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Posts Tagged ‘software’

Inbox Influence shows political contributions by the people in your email

21 Jun

While browser plugins like Rapportive tell you the social networks that people in your email belong to, Inbox Influence, from the Sunlight Foundation, uses their data from Influence Explorer, Transparency Data, and Party Time to show a different type of network in your inbox.

Inbox Influence is a new tool from the Sunlight Foundation that allows you to see the political contributions of the people and organizations that are mentioned in emails you receive. This easy-to-use tool can be used for researching influence background on corporate correspondence, adding context to newspaper headlines or discovering who is behind political fundraising solicitations.

Available for major browsers, the plugin is straightforward to use. Just install it like you would any other plugin, and then open Gmail in your browser. In the sidebar (where the ads usually are), you'll see contribution information for people in your inbox.

How much political influence is in your inbox?

[Inbox Influence]

 
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Software Calculates Appearance Of The Average Woman in 41 Countries

10 Feb


What does an average French woman look like? Here’s your answer and a whole lot more, where thousands of faces have been averaged into a composite face for each of 41 different countries.

Face Research created the software, asking its user to define a dozen points on a face, and then it’s possible to determine an average face when comparing two photos or thousands.

Although the photos used for these composites are not available for our recreation, the site offers a smaller group of faces with which you can experiment, or lets you upload your own for custom averaging.

In this project, it’s not clear how many subjects were averaged together for each nationality, but the result is remarkable, with all the faces beaming with nearly perfect symmetry and blemish-free skin. Take a look at a gallery of the various nationalities:


Face Research, Group 1





Face Research, Group 2





Face Research, Group 3





Face Research, Group 4




[via Photoxels]

More About: average woman, Face Research, gallery, software, websites

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From the Dropbox Gurus: Ideas for Beginners, Intermediates and Wizards

15 Jan


If you’re like us, you’re using Dropbox for all kinds of unusual tasks. But we wanted to go further, so we asked the experts at Dropbox to tell us their most unusual, unexpected and crazy ways to use this versatile software tool.

If you’re not familiar with Dropbox, it’s free desktop synchronization software that lets you store a copy of a file on your computer and then access that same file from anywhere. You can store up to 2GB for free. Go over that amount, and it’ll cost you $10 a month for 50GB and $20 a month for 100GB.

Here’s the scoop from our experts for three different levels of Dropbox users:

For Beginners Only

Before we get to the advanced techniques, one Dropbox expert suggested that we focus on the basics. Beginners, this is for you; advanced users, you already know all this stuff, go ahead and skip to the next section.

Sync between two computers: This is the most basic task, where you install the Dropbox application onto two computers and synchronize files between them.

Undelete: We were so relieved when we first discovered this feature. Simply go to the Dropbox website, click the arrow that appears to the right of the file when you position your cursor over it, and select Previous Versions. Look at that — it’s your own Time Machine.

Share a folder to collaborate: We do this all the time here at Mashable, where everyone has access to the same files, and if someone else is working on that file, it lets us know so we won’t overwrite each other.

For Astute Users

Now that we have the basic techniques out of the way, here’s where our team of Dropbox experts get into the intermediate stuff:

Learn the keyboard shortcuts: Just like any application where you’re a power user, you can work much more efficiently with shortcuts, jumping all over the place by pressing just a few keys. For example, you can show/hide deleted files just by pressing “d.” Move up a directory with the letter “u.” Check out all 13 keyboard shortcuts here.

Password/Vault synching: Apps such as 1Password, KeePass and Tiny Password will let you store your secrets in your Dropbox, and then access them from any other device where you have these applications installed. Or, do like we do and use LastPass, a browser plug-in that performs all the synchronization in the cloud for you itself.

Sync between desktop and iOS device: Here’s what one expert called “beautiful, quick syncing,” where you never have to click “save” to save your notes. Mac users, he recommends using Notational Velocity on the desktop and PlainText on any IOS device to sync notes through Dropbox. For PC users, you can store notes in .txt format (using an applet like Notepad) and save them in Dropbox, where you can open them using the PlainText app (which we love) on your iOS device.

For Smarty Pants Users

Now we get into the advanced techniques. Here’s the most unusual tip we got from our experts, this from one of Dropbox’s sales team:

Sync music for your car: As our expert tells it, “I’m using Dropbox to sync a small netbook in the trunk of my car with my music library, and then have that connected to my head unit for playback. Anytime I’ve added new music to the library on my home PC, the next time I get in my car I will set my Android phone as a mobile hotspot, use that to hook the netbook up online, and I have the local Dropbox account on the machine selectively synced out of every folder except my music. It syncs the new music while I’m driving around and I now have way more songs in my car than I could ever fit on an iPod, including my favorite new edition of Arcadio.”

