In this section of articles, the history and evolution of computer software is discussed. The different usages of various computer programs are also explained, and some articles break down the way programs operate at the most basic level.
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The following contains computer electronics information you should know about ten Mac 911 resolutions you should make. Read on if you or a loved one is interested in staying computer software and electronics savvy.
In this week's Mobile Mac, Dan Frakes takes a look at a few bags for 13-inch Mac laptops.
Need to get real work done on your iPhone? Bill Wiecking suggests nine iPhones apps to enhance your productivity on the road.
You've recorded a narration track for your Keynote presentation and exported it to QuickTime yet no audio. Here's a fix.
The Ergotron Neo-Flex Combo Lift places your MacBook right next to your display when you're working at a desk.
Learn a few methods of creating a view of all your iTunes content-whether it be music, TV, movies, podcasts, or audiobooks.
Using iTunes' Comments field, you can expand Apple's rating system or customize the app in other ways.
iMovie '09 includes travel maps that let you specify starting and ending locations. However, its list of locations is limited. Learn how to add your own places with a bit of text file editing.
Learn a couple different ways of putting the trash can in the Finder's Sidebar.
Apple's MobileMe service is a fine way to sync your calendars and contacts, to publish Web sites, and to share photos-as long as you don't mind the $99 annual fee. If you'd rather not pay the fee, you do have other options. Joe Kissell explains what they are.
AppleJack is a nifty utility that lets you access a number of troubleshooting tools at startup, even if you don't have an OS X disc.
If you access your programs by putting your Applications folder in the Dock, AppMenuBoy offers a cleaner alternative.
Use AppleScript and Butler (or any other program that can assign hot keys to AppleScripts) to make it possible to assign Finder labels using just the keyboard.
Looking for an easy way to convert audio files? The folks who brought us the excellent VisualHub have applied their considerable conversion talents to the field of audio with AudialHub.
Learn a simple trick to avoid a visual lag/delay issue when drag-selecting large (128-by-128) icons in Finder windows.
Baseline makes it easy to see not only what's taking up space on your hard drive, but also what's changed.
Apple's iLife '09 video tutorials can be downloaded and saved locally. Their default filenames, though, leave much room for improvement. This hint explains how to use a simple Automator workflow to clean up the filenames.
Bean is a slick rich-text editor that's a step up from TextEdit.
If you're a frequent online seller, Bling It is a useful cut-out program that helps you prepare your product shots.
Quiet, efficient, and only marginally hotter than your standard laptop hard drive, the Scorpio Black is an attractive drive for any high-performance seeking user.
One of the most difficult aspects of graphic design is color management. But the ColorMunki tools from Pantone help ensure accurate color from design to output. James Dempsey takes ColorMunki design out for a test spin.
If you spend lots of time organize large numbers of files, Big Mean Folder Machine can make your computing life easier.
Black Ink has some quirks-it doesn't remember custom interface sizes between puzzles or relaunches, and there's no way to enter an unlock code for New York Times puzzles.
Two programs stand out from the crowd when it comes to iPhone games inspired by the classic word-dice game Boggle.
Booq's Mamba Pack offers lots of capacity and extra padding.
Bracketeer takes advantage of the command-line utility Enfuse which, like Photoshop's Merge to HDR command, merges bracketed exposures into a single image that's much closer to what your eye sees.
Looking for good laptop protection on the cheap? Brenthaven's Trek Sleeve, an updated version of last year's MacBook Sleeve, offers similarly impressive bang-for-the-buck.
The following contains computer electronics information you should know about BudFits. Read this review if you or a loved one is planning to purchase BudFits for the Apple computer.
Ted Landau looks at four bug reports from Apple's Knowledge Base that cover known issues surrounding the newly released iLife '09 suite.
Ted Landau looks at a reported bug with the iPhone 2.2 software update in which some images received e-mail attachments appear blurry or fuzzy.
Ted Landau wonders if he can convert TiVo files into an iPhone format. He can, but not without a good deal of time and hassle.
