Apps will be reviewed based on two main aspects: user interface/experience and functionality.  In addition to reviews, we’ll be conducting interviews with designers and developers, and keeping a running collection of screenshots and icons of well-designed apps on the side.

As it stands right now, the blog will be still be running WordPress. The running image collection may run on Tumblr (since it’s more lightweight), but will either be linked or reposted on the main WordPress blog at regular intervals.

Right now we’re working with different themes to ensure that the site is readable on any screen, and are looking for a robust skeleton that can be scaled into the kind of site we want.  We’ll likely have a theme switcher that can “turn off” all the bells and whistles, and make it much easier to read the site’s actual content.

I’ll be checking in from time to time to post more updates. Stay tuned!

The State of FreeMacAppaDay

Today was my last day of school for the year, and I plan to begin updating this site again this summer. However, I think I’ll be making some major changes first. The fact that I haven‘t posted an update in 85 days is testament to the fact that I simply don’t have time to review a free Mac app every day. Here’s what you can expect to see over the next few months:

New domain
While I love FreeMacAppaDay.com dearly, the name is extremely restrictive—it implies that I will post a new review every day. While this used to be no problem, life has gotten in the way and I simply can’t keep up with such a rapid pace. I’ll be accepting suggestions for a new domain, and will likely keep FreeMacAppaDay.com for a few more months to redirect the users who miss the announcement when it first happens.

New host
Site5 has been an absolutely fantastic web host—so fantastic that I’m fairly certain I don’t need many of their incredible services. FreeMacAppaDay’s hosting package is around $200/year, and leaves me with loads of bandwidth and disk space that I simply don’t need. I’m considering switching to a host like NearlyFreeSpeech.net, which charges based on your use of their services. I calculated the amount I’d be spending annually on the new version of this site with NearlyFreeSpeech’s hosting, and it came out to around $30-40/year. This will likely be the first change I make.

New design
As much as I like the current WordPress theme I’m using (called “leopress”), I feel that it’s time for a makeover. I’ve sketched out several designs for the updated site, and think they’re significantly better than the current one. With a bit of time (and the help of some friends), you may see a brand new site in the near future. While this isn’t one of the most pressing issues at hand, it’s a change I’d like to make for personal reasons, as well as to streamline the site’s overall user experience.

New writers
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last year, it’s that I can’t handle this task alone. I’ll be looking to recruit some new writers once the domain and hosting changes are worked out. This will take a lot of stress off me, and provide for a steadier stream of content for you.

New deals
If the updated site really takes off, I’ll begin working with some shareware developers to get promotions on high-quality apps, and hopefully some software license giveaways.

New platforms
Apple’s iOS line of devices is absolutely packed with awesome apps. I’m considering writing reviews for iPhone and iPad apps in the near future, which would create a much wider variety of content on the site. Of course, this change would have to be made in tandem with the domain change. In any case, I feel it’s an interesting idea worth considering.

None of these changes are certain, and all of them are subject to change. If you have any suggestions or would like to contact me regarding writing or helping with the creation of a new site theme, don’t hesitate to send me an email! I’d love to hear some feedback (if only to let me know that there are still users around to appreciate the work that will go into these changes!). You can contact me using the form on the left sidebar, or by sending an email to gbendinelli@gmail.com. Thanks, and you’ll be hearing from me soon!

-Gus Bendinelli

Droplr is a great file-sharing tool that allows you to easily upload any files, images, or notes. It can auto-upload screenshots and give you a short link, or you can highlight any file and press a key-command (defined by the user) to have the file automatically uploaded and the short link copied to your clipboard. File size is limited to a very reasonable 5 megabytes per upload, and a free Droplr account gives you 1GB of storage. Unfortunately, the short links it gives you have an advertisement in the top-right corner, but the ads are very well-designed and unobtrusive. Uploads can be tracked through Droplr’s gorgeous online file browser, which lets you organize your uploads and view them easily. Overall, Droplr is a fantastic file sharing service that I find myself using just about every day.

Rating: 4.5/5. Beautifully designed, fast, and an extremely useful service–requires a Twitter account.

Developer site:
Droplr.com/Hello

Magnifique is a is a nifty app that allows you to theme your Mac with a completely revamped interface. Many themes (which you download and apply with Magnifique) are available for free, and are for the most part very well-designed. It’s intuitive and effective, and an excellent app to have if you’re getting bored with the Mac OS X UI (or just want to get rid of those nasty Aqua elements!). My current favorite theme is “Disinmaso”, which is a mashup of two themes by interface designer Susumu Yoshida called “Disingenuous” and “Umaso”.

