Macgasm

ArtRage, the popular digital painting application on the Mac and iPad, has made its way to the to the iPhone today. It’s currently on sale for $0.99, but it’s only for a limited time, so if you’re looking to pick up the app on the cheap, now’s the time.

ArtRage is the closest thing you can get to painting on a digital canvas. I’ve played with both the Mac and iPad applications, and despite not actually being an artist, the experience is pretty amazing.

Quick Look at the App

[nggallery id=9]

Get Download Details

The now semi-defunct Logic Express 9 received some love this week from Apple by way of the 9.1.6 update. Don’t get excited, though. We’re just talking about stability enhancements and bug fixes. If you’re interested in all of the nitty-gritty, you can read the entirety of the release notes here, but be warned: They are about as dry as they come. Stability and bug fixes aren’t the most interesting things to read about.

What’s more interesting to me is Apple’s move to simplify its content creation apps by eliminating the middle tier and reducing the cost of the high tier. Instead of choosing from Garageband for free or cheap, Logic Express for a couple hundred, and Logic Pro for a couple more hundred, you now only have to choose between ultra cheap or a couple hundred bucks. The same goes for iMovie, Final Cut Express, and Final Cut Pro. Express is no more, and Pro is substantially cheaper. [...]

Google has published a listing of their top keyword searches from 2011. Out of the 10 fastest-rising global search trends, Apple holds three spots. At number six was the iPhone 5, number nine Steve Jobs, and number 10 is the iPad 2. Other lists also have Apple products, including the iPhone 4S and iPad 3 on the Fastest Rising Consumer Electronics list.

There are a number of things we can take away from the findings. The first thing is that the general population is genuinely curious about what’s going on at Apple these days. That’s a great thing for Apple, and us, obviously. The second, and probably more important thing to point out here is that people eat up Apple rumors with an appetite that’s much bigger than the competitors’ audiences. Devices like the iPad 3 and iPhone 5, not even released yet, are on these lists.

If you’re curious why your favourite tech blogs are pounding out Apple rumor after Apple rumor, it’s because of these findings. People want the content. In a world where as much as 50-60 percent of a blog’s traffic can come from Google searches, it’s pretty obvious why blogs cater to the rumor crowd — there’s a huge readership looking for that content.

[...]

The iPod Socks were the first of Apple’s iPod accessories. I, like others, thought maybe Steve was joking when he announced the socks at the U2 event in October of 2004. While they may not be the most functional of cases, or even overly protective for that matter, getting six different colors for $29 is almost a bargain in the Apple accessory world. I will say that this product is the one product that nearly everyone loves to mock. Some of the most hardened Apple fanboys/girls think this product is ridiculous. I, however, don’t agree. I love me some Apple iPod socks. Today we are going to look at cute things people have done with their iPod socks —modifications and alternatives.

[...]

“Rare” videos of Steve Jobs have been making their appearance to the web on a daily basis. However, this video is rarest of the rare. It’s a young Steve Jobs talking about the history of Apple. This 20 minute video from Regis McKenna adds to the collection of Steve Jobs clips on the Computer History Museum. It’s pretty funny, too. For example, the first line is, “Hi, I must apologize to you all for being late. I was driving here at 90 mph, couldn’t find a parking place.”

Unfortunately, the video is flashy. So click the link below:

Steve Jobs’ video

Via: Gizmodo

Okay Google. Nice move with the update. Google’s added custom signatures – or should I say signature – I forgot for a brief moment that there’s only one account allowed. They’ve added scribbles, changed the notification sounds, added vacation, nested labels, and  a little gear icon to access most of these features. Scribbles allows you to draw in an open canvas with multiple colors, brushes and line elements. Then, you can attach your creations to an email. This new feature is available in both the Gmail iOS app and Gmail mobile web app.

[...]

Santa came a little bit early for Netflix customers with iPads. Not only do we all get an updated user interface, but the folks in Latin America are getting iOS Netflix streaming for the first time ever. Welcome to the club, ladies and gentlemen south of the US border!

In all honesty, the updated user interface isn’t a big change as far as I’m concerned. It’s pretty consistent with the look of the website and streaming apps on the big three video game consoles. It’s fine and usable, but it won’t be winning any design awards.

[...]

I’ve spent my fair share of time railing on Lion these last couple of months. Heck, it even sparked someone to call me part of a “corrupt Apple press.” But here’s the thing: no matter how much time passes, and how many times I find something neat in Lion, I still grumble when I realize just how many bugs and design problems remain in it currently.

I’m not a graphic designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what I like. What I don’t like is OS X apps that look and feel like they don’t belong on my desktop, but I live with it. I’ve never once pointed out, in public at least, that the new Address Book is ungodly ugly in my eyes. Why? Well, because that’s my opinion, and you’re entitled to think whatever you want about it. People either love or hate the new iPadification of some applications, and I’m fine with that. But what I’m not fine with is applications that suddenly seem to lose functionality, but in reality, they do not.

Doesn’t seem to make sense, right? Take a look at our header again. Did you know that the ribbon was a button? You can click on it, and it adds some functionality back to the Address Book that I’ve long assumed was missing in Lion.

[...]