be fine for you, but if you're a Voice addict - especially one who uses SMS constantly - Voice Mac is worth a download.

[via Lifehacker]

Voice Mac is a native Google Voice client for OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>google voiceGoogleVoicesmsvoicemailvoipThu, 05 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Egoboo is a fun 3D Rogue-like game for Windows, Mac, and Linux]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/04/egoboo-is-a-fun-3d-rogue-like-game-for-windows-mac-and-linux/#commentsFiled under: Games, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source

I have no idea if Egoboo's original creator named this thing, or if the name came later on after the mantle had been handed down a few times -- and I had absolutely no idea what that word meant... until I punched it into Google! Check out the definition, if you feel the need to know. If not, read on!

Egoboo is a (90 megabyte!!) 3D Rogue-like game. Rogue is a very, very old game -- the original adventure game, really -- and Egoboo builds on its legacy, throws in a little hack-and-slash... and it's even a bit of a RPG! There is loot, there are gribbly monsters that are out to eat your face, and there are plenty of pretty zones to explore (plus there's a map editor!)

To top it all off, it's fully cross-platform (Windows, Mac AND Linux) and has a thriving forum community. It's free of course. Oh, and It's quite brutal. I died several times very quickly, so I'd recommend reading the guide before you jump in.

Download Egoboo (yes, their site is so old it even uses frames! OK, iframes, but still...)

Egoboo is a fun 3D Rogue-like game for Windows, Mac, and Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventurefreegamesopen sourceOpenSourceWed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Windows Live Sync finally gets an update for Snow Leopard]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/windows-live-sync-finally-gets-an-update-for-snow-leopard/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Macintosh, Microsoft

It's been a long, long wait for Snow Leopard users (myself included) who are dancing with the devil and using Microsoft's Windows Live Sync (formerly Foldershare), but Microsoft have finally announced an update for the application that resolves a long running compatibility problem with Apple's finest.

Wearing version number 14.0.8096.0903, the new release fixes a problem with internal security certificates that completely prevented Snow Leopard users from logging into their Windows Live Sync account.

Announced on the Windows Live Sync blog, the update only includes the aforementioned fix and does not include any new features - existing users who have not migrated to Snow Leopard do not need to upgrade.

I'm pleased to report that i've installed the update and it works great!

Windows Live Sync finally gets an update for Snow Leopard originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>foldersharesnow leopardSnowLeopardsyncwindows livewindows live syncWindowsLiveWindowsLiveSyncTue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[10 web apps you should be running on your Mac with Fluid]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/10-web-apps-you-should-be-running-on-your-mac-with-fluid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/10-web-apps-you-should-be-running-on-your-mac-with-fluid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/10-web-apps-you-should-be-running-on-your-mac-with-fluid/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Features, Macintosh, Web services

As web apps become more powerful, more popular, and more full-featured, they're starting to replace desktop apps for many people. A Mac app called Fluid can pull those web applications onto your desktop and turn them into OS X native site-specific browsers.

Fluid has a lot of advantages compared to running web apps in your browser: you get a Cocoa app with its own Dock icon, automatic unread badges for sites like Gmail and Google Reader, and built-in userscript support. Keeping your web apps in a separate browser also means that they can't be taken down when another site crashes in some other tab. You can even create menubar apps, so your favorite webapp will be close at hand, right at the top of your screen.

To find icons for your Fluid apps, I recommend checking out the Fluid Icons Flickr group. The users there have come up with attractive icons for most of the apps on my list. Chris Ivarson has also designed a handful of great icons for Fluid apps.

Now that you know a little bit about how and why you should use Fluid, give these 10 sites a spin as site-specific browsers!

Google Wave

Google's hot new communication tool is a perfect candidate for a site-specific browser. It's pretty resource-intensive, and it's still in the preview stage, so it's prone to crashes and lag. I haven't found any excellent Wave userscripts yet, and the site's favicon makes a nice enough Fluid icon. If you want an additional icon and a userscript that gives you a badge count for Wave, Devthought has posted them.

Google Reader

A lot of people are already using Google Reader as their main RSS app, so it makes sense to set it up in Fluid. You also get the benefit of an unread count badge on the Dock icon and a bunch of great userscripts. One of my favorites is Helvetireader. Try setting it up with Chris Ivarson's icon.

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Continue reading 10 web apps you should be running on your Mac with Fluid

10 web apps you should be running on your Mac with Fluid originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appfluidgoogle readergoogle waveGoogleReaderGoogleWavemacos xOsXweb appWebAppTue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Focus Booster helps you stay focused]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/focus-booster-helps-you-stay-focused/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity

Focus Booster Distraction is the enemy of focus. If you work at a computer all day, the possibilities for distraction are limitless. One way to stay focused is to use the technique of a firmly regimented working period followed by a short break period that I first came across at Merlin Mann's 43 Folders site. His technique suggested using 10 minutes of work followed by 2 minutes of rest, but the recently popular Pomodoro Technique suggests using 25 and 5. Whatever periods you use, the cross-platform Adobe Air based Focus Booster application is just the timer you need to keep you on task.

