For most Mac users, hot keys are an absolute life-saver. They save time and allow quick and easy access to OS X functions without having to hunt through endless menus and folders. But unconfirmed rumours that sprung up on Friday of this week show that Apple are apparently ditching hot keys from all the programs sold on the App Store starting June 1st as a “security measure”.

The move is nothing new. Since last year, Apple has been pushing for developers to sandbox their apps, meaning that they cannot mess around with the operating system or other apps installed on the device, however it seems like the latest policy will force many developers to redesign their apps to take out hot key integration. Alfred is a prime example of one of these, which uses simple keyboard shortcuts to launch Mac applications and saved documents.

Currently, developers are allowed to implement hot key integration into their apps in order to launch system-wide shortcuts such as bringing all windows into the foreground or launching the user’s most-used apps all at once, but any apps submitted to the App Store after June 1st will have to remove this feature.

The move may be a nod towards tighter security in the upcoming Mountain Lion release. There has been recent strong criticism of OS X security (especially given the Flashback trojan) and the upcoming Gatekeeper feature in OS X 10.8 is Apple’s attempt to try and make its default operating system even safer. However, some commentators have said that OS X is turning more into iOS in this aspect, with tight controls on what is permitted and a long list of guidelines that developers have to adhere to.

We will, of course, keep you updated on what is happening with this story. In the meantime, feel free to share your comments, thoughts and complaints in the section below!

Despite being a relatively old system, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) still has great value to those of us who deal with uploading and downloading lots of data between servers. Some have argued that FTP is dying, along with hierarchical file systems. However, for anyone who has ever worked on a website or dealt with servers like Amazon’s S3, FTP is still the fastest way to manage all your files.

There are plenty of options out there for Mac users who need a solid FTP client. The most important factors for most users when deciding which is best tend to be speed, layout, and price. Today we are going to look a fresh look at the recently updated ForkLift from Binary Nights (version 2.5), and see how it stacks up against the competition.

Getting Started

How quickly you get up and running with ForkLift, or any FTP client for that matter, depends on your comfort level with certain acronyms. If you know and understand things like FTP, SFTP, WebDav, S3, etc., then the setup process for ForkLift won’t be any more difficult to understand any other FTP app you’ve used. You simply click on the connect button to open up a menu, which allows you to enter server details and login information, and you’re ready to go. You get additional options here as you would expect with an FTP client, including changing the port number, local and remote paths, base URL, and encoding type.

Design

ForkLift doesn’t differentiate itself from the competition in any major ways. The main window is divided into two areas, one showing the files and folders of whatever server you are connected to, and the other shows you your local machine. At the top of each window is a file path that helps you visualize where you are.

Ideally, I think a good Mac FTP client should simulate the experience of using the Finder, and in this way, ForkLift succeeds. In fact, one part of the window design that gives it a leg up on certain competitors is having a left hand column, just like Finder, that gives you a listing of devices, shared drives, current connections, and favorites.

Previous versions of ForkLift were eye sores full of excessively decorated icons cluttering up every pixel of the window. The current version has toned all of that down, and the graphics all fit nicely with the more subdued Lion theme.

You can change the viewing format to icons, list, hierarchy, and cover flow. As with Finder, you can also choose what columns will appear in list view (such as date added, date modified, etc.).

Like many other FTP clients, ForkLift has the very useful tab feature (something that Apple needs to implement into Finder). Other FTP apps like Transmit have tabs as well, but what I like about ForkLift is that it lets you use tabs in both windows if you are using the dual pane view.

The top of the window shows the progress bar. When inactive, it takes up an unfortunate amount of space, similar to the top of the iTunes window. I prefer Transmit’s progress bar that sits at the bottom of the window, where it is more out of the way. When you aren’t transferring anything, the activity bar in ForkLift just seems to take up too much space.

Despite having been released almost a year ago, there are still some apps that haven’t made themselves full-screen compatible. FTP clients are definitely apps that benefit from having more screen space, because all the files you need to deal with can be accessed in a Finder-like window. Fortunately, ForkLift has made the jump, and using it in full-screen was a pleasure. Some may find it unnecessary to use ForkLift or any other FTP client in full-screen, but I personally prefer it. You can also use Quick Look inside ForkLift, which I found removes any need to exit out of full-screen to open Preview.

