Taking beautiful screenshots is part of my job as a tech blogger. However, when I am on my Mac, I will always avoid using the inbuilt screen capture function as I find them to be rather limited in features. Instead, I use several other third party screen capture tools for Mac that allow me to take better images and at the same time give me more control on how the shots should be taken.
If you are like me, who are searching for alternative Mac screen capture apps, here are 5 useful ones that I have used and can recommend.
How many instances have you needed to take a full-page snapshot of a website but lacked the resources to do it? We’ve covered some browser screenshot web-apps in the past but most of them have some limitations. Kyle wrote about kwout but the screenshots can’t be larger than 600 x 600 pixels. SuperScreenshots works pretty well but the font rendering is changed slightly in the screenshot.
Luckily for Mac, we have Paparazzi! No, I’m not getting excited, it just happens to have an exclamation sign in its name. Unlike the other two web-apps, Paparazzi is a desktop application. I prefer Paparazzi! over SuperScreenshots because it is more configurable and also provides an option to create thumbnails.
This week on the show we buy shoes with Bill Gates, take a few screenshots, use a brand new browser and track the latest hurricanes.
I’d love to hear from you. Send me your MP3 files containing comments about the show, reviews of your favourite websites or just general chitchat. I’ll choose a few to play on the show each week. Send them to podcast [at] makeuseof [dot] com.
If you look underneath the links from the show on this page, you will see a little media player where you can listen to the podcast right here on the site. Or if you prefer, you can right-click on the “audio MP3″ logo and save the MP3 file to your computer for listening on your MP3 player or iPod.
Ever wanted to take those cool screenshots of windows and cursors and annotate them but didn’t want to shell out money to buy screenshot utilities like SnagIt? Well then you should try the following:
The name might sound weird but it was developed as a utility for software testers to find bugs and report them along with the screenshots.
Bug Shooting offers you all the features you can want to get the perfect screenshots for your projects, reports and blogs. With Bug shooting you can capture the entire screen, a section of the screen, a window, capture with delay and so on.
If you are a blogger or a web content writer then I’m sure a screen capture tool is in the list of your must have tools for daily usage. With the help of a good screen capture tool you can generate screenshots relevant to your article and then put them in the post and publish it. And if you are a tech blogger like me then it becomes an almost indispensable tool.
Apart from being in-built into most of the operating systems available, there are various screen capture tools available, ranging from desktop softwares to web apps, from free ones to their more sophisticated paid counterparts. And if you are one of those who love to work entirely from the browser then there are some cool firefox add ons which let you capture screens in the snap of a finger (the click of a mouse button actually 
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It is very common (and frustrating) to install an Adobe Air application on your Linux system and find that it is not working. After all, the Adobe Air for Linux is still in alpha stage. It is not feature complete and does not support most of the applications.
While we have previously covered some of the cool AIR applications, most of them are meant for the Windows/Mac platform. For Linux users who are constantly looking for AIR applications, here is a list of 8 useful AIR applications that we have tested and found them to be working in Linux.
If you’re not inclined to download something like SnagIt or IrfanView then Kwout is a very useful online service that allows you to take screenshots of webpages and post them quickly from the comfort of your browser. It is extremely easy to use and there are several ways to “kwout” something.
Let’s take a quick walk through to get a better understanding of how easy it is to use Kwout.
Everyone should at least give Kwout a try and the best way to do that is to go to their website and use the demo on the front page. All you need to do is enter in the web address of the site where you want to take a screenshot.
It may sound like a threat, but the internet is not quite everywhere, yet. So what do you do when there’s no internet available to you? First, take a deep breath!
The answer is actually quite simple. You plan ahead and take the internet with you. Or at least parts of it. It may not be an efficient way to cater your online cravings, but you may finally catch up on some long due reading and best of all, it’s free.
I have two alternatives for you, and I will start with the smaller solution.
While you’re busy editing your images with Photoshop, Gimp, or a photo-manager like Picasa, what kind of image viewer are you using? Most of the time when you are viewing an image you aren’t using an editor, especially bulky ones like those listed above. You’re using a lightweight program that primarily lets you view, zoom, flip, and save. Microsoft pre-installs Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, but like most pre-installed Windows apps, it leaves a lot to be desired.
This is in no way a new application. Skitch has been around for quite some time but we here at Make Use Of don’t only cover new applications. We share the most useful and interesting stuff with our readers. That includes bringing up older software or webpages which you might have missed out in the past or never got a chance to use.
Do you constantly find yourself explaining how to complete a task on the computer? Is it sometimes hard to put those instructions into words? The Jing Project allows you to demonstrate a task by snapping a picture of your screen or recording a video (with audio) of what you do and see.
What makes the Jing different from other screen capturing software?
Adobe AIR is having quite a buzz at the moment around the internet. They are trying to bring more of the web directly on to your desktop, and they seem to be having quite a successful time achieving this. AIR actually stands for “Adobe Integrated Runtime”, and this article looks at some of the best free applications using AIR. If you have no idea what this Adobe AIR thing is all about, you can simply think of it as a program that allows you to run certain web services like desktop programs. In most cases this results in faster and better looking user interface.
With all the screencasting going on in the blogosphere lately, what with tutorials running rampant across all different video sharing websites…I thought I’d share a few screencasting tools for those of you looking for a free alternative to some of those higher priced utilities. This review covers both PC and Mac utilities, and not wanting to leave anyone out…one for those running Java.
AviScreen captures screen activities and converts the output into an .avi file or alternatively into several images. It does include that very nifty feature often referred to as “follow the cursor” which means you can create a smaller dimension video and the software will automatically follow the curser to the location so that the user watching doesn’t miss anything.
Bloggers, there are lots of things you’ve to keep an eye on, and most of the time, you’ll need the help of different programs for different needs. Sure, there are more web tools for the job, but nothing can get to give you the convenience and speed that desktop applications offer. So, here goes a list of over 30 handpicked application, that can possibly increase a blogger’s productivity.
Desktop Blogging Clients
Post to your blog straigth from the desktop.
There really MUST be a Santa Claus after all! Right here at the Holidays, from the “free, actually-USEFUL software downloads” front comes: Ready? (Drumroll, please…)
Your absolutely FR*EE…no strings attached downloads (full licenses…not “trials”) from ‘TechSmith‘ of: Camtasia3 (Reg. price: $299) and SnagIt7 (Reg. price: $29).
What’s the catch? None, really. You will be offered an opportunity to “upgrade” to the newer versions (Camtasia5 and SnagIt8) but it is absolutely not necessary, nor required!. The newer versions are…well…”newer”… but from what I understand, these previous versions still work perfectly well!
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