The team over at Pixelmator has announced the release of their much-awaited 1.3 version, which they've titled Tempo. TUAW did a preview of this version a while ago -- it features lots of back-end updates, making the app itself much, much faster, especially when handling large images. And it brings to the table a few things Pixelmator has promised since the app first came out, including the Magic Eraser functionality, and a few magic touches elsewhere (you can use almost any of the tools in the "magic" way, by clicking and then dragging until the program automatically fills in your selection).

There are also updates to the Hue and Saturation, Colorize, and Replace Color tools, and there's an auto-hide feature (that can be turned off) that clears out some of the clutter when you're working with important tools. As a Pixelmator user, I really like the update -- I'm not sure if it's quite enough to pull you into the app if you aren't already using it (and as we've said before, this is not an app for power Photoshop users), but if you're looking for a relatively light, very stylistic photo editor, it's definitely worth a trial again. You can pick one up over on their site.

Gallery: Pixelmator 1.3 "Tempo" beta preview

When I started freelancing last November, I knew I needed to get my act together about billing. I have a love/hate relationship with billing: I love getting paid, but I hate doing billing.

Thankfully, there are many, many apps that help you do this. If you're just starting out, you might be a little overwhelmed at just how many ways there are to track your time. This little post here isn't meant to be a comprehensive list, but instead a place for freelancers to start looking for a small-scale billing solution that works best for them.

Follow me for a look at a handful of apps and services that will help you keep your time tracking and invoicing in line:

• Billable
• Fanurio
• On The Job
• WorkTimer
• Tempo
• LiveTimer
• Freshbooks