Mac Reviews

VideoDrive 1.5.8 - Add movies to iTunes without converting them. (Shareware)

VideoDrive makes it easy to add videos to iTunes without converting them or losing quality. VideoDrive supports all current formats, including mpg, mpeg, mp4, avi, wmv, swf, m4v, m2v, flv, wma, mkv, asf, divx, xvid and YouTube video formats.

With VideoDrive you can keep your videos on separate disks, seach online for metadata and cover art, cleanup file names, automatically number season and episodes of TV Shows, merge video parts virtually in iTunes and much more.

VideoDrive is compatible with iPod, iPhone, Front Row and AppleTV. A detailed feature list, user reviews and a FAQ can be found on the Aroona website.

More information [From VideoDrive 1.5.8 - Add movies to iTunes without converting them. (Shareware)]

Flip4Mac WMV Player 2.2.0.49R

Flip4Mac WMV Player… With the Windows Media Components for QuickTime by Flip4Mac, you can play Windows Media files (.wma and .wmv) in QuickTime Player and view Windows Media content on the Internet using a web browser.

The Windows Media Components for QuickTime have been highly optimized and support playback of Windows Media HD.

What’s new:

Version 2.2.0.49R:

A 100% CPU issue that seems specific to QT 7.4.x and Safari. Version 2.2.0.49R fixes the Safari CPU issue.

Version 2.2.0.49:

* Added JavaScript support to the browse

[From Flip4Mac WMV Player 2.2.0.49R]

Dejumble 1.1.1 provides another way to get things done

Yeah, it seems like YAGTDA (Yet Another Getting Things Done App), but Dejumble actually caught my attention. Thinking Code recently created this Leopard-only application as an unobtrusive way to keep track of your to-do list, and the latest released version does the job very well. Dejumble lives in the Menu bar as an extra, so a quick click of the icon brings up a clean, organized window for entering those things that you must get done.

The 1.1.1 update includes a pile ‘o new features, including:

• Ability to view daily events from iCal
• Hotkey access to the application
• Additional filter and sorting options
• Dejumble window themes (three of ‘em, including the black theme in the screenshot)
• URLs in tasks
• Colorize groups
• Redesigned settings window
• Extended free trial period from 5 to 30 days

Thinking Code notes that they are working on iPhone and BlackBerry versions of Dejumble, both of which will sync with the Mac version.

This may be a “keeper” for me. I like the fact that Dejumble is out of the way and easy to get to, simple to add new tasks to, and that it will soon work with my iPhone. Download the 30-day free trial, and then post your comments about your favorite GTD app. If that favorite app is Dejumble, it’s available for just $19.

[From Dejumble 1.1.1 provides another way to get things done]

Apple’s worst product to date; the Mighty Mouse

Apple is usually at the leading edge when it comes to great design and usability for their products, but it seems like they made a terrible exception for the Mighty Mouse. This little input device is probably one of the worst products I have ever used with a computer. It does look nice and the buttons on the sides are really helpful, but overall this device needs a lot of work.

For one, it is expected that the right click on a Mighty Mouse won’t work 100% of the time from the beginning, or even 50% for that matter. Why not? Good question. Right clicking is one of the most often used tasks on a computer, so it should be easy. I know you can simply Ctrl + Click, but you should have the option to simply click.

Second, and more importantly, the scroll wheel. This thing is great… for about a week. Then it just acts as a dirt collector and doesn’t scroll up or down anymore, just side to side.

So why has Apple neglected this product for so long? It’s in need of a serious update because in the current state it is at right now, it just doesn’t live up to what you expect from an Apple product. My question for you is, how could it become more like an Apple product? Well, it’s a mouse, and Apple should know that it doesn’t have to look great, it just has to be usable. Maybe they could include some of their awesome multi-touch functionality on the mouse to use for scrolling, then we wouldn’t have to worry about dirty wheels. What else do you think they could do?

[From Apple’s worst product to date; the Mighty Mouse]

Sing That iTune! 3.1.10 - Widget displays lyrics for iTunes current track along with artwork. (Free)

Sing That iTune! 3.1.10

Sing that iTune! widget displays the lyric for iTunes current track along with its artwork. The lyrics are saved in ‘Documents/Sing that iTune!’ folder and you can also add your self-made lyrics in there. Sync the folder with iPod’s Notes folder to bring it. Option to save lyrics in music files is also available. More information [From Sing That iTune! 3.1.10 - Widget displays lyrics for iTunes current track along with artwork. (Free)]

Cover Stream 1.1

Cover Stream is a nifty little utility that extends iTunes “Cover Flow” feature to the desktop, giving users a quick and easy way to visually browse through their entire album collection - without switching applications.A great looking, light-weight frontend to iTunes, Cover Stream blows away the text-list-heavy interface of iTunes 7 and lets you flick through your albums faster, smoother and more easily than in iTunes itself.Just like in iTunes, Cover Stream displays all the cover art in your music collection in an easy-to-navigate interface that mimics a CD collection or jukebox selection. You move between covers using the forward and back arrows, use the slider to browse faster or type-search to quickly find what you are looking for.But it doesn’t stop there.• Flip-BrowsingWhen you find what you want in the Cover Flow, Cover Stream lets you pick a song from the selected album in an iPhone-like fashion. Simply click the artwork to flip the album over and reveal its tracks on the back of the cover.• Playlist accessCover Stream also gives you access to all your iTunes playlists, just as quick and easy. Simply flip the cover flow over, pick a track or playlist and you’re off!??• HotkeysWith global, fully customizable keyboard shortcuts, Cover Stream gives you complete control over iTunes from any application. You can play, pause, skip, rate, adjust sound volume, hide or show iTunes, and much more - without interrupting your workflow.??• Track change notificationsTrack info and album artwork is displayed in a small, floating bezel window whenever you need it. You can set the window to hide and show automatically, change the background opacity, set the display duration, and more.• Dock artworkCover Stream’s dock icon can be set to reflect the album artwork of the song you are currently listening to. This way you can always see what’s playing at a glance.• Status bar itemCover Stream also has a status bar item, giving you quick and convenient access to all of Cover Stream’s settings and functionality from any application. Simply click on the Cover Flow icon in the menu bar of the Finder to show the Cover Stream menu. You can choose to disable either the status bar item, or the Dock icon.Don’t interrupt your workflow. With Cover Stream, you can do whatever you do in iTunes - and more - without switching applications.Mac OS X 10.5 or later required.Homepage | Download 1.3MB | Buy $14.95