Review: Easy-to-use window manager Mosaico makes sense of your desktop

If your desktop deteriorates into a morass of windows, look to Mosaico to help you tile them neatly.  You can use this $10 window manager (14-day free trial) to create different desktop snapshots for various situations.

The simple interface revolves around taking snapshots and restoring them.

Once you're happy with the way your windows are laid out, click the snapshot button to save the arrangement. You can save up to eight different desktop snapshots, and restore them easily from the program's snapshot browser.

When restoring a snapshot, Mosiaco will open relevant programs if closed, and will minimize others that are not part of the snapshot. It cannot, however, go as far as opening specific documents.

Snapshots aside, Mosaico also comes with an enhanced window-snapping feature which can be accessed by clicking the arrows on the program's interface, or by dragging windows around. The latter can be achieved by enabling the "Arrange manually" option in the toolbar, or by pressing the "M" key. Mosaico supports multiple monitors well, and features a built-in button for moving windows between monitors.

Position previews make it easy to drag windows to an exact position on the screen.

Mosaico's main weakness is its current state of Windows 8 compatibility. Although the program runs fine on Windows 8, there are some small quirks such as random display issues, inability to set custom keyboard shortcuts, etc. These issues do not occur on every Windows 8 system, and will be fixed in the program's next update.

Note: The Download button will download the software to your system.

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Review: LyX is an advanced but easy-to-use document processor based on LaTeX typesetting

When one thinks of document editors, it's usually Microsoft Word and Google Docs that come to mind. But in the world of word processors there are marquee names, and then there are some worthies not yet in the limelight. Advanced cross-platform document processor LyX has its merits. LyX is free and Open Source. LyX's workflow is something of an adjustment from Microsoft Word, but learning it can pay off. The results are similar to professional typesetting.

Creating our first document on LyX is as simple as any other: Go to File – New. You can copy-paste or type your first text without bothering about any formatting. To start with formatting, we will say LyX uses Environments. Environments are lot like Microsoft Word and its use of Styles to format documents with consistency. But Environments give far greater control across a variety of document types.

Document processors are usually WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). LyX is WYSIWYM (What You See Is What You Mean), though the frontend does not differ much from any other document editor. The way LyX controls the layout of the document lies in the background, where it uses powerful typesetting markup language LaTeX.

The default Environment is Standard. LyX has different Environments for typesetting sections, lists, sub-lists, verses, quotations, bibliography etc. Expanding the dropdown, we can choose to apply the appropriate ones and within a few clicks, our basic document now starts looking more professional. Different Text Styles can be used on the text. It can be previewed with a PDF reader.

The idea is to separate the content from its presentation. Precise control over layout is a must for academic and scientific authoring. This is where LyX comes into its own. LaTeX is complicated. LyX is the friendly GUI. The program handles the final presentation, leaving the writer with only the business of writing the content. The end result is a more attractive and consistent document.

Different documents like a book, a thesis, a letter etc. need to be typeset differently. LyX uses Document classes which tell it how to typeset the document so that we don't have to bother about the distinctions. Each choice of a Document class also changes the Environments which go with it. Some are built-in but many Document classes and layout options are available online which allow us to extend LyX for all types of document processing needs.

LyX is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, with unofficial ports for OS/2 and Haiku. For a fresh installation on Windows, opt for the 200MB bundle, which is fully functional and includes the complete LaTeX distribution (MiKTeX) and a bibliography manager. A 35MB update installation is available for older versions of LyX with LaTeX already installed on the system.

LyX shows why the program is geared for the scientific community with its versatile Math toolbar. The Math toolbar helps us to create complex mathematical formulas easily. LyX has a detailed Math manual that explains all the features.

Lyx uses MiKTeX, an up-to-date implementation of TeX/LaTeX. It is composed of packages (programs, styles, fonts etc.) that help to format and render documents. Many of the packages are optional. During the course of your text processing, the program might prompt you to update the packages if it finds that you need a custom package not available with the default installation. LyX You can search for relevant packages using the Package Manager and install them.

Remember, LyX is WYSIWYM. In its raw form, the document might look like a mish-mash of brackets and typesetting elements. When you have finished with your text, render it with the default PDF reader. You can save it and render it later, or export it in many different formats (HTML, Open Document, Plain Text).

On first launch, the GUI does not seem any different from a standard document processor (though it doesn't resemble Microsoft Word's Ribbon interface). If getting on the learning curve feels slightly overwhelming, you can avail yourself of very detailed instructions in LyX.org's Introduction, Tutorial, User Guide, and additional manuals in the Help menu.

