With decent audio quality, nice features, and smooth operation, FourTrack stands out among App Store music programs. It could benefit, however, from adding a metronome, audio effects, and an overdub option for layering tracks.

After Effects may be mature, but it’s hardly showing its age. Thanks to smart, relevant new features and upgrades, After Effects remains the gold standard for Mac motion graphics and compositing.

You can create similar results in Photoshop, but we felt a closer, organic connection with the Composer. The lens inspired us in ways we wouldn’t likely experience by manipulating photos after the fact, sometimes producing stunning results.

The fact that the amp is powered by two 9-volt batteries (an AC version is also available) means you can take it from the drawing room to the boudoir without having to mess with power cords. Exquisite.

Rarely do we run across an all-in-one printer as capable, affordable, and easy to use as the Epson WorkForce 600. On top of that, the device—which prints, scans, copies, and faxes—is attractive enough to share desk space with a MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac Pro, without sticking out like a soccer mom at a death-metal concert.

Ready to do some mental calisthenics? Professor Fizzwizzle is back in the Amazing Brain Train, the latest in Grubby Games’ family-friendly series. You fuel his train with your brain energy, by playing minigames in five categories: spatial, memory, planning, numbers, and search.

Sid Meier’s Pirates be rich in gaming bounty for ye to plunder, from strategy to role-playing to combat to adventure. Don’t miss out.

Analog Factory Experience is a standalone app or Audio Units plug-in—with a “best hits” collection of over 3,500 sounds from the Arturia analog synthesizer library—plus a USB hardware controller specifically designed to be used with the Analog Factory software.

The iPod touch fits between a stripped-down iPhone and souped-up iPod. Music and movies are just the beginning. A media player at its core, the iPod touch extends the Mac experience into your palm.

The K20D is a hardcore, pro-style camera, but it’s not intimidating. Set its dials opposite the green marks, and you’re on autopilot. As you become more proficient, you can take over the camera’s controls and soar to new creative heights.