Macworld articles from May 2006

Macworld archives from May 2006

Front and center.(Editorial)
May 1, 2006... I never expected to see the day when a remote control would be standard equipment with all new Macs. But after debuting with last year's G5 iMac, that little white remote, along with Apple's Front Row software, has been a feature of all the new...

That's entertainment.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Senior Editor Christopher Breen is one of our go-to people on digital music. That's why he was all over our February issue: In that month's Mac Beat, he opined on Madonna's latest iTunes offerings. And in "The Multimedia Mac," he explained what...

I want my Mac TV.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... STEPHANIE MURDOCK # Your article about using a Mac as a home entertainment center couldn't have been more timely ("The Multimedia Mac," February 2006). I just moved into a small studio apartment in Los Angeles and am using my G5 iMac for...

Can't stop the music.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... ALAN OLSON # In response to Christopher Breen's article about Madonna's new gapless album on iTunes ("Uninterrupted Music," Mac Beat, February 2006): I wouldn't want to download album-length songs if I could avoid it. I keep my iPod...

Not enough RAM.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... THOMAS TEAGUE * Why are you testing a Power Mac G5 Quad with only 512MB of RAM (VERY GOOD; Reviews, February 2006)? You should test it again with 8GB of RAM, so we could see what it can really do! The default amount of RAM that ships...

Tell the truth.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... BRUCE CAREY # Like many articles about copy-protection schemes, yours ("Your Rights Reserved?" Mac Beat, February 2006) missed an important point: If people would just be honest and respect the rights of the creators of the works in...

Custom calculating.(FEEDBACK)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... RUSS CARLSON # Your review of PCalc 3.0.2 (VERY GOOD 1/2; Mac Gems, February 2006) failed to mention one important feature of the program: The user can add custom calculations. This is something I haven't seen in any other calculator, and...

iPod infinitum.(FEEDBACK)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... DANIEL OELKE # I can't believe what I've been reading in recent issues of Macworld. People are saying that iPods have little or nothing to do with the Mac and that Macworld should stick to covering issues related to computer use. Are they...

Where's the news?
May 1, 2006... PETER G. PARK * How embarrassing it must have been for you that the February issue--on newsstands in late January--makes no mention of the new Intel-based iMac and MacBook Pro announced at Macworld Expo weeks earlier. It would have been a...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
May 1, 2006... In the March 2006 issue's iPod Gear, we misstated the capacities and prices of the iPod nano: the 4GB iPod nano costs $249 (not $199), the 2GB model costs $199, and there is no 6GB model. In "The Ultimate Mac Tune-Up" (March 2006), the URL...

Mac virus attack: how safe is OS X against malicious programming?(macbeat)
May 1, 2006... In February 2006, reports began circulating that someone had let loose a worm (or a Trojan horse, depending on who was doing the reporting) that targeted OS X users. It was hidden in a package that purportedly contained screenshots of the next...

What the experts say.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... "Since Mac OS is rising in popularity, it's a natural target. People need to be vigilant about protecting their systems, no matter the platform."--Jennifer Shearman, manager of public relations and corporate identity for Mitre Corporation,...

Apple's new speaker system: iPod Hi-Fi.(macbeat)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... At the press event where Steve Jobs introduced the Intel Mac mini (see "What You Need to Know: The Intel Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro," page 49), he also showed off Apple's first integrated iPod speaker system, the $349 iPod Hi-Fi (VERY GOOD;...

Intel-native aperture on the way.(Apple Computer Inc. releases updated version of Aperture 1.1 at Photography Marketing Association trade show)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... During February's Photography Marketing Association trade show in Orlando, Florida, Apple displayed an update to its professional photography-workflow application. Aperture 1.1 adds Intel support, as well as significant speed increases. Other...

Apple releases leather iPod cases.(Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... In addition to releasing its new iPod Hi-Fi speaker system, Apple also began selling leather cases for the iPod nano and fifth-generation iPods. The black Italian leather cases cost $99 each and have microfiber interiors designed to protect the...

iTunes Music Store sells one billion songs.(NEWS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Apple announced that the iTunes Music Store had crossed the billion-song threshold in less than three years of business. For purchasing the magic song as part of Coldplay's X & Y album, Alex Ostrovsky of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was rewarded...