Chrome data syncing: Chrome browser users, try moving your Chrome data file to Dropbox, and your entire session — everything, including windows and settings, opens just how you want on any other computer. Our expert warns of a downside, though: conflicted copies of your settings files if Chrome is open on two computers at the same time. Here’s more info for the adventurous.

For Techno-Gods Only

Abandon all hope all ye who enter here, well, unless you’re a techno-guru. Here’s the granddaddy tip of them all, a way to get remote desktop access to all of your machines by using Windows Server 2008, straight from the upper echelons of Dropbox:

Compute anywhere: “One of the lesser known features of Windows Server 2008 R2 (and the currently-in-beta Windows Home Server “Vail” which is based on R2) is called RemoteApp. Basically it allows you to launch a self-contained streaming instance of an application that is installed on the server and delivered via
a remote desktop session where you only see the app on the client side.

“It’s cool because, on a Windows machine, it can be run one of two ways: via an RDP file, or taking it a step further, using an MSI installer package which makes it look like the app is installed on the local machine, complete with file associations. You can also run multiple instances from multiple remote locations at the same time. This is particularly cool for special file types like PSD’s where it may not be convenient or possible to install the app on the remote machine.

“Tying in to Dropbox, I had two folders: one called RDP and one called MSI. I was able to take my apps with me anywhere and if it was a Windows machine I had control of, I was able to “install” the remote app as well. The end goal was to be able to remotely launch a single copy of iTunes from anywhere and possibly even map the USB ports (you can set that up when you make the MSI) so I could sync my iPhone remotely. It was also great for controlling apps that needed some horsepower (i.e. Handbrake) from much more underpowered devices.”

Commenters, let us know how these tips worked for you, and tell us more ways to get the most out of Dropbox.

We’d like to thank all those at Dropbox who helped us prepare this post.

Reviews: 1Password, Android, Apps, Chrome, Dropbox, LastPass, Mashable, Windows

More About: Dropbox Tips, expert tips, file sync, hacks, how to


 
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How the Mac App Store Changes Everything

06 Jan


The Mac App Store has arrived and with it comes access to more than 1,000 different free and paid apps. While nearly identical in design to the iTunes App Store for iOS apps, the Mac App Store represents a big shift in Mac application discovery and development.

We’ve already done a walkthrough of the new store. What follows is our analysis of the overall store experience after spending the past few hours exploring the store, downloading applications, comparing the release to initial expectations and ruminating on how it will change the developer ecosystem.

If you’ve yet to experience the Mac App Store, you’ll need to upgrade your Mac OS X software to version 10.6.6. Once you do, you’ll find the Mac App Store waiting for you in your dock. We encourage you to check it out for yourself and add your thoughts on the new store in the comments section below.

A Meaty Experience

The Mac App Store is packed with more than 1,000 applications out of the gate. This vast collection of applications spans 21 different categories, and Apple has done an amazing job ensuring that the store feels boundless — in the sense that there are more apps than you could ever dream of — and is full of must-own applications. That is: there’s not a lot of fluff here (yet, anyways).

New, just-for-Mac apps like Angry Birds [App Store link] and Twitter [App Store link] are here. So too, are standbys from Apple (iLife) and the Omni Group, along side lightweight fare such as Caffeine [App Store link] and StuffIt Expander [App Store link]. Even Mashable [App Store link] has its own Mac app.

Apple has also wisely replicated its iTunes App Store “Top Charts,” “New and Noteworthy,” “What’s Hot,” and “Staff Favorites” lists in the Mac App Store. The Mac App Store home screen features these curated app catalogs, making quick app perusal and discovery a breeze.

Grab-and-Go Appeal

Most retail and convenience stores stock small or inexpensive products near the register to appeal to customers waiting in line. This strategy creates a grab-and-go atmosphere where customers spend less time thinking about whether they actually need these products and instead make last-minute impulse buys.

Apple mastered the grab-and-go idea with the iTunes App Store and it’s done it again with the Mac App Store. It’s the ultimate model for impulse, grab-and-go shopping where consumers can forget about busting out their credit cards and stop fretting over whether an app is a wise investment.

