The fine folks over at Ars Technica have done a very thorough review of what’s new in iWork ’09. Writing for Ars Technica, Iijitsch van Beijnum highlights what works in terms of the new features and what doesn’t.

New features reviewed:

• iWork Tutorials
• Template Chooser
• Send via email Share option
• iWork.com

Pages:

• Running word count
• Full screen mode
• Mail Merge
• Equations: MathType
• References: Endnote

Numbers:

• New number formats (duration, numeral system)
• Fill>Up, Fill>Left
• Formula List
• Reorganize Table function
• Category Rows

Keynote:

• Equations: MathType
• Share menu
• Touch gesture support for laptops with the latest trackpads
• Magic Move
• Text Transitions and Object Transitions
• Guide Lines
• New Presenter Display
• iPhone or iPod Touch Keynote Control app

Problems:

• No auto-save with any of the apps
• No support for OpenDocument format or SVG images
• iWork.com really doesn’t do much other than share documents

Pages:

• Endnotes & footnotes
• Equations: MathType

Numbers:

• Decimal point or comma and day and month still controlled by settings in System Preferences
• Reorganize Table panel is confusing

Keynote:

• No more export to Flash
• Send To>iDVD creates “terrible looking DVD’s”
• Missing some transitions from previous versions

van Beijnum concludes with:

“Other than the support for equations through MathType, and possibly references through Endnote, the improvements in iWork '09 are evolutionary, not revolutionary. When I look at the pros and cons in the iWork '08 review, they pretty much all apply to iWork '09, too. iWork.com and category rows are a nice try, but no cigar—yet. The only (possibly) compelling new feature is MathType. Everything else is mostly just polish.

So for the casual and non-mathematical iWork user, this upgrade isn’t really necessary. However, for the power users there is a lot to like, and for those who need an office suite, but don't have one yet, iWork'09 is a great value for the money. Microsoft Office may have more advanced features, and OpenOffice may be free, but neither of them is as polished, easy-to-use, or well-integrated with Mac OS X as iWork.”

If you’re on the fence on whether or not to upgrade, the review is a very good read. You can also download the 30 day iWork ’09 demo over at Apple.

Tags:review, iwork

Skorpiostech Inc., released Transactions 1.0 last week and is available at the iTunes App store for $29.99. Transactions allows users to accept credit card as a form of payment right from their iPhone or iPod Touch. Transactions works by processing the credit card transactions through Authorize.net or PayPal. Transactions features:

• Works over Wifi, 3G or EDGE.
• Fast data entry with smart field completions.
• Transaction log view with the ability to export to your home or work computer.
• Password protected settings.
• Confidential information is secured using Apple’s Keychain.
• Import customer data from your address book.

Transactions requires an Authorize.net or PayPal Website Payments Pro account and iPhone OS 2.2.1. Obviously, if you’re using it on an iPod Touch, you’re also going to need a WiFi connection. Skorpiostech posted an FAQ on their website that shows you how to set up Transactions on your iPhone.

Skorpiostech is also offering Transactions Lite, a free version of the app that allows users to process up to two approved credit card transactions every 12 hours. We installed Transactions Lite and following the FAQ were able to set it up no problem. We haven’t actually processed any transactions yet as we don’t want to pay the fees assessed by PayPal. However, the app seems to be a solid app and if you need a budget friendly, mobile credit card processing solution you should give it a look.

Tags:app, financials

Simply put, Bullstorm’s Keyword Manager for iPhoto is indispensable to me and my digital photo collection. iPhoto’s built in key wording, although better than in the bad old pre version 7 days, is bad enough that I wouldn’t be using iPhoto if it weren’t for KM. Keyword Manager is to iPhoto what automatic transmissions, air conditioning, heated seats and power windows and locks are to modern automobiles. Its essential as far as I’m concerned so it was with great reservation that I upgrade to the newest version of iPhoto last month when I found out KM wasn’t compatible.

Yesterday, after a few weeks of slicing and dicing the new iPhoto Bullstorm released a beta version of Keyword Manager for iPhoto ‘09. See Bullstorm’s support forum thread for more information.

Beware: use at your own risk. This is a beta release and as such you should not use it on your iPhoto library without backing up first. That said, it sure is good to have KM back in iPhoto and I’m using it on my primary iPhoto library.