Analysts say late Universal apps won't stall Intel shift: where are Adobe and Microsoft?(Apple Computer Inc.)
May 1, 2006... Apple has delivered faster than expected on its promise to switch to Intel processors. Since January's Macworld Expo, the company has released Intel versions of the iMac and the Mac mini, and introduced the MacBook Pro. But the other half of...

System lets universities distribute material to students: iTunes U.(Apple Computer Inc.)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Getting good notes from college lectures used to mean lugging a tape recorder to class or frantically scribbling down every word a professor said. Now Apple is offering a higher-tech alternative--iTunes. The iTunes U program...

Hardware beat.(Canon ImagePrograf iPF5000, Samsung SyncMaster 204B)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... FP73G and FP93G, from BenQ (www.benq.us): 17- and 19-inch LCDs feature both analog and digital interfaces, 6-millisecond response time, 1,280-by-1,024 native resolution, and a 700:1 contrast ratio (FP73G, $249; FP93G, $329). ImagePrograf...

Inventors of compressed music try to stop piracy: protecting MP3s.(macbeat)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store come in a protected format that restricts what purchasers can do with them. MP3 files, on the other hand, contain no such digital rights management (DRM)--so only the most progressive (and trusting)...

Imaging beat.
May 1, 2006... 207W Network Camera, from Axis Communications (www.axis.com): Wireless version of indoor surveillance camera features support for both MPEG-4 compression and Motion JPEG streaming ($299). Canon EOS 30D, from Canon USA (www.usa.canon.com):...

Adobe updates photo-editing application: Elements 4.0.(Adobe Systems Inc., Photoshop Elements 4.0)
May 1, 2006... Six months after releasing Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Windows, Adobe has come out with the newest version of its consumer-level photo-editing application for the Mac. While the $90 Elements packs a lot of features that make it easy enough for...

Multimedia beat.(Dragon FliX, Kona LSe, Aquafadas new video cataloging software iDive 1.6)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Dragon FliX, from NewTech Infosystems (www.ntius.com): Utility burns unencrypted DVDs from a Mac with a SuperDrive or an external burner ($40). iDive 1.6, from Aquafadas (www.idivepro.com): Updated version of digital-video cataloging...

Creative beat.(new products Cheetah3D 3.0, FontAgent Pro Server)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Cheetah3D 3.0, from Martin Wengenmayer (www.cheetah3d.com): 3-D-rendering, -animation, and -modeling software adds Intel-native support, a new UV editor, unwrapping tools, and the ability to paint textures right into models ($99; upgrade, $49)....

MacBook Pros: PowerBook's successor combines new technologies with familiar look.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... It's got a new name on the outside and a new processor on the inside, but Apple's latest laptop, the MacBook Pro, is in many ways indistinguishable from its 15-inch PowerBook G4 predecessor (VERY GOOD; macworld.com/1179). The MacBook Pro is a...

Intel-based Mac minis: new models sport significant upgrades, home-entertainment features, and higher prices.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... The first major update to the Mac mini since its release last year, the second-generation mini joins the new iMac and the MacBook Pro in Apple's lineup of systems powered by Intel chips. The new minis (the 1.5GHz Core Solo model and the 1.66GHz...

More reviews: for complete reviews of the products listed here, visit www.macworld.com/reviews.(Reviews)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Browseback 1.1 ($30), from SmileOnMyMac (www.smileonmymac.com): Aimed at anyone who uses the Web regularly, Browseback 1.1 gives users a visual way of browsing their Web-surfing history. This slickly designed program catalogs Web-site...

Home speakers ($100 or less).(JBL Consumer Group Creature II, Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0, Logitech Z-4i, RSL Digital Fidelity One)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Z-4i ($100), from Logitech (www.logitech.com): The Logitech Z-4i is an attractive, decent-sounding speaker system for people who don't want to spend a lot of money on computer speakers. And it has some handy extras--such as a wired...

iPODS.(iPod Gear)(Product/service evaluation)(Table)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Product Capacity Rating Price Display iPod 30GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $299 2.5-inch color iPod 60GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $399 2.5-inch color iPod nano 1GB VERY GOOD 1/2 $149 1.5-inch color...

1GB iPod nano.(NEW: iPOD)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 1GB iPod nano ($149), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com): If you don't need a lot of storage--or if you're in the market for a second, smaller iPod--the new 1GB nano is a great alternative to the shuffle, Plus, it has a stylish...

