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Get a Mac perspective from a site that is guaranteed to filter out Microsoft bias. It's MacDailyNews at www.macdailynews.com.
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Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

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10 ways to keep up on Mac OS X developments


May 14, 2003


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, The Post-Standard

   No Mac is an island. Here are 10 online ways to keep up on developments in the world of OS X and Apple:
   1. Go to Apple's Web site at www.apple.com. This might seem like a strange recommendation if you assume that everyone knows that Macs are made by Apple and that Apple has one of the best Web sites of any computer manufacturer. But I've come to realize that many people who want an alternative to Windows don't know about Apple at all. Apple's site gives them an entry into a world much different from what they're used to under Windows.
   2. Subscribe to MacWorld magazine. Web sites are fine and all that, but there's no substitute for something you can roll up and carry under your arm. (You can even swat flies with a magazine., Try that with your iBook.) Go to www.macworld.com and click the "Subscribe" link.
   3. Visit Version Tracker every now and then. It lists new Mac OS X software by the hour, and categorizes all the programs in its list so you can look for specific kinds of software. Downloads are a few clicks away. It's at www.versiontracker.com.
   4. Check the MacUpdate site at www.macupdate.com. Odd as it may seem to Version Tracker fans, some updated programs never make it into the Version Tracker lists. But they usually find a home on MacUpdate.
   5. Use the Google Macintosh search engine when you're trying to locate Macintosh-related tips, FAQs or help. Google's Mac site is www.google.com/mac. (Tell your Windows friends that Google has a Microsoft-specific site also: www.google.com/microsoft.)
   6. Visit MacSlash often. It's patterned after Slashdot, the single most important geek site in the history of the world, more or less, and finds Mac news you are certain to miss otherwise. Address: www.macslash.com.
   7. Look at the tips at the "Accelerate Your Macintosh!" site (www.xlr8yourmac.com). I've found this site especially helpful when I am tracking down problems.
   8. Stop over at the MacFixIt site once a week. It's at www.macfixit.com. It's probably the first place you should go if you have a problem with an Apple software upgrade or a new hardware problem. (For example, I relied on MacFixIt for encouragement when my Mac suddenly insisted the date was 1969. I found that thousands of others had the same problem, each one the result of a faulty Apple update. Apple fixed the problem within a few weeks.)
   9. Want to tweak the most from your OS X Mac? Three sites that can help are MacOSXHints (www.macosxhints.com), the Mac OS X speed FAQ (www.macmaps.com/Macosxspeed.html) and a great OS X 10.2 (Jaguar) troubleshooting site at www.macattorney.com/tutorial.html.
   10. Get a Mac perspective on what's going on from a site that is guaranteed to filter out the Microsoft bias that slips into most supposedly "neutral" news sites. It's MacDailyNews at www.macdailynews.com.