Flare for Mac

Flare is a fast, easy, and beautiful darkroom for your Mac OS X desktop.

With Flare, you can apply photographic effects to your photos, then save them to your Mac, upload them to Flickr, or send them in an email. Flare comes with over twenty high-quality presets to easily apply a wide range of different effects. But that’s only the beginning because Flare also gives users the power to edit existing presets or build all new ones completely from scratch.

Here are just some of the notable highlights of Flare for Mac:

*Fine tune effects in real time via live preview
*High quality 12 Megapixel Textures, Borders and Frames
*Temporarily save edits as Snapshots for later use
*Drag and drop images from iPhoto, Aperture, Photoshop & Lightroom
*Export photos in JPEG, PNG and TIFF formats
*Share creations on Flickr or by e-mail
*Unlimited Undos
*Helpful online user guide and video tutorials

Download Flare from the Mac App Store. The regular price is $20, but Flare is on sale right now in the Mac App Store for just $10.

All of a Twitter

The past few days I've been playing with, and beta testing, Twitterrific 2. The new features are welcome and I'm delighted to note a few more of my suggestions (doubtlessly suggested by others too) made it into this release:

Apple menu bar icon
Spell checker

I only wish that the menu bar icon included settings options a la Gmail Notifier. This breaks, for me at least, human-computer interaction (HCI) guidelines. However, don't let that stop you from joining in the fun here.

Thanks Ged for letting me play in the Iconfactory's sandpit for a while.

A Twitter friend, Drew Benvie, social media adviser for Lewis PR and a blogging expert, is interviewed in today's edition of the Guardian newspaper Why are so many people blogging off?

Hailing Frequencies Open

Iconfactory's Twitterrific has been unleashed! It was fun being a part of the beta test, and I can't wait for my maverick suggestions to show up in a future release. I hope!

The following is taken from the Iconfactory's official announcement:

Today, we are pleased to announce the release of a brand new software product – Twitterrific. Over the past month or so, the workers have discovered the joys of Twitter (direct link to my page).

So what exactly is Twitter you ask?

Twitter is a social networking web service that lets you stay in touch with friends, family or even the public at large thanks to short posts or “tweets” that describe what you are doing at any given moment. The concept is simple, strangely addictive and fun through and through. Tell friends, colleagues or strangers what you are snacking on, your current interests, favorite websites or just plain goofy nonsense!

Twitterrific is a menubar application for Mac OS X that lets you both read and post ‘tweets’ to the Twitter network. The application has an extremely small desktop footprint and allows you to expand or collapse the interface to show as much or as little information as you desire. Wing your way to the Twitterrific homepage for more information including screen shots and keyboard shortcuts.

Throw in a dash of Iconfactory iconic goodness, combined with the fact that its totally free, and you have yourself a fun little desktop application that is just calling out for you to give it a whirl. Head on over to Twitter to sign up for a free account, add some friends (and some famous faces) and then download Twitterrific for your Mac. One thing to note: be sure to log out of the Twitter website before you first launch the app to avoid password problems, and you’ll be singing your tweets to the entire world before you know it. Have fun!

(There's No Place Like) Hyrule For The Holidays

Following last evening's online chat with Gedeon Maheux, one of The Iconfactory's principle pixel pushers, I was more determined than ever to procure a Nintendo Wii!

Against the odds and following the somewhat predictable Play.com disappointment (there was no way they could've fulfilled 9000+ pre-orders due to allocation shortages). This morning I managed to secure a Wii pre-order from Amazon.co.uk!

Pre-ordering went live at, about, 9:40AM (GMT) and lasted for mere minutes, with some customers reaching Amazon's place order now page too late (according to various forums)!

Roll on December and some serious holiday time spent in Hyrule.

Not Just a Pretty Interface

Apologies for the recent disruptions. Yesterday I attempted to back capture older posts and convert them to MP3 files. This should be completed during the next few days.

With so much time spent on refining Blogger's code candy, my portfolio site has played second fiddle! However, I'm now making the transition from using Adobe's GoLive CS to Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Studio 8. Studio 8 is considered the 'professionals' choice and I'm inclined to agree.



Dreamweaver 8 is light years ahead of GoLive CS and I'm currently using the built-in code rewriter engine to remove GoLive's 'garbage'. Whilst a WYSIWYG editor is no substitute for a powerful text editor, Dreamweaver offers the best of both worlds. I have yet to experiment with Fireworks and Flash (arguably the reason why Adobe purchased Macromedia).