Keyword Manager is back, WOOHOO!

Tags:iphoto, update

Telestream released a new version of ScreenFlow yesterday bringing the popular video screen capturing app to version 1.5. The new version brings titling and text objects, customizable mouse pointers, new audio effects and the ability to export screencasts to Windows Media.

“February marks the first anniversary for Telestream’s ScreenFlow™ screencasting application, and its thousands of users have plenty to celebrate. Now available, ScreenFlow 1.5 adds titling and text capabilities, customizable mouse pointers, audio effects and more to this popular screen recording tool. In its first year, ScreenFlow received four prestigious awards, built an enthusiastic following of thousands of users worldwide and received raving reviews from industry experts.

ScreenFlow is an easy-to-use, professional screencasting studio for Mac OS X Leopard that allows users to record, edit and share professional screencasts. This unique screen recording software captures the contents of a user’s computer screens at the same time as their video camera, microphone and computer audio. Powerful post-production editing capabilities, allow users to easily enhance their video productions. Educators, software developers, trainers and bloggers use ScreenFlow as a cost-effective tool to create professional videos for the web that enhance learning experiences, presentations and product demonstrations.

Version 1.5 adds support for titling and text objects, including multiple fonts and styles that enable users to add striking titles to their screencasts. New customizable mouse pointers include a finger pointer added specifically for iPhone developers to demonstrate iPhone applications. More than ten new audio effects allow users to add depth and warmth to their narrations. Professional, single-channel microphones can now be mixed into stereo automatically. Plus, users can now export their screencasts to Windows Media using Telestream’s Flip4Mac WMV export components.”

The update is free to registered owners of ScreenFlow. New users can download and try out a demo or purchase a full license of the app for $99 (USD)

ScreenFlow hardware requirements:

• Mac OS X Leopard 10.5 or later
• G4 or Intel based CPU required. Core 2 Duo recommended
• A Quartz Extreme capable graphics card
• A supported programmable GPU required for certain effects & functionality

Tags:update, video, screen capture

The Pixelmator team has released the next version of their image editing and creation app. The new version, 1.4 Sprinkle, boasts:

“improved graphics tablet support, new brush presets, minor user interface, compatibility and performance improvements, and several bug fixes.”

New features in this release include a new painting engine, Adobe Photoshop brushes support, a clouds filter, document presets, and more.

“Pixelmator's new painting engine delivers smoothness, performance improvements, and new brush settings for painting tools in Pixelmator. New advanced brush settings in Pixelmator include scatter, flow, follow direction, size jitter, stroke jitter, angle jitter, opacity jitter, and color jitter. In addition to the ability to load and save brush presets, the application also allows users to import Adobe Photoshop brushes.

New document presets in Pixelmator can be used to quickly choose image dimensions and resolution for display, web, photo, or print projects. Users can also create their own document presets.

Pixelmator's powerful new clouds filter allows the artist to easily generate realistic clouds that can be used in either photos, special effects, or for creating natural textures.”

The update is free for registered owners and is available as a $59 download for new users.

Tags:update, graphics, design, image editing

Dejal Systems, LLC yesterday announced Simon version 2.5, the essential server monitoring tool for Mac OS X. It checks websites and many other kinds of services for changes or failures, with lots of notification and reporting options. Version 2.5 adds SMS and Web notifiers, drive status services, and several other enhancements and fixes.

New Features:

• New SMS notifier plug-in, to send text messages via Clickatell or e-mail.
• New Web notifier plug-in (like the Web service) to post to a web-based script.
• Added S.M.A.R.T. Status, Drive Status, and Pulse services.
• Added a Post to Simon Wall notifier.
• Several enhancements to the reports features.
• Added a Convert Domain/IP command to change a domain name into the corresponding IP address, or vice versa.
• Plus many more improvements and fixes; see the release notes for details.

Simon comes in three versions: Basic $29.95 (USD), Standard $59.95, Enterprise $195.00.

Check out Simon 2.5 over at Dejal.

Tags:update

MacZot has VectorDesigner on sale today for $39.99. Normally $69.95 VectorDesigner is vector drawing application that’s easy to use at a price most people can afford and today it’s even more affordable.