If you have a long and cluttered document waiting to be prepared, try your hand on LyX. It costs no money, and for complex scientific documents, it could end up saving you time.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

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MojoMotor: Easy-to-Use Website Content Management System

Here is a problem both website designers and owners share: Once a website is created, who has to update its content over time? And how should they do it? The traditional solution for this problem is a CMS, or content management system, such as WordPress (aimed mainly at blogs) or Weebly. MojoMotor is one such content management system, but it prides itself on "doing less" and providing a lightweight interface both for developers and content editors.

MojoMotor's installation interface is stylish, but requires familiarity with database configuration settings.For a content editor, MojoMotor can't be much simpler to use: There is no administrative backend to log in to, or a complex workflow with multiple page states and drafts. You do need to log in so that MojoMotor knows you're allowed to edit, but once that's done, the only special bit of interface you see is a toolbar on top of the screen. The rest of your browser window contains your website just like everyone sees it, but with one important difference: You can edit the text and images.

MojoMotor features an easy WYSIWYG editor for website text.While you're viewing the website in MojoMotor's administration interface, certain parts of the page (such as its main content area, usually) are marked as editable and highlighted in color. To edit, just click anywhere in the highlighted area, and it morphs into a WYSIWYG editor with a simple toolbar for formatting text, creating links, and uploading images. You don't need to know HTML, Markdown, or any other special syntax. You do need to make sure that any images you upload are in the correct size for the website.

The default theme provided with MojoMotor looks a bit like a basic WordPress installation.MojoMotor is easy to use for designers, too. To design a website in MojoMotor, you don't have to know PHP: MojoMotor websites are created as static HTML files with special MojoMotor tags that the system uses to make certain areas user editable. This makes MojoMotor an ideal tool for front-end designers who can create great layouts, HTML, and CSS, but don't know the first thing about back-end coding and working with PHP.

Behind the scenes, MojoMotor works by using special tags.MojoMotor is not a one-size-fits-all solution: It is clearly aimed at small websites containing just a handful of pages. The system doesn't even include a built-in blogging engine, but third-party website MojoAddons offers a plug-in, MojoBlog, that lets users create a blog within their MojoMotor installation. Fortunately, MojoMotor makes it very easy to migrate your project to ExpressionEngine, a CMS from the same vendor that can easily support large-scale websites.

Because MojoMotor focuses on a specific use case and doesn't try to please everyone, it succeeds in creating a truly simple way to develop and maintain small personal and business websites. Its reasonable price tag and extensibility add to its allure, as well.

--Erez Zukerman

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Competent, Easy-to-Use Magix Digital DJ

Magix Digital DJ 2 ($50, feature-limited demo) is very nice representation of what would've once been about $10,000 worth of DJ audio equipment. It's rather sedate in appearance compared to the skinnable VirtualDJ and Mixxx, but it's also logically designed and makes it very easy for you to get to relevant tools and functions.

As with nearly every other DJ program, Digital DJ 2's interface is based around a library, two players/turntables, and a balance control to manage the output level of each player. You load files from the library into the players, play them, and do your cross-fades with the balance control. Also on hand are other DJ essentials such as cue for auditioning, one-hundredth second precise alignment forward and back, waveform display with loop marking, individual tempo and volume sliders, and so on. There's an entire section dedicated to looping as well.

Though not as flashy as MIXX or VirtualDJ, Digital DJ 2's interface is logical and well thought out.I have two very minor complaints about the Digital DJ 2 interface. First, it lacks tool tips--those little hints that pop up when you hover over screen elements and controls. Their absence makes it a bit harder to get up to speed, though it should still be very intuitive to anyone with DJ experience. Second, I'd like to be able to right-click and send all the files I've selected in the library to a new playlist. As of now, you must drag them to an existing one.

As far as file support is concerned, Digital DJ 2 understood WAV files up to 96 kHz/32-bits, WMA, MP3, Apple normal and lossless, OGG, and FLAC. It didn't recognize APE, and it loaded, but wouldn't play, Windows lossless files--but those are two rarer file types. Digital DJ 2 ships with and utilizes the free ASIO4ALL audio driver, which reduces the latency of your audio system down to around 5 millisecond. Though adequate for playback, the normal WDM audio drivers respond far too slow for implementing real time FX such as tempo changes or scratching.

A DJ's most important talent is people skills--knowing what a crowd of people want, what they will react to, how they'll react, and when to press the right button. Digital DJ 2 will only provide the button, but it does so in a very comprehensive and logical, if not glamorous, manner.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's website, where you can select the correct version for your system. Also, the audio drops out every 4 minutes in the Digital DJ 2 demo, but it is otherwise feature intact. Take it for a spin (very bad pun intended).

--Jon L. Jacobi

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