Keyboard Maestro 5.3→

Keyboard Maestro 5.3

I love Keyboard Maestro. It is one of my most used OS X utilities – I use it every day, I rely on it to automate processes and tasks that would take repetitive and tedious clicks and selections otherwise, and my work is ultimately faster and more efficient because of it. I have covered Keyboard Maestro in the past on MacStories, and after using the app for over a year now, it still feels like I’m just getting started with it. Keyboard Maestro offers an infinite amount of possibilities, because it is capable of automating almost every aspect of OS X.

With today’s 5.3 update, Keyboard Maestro gets even more powerful, and adds support for one specific area that is going to dramatically speed-up my workflow once again: image manipulation. From the press release:

Version 5.3 adds a bunch of new Image manipulation actions, allowing you to create new images, flip, rotate, resize, and crop images, composite images, styled text and shapes onto images, display images, get the size of images, and even find the image on the screen. You can also capture the screen or a window to an image, or highlight a location on the screen.

Let alone the other improvements of version 5.3 (here’s the full changelog), let me quickly focus on the image capabilities of the app, as I have set up two new macros that are going to substantially enhance my screenshot-taking duties for the site. Firstly, the image above: taken with Keyboard Maestro, set it to a specific clipboard, modified with the addition of a pre-defined watermark, saved as .png and renamed with (previously copied to clipboard) front window’s file name. Execution time: 1 second.

Then, iPhone screenshots. For iPhone apps, I like to take two screenshots, place them side by side, and generate a single image. Until today, I had to manually drag the image out of Photo Stream (or use Scotty), resize them with Preview, create a new image in Acorn, drop the images in there, adjust their position, and save. I came to the point where the process took less than a minute, but still it required a manual and boring effort on my side. Enter Keyboard Maestro 5.3: I rename the images I need to use “1” and “2”, respectively (“1” goes on the left side); I tell Keyboard Maestro to run an Automator workflow to scale them; Keyboard Maestro creates a blank image in its clipboard, composites files 1 and 2 onto the image at a specific pixel position, and creates a new .png file on my desktop. Like this one. I don’t need to manually switch between apps anymore as everything’s automated, and takes 2 seconds, literally.

Keyboard Maestro has a lot to offer, but that’s up to you. Check out the app’s tour, full documentation, then buy it from Stairways Software for $36.

Update 9/30/2012: Here’s an updated version of the “Combine iPhone screenshots” macro for the new iPhone 5 resolution. (thanks, @PiratXMac)

Update 10/7/2012: A better version of the macro is now available here.

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Review: FontBook for iPad

I’m a typography addict. Since I watched Gary Hustwit’s “Helvetica” documentary film, I constantly follow several type foundries and blogs (of which I consider I Love Typography and Typedia the top-notch sites) to keep myself updated on the latest news and typefaces. Hence after I saw the introduction of FontBook by FontShop (which was recently updated to version 2.1 with a Retina-optimized UI), the app was an instant-buy for me. Finally I can discover new typefaces, designers, and foundries wherever I go, offline, just with my iPad.

I usually discuss an app’s design separately at the end of a post, but FontBook has to be an exception from that, since the app itself is showing perfect use of digital typography and content curation — in no other area of design, content and design are connected as closely as in typography. FontBook is developed by a 10 person team at FontShop, one of the largest and the longstanding typeface resellers on the Internet, founded by renowned Erik Spiekermann in 1989, so it is no real surprise that it executes this need for exact design with pure perfection. Read more

Review: iTV Shows 2

iTV Shows 2 is a handy app for keeping track of your favorite TV shows across all of your iOS devices. It has an improved interface, a slick new icon, local notifications for shows about to air, and it supports iCloud sync just to name a few of its features.

The user interface in iTV Shows 2 is extremely well done; the developers definitely hit the mark with this version of the app because not only is it gorgeous but it is also easy to use and contains all the features one would expect from an app dedicated to informing you about TV shows. To use the app, one needs only to search for (and add) some TV shows to the “My Shows” list. I immediately noticed an improved performance when simply searching for a few TV show titles. iTV Shows 2 definitely seemed snappier and more accurate with its search results. After adding my favorites “How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory”, I jumped back to the main screen and noticed the large beautiful icons separating out the shows. These are simply categories to help the user visualize when the TV show is going to air, if it has already aired, or if the next season has yet to announce a specific start date.

Another feature I enjoyed in iTV Shows 2 was the Genius tab which displays TV shows it thinks I might also enjoy watching. It was extremely accurate with its selections, however I am not entirely sure how it derives these suggestions. Perhaps I just enjoy very common and popular TV shows. Some of the shows it suggested that I happen to truly enjoy include “Dexter”, “Breaking Bad”, and “New Girl”. These are very different shows, but the app was spot on suggesting that I check them out.