Vector Designer:

“has everything you need to create fancy vector graphics such as posters, brochures, stickers, logos, web graphics, t-shirt and more.It features a wide range of tools and smart shapes: easily create rectangles, ovals, polygons, stars, bezier curves - even convert bitmap images to vector-based drawings thanks to VectorDesigner’s automatic raster to vector conversion!VectorDesigner even provides advanced tools for performing geometric operations, to achieve total control over your drawings (union, subtraction, intersection and exclusive-or operations)”

Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.4 or higher (10.5 recommended).
G4, G5 or Intel processors.
1.25 GHz or faster.
512MB
(1GB recommended).
Core Image supported graphics card.
Some features require Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

To get you started on the road to vector designing greatness, TweakerSoft the makers of VectorDesigner have put together some great screen casts. Check them out over at TweakerSoft’s website.

Tags:vector, graphics, design

Eternal Storms Software today proudly presents the second public beta of flickery, their newest software product. flickery is a Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" desktop client for Flickr, providing a gorgeous, simple, out-of-the-way interface for working with photos on Flickr. Manage your photos, favorites and photosets, view photos in gorgeous detail or search for a particular shot in the entire flickr database - it's all at your fingertips. Still, with all this power, flickery lets you concentrate on what's important using Flickr - the photos!

With an easy to use, yet powerful upload feature, users can share their photos in no time. Adding them to an existing photosets or creating a new one, it's up to the user. You can take snapshots with your iSight or screenshots of your running applications right in flickery, or add photos from your photo library. With a built-in editor, you don't need to switch to another application to crop or resize your photo before uploading it.

Read more...

Tags:Flickr

MacRumors is reporting several of their readers have received shipment notification for their iLife '09 pre-orders. MacRumors is also reporting that iLife ’09 will be available at Best Buy today and in Apple stores tomorrow.

We can’t wait to get our grubby little hands on iLife ’09. The new Faces feature literally has us giddy with anticipation. When we get our copy we’ll be sure to post with our first impressions.

Tags:ilife

RedleX released and update to Mellel today. According to RedleX the new 2.6 version includes 25 new features and many enhancements. Some of the new features include:

1. Automatic update:

• Check for updates can be done automatically or manually.
• When updates are available, details of the update are viewable from within the application.
• Mellel determines users eligibility to the update and informs the user about his/hers status.
• Update is automatically downloaded and installed, integrated with the payment.

2. QuickLook plug-in - allows QuickLook and Finder previews of Mellel documents.

• Very accurate rendering of the documents, giving a very precise preview and QuickLook (except hyphenation).
• Preferences option to limit number of pages in QuickLook previews.

3. Added "Match Style Attributes" when switching style sets.
4. "Smart Style Application" - when applying character styles, Mellel maps overrides to their closes matching variation in the style.
5. The more traditional "Wipe all overrides" style application is also available by holding the option key while applying the style.
6. "Export PDF" option.
7. Re-Arranged "Statistics" palette.
8. "Spread view" options: One up, Two up, Four up and Spread.
9. Added the following encodings for plain text export and import: Japanese (Mac), Japanese (Windows), Japanese (Shift-JIS), Japanese (EUC), Traditional Chinese (Mac), Traditional Chinese (Windows), Simplified Chinese (Mac), Simplified Chinese (Windows), Chinese (GB18030), Korean (Mac), Korean (Windows), Korean (ISO2022-KR), Korean (EUC).
10. Added support for Japanese and Chinese to RTF, this improves compatibility with word and text edit for importing and copying Japanese and Chinese texts.

“Mellel is an advanced word processor for Mac OS X designed especially for scholars, creative and technical writers, and anyone seeking a feature-rich and reliable word processor.”

Mellel 2.6 is a free upgrade for anyone that bought it after December of 2006. Users that purchased Mellel prior to December 2006 can upgrade for $19 (USD). A full regular license is $49(USD) and RedleX offers a boxed version for $64( USD). Downloadable version for educators and students is $35 (USD)

Tags:word processor

MacZot is running Swift Publisher at 50% off today for $22.50. This is a seriously good deal for an increadible medium level page layout program. If your desktop publishing needs have outgrown Pages and Word or you just want to try out an alternative, Swift Publisher is a great way to go.

“No doubt that staying in touch with your customers and group members is important for you. With Swift Publisher, publishing good looking and informative documents for business, social and home activities becomes easy.

