Mobile menu toggle

Staff Writer - page 16

Get a free copy of powerful DVD ripping and video conversion software [Deals]

By

macx-video-converter (2)
The recently upgraded MacX DVD Ripper Pro is more powerful than ever for getting your media from disc to drive.

DVD players are going the way of the Walkman, leaving many of us with vast libraries of obsolete discs. Of course the movies and TV shows themselves aren’t obsolete — just their shiny plastic medium — but with hard drive space getting more and more vast it makes less and less sense to let a bunch of discs take up cabinet or closet space.

Trade in your old Apple gadgets. We pay the highest prices.

By

Cult of Mac's trade-in program will buy back your old iPad, iPhone, iPod or MacBook. In most cases, we offer more money than EVERY other competitior.
Cult of Mac's trade-in program will buy back your old iPad, iPhone, iPod or MacBook. In most cases, we offer more money than EVERY other competitior.

If you just got a new iPad or iPhone and are wondering what to do with your old one, you should think about trading it in.

We recently launched a gadget buyback program that promises to pay more for used and broken Apple devices than Gazelle, Walmart and even Apple itself.

Best Black Friday Apple ads: Crazy-cheap iPad mini you can buy right now!

By

Black Friday header

Photo: Evan Killham/Cult of Mac

Summary: Current-gen iPad mini with a $125 gift card, iPhone 6s and $250 gift card for $0, and more. Just avoid the Apple Store.

Despite Apple turning in bland Black Friday offerings year after year, the company’s products do see some crazy-good discounts this season. We’ve combed through all the available ads and hand-selected the very best of what you can expect to find this month.

If you are going to brave the store to try and get these deals, be warned: Apple deals disappear fast, so don’t get distracted. Once you’re inside or online, head straight to the Apple section.

Where the ease of mobile and the power of desktop photo editing meet

By

Macphun's Creative Kit contains five powerful photo editing apps in one package, with extensions for Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple Photos, and more.
Macphun's Creative Kit contains five powerful photo editing apps in one package, with extensions for Photoshop, Lightroom, Apple Photos, and more.
Photo: Macphun

One thing that apps like Instagram and VSCO have mastered is making photo retouching on a mobile device (e.g. smartphone, ipad, etc.) a breeze. Simple sliders grouped in easily understandable categories and real-time results make the editing process a snap. It’s fun and easy to dial in the overall look of an image on your phone’s screen! However, with that convenience, comes limitations. For instance, if you want anything more precise than a slider you’ll have to open up a professional application like Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture.

AirWatch makes it easy to manage all your organization’s devices

By

AirWatch is an ideal way to get operations of any size connected and synchronized around a mobile workflow.
AirWatch is an ideal way to get operations of any size connected and synchronized around a mobile workflow.
Photo: VMware

This post is brought to you by VMware, maker of AirWatch.

Whatever your organization’s mission, synchronizing all your employees’ mobile devices can power up your operations. However, wrangling together an array of phones, tablets and laptops is very tough. Making sure they’re all caught up and in sync with the same software versions and whatnot — let alone sourcing or (gasp) developing the applications your business will run on them — is a lot for a business of any size to take on.

Which social media management tool is right for your business? Depends on its size

By

shutterstock_94247338

This post is brought to you by Link-Assistant.Com

Social media is a key component for businesses of any size. Whether it’s a restaurant managing their Facebook page and Yelp reviews, or a massive corporation whose message must be coordinated and ultimately use social media to shift public opinion, there are a whole range of powerful tools available. Here we review a few of the free social media monitoring (SMM) options available to small and individual-run businesses, and the paid services for medium- and enterprise-scale companies.

Meet the radical who wants the iPad banned!

By

iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn't want reform -- he wants wholesale revolution!
iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn't want reform -- he wants wholesale revolution!
Photo: iFixit

Kyle Wiens thinks the iPad should be banned. It’s a “highly immoral” product, he says, because it can’t be opened and repaired when the battery dies. It’s a throwaway device, and he wants governments to prohibit it.

“It’s not designed to be long-lasting,” said Wiens, who is the co-founder and CEO of iFixit. “It’s like selling a car that has to be replaced when the tires wear out.”

Wiens is the Bernie Sanders of the electronics industry. He doesn’t just want reform — he wants revolution!