Performance

I decided to do a causal test of speeds for various FTP app that I have. In addition to ForkLift, I tested transfers with Flow and Transmit. There are a ton of other options out there that I’ve tried in the past, such as Cyberduck and FileZilla, but this is a review of ForkLift, and getting a comparison to two other apps should be sufficient.

I used the same 25MB Adobe file from my hard drive, and sent it to my web site’s server with each app. ForkLift took 35 seconds, Transmit took 41, and Flow took 44. Downloading the file, on the other hand, was much faster and about the same for each app. It is important to note that this was not a very scientific test and that your results may vary. I did perform the test several times, though, and ended up getting the same numbers each time with a negligible variance.

Aside from transfers, general performance with ForkLift was excellent as well. Everything is snappy, from opening folders to logging into a server. Speaking of logging in, I found ForkLift to be almost instantaneous, Transmit to take a half second longer, and Flow to be dreadfully slow in comparison. Further speeding up your workflow is a wide-array of available shortcuts, all of which can be customized.

All in all, ForkLift was the single best-performing FTP client I’ve ever used. I have been using Transmit for years and even it still hangs up frequently when trying to connect to my server. ForkLift hasn’t done that to me once.

Features

ForkLift has a ton of great features that I loved having at my disposal. The first is Stacks, which is a simple way to organize certain commonly used files. I was using ForkLift while working on a WordPress design, and I found Stacks to be great for keeping a few files that I frequently needed close at hand without having to create a separate folder on my computer.

Like many FTP clients, you can use a sync function to simply copy everything from one folder into another. ForkLift expands on this common functionality with “synclets,” which gives you a bit more control over the sync actions you need. Once you customize what you want to have synced for a given folder, you can save those settings, making any future syncs a breeze.

One of my favorite features in ForkLift is “Droplets.” Droplets are shortcuts that you can place anywhere in your system, (I placed mine in the dock), and then anything that you drag onto it gets sent to the remote folder of your choice. If you’ve ever used DropZone, this feature will look familiar to you.

You can, like other FTP clients, mount connections to your server on your computer. One area where Transmit beats ForkLift here is the availability of a menulet for quick access to mounted drives. However, having that sidebar with devices in ForkLift sort of negates the need for a menulet.

Conclusion

In speaking with other people about FTP clients, I get the sense that Transmit is perhaps the most popular among Mac-users. However, after playing around with ForkLift, I would crown it as my favorite. Transmit certainly has a more appealing visual design, but I think ForkLift has a few features that make it a better value.

Some people spend a lot of their time looking at an FTP window, so Transmit’s eye candy certainly does matter. But if you are ultimately more concerned with a broader set of features and better performance, I think you might want to give ForkLift a try.

For some of us, email seems to rule our lives. Wouldn’t it be cool to see how true that statement is? Mailsum is a unique and attractive app that offers you a way to track various statistics regarding your email habits: sent, received, average response time; track it all in style with Mailsum!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve been able to snag five copies of Mailsum to give away to our faithful fans. Read on to see how you can enter!

Tweet to Enter

Entering is simple, all you have to do is click the link below and send out the resulting tweet (or just copy and paste), then leave a comment below with a link to your tweet. That’s it!

We’ll announce the winners on Thursday, May 24th. Good luck to everyone who enters! In the mean time, be sure to stop by the Mailsum website to learn more about this awesome app.

Whether you’re looking to do some late spring cleaning, or you just want to liberate some of your guilty pleasure movies from their DVD prisons, it is time we revisit the process of ripping your DVD collection into iTunes. Ripping DVDs is not only easy, it can save a lot of money as you begin (or continue) to build your digital video library.

As the self-proclaimed digital projectionist for the casa de la Stark, let me walk you through the basic steps and available software applications to get those movies off the plastic and into your Mac.

Introduction

If you assume that ripping your DVD collection into a digital format is a task that just isn’t worth your time, you’d be wrong. The typical cost of a movie from iTunes ranges from $10 to $20 dollars. Ripping DVDs you already own, or possibly DVDs you’ve picked up from Amazon.com, presents an opportunity for tremendous cost savings and greater bang for your buck. Those movies are just sitting there. Why not get them into a format that you can actually benefit from, and maybe get yourself even closer to breaking the cable!

When you first begin to rip your DVD collection it is important to map out a plan. Understanding the use of your final output can save yourself time and megabytes. For our purposes, the mission is to get a commercial DVD into iTunes so we can watch it on an iPad or through an AppleTV.

