Jeff Benjamin

GIF Brewery has long been my go to app for creating high-quality GIF animations on the Mac. It’s always been relatively easy to use, yet features powerful enough options for serious GIF-creators.

With GIF Brewery 3, several notable new features have been added to the mix, including the ability to record video directly in app via your Mac’s screen, FaceTime camera, or even iOS devices. This update turns GIF Brewery into an end-to-end solution for creating GIF animations directly from your iPhone’s screen or other media, which can be extremely handy for things like tutorials and memes.
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Extensify is a highly anticipated app release from developers Majd Alfhaily and Kevin Ko that’s been in the works for quite some time. This weekend it will finally be launched as a part of a limited rollout.

Extensify is best described as a tweak store that allows you to change the properties of App Store apps. Unlike tweaks that require your iPhone to be jailbroken, Extensify works without needing a jailbreak. This is made possible by Apple’s decision to allow users to sideload iOS apps. Have a look at our hands-on video walkthrough inside for more details.
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I’ve never been a fan of the stock Mail app in OS X, so I generally find myself relying on Gmail inside of Chrome for all of my email needs. In fact, I don’t have any email accounts configured inside of the stock Mail app at all. With this in mind, I always get frustrated when I inadvertently click a mailto link inside of a browser window. Doing so forces the Mail app, which is set as the default mail client in OS X, to open without purpose.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could configure Gmail to play the role of the default mail client inside your browser of choice? In this video tutorial, I’ll show you how easy it is to configure Chrome, Safari, and even Firefox to use Gmail as the default mail client.
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As we told you about earlier, Readdle has released the highly anticipated update to its Spark email client for iOS. Spark 1.6 adds support for the iPad, including iPad Pro, syncing of settings and accounts, and watchOS 2 support among other things. Needless to say, it’s a major update that vaults it clear to the top of third-party email offerings on iOS.

But what if you’ve been holding out and have just now decided to give Spark a chance? If that’s the case, then you should definitely check out this breakdown of 50 different tips for new Spark users. Like I always say, even if you’re a veteran user, chances are you may still learn a thing or two.
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Readdle’s popular Spark email app for iOS just received the biggest update of its young existence. The timing of such an update couldn’t have been better with the unfortunate demise of Mailbox — a once beloved email app that’s scheduled to shut down tomorrow, February 26th.

Prior to today’s update, Spark was well-liked, but the lack of iPad support made it difficult for some to adopt it as a full time client. Now that iPad support, and several other new features have arrived, Spark feels as if it’s now ready for prime time. Should you consider adopting Spark as a part of your email workflow?
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Yesterday, I presented a list of 10 different tips that I thought any new Mac owner should know. As stated in that walkthrough, I don’t consider every recommendation on the list to be an absolute must-follow for new Mac users. There are a few items on the list, however, that are staples in my opinion.

For example, I would hate it if every minimized window on OS X occupied its own space on the Dock. For that reason, I rush to enable the “Minimize window into application icon” option (found in System Preferences → Dock) after every new install. But enabling such a feature comes with its own caveat — it’s hard to know exactly what’s behind an app icon on the Dock once you’ve minimized its respective windows. Thankfully, there’s a handy Mac utility that allows you to preview app windows by hovering over icons in the Dock.
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As someone who reinstalls macOS several times a year, I’ve gotten into a habit of powering through the initial setup process without thinking much about it. Today, I’d like to share 10 of my favorite initial setup tips with new Mac users. But even if you’re a long-time Mac user, you may still find a helpful gem or two within this how-to.
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SpringInvaders is a $0.99 jailbreak tweak for jailbroken iPhones that just launched today. It’s very obvious that the game gets its inspiration from Space Invaders, the classic arcade title. Instead of taking out aliens, however, gamers are tasked with shooting down enemy ships that turn out to be modified versions of the app icons installed on your iPhone.

Your own ship is moved from side to side using the iPhone’s accelerometer, and a tap on the screen causes your ship to shoot tiny app icon bullets at enemies. Have a look at our video walkthrough to see SpringInvaders in action.

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Last Wednesday, Apple made it possible for developers to create and add app preview videos to their Apple TV apps. Apple is making a concerted effort to improve the App Store experience for its customers and developers, and this is just the latest step in that direction.

App preview videos have been available on iOS devices since iOS 8, but tvOS titles have been restricted to static preview images up until now. App preview videos allow customers to see an app in action, making it easier to discern how a particular app or game works prior to making a purchase or download.
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The stock Camera app found in iOS is decent enough. It’s great for the casual shooting of photos and videos, and more importantly, it’s easy to use and almost always works.

But just like there are dedicated photo apps for improving the quality of your photography, the same thing is true for videographers. If you’re looking to improve your iPhone or iPad videography skills, then look no further than FiLMiC Pro, a $9.99 universal app.

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Real Racing 3 has been around for several years on iOS, but yesterday’s update marked its debut appearance on tvOS and the fourth generation Apple TV. This isn’t the first time that the Real Racing franchise has been associated with Apple’s set top box, as previous versions allowed you to use AirPlay to stream races to the Apple TV while using an iOS device as a controller. Check out our hands-on video with the new racer below.

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