Ok, so I got an email from a reader (and fellow Mac enthusiast) about his trip to the Apple store—and the subsequent new phone he walked out with. I have to share his thoughts because, frankly, they’re awesome:

“Really, the trip to the cell phone shop with my faithful Blackberry in tow had all the makings of a heavy weight fight—the kind where the current champion gets knocked out with the first blow.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I would dump my faithful BB in a second for some sexy sleek iPhone and all its glitz and glamour if only I had the chance.

Well, you would be right.

But… I can explain my lack of cellular honor.

From the first moment I got my hands on her sister (the iTouch) I knew I was in trouble. The way she looked… her style… she drew me in like a moth to a flame. I would lay awake in bed with her, her curves cradled in my hands as I downloaded app after app. I was drawn in to her as my finger tips danced across her smooth screen, creating cute little conversation bubbles as I text my friends. I knew I shouldn’t feel this way but I couldn’t stop. My mind raced as I thought, “If she is this good, how much better could her sister (iPhone 3GS) make me feel?”

My BB lay motionless on the night stand beside me, frozen in fear as she no doubt has seen all that went on.

Yep, that’s what it was like. I was sucked in by an iTouch, which led me to the iPhone. Does that make the iTouch a gateway drug?

Seriously, I enjoy my cell phone experience more with the iPhone 3GS than I ever did with my Blackberry—and I really loved my BB.

Here is why I prefer the iPhone over the Blackberry Bold 9700. Much bigger screen, all the crazy app’s you can get for it, call quality seems better, I can actually cradle it when I talk (like a real phone), the user interface is easier for me to use, I am a BIG fan of Rhapsody and now I can take it anywhere with me and the list could go on and on and on. Did I mention its integration with YouTube?

Anyway, if you have been thinking of taking the iPlunge I think it maybe just be the perfect time. Come on in, the waters fine.” – Dale R. Champaign, Illinois

Ok, so I got an email from a reader (and fellow Mac enthusiast) about his trip to the Apple store—and the subsequent new phone he walked out with. I have to share his thoughts because, frankly, they’re awesome:

“Really, the trip to the cell phone shop with my faithful Blackberry in tow had all the makings of a heavy weight fight—the kind where the current champion gets knocked out with the first blow.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I would dump my faithful BB in a second for some sexy sleek iPhone and all its glitz and glamour if only I had the chance.

Well, you would be right.

But… I can explain my lack of cellular honor.

From the first moment I got my hands on her sister (the iTouch) I knew I was in trouble. The way she looked… her style… she drew me in like a moth to a flame. I would lay awake in bed with her, her curves cradled in my hands as I downloaded app after app. I was drawn in to her as my finger tips danced across her smooth screen, creating cute little conversation bubbles as I text my friends. I knew I shouldn’t feel this way but I couldn’t stop. My mind raced as I thought, “If she is this good, how much better could her sister (iPhone 3GS) make me feel?”

My BB lay motionless on the night stand beside me, frozen in fear as she no doubt has seen all that went on.

Yep, that’s what it was like. I was sucked in by an iTouch, which led me to the iPhone. Does that make the iTouch a gateway drug?

Seriously, I enjoy my cell phone experience more with the iPhone 3GS than I ever did with my Blackberry—and I really loved my BB.

Here is why I prefer the iPhone over the Blackberry Bold 9700. Much bigger screen, all the crazy app’s you can get for it, call quality seems better, I can actually cradle it when I talk (like a real phone), the user interface is easier for me to use, I am a BIG fan of Rhapsody and now I can take it anywhere with me and the list could go on and on and on. Did I mention its integration with YouTube?

Anyway, if you have been thinking of taking the iPlunge I think it maybe just be the perfect time. Come on in, the waters fine.” – Dale R. Champaign, Illinois

In the days since I made the Mac switch and bought my first iPod, I have become very attached (or maybe it’s really permanently attached to me) to pods and touches and pads and all the glorious applications or “apps” that make them so irresistible. Here a quick list of my 5 most favorite app’s for my “iDevices” right now.

Long gone are the days of the transistor radio and all the fun I used to have with it. “TuneIn Radio” brings me back to those days and more. This app lets me use my iPhone as a radio. And not just any radio, either, but a worldwide radio. It lets me listen to all my local stations, as well as stations from Anchorage to Perth. If you love radio, this is the perfect app for you.

Next up, I am constantly on a keyboard whether it’s at work, home on my iPhone so this app called “TextExpander” is a real time saver for me. It takes short abbreviations and turns them into longer snippets. I can then include them in an email, or even get them directly into my Twitter account.
I am also a first class weather geek. I figure if I can’t be a weather girl, I’ll have the next best thing: “The Weather Channel” app on my iTouch. Before I go to the pool I check the UV index. When I am planning to cookout for dinner, I just click on the very cool radar tab that tells me if I’ll need an umbrella with my burger.