Swift Publisher is an excellent Macintosh page layout application for designing and printing colorful flyers, newsletters, brochures, letterheads, booklets, etc. A great selection of templates inspires your creativity and a variety of editing tools lets you quickly apply it.”

Swift Publisher Features:

• Thousands of images and designs: 24,000 high quality images, 100 unique masks and about 130 professionally designed templates (flyers, brochures, booklets, letterheads, newsletters, catalogs, etc.) are what you need for creating high-impact documents. Insert images in many supported formats — TIFF, JPEG, GIF, PDF, EPS from your computer, network or apply your iPhoto pictures using iPhoto integration.

• Advanced page layout: Flow text from column to column or to another page entirely. Adjustable layout guides are convenient for precise object placement. Text Wrap feature will be helpful if you need to combine graphics and text on a page. Take advantage of rotating each page of your multipage document on a fly. Switching between Background and Foreground layers enables you to create and edit complicated designs.

• Simple to use: Swift Publisher makes desktop publishing fun, easy and intuitive. Choose one of the ready-made templates, use a set of editing tools to control transparency, tiling, apply masks and fills, crop images, and enjoy the result. Want to share your stunning documents? Use adjustable PDF, TIFF, JPG and EPS export capabilities.

Swift Publisher is a cousin of the awesome Art Text 2 which we reviewed back in September. This is a great deal but only lasts for one day so if you’re thinking of buying hurry on over to MacZot and download the demo.

Tags:deals

Mudbug Software released Webify 1.1 last week. The update fixes rotation issues associated with rectangular images. It also introduced the Reflection effect promised when Webify was originally released. The update is free to all registered owners.

For anyone thinking about purchasing Webify, today would be a good day to do so. Mudbug is offering 40% off until 1/1/2009. That’s $9.60 USD for an eminently capable image editor.

We use Webify all the time for images we post here at AYAAW. It’s a great little app and we highly recommend it.

Tags:update, image editing, graphics

Realmac Software released it's new screen snapping utility, LittleSnapper 1.0 on Thursday. LittleSnapper is a screen snapping utility that incorporates an cataloging and organizing mechanism reminiscent of iPhoto. It solves a problem encountered by anyone who takes a lot of screen shots: keeping screen snaps findable and organized. If you use OS X's built in screen snapping feature (⌘+⇧+4) you'll soon end up with tons of screen snaps named "Picture 1.png", "Picture 2.png" etc., scattered about your desktop and hard drive. Even if you're diligent about keeping your screen snaps named and organized you still have to physically go through the motions of dragging and dropping them into your organizational system. LittleSnapper solves this problem by automatically importing screen shots into it's library.

Once in the library you can name, rate, describe and tag the screen snap for easy searching and finding later. You can further organize your library into folders, Collections and Smart Collections. Folders can contain anything you like: more folders, Collections or Smart Collections. Collections can only contain screen snaps and Smart Collections contain screen snaps based on rules you set when creating the collection. If you've ever used iPhoto or similar cataloging software you'll be comfortable with LittleSnapper's features and modes of operation.

So far, what I described above could be achieved with Skitch, SnapzPro, OS X's built in screen shot taking feature or any other screen capture program and your own organizational folder scheme (folders for libraries and collections) and although it wouldn't be automated, it is certainly doable. What sets LittleSnapper apart from these apps, however, is that the whole process is mostly automated. After taking the screen snap, LittleSnapper imports it and you just drag and drop it to the appropriate Library and collection. If you set up Smart Collections LittleSnapper can do this for you as well.

Another killer LittleSnapper feature is it's ability to take screen shots of full web pages. No longer do you have to take multiple screen snaps of really long webpages only to have to stitch them back together in an image editing app. Just navigate in Safari, Firefox, Camino, Omniweb or other supported browser to the page you want and tell LittleSnapper to snap the page. This type of functionality won't be of use to everyone but it's a boon to web developers and designers.

Of course, LittleSnapper comes with all the "normal" annotation tools you'd expect: Square, Circle, Text, Lines and Arrows. It also comes with a really slick Blur tool that allows you to obscure parts of your snap, like a username that was taken as part of the snap for example, or you can emphasize parts of your snap by blurring everything else. Slick!

