When I switched from Snow Leopard to Lion, I was confused by the new window-management features in Mission Control. Are there any alternative application switchers/managers?

There are a few tools available that can supplement the new window-management features of Mission Control in Mac OS X Lion. One of these tools is HyperDock, which is available both in the Mac App Store and online at hyperdock.bahoom.com.

Minimized or hidden windows appear darker in the thumbnail previews.

With HyperDock installed, whenever you hover over an application’s icon in the Dock, all of the windows (hidden or not) will appear in a small pop-up menu. This gives you a visual overview of the opened windows and their contents. Clicking on the small thumbnail preview will open the actual window in the application. Hidden or minimized windows will appear darker than windows that are currently visible.

Another nice feature of HyperDock is the ability to instantly resize your windows just by dragging them to the left, right, or top of your screen. This will cause the windows to “snap” to exactly half of the screen width, while dragging windows to the top will cause the windows to fill the screen.

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Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_manage_your_applications_hyperdock

Whether you’re looking to challenge someone to a game of chess or go toe-to-toe in a match of phrase-based jousting, a quick trip to the App Store’s overstuffed library won’t leave you wanting for turn-based action. Hero Academy, a new tactics title from Robot Entertainment — a studio formed in the wake of Ensemble Studios’ closure — is a lighthearted social strategy game that matches cutesy « My Little Tolkien » combatants with ultra-accessible grid-based gameplay.

Players pick one of two diverse « Heroic Teams » — the conservative knight/wizard/cleric combo of the Council, playable from the get-go; or the slightly more sinister Dark Elves, available as an in-app purchase — before taking to the battlefield, where they’re tasked with protecting a precious supply of crystals from their opponent’s onslaught. Each team is allotted five actions per turn, and a rotating selection of randomly chosen units, power-ups, and perks to deploy keep the action flowing nicely.

The gameplay is punchy, and the variety of unique units and power-ups creates a solid selection of strategies to try out from match to match. Carefully equipping powerhouse players with defense and attack buffs can be just as effective as making clever use of the « premium squares » scattered throughout the play field, but take it from me: strategy aside, a kamikaze crystal attack is always effective.

Academy borrows the social structure from another turn-based titan, Zynga’s ultra-popular Words With Friends, allowing players to challenge random opponents or pick fights with friends and followers from their social networks. It all works very well, although I did come across a couple of connectivity quibbles when playing on the go. It wasn’t enough to deter me for long, though, and if the folks at Robot continue to consistently support it, I can see Hero Academy remaining on my Home screen for a ways to come.

The bottom line. It isn’t the deepest strategy offering on iOS, but Hero Academy is an easy-to-master, turn-based title that also happens to be rather enjoyable. Its micro-transaction mentality may turn some gamers off, but it’s hard to otherwise fault this fun, free app.

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Hero Academy Screens

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  Experiment with Spell Scrolls to see what ultra-powerful attacks your units are capable of.

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  There are only two playable teams at the moment – one free, and one paid – with a third on the way.

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  Swords, shields, and helmets all offer permanent defense and attack boosts to your units.

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  You can keep up to 40 active games going at any given time.

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  A team emerges victorious when the opposition’s crystals have been completely drained.

Hero Academy 1.0.2

heroacademyapp.com

iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.1 or later

Colorful, cartoony characters. Solid assortment of units and power-ups. Gameplay works great on iOS devices.

Occasional connectivity quibbles. Micro-transactions may spurn some players.

Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/hero_academy_review

Create the effect for more than one image on the screen at the same time.

Generally, the screen is the viewer’s window into the film’s world and it behaves like human eyes: you see one image at a time. But film can be a lot more flexible than that. You can, in fact, be more creative and see more than one image at the same time, each battling for your attention or complementing one another. The most traditional reason to have two images side by side is for telephone conversations so you can see both people talking and, more crucially, their reaction to what they’re hearing. But you can also work with a smaller image, tucked away in the corner of the screen to create an observer of the larger action, for instance. You could also find a creative way to make both images interact with one another.

iMovie’s interface appears to be designed to only handle a single layer of video and you can only put one clip before or after another. But, using iMovie’s Advanced Tools, it is possible to create both of the effects described without having to purchase a more expensive application.

