Software

Perfect RSS Reader—a Google Reader client for iPad from Connect Technology—doesn’t quite live up to its name: It’s not perfect. But it is quite good.

iTunes is a good way to manage your iOS mobile devices, but it's not without its limitations. Chief among those limits is how iTunes operates in its own closed environment, behind closed doors. Enter Macroplant's iExplorer 3 ($35, free feature-limited demo). This software works both with and instead of iTunes, offering you more freedom in how you manage the contents of your iPhone, iPod, or iPad from your PC.

Lenovo's new ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabook is fast, stylish and lightweight, although the price is slightly higher than some of its rivals.

Between a man-sized mouse, two foul-tempered ducks, and a cross-dressing rabbit, animated comedies have long aimed to strike a balance between innocence and irreverence. At its best, The Act, a self-described “interactive comedy,” straddles that line expertly. In the span of a few short scenes, your hapless hero goes from dealing with a puking infant to sabotaging a brain transplant—a story communicated entirely through beautifully animated physical comedy and wacky music. It’s not exactly a good sign, however, that at its best, the iPhone and iPad offering from Chillingo is merely showing you these things. Playing through a game on your iOS device is another matter.

With Office 2013, Microsoft sets the bar high. The reworked suite of applications runs on a range of devices, including new Windows tablets; it has a new look, which is fast and fluid, yet has familiar commands; it responds to touch and stylus, as well as keyboard and mouse; and everything's cloud-connected.

If you want to move a file from folder A to folder B, or delete a few files here and there, then Windows Explorer has your basic needs covered. But if you want to do a little bit more with your files--share them on your favorite social networks, work with archived files, or secure your files--you need a file manager with a little more oomph. You need a file manager like ExeOne's System Navigator ($35, thirty-day free trial).

With the final version of Windows 8 now complete, how does Microsoft's great hope for reinventing itself for the post-PC world compare to Apple's new flagship? The short answer: not well. But lest you think that it's a simple case of sainted perfection versus preordained disaster -- the peanut gallery's running themes for Apple and Microsoft, respectively -- think again. OS X Mountain Lion has some unwelcome flaws, whereas Windows 8 has some virtuous aspects.

The two faces of Windows 8 -- the Desktop and the interface formerly known as Metro -- still coexist uneasily in the final RTM version of the OS. But some of Windows 8's native apps are great.

Users of Symantec's Norton line of security products have long had access to its password management tools. But you no longer need to be a paying Norton user to get access to Norton Identity Safe, a standalone product that makes password management a (relatively) easy task.

This package remains a solid choice of accounting software for small-business owners unfamiliar with accounting.

AccountEdge Pro keeps things simple. You can get a single-user edition of AccountEdge Pro for $299, and each additional user for an existing installation costs $149. The upgrade price for existing customers is $159.

Editor’s note: The following review is part of Macworld’s GemFest 2012 series. Every weekday from mid June through mid August, the Macworld staff will use the Mac Gems blog to briefly cover a favorite free or low-cost program. Visit the Mac Gems homepage for a list of past Mac Gems.