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It’s time for a friendly reminder because Apple’s online storage service for iWork documents, the iWork.com Public Beta, is closing up this Tuesday, July 31st. As of July 31st, you will not be able to access any of the documents you might have hosted on the site as part of Apple’s universal transition to iCloud.
For now, there isn’t an Apple-powered alternative to iWork.com as Apple is yet to integrate iCloud even into it’s own, Mac App Store-distributed office suite. There’s a potential that’s going to change in a rumoured-to-be-very-soon update to the iWork suite that will see such integration (Update: as expected, iWork has been updated to work with iCloud and Retina Displays, but it’s still not a full new version of iWork), but, for now, it’s time to backup anything you may have saved and start looking at alternatives.
This past weekend, the Sparrow team shook the Mac app world by announcing they had been bought out by Google and wouldn’t be adding any new features to their popular email app. Sparrow was a great example of the amazing Mac-only apps you can get from the App Store, an app that was lovingly created by a team that really knew what they were doing. Now, the team’s moving to work on Gmail, and odds are Google will totally forget about the Mac app the team had built in the first place.
For those of use that use email all the time, many of us exclusively use Gmail or Google Apps on our own domains. However, we usually don’t use Gmail online, preferring instead to use Mail.app, Sparrow, or other 3rd party email apps to manage our email workflow. Sparrow was an especially good choice for Gmail users, as it supported Gmail’s features in a brilliant Mac interface, and just worked so good.
It’s not like Sparrow quit working overnight, but most of us are seriously considering alternate email apps now that Sparrow won’t be in active development going forward. That’s why we’re wondering if you’re going to keep using Sparrow, or if you’ve switched to another email app. We’d love to hear what email app you’re using, and why, in the comments below!
Special thanks to @CoolD78 for the poll idea!
Our giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering, everyone! Congrats to @gustaoo and @Derek_Covatch for winning a copy of TerraRay, @keifun and @lucaschurchill for winning a copy of Sip, and @MohamadAshraf_ and @itkidx for winning a copy of Squirrel!
It’s always fun to snag a great deal on an app. $2 Tuesday has lately been keeping Mac app deals in the headlines with their great deals on popular apps every Tuesday. I personally got a copy of TaskPaper through the $2 Tuesday discount several weeks ago, and it’s quickly become part of my daily workflow.
This week, there’s 3 new apps on $2 Tuesday that just might end up becoming part of your daily workflow soon. All day today, you can get each of the following apps for just $2 (or really $1.99 plus tax in the App Store):
- Squirrel – A great personal finance management app that was a former Apple Design Award winner.
- Sip – A simple color picker app for developers that lets you pick colors and copy them with simple keyboard shortcuts.
- TerraRay – An easy to use terrain rendering app that lets you easily create your own 3D landscape.
Each of these apps are a great deal for just $2, but the best thing is, we have 2 copies of each of them to giveaway to our readers!
Tweet to Enter
If you’d love to win a free copy of today’s $2 Tuesday apps, it’s easy to get your entry submitted. 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 and the app that you want to win. That’s it! We’ll then randomly pick 2 winners of each app when we close the contest.
We’ll announce the winners tomorrow on July 25th, so hurry and get your entry in today! Or if you can’t wait, just head over to the App Store and grab a copy of Squirell, Sip, or TerraRay for yourself. After all, they’re quite a good deal for just $2 each!
Envato staff or people who have written more than two articles or tutorials for AppStorm, however, are ineligible to enter.
Our weekly sponsor this week is Postbox, a first class email app for your Mac. It’s a powerful way to make you more productive with Gmail and other email accounts, helping you find the conversations and attachments you need while keeping you connected to your contacts.
Most of us use email daily, and often find ourselves sending dozens of emails a day, so your email app can be one of the most important apps on your computer. But as Mozilla’s stopped Thunderbird’s development, and Sparrow has been bought out by Google, you might be feeling like you need to find a new email app to take on your messaging challenges. Postbox might be just what you’re looking for.
