Macgasm

Paprika for Mac ($19.99) by Hindsight Labs is a recipe management application for your Mac. Like its iPhone and iPad counterparts (see our Paprika for iPad review here), Paprika for Mac is an exquisitely-designed application that makes managing recipes magical.

(more…)

Coolermaster is a name familiar to anyone who has ever dabbled in building their own PC, providing products like cooling fans, power supplies, and PC enclosures for twenty years. More recently, they have expanded to peripherals, and are now producing products for the mobile space, including iPad 2 cases.

Recently I was looking for a new case for my wife’s iPad 2 to replace the Dodocase, which sustained a cracked corner from some unknown mishap (I blame the kids, and not my own butterfingers). I have to share that whenever a tech product needs to be purchased, I launch on an exhaustive research project. I scour the Internet in a quest for the ultimate solution, usually involving a combination of needed features and price point. In this case, we had a few criteria in mind when we chose, ultimately, the Coolermaster Wake Up Folio.

(more…)

The CoulVue ($79.99) by TouCoul is an iPad mount that attaches to a car headrest so that backseat passengers can view movies, play games, or work on the iPad. Two versions of the CoulVue are available: one for the original iPad and one for iPad 2. The two mounts are essentially the same, except that the iPad 2 mount works with the Smart Cover and allows use of the back-facing camera. (more…)

Christmas was on a Sunday this year. We had taken care of breakfast, and moved on to opening Christmas presents in the usual fashion, but by 11:30 AM or so the entire family was complaining of how cold it was in the living room. I don’t like feeling like I’ve somehow failed to take care of my family, so I walked over to the thermostat to check the temperature. This is not a new scene for most people. We’ve all been there, Christmas or not. But what happened next was indeed something new. Even spectacular.

I stepped in from of the thermostat and waved my hand in front of it. Instantly it came to life, and presented me with a speech bubble that said, as best as I can remember, that “Away Mode has been activated. Press to continue.” I pressed the face of the thermostat and instantly the heat kicked on, bringing the room back to the desired temperature. Crisis averted.

Why was our thermostat set on “away mode”? Because every Sunday morning my family happens to be out of the house for a couple of hours. And our thermostat had learned that by watching us. See, we have a Nest thermostat. It’s certainly not your dad’s thermostat with mercury vials and metal coils. This is a work of art and a pinnacle of modern tech that rests on my wall like a glossy, metal-rimmed hockey puck. And I love it.

Nest, if you have not heard, is a new product developed by Tony Fadell, former Senior VP of Apple’s iPod division. And the pedigree shows in every aspect of this device, right down to his vision and almost utopia-fueled passion for what it is meant to become. Created to fill a void in the market for thermostats that are not only modern and intelligent, but also environmentally friendly, the Nest is introducing homeowners and contractors to a device that is seemingly right out of science fiction.

(more…)

If you’re interested in designing your own home, you’re going to want this app. For only $5.99 USD, Home Design 3D allows you to draw out your plans, and then visualize them in 3D space. With a few taps of your finger, you can customize the walls, furniture, and colors. Then you can easily save your project and export to your computer. What would your kitchen look like if you moved the fridge and repainted the walls? With Home Design 3D, you can quickly and easily change your plans to your exact taste. With over 150 objects included, you can visualize substantially complex room designs right on your iPad.

Popa (approximately $77; price varies with the UK pound), by Beep Industries, is an accessory that turns your iPhone 4 or 4S into a Leica M9! Well . . . not really, but the Popa does add a classic-looking leather grip to your iPhone with a nice, big shutter release button.The Popa works with a free app that automatically downloads to your iPhone the first time you attach the accessory. (more…)

GridLens by Bucketlabs.net is a new photography iPhone app. Currently on sale for $0.99, this is one iPhoneography app you don’t want to miss. What makes yet another photography app so special? GridLens allows you to do things with your iPhone camera that you can’t do with other apps. At first, I thought it was another app for importing pictures into a frame. But that’s not at all the idea behind GridLens. Instead, the app allows you to take multiple shots from within a frame, either manually or automatically.

(more…)