Here's a very cute new Mac OS X application that resides in the menu bar. Menuet:

Menuet allows iTunes users to control the app in a variety of ways, including hot keys, click controls, a menu featuring full browse and smart browse options, and of course the uniquely skinnable remote. Included in version 1.0.1 is an initial set of eleven skins, ranging in style from minimal, to futuristic, to whimsical. Skin support was a focus in Menuet's development, and feedback was taken seriously from community designers, including IconFactory veteran David Lanham, to insure powerful and flexible specifications that support most iTunes functions, animations, and more.

Well worth the $12.95 (£7.50 GBP) fee for a single user license. Please tell them who sent you.

Geometric Gaming

The GameCube has clocked up a few miles in its first week. An interesting fact for anyone who maybe mulling over a purchase and requires Digital A/V support. The following is an extract taken from Nintendo's support pages:

The Digital A/V Output port was removed from systems produced after May, 2004 (these systems will have a model number of DOL-101). If you have a Nintendo GameCube without this port, and you wish to play your games in progressive scan, you may be able to obtain a system that was made prior to the removal of the Digital A/V Output port. Please call our Consumer Service department at 1-800-255-3700 to discuss available options.

Additional Information:

Why have you removed the component video feature from the Nintendo GameCube?
On newer models of the Nintendo GameCube, we opted to remove the Digital A/V out port from the system because we found that less than one percent of all Nintendo GameCube players used this feature.

Will future Nintendo GameCube games continue to have the progressive scan feature?
About one-third of licensee-published titles and over 90% of Nintendo-published titles currently have the progressive scan feature. We expect that most Nintendo-published titles will continue to support progressive scan. Each licensee will continue to make the decision of whether or not to include this feature in their future games.

In order to reduce costs and increase profit margins it is not unusual for consumer electronics companies to simplify production. Sony made changes to the PlayStation and my model lacked S-Video connectivity. The good news is that I can confirm that the Limited Edition Resident Evil GameCube has a model number of DOL-001 and not DOL-101. Incidentally, DOL refers to the console's codename. Dolphin.

My fiendish friends at The Iconfactory, are unleashing seasonal GUI ghoulishness in time for the season of the witch. Grab those disgustingly delicious icons, dim the lights and play the Castlevania and Resident Evil franchises.

The ultimate browser-based feed reader is to be found in Google Labs. A Gmail account adds further razzle dazzle.

A glutton for punishment. I'm already preparing a DVD review of Battlestar Galactica (2004) Season 1! "It's the things I do for you..."

"One more thing..." There is much speculation regarding next weeks Apple event. I'm going to go out on a limb (as is my duty) and suggest that there maybe a new product line introduced. A PVR based on Intel?

Scream

With Halloween only a few weeks away, my pixel-pushing friends over at The Iconfactory have unleashed their ghoulish GUI goodness in the dark n' dank form of Web Attic!

Really looking forward to a late night screening of Michael Jackson's Ghosts and Thriller on the 31st.

In the meantime and in keeping with the Halloween theme. Whilst I'm still suffering post console sale withdrawal, here's the in-game logo taken from Super Castlevania IV (released on the Super NES, 1991).



Holiday season 1992 I hooked the newly unwrapped PAL Super NES to my home AV system (pre multi-channel) and was startled by the quality of the Castlevania IV soundtrack! Sonic detail was in abundance (a maximum of 8-channels were available to sound designers) with excellent 2-channel separation. A peerless platformer (it featured dancing specters Paula Abghoul and Fred Ascare), which still endures to this day. If you're so inclined, I'd recommend hunting down the original 'uncensored' Japanese Super Famicom cartridge entitled Akumajou Dracula (Demon Castle Dracula) - blood and nudity - all the trappings of the vampire genre.

Konami's Castlevania series, one of my favourite video game franchises, rarely disappoints and I've followed the Belmont family cross-platform (no pun intended) from MSX to Arcade and Genesis to GBA.

Let’s Get It Started

As predicted Apple Computer has unleashed the iTunes Music Store phenomenon into selected European territories – UK, Germany and France - and announced an alliance with AOL Europe. Account activation is seamless and in seconds I was making purchases for future download. Individual songs start at 79 pence a pop, which is a compelling price point. Although there are competing download music propositions already established in Europe. None has the brand value of Apple. Is Apple the future of music? Discuss, but I know what my answer is!

My friends at the iconfactory unveil their 200th icon set today! Be sure to drop by their site.

With the above events you’d think that I’d be exhausted from all the celebrations! However, today marks 3 years since I returned to web design thanks to my friend Tom Kelly. The site has developed in ways that I never originally envisaged – an online gallery designed to raise visibility and secure job interviews - and has garnered affiliation with Apple Computer, Sony Style and, most recently, Google. Thanks to everyone for your support. Here’s to many more years.

