After a long absence, I think it would be fair to outline what is going on around here. The rumors of MacRecon’s death have been greatly exaggerated — at least they would’ve been if such rumors had surfaced. The truth is, MacRecon is going to have some big changes around here hopefully soon.

MacRecon is going to take a step away from the blogging business and get more into the computer science business. It’s no secret that I am currently studying just that at the university, and TipAgent for the iPhone was the first step.

If you kept up with my tweets, you may have gathered that I already had a second app finished since last summer; legal and personal issues kept me from advancing. I should note, though, that the app is another one that I made last year was to further explore the iPhone SDK and follows Apple’s “there’s an app for anything” philosophy we’ve seen — nothing earth-shattering.

I’ll have this app, in the same form as I left it last year, hopefully available soon in the App Store. After that, I shall begin working on some updates for this new app and TipAgent, since it’s obvious they’re in need of one. And who knows… maybe add something special for the iPad? A tip calculator may not scream iPad material, but I do see the newer app as a great iPad one once it is updated out from its cobweb-gathering status.

I also have more than a handful of ideas for new apps — a couple are amazing ideas that have me very excited, but most require expertise in Objective-C and the iPhone SDK I don’t actually possess yet. It’s been very bad on my part to abandon this programming area for nearly a year and not advance my knowledge there.

And as for content for this blog — as I mentioned — I’m not abandoning it entirely. I’m just taking a step away from it. I shall have some pieces also available for reading if you’re one of the few that truly have enjoyed them.

Well, that sums it up. If you have any comments, as always, feel free to post them.

Livescribe Pulse Pen. I previously had a look at its beta, and was impressed despite the many limitations. Now that the beta version has long ended, the final version has only added much to help students with Macs in its current, near-perfect state. What the smart pen basically does is capture whatever you write in special dot paper, and links it to the audio that was recorded as you were writing. Then, it all syncs to the computer where you can review your notes in digital format and even share them online; the pen also plays back the audio directly if you tap with it at the notes you wrote down. This is one of the best tools out there for the modern student who likes to capture as much out of a lecture as possible.

Things for Mac and iPhone. Things is one of the best GTD apps out there, which can certainly be adapted for student use. With the syncing that it provides over its Mac and iPhone clients, the student can easily keep track of every task that must be achieved — no matter how small. For the full review of the Mac version of Things click here.

Evernote for Mac and iPhone. Yes, I am mentioning Evernote for the one-hundreth time, but that’s just how great a tool it can be — even for the average student. Using either the web app, Mac app, or iPhone app, it is possible to capture all kinds of notes to be synced so that they can be accessed from anywhere. Creativity has also been shown from its users regarding how it can be used for more than taking notes, such as using it as an online recipe keeper — although students can be more creative on its use when working on campus.

Schoolhouse. For those seeking a solution exclusively geared towards students, one of the greatest Mac apps out there would have to be Schoolhouse. Although it has yet to see a major update in some time, it still works perfectly. And the best part of the deal? It’s free. (But donations are appreciated!)

iStudiez Pro. This iPhone app was recently featured in the App Store, and it’s not difficult to understand why — it has a great interface to go with its equally great functionality; organization will be a blast for any student armed with an iPhone. While it may still not have the perfection students demand (one of the missing features being a weekly overview) — it’s one of the best from the App Store.

That just about sums what some of the best choices are for the Mac and iPhone. But if you liked reading this, be sure to check out the following posts that were also geared towards students in the past:
Five free iPhone apps for the student mind
Going Mac to school while you save some green
Five more apps for the Mac student
Five essential apps for the Mac student

Candybar 3. This collaboration between Panic and The Iconfactory has given us the best version of Candybar to date. It allows for easy system icon and dock visual modification — including support for the all-in-one iContainers — and Pixadex, which is like a photo library for your icon collection. A single license of Candybar costs $29.

LiteIcon. This is a free alternative to Candybar, which allows for easy system icon swapping. But while it lacks some of the differentiating features of Candybar, anyone just looking to changing the icons and nothing more, this is the perfect choice. If you like it, please consider sending a couple of bucks in donation to the developer.

Magnifique. A fantastic app that allows for user-created themes to be applied over Mac OS X. With support for multiple apps, Finder, and the dock, the only thing that will come out of it is a new, shiny Mac OS X. Oh, and it’s free! Again, donations are appreciated. (And the website is a great starting point to look at some ideas/mods).

Dock Library. If you’re just looking to change out the dock, Dock Library is the perfect choice. As you add new designs, you can quickly change the dock to any of them with the click of a mouse (and a Finder restart, most likely). And just like the best things in life, it’s also free. (Donations are also accepted here).

GeekTool. Here comes the fun stuff. GeekTool is mainly used to add decorations with some kind of functionality over your desktop. The best way you can get into the fun stuff is by using some scripts similar to those used in the Mac’s terminal. Basically anything can be added: from a clock to a weather watcher to anything limited to your imagination (and knowledge of such scripts!). Geektool is also a free download!

Bowtie Themes. Bowtie is a magnificent and free iTunes controller. What makes it even more special is its support for user-built themes. Take a look around, and you’ll probably find one you like — and if not, the documentation on how to get started in making your own.

Adium Xtras. Nowadays I find it rare to find fellow Mac users who haven’t at least tried Adium, the free, multi-protocol chat client. Besides immense functionality, Adium is also highly customizable! Take a look around the Adium Xtras page and you will find anything from replacement icons and themes to system sounds.

Resources. Now that you have these fantastic apps installed in your Mac, where can you gather the inspiration and new designs to give Mac OS X a makeover? The best place to get started probably is the MacThemes website, which covers all of this. Even better, said website has a very big user community where they trade inspiration and art for the improvement of everyone’s Mac. Then there’s websites like Dockulicious that have a big catalog of dock replacements, and some fantastic guides from Lifehacker to get started with Geektool.

Extra: SizeUp. Even though it may not be a tool to aesthetically modify your Mac, SizeUp offers its help to keep it clean from window clutter. What it does is allow you to set the areas within your workspace to dedicate to windows, and allows you to move them there with a few clicks or keyboard presses. It’s difficult to imagine the benefits that such app offers until you’ve tried out the demo. And once you’ve done that, the developer wants to sell you a license at the price you’re willing to pay (the minimum being $4.99, and the developer suggesting $12.99) which is different to all other shareware, to say the least.

Conclusions. With this quick introduction to apps that will allow to alter a Mac’s appearance, I quickly got to work on mine after getting some inspiration from this workspace featured in Lifehacker. What I did was use the same black Mac theme; I got some different Mac icons to the ones mentioned; I Google searched for that wallpaper; I added a Geektool clock, local Yahoo! weather, and battery status; I changed Bowtie’s theme to one inspired by Geektool, as I did the same to Adium’s. After that, I set up that space of the screen as one big margin for SizeUp to never cover, and now I basically have my dream workspace which has actually boosted my productivity. Whether the productivity boost was done thanks to actual organization or some aesthetical psychological factor (if not both), it’s still there. Check out the final product below.