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Filed under: Software

I’m a big fan of Zykloid Software’s Posterino, a Mac app that allows you to create elegant collages. Similarly, you can use Shape Collage to create a collage. However, as implied in the app’s namesake, you can also customize the shape of your collage to one of the many included preset options, as well as your own customized shape. One example would be pictures of hundreds of shoes in the shape of the Nike swoosh logo — you get the picture.

While the app is billed as “free,” the free version stamps a watermark that, while small and light, is nonetheless noticeable. US$25 removes this watermark, and adds the ability to export to an Adobe Photoshop PSD (where you can manipulate photos).

Shape Collage was created by developer Vincent Cheung, and is available for download here.

TUAWCustomize your collage with Shape Collage originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Macworld, Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

We met many developers and tried many apps while at Macworld Expo last week. Among the more entertaining was Hangman RSS from Fingerarts.

Developer Luigi, a self-professed “news junkie,” visited the booth to tell us about his company’s latest app. It starts with the classic game of hangman that we all played as kids. Here’s the twist: Instead of presenting the user with a random word to guess, it pulls a timely news headline and leaves a key word out. It’s your job to guess that word. If it’s too difficult, you can get a hint in the form of the article’s abstract. If you win, you get to read the full article.

It was surprisingly fun and looked great. Watch the video above for a demo and our conversation with Luigi. Then check out the game in iTunes (there’s a free version as well).

TUAWMacworld 2010: Hangman RSS from Fingerarts originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows/Mac + iPhone/iPod touch: Not only do videos take up a ton of space on space-constrained devices, but converting videos for the iPhone gets painful quickly. Air Video streams videos straight to your iPhone, converting them on-the-fly if they’re incompatible.

The app is actually an iPhone app plus a PC/Mac app that acts as a server. You can use any videos on your computer, whether they are in iTunes or not—and, if you prefer, you can also add video playlists from iTunes to the list of sources. Once you get the server app running on your desktop, you can start streaming over your home network immediately. Streaming over the internet from outside your home, though, only takes a few more seconds—in the server app, go to the “Remote” tab and check Enable Access from Internet (see below). The app will give you a server PIN that you can type in when you go to add a source on your iPhone or iPod touch—note that your router at home needs a public IP address and support UPnP or NAT-PMP protocols, which shouldn’t be a problem for most people.

As if that weren’t cool (or easy) enough, if you have some videos that can’t be played directly on the iPhone, you can convert them using Air Video as you watch it (as long as you’re running firmware 3.0 and have a fairly powerful computer back at home). If you prefer, you can also convert the file offline and watch it later.

Air Video is a free download for the iPhone and iPod touch, although the free version only shows you a few videos at a time, at random, from your folders. If you have a large video library you want to share, or don’t feel like clicking on the folder multiple times waiting for the video you want to be on the list, there’s a $2.99 pro version available as well.

Filed under: iPhone

Shazam is one of my favorite iPhone apps, and it was one of the first I downloaded from the App Store. Every time I’m in a store or listening to the radio and hear a song I like but don’t know, I let Shazam listen. The free version is still in the store, but just recently they’ve also released Shazam Encore and (Shazam)RED, two paid versions of the app that offer up more functionality (the RED version gives part of the purchase price to charity). Among that new functionality is Last.FM integration: now, you can apparently send any songs you “tag” straight over to the Last.FM app (assuming you have it installed), and make up a radio station directly from there. Pretty slick, and the iTunes description for both apps says that Pandora works as well.

Unfortunately, reviews for the paid version say that the app still includes ads (a weird choice for a paid app), and there are a few reviews that even say the app crashes occasionally (though I’ve never experienced the problem of it not finding a song for me — even with rarities and b-sides, it’s always come through). But it’s a real shame that reviewers are having problems — while Shazam definitely needs to find a way to monetize its service, failing to provide a premium experience on a premium app obviously isn’t the way to do it. Still, if you made the jump to the paid app already, or use Last.FM and/or Pandora often, it might be worth a look.

TUAWShazam adds Last.FM integration to iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Macworld, Video, iPhone, App Store

App Cubby has some of the more popular apps in the App Store. Whether it’s Gas Cubby for tracking car maintenance, Trip Cubby for capturing mileage information, or Health Cubby for motivating ourselves to get into better shape, the company keeps customers coming back with well-executed and full-featured software.

We talked with App Cubby’s David Barnard at Macworld Expo 2010 to see what’s new from the company. While we won’t tell you about the new and completely different app he has recently submitted to Apple, David told us a lot about the free version of Gas Cubby — Gas Cubby by FRAM — that provides the functionality of Gas Cubby in an ad-sponsored format.

Check out TUAW blogger Steve Sande’s video interview with David by clicking the Read More button.

We apologize for the sound quality, which was hindered by interference picked up by the microphone.

TUAWMacworld 2010: TUAW talks with App Cubby’s David Barnard originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows only: Explorer’s integrated search is fine for most things, but more powerful searches or sorting through long lists of similar files isn’t exactly easy—Listary gives you hotkeys, wildcards, and commands to help you quickly find anything in a folder.