WARNING: As of this writing, Magnifique is NOT compatible with Snow Leopard. It is only compatible with Leopard. A Snow Leopard-compatible version is being planned, but will likely require a rewrite of the entire application, so it may be some time before it’s available.

Rating: 5/5. Easy, functional, and has a bunch of awesome themes available for free download.

Developer site:
MagnifiqueApp.com

Poladroid is a fun little app that converts your images into Polaroid-style photos, complete with post-processing. It adds a great (and editable) vignette, and changes the colors of your photos. My favorite part is that you actually have to wait for the images to develop, and you can watch them slowly appear over time. The interface is simple–just drag and drop a photo, then wait. It’s not exactly the most useful application out there, but it’s a lot of fun to mess around with.

Rating: 4.5/5. Finish localizing the menus, and it’ll be perfect.

Developer site:
Poladroid.net

Colors is an extremely simple app that can get the exact RGB value of any color on your screen, and copy it to your clipboard in several different formats. It’s great for web and/or graphic designers who find the “perfect color”, and need to use it in their work. The UI is a minimal HUD window with a small magnifying glass that you can click. This then zooms in onto a small portion of the screen, allowing you to select the exact pixel you want.

Rating: 5/5. Stylish, accurate, and easy to use.

Developer site:
MattPatenaude.com

One of the more frustrating aspects of dealing with USB-based connectivity is that there’s no standard for deciding how devices are dealt with when plugged into your computer. Cameras by Flexibits takes an ultra-simple approach at filling this software gap by providing one place to specify what should happen when you plug in a camera. Within its pane in System Preferences, you can choose what you want to happen when certain cameras are plugged in. It supports an unlimited amount of cameras, and even iPods. It will only ask what you want to do (in the form of a popup dialog) once, but your decision can be changed within the aforementioned pane. In summary, if you have a lot of USB devices, Cameras can help you sort out the actions so you won’t be overwhelmed when plugging them in.

Rating: 4.5/5. Very simple, and has a very nice icon, but I’ve had trouble getting it to pick up my Canon Rebel T1i.

Developer site:
Flexibits.com

AddressBookSync matches your Facebook friends to your OS X Address Book contacts. It then adds profile avatars, birthdays and location info to your contact cards. Obviously, it can’t sync that information if your friends didn’t fill in those fields on their profile. AddressBookSync also allows you to manually match a Facebook friend to a contact that it doesn’t recognize. This is helpful for friends who, for example, only have their last initial and not their full name on their profile.

Rating: 5/5. This app works exactly as advertised. It is the perfect antidote to birthdate forgetfulness, and a great way to add contact photos to your address book.

Developer site:
DanAuclair.com/AddressBookSync

Evom is a relatively new video conversion app that’s currently in public beta. The UI is dead simple (drag and drop, choose a format, and click export), and includes nice functionality like the option to add the video to iTunes, among other things. The developer also created a bookmarklet that allows you to download Flash video from the web straight into Evom for conversion. Evom can even upload videos to YouTube, after optimizing them in terms of size and quality. This app has essentially become my replacement for iSquint, which is no longer in development. If you’re looking for a no-frills, very fast video conversion app, make sure to check out Evom.

Rating: 4.5/5. While I’m all for simplicity, I’d like to see a few more comprehensive options in terms of video export.

Developer site:
TheLittleAppFactory.com/Evom

It’s been a while. Believe it or not, though, FreeMacAppaDay is still alive. Summer has begun, and I can get back to updating frequently. I feel terrible about going months at a time without posting even once, but it was the price I had to pay to keep on top of my schoolwork. You can expect (hopefully) daily updates again soon.

In other news, I’m looking for help. It’s obvious to me now that I’m unable to maintain a daily updating website alone, especially during school. If you think you have what it takes, please send me an email using the contact form on the main page (and, well, every other page for that matter). Thanks, and I hope to receive some emails soon.

Oh, and one last thing. I’ll be doing a small shareware (yes, paid applications) giveaway soon, in return for everyone’s patience in the last few months. I’ve been talking with some awesome developers, and will have some licenses ready for you guys soon. Stay tuned.