Installation & First Use

Live Wallpaper can be downloaded straight from the Mac App Store, which makes the installation extra easy. Upon opening the application for the first time, you are presented with a short description of the application in case you are still unsure exactly what it does, along with a link to the SquidMelon (developers) Facebook page incase you have any extra questions.

Live Wallpaper Welcome Message

You will notice straight away that a default theme is applied to the desktop background, which is great and a sign of the simplicity and ease of use that is to come. Live Wallpaper is very similar to GeekTool, but with a major difference. Although many of the features found in Live Wallpaper can be duplicated with GeekTool, Live Wallpaper is so much simpler to use, unlike the experience with shell scripts, image placement and manipulation needed in GeekTool.

Simply opening the application will get you started with a wallpaper and interactive live weather and time, however there are more options for customisation under the hood. To open up the preference pace, click on the icon in your MenuBar at the top of the screen and select the Preferences option.

Choosing a Theme

In the Preferences  panel the first thing to do is to pick a theme. When attempting this the first time, each theme has to be individually downloaded, and if too many are downloaded at once the application may lag a little. Do not worry because behind the scenes your brand new themes are being loaded into the application.

Choose from 11 Themes

After they have downloaded, simply clicking on a theme will switch over your desktop, along with the layout and format of the time and weather. Simple, quick and effortless.

Customising the Theme

Each theme has separate elements that can then be edited and teamed to suit you better. The time can be set locally, and the location of the weather can be edited depending on what your location is. Most towns and even small villages are recognised when selecting a weather location so there are no issues of you not being able to get weather for your current location.

Selet a weather zone and the units for displaying the temperature

There is also an option for a customisable short message that is displayed on the wallpaper too. After editing all of the options available, exit the preferences panel and see what you have created!

A theme using Paris as the subject

After playing around with Live Wallpaper for a while I settled on a theme which uses a cool circular bar theme to display the time which moves with a very nice animation. All of the themes look great and the developers are adding more all the time, and best of all, they are free!

The Polar Clock theme

Conclusion

Live Wallpaper offers a great and easy to use way of applying a dynamic wallpaper to your desktop. With 11 custom themes and enough customisation to make it unique, but not too complicated it is a great way to spice up your desktop!

So, without further ado, lets get started with this weeks first app, iBank.

iBank is an awesome Mac money management application. It allows you to monitor balances at a glance, track investments, maintain budgets and manage accounts — all in an easy, powerful, full-featured package.

iBank

Noti is a great way to study, keep notes and reminders, and just store general information with a quick to access and easy to use application. With loads of unique settings for you notecards, Noti won’t let you down.

Noti

SmartDay

$39.99 -> $18.99

Developer: left coast logic

SmartDay is an integrated organiser that will let you schedule tasks and plan your day in advance. With cloud support, your daily schedule is sure to be the same no matter where you view it.

SmartDay

xList

$19.99 -> $4.99

Developer: adnx

 

xList provides a unique look at getting things done, and finds a way to combine tagging, priority tasks and filtering, along with a great looking interface to make it one of the more desirable GTD applications.

xList

Rar – 7z Extractor

$2.99 -> Free

Developer: effectmatrix

 

Rar – 7z Extractor is a easy to use and intelligent application which provides a hassle free way to expand/extract RAR, 7z and many other popular compressed file formats, best of all, its now free!

Rar – 7z Extractor

 Thanks for taking a look at this weeks Mac App Deals, they won’t last for ever, so get them whilst you can!

Downloading & Installation

It used to be the case where Caffeinated  was only available through their own website, but now it can easily be purchased and downloaded through the Mac App Store. this is a very simple process and you can’t go wrong! After installation and opening Caffeinated you will be presented with a popup asking you to enter your Google Reader information (any Google Account will suffice at this stage if you don’t already have a Google Reader account you would like to connect). After clicking submit, your current Google Reader subscriptions will start to show up, however in this review we will be showing you how to add new reader subscriptions so will be starting from scratch.

Caffeine has a clean interface with a well laid out sidebar area

Adding A New Subscription

Virtually any website that has some sort of RSS feed or other similar services can be added to work with Google Reader and Caffeinated. Click the small setting icon towards the top right of the sidebar, and select Add Subscription (or alternatively press Command (⌘) N ). Then enter the website name, its as simple as that.

Adding a new subscription with Caffeine is incredibly simple

After doing this, recent articles should pop into your unread feed. Every time a new article is published by any website or blog you have subscribed to, a notification will appear in the top right corner, and the number of unread articles will be displayed both in the MenuBar and in the dock.

