World of Apple

The newest version of Toast is here! Read all the way through the review for a chance to win a free retail box copy of Toast Titanium 9! I have been using Roxio’s Toast CD/DVD burning software ever since my conversion to the Mac platform when I was searching for a replacement for the PC-only Nero software. So, when an invitation came in to World of Apple from Roxio to review the newest version, Toast Titanium 9, I jumped at the chance and was given a copy of the program gratis from the developer.

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This is my third review of a MyVu video eyewear product. In April of this year, I reviewed the MyVu Solo Plus, and in May, I reviewed the MyVu Shades 301. Both of those products sold at a $199.95 price point and received favourable 4-star reviews. The product that I am reviewing this time is the MyVu Crystal, the top of the MyVu line coming in at a $299.95 price point. Since it has been several months since I outlined the basic features of MyVu eyewear, and there has been significant improvements in this model, I will go over them again and note changes where appropriate. MyVu kindly provided a review loaner for this review along with an iPod nano. I tested the product on both my own iPod touch and the loaner iPod nano so all of my observations are limited to those two video players.

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The time has come to draw the names for the winners of our licenses for the Cha-Ching, iBank, and MoneyWell review. Before I reveal the winners, I wanted to quickly summarize the comments. My top pick, Cha-Ching, didn’t fare so well in the comments. To its credit, however, quite a few good things were said about its UI and ease of use. Coming in second in the comments was iBank. Many people loved the iPhone integration and its familiar (aka Quicken-like) style and power. In the end, the program that received the most support from the comments was MoneyWell. A lot of people loved the unique approach it takes, though the general consensus was that it could use a bit of a UI update.

I also wanted to note that I spoke with each of the 3 developers and they all have plans to release native iPhone versions of their applications. For those of you with iPhones and one of these apps, be sure to keep an eye on the App Store!

Now, without further ado, our winners:
For Cha-Ching: Congrats to Rebecca. You commented curious to know about the stability of these programs and we’d like to give you the chance to see first-hand with your own copy of Cha-Ching! And with version 2.0 coming soon as a free upgrade, we’re sure you’ll find numerous enhancements.
For iBank: Congrats to Danny Greg. We hope you find your new iBank license helpful in meeting your need for a more powerful banking app.
For MoneyWell: Congrats to Cameron Williams. We’re glad that MoneyWell reflects how you work and happy to be able to provide you with a license you weren’t otherwise able to afford right now!

For our 3 winners, I have sent your information to the respective developers and they should be e-mailing you soon! For everyone, thank you for the great comments and be sure to come back often for Apple news and even more reviews and giveaways (much like one coming soon that will have the photographers out there interested!).

For those of you who may have missed it, last week I posted a triple review of Cha-Ching, iBank, and MoneyWell. In that review, I tested each program, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of each. While each program had aspects I loved, one had to come away as my top pick. However, the comments show a wide variety of support for each program.

Be sure to check out the review to find out what my top pick is and be sure to comment with a suggestion for your favorite application and you’ll be entered to win a license for that application! Hurry though, the giveaway is on June 27th!

For the past few years I’ve been toying around with various banking software. Generally, I find myself playing around with one program for a month, then slacking off and just sticking with staring at my online bank statements. However, as my life has recently shifted from college life (where I didn’t have enough money to keep track of anyways) to actually finding a job in the “real world,” I’ve revisited the banking software options. Quicken is just more than I want to bother with, so I kept my search refined to some smaller, Mac developers. In the end, I narrowed my findings to 3 different programs; Cha-Ching, iBank, & Moneywell.

In this special 3-in-1 review, I will look at the pros and cons of each (while focusing on the unique factors between them, as all 3 programs have similar, basic functions that you’d expect from a piece of banking software) and decide a winner. Note that in the end, my choice will reflect the software that I feel meets my needs best and I’d encourage you to try all 3 to see what works best for you. Hopefully my review will help guide you in your decision. As with my past reviews, the developers of these three programs have generously offered to give away 1 license to a lucky reader. That means we will have 3 total winners this time. Since this is a special review, I’m asking for some special comments. I’d like you, the reader, to try out these programs and come back to comment stating which of these 3 programs is your favorite, why it is your favorite, and at least one thing you’d like to see improved. 3 lucky readers will receive a license for the program they stated as their favorite! So without further ado, my review!

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Back in April of this year, I had reviewed the MyVu Solo Plus by MyVu Video Eyewear. The MyVu Shades 301 is a very similar product to the MyVu Solo Plus in many respects, so I refer the reader to my prior review, and I will note any differences here.

Once again, the product was kindly provided to me by the vendor on a review-copy basis. The price point remains the same at $199.95. There are two versions of this product: the “Made for iPod” edition which is compatible with the video nano, touch, classic, and 5th Generation Video iPod, and the “Universal Edition” which is compatible with most portable video devices with video out. The MyVu site is silent on whether the Shades 301 will work with the iPhone but does state in a FAQ regarding the MyVu Solo Plus Edition that “Myvu has not been certified through the ‘Works with iPhone’ licensing program. However, Myvu Made for iPod versions, like many iPod accessories, will work with the iPhone when the iPhone is set to Airplane mode.” I do not have an iPhone to test whether this would hold true for this particular product but rather tested it using my iPod touch.

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At Macworld 2008 Steve Jobs took the stage at the Moscone West in San Francisco and gave us a mass of new goodies to drool over, of particular interest was an expansion of Apple’s notebook lineup. The addition marks the first serious foray into a new form-factor of notebook for several years, and particular sought after since the demise of the 12-inch PowerBook in 2006.

The MacBook Air was long rumoured prior to its release to be an “ultra-portable”, but when Jobs finally showed off the Air at Macworld it became clear that Apple avoided the niche market of ultra-portables and instead headed for the ultra-thin notebook market. The Air lacks the power of the MacBook, has no optical drive and doesn’t contain a removable battery but instead is incredibly thin, features long battery life and has a full-size keyboard.

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iPhoto is a great tool for managing photos. The most recent update to iPhoto ‘08 allows you even greater control over organizing photos into events. But what happens when you want to specify who is in the picture? Tagging the photos is an option, but that can get messy and time consuming fairly fast. If iPhoto just doesn’t give you the organizational options you want, then MemoryMiner may be just what you’re looking for! Read on for more on MemoryMiner and a chance to win a license!

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This extraordinarily handy utility by BusyMac installs as a preference pane and allows you to sync the calendars of all of the Macs on a network as well as any designated Google calendars. Simply put, it just works. Permissions can be set for read only or both read/write privileges with or without passwords. The integration of Google calendars allows calendars to be edited and synchronized on work computers as well as when away from the local network. Any changes made to iCal while away from the network will be synchronized once the computer returns. Mac OSX 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard) is required. Leopard is required for the advanced SSL publishing option.

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ImageWell by Xtralean Software is a light and handy image editor which is surprisingly robust in its features. I had first used this program when it was freeware for the basic function and shareware for the extra add-ons. With this new release, ImageWell is completely shareware for the fully featured program at a price point of $19.95. A completely functional trial version can be downloaded for seven days. ImageWell is universal binary with OSX 10.3.9 or greater required.

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