Musica.(NEW: HOME MUSIC PLAYER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Musica ($1,099), from Olive (www.olive.us): The Musica offers many of the features desirable in an all-in-one digital music component--wireless transmission, the ability to rip CDs and play tracks from its hard drive without a...

iPod Radio Remote.(NEW: FM TUNER AND REMOTE)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD iPod Radio Remote ($49), from Apple Computer (www.apple.com): There are other FM tuners available for the iPod, but Apple's iPod Radio Remote for the fifth-generation iPod and the nano is the first to integrate the tuner's controls...

First-person shooter: Quake 4.(First Look)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... The Quake game franchise has long suffered from an identity crisis--veering wildly from story-based challenges to arena-style destruction. With Quake 4, the first-person shooter shifts once again--this time back to where it left off in version...

Connect360.(Nullriver's webbrowser)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Do you have a Microsoft Xbox 360 at home? Now you can use it to play music or view digital photos stored on your Mac, thanks to Nullriver Software's Connect360 (www.nullriver.com). You can purchase the beta software for $10.

The movies.(Feral Interactive developing Mac version of The Movies)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Feral Interactive (www.feralinteractive.com) is working on a Mac version of The Movies, by Lionhead Studios. This simulation strategy game puts you in the role of a Hollywood producer; you can direct, cast, and write your own movies, or leave...

Feel the flow.(News Feed)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Pangea Software (www.pangeasoft.net) has announced the release of Enigmo 2, a 3-D-puzzle game in which you must direct the flow of water, plasma, laser beams, and more by activating switches, turning off force fields, moving mirrors, and so on....

Puzzle: TubeTwist.(Game Room)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2; GarageGames, www.garagegames.com; $20 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Professor Jaymour, the inventor of a new baseball-size form of energy called the Macroton, has gone missing. As her faithful laboratory assistant, you must...

Simulation: Creatures Village.(Game Room)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... GOOD; Kutoka Interactive, www.kutoka.com; $20 In Creatures Village, young players take care of virtual pets called Norns. These weird, big-eyed creatures hatch from eggs and operate independently, exploring their world and learning to...

Puzzle: QBeez 2.(Game Room)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD; Skunk Studios, www.skunkstudios.com; $20 QBeez 2 is the latest variation of a tried-and-true puzzle game in which you click on groups of like-colored blocks to make them disappear. The more blocks that are in each group, the...

Pac the Man X.(Top Downloads)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2; McSebi, www.mcsebi.com; free Pac the Man X is a glowing tribute to that classic of classics--Pac-Man. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pac the Man isn't a clone or an emulation of the original game. But it is cut from the...

Universal Gaming.(enhanced computer games)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Thanks to Apple's new Intel-based iMacs, the future is certainly looking bright for Mac gamers. The new machines seriously enhance game performance (frame rates have doubled in some Universal games, compared with previous versions on PowerPC...

Mapping tool: Google Earth.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... The release of the free Google Earth (VERY GOOD; earth.google.com)--a 3-D-mapping tool--probably generated more buzz than any other non-Apple product during January's Macworld Expo, and for good reason: it's a visually breathtaking and...

Productivity app: Quicksilver b48.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... When I returned to the Mac after wandering in the Windows wilderness for a couple of years, I wanted a quick way to launch my applications and documents from the keyboard. There were several alternatives, including Butler (the next Mac Gems...

Productivity app: Butler 4.0.1.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... You've read about Quicksilver, so now it's my turn to chime in about my favorite launcher--Peter Maurer's free Butler 4.0.1 (OUTSTANDING; www.petermaurer.de). Butler seems to have a tool for everything--launching apps, opening files and...

Services-menu controller: Service Scrubber 1.1.2.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... OS X's Services menu is potentially quite useful--it lets you perform actions on selections (of text, files, and folders) from many applications. However, you have no control over this menu--any installed application can modify it without...

iPhoto export plug-in: BetterHTMLExport 2.1.(Mac Gems)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... While iPhoto has included the ability to export a group of photos as a Web page for some time, the results have never really impressed me, at least until iPhoto 6. Older versions of iPhoto generated bland pages and left me with little control...

Magicolor 2430 DL.(Konica Magicolor 2430 DL, color laser printer)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Magicolor 2430 DL ($499), from Konica Minolta (www.konicaminolta.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Magicolor 2430 DL is a capable networked color laser printer whose setup needs a bit of finessing. The toner cartridges are...