All Capture commands are readily accessible in LittleSnapper's menu bar control: Snap Web Address From Safari, Open Current Website In LittleSnapper, Snap Full Screen, Snap Area, Snap Window. You can also open LittleSnapper's Preferences from the menu bar as well as quit the program.

By now you're probably thinking that LittleSnapper just might be the best thing since sliced bread and we'd probably agree but it gets even better. LittleSnapper allows you to take screen shots of individual elements on a page. Just load the webpage into LittleSnapper and then using it's DOM Element snapping feature move your cursor around and different page elements will highlight. When you find the one that you want, click it and then click Snap. You now have a screen snap of just that element. The real beauty of the webpage and element snapping features is that LittleSnapper also saves the associated HTML for you to look at later!

The last and possibly most important feature (ok they're all important but this is the one that'll allow us to move away from Skitch) is Realmac's QuickSnapper screen snap sharing service. Like Skitch, the QuickSnapper service is free and comes integrated with LittleSnapper: you just have to create an account which you can do right from within the app. With QuickSnapper you have the ability to upload snaps directly from the Share button in the LittleSnapper toolbar. Once shared, others can view and comment on your snap. QuickSnapper also automatically generates code for inserting into forum posts, code for an HTML link and the URL to the full image. Best of all QuickSnapper will generate a tiny URL for using with Twitter! You can also search other users images and import them into your own library with a click of a button.

LittleSnapper isn't perfect yet and is missing a few key features. We here at AYAAW need to be able to tale snaps of application menus as well as menu bar menus. As of version 1.0 there is no way to do this and we had to dust off Skitch to take the snap of LittleSnapper's menu bar menu. SnapzPro can take snaps of menus via a hot key combo and Skitch's timed snap allows for this as well. It would also be nice to be able to name, rate and tag snaps as they're imported. As it is now, you take the snap, LittleSnapper imports it and you then enter this info in the Inspector. This isn't a huge issue but if naming, rating and tagging the image were part of the importing workflow, it would just be a lot quicker process. Also, as the world's worst speller's we need LittleSnapper to be able to tap into OS X's spelling and grammar checker for Text annotating. No doubt Realmac is already busy on the next version of LittleSnapper and maybe these features will make it into a future release. Keep your fingers crossed.

LittleSnapper is an incredible tool for those of us who have to take and organize screen shots on a daily basis. Even for the casual snapper, LittleSnapper is a compelling application. Realmac Software has priced LittleSnapper at $39 which is a steal if you ask us. Check it out and download the demo over at Realmac's LittleSnapper website.

Tags:announcement, new, screensnap

Yesterday the brothers Dailide (Saulius and Aidas Dialide are the creators of Pixelmator) announced the immediate availability of Pixelmator 1.3, code named Tempo. The update provides more than a few bug fixes, major performance improvements, click-and-drag Magic Wand, Paint Bucket and Eraser tools, improved Hue and Saturation, Replace Color and Colorized tools, a Smart Palette hiding feature and more.

Pixelmator 1.3 Tempo delivers performance gains in almost every function of the application. It takes even more advantage than before of Core Image, OpenGL, and the power of other Mac-only technologies so that dramatic performance improvements are easily seen when one is working with large images—opening and saving, using filters and adjustments, and more.

We haven't had any time to play with the new version but it sounds like a great update. We use Pixelmator on a regular basis here at AYAAW so we're pretty excited about taking Tempo for a test drive. Do you use Pixelmator? What do you think about the latest version? Post your comments in the comment section.

For more info on the update check out the official Pixelmator Press Release.

You can download the latest version here (if you're a new customer) or just use the built in auto updater.

Tags:image editing, update

VectorDesigner 1.4.6

TweakerSoft $69.95

TweakerSoft announced today the immediate availability of Vector Designer 1.4.6. The new version includes support for the new MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air multi gesture touchpad. TweakerSoft also says that the new version squashes some minor bugs and improves performance. TweakerSoft bills VectorDesigner as "the perfect application for vector drawings, diagrams and illustrations, raster image handling, filtering and color correction. Out of the box, it offers everything users need to create professional level vector artwork."

By leveraging the full capabilities of Quartz and Core Image, VectorDesigner retains the feel of traditional drawing applications and features a wide assortment of tools, including smart shapes, rectangles, ovals, rounded rectangles, polygons, stars, bezier creation and editing, as well as raster to bezier conversion.