Other features include a handy calendar view in which you can tap around and view episodes throughout the month. It also supports all of the latest iOS buzz words including universal, Retina Display ready, local notifications, and iCloud synchronization. I know people have come to expect iOS apps to be universal but I still appreciate each developer that decides to essentially give away two apps for the price of one. The iPad app seemed to have all of the love and detail that went in to the iPhone version. The iCloud sync worked flawlessly during my brief test, all of the shows I added while setting up the app on my phone were already added to the iPad version after simply launching the app on the second device.

The only issue I experienced was with the local notifications. I had received my first notification for an episode of “How I Met Your Mother” exactly 1 hour late. I immediately assumed it was a time zone setting issue in the app. Sure enough, I figured out that I had to go in to Settings > Preferences > Time Zone > and enable “Perform correction”. The note by the developers state to only use this setting if the app fails to automatically perform the time zone, so perhaps you readers will experience no issues at all. Other than this small hiccup the first day using iTV Shows 2, it has been very reliable.

I have to admit, at first I questioned whether or not I needed an app to remind myself to watch a TV show since 90 percent of the time I don’t watch TV shows live anyway, I use a DVR or stream the show on a network-connected device. This touches on what I feel is an industry wide shift in how consumers are interested in viewing TV shows – many of which are opting out of standard cable television services in favor of web services like Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video on Demand. I actually have traditional cable service but still subscribe to all three of these services (don’t ask me why), yet I was surprised to find as much value in iTV Shows 2 as I did. My wife and I enjoy watching entire seasons of TV shows at a time so checking off episodes as we watched them was a useful feature. I would be nice if the app eventually added some statistics about the number of TV shows I watch: maybe it could calculate the number hours I spend on TV (I am a statistics geek). Furthermore, I enjoyed the supplied information per show, e.g. what TV shows have seasons coming up, like HBO’s True Blood which is starting soon. iTV Shows 2 even has Twitter integration to share episode details with friends which was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, iTV Shows 2 has a sharp new user interface along with some pretty unique features. It may not be my most used app but it does serve a specific purpose and has definitely earned a permanent spot on my iOS devices.

iTV Shows 2 is available on the App Store for $2.99

MacRumors Posts Leaked Photos Of Alleged Taller iPod touch Panel→

MacRumors Posts Leaked Photos Of Alleged Taller iPod touch Panel

Eric Slivka, reporting for MacRumors:

In line with today’s claims of taller iPhone prototypes with 3.95-inch displays, one of our sources has provided us with images of what are claimed to be new next-generation iOS device parts being carried by a supplier. The most significant of these parts is a claimed front panel from the next-generation iPod touch, with the supplier claiming that the display would be taller than the current model and measure in at 4.1 inches diagonally.

Rumors of Apple gearing up to release a new iPhone with a bigger screen have been extremely persistent, albeit discordant in the past few weeks. Last week, The Wall Street Journal claimed Apple was ordering new screens for an iPhone measuring “at least 4 inches diagonally”; Reuters, on the other hand, said the new iPhone will measure “4 inches from corner to corner”. This morning, 9to5mac published a report claiming that Apple is internally testing an iPhone (codename N41AP) with a bigger, 640 x 1136 screen “very close to a 16:9 screen ratio”.

Of course, rumors of the iPhone getting a screen overhaul are nothing new. Here’s an allegedly leaked part from February 2011; a design document from March 2011; and here’s a report that, back in April 2011, suggested Apple’s “iPhone 5” (that turned out to be the iPhone 4S), would carry a bigger, 3.7-inch screen with a thinner design.

Since last year, we at MacStories have decided to refrain from posting the majority of “reports” and rumors that come out on a weekly basis depicting allegedly leaked parts, codenames, design documents, and theories from people familiar with the matter. Today’s photos from MacRumors, however, provide an interesting point of discussion as they effectively show a “leaked” component, and suggest Apple may be willing to increase the size of all iOS devices, not just the iPhone.

Check out the photos here.

For further discussion on the matter of iOS and bigger screens, check out Dan Provost’s mockups of a 16:9 iPhone, Rene Ritchie’s excellent roundup of possible ramifications for a 4-inch iPhone, and these other mockups from The Verge Forums.

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Let’s Sing

Developed by Marco Tabini and Lex Friedman, Let’s Sing is the most addictive and fun iPhone game I’ve played in a while. Long story short: you can get it for free on the App Store, or buy the paid version.

