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I’m a die-hard fan of Gmail’s web service. I just can’t get myself to work with Mail.app, I’m not used to it and I’d much rather take advantage of Gmail’s labels and filters directly from their web mail. Still, there are a few things that I like about Mail.app, like the notifications for new messages.
Some time ago, I had a menu bar Gmail notifier that solved this problem and worked wonderfully called Notify. Eventually it stopped working and the developer ceased developing it. I started searching for a similar app, but I couldn’t find anything worthwhile. Well, it’s been a while since then and some new alternatives have come out that I’ve found just as good if not better than Notify. Want to check them out?
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With content being distributed nowadays through many ways like Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, and the rest of the sea of social networks, RSS has become kind of unnecessarily complicated. I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel compelled anymore to open my RSS reader just to find dozens of new items that I will eventually see throughout the day in another place like my Twitter timeline.
However, there’s still a few sites out there that I don’t want to miss out on. That’s how I came across a few simple RSS notifiers that work with the Notification Center to give you almost immediate updates through RSS, without the need of using a big reader app like Reeder or NetNewsWire. I’ve put together some of them here, want to check them out?
There are a huge number of ways to learn languages out there, from $500 software to classes to free translators. You can find software for any language you want, from Spanish to Urdu. It’s really a matter of personal preference how you choose to learn, but chances are that no matter what your learning style is, there’s something out there for you.
Today we’ve got a roundup of a variety of apps (from $5 – $500) as well as some utilities and little tips and tricks. I’ve tried to include software that is available in a variety of languages, so be sure to investigate further if a particular app seems like a good fit.
A while ago, when I got my first Mac, I began using Mail for keeping up with my email. It was a very good app and I enjoyed using it, but I didn’t know how I felt about having all of my emails (both important and useless) stored in one app, accessible to anyone who accessed my computer. This wasn’t exactly a problem, until that computer got stolen, and as it wasn’t password-protected, whoever stole it or bought it now had access to a good number of my emails, and I couldn’t really do anything about it but but keep him from receiving my new emails.
A few days later, when I replaced my Macbook, I thought twice about using Mail.app again after that first panic attack. I stuck with Gmail’s web app until I found a great and very complete app called Notify. Notify was cheap, it sat on my menu bar and it even used Growl to alert me when I got new messages. It was very simple and pretty, too. It allowed me to quickly check on emails without having to leave what I was doing, and even quickly reply to them or delete them and do marvelous things with them. It synced wonderfully with Gmail. It was a dream come true.
But it didn’t last very long. After I installed Lion, I noticed it started acting weird. It still alerted me when I got new mail and it let me access its menu bar interface, but if I tried to read or reply to any of them, the app would become useless, in many ways. I thought it would get updated soon, but as time went by I got anxious. One day I looked up the app and found a blog where the developers said they weren’t going to keep developing it, and that they had just stopped selling it. I understood, but I also needed to replace the luxury life that Notify had gotten me used to. And so began my search…
In our world of Social Networking, Twitter has emerged as one of the most-used and most useful points of connection to our world. Whether you use Twitter as a news source, celebrity gossip engine, or for just keeping tabs on your friends, having a dedicated app on your Mac can take your experience to a new level.
In this in-depth showdown, we’re going to take a look at a few of the most popular Twitter apps out there, analyse their features, and compare them against one another.
Read on past the break to see how the contenders stacked up.
One of the best things about your Mac is that it comes pre-loaded with tons of software goodness, right out of the box. Apps like Mail, Preview, iCal, and the iLife suite are all very functional, but sometimes they lack a little piece of extra functionality that more in-depth users need. That’s where more “pro” apps like Aperture, Adobe Reader and Photoshop come in.
Mail.app is not excluded from this situation, as it has had it’s reported share of problems and limitations. Even though most are not very significant, over time they can become annoying and sometimes switching to another application is the best solution. If you’ve had any problems with Mail.app, or if you have just grown tired of it, you should check out our eight alternatives below!
Twitter: What started as an obscure and seemingly doomed social network has grown into a huge force on the web. Twitter is home to thriving communities of individuals forming lasting connections forged by 140 characters or less.
An important fuel to this fire is the remarkably open Twitter API which has allowed developers to create a plethora of beautiful and incredibly convenient desktop applications that connect with every facet of the service. This article is dedicated to all you readers who, like me, are completely addicted to two things: Mac applications and Twitter.
Note: All apps are free unless otherwise indicated.
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The Mac has gradually become a better platform for Instant Messaging (IM) in recent years as developers realize the growing need to target OS X users. This roundup will highlight the range of different IM software available and you’ll be pleased to know that every application covered is completely free.
You’re faced with a broad choice of whether to use a multi-platform app (which works with different protocols such as MSN, AIM, Yahoo etc), or a single-platform app for just one network. Both approaches have advantages, but it comes down to individual preference and whether you have friends spread across different protocols.
Twitter has proven itself to be a great tool for networking, keeping up to date with friends, and generally “stalking” unsuspecting folk. The Twitter website works remarkably well, but there are a variety of different desktop applications which integrate sending and receiving updates into your local environment.
Each of these have different strengths and weaknesses, and I’m confident that you’ll be able to find a client which fits your need perfectly. In no particular order, here are 7 different Twitter applications for your Mac.
