Review Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily Mac App: Magic Window

by Mel Martin (Dec 19th, 2011)

If you're tired of looking at that stale Mac OS desktop, think about adding Magic Window to your visual bag of tricks. Magic Window, available through the Mac App Store for US$2.99 (on sale) comes with 14 striking landscapes that change over time, so you see the skies change and the sun might ...

Daily iPad App: Master Your DSLR Camera

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Dec 19th, 2011)

Those wanting to upgrade to a DSLR might find there's a steep learning curve involved. Instead of relying on automatic controls, you're faced with a slew of new tools and concepts. And while you can get decent photos with a DSLR's automatic settings, it's nothing like learning to use the ...

Quickpick and Launch Center: A first look at two similar iOS launcher apps (Updated)

by Steven Sande (Dec 19th, 2011)

Over the past few days, I've been testing a new app from App Cubby. The app, called Launch Center, uses the iOS 5 Notification Center as a launch tool for a limited number of actions. In other words, you bring up Notification Center and tap an item to go to a website, launch an app, or perform ...

Daily iPhone App: IM+ with Beep

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 19th, 2011)

IM+ is one of the top-rated Instant messaging clients in the iOS app store. It has universal device support, and a list of features that'll suit any messaging fan. Shape Services, the company behind IM +, is constantly improving its iOS app. The latest update landed today and includes Beep, a new ...

Logitech Mini Boombox packs a loud punch in a tiny package

by Steven Sande (Dec 17th, 2011)

Logitech has been on a roll lately with some very nice Apple accessories. Just last week, I raved about their Fold-Up Keyboard for iPad 2, and today I had an opportunity to blast out tunes with the new Mini Boombox ($99.99). Design There's no denying it -- the Mini Boombox is well designed. ...

Daily iPhone App: Nixie Clock

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Dec 14th, 2011)

I'm probably a little weird, but sometimes I love listening to police scanners and various chit chat as I'm going to bed. I also like analog devices, so a Nixie Clock Radio seemed like a neat idea: the look of the classic Nixie clock merged with streaming radio and an alarm/sleep timer. It works ...

Daily iPad App: Boinx iStopMotion brings stop motion animation to iOS

by Steven Sande (Dec 13th, 2011)

Boinx Software is one of my favorite Apple development companies. I use their Boinx TV app to produce TUAW TV Live every week, and all of our onsite video from Macworld Expo 2011 went through Boinx TV. Their Fotomagico software has been a slideshow favorite for years, and their You Gotta See ...

Daily iPad App: Michael Jackson The Experience HD

by Mike Schramm (Dec 12th, 2011)

Ubisoft released a version of its Michael Jackson Experience game for iOS recently, and it's actually a pretty good time. The game was originally created for motion controls with the Xbox Kinect, the Wii, and the PlayStation Move, but here on the iPad, you "dance" by swiping across the screen ...

Logitech's Fold-Up Keyboard brings comfortable typing to the iPad 2

by Steven Sande (Dec 12th, 2011)

If there's a complaint I have about the many keyboard folio cases for the iPad, it's that the keyboard is sized to match the long dimension of the device. What that means is that the keyboard is usually quite cramped, and a fast touch-typist like me finds that he or she is constantly making ...

The Wallee: A complete iPad stand, mount, and case solution (Updated)

by Steven Sande (Dec 9th, 2011)

In the vast world of iPad accessories, there are few complete systems that provide a variety of ways to protect and mount your device. A new case system from Australia, The Wallee, comes with a set of sidekicks that make it one of the most versatile iPad accessories I've reviewed so far. Read ...

Daily Mac App: Coffee Break

by Kelly Hodgkins (Dec 8th, 2011)

I enjoy using my computer, especially at night when it's quiet. I enjoy it so much that I often forget to get up and stretch every few hours. I also stay up way too late. My propensity to get caught up in my Twitter stream or my RSS feed is one reason why I bought Coffee Break. Coffee Break ...

Daily Mac App: NameChanger

by Samuel Gibbs (Dec 7th, 2011)

Batch-processing files is a great way to save time. Automator scripts work will for simple jobs, but if you're trying to do something complex like remove or alter the filename of a great many files, a free tool like NameChanger could be a useful addition to your armory. NameChanger takes on ...

Daily Mac App: Keka

by Samuel Gibbs (Dec 6th, 2011)

Great free archive utilities are pretty hard to come by on the Mac. Keka is the exception. If OS X's built-in compression utility doesn't do enough for you, Keka could be the answer. Keka's been around since 2009, but only recently made it into the Mac App Store. Unlike Growl, Keka is ...

Daily Mac App: Spotify

by Samuel Gibbs (Dec 5th, 2011)

Now that Spotify is available on both sides of the pond, it's about time we took a quick look at it. Free streaming music apps don't get much better than Spotify. Right now you can stream any track in the Spotify library for free with a pretty decent desktop Mac app. It's not available in the ...

TerraRay for Mac doubles rendering speed and drops price for 1 week

by Mel Martin (Dec 2nd, 2011)

I've enjoyed using TerraRay for some months. It's in the tradition of terrain creation apps like Bryce, but at a much lower price. I don't think it is quite as photo realistic as some other 3D landscape programs, but it is continuously upgrading features and quality. TerraRay 6 is just out, and ...