Then there is the gambler in me. She loves the WOSP or World Series of Poker app. If you love real online gaming competition you’ll love this app. The app has some other stuff but what I love most is feeling like I am on ESPN for the tour.

Finally I have saved the best for last. Everyone loves a good game and right now there is one called “Angry Birds” that has me mesmerized. The whole pretense of the game is you get to kill pigs by shooting several different types of birds with a giant slingshot. The birds make some pretty funny sounds and the pigs even taunt by grunting. “Angry Birds” is a good game to pass the time with on the bus, on a plane or in the living room waiting for dinner.

Remember your walkman? (The one with the three chunky buttons?) Remember your first Discman and how cool you thought it was? Remember the first time you tried walking around and playing a CD at the same time?

Chances are good you heard music skip music skip skip music skip freeze. My how things have changed.

In 2001, Apple changed the music world forever with the introduction of a little music machine called the iPod.

Today, iPods are everywhere—from the teeny tiny Nano to the sleek and app-ified Touch. And personally, I couldn’t be happier. Looking back to the Discman days of yore, I can’t believe how happy we were to listen to the same 12 songs over and over again. The iPod that’s sitting on my desk right now has about 4,500 songs in it, plus a couple of ebooks and my favorite videos—all with plenty of room for more.

We used to think our walkmans were so “mobile.” Do you remember the size on those bad boys? You could easily fit a couple of iPods into my old school portable tape player. But an iPod… well now you’re talking. This is truly mobile music—playlists that go with me from home to work to the gym and the car ride back again; all in a device that weighs less than 6 ounces! Songs I love and songs I’ve never heard before. It’s all here, available instantly at my fingertips. IPods even managed to make the whole brick and mortar music store thing obsolete. (Trust me, that’s one experience I’m not going to miss. Those lines? Fughettaboutit)

So the next time you plug into your Mac, load up your music, and walk away with a smile, take a moment to pay your respects to the music players of yesterday—and say a little thank you to the powers that be at Apple!

The best part about owning any kind of Mac (in my personal opinion) is the personality factor. Macs are, by design, oh so much more fun, hip, and playful than their PC counterparts.

So having a MacBook that looks like everyone else’s… well, it seems to go against their very natures. Naked MacBooks look lonely, and a little sad. (Or maybe I’ve just spent too much time in front of my screen, and all those fried brain cells are finally getting to me)

At any rate, I am a big fan of skins for Macs. They go on easily, and don’t leave any sticky residue behind when you take them off. And, for around 20 to 30 bucks a pop, they’re pretty darn affordable.

I love putting a little personality on my MacBook, and right now it’s rocking a pretty feisty zebra print. I also own a leopard skin (because a girl can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many animal prints) as well as some fun polka dots, a replica of my boyfriend’s baseball jersey, and a lovely display of purple orchids. I change the look of my portable pal depending on my mood—good luck pulling that off with a run of the mill laptop!

What’s even better is that you can now get fully customizable skins. Names, sports teams, tattoos… really the possibilities are close to endless.

So here’s what I want to know: What’s your favorite Mac skin… and do you match your iPod, MacBook, and iPhone? Or are you all about keeping it varied?

If you’re looking for a really fun and innovative desktop and server operating system for the Mac, I highly suggest you look into getting the Mac OS X Leopard.

This frisky kitty is the latest version of the Mac OS X Tiger, and harbors, according to Apple, at least 300 more changes and special abilities.

For one, it has a neat feature called “Back To My Mac”, where one can access, edit and transfer their home files while not actually at home. They can be accessed from anywhere via internet (I personally think this is awesome). You need a MobileMe account for this one (which is basically an email account of sorts), so if you don’t have one, I suggest you get it, because Back To My Mac is definitely worth it.

Another cool feature is the “Podcast Capture,” which allows users to create and distribute their own, personal podcasts over the net. This feature requires the “Podcast Producer” feature in order for it to function properly, but once again, it’s worth it.

One of the coolest features, though, is the updated version of the desktop search system, “Spotlight”. With the original Tiger version, users were only allowed to search files within their own system; but in the Leopard version, one can search files in all networked Macs who share the same system.
Spotlight also provides a much easier and efficient search ability. Now, users can incorporate the words ‘not’ or ‘and’ for a narrower and more effective search (example: “search flowers NOT roses.” This search will locate flowers while excluding roses).

Also, the Spotlight feature also doubles as a calculator, which is pretty cool. You can just simply open it up, type in an equation and the Spotlight will solve it for you, right there.

So, there you have it. I’ve only listed a few of the great features for the MAC OS X Leopard. Trust me, there are many more. Hmm… maybe I shall investigate some in more detail and get back to you with them.

There are tons of cool, Mac-related gadgets I’m dying to get my hands on. And, it seems, Apple just keeps coming out with more of them.

One especially nifty item is the “Magic Mouse.” Selling at a relatively reasonable price of sixty-nine dollars, the Magic Mouse has rid itself of the typical mouse layout of scroll wheels, scroll balls and buttons, and instead, offers up a sleeker, simpler and more innovative device.