Reading Articles

To read a specific post, simply click on the article preview in the sidebar. In this section all the articles of the selected folder are displayed, along with its publish date, title and a small text extract. Opening a post will display it in the large window ready for you to read it. Once you have read it it will be takes out of the unread folder automatically.

Read in normal view, or make the window fullscreen

Adding Favourites

Read something you might want to bookmark or show a friend later, add it to your favourites folder. This can be done by selecting the star in the top right corner, or right clicking the article and selecting “Start Item”. Once this is done, all of you starred/favourite articles will appear in the Starred folder displayed at the top of the sidebar.

Add articles to your favourites for easy access

Making Groups

Folders can also be created to contain certain groups of sites. For example, if we want a folder for Apple news, we can add the sites we wish to include using the previous method, then create a folder by clicking on the same setting icon, and instead of selecting “Add Subscription” click on “Add Folder”. The folder can then be renamed and multiple sites dragged into the folder.

Create custom folders and manage websites within these groups

Doing this allows the viewing of multiple sites in the same feed. This is a great feature if you have several different interests and wish to divide the topics up and read about the separately.

Customisation

As well as clicking to do all the rings we have reviewed, Caffeinated allows the use of a series of shortcuts which can be seen below. Every shortcut can be set individually and changed from the default settings to better suit you and your work preferences.

Preferences for Articles, Interface, Shortcuts,Themes & Plugins

Sharing

After reading a post, if you are inspired enough to share it, there is a plethora of sharing options available. By clicking on the share icon and selecting the appropriate service (username and password will be required) any article can be shared simply and easily, with a custom post message with the use of the handy “Insert Link”, “Shorten Link” and “Insert Title” buttons.

Share content to Twitter, Facebook and loads of other social media sites

Searching

If you want to filter specific results or can’t find something you were reading earlier, use the search bar to filter specific keywords and display the corresponding posts. You can see here that the post look different to before, this is using a different theme, for which there are several to choose from.

Filter though articles with the search function

Conclusion

Caffeinated is a well designed application that lets you read, search and share articles from Google Reader simply, efficiently, and all whilst looking great. With several integrated themes, folder organisation and notifications it will surely make catching up on your favourite websites that little bit easier!

OmmWriter takes away all the distractions of many modern day text editors, with a simple and clutter free environment it allows writers to concentrate on their writing, avoiding those pesky distractions. OmmWriter has a unique combination of audio and visual components which aim to enhance your creativity. With the new version, you are able to create custom backgrounds and define your writing area.

OmmWriter

Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers designed for composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on getting you to the end of that awkward first draft. With a lot more features than OmmWriter, Scrivener helps you to get that first draft out in good time, with loads of nifty features to help you do so, such as a virtual cork board, notes, comments, snapshots and exporting as an audio file!

Scrivener

Write without distractions. WriteRoom is a full screen writing environment. Unlike the cluttered word processors you’re used to, WriteRoom lets you focus on writing, much like that of OmmWriter we saw earlier.

Writeroom

We couldn’t do this top 5 without including Apple’s Pages. Although there are some haters out there, it really does have all the basic tools you need to get started with word processing. It is more focused towards the design and layout of a page than concentrating on the actual words, although it does include all the features you would expect, with a great attention to detail on the fonts.

Pages

With a compromise between the extremely simplistic writing applications, and some of the more feature packed ones, Byword contains a great user interface, beautiful text, and still has  the formatting options to back it up. And as of this moment, its 50% off, so get it whilst its on offer!

Byword

Opening the CheatSheet Panel

After installation, there isn’t a window as such, or a solid application that can be opened. Nor is there a MenuBar icon which is available. To start with lets open an application. Once that is done, simply hold down the command (⌘) key for 2 seconds and a window will pop up.

Specific Application Shortcuts

After opening up CheatSheet the shortcuts are divided into sections, as they would be in the MenuBar, each shortcut is crisp and clear and its very easy to distinguish individual shortcuts and groups of options. Each application has its own shortcuts, so, when opening up CheatSheet panel all the shortcuts will work with the current application. If no application is open, it will display the shortcuts available for Finder, and shortcuts for copying and pasting files etc.

CheatSheet: A simple and effective way to learning and using shortcuts

There are not many customisable options for CheatSheet, when displaying the panel, in the lower right hand corner there are 3 options available. From here you can quit the application, print the current shortcuts and change the speed, which varies how quickly the window opens after holding down the command key. It allows you to change the speed roughly between 1 and 3 seconds.

