If you work for long hours on a computer, you might be concerned about wrist injuries that can occur as a result of continually using a mouse. There are some alternatives available that can give your wrist a rest while still letting you use your Mac computer efficiently.

1. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Use Speech Recognition
3. Use a Graphics Tablet
4. Use Universal Access

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Although many Mac users think they must own Toast if they want to burn CDs and DVDs, this is not true. In this list, I describe free applications available, including ones built into Mac OS X, that can provide the tools you need to burn data and video disks.

1. Use the Mac OS X Finder
2. Use a Mac OS X Burn Folder
3. Use Disk Utility to Burn an Image File
4. Use iTunes for Music CDs
5. Use Photo Management Software
6. Use a Freeware or Open Source Program

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Usually people only use screen savers when a computer is idle, but some screen savers are so enjoyable that they can provide visual relief from work sessions. In this list, I briefly describe some ways to enjoy screen savers.

1. Use Apple's Screen Savers
2. Use an iPhoto Album
3. Change View Options
4. Change Display Options
5. Find Free Screen Savers

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I've been developing websites on my Mac for seven years and I've tried many of the applications available for creating different types of websites, including photo albums, blogs and HTML sites. In this list, I briefly describe some of the options available for creating a website with Mac OS X.

1. Photo Album Software
2. MobileMe Web Galleries
3. SeaMonkey Web Browser
4. iWeb
5. Third-Party Web Design Applications
6. HTML Applications
7. Online Blogging Platforms

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I love Apple's Safari browser but sometimes it slows to a crawl and becomes difficult to use. When this happens, there are a few things that can be done to improve Safari's speed and in this list I briefly describe those solutions.

1. Clear the History
2. Empty the Cache
3. Quit and Relaunch
4. Limit Number of Open Sites
5. Turn Off PDFs

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MobileMe is Apple's package of online services that includes syncing features, hosting services, online storage space, email server, and more. Although MobileMe had a rocky start when it was first launched, I'm a big fan of the service. I've been using the service, formerly known as .Mac, since its inception and it has improved over the years, with Apple often adding new features. In this list, I give 10 reasons why I think MobileMe is a good investment, even in today's difficult economic times.

1. Easy-to-use Syncing Feature
2. Good Spam-controlled Email Service
3. Cheap Web Hosting Service
4. Easy-to-create Photo Websites
5. Easy-to-use Online Application
6. Safe, Off-site Storage
7. Easy-to-use Extra Hard Disk
8. Free Backup Application
9. Huge Storage Space and Bandwidth
10. Great Price for Combined Services

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Since updating to Mac OS X 10.5.6, I've noticed a slowdown with my old PPC Mac Mini. I'm not sure if the update is to blame, but I did a few maintenance tasks that seem to have improved the situation. Here is my short list of ways to speed up that tired old Mac and start off the new year with a revived, faster Mac.

1. Delete Cache Files
2. Run Maintenance Scripts
3. Shut Down and Restart
4. Check the System's Health
5. Defragment the Drive

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For those readers who haven't yet bought all of their Christmas gifts or who just want to treat themselves to a Mac gift, I've prepared a list of some of the best commercial software available for Mac computers. For each application, I'm including minimum system requirements, a short description of the software and a link to the developer's website.

1. The Ultimate Office Suite - Microsoft Office 2008
2. Data Protection with Data Rescue II
3. Great Photos with Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
4. Perfect Burning with Toast 9 Titanium
5. Control Your Mac with MacSpeech Dictate

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This holiday season is the perfect time to buy software packages that can complement your loved one's Mac computer and Apple has some wonderful applications at reasonable prices. In this posting, I'll describe 7 of those applications and give you reasons to purchase each of them.

1. Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
2. iLife '08
3. iWork '08
4. MobileMe
5. Apple Aperture 2
6. Final Cut Express 4
7. Logic Express 8

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Now that I've had two weeks to use the applications in the special MacUpdate Bundle, I decided to update my original posting for those readers who might be considering ordering the package. I'm not using three of the applications (Little Snitch, MacGourmet Deluxe, KeyCue) so those reviews are not being included.

1. RapidWeaver
2. VirusBarrier
3. Drive Genius
4. Default Folder
5. iVolume
6. Mac Pilot
7. WhatSize

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Apple just released the Mac OS X 10.5.6 update and I thought this would be a good time to give my advice to users who want to install the update. I've been using Mac OS X since its early starts and I always use caution when installing updates. The extra time I've invested in being careful has paid off - I've never had an update go wrong and I've installed more than 25 updates in that time span. If you follow my advice, you, too, should have nothing but successful updating experiences.