In Windows Explorer, you can jump to a file by typing the first few letters of it’s name at any time—Listary expands on this method by adding a search box that makes this “quick search” far more powerful. It runs in the background and allows you to start typing at any time, and when you do, a search box pops up in the corner. Listary will show you items in the list that correspond to what you’ve typed, and you can scroll through the results with tab. You can insert wildcards with the * or ? symbol, giving you the same control you’d get with the full Windows Explorer search bar, but with much greater speed and ease. It even has a few commands, such as /cd, which will let you change directories without even taking your hands off the keyboard.

At first you may not be entirely clear on how to use it, but it just takes a few minutes to understand how it useful it can be. For example, when searching through a list of files using Listary, you have to either start with the first character of the filename or use a wildcard (like you can see I’ve done in the screenshot above). Similarly, getting used to the one-word autocomplete using tab takes a minute—but just like many programs that keep your hands on the keyboard (such as Quicksilver or Launchy), after just a bit of initiation, you’ll find that sifting through files becomes extremely fast and easy.

Listary is available as a free version and a pro version available, but the free version has the features most of us would want to use—however, the pro version does include regular expressions and exporting list content to CVS files.

Listary is a free download, Windows only.

Vitamin D, the Windows/Mac remote webcam monitoring software that we liked for customizable accuracy, and which one reader used to nab proof of a derelict dog walker, has hit a 1.0 release and announced its pricing. There’s still a free version that does most of what the (soon-to-expire) beta does, but is limited to monitoring one camera. A Basic ($49) version supports two cameras, and Pro ($199) license monitors as many camera streams as your computer can handle. [Vitamin D via TechCrunch]

Windows: If you frequently switch between Windows and OS X you likely find yourself hitting the wrong hot keys and wanting for some of the Mac functionality in Windows. MaComfort can help bridge the gap.

MaComfort brings popular Mac keyboard combos to Windows—using the Windows key as an Apple key—but it isn’t limited to just keyboard shortcuts. It also enabled virtual desktops, active corners you can program to perform specific actions, quicklook to preview files, and support for skins and plugins.

The free version limits the virtual desktops to four, limits your available skins, and disables plug-ins—all other functionality is left intact. MaComfort basic is freeware, paid versions start at $15. Have a program that helps you use the shortcuts from one operating system on another? Let’s hear about it in the comments.

Filed under: Gaming, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

I admit it. I am iPadded out. I am iTired. I am suffering from iBurnout. So it was with pleasure that I found an addicting little game for the iPhone and iPod touch called Crush the Castle [iTunes link]. It’s a free medieval game where you use an ancient trebuchet to smash a variety of castles and the inhabitants standing nearby. Crush the Castle is physics based, so you have to swing a heavy projectile in the air and release at just the right point to flatten the castle off to the right of the trebuchet. After a few tries it gets damned addictive.

You have more than a dozen castles to crush in two different kingdoms. If you do well, you get some medals. If not, you are rebuked by the king. The animation is good, the physics seem accurate, and the sounds of castles coming down and soldiers screaming adds to the fun.

At each new level, the distance to the castles from your siege machine increases, so you really have to get the release point for the projectile just right.

Crush the Castle is a port of a Flash-based game which you can play for free online. If you really get into the mild mayhem, I’d suggest you look at the US$1.99 version [iTunes link] which has 90 levels, 10 types of ammo, and an editor so you can design your own castles before you knock them down.

Both versions get great reviews from users, and I’m in agreement. It’s helping me forget all the endless iDebates over the iPad and work my iAggressions out on my iPhone.

The free version is no risk, except for the time you are sure to lose. Let me know if you get hooked too. Check out more screen shots below:

TUAWGot some time? Crush the Castle originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Peripherals, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

The iPhone wasn’t designed from scratch to print things, but it can be done. I’ve reviewed some solutions in the past, including one that required you to run a small print server on your computer, which then directs your print jobs to any local printers. There are also some apps that print photos directly to printers.

I’ve just tried ePrint, which has some limitations, but gets the job done without any print servers. There are two versions of the app: The free version, ePrint Free [iTunes link] lets you print contacts, notes (more on that later), photo albums, and even brings up the camera so you can fire off a snapshot and print it immediately. The paid version [iTunes link], meanwhile, is U.S. $2.99 and adds the ability to print web pages as well

Setting up is easy. The app will find your printers in a snap if your phone is in Wi-Fi mode, and you are running Bonjour zero configuration setup on your network. You can also elect to enter the IP addresses of your printers as well. If your printer is color, and you send color images, you’ll get them in color.

There are a few catches, however. To print a web page you either have to enter a URL for it in ePrint, or set a preference to bring up the last web page viewed. When you go to print notes in either app, it doesn’t mean from your Notes app. ePrint can only print from the ePrint Notes app, although you can still copy and paste any text into it and print away. That’s how I test-printed an email, because Apple doesn’t allow any way to print an email or anything else directly. After doing a ’select all’ on an email, I copied and pasted it into the ePrint Notes app, and it worked just fine.

In my testing, the app found both my printers, a Brother laser printer and an Epson 2200 inkjet, in a couple of seconds and I was ready to go. If you are in an office environment with Bonjour printing, you should be able to print from most printers easily. The company maintains a support page with some more info and some videos here.

I’ve found both ePrint apps quite handy, and you can run it on either the iPod touch or the iPhone. If you want to make sure your printer works with them, try the free one first. It may meet your needs by itself, and if you want to print web pages as well, you’ll know whether or not the paid version is worth the 3 bucks.

TUAWePrint is a nice solution to printing from your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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