FaceTime + Chatroulette = ?

Video calling has been taken to the next level. Chatroulette released in November last year was a great serviceuntil a whole bunch of immature people lucky enough to own a webcam joined in and made the whole approach to 'video nudity'. 

However, ever since Apple released FaceTime for the iPhone and now the Mac, us geeks and technology inspired people of the web can join in and talk to one another without being paired with a 'video nudist'. You may be scratching your brains out by now wondering how this can be done but from Zach Holman comes Facelette. 

Facelette is a website in which you submit your cell/mobile phone number (iPhone) or email address (Mac) to the service and moments after you are paired with someone on the other side. I've not tried this (yet) but I predict it will take off soon, only if we can hope Apple get all into 'law fever' or close the whole site down. 

Take note that you may want to create a new email for Facelette if you are thinking about using the service, but you still need to verify it with Apple's servers (which I still can't complete right now *frown*) 

If you happen to join Facelette or use FaceTime on the Mac or iPhone, drop a comment on this post and tell us how you find it.

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FaceTime for Mac

Today at Apple's "Back to the Mac" event they announced FaceTime for Mac, which allows you to FaceTime with an iPod touch 4G and iPhone 4. You can download FaceTime for Mac here. It seems that Apple actually listened to all the hype over FaceTime for Mac and iLife 11'. Above, I provide a mini-review of the app, FaceTime for Mac.

My "Back to the Mac" Event Prediction

That's right, I only have one prediction. If you were looking for something more, sorry to disappoint you. Basically, I predict that what everyone is saying about a new MacBook Air is false and that, instead of launching a new MacBook Air, Apple will kill it. Bold claims. Below, I will state the sole reason why I think Apple is going to kill the Air: iPad. If this prediction is false, I honestly think Apple would have made the wrong decision.

First, what are the current rumours surrounding the MacBook Air?

1. Appleinsider claims that the new MacBook Air will have upgradeable RAM
2. Engadget has a photo of the new insides. 

The first thing I want to say is Apple has always been about user experience. If the Air has upgradeable RAM, I will guarantee it will be a nightmare to upgrade. Apple would much rather lock you out and charge for an upgrade.

Now let's move on to the main reason why I think Apple would abandon the Air in favour of the iPad. As we all know, the Air is not a practical solution to anything. It's not good even for basic browsing as Flash is still out there, believe it or not, and people still play Flash games. If Flash can't run decently on a Mac Pro, don't expect it to on an Air. When Apple released the Air, it was to show off. It was a proof of concept, if you will. The MacBook Air was like the Cube and the Millenium Mac. It was a fashion statement and didn't fit for anyone who wanted to use their computer, not even a niche market. These computers are all examples of art. Beautiful to look at, but useless. And beauty is their main function.

Now, compare the Air to the iPad: 

1. The iPad is more beautiful than the Air. This may not seem like that important a detail, but when beauty is the best feature that the computer can boast, this is a killer.
2. The iPad is now the best-selling gadget of all time (official). It would be money better spent on marketing the iPad, rather than selling a new Air
3. The iPad is attractive to the consumer, because it's so easy to use and they don't have to worry about little details. I'm not saying OS X isn't easy to use, but comparing iOS and OS X, it's clear who's the winner
4. The Air is very slow and completely impractical. If you want ports, there is the MacBook for that.
5. The Air will undoubtedly still be more expensive than the iPad, if it were released. 

I hope it's clearer now why I think Apple will kill the Air. With no market, the Air just will not sell. Even the thinness and beauty factor won't matter anymore, when the iPad is thinner and better looking. This means the only hope that the Air had left, art collectors, won't bother as well. This leaves no-one to sell the Air to, and with no-one to sell to, there will be no profit. Once again, we, including myself, must be reminded that Apple is a capitalist company and exists for profit.

Cinch for Mac

Cinch, developed by Irradiated Software, is an elegant, mouse-driven solution to window management. Inspired by Microsoft's Windows Explorer, Cinch is based off the idea of "hot-zones". Once you drag a window into one of the zones (either left, right, menubar), an outline of your resized window will appear on the screen. Just drop the window into the hot-zone and the application window will be resized. Cinching to the right or left side of the screen will resize the window to exactly half the screen's resolution. The top hot-zone resizes to will the entire screen. Dragging a window away from its cinched position will restore the window to its original size.

Drag a window to a "hot-zone" to see a preview of the resize.

Cinch automatically resizes your window to the desired length (determined by "hot-zone").

You can download the free version (occasional pop-up), or purchase a license for yourself over at the Irradiated Software store. I will be posting a video review of Cinch on my YouTube channel, which can be found here.

SyncMate

Syncing and backing up your contacts, calendars, music, photos, videos, and other data between multiple devices can be challenging. Of course, you can copy each item manually between multiple computers, phones, and MP3 players, but that can be a real headache and cost you time… time that you can save.

With SyncMate, developed by Eltima Software, you can easily sync your data between multiple Macs, PCs, Google accounts, flash drives, and even online storage systems! SyncMate is offered in two editions: Free and Expert. With the free download provides options for syncing your iCal and Address Book data with other Macs and/or Google services.

Those looking for more advanced features should look towards the Expert version, which is available for $39.95 at the Eltima online store. Such a license adds support for syncing iTunes and iPhoto libraries, bookmarks, emails, and even specified folders on your computer. SyncMate even supports the automatic real-time synchronization of files and folders throughout your devices (via AutoSync options).

As you can tell, I am quite a fan of SyncMate myself. Not only does it eliminate the need for Dropbox and other syncing services, but it provides a simple solution to keeping all of my devices up-to-date. You can download the free version and/or purchase an Expert license for yourself here.

Also, be sure to check out the ReviewLocker blog, where I will soon be hosting a giveaway of an Expert license for SyncMate! Subscribe to the RSS feed to be notified when the giveaway article is posted!