Here’s why.

Coolmuster Android Assistant gives Android users total control over their devices’ data

By

pic
Coolmuster Android Assistant makes it easy to manage your Android smartphone.

This post is brought to you by Coolmuster.

There’s no sense pretending some of us iOS and Mac enthusiasts don’t dabble in the world of Android. Whether using phones, tablets or other mobile devices, we’ve come to rely on all our gadgets communicating reliably with one another, but when using both Apple and Android gear that isn’t always guaranteed.

Luckily, there’s a fix: Coolmuster Android Assistant, which will keep your Android devices working in harmony with your PC or Mac.

It’s great to work ergonomically, but what about sleeping ergonomically?

By

Hullo pillows are a sustainable, long-lasting  and cost-effective way to sleep ergonomically.
Hullo pillows are a sustainable, long-lasting and cost-effective way to sleep ergonomically.
Photo: Hulltex

This post is brought to you by Hulltex, maker of the Hullo Buckwheat Pillow.

If you’re one of the millions of people sitting at a computer for eight hours a day, keeping proper posture is a constant concern. You buy all kinds of stopgaps — yoga ball chair, curved keyboard, ergonomic mouse — but how often do you think about keeping your spine lined up while sleeping?

Creators rejoice: This subscription offers unlimited access to world-class video elements

By

VideoBlocks is a subscription service that offers unlimited access to top-quality video elements, animated backgrounds and Adobe After Effects templates.
VideoBlocks is a subscription service that offers unlimited access to top-quality video elements, animated backgrounds and Adobe After Effects templates.
Photo: VideoBlocks

This post is brought to you by VideoBlocks.

High-definition video is increasingly fundamental to all sorts of online content, and it’s an ever-more-critical part of any design project. Unless you’re a pro videographer in addition to being a digital creator, you’ll have to get your footage from an agency or stock video site, often a pricey proposition for quality visuals.

Animated game AZZL will bust your brain out of the real world

By

AZZL is a  brain-teasingly clever puzzle game featuring lovingly designed animations and characters.
AZZL is a brain-teasingly clever puzzle game featuring lovingly designed animations and characters.
Photo: Jutiful

This post is brought to you by Jutiful, maker of AZZL and other smart games.

Much as candy makers know what taste buds they’re appealing to, game makers have learned what makes people respond. Similarly, the “animation puzzles” in AZZL make it feel like a game that’s also a confection: sweet and a little addicting.

Unlock iOS 9’s multitasking potential with Lucidchart’s new diagramming app

By

Lucidchart takes advantage of iOS 9's productivity upgrades to make digital diagramming simple.
Lucidchart takes advantage of iOS 9's productivity upgrades to make digital diagramming simple.
Photo: Lucid Software

This post is brought to you by Lucid Software, maker of Lucidchart.

Visual diagrams are one of the best ways of conveying complex ideas to audiences and collaborators. Making them is also an invitation to get frustrated by how little diagramming software has apparently advanced in recent years (people still use Visio?).

We live in an age of sleek design and intuitive user interfaces, so why is it still easier to scrawl a simple chart on a napkin than to draft one on a computer or iPad?

Conquer YouTube (and win $10,000) with LG’s Dream Setup competition

By

LG is offering $10,000 and a chance for budding vloggers to build the computer rig they've always wanted as part of its Dream Setup competition.
LG is offering $10,000 and a chance for budding vloggers to build the computer rig they've always wanted as part of its Dream Setup competition.
Photo: LG

This post is brought to you by LG Electronics.

Since the dawn of YouTube, anyone with a webcam and something to say has had a chance to become a bona fide superstar.

A huge portion of the vlogging celebrities on the Tube make their name and fame by reviewing technology or games — searching “let’s play,” the genre of YouTube videos in which vloggers entertain viewers by getting way into playing video games, yields some 7 million hits. “Unboxing” — literally videos of someone unboxing some new toy or gadget — pulls up more than 20 million.

3 ways to recover lost iPhone data with Tenorshare iPhone Data Recovery

By

iPhone Data Recovery for Mac offers total access to your iOS device's backup files, including from iTunes and iCloud.
iPhone Data Recovery for Mac offers total access to your iOS device's backup files, including from iTunes and iCloud.
Photo: Tenorshare

This post is brought to you by Tenorshare, maker of iPhone Data Recovery for Mac.

