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Today We Discussed:
WideMail
The first application that I wanted to review today is one called WideMail, which is a plugin for Apple Mail that does one thing and does one thing well. With all of the newer widescreen displays, Apple Mail’s current method of displaying messages vertically just isn’t going to work. That’s where WideMail comes in, which allows Mail to take advantage of all of the gorgeous screen real estate of your computer, by making Mail in a 3-column view. The sidebar and main message window are still in the same places, but instead of having messages display below the message window in a split-screen view, the messages actually expand to the right, making Mail more optimized for 16:9 screens. WideMail installs quickly as a plugin, and it took me under 15 seconds to get it installed with the installer. Then, I did a quick relaunch of Mail and it was in its new layout. Now, I had my messages opening up in widescreen glory, which was amazing. I also realized that, besides just making your Mail application look different, there are also many other really handy features of WideMail. For example, if you visit its preferences which are part of the Mail preferences, you will notice that you can also change the way your messages look in the Mail window, such as how they are divided, how they open, and many other options. The best part of all this is that WideMail is freeware, and available at its website with the only cost being a recommended donation.
Black Ink
The other application that I wanted to review for you today is one called Black Ink, from Red Sweater Software. Black Ink is a shareware app for your Mac that allows you to do crosswords right from your desktop. On launch, a small splash screen pops up that allows you to select the crossword source that you would like to use to begin with. The sources included in there are the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Houston Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe, Chicago Reader, and a few more. All you have to do is double-click on one and it will automatically download it from the respective website and open up the main crossword window. In there, the puzzle is displayed on the left and a drawer of all of the across and down clues is displayed on the right-hand side. Upon either clicking on a clue or in one of the boxes, you can begin editing it, and typing in your answer to the clue. Then, you can use the built-in tools from the menu bar to check your answer, and, if you still cannot figure it out, reveal it. You can also use your own puzzles, either by using the standard PUZ file format, or by setting up a new online source in the preferences. In there, you can tell it the standard URL for puzzles, and use various variables with the percent sign to differentiate between different days. It really makes it quite easy, as it will also auto-update whenever new puzzles are scheduled to be released. Overall, I give Black Ink a 5 star rating, and strongly recommend you check it out and pick yourself up a copy over at its website.
