The Breakroom • A blog for the Iconfactory

Hearts (and Pixels) Swell at Valentine’s Day

February 13, 2008

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, love is in the air and on the desktop. Thanks to the efforts of Corey and Kate we’re pleased to bring you three classic icon sets, now with large resources for Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard.

First up is Corey’s Smoothicons Vol. 11 collection. Released back in 2005, this small set is the perfect desktop gift for that someone special. Next we have two sets from Kate – Wedding and Valentine’s Day. Both of these icon collections mark the Feb. 14th holiday with grace and style and will look just wonderful in Leopard’s Cover Flow or as searchable CandyBar iContainers.

Lastly, don’t forget to stop by the Freeware page for the all new Cupid Quickpix from David and then grab Mindy’s Pink Bunnies desktop to complete your adorable desktop makeover. You know what they say, sweets for the sweet. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Reviewers: xScope Is a Must Have

February 8, 2008

By Webmaster

Designers and developers across the web are discovering xScope, ARTIS and the Iconfactory’s tool for measuring images, buttons, margins and more. At the heart of xScope is the new Dimensions tool that has been hailed by users as a wonderful time saver that will improve the way you work. Reviews are appearing all over the web and the results are clear. xScope is a must have for any professional who designs or develops for the screen.

Macworld kicks off the accolades with a comprehensive review of the software that awards the application a total of 4 and a half mice. Reviewer Dan Frakes calls xScope “a unique-and uniquely useful tool” with a special nod to the new Dimensions module. Dan highlights the fact that xScope can even find the space between two characters on a page quickly and easily.

Web Consultant Olaf Egner touts version 2.0’s many improvements in his review. Egner highlights the expanded templates for mobile devices, such as Apple’s iPhone, provided in the updated Screens tool and says that designers “owe it to themselves” to take a look.

Erik Vlietinck of IT Enquirer gives xScope a 5/5 score and calls the application “A web designer’s best friend.” The review touches on each of the seven tools contained in xScope, with a call out to the Dimensions tool.

If you design or develop for the screen, then we encourage you to download and try xScope for yourself. It will streamline your work flow and make taking on-screen measurements a joy instead of a chore. xScope is available now for Mac OS X for $26.95.

Desktop Thursdays Are Back!

February 7, 2008

By Webmaster

Now that the new year is in full swing, we’re pleased to announce we’re kicking off eight straight weeks of new desktop pictures courtesy of Mindy. She’s been furiously pumping out wallpapers for your Macs, PCs and iPhones these last few weeks and now they’re ready to go.

First out of the gate is a cool, graphical image of Spellbinder, one of the baddies from DC & Cartoon Network’s Batman Beyond animated series. Head on over and download him, just don’t stare too closely or he’ll have you in his clutches!

Be here every Thursday for the next two months for the latest and greatest desktops from the Iconfactory. You won’t be disappointed!

Arcade Daze System Boots Up

February 5, 2008

By Webmaster

Those video sprites you know and love so much are back and this time they’ve come for your trash can, folders and files! That’s right, Ged’s pleased to announce the release of Arcade Daze System, chock full of pixelly goodness just for you. This huge set of over 130 system replacement icons not only contains everything needed for your desktop, but also tons of additional folders, files and hard drive icons as well. After all, if you can’t have your own personal arcade, you can have the next best thing.

Fans of Ged’s prior Arcade Daze sets will want to drop a token in the slot and download these fun and colorful desktop icons today. As an added bonus, CandyBar users will also find a funky new custom dock in the iContainer version. So don’t be a square, head on over and download Arcade Daze System for your Mac or PC before it’s game over dude!

Introducing xScope 2.0

January 30, 2008

By Webmaster

ARTIS Software and The Iconfactory are pleased to announce the immediate availability of xScope v 2.0. xScope is a powerful set of tools that designers and developers can use to measure, compare, and contrast literally anything on the screen. Version 2 brings an entire array of new features and improvements that will increase your productivity and free you from mundane tasks like measuring on screen elements.

At the heart of version 2 is a brand new addition called Dimensions. This simple tool is like laser tape measure for the screen that projects a beam out from your cursor to instantly find the edges of images, margins and blocks of text. The days of taking screen grabs, opening them and measuring them by hand are over. The Dimensions tool will literally change the way you work, for the better. If pictures are worth a 1,000 words, then be sure to check out this screen cast of the Dimensions tool in action to see just what xScope can do for you.

