The Iconfactory

Home

From the Factory

Preview

(17.Feb.09) Good Things In Worn Packages

If there’s one constant in the universe, it’s that you can never have enough application replacement icons. Anthony proves the old adage once again with the release of this week’s freeware collection – Litho Extras Volume 6.

This latest set of organic and distressed desktop icons includes popular app replacements such as Things, Coda, Front Row, VLC and more. As an added bonus, there’s a multi-state status icon for all you Adium junkies out there. If you’ve missed Anthony’s previous Litho installments, be sure to round them all up and give them a home. An offset icon is a terrible thing to waste. Litho Extras Vol. 6 is available today for your Mac, PC or as a searchable CandyBar iContainer today.

(16.Feb.09) xScope Winning Hearts & Minds of Developers

Over the past year, two of our ‘children’, Twitterrific and Frenzic, have received a great deal of attention. But while these popular pieces of software have been having their moment in the sun, our award-winning tool xScope, has been quietly winning the hearts and minds of developers everywhere.

We realized this at Macworld when a gentleman came up to our kiosk and asked us to skip the Twitterrific & Frenzic demos and instead show his friend (a fellow web designer) xScope. It only took a few seconds with the Dimensions tool before he was hooked. We’re proud to say they aren’t the only ones.

Web developer Paul Stamatiou is another professional who’s recently discovered the power of xScope. He’s written an excellent review that nicely summarizes the software. Paul walks through the entire application tool by tool and is most impressed by Dimensions, calling it “almost worth the price of xScope itself”. He ends up giving xScope a full 10 out of 10 and says it is “definitely worth its price”. We couldn’t agree more.

If you work as a designer or developer, use the Mac platform and are not familiar with xScope, we invite you to head on over and check it out. We think you’ll quickly discover why so many of your peers feel so passionately about this swiss army knife for the screen.

Preview

(10.Feb.09) Smoothicons 14 Slides On Over

If there’s a truism here at the Iconfactory, it’s that visitors can’t get enough of Smoothicons. These playful, bold icons that Corey designed originally back in 2000 pop on the desktop and make using your computer a joy. So we’re only too pleased to announce Corey’s latest additions to the Smoothicon suite of creations, Volume 14. MacBook owners will delight to find new versions of their favorite portable hardware as well as the entire array of iPod Nano colors to pick and choose from. Head on over to the freeware page and pick up Smoothicons 14 as a Mac, PC or Candybar iContainer archive today.

(05.Feb.09) Helios Database Stock Set Released

StockIcons.com has released a set of 52 add-on icons to extend the basic Helios collection into the realm of data management. This release contains icons covering concepts such as tables, scripts, records, and many others, and is a must have for anyone needing icons dealing with these specialized topics.

Like all of our royalty free stock icon collections, Helios Database comes with 7 optimized bitmap sizes ranging from 16×16 up to 512×512 pixels. These expanded sizes mean that your purchase is ready for use with Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard “out of the box”. In addition, every purchase includes scalable PDF files which are perfect for large format print projects. Helios Database is available today for $179.00.

With the economy and budgets tightening, Stockicons.com continues to provide developers and designers with an affordable and quick solution to your project’s icon needs. We invite you to visit Stockicons.com, check out free samples and learn how our products can help you today.

(03.Feb.09) Right Out of Dante's 'Inferno'

If you’re a child of the 70’s and 80’s then this week’s freeware release is right up your alley. Gedeon Maheux has recreated one of his favorite movie robots of all time to bring some space-spook to your desktop.

Back in 1979 Walt Disney Pictures tried to cash in on the country’s obsession with all things Star Wars with the release of The Black Hole. Panned by critics, the film was essentially a haunted house movie set in space. Although it may not have been a critical success, it did make an impression on kids of all ages. Now you can relive The Black Hole’s macabre tale with Gedeon’s new Maximilian wallpaper for your Mac, PC or iPhone desktop. Just don’t turn your back on him, V.I.N.Cent’s not around to save the day!

Preview

(29.Jan.09) Twitterrific 3.2 Takes Flight

Announcing the immediate release of the latest version of Twitterrific for Mac OS X. Twitterrific lets users of the Twitter social network read and post tweets quickly and easily. Version 3.2 of the program for the Mac has undergone extensive user testing and we’re pleased to report it is now ready for prime time.

Notable additions to Twitterrific v. 3.2 include:

  • Old tweets are marked as read on launch
  • All communications with Twitter now encrypted with HTTPS
  • Reply IDs added to messages for more accurate conversations
  • Fixed several accessibility problems including VoiceOver audio
  • Up to 200 tweets are loaded into your timeline
  • Much more!

Twitterrific’s development is sponsored by ads via The Deck so Mac users can enjoy Twitterrific and all its great features, free of charge, without limitations. Those users who prefer to run Twitterrific ad-free can choose to register the program for $14.95.

We invite you to visit the Twitterrific home page to learn more about and download version 3.2 of this fun application that helped to put the “tweet” in Twitter. Enjoy!

Preview

(27.Jan.09) Somatic Rebirth Apps

Ever since David released his Somatic Rebirth System icons back in December, users have been hollering for more. We’re pleased to report the seeds of David’s imagination have sprouted, been harvested, processed and packed for your consumption. The result are 50+ new icons for Somatic Rebirth Apps.

Many of your favorite desktop applications are here including Firefox, Twitterrific, Coda, Safari, Things, Yojimbo, xCode and many more. CandyBar users will find an extra goody in the form of a new Somatic dock style created expressly for Rebirth Apps. So don’t just lay there like a bump on a forest log, head on over and download Somatic Rebirth Apps for your Mac or desktop PC right away.

