11: Droplr December 29, 2009

Shortened URL

Droplr is a tiny application for the Mac that enables you to shorten URLs in seconds. In addition, you can upload files and have a short link to download them. Text files, pictures and (I believe) movies get opened in the web browser without having to download them.

It is a tiny menulet that you drag URLs or files on to and they get shortened immediately. Also, you get a good web interface that enables you to delete links.

Once you have uploaded it, you get a little ‘t’ (you can see it in the screenshot) that when you click it, can send the link to a twitter client of your choice or even Twitter.com for you to add a description and post.

You do get a small ad to the top right of files (but not URLs) , but I can’t find a ‘Pro’ version that disables them.

Overall: 5 stars – Brillant!

Christmas is coming! December 15, 2009

My blog now has snow on it!
Wait a couple of seconds and it starts to snow.
Move your mouse left and right to change the direction of the snow.

10: Real Racing December 13, 2009

Real Racing

Real Racing is fantastic! The graphics are stunning. It’s unbelieveable that they’ve been able to get such good graphics on to what is essentially a phone!

Get it now from the App Store for £3 at time of writing.

9: MacBook Air November 26, 2009

The MacBook Air is definitely very thin and stylish. The Precision Unibody Enclosure (or Unibody for short) is well-made and looks as though it wouldn’t dint if you dropped it – although I don’t think I’ll want to try that!

The screen is bigger than I thought it was going to be. The screen is more non-reflective than my Dad’s PC, and is easy to read in direct sunlight. Some YouTube videos and reviews say that their new MacBook Air’s screen is very loose and wobbles about – mine doesn’t and it’s refurbished.

They were not lying when Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) said “It’s the thinnest notebook in the world.” The thickness at the thickest end is still thinner than the thickness of my old laptop’s screen!

The Operating System – Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard – is easily the best OS ever made. It is easy to use (according to my Dad, who knows pretty much nothing about computers) and still has advanced features for me.

Boot-up time is about 4x as fast as my old laptop, and nothing has crashed at all yet. Programs load instantly, except for iMovie (this is fixed, read next paragraph). Animations are great; my favourite is the Genie Effect, which when slowed down, looks fantastic. To slow down the minimisation, hold Shift and Ctrl and click the minimize button!

I have since updated the OS to 10.6 Snow Leopard. The update went smoothly, and about 3 times as fast as when we tried to upgrade XP to Vista on another computer! If you thought Leopard was fast, this is unbelievable. iMovie now loads just like any of the other applications – great!

Overall, the best computer ever, and if you ask me, MAC RULES!

8: Mockingbird November 9, 2009

 

User Interface

Mockingbird (gomockingbird.com) is a website that allows you to create mockups for websites, programs, etc with an absolutely fantastic interface.

 

Comments November 8, 2009

Just a quick note to say that comments are checked by myself before they appear on the site so don’t be worried if the comment doesn’t appear straight away. Thanks.

7: Circus Ponies Notebook November 4, 2009

Notebook is a fantastic piece of software that allows you to create and manage virtual notebooks. It’s as simple as that.

Notebook UI

 

Add notes andother text. Drag in files and folders. Even “clip” web research, mail messages and other content into your Notebooks without leaving the application you’re working in. Annotate your information with diagrams and sketches, highlighting and keywords. Take voice-annotated notes that you can download to your iPod. And protect private thoughts with passwords, covers, and encryption.

6: Spotify October 28, 2009

User Interface

Spotify gives you millions of tracks – instant, simple and free, (and of course, legal!). You sign up for an account (currently, it’s in private beta, which means you add your name (or to be precise, your email address) to the list and you will eventually get an account. I got mine when you could get your account straight away, so I don’t know how long the wait is.

It’s very good, especially if you pay for the premium service. Thought-out interface and amazingly fast, means that it’s at the top of my program list – if only I had an unlimited broadband bandwidth!

spotify.com

5: CoTweet October 26, 2009

User Interface

CoTweet – An online twitter client that supports multiple people posting to a single twitter account with their own signature. Very good, clear interface, and even though it’s meant for more than one person to collaborate, I use it with my personal twitter account because I like the interface.

Update: Forgot website, although it’s pretty obvious… cotweet.com

4: SlideRocket October 25, 2009

User Interface

My fourth review is SlideRocket.

SlideRocket is a revolutionary new approach to presentations. It’s the only presentation software that allows you to create stunning presentations, manage them intelligently, share them securely and then measure the results. SlideRocket also includes an online marketplace where you can find all the content and services you might need to make your presentations great. SlideRocket goes beyond traditional presentation tools by harnessing the power of the Internet and making everything available to you in an integrated and intuitive online interface. SlideRocket is provided in a software-as-a-service model.

Update: I forgot the website address… sliderocket.com

3: OmniOutliner October 25, 2009

User Interface

Ok, so this isn’t a website, but this is grgreviews.

Anyway – OmniOutliner.

First things first, if you don’t have a Mac, then stop reading. This application is only available for Mac.

Icon

“OmniOutliner is an amazingly flexible program for creating, collecting, and organizing information. Give your creativity a kick start by using an application that’s actually designed to help you think. It’s like having an extra brain.” OmniGroup – Developers.

I have OmniOutliner Professional, so that is what’s pictured (and it’s also the beta) so it may differ slightly.

I absolutely love this!

2: GO2WEB20 October 25, 2009

Logo

My second website is www.go2web20.net.

This website lists a user-created list of Web 2.0 sites. It has a fantastic list of websites that is growing every day.

1: Nirvana October 24, 2009

Nirvana UI

My first website is www.nirvanahq.com.

This is a project organizer that I use to record my homework. It’s very comprehensive and because it’s a website, I can access it from school (or anywhere with an internet connection).

Hello world! October 24, 2009

Hello. I’m George Garside and I’m going to post reviews of my favourite websites, programs, etc on here when I can.