I always like reading about someone's choices for "best" app. I like to see what other people are using and it is a great way to find out about new software. Lifehacker just put out an update to their on going list of the Best Free Mac Downloads. I have almost all of them on my Mac and I have to tell you, they are great apps. So head on over to Lifehacker and see what they say are the best free apps for the Mac.
Our List of the Best Free Mac Downloads via Lifehacker
Showing posts with label Mac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mac. Show all posts
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
OS X Lion is Available for Download TODAY!!!
Apple has just released their newest OS for the Mac, OS X Lion, today. You can only download it from the Mac App Store. The cost is very affordable, only $29.99. Be one of the first to download it! My copy is downloading as I write this and I will be posting some of my opinions in the next few days. Also, be sure to complete a FULL back up of your Mac before installing Lion.
Good Luck and let me know what you think of it!
Good Luck and let me know what you think of it!
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Should I use Office 2011 for Mac?
Office 2010 won me back as a power user after Office 2003 stunk, Office 2007 was good but not great, and both OpenOffice and Google Apps had become quite compelling. Office 2010 was just so powerful and feature-rich that it was hard to ignore. Today’s launch of Office 2011 for the Mac brings most of this richness to an incredible growth platform, but somehow feels anticlimactic.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy not to have to launch a virtual machine every time I want the latest and greatest Office features on my Mac. Office 2011 is a great product like its Windows big brother. I’ve been using a press copy for a couple of weeks now and have been cranking out the PowerPoints, spreadsheets, and documents. I know that Outlook and Messenger are important to some people and have been both well-reviewed and are welcome additions. I’m a Gmail guy and tend to avoid mail clients like the plague, so these are non-issues for me, but bringing Outlook to the Mac platform was obviously a great business choice for Microsoft and one more pathway through which Macs will work their way into the enterprise.
And yet…
Even with the return of macro support and a revised interface that makes Office 2011 consistent with Office 2010, while still feeling more Mac than Windows…
Even with welcome updates that highlight just how much of an afterthought Office 2008 was…
Even with great templates and enhanced number-crunching abilities…
I just can’t get excited about Office 2011.
I know that Office remains the tool of choice for documentation, presentations, desktop data management, and communication for many businesses. I get that and I know that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon in the corporate world. All the more power to the Mac for now being able to be seamlessly compatible with Office for Windows, both in file types and generally in user interface. And I don’t even completely disagree with a Gartner analyst who raved about the software:
“This is the best Office ever, not just on the Mac,” said Gartenberg. “It brings the Mac version to parity with the Windows version, but it still feels like Mac software, not a Windows port. Mac Office doesn’t feel like you walked into your house in the dark and someone rearranged all the furniture.”
The exclusion of OneNote, one of Office 2010’s best bits of software, as well as Microsoft’s failure to put Access on the Mac makes the “best Office version ever” assertion a bit dubious, although the interface and usability are quite good.The real question, though, aside from Mac users desperate to use their computers in corporate settings where Office remains the norm, is how many average Mac users will care that Office 2011 is just so incredibly dandy?
Mac users, after all, have a solid alternative on the cheap from Apple in their iWork software for most productivity and I’m actually finding myself more likely to produce everything from publication-ready documents to presentations in Adobe’s CS5 (and now Acrobat X) given the really powerful tools with the Creative Suite that Office simply can’t match. If what I need to do in terms of documentation or presentation can’t be handled in Google Apps, then I’m going to go whole hog and produce something really rich. Add in Adobe’s new ROME beta and there are more than enough alternatives for us stereotypical Mac creative types to just not be too fussed over Office 2011.
Aside from Adobe or Google, so much of what we (whether “we” means artsy Mac people or the world at large doesn’t really matter here) do ends up in a content management system, blog, or online somewhere makes Office 2011, no matter how good it is, just a little bit less spectacular than one might expect.
Because Office 2008 was such a weak product, and because Macs have traditionally been the tools of choice for designers and (more recently) developers, Mac users have grown accustomed to using “Not Office,” whatever that might be. Office 2011 is a boon for enterprise and business users, but won’t be the runaway hit that Office 2010 was. There just isn’t the need for it. We use Macs for a reason after all, and that reason usually isn’t to type Word documents, no matter improved the interface.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy not to have to launch a virtual machine every time I want the latest and greatest Office features on my Mac. Office 2011 is a great product like its Windows big brother. I’ve been using a press copy for a couple of weeks now and have been cranking out the PowerPoints, spreadsheets, and documents. I know that Outlook and Messenger are important to some people and have been both well-reviewed and are welcome additions. I’m a Gmail guy and tend to avoid mail clients like the plague, so these are non-issues for me, but bringing Outlook to the Mac platform was obviously a great business choice for Microsoft and one more pathway through which Macs will work their way into the enterprise.