1. Download Combo Update and Save to CD
2. Repair Disk Permissions
3. Back Up Drives and Partitions
4. Dismount and Disconnect External Devices
5. Remove All "Hacks"

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As promised in my earlier posting, I have 12 more reasons that you can use to persuade someone to buy you a Mac computer this holiday season. I'm certain there are even more reasons, and if you have some that you would like to see added to my list, please contact me and I'll post them, giving you credit for the ideas. Or better yet, create your own list and send me the link to share with my readers.

1. Compatible with Windows
2. Versatile Text Editing
3. Decent Adobe Reader Substitute
4. Easy Video Viewing
5. Easy Formatting and Repairing
6. Great Free Software Options
7. Extended System Support
8. Great Apple Support
9. One-Step Programming
10. "Geek" Programming
11. "Elite" Community
12. Aesthetic Experience

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I live in a country where Mac computers are not commonly used and most of my friends aren't familiar with Macs. Yet, they respect my opinion about computers so they often ask me why they should buy a Mac instead of a cheaper PC. Over the years, I've increased my list of reasons for buying a Mac, and in this posting and the next one, I'll expound on those reasons.

1. Cheaper in the Long Run
2. Powerful, Stable Operating System
3. Easy-to-use and Powerful Mail Application
4. Built-in Backup Application
5. Superfast Searching
6. Quick Viewing with Quick Look
7. Get Smart with Smart Folders
8. Built-in Burning
9. Easy Photo Editing and Management
10. 1-2-3 Movies
11. Music-making Fun
12. Action-packed DVD Creations

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MacUpdate has just announced its special annual Christmas bundle for $49.99 and it's one of the best bundles of software I've seen. I own and use several of the applications in this bundle, but I'll probably still purchase it just for Drive Genius, which retails for $99 and is offered through Amazon for $59. In this list, I briefly describe each of the applications, based on either the information on the company's website or my own experiences with the application.

1. RapidWeaver
2. MacGourmet
3. VirusBarrier
4. Drive Genius
5. Default Folder
6. iVolume
7. KeyCue
8. Little Snitch
9. Mac Pilot
10. WhatSize

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Twitter is a social networking site that lets you post very short tweets that let your followers know what you are doing or what news you might want to share with others. When you find someone interesting who has a Twitter link on their website, you can add them to the people you follow. My list for today includes 10 Mac experts worth following on Twitter. The idea for this list came from Darren Rowse (www.twitip.com) and Mark Hayward (www.mytropicalescape.com).

1. Jason Snell
2. Christopher Breen
3. Tim O'Reilly
4. Jonathan Ive
5. Adam Engst
6. Tonya Engst
7. Bob LeVitus
8. Chuck Joiner
9. MacWorld
10. MacUpdate

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A question that often shows up on Mac forums is "Should I partition my hard drive?" Many users have strong opinions on this question and they're quick to answer with a definite no or definite yes, but I've noticed that it is rare for someone to explain why they respond as they do. Those against partitioning a hard drive usually say it's not necessary and those for it usually respond with "I do it." Clearly, those responses aren't very helpful to the person who posed the question. In today's list, I give my reasons why I think partitioning a hard drive, especially an external hard drive, is a good idea.

1. Cloning
2. Organization
3. Spotlight Searching
4. Safety
5. Backup System
6. Time Machine

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I like having special signatures for different email messages that I send so I've set up signatures in Mail's preferences. However, when Apple introduced Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard), the ability to add hyperlinks to the Signatures preferences pane stopped working (it works in 10.4). I keep hoping that Apple will fix this bug, but, unfortunately, it still doesn't work in 10.5.5. I have, however, found some solutions to the problem and in this post, I describe 5 ways to add formatted signatures to Mail, including signatures with hyperlinks and images:

1. Mail's Preferences
2. New Message
3. TextEdit
4. Graphics Application
5. Stationery Template

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One of the great new features of Leopard is Quick Look. With Quick Look, you can view images, documents and media files just by pressing the spacebar. If you're using Leopard, you've probably tried Quick Look in the Finder, but that's not the only place you can use it. Quick Look saves me time everyday as I use it in the Finder, in Mail, in Time Machine, and in third-party applications. In this post, I briefly describe 8 ways you can use Quick Look:

1. Finder images
2. Finder documents
3. Finder media files
4. Mail attachments
5. Spotlight searches
6. Time Machine
7. The Trash
8. Third-party applications

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I'm a highly organized person and I'm constantly making lists of things I need to do. Although I like to have my To Do lists in iCal, I find that adding them directly to iCal is too time consuming. Also, I prefer to not open iCal every time I want to add a new item to my list. In the past, I've used a Widget called DoBeDo (see my review in the Reviews section of this site), but opening Widgets on my old PPC Mini is too slow. So I tested a few other options for this blog and here's the short list of applications I like for creating and managing quick To Do lists.

1. SoCal
2. Today
3. TaskMate
4. To Do Widget
5. DoBeDo Widget
6. Mail

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