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Notable apps and app updates for Dec. 7, 2017

On a regular basis, Apple World Today posts a list of notable new apps or app updates that have been released. They may not necessarily be new, but they’re popular and deserve mention. Here are today’s picks.

iOS Apps/Updates

Fire Tap Games has introduced Free Yourself 1.0. It’s a a 2D gravity-based puzzle game set in a colorful universe of crazy robots. Trapped within a metallic cage, players must find a way to free themselves by solving various physics-based puzzles. Free Yourself is, well, free, but does tout in-app purchases.

macOS Apps/Updates

AKVIS has released a new Thailand & South Korea pack that includes 80 picture frames created by professional artists. Along with the Japan & China frame pack, the new set showcases a wide variety of Asian cultures and traditions.

To use AKVIS frame packs, you need to have installed one of following programs: AKVIS Frames (available for free) or AKVIS ArtSuite ($39). The AKVIS products run on macOS 9.0.7 and higher. TheThailand & South Korea frame pack sells for $15.

Zevrix Solutions has announced Output Factory 2.2.3, a maintenance update to company’s output automation solution for Adobe InDesign. 

The utility automates printing, exporting and preflighting from InDesign and offers batch processing, export as single pages, layer versioning, custom scripts integration and more. Version 2.2.3 addresses an issue in which some incompatible PDF and print output settings could be enabled at the same time, which could result in crashes and incorrect file processing.

Output Factory 2.2.3 can be purchased from the Zevrix website for $169.95 (there’s a “lite” version for $119.95). A demo is available for download. The update is free for the users of Output Factory 2.x, and $84.97 to upgrade from Output Factory 1.x and BatchOutput. Output Factory requires macOS 10.7-10.13 and Adobe InDesign CS3-CC 2018.

BinaryFruit has updated DriveDx, its Mac solution for SSD and HDD health diagnostics and monitoring, to version  1.7.0. 

DriveDx performs overall drive health diagnostics using drive health indicators (like SSD wear out / endurance, reallocated bad sectors, offline bad sectors, pending sectors, I/O errors, and more) that most closely correlate with drive failures. It shows this information in an easy-to-understand format. Version 1.7.0 adds support for LaCie hard drives, among other improvements.

DriveDx 1.7.0 requires macOS 10.6.8 or higher. It has four types of licenses, the basic being a personal license for $19.99.

MacXDVD Software has rolled out MacX Video Converter Pro, a feature update to their flagship video conversion utility for macOS. 

MacX Video Converter Pro is a HEVC video converter that can compress and convert 4K/multi-track HD videos to HEVC/H.265 to save storage space and bandwidth consumption. This update extends its profiles for HEVC for playback on newer Macs, and lower-capacity iPhones and iPads, while saving storage space.

The usual price of MacX Video Converter Pro (for a lifetime version) is $59.95. However, you can get the fully licensed HEVC video converter at 50% off for a limited time.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.