I woke up last Monday, belly first, arm hanging over the side of the bed as the alarm chimed. It was quite early, 6:30 to be exact. I kind of tossed and turned for a bit before lumping the sheets off to one side and planting my feet solidly on terra firma. Yup, I was awake.

A quick banana and glass of milk later, I started my leg stretches, making sure to pay special attention to my quadriceps. With a little jig and a tap of my iPod, I headed out my door on what was a relatively crisp, cool morning. Five minutes later, and I was off running. Literally. Read more

A few days ago I was reading a post on Alexander Limi’s blog called “Improving download behaviors in web browsers”, and from that deep and informative analysis I realized how much Safari’s download management is indeed flawed and could be seriously improved. Now that I think about it, I download a lot of stuff everyday (be it the screenshots Cody sends for our posts, or archives with new icons I want to try out) and I regularly have to a) hide the download window because I can’t stand it and gets in my way and b) clear my download list who easily gets cluttered with all the files I’ve previously downloaded.

As Limi also pointed out in his post, managing downloads in a browser could be a lot better. It should be a lot better, and hopefully we’ll see some new features implemented in the next iterations of Safari and Firefox. But at the moment of writing this, the only solution seems to install a dedicated download manager app, and that’s why today I’m taking a look at Leech by Many Tricks, which has just been updated to the 2.0 version.

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Radium is one of those apps I fell instantly in love with. So much in fact, it’s gotten me interested in Internet radio again. While I’ve checked out applications like Snowtape and Radio Gaga, I didn’t want the recording features. That sounds crazy, but I don’t want to manage another library or window of “stuff.” And that’s the problem I have with things like Pandora or Last.fm too: I need a dedicated browser window, widget, or fat application just to stream an hour’s worth of alternative music. So when I was contacted about Radium, I was skeptical, but optimistic. Five minutes after using it, I was sold. It’s perfect for me. Read more

We’re always looking for new apps. We’re always looking forward to that new app which should revolutionize the way we work. Apply this statement to file sharing (a way too crowded market on Mac OS X) and you’ll see thousands of people eagerly talking about Droplr, Tinygrab, whatever. There are at least 20 similar file sharing apps that I know, and while some of them are really good pieces of software, most of them are crap, period.

I think it’s impossible to review Cloud app by Linebreak without mentioning the fact that these guys managed to build a tremendous hype around their first mainstream application: back when Cloud was nothing but an icon, I remember everyone was talking about this new app which had a great looking icon and was every Mac user’s wet dream. Nice, we all started following the Twitter account. Cloud was then released as ultra-closed beta, and a few designers had the chance to put their hands on it and tease us on Twitter about how awesome it was. Again, we bookmarked a Twitter search for the terms “Cloud Mac”. Last, Linebreak opened even more spots for the beta, and we reviewed an early version of Cloud. It impressed us. It was easy to use, fast, useful, customizable, definitely Mac-like. But still, it wasn’t finished. Hell no, it needed more work, more refinements, more features, new servers - whatever it takes to be the champion.

To stand out from the crowd of file sharing apps.

Now, Cloud has finally gone public. And it’s way better than before.

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So folks, we’ve almost run out of applications to review from Fuel Collective, but we got one more to review before coming to a close. Last by not least is Contents, which makes navigating your Mac’s Library folders a breeze. Being something that a lot of users don’t understand, Contents allows users to navigate this dark alley by illuminating the path with its ingenious drop down menu-based system, easy search functions, preferences cleaner, installation utilities, and backup tools. It’s powerful because finally, you can manage everything you’ve always wanted to without the Finder. Read more

It’s not like Mac OS X lacks tools to perform mundane tasks quickly. Actually, there are dozens of apps that allow us to avoid the bore of repeating the same copy and paste between folders for the 30th time, and I guess you’ve already tried a couple that enable you to do so with a single drag & drop. I further guess you’ve tested Dropzone by Aptonic, a great app I find myself using on a daily basis which has been recently updated to the 1.1 version. Dropzone is awesome, but it’s geared towards specific functions. I mean, Dropzone was clearly developed with social networking savvy people in mind, those who need to send pictures to Twitpic, share a quick note online and perhaps install a couple of new applications on their Mac. Sure Dropzone can be extended, but still it doesn’t get the job done when it comes to more complicated workflows, those that require structured, yet repeated tasks. That’s where Dragster from Ambrosia SW comes in.

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You gotta clock in and clock out to get paid. After all, time is money. And even if you’re a freelancer, online tools like Basecamp offer time tracking prowess between you and your collaborators. If time tracking is up your ally, Fuel Collective’s PunchClock removes the fuss from traditional log-in / log-out pains by providing Mac users with one of the most beautiful menubar applications I’ve seen in a long time. Simplicity really is bliss, and with PunchClock, you’ll always have the time on hand. Read more

Continuing our week with Fuel Collective, today we reintroduce the classics. I’d like to say their name to fame was with the introduction of Snippet and Swatch, two excellent Mac applications that sit in your menubar and provide 24/7 access to a developer’s and designer’s most used tools. Together, they make a perfect pair for almost any duty that involves everything from code, blog posts, an Photoshop. If you’ve never heard of these tools, prepare to be amazed by both the simplicity and features provided - these are some must have applications people. Read more

We know Fuel Collective as a company that makes great software, and their latest application, Permute, has officially become one of my must have apps on any Mac. If you need some convincing, imagine being able to convert your favorite TV shows or music videos to any format imaginable. Just tell Permute that you want the latest Lady Gaga music video formatted for your PS3 or iPhone, and it does the job for you. The end user shouldn’t have to worry about extensions or formats - all the user should be concerned about is getting their files converted to the platform they want quickly and easily.

Let’s take a look.

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