An invitation to Azeroth

Today I was added to the World of Warcraft beta test and can empathise with how Charlie felt when he discovered that elusive Golden Ticket, guaranteeing a tour of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, in his Grandpa's chocolate bar! I will post my experiences of this highly anticipated MMORPG in due course.

In what could be construed as an act of synchronicity. The Iconfactory has released a set of icons based on The Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy.

A swarm of Honey Bees invaded our WASP suburb, and our house was besieged by scouts! However, they were sedated on honey and easily encouraged to leave via the windows!

Buffy's first (and only to date) sequel series Angel ends after 5 seasons tonight! The series found its footing quickly despite alleged off-screen politics. And the 100th episode was no disappointment - comparing favourably with Buffy episode The Body! I'll leave the last word to Dido "White Flag..."

You're going to need a bigger boat

With the premiere of Troy at Cannes, the season of the blockbuster is underway! There appears to be considerable hubbub surrounding the press junket Lollapalooza for DreamWorks Pictures' Shark Tale! Apparently the press are excluded from previews of the unfinished movie!

It will take more than a Finding Nemo clone and Shrek 2 to dislodge PIXAR's crown IMHO! Watch the new trailer from Disney/PIXAR The Incredibles in iTunes 4.5 (available for Mac and PC).

To set the mood, I watched Spielberg's seminal Jaws and Bay/Bruckheimer bombast Bad Boys. Bad Boys is a great demonstration disc and a timely reminder of Bay's skill before the bloated efforts of Armageddon and Pearl Harbour!

Roland Emmerich's The Day After Tomorrow promises an antidote to the flag waving of ID4, and clones The Poseidon Adventure albeit on a global scale! You can read Empire magazine's online review at your leisure/peril!

Of all the big budget summer movies, Spider-Man 2 is the one to watch! The first sequel to Spider-Man (2002) promises further character development, improved CGI and Doctor Octopus.

Whether or not James Cameron's Spider-Man treatment (ultimately mired in litigation) would have surpassed Sam Raimi's is now a moot point. Raimi can tell a compelling story (A Simple Plan and The Gift) even if the action scenes, like in the first Spider-Man, are serviceable!

I'm currently debating which new edition of the Spider-Man DVD to purchase? Do I go for the 'triple disc' pack or the Superbit release? I'm more interested in the quality of the movie, and therefore most likely will buy the latter as it includes DTS audio, which I consider superior to Dolby Digital! Panic Room (David Fincher) also receives the three disc treatment from Columbia TriStar later this summer.

If you're a regular reader of IMDb. Read my comments page for film reviews and showbiz ramblings!

In the wake of the MP3Concept Trojan and Mac OS X security fears/moral panic/hype. Mac Users may want to download this new freeware utility from The Iconfactory! Prevention is better than cure! According to various Mac rumour sites, it appears that the release of Mac OS X 10.3.4 is imminent.

Sony Style, one of my favourite sites, is sporting a new look.

The Green Death

Since 2003, I've been steadily building my Doctor Who DVD collection at £11.99 a pop! Early this morning the latest release arrived courtesy of Her Majesty's Royal Mail! The Green Death is one of my favourite stories from the Jon Pertwee era and now takes pride of place alongside Pyramids Of Mars, Earthshock, Resurrection Of The Daleks et al.

A few weeks ago I watched, and thoroughly enjoyed, the Dalek Invasion Of Earth - that enduring and iconic image of the Daleks crossing Westminster Bridge was forever imprinted into my young mind via the pages of the Dalek Omnibus, which I still own sans dust jacket - too young to appreciate the value and used the inside back cover for sketches when I ran out of paper one Sunday afternoon many, many years ago! Who'd be a fine artist eh?

Regarding the restored disc. Has anyone else noticed a soft line running down the image, roughly at the halfway point? Presumably some artefact from the source material/restoration process? Otherwise a clean print and remarkable work in spite of Auntie's historical faux pas - deleting all those episodes back in the day! And the CGI option is a terrific nod to the comic serial (thanks Marvel for reprinting them in the 1980s). Imagine The Chase with a few of those spruced-up saucers and Mechanoids?

The Doctor Who restoration team are doing a sterling job and have re-ignited my interest in the show (it was a staple of my childhood)! Now if only the BBC would release the twisted tale Terror of the Autons, which I watched at the Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Convention, Longleat (1983)! Yes, BBC Video released the VHS version in 1993... May need to auction my vast VHS collection on eBay! Any takers?

Fellow Toonami fans. You maybe interested to know that my friends at The Iconfactory continued, on Tuesday, with their new icon freeware releases. This week it's the Justice League! It goes without saying that this set is cooler than Pluto! Incidentally, I've started watching Teen Titans, and it compares favourably with Batman Animated! The action figures, from Bandai America, look great!