I’m not sure why it took me this long to write a Free Gems post about an AIR app, but it’s time. Focus Booster is a fantastic little utility for improving your time management. It uses the Pomodoro technique, which is based on the following five steps:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished
2. Set the timer to 25 minutes
3. Work on the task until the timer rings
4. Take a short break
5. Repeat, taking a longer break every four rounds

The app keeps this technique simple with a single-click to start and a stop button if need a timeout. You can even set your own work/break length. The UI is beautiful and a pleasure to have on the desktop.

I think time management and personal workflow are essential for any profession. I’ve been trying to start a routine lately, beginning jotting down a list of to-dos for the day. And since I work from home, I take a walk around the block to get into the working-mood. On the walk, I make sure my car is where I left it, especially after my recent impound experience. It’s also nice to get some fresh morning air.

I bring this up because life in front of the computer takes a toll on your body and surrounds you with an endless array of distractions. The more complex the workload, the more stressful it can be to focus. What techniques or apps do you use to stay on top of things?

I tweeted yesterday about one of Mac OSX’s best kept secrets, DigitalColor Meter, and found that the majority of responders didn’t know about it. It’s located in the .../Applications/Utilities folder and you can think of it as an Eyedropper Tool for the entire screen(s). Anything you roll over with the cursor will show up magnified in the window with its color values. You can specify whether to display the color as an 8/16-bit Hex value, 8/16-bit RGB value, or RGB percentage. There are eight more options, but with names like Tristimulus, I take it they’re not for the web-folk.

Since writing this post, I did come across some extra functionality that really comes in handy. At any time, you can press command+shift+C to copy the color value as text. The downside to this, for Photoshop users, is that it copies the hash (#) as well. This puts the value over the limit for pasting into Photoshop’s Color Picker, so an error will occur if you try. The way to somewhat get around this is to hold the color with command+shift+H. This simply locks the values so you can easily read them for later use. Lastly, command+C copies the magnified image to the clipboard. This might be handy for referencing a number of colors in a given space.

Lately, I’ve been feeling the impact of this 30″ Apple display and its toll on my eyes. As a result, I started to wear sunglasses when at the computer. Oddly enough, it helps a lot. Jen reminds me, however, that the sunglasses while on the computer aren’t really helping my cool factor, but I’d rather feel good than have an aching headache by 6. If you’re not much of a sunglasses-inside kind of guy, try out ScreenShade. This little menubar app lets you dial down the brightness of the screen past the minimum setting allowed. It even has global hotkeys, so you can raise or lower the brightness from any app with option+plus and option+minus.

Unfortunately, there are two downsides. For one, I had search around software websites just to find the downloadable app. Any link to the developer’s site no longer work. Secondly, the way in which ScreenShade is able to dial down the brightness is by drawing a transparent fill over the screen. This isn’t a big deal unless you plan to take any screenshots—any image you capture will be darker as a result of the overlay.

via @zacislost

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this free gem yet, especially considering summer’s end is near. smcFanControl is an oldie, but a lap-saving goodie. It lets you manually set the minimum RPM of your computer’s fans, in case your palms are frying and OS X doesn’t smell the burning flesh.

Sometimes the simplest tool can be a huge help. Camouflage is a menubar app that hides files on the desktop with a single-click or hotkey-stroke. For me, this is incredibly useful for documenting when a screenshot involves the desktop. This particular scenario forces me to either clean up my desktop (a chore in itself) or use TinkerTool to quit the Finder temporarily. I can just forget about the first option and the second one doesn’t feel healthy. Now, with Camouflage, I can fade the icons with a Command+Option+Control+H—my hotkey of choice.

I realized I’ve been posting a lot of Free Gems lately. I guess that just means there more apps that catch my eye, but also that more are being generously “donated” by the developers.

I was on a search for specs on my Macbook Pro to see if it’ll support the mammoth Apple 30″ Cinema Display. A few followers referred me to Mactracker, an incredibly useful app that provides extensive details on every Mac ever made. Luckily the 2006 MBP does support the display, so there will be no need to purchase a buggy adapter.

Before receiving the tip on Mactracker, I received links to a number of web-based solutions: EveryMac, Apple History, and Low End Mac.

via followers »

Since moving into my new apartment, I’ve had to order a number of things—some are necessities such as the Verizon modem, but others are just to make the place feel more like home. Regardless, I’m always excited for packages—it’s like Christmas, even if I’m expecting a box of nails.

I went looking for a delivery widget that I used before but didn’t have much luck with, hoping it would be fixed by now. I didn’t find it, but I did come across this diddy—Delivery Status. It was listed in the Apple Downloads repository, so I checked out the developer’s website. There were two surprises during that visit—1) there’s an iPhone version, and 2) there’s a beta desktop version that syncs with the iPhone app. This app keeps getting better and better.

Now, I haven’t gone through a complete delivery yet, but the modem is expected today. I’ll be sure to update and include the results. Reading through the features and change logs, it supports more services than you can name and notifies through Growl. Put it through the ropes and share your thoughts.

For a while, I was searching for a way to change the startup image. In OS 10.4, Apple indicated they were onto us hackers by requiring more than a simple switch of a PNG. Up until now, I only found Terminal-based solutions that scared the dickens out of me. BootXChanger makes it too easy by letting you switch the image through a single drag and drop. Now, you can impress your hipster friends with the 80s Apple logo, or come up with something more unique like this.

via Smoking Apples

Ejector is one of those apps that’s so tiny, but so useful. It lists the mounted drives and devices on your machine and lets you to eject them without heading to the desktop. It also sports an Eject All button for those who can’t go one by one. In all honesty, I haven’t tried the Eject All button out for fear that it’ll attempt to eject my startup drive. Though I know that would simply throw an alert, I’m not man enough to test it.

It’s been a while since my last Free Gem, but this one deserves all the attention it can get. Caffeine is a menubar app that, with a single click, prevents your Mac from dimming the screen. I’ve been in great need of this app for fullscreen YouTube, Hulu, etc—you name it. I literally want to throw a brick at a stop sign anytime I need to go into the Energy Saver preference panel. This app saves many a stop sign and has an icon that makes me smile every time I click it. Thanks to Smoking Apples for leading me to this one.