The Magic Mouse can operate just by the touch of one’s fingers. One can simply tap on it to enter or leave a site and scroll through pages. It is also advanced enough to be able to tell the difference between scrolling and swiping and will not confuse you just resting your hand on it with wanting to enter or leave a site. Pretty cool, huh?

Another neat feature is that the mouse is wireless, and can be used from a distance of up to thirty feet away. It connects to your Mac through the Bluetooth wire-less system, so you don’t have to worry about an endless pile up of wire and cable carnage around your computer desk.

It also has a good battery system, whereas, it can detect inactivity instantly and knows when to go into sleep mode.

I’m actually pretty excited about getting my hands on one of these magical mice, especially since my current mouse is a technological dinosaur with a barely-working scroll ball that usually has me cursing and threatening its imminent replacement after twenty minutes of using it. The Magic Mouse seems like a much better bet, in my opinion. You hear that current mouse? Yeah, that’s right. You’re getting replaced!

It’s been a long day.

My fiancé had a little accident with his keyboard yesterday. And no, I do not agree with his claims that it was my fault.

Sorry, but just because I startled him by sneezing when he was deeply engrossed in some online news article does NOT mean that it was my fault that he dropped an entire mug of coffee on his keyboard.

The java disaster did eventually dry, and the board works again. (Albeit somewhat stickier and quite a bit uglier) I was joking about the spill with a friend of mine on the phone this morning, and she suggested something that sounded beyond bizarre to me.

“Just put it in the dishwasher,” she said.

HUH?

I thought maybe she needed to adjust the levels of her medication. But a quick spin around the internet yielded some surprising results. A LOT of people use this method for getting their keyboards squeaky clean.

Apparently, you just put the keyboard on the top rack of your kitchen dishwasher, set it on Normal Wash, and do NOT add any detergent. That’s it.

According to those that use the method, it takes a couple of days (between 3-4) for the keyboard to completely dry. So I probably wouldn’t try this if you don’t have a spare and can’t be without your computer for a couple of days.

Also, and this is just my personal opinion, I don’t think this is a good idea at all if you have one of those $150 fancy smancy boards, either.
But, if you’re just working with a regular little keyboard and don’t really have any other options, it might be worth a shot.

Ok, so what do you guys think? Should we try it?

For those of you already using Snow Leopard, I don’t have to tell you about how many uber cool features it has. One of personal favorites is a little something called Text Replacement.

For those of you that have yet to discover it, text replacement lets you type in an abbreviation, and then your handy dandy computer automatically converts it for you. (Told you it was cool!) Think of it as a super kicked up version of Auto-Correct.

Honestly, if you spend a lot of time typing, like I do, text replacement can become your new best friend.

Here’s how it works:

Head on over to the Apple menu at the top of your screen. From there, open up System Preferences. Then click on Language & Text. Click on Text.

From there, you’ll see a list of Symbol and Text substitutions. When you’re ready to add a new word, just click on the + button.
Then you can type your abbreviation into the REPLACE column, and the word you’d like it to replace in the column that says WITH.
You can swap u with you, dec for December, im for I’m… really the possibilities are endless.

The best part about text replacement is that you can enable it for any number of applications. All you have to do to enable it in an app is to right click within the text area (for example the composition pane in Mail) and click on the substitutions sub-menu. Click on Text Replacement, and you’re good to go!

Once you’ve enabled it, Text Replacement does its thing completely automatically. Just type in your abbreviation, and once you hit the space bar, it will apply the change!

There’s been some talk lately from those in the know at Apple about opening up a Red Light District of sorts for iTunes. Until now, anything sexually suggestive or otherwise deemed inappropriate has simply been removed from the online media store.

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with catering to the over 21 market with a separate section for explicit goodies, but I know that some parents are (understandably) concerned over little Timmy getting his hands on something that he shouldn’t be seeing or hearing while he fills up his iPod.

But don’t fret—Apple actually has a very good parental control system in place for iTunes. If you have little ones, you might want to set up your parental parameters now, and then adjust as needed if and when new genres are introduced.

To access PC, click on the Preferences tab within the iTunes menu. From there, you simply click on the Parental section.

Once you’re in, you have a couple of different options to choose from.
For starters, you can choose to completely disable access to any number of iTunes options, including internet radio, podcasts, and the iTunes store itself. Disabling any of these things eliminates them from appearing in the sidebar on the iTunes window.

If you’d like to use a different way of controlling what Tiny Tim can get his hands on, you can fine tune his access with the use of a rating system. In the US, that means you can restrict certain movies based on their theatrical ratings (as in G, PG, R, etc.). Same goes for television shows, since they now have their own rating system.

But what about apps, you say?

Well, Apple rates these the same way, no matter what country you live in (4+, 9+, 12+, and 17+). Feel free to limit and adjust what is allowed or, for something a little stricter, click on the Restrict Explicit Content button, which will completely block everything that has been labeled as explicit.