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How to Split the Screen in a Clip in iMovie

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  1. Picture in Picture

  Drag a clip from an Event onto one already in your project (it doesn’t matter which since you can move it around later). With your Advanced Tools turned on, a large menu will appear. Choose Picture in Picture and your new clip will appear above the current one.

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  2. Move and Resize

  Check the preview section and you should now see a smaller clip at the top-right corner of the main image. You can move it around to wherever you like by dragging. Also, if you drag one of its corners, you can resize the smaller picture until it’s the dimension you want.

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  3. Inspector Options

  Double-click it to open the Inspector. From there, you can add a border around your smaller clip, choosing a thickness and color. You can also turn the shadow on and off. The PIP Effect section offers you three ways to make the clip appear onscreen.

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  4. Side by Side

  You can alter the smaller clip until it’s the same size as the one beneath it, but you can’t place it side by side. To do this, you need to use a different tool. Drag another clip from an Event onto one in your project. Choose Side by Side from the menu that appears.

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  5. More Inspector Options

  Double-click the new clip to open the Inspector. The options you’re looking for are in the Side by Side section. You can choose which side of the image to place it, and whether you’d like it to slide into view instead of just appearing out of nowhere.

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  6. Cropping Makes Perfect

  iMovie cuts your clip in half for you, focusing on the middle of the image. This may not be ideal; so if you do need the effect to preserve another part of the video, you have to use the Crop tool and experiment with the best section to use (you may also find a Ken Burns effect useful).

Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/how_split_screen_clip_imovie

Our videographer (see also: visonary) Michael DeLano took a GoPro through the convention halls and shortened it down to two minutes to give you a fully immersive walkthrough of the Macworld/iWorld show floor. Check out and be sure to pay attention to the slow downs–you might see some people you know.

Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/videos/macworld_2012_entire_show_floor_just_two_minutes

Feed the beast

How many chargers do you use for your iOS device? Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I’ve got chargers in every room of the house, and a charging cable permanently plugged in at my desk at Mac|Life. With all the use my iPhone gets, it’s no wonder. And now that my music beams in via iCloud and Rdio, the demands on my phone’s battery keep going up.

Put the power in your pocket.

Mipow’s Power Tube 3000 solves the problem of a dead iPhone battery in a fairly compact package. While other external battery solutions have gone for bulky battery cases, Mipow keeps it simple. The Power Tube 3000 is a chunky rectangular external battery pack with its own built-in charging cable. To juice up your device, just pop off the top and plug it in to your Apple device. There’s also a USB power outlet, and an included Micro USB cable for charging other devices.  

The Power Tube does a pretty good job recharging your Apple devices, although the 3000mAh model could only fill my iPhone 4 once—a higher-capacity model is available if you need more power. Due to the chunky design, charging the battery itself in a MacBook or iMac blocks adjacent ports. There’s an included USB extension cable, although using it kind of negates the coolness and convenience of the all-in-one form factor. A four-color LED serves as fuel gauge—blue represents a 70–100 percent charge, for example. We’d appreciate a bit more specificity, or at least a definitive indicator that the battery is fully charged.

The bottom line. We love the Power Tube’s simple all-in-one design, but you’ll most likely need the extension cable to keep the battery topped-up.

Power Tube 3000

mipow.com

iPhone, or iPod with dock connector

No need for a separate charging cable to connect your device. USB port for charging other devices. Comes in ten colors.

Fuel gauge is vague. Bulky design blocks adjacent ports when charging the Power Tube.

Article source: http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/power_tube_3000_battery_review