Extreme base station puts the others to shame
Apple has created an attractive package, both in form and features. The Extreme looks like a warmer for a really expensive coffeemaker, whereas its competitors look about as cheerful as an Imperial Probe Droid or worse. Looks aside, it features a USB 2.0 port. Plug any USB hard drive or (nearly) any printer into the port (or plug in a USB hub and use 'em both), and they'll be wirelessly available to any Mac or PC on your network that's running Apple's AirPort client software - another strong vote for media sharing and network backups.
At $179, Apple's AirPort Extreme 802.11 draft-n wireless base station is priced like brand X, but Cisco couldn't have done it any better. Apple's claim of 5X performance and 2X coverage relative to 802.11g is no mere boast; it was proven for this review. Apple's new base station is easy to manage from Windows and OS X, and current AirPort Extreme admins will appreciate the rewritten AirPort Utility's expert features like logging and performance charting.
If you believe all the hype, installing the new Windows Vista operating system will solve world famine, end the AIDS crisis and bring about world peace. Well, maybe no one is saying it's that great, but the clamor and fuss have been pretty boisterous. Hidden behind all of this hoopla, however, is the fact that as much of an improvement Vista is over XP, its main competitor, Mac OS X, still stacks up really well - and even tops Vista in several important areas.
Dave Girard writes: "Well, it was a long time coming, but I've been through the trenches and come up, sucking chest wound and all, with the Ars review of font management programs. I've also succeeded in not completely losing my mind while the developers updated the apps, nullifying half my criticisms in the process. Giving a lot of time to these programs in a production setting is crucial to seeing how they perform on a daily basis, and I am confident I've thrown enough varied scenarios at each to find out where they succeed and fail."
Retrospect Desktop 6.1, from EMC Insignia, is one of four editions of the software available for Macs. The Workgroup and Server editions add features to handle large networks and computers running OS X Server; the Express edition, bundled free with numerous hard drives and optical drives, omits network backups and tape drive support. Retrospect’s design caters to the needs of network administrators, who must grapple with backing up numerous computers (both Mac and Windows). For the average home or small business user, though, Retrospect can be intimidating.
Brian Warren writes: "The day-to-day usage of iBank isn’t anything transcendent, it is a personal finance application after all. In my opinion, an application such as iBank should be easy and quick to get in and out of. On that qualification, iBank does great. It’s easy to add new transactions, modify them and get a glance at your data."
BBEdit has long been the go-to text editor of choice for Mac-using geeks. But as it aged, BBEdit started to show its years, with new features piled on top of old features, which had been piled on top of still older features. In version 8.5.2, Bare Bones has given the old star a face-lift, restructuring and simplifying the interface to make BBEdit look like a hot new app. Along the way, they’ve added in some handy new features, giving this version a full set of enhancements.
iDefrag does have a nice interface, with very simple to understand controls, and an interface full of pretty colors that are fun to watch. Each of the blocks in the interface is supposed to represent a block of data on the hard drive. I was at first alarmed at how badly my disk was fragmented, as indicated by the amount of red blocks that were viewable. But then, the next question that popped into my head was, “why?â€
The Nike + iPod Sport Kit comes in a display box about the size of a double-CD jewel case. It prominently displays the miniatures inside: a postage-stamp sized receiver that plugs into your iPod nano’s dock-connector port, and a track-shaped sensor/transmitter about the size of a large piece of Bazooka gum. The transmitter fits snugly inside a matching compartment hidden under insole of the left shoe of a pair of Nike+ shoes, which range in price from $100 to $130. (Apple says the transmitter’s battery, which isn’t replaceable, is designed to last 1,000 hours.)
With unique killer features like native TrueType support and single-window Multiple Master editing, FontLab’s Studio 5.0.2 is the most capable font-editing tool available today, easily outpacing both the current Fontographer and the old FontStudio.
This test covers the latest versions of the browsers: Safari/Webkit 2.0.4 (the version that comes with OS X 10.4.7), FireFox 1.5.0.4, Camino 1.0.2, and OmniWeb 5.5 Beta. All four of the browsers are Universal Binaries which is good news for owners of Intel-based Macs.
Rob Griffiths writes: "Parallels Desktop for Mac is an OS X solution for running “guest†operating systems within OS X. Parallels utilizes the Intel chip’s hardware virtualization technology (VT). Although that’s a mouthful of buzzwords, what it means is simple: VT lets an Intel CPU act as if it were several distinct CPUs, which in turn enables guest operating systems to run much faster." Read the entire review here.