Ted Landau uses Prosoft's Data Backup to protect himself from data loss. But lately, he's run into a problem with running the backup program on his MacBook Pro that has both him and the developer stumped.
If you sync Entourage calendar appointments with your iPhone or MobileMe account, you might notice duplicate entries popping up. Ted Landau has a procedure for eradicating unwanted copies with a minimum of fuss.
Apple's advice on fixing some crashes and freezes related to the Mac OS X 10.5.6 update all involve deleting files. Since many of these files are little-known, Ted Landau takes a closer look.
The just-released Page '09 lets you create equations using MathType. However, there's a formatting bug in which variables entered in an equation display in regular text, rather than the expected italics. Fortunately, Ted Landau says, there's a solution.
Ted Landau had trouble getting Neatworks scanning software to work with his Fujitsu ScanSnap S510M. Fortunately, there's a fix.
If you're plagued by repeating messages in Console, Ted Landau has some tips for dealing with the problem.
Ted Landau looks at two iPhone-related bugs-a connection error in which the iPhone fails to show up in the iTunes Devices list and a crash that can occur when you attempt to play an audiobook.
Having trouble using Office 2008 (and especially Word 2008) with OS X 10.5's Spaces feature? It's not you-it's a known bug.
Have you noticed a lot of Safari crashes since updating to either version 3.2 or 3.2.1 of the Web browser? The likely culprit is an Input Manager, Ted Landau explains.
A strip of Ted Landau's iPhone became unresponsive to finger touches. Does that mean a costly repair? Also, Ted revisits the issues Microsoft Office has with Leopard's Space feature, with an explanation from Microsoft's Mac Business Unit.
When testing a new way to share files via your MobileMe disk, Ted Landau discovers a bug that prevents some files downloaded from Apple's online service from opening properly.
Ted Landau wanted to clear some contacts from his MobileMe account. After trying several dead-ends, he ultimately tripped over what is almost certainly a bug in Apple's MobileMe software. And he came up with a work-around, too.
Need to change the same information for a lot of Address Book contacts. TextEdit is your friend.
Heather Kelly interviews veteran designer Walter Gray Lamb to get the best tips for designing business cards
Now that Google has added iCal-syncing support to Google Calendar, Calaboration makes adding Google calenders to iCal simple.
Learn a simple way to change iPhoto '09's center-based box resizing when adding new faces to a photo.
Learn how to replace the Apple logo watermark with one of your own design.
You have movies shot years ago that you've recently digitized. How do you make iMovie sort them by the date they were originally shot rather than when you imported them to your Mac? Like so.
Gameloft doesn't just give you chess but also backgammon in this game for the iPhone and iPod touch. The game makes up for interface problems and unimpressive graphics by offering you many different options.
If a grab-and-go tote is what you're looking for and the style is to your liking, the Metro Express is a quality choice.
Here's a simple way to clear all open Growl notification windows in one action.
Learn a simple way to collapse (or expand) all collections in the Photos portion of iPhoto's Library.
The following contains computer software information you should know about comply tips. Read this review if you or a loved one needs comply tips for their Apple computer.
You have an old GarageBand project that includes software instrument guitar tracks that you'd like to use with GarageBand '09's Electric Guitar tracks. Here's how to convert them.
The following contains computer software information you should know about copy and pasting on iPhones. If you are or a loved one is interested in staying computer software savvy, read the following.
Kirk McElhearn describes how to copy tag information from tracks and apply it to others with a handy application.
Looking for a holiday gift with a personal touch? Jeff Carlson shows you how to make a custom DVD to send to family and friends.
Learn how to create readable links to nearly anything in the iTunes Store.
There are many ways to get titles and watermarks into your slideshows, regrettably, iPhoto provides few of them.
Learn how to create visually unique iChat status messages
Bothered that there's no Merge All Windows keyboard command in Safari? Here's how to easily add one.
While the novelty of this racing game can wear off quickly, Cro-Mag Rally is a fine game for the iPhone and iPod touch that really demonstrates what this early generation of action games can do on the platform.
