PhotoFast’s i-FlashDrive HD promises to deliver file storage and transfer between Macs, PCs, and iDevices, acting as something of a storage Swiss Army Knife. With support for file sharing via USB, 30-pin Dock, and Lightning devices, the iFlashDriveHD lives up to its promise, assuming your iDevice apps are capable of overcoming their anti-filesystem roots.

Everyone can play angry birds for hours but maybe not write a decent paper and print it out afterwards. I once read an article about this very topic which seemed rather like a list of popular recommended apps. Here, I am instead going to try to present iPad apps for education I like to use together. Each of them is doing a great job, and they sure helped me ever since I installed them.

Although battery pack cases for the iPhone have slimmed down over the years, a certain amount of bulk is unavoidable; they’ve got to have that battery, after all. The engineers of iKit have come up with a pretty slick solution to this with their NuCharge iPhone 5 Battery Pack and Case, for which they’re currently completing funding on Kickstarter.

Apple released OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 on Thursday. I downloaded and installed the update last evening via Software Update, and that went reasonably smoothly except that my first attempt at a (mandatory) restart after the App Store app’s prompt still yielded OS 10.8.2.

Cloud is all the rage right now, but the ability to exert precise control over privacy and security settings can be difficult when your’e using someone else’s hardware. Connected Data’s Transporter takes a hard drive you own and makes it available over the Internet in a secure manner, letting you retain control of your data and giving you additional privacy when sharing.

Trident cases for iPhone range from light and stylish protection to hardcore device trauma prevention. Each series features interchangeable parts that let you create custom color combinations and tailor the level of protection to suit your needs. Some cases also feature an integrated accessory mount, which is accompanied by several options including bike, windshield, and tripod mounts.

Returning to Macworld 2013, iBallz had a small item on display for this year’s show. The iBallz Minis offer the same fun looking protection as their larger iBallz brothers but in a pint sized package perfect for your iPad mini. And for a limited time, AppleTell readers can save 20% off their order with an exclusive discount.

Appletell first encountered the ByteSquared team and their Office2 HD app at Macworld 2012, and came away impressed by this upstart app that delivered a solid Microsoft Office replacement for the iPad. Since January 2012, the ByteSquared team has been busy; midway through last year, a major update shipped with new features including Track Changes and document comments, and at Macworld 2013 the team had even more updates to show off.

Starting a new search engine in the 2010s sounds as absurd as coming out with a new word processor in the 1990s. But DuckDuckGo, which searches using primarily crowdsourced information, is a refreshing throwback to the days before Google got into the business of mining your online habits for internet gold. The results are fast and relevant, and your data is not tracked.

Crestron had a big presence at this year’s Macworld, showing off their Mobile Pro app. Rather than shuffle through a handful of remote control apps for different home systems such as TV, lighting, or security, Crestron’s app provides a single unified remote control app that lets you effortlessly control everything in your home.