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)]