Continue reading iPod Tip #29: Convert WMA To A More Useful Format…

Continue reading OS X Tip #82: Resetting Your Mac’s Power Manager (PMU)…

Continue reading OS X Tip #81: Sync Address Book, iCal, & .Mac with Entourage…

Yes, Apple turned 30 on April 1st. I thought you might like to see this video of Steve Job’s demo of NeXTSTEP the OS we now all use rebuilt into OS X. The NEXT OS that has given new life to Apple and the Macintosh. Watching this really shows the lineage to the OS X of today.

Many of the features shown here are now in the Macintosh OSX. Keep in mind, this is from 1992 (Windows 3.1 was released the same year). Steve Jobs return to Apple in 1997 brought the NEXT operating system to the Mac.

Tim Berners-Lee had developed his WorldWideWeb browser on a very specialized personal computer called a NeXT. So the World Wide Web was actually “invented” not by Al Gore (Apple board member by the way), but by Tim Berners-Lee running a NeXTSTEP computer. Web browsers came to Windows, Macs, and UNIX later on.

Here is an interesting article written by Paul Lynch on NeXTSTEP.

If you have an older Mac that did not ship with Apple’s new Front Row and the Apple Remote you are not “out-of-luck” as there are ways to get Front Row running on an older Mac. But it may take some work and did get harder recently as Apple’s lawyers sent a notice to some websites telling them to remove the Front Row Enabler they were allowing people to freely download. Sure you can still find it with instructions via BitTorrent, but here is an exciting FREE alternative to Front Row that has real promise from e.quinux software called MediaCentral.

MediaCentral supports numerous audio, video and multimedia formats, MediaCentral, like Front Row works with a remote and turns your Mac into a full featured home theatre. MediaCentral has a few features that Front Row lacks at this time. Both applications are showing that they need to mature a bit more to be “bullet-proof” but for a version 1.2 free application certainly is a nice alternative to older Mac owners lacking Front Row. Who knows when or even if, Apple will release Front Row for older Macs. They have certainly not shown any indication of doing so, making it prime-time for developers to create some magic of their own. Clearly, there is a demand for turning Macs into home theatres and until Apple comes to the party for older Macs, there are bound to be alternatives.
Continue reading Free Front Row Alternative: MediaCentral…

One of the reasons I use a Mac for my main computer platform is the quality of the freeware, shareware and commercial applications. Here is list of my favorite OS X only applications, in alphabetical order. Many of these applications are free or have a trial period. I hope you will check some of these out and find them as helpful and fun as I have.

So here is my long list of software picks for OS X.
Continue reading My Favorite OS X Only Software (Updated)…

Continue reading OS X Tip #80: Rid The Contextual Menu Of Unwanted Stuff…