If, like this reader, you miss some of Word's old toolbar icons, here are the steps for putting them in their place.
This iPhone adaptation of the classic bar game has slick 3-D graphics but gets dull quickly.
Learn how to disable OS X 10.5Æs Mail data detectors-that feature that highlights addresses, dates, and times, and lets you add relevant info to Address Book or iCal.
Learn how to prevent icons from bouncing in the Dock to get your attention
Learn a simple way to enable and disable various web site features-such as images, JavaScript, and styles-via the keyboard in Safari.
DiskAid lets you use your iPhone or iPod touch for data storage.
Despite constant claims that the Mac is immune to computer cooties, some folks remain unconvinced. Do or do you not need antivirus/security software? Here's my take.
There are plenty of painting and drawing programs for Mac kids, but plasq's Doozla is one of the best.
You want to back up your precious DVD collection but don't know how. Here are some answers.
Our resident etiquette expert, Mac Manners, shows you how not to offend when you press Send.
Discover a very simple way to copy passwords out of Keychain Access.
Not sure which specific Mac model you own? Here's a tool that can help.
So what if you want to post an iWeb web site but don't want to pay $100 for MobileMe? This free utility does what its name says: it makes it easy to upload your iWeb site to any server.
Do you frequently access FTP or SFTP servers? ExpanDrive integrates FTP/SFTP access into the Finder.
Learn a simple way to export text from all of your Stickies at one time.
FinderPop, the venerable Mac OS enhancer, is now compatible with Leopard-and it's better than ever.
Derrick Story recommends his favorite Adobe Creative Suite tools for organizing, refining, and enjoying your photos.
Get a brand new iPhone for Christmas? Here are a handful of our top tips to help you make the most of it.
Ever wished you could keep a certain web site open all the time? Or wished a given page didn't crash your entire (23 open tabs) browser app? With Fluid, you can have such things.
FlySketch is a simple drawing tool that doubles as a screen capture utility.
Last month, Extensis updated its single-user font management tool, and James Dempsey takes a closer look at how to use Suitcase Fusion to take the headaches out of font management.
Learn how to make the Dock always hide open programs when you use it to switch to another program.
If you've recently updated to iLife '09 or iWork '09, you may find that your help files are out of date. Here's a simple fix.
FunctionFlip lets you decide which F-keys behave like F-keys and which control special system functions
Funtastic Photos is a low-cost but feature-rich program for editing and enhancing your images. And as its name implies, it's fun, too.
This casual game offers frantic, frenetic fun, but if you've played Diner Dash-or any of its imitators-there's nothing new in Cake Mania to grab your attention.
With Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Electronic Arts against sets the standard for real-time strategy games. The game has some hefty video card requirements, but it's a solid addition to the Command & Conquer franchise.
The GX400 combines noise isolating earbuds and an inline mic to create a great lightweight gaming headset.
Want to stream media files from your Mac to your TV, but you don't have an Apple TV? If you've got a PlayStation 3 game console, Nullriver Software's Media Link offers one-click simplicity for sharing audio, video, and photos.
Freeverse's latest game is a colorful shoot-'em-up chock full of action.
A cross between Pachinko and Bust-A-Move, Peggle Deluxe is one of the most addicting casual games on the Mac.
Puzzle Quest is a unique mélange of RPG and match-three puzzle games that offers enduring and challenging gameplay. It's just a shame that a demo isn't available and that PowerPC Macs can't run the game.
This gaming keyboard puts the most important keys at your fingertips to increase your performance.
Jeff Carlson shows you how to combine multiple flawed shots into one winner with Photoshop Elements 6
Whether you're looking for work or being a social butterfly, online printing services can help you create cards that stand out in the crowd.
Jason Snell explores the rarely explored depths of Twitterrific for Mac, including secret preferences and AppleScript support.
Many of us use spreadsheets or even text editors to maintain our lists. But a real database program like Bento can be a better list-keeping tool. Jeffery Battersby explains why, and how to get started with Bento.