Combine shapes using unite, subtraction, xor and intersection boolean tools. Text can be fitted inside a shape or along a path preserving all the text editing capability of Mac OS X. All filters and composition may be applied non-destructively to shapes and images. A particularly useful feature is the integrated flickr browser; search texture and images by tags, or by color and download them directly inside the document.

Tags:update, vector, graphics

Yesterday, Aquafadas announced the availability of BannerZest 1.2.6. The update includes bug fixes to the Accordion, Coverflow and Hanging themes as well as a new scrolling theme and Sliding Sticker theme. The new BannerZest used the newest swfobject (1.2.1) and adds many new options in several themes.

BannerZest comes in two versions, $129 for the Pro and $49 for the Standard, and sports English, French, Italian, Danish and Japanese language support.

BannerZest is a great product and by far the easiest way to spice up your website with flash banners. Aquafadas offers downloads of both the Pro and Standard versions so try before you buy and see what all the fuss is about.

Tags:update, flash

From the press release:

Montpellier, France - October 9th 2008 : Aquafadas is pleased to announce the immediate availability of VideoPier and VideoPier HD v1.0. The VideoPier family of products is aimed at videographers who own MPEG-2 or AVCHD camcorders and who struggle with these video formats on their Mac.

VideoPier and VideoPier HD make it very easy to transfer clips from these camcorders to a central location on their Mac, without requiring any conversion, without any loss in quality. The clips appear grouped by Events in the VideoPier elegant user interface, ready to be viewed, organized and converted to any format. VideoPier handles equally well data that has already been copied to disk and will let you access all your clips easily. In addition, VideoPier HD lets you capture HDV material directly from tape based HDV camcorders.

VideoPier and VideoPier HD v1.0 integrates seamlessly with your other video applications and let you use workflows that are not supported by default on the Mac. One example: still using iMovie06 ? Use VideoPier to acquire data from your MPEG2 or AVCHD camcorder; then use the specifically designed iMovie06 export function to send versions of those clips to iMovie06 in a format it understands.VideoPier comes with an extensive set of export functionality, to iMovie 06/08, iPhone, Quicktime and Final Cut (VideoPier HD only).

If you work with MPEG2 and AVCHD material, VideoPier will make your life a lot easier.

Language support
English, French

Minimum requirements:
* Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 or later
* 1-GHz G4, G5, or Intel-based Mac
*512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended)

Pricing and Availability
A single user license for VideoPier v1.0 US$49, and VideoPier HD US$79.

We haven't tried either but we are big fans of another Aquafadas app: BannerZest Pro. If VideoPier is anything like BannerZest, it's a quality app.

Tags:video

We here at AYAAW love BeLight software. In fact, it is our opinion that BeLight is one of the premier Mac development houses in operation today. BeLight software titles are powerful and immenently useful. Check out our Art Text 2 review for a more in-depth look at one of BeLight's best apps. Ok, enough blathering and just get to the point!

Today, MacZot is featuring BeLight's Mail Factory and it's on sale through midnight for $19.95. That's half off for an extremely cool app that makes printing envelops, labels and postcards a breeze. Not only that but with Mail Factory this mundane task is actually kind of fun. With Mail Factory you can print just one envelope or set up a list for batch printing; paste included mail related clipart onto the envelope; choose to print to any of about a bazillion different labels (Avery, DYMO, Xerox and many other label manufacturers that I've never heard of); the list goes on.

If you do any amount of mailing (for your home based business, club, etc.) you really need to download and try out the demo. Like every other BeLight title Mail Factory is a fantastic app.

As of this posting, you only have just over 7 hours to snag this deal, so what are you waiting for? Get over there and do it.

Tags:deals, maczot, lables

If you find yourself needing to create beautiful, professional looking graphics check out our comprehensive, brand-spanking new review of Art Text 2 in AYAAW's review section. We highlight Art Text 2's new features as well as it's strengths and weaknesses. Read more about this powerful and fantastic app after the jump.