Sometimes it’s helpful to think of your iPhone for what it actually is: a sleek and fragile glass box where you keep lots of really important information. Luckily, it’s a box you can back up, but pretty much only by using iTunes or iCloud — not exactly user-empowering tools for protecting and recovering your data.

BuzzBundle lets you master the online buzz about your business

By

Buzzbundle is a powerful tool for finding and joining conversations about your business or brand.
Buzzbundle is a powerful tool for finding and joining conversations about your business or brand.
Photo: Buzzbundle.com

This post is brought to you by BuzzBundle.com.

The power of the internet lies in the conversations it carries. If you’re looking to build an online reputation for your business or brand, you’ve got to make sure your voice is heard where it counts.

Wherever someone is talking about something you can relate to, there’s an opportunity to attract new followers and customers. The trick is finding them, and BuzzBundle can help.

Dropzone’s latest upgrade breathes new life into drag-and-drop

By

The latest update to Dropzone makes it even more useful.
The latest update to Dropzone makes it even more useful.
Photo: Aptonic

This post is brought to you by Aptonic Limited, maker of Dropzone.

Drag-and-drop functionality — which lets us quickly and easily move files from place to place, into apps, onto websites — might be the most fundamental way we interact with our computers. That’s why we’re impressed by Dropzone: It’s basically an upgrade of good ol’ drag-and-drop for OS X.

With version 3.5, which drops today, Dropzone is even better.

Start making movies with one of the easiest video editors around

By

iSkysoft Video Editor makes it easy to dazzle your friends.
iSkysoft Video Editor makes it easy to dazzle your friends.
Photo: iSkysoft

This post is brought to you by iSkysoft Studio.

Videos are the new family slideshow, a way of turning visual memories into entertainment for friends and loved ones.

Our computers double as digital junk drawers, with photos, video clips and audio recordings collecting in folders and collecting dust — one of the best ways to bring those memories back to the light of day is to make videos out of them.

Wrangling all the Apple devices in your workplace just got a lot easier

By

Jamf Now is a cloud-based solution for managing all the devices used for doing business
Jamf Now is a cloud-based solution for managing all the devices used for doing business
Photo: Jamf

If you’re running your business on Apple machines, it’s probably because you want to keep things clean and simple. But wrangling desktops, tablets, phones and the employees who use them isn’t as easy as syncing your calendar.

Emails, point-of-sale operations, apps, security settings — an enterprise of any size can quickly present a symphony of stresses that’s too much for any business owner to orchestrate.

Need Publisher for Mac? Give Lucidpress a try

By

Lucidpress gives you all the power of Publisher or InDesign.
Lucidpress gives you all the power of Publisher or InDesign.
Image: Lucidpress

This post is brought to you by Lucidpress.

Anyone involved in digital publishing is pretty much forced to work with one of two applications: Microsoft’s Publisher or Adobe’s InDesign. The pricing of the two reflects the fact that they’re the only two games in town. And since Publisher is PC-only, Mac users have only one option.

Lucidpress thinks people are hungry for a viable alternative, so it’s created a web-based publishing platform that’s as scalable and feature-rich as any of the big-name desktop software — but priced for access to anybody.

Finally, a way to make Macs and PCs play nice

By

osx-borderless
NTFS for Mac breaks down the barriers between Windows and OS X -- and you could win a copy!
Photo: Paragon Software Group

This post is brought to you by Paragon Software Group, maker of NTFS for Mac.

It’s an unfortunate truth that Macs and PCs generally don’t get along. Snickering ads aside, the discord between the platforms is a real inconvenience for anyone trying to make the jump from one to the other, or for people who work with both at the same time.

Luckily, software can help — and you can enter to win a three-in-one bundle that helps bridge the Mac-PC divide.

Your hard drive is crowded with freeloading files, let this app help kick them out

By

dap

This post brought to you by Disk Analyzer Pro.

Having a computer with a lot of storage space is just like having a house with a gigantic attic. After a couple years, the thought of actually sorting through your collection of long-forgotten items packed into the nooks and crannies becomes more and more frightening. Even the most diligent among us end up with forgotten heaps of digital detritus.