FontExplorer X Pro 50% Off / Fontcase Released
Mac font management tool FontExplorer X Pro is currently available for EUR 39 until the end of February. You can download a 30-day trial on the FontExplorer site.
In related news, Bohemian Coding’s Fontcase — another Mac font management tool — has recently been released and is selling for EUR 35. A demo can also be found on their website.
Tools of the Trade: Balsamic Mockups
Thanks to @masuga on Twitter yesterday, I discovered a product called Balsamic Mockups — an Adobe Air application for quickly and easily creating low fidelity user interface (UI) mockups and wireframes. Here’s a very quick sample of the top portion of my business website:
The interface and the drag-and-drop elements are all meant to have a handwritten/handdrawn esthetic, as if you were using pencil and paper to create the concept. This is so clients don’t confuse the wireframe with an actual design. Yet, despite the rudimentary look of the drawings, the mockups can be surprisingly detailed. For example, you can add scroll bars to windows, highlight table rows and tabs, add different icons, etc. Check out the sample mockups and the intro video to get an idea of what can be done.
Overall, Balsamic Mockups is very intuitive and easy to use. The elements are all drag-and-drop and most everything can be resized and repositioned as required. There is a version of the software for the desktop ($79 USD) as well as collaborative versions for Confluence, JIRA, and XWiki. Since the program is built on Adobe Air, it works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
sIFRvault – A Repository of sIFR fonts
I don’t know what the legalities are or how long this site might last, but sIFRvault – A Repository of sIFR fonts looks like it could be a tremendous resource for web designers and developers who use (or want to use) sIFR on their websites. The site is essentially a collection of fonts that have been turned into sIFR-friendly Flash files that can be searched through, sorted, and downloaded. This is especially handy for those who don’t have Flash to create their own sIFR files (like me, for example). However, I don’t know if the site is breaking copyrights by having these fonts freely available for download. Having said that, I actually wasn’t able to download any files from the site — instead, I got the following error message:
It will definitely be interesting to see whether or not the site succeeds; I hope it does.
Update: As April pointed out in the comments, the downloads seem to be working now. There are already a bunch of new fonts to choose from, too.
Save $41 on Navicat for MySQL
Today only: MacZot is selling Navicat (OS X) for $62 USD — a savings of $41. From the description:
Navicat for MySQL is a powerful MySQL Database Server administration and development tool. It works with MySQL server version 3.21 or above and supports most of the latest MySQL features including Trigger, Stored Procedure, Function, Event, View, Manage User, and etc. It is sophisticated enough for professional developers yet easy to learn for users who are new to MySQL. With its well-designed Graphical User Interface(GUI), Navicat for MySQL lets you quickly and easily create, organize, access and share information in a secure and easy way, taking your MySQL administration to the next level.