As you move through your DVD collection, you will find yourself fine tuning the process to make it perfect for your particular setup. I would also recommend that you keep all of your original DVD discs. I typically recycle the cases and store the discs on an old CD-R spindle to save space. Keeping the original disc somewhat handy in the beginning is helpful as not all rips will go perfectly, and you might not see the issue until its up on the big screen.

The Tools

The current software options for ripping a DVD are virtually endless. From free to costly, easy to complicated, the right ripping tool is completely subjective to the end-user. Ideally, find something that makes your life easy while allowing you to create an output file that meets your objective. For this exercise, I will be ripping a new copy of The Recruit that I purchased from Amazon.com for $4.25 (with free shipping). The end result for each of these tools is to generate a file that I can drop into iTunes to be played on my iPad and my AppleTV.

Handbrake (free)

Handbrake is an open source application that is beloved by a strong community of users. Try having a conversation about video conversion, and Handbrake will most likely be thrown into the mix. Unlike the other tools in this article, Handbrake by its own definition is not a DVD ripping software solution. Its primary purpose is about video conversion.

The importance of this fact is that it only works on un-encrypted video sources without the assistance of additional plugins or tools. Most commercial DVDs sold today have some sort of DRM encryption on them, and unless that encryption is bypassed, Handbrake won’t be able to access the video files to perform the rip (or more accurately – conversion). There are several options and third party utilities to help manage the encryption on DVDs. Handbrake, however, will actually offer to point you in the right direction and download a small package to help bypass most commercial encryption. To rip a movie using Handbrake:

1. Click “Source” in top left corner of Handbrake window.
2. Navigate to your DVD -> Video_TS folder. Click “Open”.
3. As it scans the DVD, it will (generally) pre-select the title you need. If it doesn’t, or you want to be sure, scan the available title tracks in the title dropdown. The title with the longest duration is usually what you need.
4. In the presets window, select “AppleTV” (or feel free to choose another preset that meets your need).
5. Click “Start”

RipIt ($24.95)

Featured on AppStorm before, RipIt is an easy program for ripping video from your DVD discs. Unlike Handbrake, it has built in tools to circumvent most forms of DVD encryption. It has been purposefully designed with less options in an effort to keep the process of ripping DVDs forcibly painless.

You can use RipIt to burn an exact copy of a DVD, or create a compressed video file (sans the menus and extras) to play on your mobile devices. For most users, RipIt is probably the best choice for getting your digital collection started. Interestingly enough, it uses the Handbrake CLI for the compression part of the RipIt job. You can change output formats and target a specific platform if you want (such as iPhone, iPad, etc). Personally, I think the default settings are just fine for a file that can accomplish this mission. To rip a movie using Ripit:

1. Insert DVD
2. Click Compress
3. Click Automatically Compress

DVDFab ($45.00+)

Relatively new to the Mac platform, DVDFab is a powerful ripping suite. Like RipIt, it too can bypass most encryption on today’s DVDs. Unlike RipIt, however, you can be very specific in your output options. You can create mirrored copies of your disk, or target the output for a particular platform.

If you are a cross platform user, DVDFab has a Windows client that operates in almost the exact way as the Mac version. Unfortunately, DVDFab is a bit pricey for most users and that license does not cover both a Mac and Windows installation. However, it does allow you to purchase specific modules which give you the ability to rip Blu-Rays as well as DVDs. To rip a movie using DVDFab:

1. Select DVD Ripper from the options on the right.
2. Select “More” from the preselects and then choose “Apple TV”.
3. By default, the main movie will already be selected. If you want to change it, do that before clicking start.
4. Click “display only forced subpicture” (optional). Typically, I will edit the profile and increase the volume for the ripped movies to 150%. I also change the audio output to Dolby ProLogic II for my particular entertainment output needs.
5. Click “Start”

Meta Information

These last tools are entirely optional. When you burn as many DVDs as I have, gathering DVD cover art can be a pain. Movie descriptions? Forget it. However, if you want your movies to look like you just downloaded them from iTunes, the easiest way to do that is with a tool like MetaX or iDentify. They use the title of the movie (which you can tweak) and scans different movie databases to pull in cast, art, and chapter information. It then adds this information to the output file itself, so when you drop it into iTunes it looks as professional as the big boys.

