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TUAW's Daily Mac App: Rear View Mirror

Rear View Mirror

The Mac App Store is full of useful apps, but it's also full of pretty silly little ones. Today's Daily Mac App is a mix of both.

Rear View Mirror, is an app that helps you see what's happening behind you using your iSight or FaceTime HD camera. It essentially gives you a rearview mirror analogous to what you have in a car, displaying a video feed from your camera in a re-sizable simulation of said mirror.

The app will display images from the top left, top right, the entire top, or the full feed from your camera. The idea is that you place it at the top of your screen somewhere out of the way, allowing you to see anyone sneaking up on you from behind.

If you've ever worked in a coffee shop, library or any other public place where people come and go behind you, you've been worried about people sneaking up on you from behind or if you're just plain nosy, then this fun little US$0.99 Mac App Store app is for you.



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Software Mac

The Mac App Store is full of useful apps, but it's also full of pretty silly little ones. Today's Daily Mac App is a mix of...
 

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Brooke

It needs an option for it to sit on top all the time. Whenever I switch to another application, RVM gets sent to the background. Not awesome.

May 09 2011 at 5:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
designr

Useful in a cubicle with your back to the 'door' to replace the rear view mirror glued to the top of the monitor.

Can you say, "Boss looking over your shoulder?"

May 06 2011 at 4:07 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jake Harmelink

I get an error saying it is not available in the US store...

May 06 2011 at 3:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Jake Harmelink's comment
Samuel Gibbs

I think it's your end. I can pull it down from the US MAS no problem.

May 07 2011 at 5:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rafe H.

No dice?

May 06 2011 at 3:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Rafe H.'s comment
Samuel Gibbs

Unfortunately not. Perhaps they'll be an in-app upgrade ;)

May 07 2011 at 5:05 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
glebec

I actually would have really liked this years ago if it was just a purist video box with no UI chrome. When I lived in my parents’ house, I used headphones and had my back to a door. I can’t count the number of times people startled me by coming up behind me and touching my shoulder or making a noise.

Nowadays I don’t really have much of a use for it, but still, not a bad idea.

May 06 2011 at 3:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joe Lamb

I agree it would be better without the window frame.

The coffee shop use case actually explains how someone could think up something that at first glance seems as silly as this. Sure, you could count on one hand the number of people who will really grow to love this and use it in their everyday lives, but it was worth the effort of making just for the few pleasure of those few who will use it.

May 06 2011 at 3:22 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
gu3st

If only this ditched the window frame.

May 06 2011 at 3:08 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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