Stylus Photo R340.(INK-JET PHOTO PRINTER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 Stylus Photo R340 ($200), from Epson (www.epson.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Epson Stylus Photo R340 prints the best color photos in its class. It's a great choice for printing brilliant color photos, with or without...

Macs.(Apple Power Macintosh, Apple Mac mini, Apple iMac, Apple iBook, Apple PowerBook, Apple Macbook Pro)(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... DESKTOP Product Processor Display Rating iMac G5/2.1GHz 20 inches VERY GOOD Intel Core Duo/1.83GHz 17 inches VERY GOOD Intel Core Duo/2GHz 20...

Digital SLR camera.(Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 EOS Digital Rebel XT ($899; with lens, $999), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Canon defined this market with the original Digital Rebel, and the company keeps its lead with the EOS Digital Rebel XT. The...

Advanced digital camera.(Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD C-7070 Wide Zoom ($600), from Olympus (www.olympus.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This camera's advanced features, flexibility, expandability, build quality, and image quality make it a solid choice for an enthusiast, but its...

Advanced digital camera.(DIGITAL CAMERAS)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 PowerShot G6 ($699), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This is a compact and powerful 7.1-megapixel digital camera that should appeal to advanced photographers. It's the latest in Canon's G series, which...

PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW.(DUAL-LAYER DVD BURNER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW ($239), from Plextor (www.plextor.com): The PX-716UF DVD[+ or -]R/RW drive features flexible connectivity options; it burns 2.4x-rated dual-layer media at 4x; it has fast 16x burn speeds; and it has the...

23-inch display.(HP L2335)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 L2335 ($1,299), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Along with its outstanding value, analog and digital connectors, ability to pivot to portrait mode, and adjustable height, the L2335 provides...

20-inch display.(NEC MultiSync LCD2070NX)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 MultiSync LCD2070NX ($799), from NEC (www.necdisplay.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The MultiSync LCD2070NX is great for people who want a moderately priced 20-inch monitor that can display bright, accurate colors. It...

17-inch display.(Sony SDM-HS75P)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD SDM-HS75P ($400), from Sony (www.sony.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although it's short on bells and whistles--this display doesn't have built-in USB, speakers, or the ability to pivot--the HS75P is a good choice for people...

Optura 60.(MINIDV CAMCORDER)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Optura 60 ($899), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Optura 60 shoots excellent video (as long as you have enough light) with true-to-life, vibrant color. It also offers optical image stabilization, a true...

Midrange scanner.(Canon CanoScan 9950F)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 CanoScan 9950F ($400), from Canon (www.canon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CanoScan 9950F offers improved scan quality and more-intuitive software controls. This model tops its predecessor, the 9900F, in almost every...

Low-end scanner.(FLATBED SCANNERS)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD CanoScan 8400F ($150), from Canon (www.canon.com): The 8400F has limited transparency support but is a great all-around scanner (macworld.com/0187).

Desktop drive.(Iomega Black Series Triple Interface, Mercury Elite-AL Pro)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD 1/2 Black Series Triple Interface, 250GB ($240), from lomega (www.iomega.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You can't go wrong with its speed, connection options, and low price per gigabyte (macworld.com/0580). ALSO...

Portable drive.(OWC Mercury On-the-Go 7,200 rpm 8MB, ComboGB)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Mercury On-the-Go 7,200 rpm 8MB, 60GB ($225), from OWC (www.macsales.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Loaded with useful utilities, this little drive has good connection options and an eye-catching design (macworld.com/0580). ...

Color laser printer.(HP LaserJet 3600n)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Color LaserJet 3600n ($699), from Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com): The HP Color LaserJet 3600n is quick, capable of excellent text and fine-line prints, and worth considering for people who plan to print primarily business documents...

Advanced digital camera.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... GOOD 1/2 Cyber-shot DSC-R1 ($999), from Sony (www.sony.com): The Cyber-shot DSC-R1 is a versatile alternative to a digital SLR--albeit at an SLR price. You'll get great image quality and wide-angle capability. However, you'll lose out if...

Firewire hard drive.(Wiebetech Maxelerate 160GB)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD Maxelerate 160GB ($400), from Wiebetech (www.wiebetech.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Though not the fastest of the Mac mini--inspired drive-hub combos we've tested, the Maxelerate will greatly expand your peripheral...

Digital SLR camera.(Hardware Products We Tested This Month)(Nikon D200)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... VERY GOOD D200 (body only, $1,700; body and AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18mm-70mm lens, $2,000), from Nikon (www.nikon.com): [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two of the D200's most intriguing features are its GPS connectivity, which lets you add...

