The Week in Mac Apps: iHomework 2 will ease your back-to-school blues

This week’s roundup of new Mac apps brings us iHomework 2, a classwork organizational tool that wants you (or your kids) to have the best school year ever. Plus, a new typing tool, photo editors, and more. Read on!

With BorderLeap’s $15 Alpha Omega ( Mac App Store Link), you get to solve unique crossword puzzles that are laid out in a game board arranged according to the Greek alphabet.

With only the first and last letter of each word available as a clue, the game offers you hours of entertainment, with more than 1,000 levels to play and a relaxing soundtrack to help you concentrate on your challenges.

Many Tricks’s $5 Desktop Curtain ( Mac App Store Link) hides background applications behind a virtual drape, leaving only the foremost app visible.

Desktop Curtain comes with a default theme that can be replaced with your favorite photo, and features an “invisible mode” that lets you take isolated screenshots of an app. It’s also easily accessible via a keyboard shortcut. 

The school year is approaching, and Element 84’s iHomework 2 helps you get your day organized with handy reminders of homework and assignments.

You can enter information on all your teachers, courses, and assignment due dates, and tag every entry for quick reference. iHomework 2 syncs with a web version, so you can access your school year info from any browser or any device.

BrainFeverMedia’s $30 LensFlare Studio ( Mac App Store Link) gives you more than 100 tools to add a variety of special effects to your photos. 

The app supports most common graphics file formats, can work with resolutions of up to 8,000 pixels per side, and lets you tweak your images with dynamic effects like flares, glows, bokeh, streaks, and more.

Stage 2 Studios’s $20 Lifeless Planet Premier Edition ( Mac App Store Link) takes you for an adventure on a deserted planet where mysterious ruins are waiting to be explored—and dark lifeforms lay waiting for unsuspecting victims.

The game offers gorgeous landscapes, challenging puzzles, and an intriguing storyline enriched by cinematic cut scenes for hours of fun and exciting play.

Glam Software’s $20 Outlinely ( Mac App Store Link) is a handy text editor designed to make note taking easy and convenient.

The app lets you use common formatting tools to give your notes the look you want, and supports lists, URLs, and highlights. Outlinely also provides a real-time word count, and includes a set of customizable themes for a comfortable working environment.

Scimonoce Software’s $40 SEE Finance ( Mac App Store Link) gives you everything you need to organize all your finances.

The app lets you add all your bank, credit, and investment accounts, and then keeps track of all of your transactions across these accounts. The app can also generate reports on your assets and liabilities, set up a budget for your expenses, and monitor your progress for long-term financial planning.

Marek Ledvina’s $10 Typing Fingers teaches you how to properly use your keyboard, and is geared for all ages. The app offers a progressive educational approach that works by focusing on specific typing patterns, and offers a wide range of lessons and exercises that give you the repetition you need to learn touch typing. With more than 30 levels of varying difficulty, Typing Fingers helps you systematically develop your skills—and even gives you a virtual diploma of completion when you’re done.