Mac360 | My Cheap Mac

How do you manage notes on your Mac? Word? Pages? TextEdit? What Mac utility do you use to keep little snippets of valuable information? Do you store them nice and neat and Monk-like in your Documents folder? Do you have a standalone note utility? Or, do you suffer through a screen full of Stickies, those digital Post-it Notes that Apple gives us for free on our Macs? I like free. Full Story »

Windows PC users have flocked to the Mac by the millions in recent years. One question they ask is, “What software do you recommend for the Mac?” Last week I gave you my list of The Top 12 Tools Your New Mac Must Have Now. The only caveat to that excellent list is that all the software came with a price tag. This week it's time for free. The Top 20 FREE Tools Every Mac User (experienced or recent switcher from Windows) Must Have. Full Story »

What's the latest trend for Mac and PC users? Data synchronization between devices. In my never ending quest as the resident Mac360 Value Vixen™, I'm sworn to uphold the search for Frugal Apps which do more, cost less. My latest find is a note taking, snippet keeping, idea bucket, a document grabber, and web clipper tool that goes about anywhere you go, and runs on about any device you'll use. Even better, if you don't mind an advertisement or two, it's free. Full Story »

If there's one thing that strikes fear into my Mac heart, it's a hard disk drive that's about ready to go bad. Why the fear? Because my Mac has almost 500 gigabytes of files-- movies, music, TV shows, photos, documents, files, PDFs, utilities, applications, games. A bad hard drive is a sweaty headache. Is there a way to know when your Mac's hard disk drive is about to kick the bucket, buy the farm, cross the river Styx, go belly up, dance the last dance, go into the fertilizer business? Yes. And no. It's that easy. Full Story »

I have a dream that's been bouncing around in my heart and head for about 20 years (since high school). I want to write a play. Or, a TV show. Or, a movie. Alright, with three kids, a husband, a house payment, and a few bills, it's really more of a pipe dream. For now, I'm collecting the tools I need to master to move my dream from the pipe to reality. Creating any kind of complex media production requires tools. It helps if they're good. It helps more if they're free. Full Story »

I work as a Mac and PC system administrator for a school near Chicago, IL. We have hundreds of Macs and PCs and many hundreds of students. Parents and teachers are always looking for Mac tools to help students improve their study habits and grades. Just in time for the 21st century is Cram. Not cramming. That's old school. Cram is a Mac app and an iPhone app which creates flash cards and multiple choice tests-- perfect for rigorous study to excel on the toughest of tests. Full Story »

As the resident Mac360 Value Vixen™ it is my sworn duty to seek out and retrieve the best Mac software for the value minded Mac user. Under normal conditions I won't dip my mouse into beta software, but the combination of usefulness and free is hard to beat. Besides, TunesArt is almost at version .9, so it's close, right? What TunesArt does so well is what iTunes doesn't do so well, which makes it a good companion to your favorite Mac music player. Full Story »

So ends yet another year and a decade, all in one day. Ah, the memories. That's why we have computers, right? To improve our memories by storing valuable pieces of information; from photos to movies to music to financial information, our Macs keep it all in memory. What about when you need to totally delete and destroy very important, sensitive, valuable information that you don't want anyone else to get? It's easy. Empty trash, right? Wrong. Full Story »

Early this week I was messing around with preferences in Safari on my Mac and took a look at the list of cookies. My gawd!! What a list. What a mess. What are all those things? There were hundreds and hundreds of cookies stored in Safari. A cookie in your browser is not necessarily a bad thing, often a good thing, but too many suggests a need to check out what's there and provide some kind of OCD response, or a little management and control. Full Story »

The grueling quest for ever more efficient Mac applications is a thankless job where the journey is often the reward. Today's venture into the freedom of free Mac applications includes a brief stop at Think. You want your Mac apps to do more for you, right? How about one that does more by doing less? That's Think, the tool that helps you to focus on what's important at the moment, and hides the distractions from grabbing your attention. Full Story »

As a basic software buying rule, I like free. Sure, I'm not averse to paying money for good Mac apps and utilities, but I'm on a budget, so I look for bargains. Today's bargain is limited in a couple of ways. It's free until the end of January 2010. And it's a lite version of a popular Mac utility. MacPilot Lite comes with 150 of the features of MacPilot but at a much lower price tag. Free. For awhile. If you enjoy tinkering with your Mac's finer hidden features, MacPilot Lite is worth a look. Full Story »

In keeping with my reputation as the resident Mac360 Value Vixen™, I promise to provide readers with more Mac software bargains. Here's a good one. Most Macs come with a built-in iSight camera (except Mac mini and Mac Pro). iSight is good for iChat or Skype, quick photos and videos to email or upload, or goofing around with Photo Booth. Here's how to make your Mac become a spy camera. For free. Full Story »