And yet…
Even with the return of macro support and a revised interface that makes Office 2011 consistent with Office 2010, while still feeling more Mac than Windows…
Even with welcome updates that highlight just how much of an afterthought Office 2008 was…
Even with great templates and enhanced number-crunching abilities…
I just can’t get excited about Office 2011.
I know that Office remains the tool of choice for documentation, presentations, desktop data management, and communication for many businesses. I get that and I know that it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon in the corporate world. All the more power to the Mac for now being able to be seamlessly compatible with Office for Windows, both in file types and generally in user interface. And I don’t even completely disagree with a Gartner analyst who raved about the software:
“This is the best Office ever, not just on the Mac,” said Gartenberg. “It brings the Mac version to parity with the Windows version, but it still feels like Mac software, not a Windows port. Mac Office doesn’t feel like you walked into your house in the dark and someone rearranged all the furniture.”
The exclusion of OneNote, one of Office 2010’s best bits of software, as well as Microsoft’s failure to put Access on the Mac makes the “best Office version ever” assertion a bit dubious, although the interface and usability are quite good.The real question, though, aside from Mac users desperate to use their computers in corporate settings where Office remains the norm, is how many average Mac users will care that Office 2011 is just so incredibly dandy?
Mac users, after all, have a solid alternative on the cheap from Apple in their iWork software for most productivity and I’m actually finding myself more likely to produce everything from publication-ready documents to presentations in Adobe’s CS5 (and now Acrobat X) given the really powerful tools with the Creative Suite that Office simply can’t match. If what I need to do in terms of documentation or presentation can’t be handled in Google Apps, then I’m going to go whole hog and produce something really rich. Add in Adobe’s new ROME beta and there are more than enough alternatives for us stereotypical Mac creative types to just not be too fussed over Office 2011.
Aside from Adobe or Google, so much of what we (whether “we” means artsy Mac people or the world at large doesn’t really matter here) do ends up in a content management system, blog, or online somewhere makes Office 2011, no matter how good it is, just a little bit less spectacular than one might expect.
Because Office 2008 was such a weak product, and because Macs have traditionally been the tools of choice for designers and (more recently) developers, Mac users have grown accustomed to using “Not Office,” whatever that might be. Office 2011 is a boon for enterprise and business users, but won’t be the runaway hit that Office 2010 was. There just isn’t the need for it. We use Macs for a reason after all, and that reason usually isn’t to type Word documents, no matter improved the interface.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Securely Delete Files in Mac OS X
I want to share a little known fact about Mac OS X with you but first I want to explain why this is important. In today’s world, there are identity thieves around every corner just waiting for the chance to steal your personal information. In addition, the theft of computers, especially laptop computers, is at an all time high. Therefore, it is important that each of us remain vigilant against this threat.
Hard drives store data magnetically. Meaning that if you simply delete a file, that file remains on your hard drive until it is overwritten. This may be a matter of days or months depending on how you use your computer. Mac OS X provides a way for you to easily and securely delete your files when you empty your trash can. Here is how to do it.
After you place the “deleted” files into your trash can, open up the finder preferences tab and find a check box that says securely delete files. Click on that and now every time you empty your trash can, Mac OS X deletes your files and then writes random data over the area of the hard drive where those files lived rendering it virtually impossible to recover.
Yes, I know this is an overly simplified explanation but I believe it will suffice for our purposes here. If you want to learn more about how computers store data, visit this link http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.co.uk/data-recovery-articles/how-data-recovery-works/
Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I hope you remember to take computer security seriously!
Hard drives store data magnetically. Meaning that if you simply delete a file, that file remains on your hard drive until it is overwritten. This may be a matter of days or months depending on how you use your computer. Mac OS X provides a way for you to easily and securely delete your files when you empty your trash can. Here is how to do it.
After you place the “deleted” files into your trash can, open up the finder preferences tab and find a check box that says securely delete files. Click on that and now every time you empty your trash can, Mac OS X deletes your files and then writes random data over the area of the hard drive where those files lived rendering it virtually impossible to recover.
Yes, I know this is an overly simplified explanation but I believe it will suffice for our purposes here. If you want to learn more about how computers store data, visit this link http://www.ontrackdatarecovery.co.uk/data-recovery-articles/how-data-recovery-works/
Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I hope you remember to take computer security seriously!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)