Final Stretch

Once you have your output file, its time to load it into iTunes. Simply grab your mp4 or m4v file and drag it over to iTunes. If you’ve used a meta program, then you will see your movie with a properly formatted title, description, and cover art. If not, then all you need to do is right click (or control-click) on the file and select “Get Info”. From here, you can update the name, add cover art, and update any other data you want.

Conclusion

Converting your own DVDs to a digital format is a pretty painless process. Using a few basic tools and some pre-planning, you can bring new life to that DVD collection collecting dust in your closet.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. It would stand to reason, then, that with the emergence of the Internet, it would be necessary to have an invention that would help us cope with the massive amounts of information. Of course, the category of RSS readers has been present for some time, but it’s almost as if that isn’t sufficient enough anymore. I can set up my RSS reader to pull from several different websites, but I can’t limit my information absorption to 5 or 20 or even 100 different websites; it comes from everywhere.

Some of the other AppStorm sites have talking about Pocket, a web service formerly known as Read It Later. Pocket, and other similar services, aim to let you save various articles and videos for later consumption, rather than letting them interrupt your workflow. Today we’re going to look at Read Later, which is a Mac desktop client for both the free Pocket and the paid Instapaper. The app was originally released as ReadNow, but it’s evolved quite a bit since we covered it, so let’s see what’s new.

Saving And Reading

Using Read Later with Instapaper requires a paid Instapaper account. Since that’s not something I have, I will be testing the app with my Pocket account. Adding bookmarks to Read Later can either be done externally (my preferred method is using the Pocket extension for Safari) or through the app (drag a URL to the dock or menubar icon). Regardless of how you do it, simply click the sync button in Read Later and all of your bookmarks will instantly show up.

The default view for Read Later includes a familiar 3-pane window, much like what we’re used to from apps like Reeder. However, the panes can be hidden or shown to form any configuration at all. This is helpful if you want to keep your bookmark list open on the side of your screen even when you’re not viewing an article, hide the sidebar to eliminate distractions while you’re reading, or anything in between.

Your bookmarks display in a very clean, no-frills format, similar to that of Safari’s built in Reader. However, for those times when you’d prefer to view the webpage, Read Later sports a built in browser.

Organizing and Sharing

This is, in my opinion, where Read Later shines. Read Later allows for a folder structure of whatever complexity you desire, and bookmarks can be drag-and-dropped between them. They can also be tagged from the Edit pop-up in the upper right corner. In addition, the bookmarks list can ben sorted by tags, title, URL, or date, and your entire collection can be searched with the magnifying glass icon at the bottom.

While the interface of Read Later doesn’t necessarily mimic that of Pocket’s web app or iOS apps, any of the organizational changes (particularly in relation to tags and read/unread status) are reflected in those counterparts.

News is becoming more and more social, and Read Later doesn’t try to stand in the way of that. Read Later supports URL-shorteners bit.ly and j.mp, Twitter, Facebook, Pinboard, Delicious, and can even send bookmarks to Evernote.

A Few Extras

As I poked around the Read Later interface, I was pleasantly surprised at the immersive amount of customization available to the user. You can change quite a number of settings that affect the way content is displayed (including a dark setting that inverts the colors), the font style and size of the content, the highlight color in the bookmarks list, and how dock/menubar icons are displayed.

You can also change the way that the app responds to certain input. Not only can you set keyboard shortcuts a few of Read Later’s functions, but you can also change the way that multi-touch gestures are used to navigate the app.

The Verdict

I’ve never used Instapaper, and I wasn’t a Read It Later user (until it became Pocket). I can say as a new user that Pocket has implemented a very effective and attractive sense of style and layout in its iOS apps, and one that I’d like to see continued into a native Mac app.

That being said, Read Later is a very well designed, third-party, multi-service client for Mac, and is currently one of the most elegant options for the offline consumption of your “saved for later” material. It allows me to spend a dedicated amount of time in the morning browsing my RSS feeds and saving webpages that I’d like to look at later, and then proceed with my day without letting the news pester my mind. I know that everything will be waiting for me at the end of the day when I can finally sit down to read.

I’m curious to know your thoughts on services like Pocket and Instapaper. What’s your preferred method for utilizing them on the Mac?