Shadow 3.0 is the latest version of NewTech Infosystems’ award-winning backup software for Macintosh, Windows and U3 devices. Their step-by-step set up process makes it easy for consumers to make a backup copy of their important files and folders. You can even set up Shadow 3.0 to monitor your system and to continuously check files for changes.
Daniel Terdiman writes: "After four days of traveling, I finally found myself camping Sunday night. After setting up my new tent and cooking a "gourmet dinner," I got to try out one of the coolest new features of the MacBook Pro has loaned me for this trip."
Pete Cohen writes: "Recently updated as a Universal Binary for Intel-based Macs, Phelios’ Kaijin is definitely worth a look if you have an Intel-based Mac and you crave arcade gaming the way it used to be. It’s a classic top-down shoot-em-up, or shmup in gamer’s parlance. Great production quality and varied gameplay keep Kaijin from getting boring, too."
VisualRoute is a tool aimed at networking professionals that need reliable diagnostics software. It comes in six versions that give you the power of connectivity analysis from a single computer, a remote desktop or a remote server.
DoorStop X Security Suite puts a friendlier front end on OS X’s built-in firewall, making it an excellent solution for users who like the idea of using that built-in firewall but would like to be able to configure it more completely without resorting to the Terminal.
When it comes to your workstation, one of the things you certainly want to be aware of is what’s happening with your outgoing network connections. If you’re curious to find out if a program is sending information about your machine to a remote server or just want to see exactly what’s happening in the background during your usual surfing activities, Little Snitch will promptly tell you all about it.
Peter Cohen writes: "The Mac conversion of Quake 4 has been a long time coming; if you’re a first-person shooter fan, it’s been well worth the wait. The game has the highest production value of any first-person shooter I’ve seen since Doom 3 (4 mice) and terrific single-player gameplay. Unfortunately, multiplayer modes left me wanting more."
Whether you want to find out how to do that cool CSS effect or you need to debug a gnarly specificity issue, diving into (X)HTML and CSS doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience. At least that’s what the people who built Xyle Scope believe.
Peter Cohen writes: "You can turn to shareware or free programs to burn backups of DVDs or transcode DVD videos to other formats. So why would anyone want to pay $50 for a commercial package that does many of the same things? Because the commercial package in question happens to be easy to use and reliable—that’s certainly the case with Roxio’s Popcorn 2."
One of the best ways to keep your Mac working smoothly is to make sure all of your software is up to date. Developers routinely issue updates to their programs to fix bugs, add features, and ensure compatibility with the latest Mac OS and hardware. If you ever wished that Software Update feature worked not only on Apple’s software, but rather on all the software installed on your computer, then VersionTracker Pro may be of interest to you. This program attempts to take over where Software Update leaves off by letting you know when your third-party programs are out of date.
With an eye toward its core audience of non-professional photo enthusiasts, Adobe has made improvements to its fourth version of Photoshop Elements that make it easier than ever to edit, organize, and share digital photos. The Macworld review finds that despite its consumer-level price tag, Photoshop Elements 4.0 sports some new tools that gurus wish the full-blown Photoshop had.
I am one of those computer users that have hundreds of icons on the desktop and stuff lying all around my user folder. I often tend to complicate my life by not organizing files, so often my iBook gets clogged. In the process of finding cool tools to help me in my "spring cleaning", I came across a piece of software that should at least assist by finding duplicate files.
TurboTax has consistently been the best tax-prep app available for the Mac, and the latest version includes several minor improvements that should make your yearly wrestling match with the IRS a little easier. The Macworld review finds that TurboTax is a great program thanks to its ease of use, excellent educational features, navigational freedom, and superior error checking.
Tim Gaden writes: "When Bare Bones Software launched their new 
Franklin Tessler writes: "At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss Keynote 3 as a minor upgrade - even the icon hasn’t changed. But lurking beneath the surface are many new features Keynote users have been clamoring for. Although the program still isn’t perfect, those enhancements make Keynote an even more compelling alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint 2004."
A couple of weeks ago we received a review copy of Comic Life. Until that moment I wasn't introduced to this piece of software, but I always liked comics, so I took this software from our review queue. As you can probably figure out yourself, Comic Life gives you the possibility of easy creating your own comics or comic style photo images. I must say I am quite impressed with it, but read on for all the details.
Dennis Sellers writes: "iDive is easy to use, a great time saver and looks so gorgeous you’d think it was an integrated part of Apple’s iLife suite. The latest version (1.5) adds a Mosiac feature that makes the app—which is also great for Final Cut users—even better, especially if you’re a pro user or 5G (video) iPod owner."
