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Weekly Poll
This week we dove deep into the Photoshop CS6 Beta preview and told you all about the great new features and changes (see that article here). This is one of the most dramatic updates Photoshop has seen in years. It sports a completely overhauled interface, lots of functionality improvements such as layer searching and group effects, and some awesome brand new features like Iris Blur.
Needless to say, there are a lot of great things to say about this new version, but oddly enough one topic that’s getting a ton of discussion around the web has nothing to do with any of these new features: the icon. Adobe has been giving us slight variations on the table of elements style icon theme for years and it appears that this time around they’re adding a thick border around the edge, a choice which has sent more than a few users hunting for good replacement options.
Today we want to know what you think of the new icon. Is it a decent evolution of what we’ve seen for the past few years or a hideous beast that you would never consider allowing to reside in your dock? Vote in the poll and then leave a comment below with your thoughts.
Siri is a delightful little piece of technology. Sure, it can be a bit troublesome at times but for the most part it is a great addition to the iPhone. Whether you want to find a good restaurant, ask about the weather, set a reminder, or get directions, Siri provides a quick, nearly hands free way to get it done, often with a bit of wit and humor thrown in.
The question that’s on everyone’s mind regarding Siri is whether or not it has found a permanent home on the iPhone or will eventually make rounds to the rest of Apple’s line of products. Some iPad fans were disappointed that the recently released “New iPad” received a pass on Siri, though others claim that it wouldn’t really be useful in this context. Apple did provide a watered down piece of Siri in the Voice Dictation feature, but that’s a far cry from the full Siri experience.
Today I want to push the question beyond iOS and ask what you think about the possibility of Siri on a Mac. Do you think that Siri will ever find it’s way to OS X? It would be nice to hit a keyboard shortcut on your Mac, tell Siri to fire off an email or create an appointment, then get back to what you were doing.
Cast your vote in the poll and let us know if you think this will ever happen, then leave a comment below and tell us whether or not you would find this feature to be helpful in your daily workflow.
Both the iTunes App Store and the Mac App Store have given developers a great place to easily distribute their software to customers. While some developers may feel lost in a sea of competition, others find ways to stand out and become overnight success stories.
Though the two platforms are similar, it’s interesting to note the differences. For instance, it seems free apps abound on the iTunes App Store but developers seem more prone to charge for their work on the Mac platform, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Through AppStorm I’ve met lots of hardworking developers and am more than happy to drop a few bucks for a great app to help make it worth the developer’s time.
Today I’m curious about how far you’re willing to go to get your hands on an awesome app. What’s the most that you’ve ever paid to download an app from the Mac App Store? Answer the poll to be counted and then leave a comment below telling us about the apps you’ve purchased at this price point.
With Lion, Apple completely rethought the Mail.app interface, largely drawing from what they had done on the iPad. Along with the visual upgrades came some functionality boosts as well, such as vastly improved searching and a more robust tagging system.
Despite these efforts, many users are still flocking to third party email solutions. Sparrow has made a huge splash in the email world and brings a lot of innovation to this market in terms of UI. It’s simple, beautiful and still feature rich enough to use as your primary email client.
Another major competitor is Postbox, which has long held the spot as the go-to client for Mac users who want a truly powerful alternative to Mail.app. The Postbox conversation reply formatting put’s Mail’s to shame and the entire client tightly and effortlessly integrates with your favorite Google services.
The question we want to know today is, “which is your favorite?” For those of us that work at our computers, email can be something that eats up a significant portion of our week and it’s important to make sure we use a client that makes our workflow as easy and efficient as possible. Cast your vote for your favorite client and leave a comment below telling us why you use the one that you do.
During Apple’s recent announcement of the “New iPad,” Tim Cook dropped the term “post-PC” so much that it became distracting. One thing is for sure, Apple wants to drill this concept into your brain. They know where the future of the industry is and they’re making dang sure you’re on board with their self-fulfilling prophecy.
According to some recent statistics from mobiThinking, Cook is right. They estimate that 25% of U.S. mobile web users are mobile-only, meaning their primary way of accessing the web fits nicely into their pocket.
Today we want to put some of these concepts to the test by asking which device you primarily use to access the web. Do you mostly browse on a desktop, laptop, tablet or phone? After you vote in the poll, leave a comment below telling us what you use and why.
Nothing gets the week started off right like a good old fashioned Microsoft vs. Apple debate. Once upon a time these were a staple in the Mac user’s daily life but these days we focus much more on Google and Android as a major threat than crazy Ballmer and the gang in Redmond.