“I finally cracked it,” Steve Jobs famously said to biographer Walter Isaacson in reference to an Apple-made television set. The elegant set-top box known as the Apple TV has been labeled as a hobby since its conception, and many are guessing that a full-fledged television by Apple would finally elevate their endeavors in television from this hobby status.

But what part of the television experience did Steve believe they “cracked”? Was it just integrating the iTunes Store and TV show subscriptions in a way that could directly challenge the cable package paradigm? Or maybe more exciting to imagine, did he have plans to revolutionize the way that we interact with the television?

Let’s look at some of the possible ways that Apple could let us interact with the big screens in our living rooms.

The Current Remote

The current Apple TV remote is about as bare-bones as it can get. It may not have revolutionized the way that we interact with a TV, but it was a radical departure from traditional TV remotes. Not only did it strip away the buttons and confusing interface that typical television remotes have, it completely ignored the paradigm of using channel numbers to reach your destination.

I would like to think that if Apple plans to revolutionize the television, and convince people to switch from the expensive televisions they’ve already invested in, it will need to offer a more exciting way to interact with the screen. The directional pad on the remote can be slow and clunky when used for navigating through grids and menus.

Another thing to consider is that the minimal control scheme provided by this remote would really limit the potential of an App Store on this device. As we will see from the following examples, innovative control schemes could offer a whole new world of possibilities to developers, and could explain why Apple has been holding off on implementing a store into the Apple TV so far.

Siri

Some television sets released in the past few years, such as those integrating Google TV, have shipped with keyboard remotes that enable users to input web searches and other text. But as if existing television remotes weren’t intimidating enough, the extra 30+ buttons make these remotes even clunkier, and the accompanying televisions more complicated to interact with.

A far more elegant way to input small bits of text to your television would be through Siri. Siri integration in an Apple TV is probably the most-rumored method of interacting with the device thus far. While televisions are traditionally turned off when not in use, it would be interesting if the Apple TV set were left in a sleep mode, ready to accept voice commands as soon as you enter the room.

Imagine walking into your living room and saying, “Siri, what’s the weather look like for this week?” or “Siri, what movies are playing?”, and having that information quickly spread out across the large screen. You could also play specific shows or movies quickly with commands like, “Siri, play the latest episode of Big Bang Theory.”

There are already a number of products experimenting with this control scheme. For the Xbox 360, Microsoft released something called Kinect Voice Control, which allows you to control your TV with simple voice commands. Though voice control systems like this haven’t taken off yet, Apple has a history of taking existing technologies and making them mainstream, so Siri integration in the television would have the potential to cause a paradigm shift.

But could voice be the only way that you could interact with a TV? If users have many apps, shows, and other media on the screen, browsing would involve a lot of navigation, and I don’t know if people would be comfortable telling their TV to scroll around all the time. Siri would be great for times when you know exactly what you want, but my best guess is that they would need to pair voice with some other method of control.

Secondary Touch Screen

Another potential method of interacting with the TV could be through a smaller, auxiliary touchscreen that users would hold. Instead of navigating through content on the television itself, users would browse menus and collections of media on the handheld screen. This screen could be the size of existing iPhones, iPads, or somewhere in between, and could be included with the television so users wouldn’t have to give up use of their iPhone or iPad when the family wants to watch TV.

With the upcoming Wii U, Nintendo is using a similar control scheme, bundling the system with a small touchscreen remote. Just as Nintendo expects game developers to find exciting ways for the smaller screen to interact with the television, an app store on Apple’s television would open up a world of opportunities for independent developers.

Apple caught mobile gaming companies like Nintendo off guard when its iPhones and iPads turned into fun and affordable portable gaming devices; just imagine the impact it could have on the console gaming market if Apple gave independent developers the opportunity to bring their games to this television.

Body

When I think of using the body to interact with a screen, two things immediately come to my mind: the Xbox Kinect and Tom Cruise’s computer in Minority Report. Both examples are somewhat famous for demonstrating the potential of body-based interaction with user interfaces.

When announcing the iPhone, Steve said that it would utilize the best pointing device in the world: our fingers. Just as the iPhone eliminated peripheral tools needed to interact with portable devices, maybe Apple could perfect the remote-less experience of interacting with a television,

As demonstrated by the Kinect, there is a limit to how much precision you can have when moving your arms around to interact with a screen several feet away; gestures have to be fairly broad. Has the Xbox Kinect tapped into the full potential of using the body to interact with a screen, or could future innovations, such as projecting your fingertips on the screen and enabling intuitive gestures, improve our accuracy when interacting with a television in this way?

