The current MacUpdate Promo is offering the excellent shareware tool Default Folder for only $19.95 until midnight on 10/27/2008.
I have been an extremely satisfied user since way back in the OS 9 days, and highly recommend you pick up a license while this great deal is going on. Default Folder is worth every penny of the $34.95 standard price, so at almost half off it’s a steal.
What does it do? Here’s a quick overview:
Default Folder X attaches a toolbar to the right side of the Open and Save dialogs in any OS X-native application. The toolbar gives you fast access to various folders and commands. You just click on the buttons to go to your favorite and recently used folders, manage the folders and files shown in the list, and make changes to your settings.
Continue reading 'Must-Have OS X Productivity Tool Default Folder 43% Off 10/27/2008'
Symmetries from Earthlinksoft Software is an interesting symmetrical vector object generator tool.
The control system is very intuitive, requring no knowledge of how to manipulate vector paths. While simplistic, it gives one a high level of control over exploring interesting symmetrical objects. I did find that there seemed to be a bit of a genre of shapes that were the calling card for this tool, but maybe I just didn’t play with it enough.
Symmetries does not generate tiled patterns, but rather single vector objects, which then can be pasted into the vector software of your choosing for futher editing. The demo mode doesn’t allow this, so I couldn’t test it.
Continue reading 'Symmetries – Vector Path Software Tool'
Published on
May 27, 2008 in
productivity.
Tags: 10.5, Adobe, Adobe Illustrator, art, artist, design, eps, Finder, font, FreeHand, illustrator, InDesign, Leopard, Mac, Mac OS X, OS X, PDF, plugin, shareware, software, vector.
SneakPeek Pro is a QuickLook plugin fro Mac OS X 10.5 (“Leopard”). In a nutshell, it extends file previews in both QuickLook and the Finder to previously unsupported file types such as Adobe Illustrator .ai files and EPS files.
If you aren’t familiar with QuickLook, it’s a pretty awesome new feature of 10.5 which allows you to quickly preview a good number of core file types — PDF, JPG, PSD, Word docs, movies, text files and more — without actually opening an application. One just needs to tap the spacebar with a file highlighted in the Finder, and a floating bezel-type window opens up with the full image, document or movie. Even works with multi-page documents as well. It’s just plain awesome.
Continue reading 'Illustrator File Previews: SneakPeek Pro QuickLook Plugin For Mac OS X'
Published on
May 24, 2008 in
productivity.
Tags: art, free, freeware, Mac, Mac OS X, OS X, productivity, resources, shareware, software, utility.
Jumpcut is a very handy clipboard extender for Mac OS X. What Jumpcut does is remember a user-specified number of text items copied to the clipboard, and allows one to select from them when pasting.
The standard OS X clipboard allows the user to paste only the last-copied item. Jumpcut just keeps track of everything you have copied using the Command (⌘) -C shortcut or the Edit -> Copy menu item.
Continue reading 'Jumpcut: Free OS X Clipboard History Utility'
Published on
May 14, 2008 in
tools.
Tags: Adobe, Adobe Illustrator, art, CS3, design, illustrator, Mac, Mac OS X, OS X, review, shareware, software, vector.
A good, informative post over at TUAW (The Unofficial Apple Weblog) comparing low-cost vector software applications for Mac OS X by indepedent developers. The review is specifically comparing tools and techniques available in Adobe Illustrator CS3.
The comparison covers four applications: DrawBerry, EazyDraw, Lineform, and VectorDesigner. I have demoed all of these at one point or another, and found each to have their stregths and weaknesses.
Continue reading 'Mac Vector App Showdown'
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