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An App Store for the Mac? Say Hello to Bodega

Christopher Ryan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:30 +0000

The idea of an App Store for the Mac is nothing new but finally, one company is transitioning the idea from a website to an actual application. Bodega, inspired by the Spanish word for “small convenience store,” is a freeware app that does just what we want: It acts as a storefront to lots of great applications for the Mac.

The storefront itself is organized much like a store, with applications represented by their icons residing on “shelves.” This is a bit of an adjustment, as immediately my instinct is to prefer something organized more like iTunes with a more minimal UI and a greater focus within each category of which apps are popular. In the interest of fairness to developers though, perhaps Bodega’s approach isn’t a bad one.

Applications are, as one would expect, grouped by different categories (audio, entertainment, etc.). At the moment, these categories are a bit sparse and slow loading, but since Bodega hasn’t reached 1.0 status yet, I’m betting that they are still working hard on performance improvements.

Similar to the App Store, each application links to a page where more details and screenshots are provided. Users can download demo versions from within the app, or buy the full version without leaving Bodega. All transactions occur through the actual developer’s website, which is just wrapped inside of the Bodega interface. It doesn’t appear that Bodega works out a percentage of profits like Apple does on the App Store, but instead Bodega allows for advertising and featured spots.

Users are free to post reviews of the application, and similar to the App Store, users must have the particular application installed on their Mac before being able to review it.

Bodega also features a universal software update mechanism, allowing apps that are available through Bodega to be updated in one central place. Missing from Apple’s own Software Update feature, this is a really useful tool and as more applications become available through Bodega, this will become even more practical.

Another useful feature of the application is that any apps purchased through Bodega can store their licensing information inside, preventing users from needing to keep up with PDF receipts or scraps of paper with serial numbers scrawled on them.

At the moment, most of the applications on Bodega are independent and smaller developers. Larger companies like EA Games, Adobe & Microsoft are missing. It will be interesting to see if any of these companies give attention to Bodega, or if Bodega will have to work to “prove” itself worthwhile first.

Usability is a huge factor that Bodega needs to focus on as it works towards its 1.0 release. The UI itself is nice, but is missing a certain shine that keeps it from being top of the line. Other nitpicks include a more consistent UI (button styles) and better integration with screenshots of applications. With next and previous buttons showing up even if there was only one screenshot, I became confused as to how many images there actually were or if the app was just being slow.

Overall, Bodega is a great application with lots of potential. I really hope to see more developers offer their titles through Bodega. Check out the free download from the Bodega website and let us know what you think.

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TubeTV – A Handy Little App for Saving Your Videos

Jethro Jones — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:13:56 +0000

Chimoosoft created this fantastic little donationware app called TubeTv. With this app, you can save video files from YouTube and other sites and make them playable on your Mac, iPod, or Apple TV. There are of course other ways to do the same thing, but a standalone app that grabs your URL from your default browser, converts it to your desired format, and adds it to your iTunes library makes it very simple.

TubeTV lets you specify a certain site for the built-in search. It makes finding videos a lot easier and faster. You can search YouTube, Google Video, Google, and Dailymotion. It also allows you to launch your most recent page.

Not only does TubeTV convert files to fit your desired player (your iPod, AppleTV, iPhone) it can also add the video to iTunes in one of three default formats: Movie, Music Video, or TV Show. This comes in really handy when you don’t want to try converting or changing it later to be in the correct category. TubeTV can save the downloaded .flv file, but I have it just throw it away, then it can move the converted file to your iTunes library and delete the converted file from your download location.

TubeTV is not without its drawbacks. First, sometimes the “Download Movie” button does not work. I have clicked that thing five or six times with no luck. Then, I searched the menu area for a command to download the movie and I could find one. The only thing I found was a “Download from Firefox” and I couldn’t get that to work either. I had to restart it, which is a pain when it happens a lot. This sometimes happens when I want to download a second movie later, without quitting the application. I had to restart it after each single download. Second, I set the preferences to download four movies at a time, but only once have I been able to download two movies at a time. Sometimes, not all the time, it just waits for the first to finish downloading, then it starts the second. I can’t figure out why it waits like that.

This is an especially useful application for teachers. There is a lot of education-related content on YouTube that is suitable for teachers to show to their students. Sadly, the comments on YouTube are not appropriate for most kids (though they are probably the ones that post those comments). With TubeTV, teachers can download a video and use it in class without the “Related Videos” or comments sections showing up and forcing the teacher to adopt a deep shade of red.

TubeTV does require Perian, so you will have to download that as well.

This program is donationware, so go here and download it, then throw the recommended $15 bucks to the team at Chimoosoft to show your appreciation.

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iAlarm Wakes Me Up to iTunes

Louis Gray — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 22:30:15 +0000

As far as getting up in the morning goes, there are all sorts of unpleasant ways to make the transition – blaring alarm clocks, AM radio interrupted by static and of course, the barnyard rooster. One more inviting way to start the day is to hear your own music from iTunes, and a shareware application, iAlarm, enables just that.

When I’m away from home and can’t use my iHome, I always use iAlarm. iAlarm lets me select the time I want to wake up and choose the iTunes playlist to play from. Then by hitting the “Set” button, we’re good to go. (See a screenshot from the developer’s site)

iAlarm means no fussing with hotel alarm clocks, setting the alarm on your cell phone, or asking for a wake-up call. It even lets my Mac sleep when I’m sleeping, and wakes us both up at the scheduled time. This even furthers the belief that I’m connected to my Mac from when I start up to when I shut down at night.

Best of all, it only costs $5.75 to order. If you opt not to buy it, iAlarm will pause in an increasing number of seconds before starting. But it’s worth the pocket change for sure.

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