Posts in Linked

Mastered for iTunes and iTunes Match→

Kirk McElhearn, experimenting with CD rips, tries to figure out what exactly iTunes Match doles out once music has been matched in the cloud.

If you rip a CD, match it, then download one of the files from the cloud, you don’t ever see the Mastered for iTunes badge. I have a handful of CDs for which only Mastered for iTunes files are available from the iTunes Store (these are new releases where labels only provide files for this format). I added them to my iTunes Match account, matched them, deleted my originals, then downloaded the matched files. I compared them with my original rips (using the methods described below), and saw that these files were not the same; I was clearly getting the Mastered for iTunes files from iTunes Match. But the files don’t display the Mastered for iTunes badge.

So for files that are matched, then downloaded, if there is only a Mastered for iTunes version on the iTunes store, the files you download will be in Mastered for iTunes format; yet you won’t know that. The Mastered for iTunes badge is displayed only when there is a bit of metadata in purchased files that tells iTunes to display it.

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Duo, A Browser for Viewing Desktop and Mobile Websites Side by Side→

Duo is a browser with no settings and no search functionality, specifically intended to show websites in desktop and mobile views next to each other. It’s handy for Webkit development, includes dev tools, and can be launched from a bookmarklet via your browser of choice. You can’t change the user agent, and it doesn’t automatically refresh as you edit webpages with your favorite text editor, but it’s an otherwise inexpensive tool for testing responsive designs on the fly. You can grab it for $4.99 in the Mac App Store.

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How Mac Experts Organize Their Files→

My friend Lex Friedman asked me a few questions about the way I organize files on my Mac, and it was my pleasure to reply with some of my favorite apps and tricks. Notably, Hazel is the app that saves me so much time every day – I don’t know how I’d use my Mac without it.

The script shown in my Hazel screenshot comes from this post and it relates to the way I use CameraSync and Hazel to upload my iPhone’s photos to Dropbox and sort them automatically.

Make sure to check out how John Siracusa, Katie Floyd, and Casey Liss also organize their files here.

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Dailybook [Sponsor]→

Our thanks to IdeaBlocks for sponsoring MacStories this week with Dailybook.

Memories are more than words. Transform your journaling with Dailybook, which supports multiple books, GPS location with maps, weather information, multiple pictures and audio notes to supplement life experiences. Share entries to Facebook or via email, and easily find posts through bookmarks, tags, and timestamps. Dailybook is a rich and rewarding journaling experience for the iPhone and iPad.

Dailybook is Universal and $1.99 on the App Store.

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Yahoo Weather 1.5 Adds iPad Support→

Yahoo Weather, winner of an Apple Design Award at WWDC ‘13, has been updated today to version 1.5, which adds a native interface for the iPad, making the app Universal. I was a fan of the app before, and it’s good to see Yahoo releasing it on the iPad – a platform that Apple doesn’t think deserves its own built-in Weather app.

The iPad version is nothing revolutionary as it uses the same Flickr-powered photographic approach seen on the iPhone, making interface elements bigger and more spaced out. There are, however, some fun new transitions when scrolling through weather information on the iPad – such as columns of text sliding in from the sides of the screen and animated raindrop icons – that make the experience more fun on the iPad. These animations haven’t been enabled on the iPhone, likely due to screen constraints.

Yahoo Weather is free on the App Store.

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Introducing A 27-Year-Old Computer To The Web→

Jeff Keacher:

Reviving an old computer is like restoring a classic car: there’s a thrill from bringing the ancient into the modern world. So it was with my first “real” computer, my Mac Plus, when I decided to bring it forward three decades and introduce it to the modern web.

In 2040, will people try to connect 27-year-old iPads to the web?

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App Store Optimization→

Dan Counsell:

An app’s name, and the keywords it uses are some of the biggest influencers in search results; all the research I’ve done suggests that the download volume acts as a multiplier on the name and keyword match. For example, If two apps have the same keyword (and rating), the app with the most downloads will come out on top — I’ve experienced this first hand with Clear for iPhone & Clear+ for iOS.

These are some good tips by Dan for third-party developers. I think the bigger theme is that the App Store is now so large, apps have to be treated like websites for a search engine with optimization tricks. This also explains why so many developers run regular promotions or agree to “free app of the week” initiatives (either official or not) – download numbers matter for long-term survival.

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Skitch Update Gives Retina Mac Owners Option to Export Lower Quality Images→

The second update for Evernote’s line of products makes life easier for Mac owners who are working on Retina displays. Skitch has been updated with an option that can turn off hi-res images, which halves the DPI and makes the image easier to send over mediums like email. Cleverly, Skitch will still retain the original image size client-side, syncing the full version with your Evernote account.

Grab the Skitch update from the Mac App Store.

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