Chris Herbert

730 posts on MacStories since September 2010

Vector & pixel trafficker for Seymour Midwest LLC, regular MacStories contributor, Hip-Hop junkie all day long; Apple addict circa 1976.

herbert@macstories.net

This Week's Sponsor:

Copilot Money

The Apple Editor’s Choice App for Managing Your Money

Kickstarter Project: Red Pop - A Big, Red, Juicy Camera Button For Your iPhone

We love iPhoneography at MacStories. Accessories, apps, pictures of our pets, you name it, we’ve probably seen it or tried it. Until now. Beep Industries was created in early 2011 by Brendan Dawes and Lou Cordwell in Manchester, UK. Lou and Bren decided to form this new product focused company, along with 2 others, and they design their own original products which they make and sell.

Their newest product is called Red Pop, an iPhone accessory that adds a physical shutter button and grip to your iPhone 4 - simply plug the iPhone 4 into the 30-pin dock connector. Beep created the Red Pop because they believe the experience of using the iPhone 4 as a camera could be improved. It’s not perfect: it’s very flat and there’s no physical shutter button to give you that feel of a traditional camera. Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to tap the on screen button without looking so Beep thought they would bring the button back.

See the promo video and more pictures after the break. Read more

MindManager 9 for Mac Coming June 23, iOS Versions Due Mid-June

What is “Mind Mapping?” Well, if you want to take your analog thoughts and put them into the digital world, Wikipedia tells us that “a mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving problems, making decisions, and writing.”

MindJet, who makes MindManager, one of the premiere apps in the market selling 1.8 million copies worldwide,  is scheduled to ship MindManager 9 next month. It will cost $249 for new customers and $149 for current users wanting to upgrade. New features will include a presentation mode, “quick entry,” WYSIWYG priting, dynamic content like schedules and web links, offline import/export for iWork and Office, plus project management mode. For more info, read the Mac press release here. Read more

Potion Factory’s The Hit List 1.0 Now Available

A unicorn has been born at the Potion Factory because The Hit List just went 1.0 and is ready for download via Potion Factory’s site (with a 15 day free trial) or the Mac App Store for $49.99. Back in 2009, people who purchased the MacHeist bundle got a license for the app when it was in beta and that license will still work today.

Many people doubted that it would ever see an official 1.0 release, but Andy Kim said “This, its iPhone companion app, and its sync service were the single most difficult undertaking of my life so far bar none. I hope that it won’t dissappoint and I hope that it will help you become more productive by taking the chore out of keeping track of what to do.”

More screens and iPhone news after the break.

Read more

The i9 - A Hybrid iPhone / Leica Concept

Black Design Associates, LLC, an Los Angeles-based consultancy, revealed a concept for a hybrid iPhone / Leica called the i9. It’s a 12.1 megapixel, 8x zoom, fully featured iPhone 4 accessory. Before you break out your credit card, remember this is only a concept.

The i9 has a camera/iPhone toggle that turns on your camera with an instant start-up time of 0.3sec., while simultaneously loading the Leica app on your iPhone 4. A zoom/volume control adjusts tight and wide when your camera is on, and adjusts volume up and down when your camera is off. Dedicated aperture and shutter dials offer fast and easy options for manual operation. Pass-through and actuators give you full access to your iPhone 4 controls and headphone jack. The flash and light meter offers higher quality photos and videos in low-light conditions.

Read more