mac

Encrypting data is a convenient method for keeping your data secure, especially when using external hard drives and thumbdrives that may be stolen or lost. While it might be easiest to encrypt an entire drive, sometimes doing so may be a touch inconvenient, especially if the drive is used for more than one purpose.

For instance, if you keep sensitive files on your drive, you may wish to keep it encrypted; however, this prevents you from sharing the drive with others. Therefore, if you want to use the drive to transfer files to another system, you will have to authenticate … Read more

Digital photography is a blessing and a curse. OK, it's more of a blessing than curse. Freed from the cost of purchasing and developing film, digital photographers can take multiple shots of the same scene in an attempt to capture the perfect shot. Unless you dutifully manage your photo library and cull the extra shots from each photo shoot, your library quickly becomes difficult to navigate and your hard drive cluttered. PhotoSweeper for Mac identifies duplicate and similar photos and lets you dump the ones you don't need in the trash. The app costs $9.99 in the … Read more

Apple's Xserve computers were a rack-mountable line of Macintosh systems designed for enterprise use; however, in 2011 Apple abandoned the project, leaving only its Mac Pro and Mac Mini with available server options. Though anyone can download the OS X Server tools from the Mac App Store and convert any current Mac into a server system, some may wish to get a rack-mounted setup going again.

Fortunately, even though the demise of the Xserve means there aren't officially supported rack-based options from Apple, there are some ways you can get your Macs back into the rack. Of course, … Read more

There is no question that regardless of the computing platform you use, malware happens. To help prevent these and other unwanted programs from running, Apple includes a data execution prevention routine called GateKeeper, which offers three layers of protection. The first allows everything to run, the second allows only applications signed with a valid Apple Developer ID to run, and the third allows only programs distributed through the Mac App Store to run.

Apple provides the Developer ID option with the assumption that most who use its Developer program create legitimate and trustworthy code, since their works will be easily … Read more

Today's cameras are capable of capturing some pretty amazing shots, whether you're using a DSLR, a point-and-shoot camera, or even your cell phone. The average resolution of a contemporary camera can range anywhere from six to 20 megapixels--three to four times the quality of cameras of less than three years ago. However this clarity comes at a cost. As images get clearer, file sizes get bigger. JPEGmini helps you retake control over the enormous photo collection you have laying around by reducing the amount of space these files take up on your hard drive.

Originally developed for the … Read more

When cameras do not have a panoramic capability, users may need a program to combine two separate images for the desired result. Hugin for Mac functions well, but is overly complicated for its relatively limited purpose.

The downloaded file folder contained multiple files in addition to a readme, and also had two subfolders, one of which was just for licenses. Installation of Hugin for Mac was overly complicated and actually placed two separate programs into the applications folder. Initiating the program also brought up a warning that a prior version was detected, which was not possible since the test computer … Read more

When giving live or recorded computer presentations, the mouse pointer can be easily lost to viewers. Highlighter for Mac focuses attention on the pointer, but lacks any other features for presentation that would make it more useful to most users.

While it downloaded and started up without any problems, the program did lack technical support. Fortunately, Highlighter for Mac's basic purpose and operation made the lack of user instructions or tutorials moot. At startup, the only thing that happens is a red circle that follows the pointer around the screen, highlighting it for easier viewing. There were no options … Read more

If you have a Google Reader account and are unsatisfied with the interface, you may seek an application to better manage the feeds such as Gruml for Mac. Gruml for Mac has a dated, albeit functional interface, but Google's announcement to end support for Reader makes its utility questionable.

RSS feeds provide users with the ability to easily follow Web news sources. One of the most popular RSS feed readers is Google's Reader program. Gruml for Mac is a freeware RSS reader that works exclusively with Google's program. After the installation completes, the application opens to a … Read more

Growly Notes for Mac has many features that are useful for note-taking, but it ultimately fails to set itself apart from similar programs.

Upon startup, Growly Notes for Mac immediately brings up a note containing a tutorial, which was very helpful since there were a number of options and features. A top menu contains buttons for the main options, from creating a new notebook to changing colors. The interface could have benefited from larger text or more appropriate graphics for the buttons, to assist new users. During testing, creating a new note was easy. The program allows users to add … Read more