Conclusion

CheatSheet, although a simple application is a great addition to your Mac, with an unobtrusive interface and simple layout of commands which are also clickable, it provides a unique way to learn application specific shortcuts which blends seamlessly into the OSX experience.

Installation and Interface

CCleaner can quickly be downloaded from the Mac App Store, which I am sure you are all familiar with by now! After launching there are 3 clear sections to the application. The first determines whether to enter the main cleaning area, the second takes you into the tools, and the third allows some customisation such as with cookies.

Cleaner

The main use for CCleaner is the main cleaning section. The first main section from which files can be cleaned are the files which are part of the operating system.

This first area allows the removal of files from Safari, such as the cache, history, cookies and download history which can sometime be rather large, depending on how much browsing you do on a day to day basis. Files are also cleared up from the system, which include, trash, recent lists of documents, applications, servers and places as well as logs and directory service cache’s. The third section that is available to clean in the operating system section are files from system applications such as software updates, quick look, console and the dashboard.

Clean System Files

The seconds section allows the cleaning of files from particular applications that you have installed on your Mac. Primarily browser caches, this section will remove unnecessary logs and caches from any application that you see fit. With the new version, the files are even cleaned if you still have the application running.

Clean Application Files

After selecting which items you wish to be cleaned, go ahead and select the “Clean” button which will remove all the files and display a very useful output to the main window, which is helpful if you wish to see what is happening.

Tools

The tools section has three main uses, uninstalling applications, repairing disk permissions and secure erasing free space.

When uninstalling an application on your Mac, a simple drag and drop process to the trash is recommend by most publishers and Apple themselves. In reality, this only removes the main application, and not the preferences, and other caches it has saved to your hard drive. When using the uninstall function in CCleaner, everything related to that application will be removed, making room for other files on your hard drive.

The repairing disk permissions is useful if you receive errors whilst using certain applications, and can quickly repair the permissions so they can be used to their full potential.

CCleaner Tools

When deleting files using the trash, they are not “actually” deleted, the space on the disk where they were is just earmarked as free. So, it is still possible for someone to recover these files, which you may not want doing. The secure erase free space will create a file, the exact size of the free space left on your Mac, and then delete, subsequently destroying any chance of your previously deleted files being recovered.

Settings

This section lets you manage the things you don’t want deleting. For example if you use a particular site more than others, you may not want to clear the cache and cookies for this site, as it may slow down for you the next couple of times you visit it. There are also other options available which let you customise what is cleaned by default to give you more control over the whole process of clearing out files.

CCleaner Options

Conclusion

CCleaner provides a simple, free, effective way of clearing out unnecessary files on your Mac. From browser caches, to repairing disk permissions. With an intuitive interface and easy customisable options, it is sure to keep your Mac is shape and feeling healthy, whilst maintaing the files which you want to keep, in their rightful place.

So, without further ado, lets get started with this weeks first app, Bento.

This weeks first app is Bento which is an awesome personal database for your Mac. You can organise contacts, track projects, plan events and manage lists – the fast and easy way! Use it standalone or synchronise with all of your mobile devices, to take your contacts and other data on the move!

Bento

Web Slices

$8.99 -> Free

Developer: Bloop

 

Web Slices is a great way to monitor changes to websites, providing amazing full length screenshots of any number of pages, not limited to the size of your display. It enables you to quickly and view snapshots of websites by creating a personalised page full of the sites you wish to view. It featured in our 5 Mac Apps That Developers Can’t Live Without.

Web Slices

 

Folder Tidy

$4.99 -> $0.99

Developer: Tunabelly Software

 

Folder Tidy provides a quick and simple way to clean up your desktop. With one simple action, you can organise all of the files into different categories, determined by you. With customisable options, using Folder Tidy will bake sure your desktop stays clean.

Folder Tidy

Cars 2

$29.99 -> $9.99

Developer: TransGaming

 

Based on the iconic and del know movies, Cars 2 lets players jump straight into the world of Cars, continuing from where the movie left off. You can choose between Mator and Lightning McQueen and conquer the racing world once again, but this time, trained as a spy! With single-player and multiplayer support it will provide hours of fun for anyone who enjoyed the film, with available unlockable challenging new tracks, characters, events and thrilling spy missions.

Cars 2

DMG Maker

$0.99 -> Free

Developer: MacEnvy

 

DMG Maker allows the quick creation of .dmg files. Creating a disk image can sometime be a lengthy process, and using Apples Disk Utility can be very confusing. DMG Maker converts this complicated process into a simple drag and drop action, which works every time. Best of all, its now free!

