Update April 13, 2008: I finally managed to get this review back up on the web after thinkmac.net's sudden crash. The original date of publication was October 19, 2007.

Sure, people think the Mac is better than Windows. Are they right? Are they wrong? I don't know. But what I do know is this: Adobe has Mac users under their grasp. Adobe Systems, developer of the popular Photoshop image editing program, has Mac users under their control. Why, and how? I mean, really, don't you think US$999 for the standard version of Photoshop is expensive? The problem is, there aren't too many image editors for Mac OS X out there, meaning you're stuck with Photoshop, right?

Wrong.

Two companies recently released two separate image editors. Pixelmator, made by the founders of Jumsoft and is priced at US$59, is more of a Photoshop clone with a nicer interface attached. The latter, Acorn, by Flying Meat Software, the maker of VoodooPad, is more of a casual user's image editor: only the features necessary for a good image editor, and costs only US$39. READ MORE »

New Year's Resolutions

I'm back! And I'm here on a mission: I'm going to review 12 freeware and possibly open-source software products for Mac OS X to replace that overly expensive set of tools you got last year. Isn't that your resolution this year — to actually save money this time?

Every month, I'll have a new product reviewed. There will be a download link, screenshots, and an in-depth look at the features. As for February, I'll have a free product on the 29th. I was busy getting some stuff ready for this review last month that I ran out of time for January. So this is for January, not February. Understand? Good. Then let's go. READ MORE »

Update February 17, 2008: I finally managed to get this review back up on the web after thinkmac.net's sudden crash. The original date of publication was September 2, 2007. READ MORE »

Gmail is one of the most generous web based email services available. At the last count they were offering almost 3 gigabytes of email storage. Not a bad deal considering it’s FREE!

I use Gmail a lot. I have several Gmail accounts which I tend to try and keep solely to business and blog email. Unfortunately due to my working arrangements I don’t have access to Mail.app during office hours. So for me Gmail is a lifesaver.

So what is Mailplane?

Mailplane takes the core functionality of Gmail and brings it to your desktop. Yes, you did hear me correctly. The ability to compose, read, delete, archive plus lots more all through a nifty desktop app. No need for a browser! READ MORE »

There’s nothing I like better then finding a new program I really like. When I started reading enough RSS feeds to need a way to harness them, I ran across Vienna. A nice little reader that was easy to use and free. I’ve never paid much attention to RSS, so never knew that I might need something a little more robust. I was delighted to find Cyndicate. Cyndicate is a hearty RSS reader that can be easy to use or accommodate tougher tasks. This reader comes from Cynical Peak software and is about $30. READ MORE »

Namely is a powerful, free application launcher for Mac OS X, just like Quicksilver. Unlike Quicksilver, Namely is very simple, easy to use, and fast. Namely is freeware, not a resource hog, and comes in a variety of colors.

How it works:

It works like this: you type in a keyboard shortcut (The default shortcut is Option+Escape), the Namely window comes up on the top of the screen, under the menubar. You begin typing the name of the program you want to run. READ MORE »