Focus Booster is a tiny timer that allows you to set a work and rest period, then away you go. You can focus entirely upon your work knowing that a rest period is coming soon, and you can check out your Facebook / Twitter / blog comments / whatever it is you fancy when the time comes.

Focus Booster helps you stay focused originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adobedistractionfacebookrest periodrest-periodRestPeriodsshort-breakMon, 02 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[New Seesmic beta is the first Twitter client to support lists]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/new-seesmic-beta-is-the-first-twitter-client-to-support-lists/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Social Software, Microblogging

Seesmic might not be the best Twitter client, but it is the first to support the new lists feature. Users who sign up to Seesmic's mailing list can get access to the latest beta version of the Adobe AIR-based desktop client, including lists. List support is not complete yet: you can view your own lists and add people to them, but you can't see which lists have added you. It looks like you can create a new list, but you can't, yet -- if you check Twitter's web interface, you'll see your list isn't really there. These features are coming sooner than later, though, and this limited support is enough for Seesmic to call "first!"

I like the idea of lists in a Twitter client, but Seesmic really seems to be taking the kitchen sink approach to development. Last time we wrote about it, Facebook Page integration had just been added. There's a good chance you'll find one killer feature in Seesmic, whether it's pages, lists, or something else, but there'll be a bunch of other features that you don't need. Seesmic's strength is in being the first or only client to implement some of its features, but I think it's spreading a little thin in trying to be a top-flight client for both Twitter and Facebook.

Meanwhile, Seesmic's competitor in the "widescreen," AIR-based Twitter arena, Tweetdeck, is lagging behind on lists. Techcrunch reports that Tweetdeck plans to introduce the feature soon, though, with "extensive" integration.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

New Seesmic beta is the first Twitter client to support lists originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>betaseesmicseesmic desktopSeesmicDesktoptwittertwitter listsTwitterListsMon, 02 Nov 2009 13:25:00 EST<![CDATA[15+ great Google Chrome extensions]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/02/15-great-google-chrome-extensions/#commentsFiled under: Features, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Google, Browsers, Lists

We've already mentioned other ways to power up Google Chrome. Before extensions arrived on the developer channel, Userscripts and bookmarklets were your only options. Both are still great ways to add some kick-ass functionality to Chrome. If you're running the stable or beta builds, you may want to stick to them for now.

10 handy Userscripts for Google Chrome users
15+ handy bookmarklets for Google Chrome (and other browsers, too!)

Now, onto the extensions!

If you have a favorite that I left off, feel free to share it in the comments!
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Continue reading 15+ great Google Chrome extensions

15+ great Google Chrome extensions originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onsbookmarkletsbrowserbrowserschrome-4chromiumdeveloper-channelextensionsfeaturesgoogle chromegoogle-chromeGoogleChromelistsproductivityUserScriptsutilitiesMon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 EST<![CDATA[iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/iwork-files-are-really-just-zip-files-and-contain-pdf-previews/#commentsFiled under: Windows, Macintosh, Productivity, Apple, Microsoft

iWork 09 Have you ever received an iWork file created in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote on a Mac, and not had any way to deal with it? Next time, try changing the file's extension to .zip, then unzip it with your favorite zip utility. Inside you should find a PDF preview document containing a nicely formatted version of the document in question.

It seems strange that Apple doesn't promote this fact more, as it's a real usability win for iWork users that want to share their documents with non-Mac users. Wouldn't it be nice if Word, Excel, and Powerpoint did this?

[photo by *keng]

iWork files are really just zip files, and contain PDF previews originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appledocumentformatted versionformatted-versionFormattedVersioniworkmacpdfusabilityzipzip-utilitySun, 01 Nov 2009 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Afloat teaches your Mac's windows some new tricks]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/01/afloat-teaches-your-macs-windows-some-new-tricks/#commentsFiled under: Utilities, Macintosh, Productivity

Afloat is a handy little plugin for your Mac that gives you more control over all the windows you've got open. Once installed, Afloat adds some new options to the Window menu in most applications, allowing you to do some neat tricks. Here's a rundown of the options, which almost all have keyboard shortcuts:

The keep afloat command assigns a window to stay on top of all others. Alternatively, you can pin windows to the bottom of the stack, at desktop level. Window transparency is adjustable using either a slider or keyboard shortcuts. Afloat allows moving and resizing from any part of a window if you hold down cmd+ctrl - just grab an edge to resize, or drag from anywhere to move.

If you use Spaces, you can use Afloat to make a window appear across all Spaces, so you won't lose it when you switch. There's also a neat overlay feature that makes your window transparent and unclickable, so you can use it as a guide while you work with whatever's underneath - I can think of some fun design applications for that one. Afloat also has a hotkey to locate the file associated with the current window, which is something the OS X Finder could probably use as a standard feature.

It's not that Afloat adds essential functionality to the OS. In fact, it's probably overkill for most people, but just about every Mac user should be able to find one feature to like in this handy little plugin.

Afloat teaches your Mac's windows some new tricks originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>afloatresizetransparencywindowsSun, 01 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST