Apple Products Reviews and Newsletter Resources

Quickbooks 2010

Quickbooks is the industry standard for financial management. Even if you don’t use Quickbooks, your accountant probably does and you’ll find the widest range of support and services when you use Quickbooks to run your business. It is, as they say, the 800-pound gorilla you have to deal with in the financial world. When people are considering making the switch from PC to Mac, being able to transfer their Quickbooks information is a key concern. Every year, Intuit promises more compatibility with the Windows version of Quickbooks and promises to bring more of the Windows features to the Mac platform.

Read the review from the Lawrence Apple Users Group

GarageBand (part of iLife 08)

 GarageBand (part of iLife 08)provides everything you need in a personal recording studio, including arranging, mixing, editing as well as recording. The program allows you to compose a song using the computer keyboard or connected instruments, record a song from connected instruments and virtual instruments, arrange, edit, and mix a song to create a professional quality CD or podcast. A composition can also be printed to provide sheet music. The program also allows you to build a virtual band by selecting from songs and instruments, including selection of a part in the band for the user.

Click here to read the detailed review by The Macintosh Guild.

Missing Manuals: Essential Enjoyable Learning Tools/eBooks

I’m sure that you’ve noticed that very few software packages come with an instruction manual, and many of those that do just aren’t very helpful. Sure, we also expect that software be designed intuitively so the learning curve is manageable . . . but, powerful programs with lots of tools require thoughtful instructions presented in a logical fashion, while hopefully being entertaining and educational. If that’s not enough, we also expect them to achieve these expectations only with classic paper books, but also using new interfaces like on the computer, iPad and such.

Eight years ago, one of my favorite authors, David Pogue, award-winning how-to author and computer columnist for the New York Times, teamed up with O'Reilly Media, Inc. to launch Pogue Press. They dedicated their companies to producing sterling, beautifully written manuals for popular consumer software and hardware products. You no longer have to learn complex programs by reading electronic help screens or online help as a  substitute for a real manual.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

PDF2Office for iWork v1.0: Converting to Editable Text

We live in a wonderful world of interchangeable information that is conveniently transmitted via Portable Document Format (PDF) files that have become a standard for multi-platform document dissemination. With the introduction of Mac OS X, the ability to “print to PDF” has been just a click away, and we’ve been able to share our creations with almost anyone. But, when we need to edit these documents, what do we do?

I have long known about a great program known as PDF2Office which would convert PDFs files into Microsoft Words files. Recently, they released a new version which makes conversion to iWork '08/ '09 files for the Macintosh. What GREAT version, because this is the environment I work in every day, and an incredible tool for everyday use.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

HoverCam: Digital Age Multi-Scanner

I’ve had many scanners including hand-scanners (4” wide), flat-bed scanners, all-in-one printer scanners, photostrip/slide scanners, portable roller scanners and many others. At the Consumer Electronics Show I found a new concept in scanners at a reasonable price.

The HoverCam Document Camera is a unique design that scans, copies, archives, e-faxes and video captures using a single elevated camera with lighted assistance. It will digitize filing systems, manage bills and receipts digitally, replace outdated scanners, and help make presentations a memorable experience. The included HoverCam Flex software makes managing scanned files an easy task,  cloud computing a reality, and data storage immediately available.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group

Otterbox Commuter TL iPhone Case

By necessity, iPhone protection is both a personal and practical choice. On the personal level, there is the determination of how much risk you want to take with your expensive phone. Do you go naked or encase it in a massive shield? Then, on the practical level, what is the best balance between good protection without making the phone bulky and unattractive? The Otterbox Commuter TL attempts the Solomonesque job of splitting the difference down the middle, managing to combine a slim, attractive look with some decent protection.

Read the review from the Lawrence Apple Users Group.

Toast 10

Toast has been synonymous with disk burning almost as long as Macs have been around.  I remember when Toast was an Adaptec product and came bundled with my super-expensive SCSI CD burner.  Version 10 of Toast, now owned by Roxio,  is an evolutionary upgrade.  Each version of Toast includes slightly difference bells and whistles. In fact, this version has so many features that if I listed them all, I wouldn’t have any room to review them.  I’ll summarize Toast 10 in this way:  it puts your digital lifestyle in “turbo” mode.  It doesn’t replace iLife and your digital hub, but makes it better and accessible everywhere.  Not only that, but it puts things all in one place.  A majority of Toast’s functions could be cobbled together with third-party utilities, but Toast packages it well together and with greater ease of use.

Read the review from Lawrence Apple Users Group.

A First Look at Google Chrome

Google recently released the Mac beta of Chrome - Google's attempt to penetrate a well-saturated web browser space. It long follows the original Windows beta, released in September 2008. As with Safari, Chrome runs on a WebKit engine claimed to "quickly and accurately" render pages. The Google software differs by offering a minimalist layout design, pushing tabs to the top of the browser, while using a single window - an "Omnibox" that combines search and URL fields into a single bar.

Click here to read the detailed review by The Macintosh Guild.

1Password 3: A Gatekeeper You Can Trust

How many things do you have passworded for security protection? How often must they be changed? Are they truly secure? Do you keep a paper or electronic list? Are they easy to enter, yet sufficiently complex to stop hackers? Have you gotten frustrated because you couldn’t remember an important password in a timely fashion?

For two years now I’ve been using an excellent program from Agile Web Solutions known as 1Password that has both simplified by security, and strengthened my computer defenses. Much to my delight, they have just released version 3 with lots of important improvements. Previously known as “1Passwd”, it started out as a secure login and password management tool. This is a great application that allows you to manage all your Internet logins and passwords using a single master password, securely encrypted in a special keychain.

Read the review from the appleJAC Macintosh Users Group.

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac: Virtual PC at its BEST

Got a Mac but occasionally need to do something in Windows? Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is the perfect answer that lets you seamlessly run Windows and Mac OS X side-by-side, drag-and-drop your files between operating systems, and run Windows software on your Apple computer without rebooting.

With more than 70 new, exciting features and enhancements, Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac is faster, smarter and more powerful than ever — helping you run Windows programs and devices seamlessly on your Mac.

Read about this new release from the appleJAC Mac Users Group