CRM News: Mac Apps

FileMaker Pro Goes to 11
March 15, 2010

Fans of relational databases will find a lot to smile about in the latest release of FileMaker Pro. The program, long a favorite of Mac users, simultaneously released last week a new version of the data crunching powerhouse for both OS X and Windows. "This is a pretty significant release in the sense that there's a lot going on in it," FileMaker Group Product Manager Rick Kalman told MacNewsWorld.

Aperture's Makeover Delights Photogs
March 08, 2010

The new features in Apple's makeover of its image editing and archiving program Aperture appear to be a hit among photographers, even though the initial release of the application was so flawed an upgrade had to be released within two weeks of its launch. Aperture 3.0 ($199) has more than two hundred new features.

Mac App Transcribes Speech to Text in a Snap
March 01, 2010

Talking to your Mac and watching your words appear on its screen can be an empowering experience, but what about those times you're away from your "iron?" If you have a gadget that records sound files, you can now turn those bytes into text with a new program from MacSpeech.

Intuit's Quicken for Mac App Sticks to Essentials
February 26, 2010

Intuit has rolled out its first Mac-native application for Quicken. Quicken Essentials for Mac, or QEM, offers several new features welcome to Mac users seeking a financial application -- including an expected increase in the number of financial institutions, banks and credit unions they can access.

Word 2011's Ribbon Will Tie Mac Users in Knots
February 19, 2010

Microsoft was under no obligation to build a ribbon component, similar to the one premiered in Office for Windows, for the Mac. That's especially true given the fact that the menu bar is such a prominent element of the Mac user experience. Ever since System 7, the menu bar -- which remains fixed to the top of the screen -- indicates which application is active.

Tune-Up App Lets You Get More Intimate With Your Mac
February 08, 2010

It's been both a boon and bane for the Mac that it has some characteristics of an appliance. For some users, "it just works" is what makes Apple computers so much more attractive than their competitors. Others, though, just feel incomplete unless they can get under the hood of their byte box. For them, there are programs like MacTuneUp.

TopXNotes: A Concierge for the Constant Scrivener
February 01, 2010

If there's one software category that's proven it has legs, it's the personal information manager. Knowledge workers and computer jocks are bombarded with a blizzard of information every day, and they seem to never tire of programs that promise to organize it for them. TopXNotes, recently upgraded to version 1.5, is such a program.

iVCD Turns Up Heat on Disc-Burning Features
January 25, 2010

When Mireth Technology began business, the price of optical drives that could burn DVDs hovered around $1,000. That's changed over the years, and so has the company's flagship product, iVCD. Originally designed to create video CDs on a Mac, the application has evolved into an all-purpose DVD, VCD and SVCD authoring and burning program.

Chrome Streaks Past Safari in Market Share
January 05, 2010

Google's Chrome may be a relatively new entrant in the browser arena, but already it's edged past Apple's long-standing Safari to assume the third-place spot. That's according to market researcher Net Applications, which recently released year-end data indicating that Chrome now accounts for 4.63 percent of the browser market.

PageZephyr Sees What Spotlight Can't
December 28, 2009

General purpose search applications like Spotlight do an excellent job of giving byte-slingers swift access to the content in a panoply of common file types. When it comes to proprietary formats like those created by Quark Express and Adobe InDesign, those file ferrets can be blind as olms.

Serenity Now: My Living Desktop for Mac
December 21, 2009

If there's one software category that's as crowded as a football team in a phone booth, it's screensavers and wallpapers. To gain some visibility in that mob, an application has to offer something special. My Living Desktop, from Amuse, has that kind of distinction. The program creates a desktop environment mixing dissolving videos with sound.

Chrome for Mac Needs a Bit More Shine
December 10, 2009

There's nothing really wrong with Google's new beta of its Chrome browser for Mac. There are a couple of interesting features, but there's just nothing really fantastic about it either. Google's a big company with plenty of money, and they play with big-boy toys, so they can take the honest truth: Seriously, I was expecting more.

Google Goes After Mindshare With Chrome for Mac, Linux
December 09, 2009

With the release of beta versions of its Chrome browser for the Mac and Linux platforms, Google looks to be laying the groundwork for becoming a major player in the next wave of computing. The Web browser one uses is being increasingly viewed as the next application platform, and getting the Chrome browser on more desktops could give Google strong momentum in the arena.

VMware Fuses Performance With Convenience
November 16, 2009

There's more than 50 new features in the latest version of VMware Fusion -- an application that allows Windows and OS X to run together in a virtual environment on a Mac -- but the one that has users raving is the big boost in performance. "I installed VMWare Fusion 3.0 just a few days ago," Leon Kotovich, president and CEO of AgileSequent told MacNewsWorld.

Adobe Elements Buffs Up for Mac
October 26, 2009

Mac jocks miffed at Adobe for releasing Windows versions of its Photoshop Elements photo editing and organizing application before getting around to its OS X editions of the software should be pleased with the simultaneous release of the product's new version for both operating systems this month.

GoToMyPC Gets Ready to Go to Your Mac
October 19, 2009

More and more workers require remote access to their personal computers at their offices, and often those office computers are Macs. That trend has induced a major maker of remote access software to tailor one of its offerings for the Applesphere. Citrix Systems is close to releasing GoToMyPC for the Mac, currently in open beta trials.