The frictionless marketplace gives developers direct access to window shopping Mac users who, with just a click or two, can download their apps. It works because consumers have developed a blind faith (misguided or not) in Apple’s ability to create a marketplace of vetted applications. Gone are the days when Mac owners need to trouble themselves with going out of their way to search for apps; now the apps come to them. And while the strict application review process may trouble some developers, Apple’s seal of approval could mean the difference between an app that is relegated to obscurity and one that gets noticed.

Evernote, for instance, is already a top performer among free apps. Existing Evernote users likely knew of, and already downloaded, the Mac version for their desktops. The application’s prominence in the store, however, will likely introduce a whole new audience to the startup’s note-taking and productivity platform. Today, Evernote [App Store link] is seeing an 1800% increase in Mac registrations over a normal day, according to a representation for the company. For a nearly three year-old startup, this kind of exposure could prove instrumental in expanding its user base faster and converting free users into more engaged, paid users.

Plus, while it may be anecdotal, the mere structure of the store — glossy photos, user reviews, top charts etc. — inspired me to purchase apps that I was previously aware of but too trigger-shy to purchase (Zipline and Pixelmator, for instance).

Yet Another App Store

The Mac App Store houses applications for Mac owners to use locally on their desktops. The iTunes App Store houses applications for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple makes that distinction relatively clear — it’s punctuated by a standalone store outside of iTunes, but its existence does complicate things a bit.

The less tech savvy user may be confused as to the difference between the apps they can find in the iTunes App Store and those they can find in the new Mac App Store. Many applications available are Mac duplicates with heftier price tags than their iOS counterparts, which only adds to the confusion.

When many Mac users update their OS software to 10.6.6, they many not understand why there’s an extra icon in their dock and why they’d want to purchase an application that resembles one they already own.

Apple makes it a priority to release hardware and software designed for the average Jane/Joe. While the Mac App Store product itself meets those standards, the way it was rolled out as a separate product may not.

Mac Ecosystem Evolution

A marketplace that can foster impulse purchases and downloads is a marketplace that will change the entire ecosystem around Mac applications. Mac users, on average, will buy more apps; developers will get exponentially higher exposure and revenues; and Apple’s line of iMacs and Mac Books will become even more appealing to computer purchasers.

As the ecosystem evolves, however, not every veteran Mac developer will appreciate the changes that are being force-fed to them. Developers will have much less control, may need to cave to Apple’s requests during the review process, will sacrifice 30% of revenue for placement and will not be allowed to charge for app upgrades. And, there’s still the outstanding question of how volume pricing will be handled.

Apple’s new Mac App Store could also drive the average market price for Mac applications downward, because price point will largely factor into total downloads and, by association, whether or not apps make the top charts and get featured more prominently. We’ve already seen that race to the bottom occur with iOS applications, where the average price of apps is around $4 (less if you include games).

For better or worse, things are changing. Realmac, makers of Mac apps like LittleSnapper [App Store link] (which I recommend), penned a post yesterday on some of the side effects of the Mac App Store it anticipates post launch. The software maker argues that apps will become more single purpose, upgrade pricing will never be a reality and apps will cheaper on average.

On the whole, however, Realmac concludes, “We think that the Mac App Store is likely to jump-start the already lively Mac developer community, and that developers would be crazy to either remain inflexible on the App Store or forego it altogether.”

It’s a conclusion that seems sound based on my initial experience with Mac App Store.

More Mac App Store Coverage from Mashable:

- Apple Launches Mac App Store With More Than 1,000 Apps
- The Mac App Store: A Walkthrough [GALLERY]
- HOW TO: Fix “Error 100″ in the Mac App Store
- The Mac App Store: The Good, the Bad & the Unknown [Announcement Coverage]

Image courtesy of Realmac Software

Reviews: Angry Birds, App Store, Evernote, LittleSnapper, Mashable, Pixelmator, Twitter

More About: apple, developers, mac, mac app store, mac os x, realmac, software

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5 Unusual Ways to Use Dropbox You Might Not Have Thought Of

18 Dec


Dropbox has just been upgraded to version 1.0, so we thought we’d take a look at some great ways to use it that might not have occurred to you.

A free Dropbox account allows users to store up to 2GB worth of files and access them from any other Linux, Mac or Windows machine running the Dropbox application. Or, those files can be accessed from any browser.