Pointing Device

The most successful example of a television pointing device has to be the Nintendo Wii’s remote. Nintendo made a bold move by adopting a radically different control scheme, and has been rewarded with success as the console reaches entire new audiences of gamers. If using your body to interact with a TV is not accurate enough for Apple’s tastes, using a pointing device could offer a greater level of control.

Apple would surely make a very sleek pointing device, perhaps one that looks like the existing Apple TV remote. Just as the Wiimote projects a large pointer finger on the screen, this pointing device would probably have some kind of cursor that you could use to select items on the screen. As evidenced by the variety of innovative games produced for the Wii over the years, this control scheme would be very conducive for an app store as well.

Touch

I find this method of interaction to be the least likely. Touch screens this large would be expensive and less practical, considering we generally watch television from several feet back. That being said, a lot of science fiction movies depict a future in which all screens have some touch capabilities, and this concept video by glass company Corning shows how the touch screen might be beneficial.

The man walks up to his screen in order to read text from news and emails clearly, and to quickly tap items he wants to view. A touch screen this large would also have huge value in educational and business environments, where it could be used as a virtual whiteboard. Interactive whiteboards from companies like SMART are becoming popular in schools around the country, but have to be calibrated often and have low quality displays. A large, precise, high quality touch screen would be popular in a number of professions.

Conclusion

It was certainly uncharacteristic of Steve to reveal Apple’s future plans for a television in his biography. He must have known the effect that this small leak of information would have on the press and enthusiasts. It’s exciting to think that there is a high-security room in Apple’s headquarters likely filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of prototypes for televisions.

They have likely tried most, if not all, methods outlined in this article, and Steve seemed pretty confident that they had found the right pieces to make this television a truly revolutionary product. Hopefully, we will find out in the coming year or two.

Many thanks to Tyler Murphy for providing mockups for this piece.

I love Apple products, and have been using OS X fairly exclusively for nearly seven years. Now and again, however, I have use Windows to get various chores done, and a feature that Windows 7 has down pat is the ability to snap windows around on the screen.

There are a couple of tools for OS X that attempt to replicate this, but the best one I have used so far is called Windownaut, from Binary Bakery. It makes arranging and snapping windows a breeze, and also has some extra powerful features that I’ve never seen before!

Window Snapping

Windownaut’s primary purpose is to enable flexible and powerful window snapping on a Mac, and has a lot of options to boot. It runs as an unobtrusive background application, and allows you to “snap” a window to any side of your screen either through dragging or configurable hotkeys. And you can go beyond the typical left/right/maximized options that Windows 7 gives you too: Windownaut allows you to pick any side, any corner, maximized, centered, or even moved to another Spaces screen. Talk about options!

Custom keyboard shortcuts can be assigned to any particular window snap option, so I have mimicked the typical Windows 7 left/right/max choices with the Option+Cmd+arrow keys, and it works wonderfully. Dragging to an edge to snap works well too, giving a nice semi-transparent block to show where the window will end up. Windownaut also works well with Spaces, if you have them enabled. Dragging windows between different spaces in Snow Leopard for example will first show the snapping animation, but then move the window to the next space without interference.

One area where Windownaut could improve its snapping behavior is in returning a window to its original size and position after you’ve snapped around to a couple of different orientations. Windownaut will remember the last size and position, but not necessarily the original, unsnapped one. This causes me to do a little more clicking and dragging to resize and reposition windows than I’d hope, but perhaps that will be added in future versions.

Window Button Enhancements

But wait, there’s more! Windownaut can also add extra functionality to the red, yellow, and green window buttons in the top left of every window, often referred to as the traffic lights. By either adding a right click or a modifier key, each of the buttons can perform new actions. For example, you can assign a right click of the red button to quit the application, instead of just closing the window. Option-clicking the yellow button could allow you to show the currently open document in the Finder. You can also choose to display the layout selector to snap the window to a certain position, or force quit the application.

This may seem like a departure from typical OS X behavior, but I’ve been surprised how often these additional options have come in handy for me. Hopefully more options will be available here in the future as well for even more powerful shortcuts.

Compatibility

An important thing to note is that Windownaut dives deep into how OS X functions in order to work its magic. There are other tools that perform in a similar manner (BetterTouchTool, etc.), but every time I’ve tried one of these apps I always end up experiencing problems clicking and not having the system respond as it should.

