Mac posts

Mac owners still have deal with a lack of proper Mac compatible versions of many popular programs, although the situation is improving. For the past few years this shortfall has included personal finance software such as Intuit's Quicken, an issue that has finally been addressed with the release of Quicken Essentials for Mac.

This new version of Quicken for Apple owners is the first version of Quicken software which has been written from the ground up for OSX, partially thanks to Intuit's purchase of Mint.com last year.

Notable improvements over the last version of Quicken for Mac (from 2007) include:

• New Mac-like user interface
• Connects to 12,000 banks and financial institutions
• Better categorization using an algorithm similar to Mint.com
• Conversion software to help you bring your data from earlier Mac versions and Windows versions of Quicken or MS Moneyeds.

With the Nook a no-show this year, the Amazon Kindle DX out of stock (thanks to earlier sellouts), and many other ebook readers in short supply, this year many adults will feel the pain that children know all too well: the dissatisfaction of opening up a rain check on Christmas morning. But it doesn't have to be this way, because you can read eBooks on many different devices. Even though these devices don't offer an e-ink screen, week-long battery life or the same portability of a traditional eBook reader, the good news is that you don't have to buy anything extra.

Below, you'll find out how to give an eBook on Christmas that your gift recipient can read that very day, even if your Nook or Kindle eBook reader won't arrive for weeks.

Popular and boisterous tech blog Boy Genius Report this week ran what one of their contacts claimed to be Apple's Black Friday ad. The ad claimed that Apple would be going against tradition and offering huge cuts across the Apple lineup.

Just how big were the claimed discounts? The ad claims that Apple will offer up to 30% off of all iPods, up to 25% off of all Macs and up to 15% off of accessories, software and other Mac hardware. Needless to say, these would be big, and I mean BIG, discounts for Apple to pull out on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If they were true, that is.

If you think all those thousands of free or low-cost iPhone apps that developers are frantically banging out are being created merely for goodwill or enjoyment, think again. As much as any other gewgaw or gimmick companies offer there is a plan that explains the madness, and it's mostly about marketing.

When Stanley Works, the famous maker of hand and power tools, developed its iPhone app, it did so with the idea of introducing the venerable brand to a new generation of consumers, the New York Times reports. Some 400,000 downloads later, the company christened the effort a success, even without knowing whether the app resulted in the single sale of a new hammer or saw.

The tech blogs are atwitter (and a-Twitter) about today's announcement of Apple's new iPhone 3GS. Its built-in driving directions, voice activation, and video camera will be turning the Apple Store near you into a geek parking lot late next week. From a budget standpoint, though, the big news isn't about new features. It's about new prices.

Starting next week, the lowest-priced iPhone (an 8GB 3G model, which is the current iPhone without those embellishments) will be just $99 with a contract, which isn't much more than the basic cheapie units your cell phone company gives for free with new contracts. Computer prices were knocked down, too. MacBook and MacBook Air laptops will also be cheaper, by as much as $700.

I'm a Mac ... and I'm conflicted. For the past 15 years, I've barely placed my finger on a PC, either at work or at home. I've spent most of my career as a magazine editor, a profession that relies almost exclusively on Macs as its primary tool, and over time, Apple's platform has necessarily been hardwired into my brain. But over the past year, as more consumers snap up iPhones and collect endlessly clever apps, my personal relationship with this company has begun to feel abusive.Today, the rest of the world is salivating over the next-gen iPhone, which goes on sale this month. And me? I'm seething over my two-year-old MacBook's third trip since August to the emergency room.

Chances are, unless your budding intellectual is heading off this fall to become a graphic designer or a mechanical engineer, you don't need to take out a second mortgage just to get them a new computer.

The Dollar Stretcher provides plenty of reasons why every student should have a computer at their disposal when they enter the hallowed halls of Academe, despite the already high price tag that comes with college. Today there are more choices than ever before when it comes to finding a computer that fits your student's needs.

And as The Dollar Stretcher also points out, forgoing a Mac and picking up discounted student software at the college bookstore will save you lots right upfront.

The article points out a cool new model of laptops called subnotebooks that are small, low-powered, low-cost laptops which are suitable for handling typical student activities such as paper writing and web surfing. If you are looking for a more traditional notebook this fall there are still plenty of deals to be had on laptops and desktops which pack a little more punch. Purchasing a refurbished laptop or PC is a great way to save and still get a decently spec'ed out machine.

Here are a few deals out there right now on good back to school machines.

My rebate check plans were simple: buy a new computer to replace my old one that was dying a slow, painful (for me) death. I spent weeks pouring over ads, reviews and tedious discussions of which feature was important to me. Sure, I'd heard Vista had some problems. Yes, I have a TV and have seen the John Hodgman commercials for Mac. But I didn't think it would be THAT bad. XP was no dreamboat, either.

Wrong. Within hours we saw the blue screen of death. I say we because my husband David gallantly volunteered to spare me the grueling hardship that everyone knows is migrating to a new computer. But soon I was seeing the blue screen of death every morning. Vista seemed to be allergic to both my newish printer and Macromedia Dreamweaver, an expensive web-editing program. Replacing them would cost $600. The whole new computer was $800. Did I want to blow half my rebate check just to accommodate Vista?

First I tried to negotiate with Vista. I compromised. I removed the printer and Dreamweaver. Vista was appeased. I figured I'd run the limping XP computer as my ambassador to the XP world of my printer and Dreamweaver. What seemed like a simple task, took days and much grief. Meanwhile, Vista grew angry and started flashing me the blue screen of death for reasons not clear to me. I removed a few more programs, but had to return it.