It includes advanced Gmail features like labels and keyboard shortcuts, as well as advanced conversation view that makes it even easier to keep up with your email conversations. It has a powerful search tool that can help you find messages and attachments. Better still, it includes social network integration, and lets you send Dropbox links to files instead of having to deal with attachment file size limits. With a native Mac design, support for touchpad gestures, and a team that’s actively developing it, Postbox is easily one of the best email apps today.
Go Get It!
If you’re ready to get started managing your email better on your Mac, it’s a great time to try out Postbox. You can try it free for 30 days, then buy it for just $9.99. Or, if you’ve tried Postbox in the past and have a license for an older version, you can upgrade for just $4.95! Postbox also has new team discounts, so you can outfit your whole company with Postbox’s powerful email features for less than ever.
Our giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Keith, Lucas, and Suonevar who just won a copy of Tower. We hope you’re able to put it to use in your work! And to everyone else, stay tuned for our next giveaways!
Whether you’re a longtime developer or are just getting started coding apps, you’ve likely heard of Git, the popular version control system for source code and more. Git’s an incredibly useful open source tool that’s already built into your Mac, but it can be a bit complicated to get started with and use day-to-day.
That’s where Tower comes in. It’s a Mac app that makes git simpler to use and keeps you from having to remember obscure Terminal commands. It costs $59, but that can be well worth it if it helps you in your development projects. Our writer Duane Stark recently reviewed Tower here at Mac.AppStorm and gave it an impressive 9 out of 10 for its great features, interface, and performance.
That’s why we’re excited today to have 3 copies of Tower to givewaway to our readers, so 3 lucky readers can start making use of the most powerful Git app on the Mac in their development projects!
Tweet to Enter
If you’d love to win a free copy of Tower, it’s easy to get your entry submitted. 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 Tuesday, July 24th. Good luck to everyone who enters!
Envato staff or people who have written more than two articles or tutorials for AppStorm, or existing users of Ronin, however, are ineligible to enter.
Over the last couple of weeks we’ve run a competition to win a Wyzowl promo video – I’m pleased to announce the four Wyzowl winners today!
- Android – EveryU
- iOS – PaperPlay
- Mac – infiniteNIL
- Web – RiddleMe
Congratulations to the winners, you’ll be contacted shortly – make sure you follow AppStorm for more great competitions!
When it’s time to buy a new MacBook, there’s a lot of decisions you’ll have to make. Air or Pro, or Retina Pro? In-store model, or extra ram? Faster processor or more storage?
Most of these choices are permanent nowadays, with even the ram soldered to the motherboard. But in many ways, the screen size will define how you use your Mac more than many of the other decisions. The 11″ Air will be the most cramped, but will also be the most portable, while a 15″ Pro will give you the most space but will also feel much more like a desktop and will be less portable.
I just purchased a new MacBook Air that’s en route from China right now. I chose the 13″ Air, as it felt like the best middle between size and portability, and sure hope I feel like I’ve made the right choice. It made me wonder what your favorite screen size is. What MacBook screen size do you own, or would you purchase if you could choose any right now?
Our weekly sponsor this week is StackSocial, a new site featuring deals on Mac apps, training courses, and more.
This week, StackSocial is featuring the iStack Mac Bundle, which includes 10 essential Mac tools for just $49.99. It includes Parallels 7, one of the most popular ways to run Windows and other operating systems on your Mac, which retails for $79 by itself. It also includes SnagIt, a popular screenshot tool, and Clarify, one of the best ways to turn screenshots into tutorials. There’s 6 other great apps, as well as an iOS development course to help you get started making your own iPhone apps.
Then, if that’s not enough, StackSocial has a number of ongoing deals, with new specials coming out all the time. It’s a site you should keep your eye on if you want to get great deals for your Mac.
Go Get It!
If you’ve been wanting a great deal on Parallels 7, SnagIt, Clarify, and other great Mac apps, then be sure to get the iStack Mac Bundle for just $49.99 before the deal’s over on July 26th. Or, feel free to check out the other great deals that StackSocial has on offer now and in the future. With great deals on apps and training courses, there’s specials that every Mac user would find interesting.
This week has been another really busy one in terms of app news so let’s get started and see what’s been happening!