What you need to know: the Intel Mac mini and the MacBook Pro.(Product/service evaluation)
May 1, 2006... Last summer, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would switch from PowerPC to Intel CPUs in most of its systems by the summer of 2007. Looks like he was being conservative: little more than a month after Apple introduced its first Intel-based...

Os X first aid: your guide to emergency care for your Mac.
May 1, 2006... Most of the time, your Mac is the picture of health--it crunches numbers, plays music, and tackles even the most difficult tasks without even a hiccup. But there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of things that can go wrong with such a complicated...

Protect your privacy.(WORKING MAC)
May 1, 2006... It's an unwritten law that you can't write about personal privacy without quoting Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy's infamous 1999 statement: "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." But the fact is, McNealy was wrong. Although...

Prolong iPod battery life.(PLAYLIST)
May 1, 2006... With an iPod in hand, you're ready to jump aboard a cross-country flight. Yet you're stuck in the cheap seats, so you don't have a power outlet, as the passengers at the front of the plane do. How can you keep your iPod continuously pumping out...

Beauty in black and white.(DIGITAL PHOTO)
May 1, 2006... There's no denying the elegance of black-and-white photography. Simply by removing the distraction of color, you can sometimes better focus a viewer's attention on a photo's strengths. Most image editors make it easy to turn color photos into...

Killer XPress time-savers.(use of QuarkXPress)
May 1, 2006... Navigating QuarkXPress is a lot like sleeping. There's no glory in it, but we have to spend a lot of time doing it. That's why tips for these low-level XPress tasks--such as zooming in and out, scrolling, and changing pages--are so crucial. Dig...

Keeping your Macs in Sync.(MOBILE MAC)
May 1, 2006... Anyone with more than one Mac-a desktop at the office and a laptop for traveling, for example--can appreciate the convenience of having the same set of contacts, calendar events, and e-mail accounts on the two machines. Unfortunately, setting...

Create a wireless hotspot.(GEEK FACTOR)
May 1, 2006... Chances are you've "shared" a neighbor's wireless connection at one time or another, or discovered that your own network reaches to the laundromat next door, conveniently allowing you to work while you wash. Why not make all this sharing...

Mac OS X Hints.(HELP DESK)(Tiger's Dictionary, Apple iPhoto 6.0)
May 1, 2006... The Insiders' Tips You Won't Get from Apple Smart iPhoto Exports Do you use a third-party program to create your Web-based slide shows or to export batches of images for presentations? Here's a little trick that can make it less...

Mac 911.(use of Adobe Acrobat 7.0, Apple iPhoto 6.0, iTunes)
May 1, 2006... Solutions to Your Most Vexing Mac Problems Put Together Your PDFs How do I combine two or more PDF files? Wally Eater You can do this with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard (www.adobe.com)--and spend $299 for the privilege--but there...

The Cult of iPod.(a book written by Leander Kahney)
May 1, 2006... Are you the kind of person who can't take one step without an iPod? The kind of person who believes that you can glean much more information about people from their iPod libraries than from their book libraries? Then Leander Kahney's $25 The...

The GoodFather.(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... As a new father, I've read a number of baby-parenting books, but Dr.Moz's $35 The GoodFather is the first interactive CD-ROM I've seen. Its Baby Name Book and Baby Card Maker sections help you pick a name and send out announcements,...

MacBreak.(Our Favorite New Stuff)
May 1, 2006... Not willing to take no for an answer when it came to finding an outlet for a Macthemed television program, tech guru Leo Laporte decided to embrace the age of podcasting. The result, MacBreak, is a video podcast shot in 1,080p high definition,...

What's hot.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... 1 Apple touts new Intel Mac minis as "4x faster" than PowerPC minis. It had touted the previous minis as two times faster than Intel-based PCs--the resulting loop of illogic has sucked the new mini out of existence. 2 The iTunes Music...

AppZapper 1.2.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... OS X applications often include many parts: preference and support files, as well as the app itself. That makes completely uninstalling programs a tedious task. Austin Sarner and Brian Ball's $13 AppZapper makes the process simple--drag and...

Lego Mindstorms NXT.(Our Favorite New Stuff)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Mac users have been building and programming amazing Lego Mindstorms robots since the first kits came out in 1998. But in all those years, the Lego Group never offered Mac software in the commercially available box--only in educational...