DMG Maker

 

Thanks for taking a look at this weeks Mac App Deals, they won’t last for ever, so get them whilst you can!

MoneyWiz provides a great looking place on your Mac to store, organise and manage all of you accounts, budgets and bills in one centralised place. MoneyWiz also allows you to sync your account across multiple devices, so you will have the most up to date details no matter where you are. With great looking reports, an intuitive interface and multiple account support, MoneyWiz is one of the best personal finance apps for Mac out there!

MoneyWiz

iCompta lets you have full control over your accounts, with a great combination of managing your personal accounts, keeping track of your income and expense, scheduling your bills, staying in line with your budget and finally knowing where all your money goes, iCompta is a great looking application that fits right in on your Mac.

iCompta

Cashculator provides a simple, free way to organise the cash-flow from your personal accounts. It will aim to help you keep track of your accounts and allow you to make smarter finical decisions to improve your finical future. With an emphasis on simplicity, the minimalistic tables and graphs are very simple to understand and you will be well on your way to a healthier account in no time.

Cashculator

Anyone who has invested in multiple shares/stocks knows that tracking their process can be difficult at the best of times, Investoscope has a solution for you! Investoscope is a portfolio tracker for the individual investor, built exclusively for Mac OS X. With an intreated workspace, Investoscope lets you monitor the performance of your investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other securities.

Investoscope

Squirrel is a personal finance application for Mac that can substantially increase your productivity when working with your accounts. Squirrel allows you to forecast and track your spendings, analyse where your money is going with graphs, and stay on track with your finances thanks to budgets. With a simple interface and some great importing options for different account types, Squirrel can get you well on your way to getting your accounts in order.

Squirrel

What Can Caffeine Do?

The sleep function on OS X is really something that cannot be lived without if you want to use your laptops battery conservatively, and if used correctly can save you hours of working time per charge. But the dimming screen and sleep mode can be somewhat annoying when trying to watch a video for instance, or performing other tasks for which you will not need to move the mouse for longer periods of time.

A Bunch of Preferences available in Caffeine

It is possible to go through OS X’s system preferences every time you want to the screen to dim or not, but this can be very time consuming, and at the very least, annoying.

The Left Icon shown here is the Caffeine Menu Bar Application

OS X’s sleep function is something I couldn’t live without. The Mac’s aggressive form of power management has saved me hours upon hours of working time, where I otherwise would simply be without a functioning MacBook. This is because there is an absence of available power plugs where I roam, and I’m sure I’m not the only Mac user who’s in this situation.

Choose a preset activation time instead of disabling manually

This is where Caffeine comes in. Caffeine is an unobtrusive menu-bar item which functions just as advertised. Simply click the icon once, and an overlaid cross-section of a cup of coffee should appear, disabling sleep. The item can then easily be clicked again in order to re-enable it. A very simple solution to a widespread problem.

Conclusion

Caffeine is really as simple as it comes, a small “applet” which sits in your MenuBar, waiting patiently until it is needed. With a simple toggle switch, novel graphics and a reputation of reliability that is outshone by none, Caffeine provides a simple to solution to the age old problem of a sleepy Mac.

Interface

I wish the application looked more like the icon, however having said that, it still has a modern feel, with a vibrant blue display set on a wooden background with easily accessible options and buttons when needed.

Realistic Looking Clock Display

When first loading up Wake Up Time, you will see the large time display window, as well as the day of the week. By default there is no alarm set but this is easily changed in the next step.

Setting The Alarm

To set the alarm, drag out the right hand portion of the clock window, and an extra set of options will appear. In this panel the time of the alarm, the sound produced (more sounds are available in the paid version, but the free version which we are reviewing has all you could really want, unless you feel the need to play an iTunes song to your self when you wake up!) and the volume and fade of the sound can be adjusted.

Set the Alarm and Configure its Options

Once this is done, thats it, the alarm is set. Make sure the button on the lower left section of the screen is lit up which indicates that the alarm is on. This same button is very confusing at first glance, but its use becomes obvious after setting your first alarm.

Conclusion

With a customisable snooze time, adjustable alarm settings a 24-hour mode, Wake Up Time allows you to set alarms on your Mac without having to leave your desk, all whilst looking great as well. For a free application it is one of the best alarms, although multiple alarms and an icon in the Menu Bar would improve its functionality greatly, and the large number of pop-up advertisements for other applications can sometimes get annoying. But overall a solid application for getting you out of bed when you really don’t want to, especially with the utterly deafening digital tone produced!