And that’s not all. xScope v 2.0 is chock full of even more features and improvements that make all the classic parts of this handy application even better. Here is just some of what version 2 has to offer:

Screens now support mobile devices like iPhone and Window Mobile
Screen sizes editable and updated for latest browsers
More feedback and indicators when using tools
Screen captures added to several of the tools
Size of Loupe and Ruler tools can be smaller
Many controls were made larger and easier to read
Integrated tool help into the application
Many more improvements and bug fixes

We’re very excited about this release and encourage you to visit the xScope homepage today to download and test out this latest update to a program that we call our “swiss army knife” for designers and developers.

xScope 2 is available today to new users for $26.95 USD. Registered users of version 1.x can upgrade to version 2 for $10.00. Users who have lost track of their 1.x serial number can find it via our online Registration Lookup form.

The Cat Gets the Bat

January 29, 2008

By Webmaster

Gotham can be a scary place after dark, but thanks to the Dark Knight, it could be a whole lot worse. Now the famed super hero and all of his villainous arch-enemies are even larger than life thanks to hi-resolution updates for Mac OS X Leopard and Windows Vista. Talos’ previously released icon sets based on the WB’s popular Batman cartoon have been given the super-size treatment and are ready for action and adventure. In addition, each set has a cool new custom dock style for use with Panic’s CandyBar application. So if you’re a fan of all things Batman, head on over and download Batman Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 today for your Mac or PC desktop.

One Month to Go! (hopefully)

January 28, 2008

By Webmaster

We’re now only a month or so away from the release of Apple’s official Software Development Kit for the wildly popular iPhone mobile platform. Needless to say, we’re on pins and needles over here with anticipation.

There was an interesting piece from Forbes this morning regarding the SDK that featured a quote from our friend and colleague Cabel Sasser, about Panic’s eagerness to develop for the iPhone. Given Panic’s amazing track record with software development for the Macintosh, we simply can’t wait to see what those talented folks up in Portland will come up with for the iPhone.

Our own Craig Hockenberry is also keeping himself occupied while the hours tick away until the official release. You can be sure that Twitterrific for the iPhone is high on our list of things to do, right up there with an official, native version of Frenzic. Now if there was just a way to speed up time or deep freeze ourselves until the end of February…

More Agua Por Favor!

January 22, 2008

By Webmaster

Can’t get enough of the clean, crisp stylings of David Lanham’s Agua series of system replacement icons? Then you’re in luck, because we have a treat in store for you today. David has expanded his popular Agua genre into the realm of face-on Leopard Folders. The result is a massive set of system replacement folders that could easily become a permanent fixture on your desktop. Head on over and download this latest addition to the Agua universe for your Mac or PC desktop or as a searchable CandyBar iContainer today. Now that’s what we call refreshing!

Logica Stock Family Completed

January 17, 2008

By Webmaster

Stockicons.com has released the latest collections in the Logica family of royalty-free stock icons. The addition of the Logica Database, Multimedia and Finance EPS sets extends and completes the Logica family and adds scalable vector icons covering such concepts such as tables, records, mixing, effects, assets and many others. All three of these scalable EPS sets can be used in large format, print and web applications. Logica Database, Multimedia and Finance EPS are available today for $129 each.

Logica was designed with rich shading and a tailored range of lively, modern colors to give it a fresh visual feel. The family is quite versatile and brings vibrancy and style to any project. The family has a unified appearance with crisp lines and bold metaphors making Logica a smart choice.

Stockicons.com provides developers and designers with high-quality, affordable, royalty-free collections of icons for use in software applications, website designs and interactive presentations. The site offers free downloadable samples of each stock collection so that developers can easily test the usability of the collections they are interested in.

Candybar 3 Revved

January 11, 2008

By Webmaster

Panic has been under the hood of the latest version of Candybar again and has another quick update ready to go. Version 3.1.2 patches a few bugs and fixes a few reliability issues and is a free update for registered Candybar 3 users. Check the release notes to see what has been polished and visit Panic’s site to download the latest version of this handy icon customization/organization powerhouse.

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