iPhone - The Graphic Mac

5 iPhone sites you should bookmark

Mac & OS X
16 Dec, 2010

New and experienced iPhone and iPod Touch users can always use a another site for news, app reviews and commentary, and I’ve gathered a few great ones for you to bookmark.

AppShopper is the best looking and most organized iPhone site

By far, the best site I’ve come across for iPhone apps is AppShopper. When you want to read descriptions, reviews, and price watching, AppShopper is the place to go. It’s also the best looking and most organized site of the bunch. The site also offers a free iPhone app to complete the mobile experience.

The original iPod/iPhone site, iLounge, is still one of the first places people go for news and reviews on all things iPhone. In particular, the quality of their reviews of various iPhone/iPod Touch cases cannot be touched by anyone!

FreshApps is another app review site. The site doesn’t have nearly the amount of content as some others, but the layout is clean and I like the quality of content so far.

iPhone Alley isn’t one of my favorite iPhone sites, but it does contain quite a bit of good content, so it’s worth bookmarking.

148Apps is a great site for iPhone app reviews

148Apps is one of the more popular iPhone sites around, and for good reason. App reviews contain useful ratings, reviews and screenshots. This is one site you’ll want to check out when you’re considering purchasing an app. In particular I like the Price Drops section, where you can quickly see which apps have lowered their price or gone free.

Hey Apple, give me what I want (cause surely the whole world wants it to)

General
13 Dec, 2010

I often see comments on Mac OS X feature-related articles from users who feel that Apple should include this or that feature. No matter how obscure the feature request is, they’re convinced that the whole world could use it.

I normally ignore such fluff, but this past week I managed to come up with a list of a few things that I think Apple should build-in to Mac OS X to make me happy. Because you know if I want it, chances are that everyone else on the planet does too, right?

Mac OS X doesn't trust me!

For starters Apple, since I’m smarter than your average rock and managed to set up my Mac’s user account with administrative privileges, can you please stop asking me for my God-foresaken password every time I want to install something? Please! I get it, security and all that. But I’ve set myself up as an admin user for a reason. Can you at least offer the option of not asking me for a password? I know, enabling that feature will require me to enter my password, but that’s ok this one time!

Wait Apple, don’t run off just yet, I’ve got more. (more…)

Think twice before you buy a MacPro

General
12 Nov, 2010

I saw it coming years ago when Apple released the iPod Touch. Since that fateful day in September of 2007, it seemed like Apple tossed the desktop computer to the curb like a red-headed stepchild.

Every once in a while, they updated the desktop lines, but with the exception of a really nice iMac update (to what we have today), there’s been little to get excited about outside the laptop and mobile lines.

Now before you say “oh no, not another ‘Apple is killing the desktop’ article,” let me just say that this isn’t. Only an idiot would make the assumption, observation or claim that Apple is going to give up billions of dollars in sales – especially when their new love affair with mobile hardware requires a Mac to be useful.
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Iconfactory to release Astronut for iPhone

Mac & OS X
11 Nov, 2010

Normally I wouldn’t post about upcoming software for the iPhone, but this is a special case. Iconfactory, makers of Twitterrific and CandyBar for the Mac, and two wildly popular iPhone games, Frenzic and RampChamp, have announced a new iPhone game arriving just in time for the holidays.

Astronut for iPhone blasts off just in time for the holidays

Not much is known about Astronut, but if Iconfactory’s previous apps are any indication, it’s going to be addictive, and a huge hit!

News from around the web

General / Internet
8 Nov, 2010

Adobe:

Apparently Adobe is toying with the idea of producing a Photoshop file viewing app for Apple’s iPad. John Nack is asking on his Adobe blog if users would like to take it a step further as well, by allowing the user to manipulate layers, and more. Adobe is definitely in development for tablet devices, as evidenced by this report from MacRumors.

iPhone Apps:

Photo Keys Two nifty looking iPhone apps caught my attention this past week, both from RPA Technology. The first, Mobile Mouse Pro turns your iPhone into a wireless controller for your Mac. The combo desktop andiPhone app costs only $1.99 and looks to be uber cool. If you don’t require full control of your Mac, you can use the free Mobile Remote, which allows you to control a variety of audio and video apps on your Mac.

