From time to time I get emails asking for suggestions and advice. I always respond and am happy to do so, but with this one from Darren I thought I would open it up for discussion, as I think the topic is one that many will be considering as we approach the launch of Leopard.

Darren’s Story

It’s my birthday soon. This year I’ve really wracked my brains to see what Mac gadget I can convince my wife to buy me.

I have gone back into the archives this week. I have always loved this picture, taken in 2002, of the chromed back wheel and swing arm of the Fat Boy, so I wanted to see how it looked with a bit of ‘fiddling’ in Photoshop.

As the desktop on the 23″ ACD it looks amazing – well to me anyway.

I have just finished A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, and I have a whole range of thoughts and emotions going through my mind.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read, which is all the more surprising given that I really wasn’t that interested in when I first picked it up (continuing my approach of reading anything and everything that comes to hand), and the initial pages didn’t grab me at all.

As you know I am on a ‘mission‘ to generate funds to purchase the (much) desired Mac Pro.

At the same time as I released Version 3.0, I said that I had considered running two blogs, as although I wanted to keep reviewing a range of Mac Apps I wasn’t sure how well they would fit with the other additions and directions of this site.

I also wanted to make sure that in my search for funds I didn’t compromise the values of my own site, or do something that I didn’t believe in. Basically – I am not chasing any old source of funds!

AppsForMacs

Search, access, manage & share your data wherever you are!

iNuron recently released the public beta of McNucle v1.0 server software. The application lets you turn a Macintosh desktop or server into a remotely accessible metadata based file server. This iNuron freeware is an extension to Apple’s Spotlight and provides a metadata browser to store, retrieve and manage your data from remote.

Design vector graphics, create more organic movements, and expedite delivery with new integration and collaboration features. Create motion graphics and visual effects with the industry standard. After Effects CS3 Professional

New Features

If you are considering an upgrade then my guess is that you really want to know about the new features:

Shape Layers

Easily create and animate vector graphics with new Shape Layers. Add and animate strokes, fills, gradients, and vector effects. You can convert text into shapes and animate them just like any other shape type.

Videator ($49) is one of those applications that you ‘may as well have’ if you spend any time at all capturing your life and those around you on a digital video camera or iSight. I do not mean that in an at all derogatory manner! It is a fun, affordable and easy to use application that has given me hours of fun – and I know a lot of people who would enjoy owning it.

This week Gary got in on the action before I had posted the picture. Pretty impressive! He saw the picture over on my Flickr account and emailed me some comments and observations on cropping the picture, which I have followed, pretty much as he suggested:

I just received the pictures from Tim of his much discussed, highly anticipated and long overdue Mac Pro and dual screens.

Seems like everything is already up and running, and those dual screens just look they were made for that desk.

Congrats Tim – looking forward to hearing all about it next week.

If you want to see more of Tim’s set up you can see them on his SmugMug site

More a ‘proof of concept’ and certainly a very (very) complicated workaround but appears that using Skype on your iPhone (which it seems that 1 in 3 American’s want – the iPhone not Skype on the iPhone that is) is becoming more of a possibility:

“The Skype-on-iPhone solution is described as a “workaround-around” using a remote control application, SoonR, to remotely use the Skype application running on the user’s desktop computer, and make the calls from there.

It’s a bit more complicated than that, however.

I wanted to end the week sharing a picture with you that I received this week from a friend in the UK.

Sean started off as a ‘friend of a friend’, someone that I used to go riding with (Sports Motorbikes) on a Sunday. The initial friend faded away but Sean and I have remained friends. His family have stayed in our apartment in Spain several times when we have been in Florida, and when I do go back to the UK I try and see him.

I have been using Skitch for a month now, and I intend to do a full review once it is out of beta. I wanted to write about it now though for a number of reasons:

- the hype around Pownce seems to have knocked it off the front page a little which I feel is a shame because as a concept and application I think it is far more interesting and useful,