Christmas Suggestions for you and your Mac

Almost a direct copy from last year, but not quite ...

Posted : 27 Nov 2003

I thought I would come out a bit earlier this year. Lots of new stuff this year. Revised and updated from last year. Suggestions from $5 to $500.

Apple iPod : The best mp3 player on the market today. A marvellous device. Play, store all your songs in either 10, 20 or 40GB versions. With a firewire connection it is fast and can also be used as a backup for your data files. You can even boot your Mac with it.

iPod accessories :
*) iTrip FM transmitter. Play your iPod songs through any FM radio
*) Auto car charger kit. Run your iPod from your cars cigarette lighter.
*) External battery pack. For when you are away from power for extended periods.
*) iPod armour case. Practical and strong.
*) Voice recorder.
And lots more. Call me for more details on iPod accessories

EyeTV : Watch and record TV on your Mac. Very clever product.

Mousepads : Still the best - 3M Precision Mousing Surface, yet to be surpassed as a mousepad ...

Optical Mouse : Speaking of mice, got an optical mouse yet? Imagine never having to clean that mouse wheel again ! Do yourself a favour get one with 2 buttons and a scroll wheel. You wont know yourself. I particularly like the Logitech MX700 wireless rechargeable mouse. Best used in combination with the Logitech wireless keyboard. Leaves the Apple wireless products for dead.

RAM : Can you ever have enough RAM? It's never been cheaper. I recommend 512MB or more for best OS X performance.

2nd Hard Disk : Drives have never been bigger or cheaper. Up to 300GB now ! A 2nd drive in your G4 or G5 can be used as a backup and an alternate boot drive, somewhat essential for troubleshooting (boot from the 2nd drive and run Norton's, etc.). Haven't got a G4 or G5, hey just get an external firewire drive. Haven't got a firewire port. No problem, time to upgrade your Mac ! Now with firewire 400 and 800 and USB 2 for faster performance than ever.

DVD Burners : CD's not enough for backup? Get a DVD burner for over 4GB of backup space. Great to store those large mp3 collections for those limewire/napster addicts. Spent years ripping mp3 and sorting it out your music collection, got it backed up? Pioneer DVD burners are now better than ever and only $255 inc GST for a bare drive throughout December.

Speakers : Having installed some good speakers on a few high end systems over the last year or two, I realised what I have been missing all these years. I recommend Monsoon, Altec Lansing or Logitech speakers. For around $180 you can get a stereo set with sub woofer that will knock your socks off (literally). Fantastic for music, games, DVD's. Cheaper and better than the Apple speakers. For PC's with a 5.1 sound card you can go for the works and get Dolby surround sound for the ultimate game and movie experience. If you have over $500 to spend (and a G5) you can get some speakers that will be better than many home surround systems. in fact you can use them in your home surround system, and your Mac and your game console.

Games : All the latest games are out on Mac now. Halo (finally), Warcraft 3 : The Frozen Throne, Tiger Woods Golf, Everquest, Finding Nemo, The Sims (and multiple expansions), Sim City 4, Neverwinter Nights, Age of Mythology, Baldur's Gate, Star Trek Elite Force II, Medal of Honor : Spearhead, Harry Potter, Jedi Knight II, Black & White, Total Immersion Racing, F1 Championship, Solitaire Antics, Ghost Recon : Desert Siege, Links Championship Ed, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3, Civilization 3, Pinball, Spiderman and many more for all ages.

Games Hardware : Steering wheels, joysticks, gamepads, headphones, speakers (see above).

Digital Cameras : As with RAM and HD's, cameras have never been better or cheaper. Reasonable ones start at around $400 and go up to whatever you want to spend...

Web Cam : Interract with the rest of the world, post your life on the Internet. Ok, well maybe not. Fascinating gadget though. Incorporate it on your web site. Claim it as a video conferencing tool to get a tax deduction. Get a firewire unit for better performance than USB. Apple's iSight has excellent ergonomics and performance.

Go Wireless : Airport Xtreme now at 54Mbps. Freedom from cables forever ! Lounge around the pool with your notebook.

UPS : Uninterruptible Power Supply. Not very sexy but can be life saving. Got bad or unreliable power in your area. Get a UPS.

Software : Some unusual ideas that you might not have thought of ...
Renunion : Genealogy software.
Brittanica : The standard encyclopedia and reference, with atlas and more for 2004 edition. CD and DVD versions.
Quicktime : Go pro and be able to download movies and get all the options

Some Software Usage Ideas :
* Not using iTunes yet : Start your mp3 collection immediately !
* Download music : Get limed now. Get into limewire for all your mp3 needs. http://www.limewire.com
* Worked out how to fax from your Mac yet : Upgrade to OS X 10.3 and use Apple's built-in fax software.
* Had a look at iCal yet in OS X?
* Got a graphics tablet? Experiment with Inkwell in OS X for handwriting recognition.
* iPhoto is another excellent addition to the Apple i range. Check it out.

For the Masochists :
Books : Learning Unix for OS X
O'Rielly Book Collection : The best books for computers, http://mac.oreilly.com/

Need any more info or want to buy anything, you know who to call ...