The developer of Windownaut, Hisham Khalifa, has worked extra hard to remove these types of bugs, and he seems to have nailed them all. Since the official release of Windownaut I have not experienced any hung clicks or stuck buttons, which is a major accomplishment.

Availability

Windownaut is available for purchase from the Binary Bakery website for $9.99 for use on up to two Macs, or in a three-pack for $16.99. There is a 14-day trial so that you can try it before you buy. If you are looking for a way to recreate Windows 7’s window snapping functionality with a lot of added power, I would definitely recommend trying out Windownaut.

This post is part of a series that revisits some of our readers’ favorite articles from the past that still contain awesome and relevant information that you might find useful. This post was originally published on May 17th, 2011.

The “utility” software niche is one that is extremely active in the Mac application community. There is an abundance of fantastic utilities currently available, and that list is ever changing. We love this type of software at AppStorm, regularly reviewing different apps that let you tweak and tune your computer.

With the area changing so fast, we decided to take a look at some of the best and most useful Mac OS X utilities that are available right now. What you’ll see here is by no means an all-encompassing list, but rather a collection of utilities broken up into some basic groups that I found to be very useful to a lot of people.

I hope you discover some applications that will be helpful for you!

System Utilities

Drive Management Utilities

File/Folder Management Utilities

Security and Virus Protection

Desktop/Workspace Utilities

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned, this is by no means a complete list, but I do think that these are some of the best – and most useful – OS X utilities available right now. Hopefully you’ve discovered some applications you weren’t aware of that can be helpful to you.

This developer community is so active that I’ll guarantee we continue to see more and more incredible utilities as the days go by. If you think I missed some important apps, or one that you find especially useful, please mention them in the comments below!

There are so many options out there – freeware and shareware – that it’s often hard to find the quality applications. Some applications luck into a great deal of publicity, but too often great apps do not get the attention that they deserve.

This article has five utility apps that I use just about every day but haven’t ever read or heard much about. The apps range from a screenshot application to a great touchpad tool that I love. Read on to learn about five of my favorite free apps that you should check out today.

What Free Hidden Gems Do You Use?

These are, of course, just a small selection of the great free applications out there. I definitely think these five are worth a download. You will find they fit into your workflow quite nicely and soon you’ll wonder why you hadn’t heard about them sooner.

These are five applications that I think should be extremely popular. As always, I’m curious to know what your choices would be. What free apps do you think deserve more publicity? Share your thoughts below.

If there’s one game genre I’m all for, it’s board games. I love the feel of the dice in my hands, the touch of crispy play money, the thrill of running after the hourglass, and the exhilaration knowing that I’ve trumped my fellow players.

With that said, I found myself curious of what it’s like to play a digital board game after spotting Ticket to Ride Online on the New and Noteworthy section of the Mac App Store. The icon, the screenshots, and the uber-friendly conductor convinced me to check the game out, plus the fact that its iPad version has garnered numerous game awards in the past.

Will the Mac version of Ticket to Ride Online stand just as tall as its iOS counterpart? Let’s find out.

Overall Gameplay

Ticket to Ride Online is the online version of Alan R. Moon’s popular cross-country train adventure board game, Ticket to Ride. The game’s setting and the classic map used during initial gameplay are set in North America during the industrial era when trains, locomotives, and railroads were the main modes of transportation, and saloon music filled the air.

The goal of Ticket to Ride Online is to complete train destination tickets given at the beginning of the game. To do this, you need to complete railway routes using train cards until you are either able to connect two or more destinations together or you run out of trains. Each player (up to five players can join) is given 45 consumable trains to use, and for every completed route your trains decrease in number.

The description sounds easy enough, but to win the game takes strategic planning, patience, and a bit of luck. You can win in two ways: complete the most tickets and/or claim long routes for bigger points. You’d be more inclined to complete all of your tickets, because if you’re unable to do so, your score is deducted depending on the value of the unfinished ticket.

The Basics

At launch, you’re greeted with fun background music, a hooting steam engine, and Gerry the Conductor. Gerry welcomes you with two options: Play the game or visit the train station for other options, such as the settings, game rules, and the online games arena where you can play with other players.

Sign up for a free Days of Wonder account via the app’s settings or log in to your Game center account to have your scores and ranking listed in the scoreboards.

