Type of Article: MacTech Reviews

By Danny Winget

Tablets and larger mobile devices have changed our lives since the debut of the iPad, and we love holding those devices in our hands. We touch, create, and consume all while we have the device on our laps or hands.

Have you ever come across a situation where you couldn’t hold the iPad or tablet in your hand while doing an activity? Did you ever think, “I wish I had a stand to put this iPad on while I am [insert your favorite activity here].” If so then I think Satechi has answered your thinking out loud with a product called the R1 Arm Series.

By Chris Main

The US$329.95 The Nikon CoolPix P300 (http://www.nikonusa.com) is a compact point-and-shoot that fits nicely in any pocket — but it’s not so small that it’s hard to use. It has a nice solid feel, and all the dials are intuitive and easy to operate.

I love my 27-inch iMac with its big ol’ display, screaming speed and 2TB hard drive. But with all my digital files, including those 1080p movies now available at iTunes, I can never have enough storage — iCloud or not.

Hard disc drives (HHDs) are economical, but not as fast as solid state drives (SSDs). However, SSDs are very pricey and offer limited storage — as least compared to HDDs. So what can be done? “iFixIt” has a solution.

Prosoft Engineering’s new SoundBunny (http://www.prosofteng.com/products/soundbunny.php) is one of those simple, inexpensive (US$9.99) apps for Mac OS X 10.6.8 (or higher) with one purpose: it lets you independently control the volume level for any open applications on your Mac. And it does it with aplomb — on a Mac’s built-in speakers.

SoundBunny is easy to set up and use. Download, install, restart your Mac and you’re good to go. The restart is so that the software can load core system processes properly.

By Bruce Bicknell

Well I think the folks at Autodesk (http://usa.autodesk.com) have been listening to the content creators since the last release.

The new version of the Autodesk 3ds Max Creation Suite 2012 (US$6,495) has a lot to brag about. While the Suite includes Motion Builder, Mudbox, and Softimage, this review will focus on 3ds Max. With that said, there are still plenty of cool new features, so let’s get to it.