Let’s Sing is a “social” iPhone game that you can play with your friends online, combining the traditional aspects of karaoke and television program “Name That Tune”. From the main screen of the app, a “Start a New Game” button allows you to find a friend to play against manually (by email or username), on Facebook, or through your Address Book. Once you’ve found a friend to play Let’s Sing with – sessions are private, meaning only you and your friend will play, and they won’t be shared publicly – it’s time to pick a song. If you want, however, Let’s Sing lets you pick a random opponent.

Let’s Sing is clever, in that rather than using a proprietary system to provide you with song previews – or worse, rely on in-app purchase to offer “song packs” – it simply connects to the iTunes Store to display three possible options at a time. Let’s Sing’s list of songs is manually curated by their developers in order to ensure a proper classification (easy/medium/hard), and, more importantly, to avoid items with complex names or strange characters that would be problematic to enter with the iPhone keyboard. The selection of songs is already fairly impressive, and support for the iTunes Store means the developers will be able to effortlessly add songs over time as they choose more. In my tests, I “sang” my friends hits from Beyoncè and Soundgarden, Micheal Jackson and R.E.M., and more.

Before a turn, songs can be previewed, and there is a link to buy an item on the iTunes Store if you suddenly realize you want that in your collection. From the song selection screen, you can also shuffle songs if you don’t like or know what you’re being offered, but shuffles are limited. Songs are displayed on a grade of difficulty, which will earn you and your friend more coins in case of successful streak. More shuffles can be unlocked with coins; if you’re out of coins, you can buy more with “real” currency using in-app purchases.

The singing and guessing part of Let’s Sing is what I like most about the game, and what got me hooked in the first place. Let alone that I get to hear online friends and colleagues I have never met in real life hum or whistle through their microphones, the whole process is extremely straightforward: you pick a song, whistle, hum, or like I do, “na na na na” through it, then hit Send. You can play back your recording to make sure you’ve got it right in 30 seconds, or cancel and re-record. Once sent, it’s up to your friend to guess, and the main screen of the app will reflect an ongoing game’s progress with an indicator. There is also an in-game chat to congratulate or shamelessly brag with a friend. Fortunately, Let’s Sing features push notifications, so you won’t have to wait inside the app for the next turn, but you’ll be informed by iOS.

On the guessing side, you can listen to what your friend recorded, and enter the song’s title with the keyboard. Alternatively, you can use in-game hints to reveal a song’s vowels or its artist.

I don’t typically play many games on my iPhone – I might take a random shot at Temple Run or Ski Safari while waiting in line – but Let’s Sing has turned out to be fun diversion that keeps me coming back. Let’s Sing combines my love for music (and guessing songs) with a streamlined way of embarrassing myself (in a good way) to people that wouldn’t otherwise hear me “na na na na-ing” the latest Nicki Minaj. It’s about your voice, your friends, and it’s fun.

Get it from the App Store.

Powered By Readability, Readlists Creates eBooks For Collections Of Links

In my original review of Readability for iOS, I praised the app’s focus on clean design, beautiful typography, and focus on building a different system to support web publishers as unique aspects of what could have been easily dismissed as “yet another read later” app. In particular, I wrote how, ultimately, “it comes down to habits, curiosity, and willingness to try out a new service that offers a slightly different take on saving web articles for later”.

Ever since my review, I have switched to Pocket as my personal go-to read later web service and app on iOS, as I thoroughly enjoy Pocket’s wide-ranging approach to saving everything for later, rather than just articles. Today, however, Readability is announcing a new service called Readlists, which might give many a reason to use multiple “read-later” services in tandem – and that’s because Readlists leverages Readability’s existing platform and engine to target a different segment of web reading: collecting multiple links together. Read more

Review: MoneyWiz For Mac


I reviewed MoneyWiz for iPad back in late February and found it to be a really great personal finance app for the iPad. Today I’m back to have a look at the recently launched Mac version of MoneyWiz. In many ways, the Mac app is identical to the iPad app, so this won’t be an in-depth review of the Mac app — rather it’ll be an overview of the MoneyWiz app and then some discussion on specifically the Mac App as well as the ‘Reports’ and the Sync service.
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Kickstarter: The playGo AP1 AirPlay and DLNA Wireless Receiver

If you want an AirPlay receiver on the cheap, you can’t go wrong with Apple’s AirPort Express, a $99 dollar portable wireless access point (great for an apartment or traveling business person) that has a 3.5mm minijack for an audio or optical connection to a pair of speakers or your home receiver. For another hundred bucks (as a part of being an early adopter), you could fair even better with playGo’s audio-centric playGo AP1: an AirPlay and DLNA receiver that can output lossless audio through analog RCA outputs, a 3.5mm minijack, or TOSLINK to your preferred thumpers of choice.
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