In fact, the new 1.0 version of Dropbox is so tremendously useful, I decided to invest the $9.99 per month to increase its capacity to 50GB. Dropbox can perform some slick tricks. Here are my five favorite examples:

Chat Logs

Many chat programs let you change the location of the chat log. Clients such as Pidgin can be modified to save those chats wherever you’d like, so point to a folder within the Dropbox for complete portability.

Multiple chat client Digsby is especially useful when you save its chat logs in Dropbox, and there was a portable version available until just a few weeks ago.

It’s still possible to make this happen, but it takes a bit of hacking. If you’re so inclined, it might be worth it — it lets you save all your Facebook, AIM and Google Talk chat logs in the same place.

Gaming Saves

Most games let you designate where you’re going to save your progress, so why not put that saved game data in Dropbox? Then, no matter what computer you’re using (as long as you have the game installed there), you can pick up where you left off.

Documents Folder

Have a group of documents you’re always working on and adding to? Place them all in a Dropbox documents folder and you can modify them at home, work, and on the road. This works especially well when you’re writing with a team, allowing you to see when someone else has begun working on a document.

Teamwork

We like to shoot videos, and it often works out where one of us is shooting and another is editing. One of us drops the unedited video clips in a shared Dropbox folder, while the other picks them up and edits them as soon as they’re synced. Then, someone else can share the finished videos on YouTube. This works especially well if you spring for the 50GB upgrade.

Any App With a Watch Folder

Any application that lets you create a watch folder is fertile ground for Dropbox. Here’s an idea: if you’re a Photoshop user, create a watch folder in Dropbox, leave your powerful PC running Photoshop at home. Then, when you drop a photo into that folder when you’re on the road, it’s automatically processed to the dimensions you designate back at the mother ship. You can also use this idea for BitTorrent, dropping torrents into a watch folder and having them download on your home machine while you’re at work.

We’ve grown to adore Dropbox in the past year, and now that it’s reached version 1.0, its subtle improvements make it even more appealing. To see for yourself, download it here, and find out more tips and tricks here.

Reviews: Digsby, Dropbox, Facebook, Linux, Pidgin, Windows, YouTube, aim, google talk

More About: Dropbox, file sharing, file storage, how to, software

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Word Lens augmented reality app instantly translates whatever you point it at

16 Dec

Augmented reality and optical character recognition have just come into their own, beautifully intertwined into an instant translation app for the iPhone. Download Word Lens, pay $4.99 for a language pack, then point it at a sign and watch as it replaces every word with one in your native tongue. It's a little bit like Pleco, but without the whole language learning stuff. We just gave it a spin, and while it's not quite as accurate as this video claims, it's still breathtaking to behold -- especially as it doesn't require an internet connection to do any lookup. Sadly, it only translates to and from English and Spanish for now. Still, Babelfish, eat your heart out.

Update: Looks like it only works on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch for now.

Word Lens augmented reality app instantly translates whatever you point it at originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceWord Lens (iTunes)  | Email this | Comments
 
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Magic Software Re-Focuses Your Blurred Photos

06 Dec

Back when I used to spend time in the darkroom, somebody once asked me if they could cancel out their mis-focussed photos by just dialing the enlarger’s lens in the opposite direction. I laughed, but I couldn’t help wishing it was true.

25 years later, it can be done, not in wet darkroom but with your computer. A new Photoshop plugin from Topaz Labs corrects focus-blur, as well as motion-blur caused by camera-shake.

It does this by reverse-engineering the blur, using something called “image deconvolution technology”. This actually correct the blur instead of just increasing edge-sharpness, another technique which makes photos appear sharper, but does nothing to fix them.

There’s a 30-day free trial for the InFocus plugin (the software costs $70 otherwise), so I gave it a quick test drive, with pretty bad results. It seems that every image I tried it with ended up with speckly artifacts all over it. Images with more detail fair better: an out-of-focus portrait doesn’t fare as well as a detailed architectural shot, for instance.

It’s worth a try, and the sample images on the site show that, in practiced hands, it works well. But more important is what it means for digital photography. With imaging tech always improving, otherwise hopeless photos could be saved in the future. You’d better go out and buy another hard-drive to store all the photos you’d otherwise toss out: if you wait long enough, some piece of software will come along and turn it into a masterpiece.

Topaz InFocus product page [Topaz Labs]

See Also:

 
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5 of the Best New User Experiences of 2010

28 Nov

Mashable Awards Image

As part of the ongoing Mashable Awards, we’re taking a closer look at each of the nomination categories. This is “Best Website User Experience.” Be sure to nominate your favorites and join us for the Gala in Las Vegas!

