Archives for 2013

Way back when Apple introduced OS X Lion, colored icons disappeared from the Finder sidebar. Apple likes the understated and elegant look in Finder sidebar icons, but I likes me a few splashes of color. Here are two … Read More »

The Mac continues to amaze me. Not only does it just keep working, safe and secure (unlike my Windows-using friends), the variety of apps that do what I didn’t know could be done continues to grow. Here’s an … Read More »

iTunes customers knew it would come to this someday. The day is here. A major recording artist released an entirely new album only on iTunes. Retail stores had to wait in line. iTunes came first. In this case … Read More »

One of the more enduring tools to learn, one that spans a few centuries, and spans the ages of anyone who wants to learn something new is flash cards. That’s what I use to learn the vocabulary of … Read More »

Allow me the privilege of going on public record by saying, ‘I really don’t like email.’ Put another way, ‘Email sucks.’ Yes, I know. Email is the killer app of the internet. Killer app? In that email came … Read More »

The holiday season being what it is– crass commercialism– I braved winter weather and did some mall hopping this weekend. What I found was more than just interesting. People of all ages, ethnic groups, and obvious socio-economic segments … Read More »

We’re entering the Golden Age of Apps for the Mac and Apple positively absolutely is doing nothing to help us manage the apps we buy, try, and discard. Sure, Apple will sell us apps on the Mac App … Read More »

For most Apple watchers, Mac users, iPhone and iPad owners, we live in a land of plenty, with more than our fair share of technology belongings. This time of year brings a couple of opportunities. One is to … Read More »

What’s the most valuable app on your Mac? Safari? Calendar? Mail? Contacts? iPhoto? iTunes? Those all make the Top 10 List of Most Used Apps in the O’Brien compound, but those are necessity apps. I have one app … Read More »

This time of the year, November to early January, is the time when I double the number of photos taken from the rest of the year. Many of the photos I shoot have one thing in common. Objects … Read More »

The holiday season is here and you know what that means? No, not just turkey. Not just office parties. Not just family gatherings. It means photos. Hundreds of additional photos to add to your collection in iPhoto. What … Read More »

My rule of thumb when writing about Mac apps is basic. I write about whatever suits my fancy at the moment. A secondary rule is nearly as simple, though a bit less elegant. I review Mac (occasionally iPhone … Read More »

Cable TV is an official expense in the O’Brien household. The monthly bill keeps going up each year as the cable company adds more television networks, but the amount of time I have to watch TV each day … Read More »

What do Mac users have in common? Among a long list of items, bookmarks. Whether Safari, Firefox, Chrome or whatever browser suits your fancy, we all have bookmarks. What’s the problem we all experience with website bookmarks? Outdated … Read More »

Most Mac users share a few things in common. We love our Macs. We’re afraid we might lose it or it might get stolen. The real questions are these: ‘What can we do to prevent the Mac from … Read More »