You begin the game with the classic US map with the choice to either play under Tutorial mode or not. The Tutorial mode is a good starting point if you’ve never played the game before. Otherwise, simply switch off Tutorial mode before pressing the green Play button. There are other maps available with new rules, trains, and challenges, but you’ll have to pay for these as in-app purchases. We’ll go into that later.

As soon as you’ve chosen your first train destination tickets, you can make your first move. When playing against the bots or AIs, you’re always the first to begin. Your train destination points are highlighted in glowing green to help you build and claim your railway routes. By clicking on a ticket, the destinations instantly glow to tell you where to begin and end.

At the end of the game, the overall points are tallied. The points earned from completing tickets are added to the points earned from claiming railway routes. The player with the longest route wins a bonus of 10 points, a deciding factor on who wins the game.

Getting the Feel of the Game

While the goals of the game are clear, the app description claims that one can learn the game in just three minutes. It definitely wasn’t that easy or quick to learn.

Despite playing on Tutorial mode, it took me five consecutive games until I understood exactly the mechanics and memorized the rules. And to see the effectiveness of the tutorial, I let a couple of family members play the game, all of which have never heard or played Ticket to Ride before. It took them about two to three games to get the hang of it as well. Of course, for those who’ve played the board game, the learning curve may not be as steep (or none at all).

One thing is for sure though, I found Ticket to Ride Online to be fun and surprisingly addictive. Prior to writing this review, I played the game three to four times in a day not only to test out all of its features but to top the scoreboards and play with other players around the world. It may take some time to get the feel of it, but once you know how to play, you might just find yourself playing for hours on end.

Graphics, Music, and Performance

The best features of Ticket to Ride Online are the graphics, music, and the overall performance of the game.

When playing against the AIs, I never experienced lags, crashes, or freezing. The graphics are superb and fun to watch, giving me that same thrill after completing a railway route. I’d also enjoy listening the music and the sound effects, especially when picking up a ticket or a train card. I never turn the sounds off despite the fact that my opponents (the same family members) can hear if I’ve completed a railway route.

I mentioned earlier that you can buy extra maps as in-app purchases. This is also a problem-free feature of the app. I bought the Ticket to Ride Europe and 1910 maps to add variety to my gameplay, and all I had to do was to confirm my purchases with my Apple ID and password.

The prices for the extra Ticket to Ride online maps for the Mac is way, way cheaper than the maps sold on the iPad. Ticket to Ride Europe and Switzerland are $1.99 on the Mac, but $4.99 on the iPad.

Playing with Others

There is one aspect of Ticket to Ride Online that needs improvement, and that’s playing with other Ticket to Ride players.

To play with others, you’ll need to go to the More menu and click on Online Games where you’ll find Marcel the Waiter. Upon entering, a large organizer is displayed with two sections at the top (Games and Players) and three sections at the side: Lobby, Buddies, and Ignore. Lobby is where you will find players logged in to the game. You can select a username and invite to play or add as a buddy. Those who accept your invitation to be a buddy are then found in your Buddy list.

At this point, I bought the iPad version of the game ($6.99) to be able to play against my family members. In the process of inviting them to play, I encountered a bug in that the players invited do not appear at the game table even after accepting their invitations. I’d have to go back to the Lobby, click on their names in my Buddy list, and invite again. There are times when even numerous attempts wouldn’t work, so we had to leave the Lobby and enter again to log back in.

When we are able to connect and are now sitting at the game table, that’s when the lagging occurs. The game would hang a couple of times while playing, and it would sometimes take about 20-30 seconds before the move made by other players would reflect on my side.

The Internet connection could be a cause for this, so if you experience the same, try playing where the Internet source is closest to you. Hopefully the developer/s can improve this aspect of the game, as it can get in the way.

Final Thoughts

While nothing beats playing a board game with the family, Ticket to Ride Online is a great train adventure board game to play with family, friends, and with people from all over the world. The game exercises your mind, pushing you to think of all the possibilities that could lead you to victory over your opponents.

If paired up with the iOS versions, it makes a great digital board game to play during family nights. It’s definitely won a spot in my favorite games list in my Applications folder, and I’m sure others looking for a high quality game to play on the Mac would love it too.

Have you tried playing Ticket to Ride Online on your Mac? What are your thoughts about the game? Share your experiences in the comments below.