Mac360 | Mac Reviews

My husband and I just returned from Las Vegas and a visit to our respective in-laws. His parents are now Mac users, too. Once we set them up on a MacBook with the basics-- Mail, Safari, iPhoto, iTunes, and iWork, you'd think they'd want instructions on each. Nope. The first thing they asked for was how to use the Mac's screensaver. No offense is intended, Apple, but the basic Mac screensaver is rather boring. Full Story »

I've been in business for most of my 20 or so years after college. Inside my corporate demeanor is a budding artist, protected from the critical eyes of the public, but yearning to grow and explore expressions of the heart. I have an artistic flair, a good eye for composition, but could never devote the time needed to really become an artist. Worse, all the drawing and painting apps for the Mac were just too hard to use. Until now. Full Story »

As a self employed woman, my time is my own-- but I get paid based on how much time I work. The two basic elements of such a self-employed arrangement are time tracking and invoices. There are some very good time tracking and invoicing apps for the Mac, but ProfitTrain may be one of the best ever. It's an elegant blend of all the features that make a painful set of tedious chores not only painless, but pleasurable. Full Story »

For what seems like a year, my husband and I have been up nights tending to children with flu, colds, and tummy aches. It's really the only way that toddlers can get back at parents for the making children go through the birthing process. Being up at night also means not sleeping, which means sitting in front of the glare of this Mac or that Mac and having eyes tortured by modern technology. Night vision to the rescue. Full Story »

Many of the world's millions of web sites run on a database called MySQL. Mac users rejoice. MySQL is powerful and free and runs on your Mac. All it takes to create and use this database gem is your Mac, MySQL database, and a few choice tools to make the process enjoyable. Of course, free does not mean easy. Relational databases in the 21st century are complex beasts. Tame the database beast with these tools. Full Story »

I have a nasty email habit. I bounce spam. If you use Apple's Mail on your Mac, bouncing spam is easy and fun. I set up a couple of filters in preferences to redirect spam to a specific Mail folder, then bounce it back to the spammer. Does it help? Probably not. But not every spam email I bounce bounces back to me. And I feel better. What if you have legitimate email you send and it bounces back to you? Full Story »

There seem to be two schools of thought on Apple's iPad. It's either, “I want one because it'll change the world.” Or, “the iPad will be a big flop and Apple is doomed.” There is one school which hasn't weighed in on the iPad divide-- actual iPad customers. Time will tell what customers actually think about the iPad, but one thing is sure-- Apple's string of successes is about to come to an end. And, the company is doomed. Full Story »

I inherited the crossword puzzle gene from my parents. In the evening after the day had worn down, they would sit together and methodically wade through a crossword puzzle. Naturally, they got me involved and one of my passions is figuring out tough crossword puzzles-- on my Mac. I have no doubt that such puzzles help to keep your mind sharp and alert. And frustrated. My Mac to the rescue. Full Story »

If you're like most Mac users, Safari is your browser of choice. Why? Safari is fast, stable, and, unlike Firefox, it's clean and uncluttered. But Firefox users get all those wonderful add ons. Safari users rejoice. I found one Safari add on that may be all you need to spruce up your favorite browser. This utility adds a couple of dozen handy functions and features and it's today's Friday Freebie. Full Story »

How many ways do you use your Mac? If you're like me or like many Mac users, there are dozens of practical ways we use our Macs. Do a quick and mental inventory of your Mac's apps. Could many or most of those uses we take for granted be supplanted by apps on an iPad? It's already that way with my iPhone. My MacBook gathers dust. Are there legitimate reasons why your next Mac (or, the one after that) could be an iPad instead? Full Story »

For all the time and trouble and expense we go through to find really cool and easy to use file finders and app launchers, sometimes the best is just built in. So it is with the Mac's Dock. No, not the Application part of the Dock. Love it or hate it, the Dock is easy to use. The Dock is also easy to customize, and with a couple of simple steps, can be a one click app launcher and file finder without having to clear away windows to find the Finder. Full Story »

Leopard or Snow Leopard, hidden inside your Mac is an email beast, ready to be unleashed on the world. No, it's not OS X's Mail app, capable it may be. Your Mac can be a powerful email server, totally buzzword compliant-- SMTP, POP3, SSL, SMTP authentication, even IMAP. Total cost? A few years of experience being an email geek, or $15, MailServe, and a willingness to point and click. Full Story »