(26.Jan.09) Follow the Factory on Twitter

Every one of the Iconfactory’s workers have had Twitter accounts almost since day one. In recent months we created product-specific accounts for both Twitterrific and Frenzic but never one to cover the entire company. Until now.

We’re pleased to announce the Iconfactory now has a Twitter account that you can follow to get the latest news, tips and inside information as it happens. If you use the social networking service Twitter, then we invite you to head on over to @iconfactory and start following us today. We’ll be giving our Twitter followers advanced notice of releases, sneak peeks and more. If you’re the kind of person who likes to be the first to know about cool stuff, head on over and press that follow button. Good things await!

(20.Jan.09) Inauguration Day

Today, America celebrates as she swears in Barack Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois, as the 44th President of the United States. To help commemorate this historic occasion, we’re proud to offer a small pixelized token for your computer desktop – Inauguration Day. Head on over to the Freeware Page and download this fun collection of free icons for your Mac or PC desktops or as a handy CandyBar iContainer. Congratulations America!

Preview

(13.Jan.09) Caution! Rogue Robots!

“Too much garbage in your face? There’s plenty of space out in space! BnL StarLiners leaving each day. We’ll clean up the mess while you’re away!”

But, before you go, be sure to check out our latest freeware release: WALL•E + EVE. Inspired by the two Pixar robots, Iconfactory artist Louie Mantia has assembled a set of hard drive icons and – as a bonus for CandyBar users – a new OS X Dock. There’s also a companion desktop for your Mac, PC or iPhone: Captain’s Quarters, inspired by the Captian’s area aboard the Axiom. Directive? Head on over to the Freeware page and download the icons and desktop today!

(12.Jan.09) Full Steam Ahead!

Our Christmas trees have been put away, we watched the ball drop, and have safely returned from an exciting trip to Macworld 2009. Although we had a wonderful break, we’re more than ready to get back at it.

Our trip to Macworld allowed us to showcase both Twitterrific and Frenzic to the scores of people who stopped by our kiosk near the Apple booth. It also gave us the opportunity to meet many of you for the very first time, and get some great feedback on all of our products, not just those for the iPhone. The fine folks at TUAW stopped by to interview Craig about Twitterrific as did Robin Rhys from AppleiPhoneApps.com to get his thoughts on $0.99 apps and where they are headed. If you weren’t able to get to San Francisco this past week, then check out these interviews as well as Talos’ personal photo gallery from our trip to find out how it all went down.

As the dust settles from our mini-adventure, the factory floor is busy gearing up once again for freeware releases as well as our staple of client work that keeps the bills paid and the roof over our heads. Stay tuned in the days and weeks ahead for more of the great icons, desktop picts, software and more you’ve come to know and love from the Iconfactory. The new year is just getting started so join us won’t you? It’s going to be a fun one, stay tuned!

Preview

(22.Dec.08) Year In Review for 2008

How time flies when you’re pushing pixels! It seems like only yesterday we were looking back on 2007, and now it’s a year later and once again it’s time to reflect on our accomplishments. The year that was 2008 featured an iconic tribute to a movie legend, important updates to Twitterrific and xScope, and saw an addition to our arsenal of talented icon artists.

Back in January, ARTIS Software and the Iconfactory introduced xScope version 2.0 to heaps of positive reviews from designers and developers alike. xScope’s addition of the Dimensions tool was hailed as a much-needed innovation that freed designers from the bonds of traditional screen measurement techniques.

xScope wasn’t the only piece of software to receive updates in 2008. Other apps that received updates included Twitterrific, which won an Apple Design Award at WWDC for Best Social Networking App, and our addictive game Frenzic which finally came to the iPhone in November. The mobile versions of Twitterrific and Frenzic both met with critical and popular success in 2008 and proved the viability of developing for the iPhone platform. Stay tuned in 2009 for cool updates to both the desktop and mobile versions of Twitterrific, we think you’ll like what you tweet :-)

While Craig was slaving away over Twitterrific, Anthony was hard at work crafting not one, but four new icon sets to help celebrate the return of Indiana Jones to theaters around the world. The Iconfactory worked hand-in-hand with Lucasfilm to create a stunning iconic series dedicated to the legendary screen hero in our month (and a half) long tribute to Indiana Jones.

Elsewhere on the icon front, the workers put pen tool to canvas to create 25 new releases and 15 updated sets for Leopard in 2008. A grand total of over 850 freeware icons were created along with 16 fun desktops to almost double the number of pixels pushed in 2007. Collection highlights from the year included Arcade Daze System, Smoothicons 13, Refresh Folders, Patapon, iPhonica, and the year ending Somatic Rebirth System set. We also managed to add two new families for designers and developers to StockIcons.com. All in all, 2008 was a great year for icon lovers.

The year ended with a bang as we hired our first new icon artist since 2004, Louie Mantia. Formerly of Tapulous, Louie gained recognition in the Macintosh icon and GUI community and joined the Iconfactory team in November of 2008. He instantly set his skills to creating new Quickpix and icon releases including Frenzic System and the Nightmare Before Christmas. We’re excited to have Louie onboard and know that he’ll be creating some of your favorite freeware goodies in the years to come.

As we close up shop and power-down our computers to spend some much needed time with family and friends, we wish you the best and hope you have enjoyed our efforts in 2008. It bears repeating that we would not be where we are today without our loyal visitors. You give us the incentive to create, you support our efforts by registering our software, and you challenge us to innovate and stay ahead of the fray. For all of this and more, we thank you and invite you to visit us again in 2009. As always, we have new goodies in the pipe plus a few surprises up our sleeves that you won’t want to miss. We’ll be back to our regular schedule after Macworld, but in the meantime Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and see you in 2009!

Search our Archives for older news
Helios

News Links ArchiveBrowse old links or submit a new one.

Iconfactory.com RSSIconfactory RSS Feed