From the same company, Photo Keys offers iPhone users a companion tool to Adobe Photoshop on the desktop. Photo Keys puts the entire Photoshop toolbar, as well as many useful shortcuts right at your fingertips. Photo keys costs $2.99.

Bookmark Syncing with Xmarks:

Xmarks started out as a free extension for Firefox that allowed you to Sync your bookmarks between computers. Its popularity grew quickly, and soon there were versions available for Safari and Google Chrome as well. It was fantastic to be able to keep all my browsers on all my computers (Mac and PC) in sync. But just as soon as its popularity was exploding, they suddenly announced they were shutting down for financial reasons. Apparently, things have changed. According to reports, Xmarks has found a buyer and will make a lot of users very happy.

Site News: New mobile version of the site, and new Facebook page

Site News
11 Oct, 2010

The new Graphic Mac mobile site

You may have already noticed, but I thought I would share the news anyway. This past week I created a completely separate Facebook page for The Graphic Mac. So if you were following my personal page on Facebook, you may want to “Like” the new page page to catch the updates. I created a Discussion area on the new page as well, so if you have questions, comments or just want to chat about something in particular, feel free to post away. I plan on sharing links, and leaving comments about all things Apple and Adobe that don’t necessarily warrant a full article here on the site.

The second bit of news that will only affect readers who view The Graphic Mac on their iPhone or iPod Touch device.

I’ve set up a mobile version of the site that strips away most of the design of the site and just lists the articles to click on. The article graphics are still there, but it makes it much easier to navigate the site this way. You’ll still have the ability to search, and view topics by category, as well as see if there are any comments on the article (the little red badge on the date icons); it’s just a little easier on the eyes. I hope you like it.

Rant: Stuff that ticked me off last week

General
13 Sep, 2010

I’ve never been at a loss for things that leave me scratching my head or gouging my eyes out when it comes to what I read on the Internet. There’s just so much stupidity out there just waiting to be discovered.

I spent the entire week trying to figure out why my stupid Apple Time Capsule has all of a sudden decided that it will allow me to access any web site on the Internet except my own. Since I wasn’t writing for this site, I had plenty of time to catch up on the supersize cornucopia of stupid found scattered across the intertubes.
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Deleting backups on iPod Touch and iPhone to save space

Mac & OS X
12 Aug, 2010

iTunes creates backups of settings and certain other information on iPhone and iPod touch devices, which can be used to restore those settings to those devices after a software restore or transferring to a new device. The problem is, those backups take up space.

Deleting iPhone backups is easy with iTunes

You can delete those backups quite easily in iTunes simply by visiting iTunes>Preferences from the menubar. Select Devices from the icons across the top of the dialog window.

In the list below the icons, click the name of your device and hit the Delete Backup button. That’s it, space saved.

Free DVD to iPhone conversion software

Internet / Mac & OS X
2 Aug, 2010

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, or simply wish to convert video to a number of formats, you can get a free copy of iSkySoft’s DVD To iPhone software just for friending them on Facebook, and giving them your email address.

This free app promotion ends this week, so go to iSkySoft’s special Facebook page now, click the Like button at the top of the page, provide your email, and download the software. In about a minute you’ll receive a license number in your email to activate your free copy of the software.

Here, File File offers access to your home Mac from your iPhone

Mac & OS X
26 Jul, 2010

Ever need a file while you’re out and about? Here, File File (HFF) is an iPhone/Mac pair of apps that allows you to access all of the files on your home Mac(s), wherever you go.

DropBox is fantastic, but you have to remember to put files in the DropBox folder. With HFF, you can access your Mac at home with your iPhone when you’re on the road. All your files are accessible as long as your computer is turned on, with no fuss on your part.

Here, File File requires a router that supports NAT-PMP or UPnP (you can set up port forwarding on your Mac if you don’t have a supported router).

If you’re wondering if the app is any good, consider the fact that Apple used the App in one of their iPhone commercials. Don’t need much more endorsement than that!

Tagged: iPhone