When it comes to user experience, designers and developers must do much more than present their users with a “pretty face” web page.

The user experience (UX) of a site or app involves much more than looks; the UX is something that lingers on after the user has left your site. It lies in ease of use, perceived value, whether desired goals were achieved and so much more. The user interface (UI) is only part of that larger experience, but it can contribute much to a user’s impression of the app.

In writing about the best web designs of 2010, form and function each played a large role in determining our choices. But when we think about user experience, function takes absolute precedence.

What sites and apps were the most interesting, the most useful, the most innovative of the past year? In this post, we examine five groundbreaking new UX/UIs from 2010 and discuss how each one expands our expectations of the user experience.

1. Quora

One of the earlier launches this year, Quora was a buzz-heavy private beta service in 2009. As a product of some of the best design minds at Facebook, the site was almost guaranteed to have an excellent UX from the start.

We love Quora’s elegant interactions. It looks simple; it prompts instant and easy engagement; and it takes the hide-and-seek elements of a Q&A site away, leaving the user with a trove of relevant information at his or her fingertips.

We’re not the only ones who love Quora’s design. For a bit of meta navel-gazing, read this Quora Q&A on why people like Quora’s design.

Initially, another thing that made Quora’s UX so excellent was the quality of its membership. Have a question about Facebook? A Facebooker would likely answer it. Questions about venture capital? Here are some actual investors to talk to you. Marketing? Ad execs were on the site, too.

2. Hipmunk

One thing we loved about Hipmunk from the start is that it took a traditionally bad user experience — airline flight search — and made it into a good one.

This startup reimagined the most important element of online flight search: how results are displayed. It took a convoluted, multi-entry/multi-exit process and made it simple to behold and linear to walk through, creating a user experience that is far from the stress-inducing nightmare flight search once was.

The company has also hinted it will be turning its eyes toward other types of travel services soon, possibly hotel search. We can’t wait.

To get the big picture, check out the video above, and the excellent interview blogger Robert Scoble conducted with Hipmunk co-founder Steve Huffman.

3. Seesmic Desktop 2

Seesmic launched a new iteration of its popular desktop app just a couple months ago. Dubbed Seesmic Desktop 2, the application also included an entire marketplace of plugins, making SD2 an all-in-one social media access point — a great set of features for run-of-the-mill social media narcissists, as well as businesses that need more control and monitoring tools for their web efforts.

Seesmic’s Silverlight-built, Mac- and Windows-compatible product also came wrapped in a gorgeous and functional UI with elegant and subtle details, making it a joy to behold as well as a pleasure to use.

During some turbulent times for third-party applications, Seesmic founder Loic LeMeur proved his very salient point: If you make a great product, build in great functionality, and give users a great experience, you can still build a business on someone else’s platform.

4. Flipboard

Flipboard launched this year as one of the first iPad apps that sought to reimagine social media for a new form factor.

The tablet gave designers and developers a chance to think about lean-back, glossy, high-end design experiences. Of course, magazines had a heyday; their content is already almost a perfect fit for the iPad. But when you think about social media content — those messy, spaghetti-like, intertwining and overlapping feeds of drama, irrelevance and the occasional gem — you begin to see what a challenge the makers of Flipboard had on their hands. Could social media be both beautiful and functional on a tablet?

Flipboard integrates personalized Twitter and Facebook feeds to build a social magazine for each user. In an initial review we called it “gorgeous and a pleasure to use,” and the app has continued to rack up the platitudes from social media junkies around the web. Its core value proposition is more than just its beautiful, mag-like design; it makes the experience of reading social feeds simpler, faster and better.

5. Roku

Without a doubt, 2010 has been the first big year for Internet-connected living room devices. We’ve seen cool things in the past from PlayStation, Xbox and Boxee; however, 2010 brought something new: affordability and ease of entry.

Roku’s set-top boxes start at just $60; already priced to win. Each model also comes with built-in WiFi and they are easy to install — they practically set themselves up. They connect to some of the most popular Internet content providers, including Netflix, MLB.tv and now Hulu, as well.

The Roku UI is simple, clean, bright and intuitive; it reminds us of the more user-friendly gaming interfaces, like that of Nintendo’s Wii. It’s a design language that says, “I’m not technical; I’m fun.” Very quickly, the design itself fades into the background and the content becomes all the user notices.

In a word, Roku’s UX is amazing because it makes something that was supposed to be complicated and scary (bringing Internet content to the living room) inexpensive, easy and a pleasure to use.