Tags:graphics, text

Yesterday, BeLight Software announced the immediate availability of version 2 of it's Art Text graphics application. Art Text 2 can be used for creating headings, web graphics, buttons and logos with an ease not found in other software. According to BeLight, the new version features a new Template Gallery with over 200 ready made buttons, headings, icons. Multiple layers support and redesigned interface turn Art Text 2 into flexible tool to create complex graphics. 120 new vector icons and over 190 supplied textures were added. Pricing starts at $39.95, upgrade is free for people who purchased version 1 starting July 1st, 2008 and costs only $19.95 for those who purchased earlier:

"We are thankful to all Art Text users who found version 1 useful and wrote us feedbacks and suggestions about improving the program. When working on version 2 we tried to account on most of those wishes and nevertheless keep the software easy to use, so that two clicks are enough to bring joy to any user!"- says Pavel Skurtul, Art Text Product Manager.

Other Art Text version 2 changes:
- 120 new vector icons added;
- Redesigned program interface;
- Merge layers using one of the 11 blend modes;
- Texture library with over 190 supplied textures added;
- Multi layers support added, each layer has its own properties;
- Library of Shading materials grew to 245 surface materials in total;
- Template Gallery with 200+ editable button, heading, icon and logo templates becomes available.

Art Text 1 is a fantastic app that put the power of higher end graphics programs into a smaller, lighter-weight package that's easy to use and create fantastic looking graphics. We here at AYAAW can't wait to put version 2 though it's paces. Check back for a complete review in the next couple of weeks.

Tags:update, graphics, announcement

Realmac Software, makers of the amazing RapidWeaver, announced their latest creation LittleSnapper at last weeks Paris Apple Expo. LittleSnapper appears to be a screenshot application that can also take snapshots of entire web pages, even those that extend past the bottom of your screen. Beyond that LittleSnapper will also store your screenshots with a workflow that seems to be similar to the now familiar iTunes or iPhoto system of cataloging. According to Realmac, LittleSnapper's cataloging ability features tools to add comments to screenshots, annotate with shapes and text, add ratings and tags, group into collections via drag and drop and build Smart Collections based on information from your library.

LittleSnapper also features the ability to share screenshots via a one-click publishing tool, take shots of individual webpage elements and according to the Realmac blog it will integrate with your favorite image editing application. The one-click publishing thing really appeals to me. I love and use Skitch daily so I'm hoping it works similarly.

RealMac hasn't posted a downloadable demo yet nor have they announced a release date or pricing, although they do state it will be available late this year. This is very intriguing to me on a number of levels. Firstly, I seem to really like and collect screenshot taking apps. I do use them when building websites but have absolutely no need for as many as I have. Secondly, it's being developed by Realmac so you know it's going to be good. Lastly, I really like and collect screenshot taking apps. Whoops! I listed that that twice. I must only have two levels.

I can't wait and am giddy with anticipation at being able to take screenshots. Er, wait a second. I can already do that with any number of apps. I'm still giddy anyway because one can never have too many screen shooting apps, can they?

Joe Henry

Tags:announcement

Mudbug Software announced on Wednesday the immediate availability of Webify beta. Webify is a basic image editor aimed at simplifying the process of producing quality, web-ready images for use on the web.

Webify's Effects panel includes options to:

• Flip images horizontally or vertically
• Rotate an image on its X or Y axis (this is very cool)
• Apply a Sepia Effect
• Adjust Exposure, Gamma, Saturation, Sharpness, Contrast and Brightness

Webify also includes a crop tool and you can save your image as a GIF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, PhotoShop, PDF or Tiff formated image.

I've been playing with Webify for a couple of days and find it to be a very capable little image editor that's lightweight and easy to use. It launches immediately and I find myself launching PhotoShop Elements 6 less and less for images I'm using on the web. It really is a great little app and the developer has stated that the final 1.0 full version will also include a reflection option as well as additional batch processing features. Developers will also appreciate a public SDK included in with the final version that will allow the creation of plug-ins that add functionality to Webify.

To experience all this image editing goodness you'll need to fork over $10. Mudbug is only offering the beta as a paid beta but in return you get the app for $10 rather than $20 when the final version is released. Webify is a nice app and does exactly what it's intended to do. Gary Byrd, Webify's developer and RapidWeaver theme developer extraordinaire, is good people so don't hesitate to jump on this deal. If launching PhotoShop just to do a couple minor edits on a web-bound image has got you down give Webify a try. You'll be glad you did.

Joe Henry

Tags:image editing, beta