The attribute these web and Mac apps have in common is that they are all beautiful, simple and functional. They each perform a fairly complex task with almost no learning curve.
Yep is a PDF management program similar to iPhoto, but much more focused on meta-data.
I love the effects in Yep, the scanning interface, the simplicity and responsiveness. What a great way to get rid of paper clutter yet still be able to find something when you need it. Everything is perfect, especially that icon 🙂
Next – CSSEdit. So much has been said about it already but it’s good enough to mention again. Who would have guessed editing CSS could be pleasant?
CSSEdit’s best features are the real-time preview window and the very logically arranged panels on the right which make using the WYSIWYG functionality about as fast as typing code (minus the syntax errors and remembering the names of every selector).
Picnik is a web-based photo editor in Flash. I don’t think I could suggest a single feature to make it better. I know my way around Photoshop well, but for editing a picture from or for Flickr, I prefer Picnik for its simplicity and focus on fast and fun.
Picnik has a lot of AJAX (html/javascript) competitors that require you to wait for a new version of the image from the server after every edit. Not so here–Flash was the perfect choice. Edits are instant. Excellent.
Tumblr – Techcrunch (and everyone else really) beat me to this one, but I’ll include it anyway. Way back when I predicted the growth of Tumblelogs and alas, it has happened. Tumblr makes Tumblelogging simple and fun and they do what so many other web apps don’t–they give you all the control. From fully editable templates to an API, Tumblr does so many things right.
Even I’m doing it now (check out that URL 🙂 )!
That’s it for now, 2 web apps, 2 desktop apps, all as close to perfection as it gets.
Technorati Tags: cssedit, mac, picnik, software, tumblelog, tumblr, yep
One reply on “Beautiful Software Round up”
I downloaded Yep and have found it quite amazing. I used to have to search everywhere for my 100’s of school notes and PDF presentations emailed to us by our professors. This thing aggregates all of them. Great find.