What Are Your Picks?

Those are five of our favorite user experiences from 2010; we’d love to know what impressed you this year. In the comments, tell us about the apps, devices and websites that you’ve loved using throughout 2010 or nominate them for a Mashable Award.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances.

Date: Thursday, January 6th, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm PT
Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas
Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations
Socialize: Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, Plancast, Twitter (Hashtag: #MashableAwards)

Sponsorships are available. Please contact sponsorships@mashable.com for more information.

Register for Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage (Las Vegas - 2011 International CES convention) [Ticketed Event] in Las Vegas, NV on Eventbrite

Thanks to our sponsors:

Mashable Awards Gala Partner:

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Mashable Awards Category Sponsor:

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Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications including the BlackBerry® wireless platform and the new BlackBerry PlayBook. For the latest on the BlackBerry PlayBook visit the Inside BlackBerry Blog.

Reviews: Boxee, Facebook, Foursquare, Hulu, Internet, Mashable, Seesmic, Twitter, Windows

More About: best user experience, best ux, Flipboard, hipmunk, ix, mashable awards, mashable awards 2010, quora, UI, user experience, ux/ui

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Create Automated Website Tests with Ease

12 Oct


This post is part of Mashable’s Spark of Genius series, which highlights a unique feature of startups. The series is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark.. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: Fake

Quick Pitch: Fake is a new browser for Mac OS X that makes web automation and testing simple.

Genius Idea: Inspired by Apple’s Automator, Fake is a tool that lets web designers and developers create graphical workflows that can be run again and again, without human interaction. These workflows can be saved, shared and edited at ease.

Fake is the creation of Todd Ditchendorf’s Celestial Teapot Software. Ditchendorf is the guy responsible for Fluid, one of our favorite single-site browsers.

Whereas Fluid is a great tool that can appeal to a wide array of users, Fake’s target audience consists of developers, web designers or people that have to perform the same automated tasks repeatedly. That is to say, if you aren’t doing a lot of website testing, unit tests or debugging, Fake might not be for you.

However, if you are a web designer or developer, Fake is just awesome. I’ve been using this app for the last month or so and I have to say, the ability to create workflows to perform rudimentary tasks like capturing a screenshot or filling out a form or clicking on a link is just really remarkable.

A common workflow I utilize is taking screenshots. Oftentimes when I’m writing a post, I’ll need a screenshot from lots of different sources. Rather than taking each screenshot individually, I can just enter in each URL into Fake and have it repeat the “capture screenshot” action for each site. That way, while I’m writing in the background, my screenshots are being captured and saved to a folder of my choice.

For testing purposes especially, the fact that Fake has assertions, assertion failure handlers and error handlers makes it really powerful. It’s often hard to get a real sense of how a site or web app is going to perform under certain conditions. User testing is great, but it can be expensive and time consuming, especially if you need to test various alternating aspects of a site.

The great thing about saving workflows is that you can modify or rerun the workflow against other content. So for people doing A/B testing, you can set up the same set of “fake” interactions for each version and compare results.

Fake is $29.95, but you can download a free trial to see how you like the app. The trial doesn’t let you save workflows and limits you to eight actions at a time, but it’s a great way to determine whether you need this kind of app.

Check out this video to see Fake in action:

Designers and developers — what types of tools do you use for unit or automated testing? Let us know.

Sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark

BizSpark is a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Reviews: fluid

More About: automator, fake, fluid, mac apps, single-site browser, software, unit testing

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Translate Business Jargon into Real Speech [APPS]

13 Aug


“Ninja,” “Guru,” “Team Player,” “Personal Brand” — if this litany of terms gets your skin crawling, you might want to check out this novelty app: Unsuck It.

Brought to you by Mule Design, Unsuck It basically does just that: When you enter a term like, say, “Ninja” into the search bar, the app translates it into normal person language (see below).

You then have the option of sharing it on Twitter, or “e-mailing the douchebag who used it” — said e-mail contains the subject line, “Hey, douchebag! Stop torturing the English language!” and a link to the term and translation in the body.

The site also features the option “I’m Feeling Douchey,” which unearths a random term, and a “Browse” tab by which you can sift through other gems.

All right, ye of the office-bound variety — future fighters of the weekend wars — tell us in the comments, what’s the worst jargon-y term you’ve heard (or used…) all day?

[via Boing Boing]

[img credit: R'eyes]

Reviews: Twitter

More About: humor, pop culture, software, web app

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