For a moment, let’s look back at Microsoft and ask a question that’s essential for every new Mac user: Office or iWork? If someone is faced with the choice of purchasing only one of these suites, which should it be and why?
Only a few years ago iWork was a new competitor in this game but it’s had more than enough time to rise to the challenge of taking on the formerly undisputed champion of documents. The question is, has it? On the other side, while iWork has been increasing in popularity, Microsoft has been hard at work making Office seem more at home on the Mac. Office now closely resembles Apple’s software in both functionality and appearance.
So which is better? You decide! Cast your vote in the poll and then leave a comment below defending your opinion.
The world of Twitter clients is an ongoing obsession of mine. The history of how third party developers have helped push the platform forward and then left the market disgruntled at how they’ve been treated by Twitter is fascinating. Looking back we can see Twitter’s strategy clearly: wait to see who makes the best apps and then buy them up. Clear category leaders Tweetie and TweetDeck are prime examples.
Now that Twitter has such a strong presence in the Twitter client game both on OS X and iOS, it’s interesting to see which clients still hold on and choose to compete with the official apps. Recently, Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad has gained a ton of popularity as users flock away from the recently watered-down official apps in favor of versatility and awesome design.
While we’re waiting on Tweetbot to hit the Mac, I thought it would be interesting to check in and ask about your current favorite Twitter client on OS X. There are a few major players in this category to choose from, vote in the poll to let us know which is your favorite.
Once you’ve voted, leave a comment below and let us know your favorite bygone Twitter apps. For instance, the first native Twitter client that I really loved was Nambu, after which I switched to Tweetie. I also really enjoyed Kiwi during its brief stint.
As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the wizards at Infinite Loop are pushing out a major OS X update later this year: Mountain Lion.
If you’re like me, you’re nerdy enough that you simply can’t wait to get your hands any new version of OS X. Apple has such a tight hold on me that I have to keep up to date with every little software update they push out.
Unfortunately, since hardware tends to be a great deal more expensive than software, many of us quickly fall behind in this category. Consequently, I was dismayed to read TUAW’s recent article outlining the minimum hardware requirements, which revealed that my beloved 2007 MacBook would no longer be supported.
Here’s the list of all the supported hardware that we’re currently aware of, meaning if your Mac is older than the models listed below, you’re out of luck.
- iMac (mid 2007 or later)
- MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or later)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or later), (15-inch, 2.4/2.2 GHz), (17-inch, Late 2007 or later)
- MacBook Air (Late 2008 or later)
- Mac Mini (Early 2009 or later)
- Mac Pro (Early 2008 or later)
- Xserve (Early 2009)
With this list in mind, we’re wondering how many of our readers won’t make the cutoff. Do you use an older Mac? If so, will you be able to run Mountain Lion? After you vote in the poll, leave a comment below and let us know what you think about this. Are you bummed that your Mac won’t take the update or are you apathetic?
There’s been a lot of discussion in the past couple of years in the Mac community about the level of importance OS X and the Apple desktop experience has in the overall hierarchy at Apple. For instance, PCWorld recently posted a piece boldly titled, “Mac OS Dwindles in Importance to Apple.”
Our poll question today is aimed at getting your opinion on this. Do you feel like OS X development and progress has taken a backseat in Apple’s eyes to the newer and more exciting iOS platform? Cast your vote in the poll and let us know.
Once you’ve voted, answer an even more important question in the comments: is this a good thing? There’s perhaps an inherent bias in the question that assumes that putting less attention towards OS X in favor of iOS is somehow negative. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. If iOS truly is the future of Apple, then isn’t it good that they’re diverting so much time, effort and resources to that project?
However, many of us still work on a Mac desktop for 40+ hours per week and therefore might not be too happy at the thought of Apple putting our beloved operating system on the back burner. Then again, maybe this argument is void and Apple hasn’t slowed their progress on OS X in the least. What do you think?
OS X Lion was announced way back in October of 2010 and released in July of 2011. You’ve now had lots of time to prep for the switch and over six months to make the purchase and upgrade your system (granted that your Mac can handle the upgrade). So have you? Are you running Lion on your primary Mac or are you still on Snow Leopard?
For the readers who are still kicking it old school, we want you to chime in as well. Are you still running Leopard or perhaps something even older like Tiger or Panther? We want to know!
After you vote in the poll, leave a comment below and tell us why you run the version that you do. If you’re on an older version, is it because you simply haven’t felt the need to upgrade, haven’t had the cash or are you being help back by an older Mac that can’t upgrade any further?
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