Because of the low rating Aperture got in the in-depth Ars Technica review no wonder their review sparked a lot of discussion. In order to clarify some of the things readers asked about they published a follow-up to the review with even more details.
Author: Chuck Toporek 
Find Spotlight slow when searching your e-mail? Justin Williams reviews MailSteward, a new utility that archives your e-mail and allows you to search it in a variety of ways.
There's an abundance of software titles and services you can use to keep an eye on RSS feeds. Today I'm taking a look at NewsMac Pro, a software title that's been on the market for a while and has received praise for both its usability and overall feel. The target of this review is NewsMac Pro 1.2.2, the latest version of the program, released only a few days ago.
The NewerTech NuShelf mini is designed for mounting the Mac mini underneath a desk or shelf. This simple and stylish clear acrylic mount allows you to free up valuable desktop space and protect your Mac mini at the same time. We also think the NuShelf mini would be ideal for mounting the Mac mini in a Home Entertainment Center above or below the TV.
The good thing about sites like this is that you are always in the loop with news on the latest Mac software. Yesterday we were 
Toast 7 will burn just about any sort of optical disc, but one major addition to the update that potentially affects every disc type is the iLife media browser. From the Toast options drawer, the media browser gives you direct access to your iPhoto library and albums, iTunes library and playlists, the Movies folder and the content of available DVDs (including VIDEO_TS folders). Read the full review over at macHOME.
Backup is one of those actions the majority of users doesn't do often enough, some never. There's a variety of tools for the Mac that can help you automate this sometimes tedious task. MacZealots.com has an in-depth review of one the most known titles on the market - SuperDuper.
The first iMac RevC have been delivered allowing the people over at Hardmac.com to make a review between this new machine and the previous generation. If you click here, you'll find a review between an iMac RevB 17" 1.8 GHz and an iMac RevC 17" 1.9 GHz.
The Mini Drive Kit features an external drive enclosure that enables users to convert an IDE Ultra DMA 33/66 or ATA-100/133 hard disk drive into a USB 2.0 drive simply by plugging into the ADS Native Bridge Board inside the enclosure. At 480Mbits/sec, you will get the maximum data throughput for your external drive. Now featuring an innovative SimpleTouch Back Up button, that allows easy backup of any number of folders or files. Program the backup process with Software included inside from Intech. A review of the product can be found here.
In this article I will try to share my experience with the best piece of hardware I ever used - a 12.1-inch iBook G4. I focused the article on giving my comments on different aspects of the iBook - software, hardware and the overall appearance. The article is accompanied by screenshots, photos and a small video.
ConceptDraw MINDMAP enables individual users, professionals and teams easily capture ideas, sort, structure and present various information as clear visual maps. MacNN posted a review and they seem pretty satisfied:"The mind map helps to organize your ideas, procedures, and notes, so that a cohesive whole process is drawn out." In case you're interested, there is 30-day trial version available.
Yuval Kossovsky published a lengthy review of the new Power Mac G5 Quad over at Computerworld. Early on in the article you realize he was impressed with the machine: "Yesterday, I had an hour to work with Apple Computer Inc.’s new Power Mac Quad G5, and for anyone in the broadcast, sciences, music, print and photography industries, I have some advice: Place your orders now!"
Authors: Michael Bartosha and Ryan Faas
TuneBox is a speaker system for iPod shuffle that also charges your iPod while playing music. Though it's designed to visually complement the iPod shuffle, TuneBox delivers great sound from any Mp3 player or other audio device that uses the standard 3.5mm stereo jack. If you want more details I suggest you check out this review at macteens: "This speaker set is ridiculously small and light - let’s say, more so than a wallet. In its lightweight design, the TuneBox can be situated most anywhere you want to hear your music."
John Gruber over at Daring Fireball published probably the most in-depth review of a piece of hardware I've ever read. He recently got a 15" Powerbook and this is the result as he covers everything starting from the appearance, the keyboard, RAM, the display, etc. But that's not all, Gruber gets into the fact that Apple will release Intel-based Powerbooks in 2006 and gives a few points on why it's good to wait for them or not. If this doesn't get your mind cleared up about wether a Powerbook is a good choice than nothing will.
The Griffin AirClick for iPod and iPod mini lets you hook up your iPod to your sound system and wander through the house while in full control of your tunes. Pause your iPod to answer the door and then crank it up without even going in the room.
