The Graphic Mac

One of the reasons I love other services like YouSendIt is that it makes sharing your file easier by allowing you to upload your file, then email the link to the file for someone to download. The problem is that the service isn’t nearly as convenient as Dropbox beyond that single feature.

AirDropper for Dropbox makes file requests & sharing easy

Enter AirDropper, a web-based service that connects with your Dropbox account to make transferring files as easy as sending an email. As the image above illustrates, AirDropper works seamlessly with Dropbox to accomplish the task of requesting and sharing your files. First you connect AirDropper to your Dropbox account. Then you fill out our request form with a description of the file you want and how you want to send the request, whether by email or by using a secure upload link. Once the person you’re requesting the file from visits our secure page and uploads the file, we immediately put the file in a subfolder called “AirDropper” within your Dropbox.

Daily Design Advice (DDA) is a new service from Brandeluxe (the people who brought you Freelance Review) that delivers the web’s juiciest design advice and insights at the start of every working day (M-F).

Advice on the site is brief, bit-sized chunks that you can read in under a minute, which is one reason I like the site. Be sure to check it out, and subscribe to the RSS feed if you like it.

If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, or simply wish to convert video to a number of formats, you can get a free copy of iSkySoft’s DVD To iPhone software just for friending them on Facebook, and giving them your email address.

This free app promotion ends this week, so go to iSkySoft’s special Facebook page now, click the Like button at the top of the page, provide your email, and download the software. In about a minute you’ll receive a license number in your email to activate your free copy of the software.

Apple stores around the world

Winars.com has put together a photo list of the coolest looking Apple stores in the world. I’ve been to Apple stores in four cities, and all of them are cool. But these really take the cake. The revenue these stores generate certainly proves the theory that a retail environment must be more than just shelves of product. You have to make it a place people want to go when they have more convenient options.

Photos courtesy of: Tonyshi, Worldfrank, mg02, and Apple.

I’m not a big “chat” kind of guy, but I do use my Facebook account to chat with friends once in a while. The problem I have is that I hate that Facebook’s chat lives in the web browser. It’s a pain, and I would much rather use Mac OS X’s iChat app.

Fortunately, you can set up iChat to work with Facebook’s chat quite easily. This offers you the features of iChat, with all your friends on Facebook.

You’ll need to know your Facebook username, which if you’re unsure, you can get here.

Setting up iChat to use Facebook chat is easy

Here are the simple steps to get iChat up and running with Facebook chat:

1. Open iChat and hit Command + , to bring up the preferences
2. Click the Accounts tab at the top of the iChat window
3. Click the + symbol at the bottom left of the window to add an account
4. In the Account Setup window that pops up, add the following:
   Account Type: Jabber
   Account Name: [your Facebook username]@chat.facebook.com
   Password: Your Facebook password
5. Click the arrow next to Server Options to view the server inputs and enter the following:
   Server: chat.facebook.com
   Port: 5222
6. Make sure the two checkboxes are UNCHECKED

That should do it.

You could spend an afternoon Googling for them, or you could visit the following sites, which already offer links to numerous great extensions.

Safari Extensions Tumblr blog – Jonas Wisser has set out to list every available Safari extension he comes across. The site lists links and screenshots for the extensions. Generally speaking, this is the first site you’ll want to check.

PimpMySafari – This site has been around for a long time, but with the release of Safari 5 and a new site owner, it’s taken on new life. Unlike the previously mentioned blog, PimpMySafari promises to feature only the best extensions as determined by Scott Jangro. The site also features plugins and other ways to pimp out Safari.

Reddit Extension list – Some dude over at Reddit has composed a list of great extensions. I’m not sure how long the list will remain useful.

Safari Extensions list – Mac OS X Tips (a UK site) has put together a small but useful list as well. Be sure to check this site out for other useful Mac OS X tips!

Apple will soon offer a list on their site of “approved” extensions, but until such time, these sites offer plenty of useful add-ons for Safari users.

Click to view original

The infographic, How Apple is Revolutionizing Education, uses simple graphics and a small color palette to get its point across. I think they pulled it off quite well.

You can view the full size graphic here.

I love working on infographics, and found a great place for inspiration. You can check out what other designers are doing with infographics by visiting The Infographics Showcase.