Photoshop is undoubtedly the most well-known image editor for both PC and Mac, yet it is often too large, expensive, and complex for the average user’s day-to-day tasks. One of the simpler and cheaper applications for the mac is Acorn from Flying Meat Software.

Acorn’s interface is composed of an editing canvas and tools box. The editing canvas will be a familiar sight to anyone who uses Photoshop, for it holds the same purpose of holding the document you’re working on. The tools box allows you to choose such functions as move, select, draw, erase, flood fill, gradient, text, shape, and choose foreground/background colors. You will also find the layers section in the tools box.

Along with the basic capabilities provided in the tools box, Acorn also allows for applying filters, colors & level adjustments, a screenshot assistant, brush designer, and many web export options. You can even build on Acorn by developing plugins using the Python and Objective-C scripting languages.

Compared to Photoshop CS4, Acorn holds its own very well. It loads faster, is quick to learn, and helps you accomplish tasks quicker. Sure, there are many functions that Acorn lacks from Photoshop or any of the other high-end editors, but in my day to day tasks, Acorn takes care of about 95% of my needs. Plus, at $50, the price can’t be beat.

If you’re considering taking the plunge to purchase Photoshop because you want to get into image editing, I’d encourage you to try out Acorn first. It’s a lot less frustrating and complicated to pick up, and it comes with a free trial. Find out more by visiting the Flying Meat website.

There is no lack of information retention and note-taking software available to mac users, but one of the emerging players is Shovebox, a new piece of software from WonderWarp.

Unlike some of the other applications available for this purpose, Shovebox acts as a menu bar application, not a program with a huge interface and lives in the dock. There is a window that you can open up for organizing and viewing documents, but many functions can be completed using keyboard shortcuts and the menu bar.

The methodology for Shovebox is also slightly different, as it serves as a dumping ground for information, and aims to make it easy for you to do so. You can import photos, text documents, websites, PDFs, bookmarks, and many other file types. Files are, by default, deposited into the Inbox, which can be then organized into folders, flagged, and labeled with colors.

Shovebox also allows for taking iSight snapshots and writing text files from within the application. In fact, Shovebox is able to ‘quick-jot’ by invoking a keyboard shortcut and writing a quick note. Notes that are created can have comments, keyboard shortcuts, export abilities, formating fonts, and titled.

Luckily, there is also a Shovebox iPhone app. You can read my Macworld review of Shovebox Mobile here. Because Shovebox is relatively simple. it can often be used in conjunction with your current productivity and note-taking system easily. If you’re on the lookout for a replacement to your current note-taking system, Shovebox can be implemented with ease.

It is available for download and purchase on the WonderWarp software. After the 30-day trial, it costs $24.95, while the iPhone app costs about $4.

Taking inventory of your possessions can be an immense task, if your faced with entering information into a database or spreadsheet about every product. Luckily, there’s a much more elegant and easier solution in Delicious Library.

With its revolutionary barcode scanning technology, Delicious Library allows one to scan in products using an iSight and have the computer automatically find the information. Items can also be added manually. All the products can then be viewed on virtual shelves, or by list.

The library of items are organized into a series of different groupings, such as ‘Movies’, and ‘Software’. These groups are automatically determined based on the product, but custom shelves can be created for custom groupings. Smart shelves can also be added based on a set of given criteria.

Delicious Library also allows for tracking items as you loan them out. ‘Friends’ can be added to Delicious from the OS X Address Book and their loaned out items can be tracked in iCal.

There’s also functionality within Delicious that allows for exporting to the web. Libraries can be exported to MobileMe, iWeb, using FTP, or to a local folder. The templates generated are beautiful, similar to the interface of the desktop application. Online libraries can also be imported into other users Delicious Libraries under the ‘Friends’ tab. For instance, you can add your friend’s library based on their online MobileMe Delicious Library. Libraries can also be exported to an iPod.

The application is beautifully designed, and works like a dream. If you’re interested in taking inventory of your various items, Delicious is definitely the easiest and slickest way to go. At $40, Delicious Library isn’t cheap, but the functionality provided makes up for it, and many will find the application useful. It can be purchased or downloaded for a free trial from the Delicious Monster website.

One of the first games in the iPhone app store was one of Apple’s own, Texas Hold’em. At $5, Hold’em is the app that set the standard for iPhone poker games.

There are two views when using Texas Hold’em, landscape and portrait. The landscape view is triggered when turning the iPhone, or iPod touch, horizontally on its side and allows you to see the game from an aerial table view. The portrait, or vertical, view shows each player as a different animated character.

Players in the game can be computer-automated, or people on a WiFi network. Hold’em allows up to 9 players to connect via WiFi to play against each other. There are also many built-in gestures for various commands. Statistics can also be tracked within the app.

As a poker application, Texas Hold’em functions beautifully and is a nice game. While it’s slightly expensive, it’s worth it if you’re a poker fan. It is available for $4.99 in the app store.

The Mac is no stranger to education, and one of the best study applications available is Genius, a virtual flash card program. By utilizing repetition patterns, Genius aims to help in memorizing miscellaneous items.

Genius works by allowing for entering a series of questions and answers. Each of these questions can be assigned to categories with individual keywords. Then, it can be used to either learn terms or review them. It will darken the screen and ask the entered questions in a pattern that will help you remember them.

It determines the order of questions based on which answers you get correct and which are incorrect. The questions that you answer wrong will appear more often then those that you answered correctly. Once the quizzing process is over, the main Genius window displays the score for each question, and the overall percentage of understanding for the set of questions.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to easily take Genius on the go. There is no iPhone application available, and printing off flash cards is not easy. In fact, Genius has been rarely updated in the past few years and could become nonexistent in the near future.

As of now, however, Genius is a fantastic desktop application that is completely free and works tremendously well. You can see more information on their website, and download it from macupdate.