Type of Article: MacTech Reviews

iLuv Creative Technology’s Aud 5 is the company’s first audio dock designed specifically for Lightning devices. If you’re the owner of a recent iDevice, you’ll appreciate the gadget, which lets you enjoy your music from an iPhone 5 or iPod touch/nano while charging the device.

The Aud 5 lets you utilize an Lightning device the same way you would a 30-pin device. It features a swiveling Lightning connector for docking and undocking. The Lightning connector allows the dock to feature full digital sound. It was built with full-range speakers and a passive radiator for deep, resonant bass.

By Erik Vlietinck

CameraBag 2 is standalone application with a collection of filters and effects for editing images. It’s easy to use, comes with a huge collection of presets, and offers total control over adjustments and effects. Although it can be used for applying just one of the many presets — called styles — users can create their own styles from scratch.

By Pete Collins

About 10 years ago I borrowed (stole) my sister’s Intuos2 tablet and I’ve rarely used a mouse since. I almost can’t work without my tablets.

When I heard that Wacom was coming out with the Intuos5, I couldn’t figure out how they were going to add anything that the Intuos4 didn’t already have since it was so good. Boy, was I naive. There are a couple of new functions that make this upgrade a no-brainer.

By Jay Nelson

Photographers and other creative people have many reasons to convert a photo into a sketch or painting. Let’s say that the subject of a photo is important, but poor lighting makes it unsalvageable as a photo.

By converting it to a sketch you can make it an object worth keeping. Or maybe you’re given several photos to use in a layout, but they’re too different from each other to harmonize; just convert them all to pencil sketches for instant harmony! Or maybe a client simply requests a hand-painted effect but you have 10 untrained thumbs.

The iPod may be “old news” in the Apple world, but it’s still the best selling MP3 player in the universe. And it has lots of features you may not be aware of.

Enter “iPod: The Missing Manual” from O’Reilly Publishing. It shows you how to play music, movies, and slideshows; shoot photos and videos; and navigate Apple’s redesigned iTunes media-management program. Topics include:

° Fill it up. Load your iPod with music, photos, movies, TV shows, games, ebooks, and podcasts.

° Manage your stuff. Download media and apps from the iTunes and App Stores, then organize your collection.