14 DAY TRIAL // We're happy to confirm that this week has been much more productive than the previous one. We have a trio of exciting free apps that will delight both young Mac users and experienced ones. There's something to be had for the ever-customizing Mac-head as well.
KIDO'Z Browser - A safe, easy and fun browser made especially for kids
As a parent, you're probably quite concerned about your kids browsing the unsafe, and sometimes harmful, environment known as the Internet. With this in mind, developer KIDO'Z Ltd has come up with an app that provides fun, easy and fun web browsing for your children. KIDO’Z is a protected environment that enables children to surf only to approved sites.
The KIDO'Z Browser is designed especially for small kids as it provides a colorful, intuitive user interface. The child doesn't even need to know how to read or write in order to use KIDO'Z and no parental assistance is required. KIDO'Z blocks links, scripts and any other attempts that lead to sites that have not been approved, preventing them from being viewed by the children. As such, kids can safely explore an endless amount of games, videos and other content, and can, with one click, access the best kids’ sites that can be found.
Pre-loaded into the KIDO'Z database are a number of kids-focused sites featuring Cartoon Network characters, tons of Walt Disney references and more, all providing direct access to the best sites for kids. So, go on, get this free web browser specifically created for your children – there's nothing more rewarding than putting a smile on their faces.
Use the link below to download KIDO'Z. The browser requires Adobe's AIR, so make sure you use the second link as well, in case you don't have it installed on your Mac. Also note that KIDO'Z will use up a considerable amount of CPU power, so you should close the applications that don't need to run while your kid is using the browser. Any version of Mac OS X goes, as does any type of processor (PPC, Intel).
Download KIDO'Z Browser (Free)
TermTool - Modify preferences that are hidden from the average user
TermTool is just another free utility that allows you to modify preferences stored within your Mac that are hidden by OS X to protect itself from nosy noobs. However, thanks to a truly simple user interface, the application lets you make better sense of what you're modifying exactly, reducing the possibility of messing up the system.
The system tool enables you to customize the Leopard interface according to your taste and needs, as per Xware, the makers of this useful app. Key features noted by Xware include the ability to change the Dock's size beyond the normal scope, the ability to add widgets to your desktop – freeing you from having to fire up Dashboard every time you need to see what the weather is like, and the ability to see hidden files – something that Windows users have no problem with.
TermTool also boasts some cool customizing features. Besides letting you change the Dock's size, the tool can also modify the Dock effect (genie, suck, scale), modify the tile size, switch from Leopard's 3D dock to the Tiger-specific 2D version, add a spacer, enable mouseover effect in stacks, and more.
Hold on! These are just some of the tweaks available with Leopard's Dock. You can also mess around with the way Finder looks and acts. For instance, using TermTool, you can enable Finder to show a file's full path, or remove Finder stripes, with options of stopping error reports and disabling trash warnings also being available. Here, you can choose to start viewing hidden OS X files as well.
Best of all, TermTool uses two ways of browsing its interface, one of which (“Read”) only lets you preview the options, without offering the ability to make changes to your system's preferences. When you're done skimming through the features, determined to make some changes, you can hit “Write” and the check-boxes are unlocked instantly, enabling you to start making changes. To further prevent users from ruining their experience, an “Apply” button is available, as well as one that lets them revert to the “Default” setup.
Other abilities include iCal, Dashboard, and Safari debug with the option to trash the sidebar, change the Spaces switch time and determine Activity Monitor updates.
NOTE: For TermTool to backup your data, the TermTool folder must be put in your applications folder on your hard drive. Nevertheless, the application itself can be launched from anywhere. Known Issues: if you have selected to change the "space switch time" and don't have spaces enabled, Dock will crash.
Xware is a small startup company dedicated to open sourced applications and freeware, where all applications are hosted and updated for free. It is located in San Francisco CA, and is run by Lead developer R0US.
Use the link below to get TermTool. The app requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), and is a Universal Binary.
iConStruct - Create custom icons for your Mac
iConStruct automatically scales pictures to standard icon sizes, and automatically generates masks based on a specified brightness threshold. Using iConStruct, you can take any image or picture, and make an icon out of it to slap onto a folder or in your Dock.
For best results, the images you choose to convert to icons should be in front of a white (or very light) background, according to developer Roger Meier. The app's maker also notes that, for 32-bit icon sets, the masks are generated as 8-bit grayscale images, and mask edges (1 pixel wide) values are set either to the brightness of the corresponding pixels in the icon or to a fixed value chosen by the user. 8-bit icons are generated as dithered versions of the 32-bit icons using web-safe color. The corresponding masks are generated as 1-bit B/W images. Lastly, the icons and masks can be individually copied and pasted to other applications, or the entire set of icons can be saved as BMP files.
So, let's check out this app's capabilities in more detail, shall we?
Mask threshold According to the developer's notes, this parameter can assume values from 0 to 255, and determines the brightness threshold for the mask generation. Any pixel in the corresponding icon with a brightness above this value will be white in the mask. E.g. for a Mask Threshold of 245, any icon pixel with a brightness above 245 will be white, while all other pixels will be black.
Set mask edge brightness manually If checked, the Edge Brightness can be set to a value from 0 to 255 using the Edge Brightness slider. If unchecked, the mask edge brightness is automatically set to the brightness of the corresponding pixel in the icon. This setting usually yields the best results for photographed images.
Fill holes in the mask If checked, this option will fill all white voids within the black areas of the mask. It is useful for icons with bright pixels that should not be transparent.
Use nearest neighbor scaling If checked, icon images are scaled without smoothing or alias filtering. It is useful for certain types of images where smoothing might not produce the best looking result.
Scale proportionally If checked, the aspect ratio of the icons will be the same as in the original image. If unchecked, the original image will be distorted to fit the square area of the icons.
To create icons from an image file, you must first create an image and a mask from a picture. To do this, you need to drag and drop the image file into the application window. iConStruct will scale the image to the various icons sizes automatically, and will also create masks for each size based on the currently selected settings. A preview for each icon size is shown in the preview section of the application window. The color of the background can be changed via the Red, Green, and Blue color sliders below the preview area.
Initially, the icons in the preview area may not look as good as desired, and the different icons sizes may require different settings for Mask Threshold and Edge Brightness, etc. However, the key to a good looking set of icons is to tackle each size separately, according to the app's maker. To achieve this, you need to select the settings that produce the best looking result for the 256x256 pixel icon, and disregard how the other icons look for now. More information on how to get your icons to look as good as possible can be found in the app's help menu.
Also worth noting is that you can add different pictures for different icon sizes by dragging the first picture into the application window, optimizing the settings and locking the desired icon sizes, and then dragging the next picture into the application window. Only unlocked icons are updated with the new picture.
NOTE: There's no undo option. However, iConStruct keeps your settings even if you accidentally drop a new image over the icon you were working on at a particular time. To get it back, just drag the same image again over the app's UI and your changes will be instantly applied again.
iConStruct requires Mac OS X, and is a Universal Binary.
Let us know how you liked this week's apps and don't forget to tune back in next week.