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Weekly Utilities Update: Net Monitor, MiniUsage, TimeMachineEditor, more...

Our Weekly Utilities Update report is a list of all the updates for many Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. While utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our main focus in this column is to bring you those that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.… Read more

RealPlayer SP for Mac adds video conversion

The way people consume media has been constantly evolving, especially over the past five years. In 2005, it would be practically unthinkable for any consistent TV viewers to cancel their cable subscriptions and watch only online video. Now, many more people are depending on the Internet for their video content, made abundantly clear by the fact that advertising on sites like Hulu sometimes go for higher rates than that on network television.

In such an atmosphere, it's more important than ever for digital media players and converters to stay in front of the curve. More than two years ago, Real Networks took its media player, which was mostly popular as an embedded app for online audio and video playback, and added a one-step video-downloading feature. Today, the company is updating RealPlayer SP for Mac with the addition of a built-in video converter that also offers one-click transcoding for portable devices. The program lets Mac users download practically any unprotected streaming and then transfer it directly to an iPhone, iPod, BlackBerry, or other device. RealPlayer SP handles the transcoding in the background, which makes the front-end experience very simple.

Compared side by side with RealPlayer SP for Windows, I have to say that the Mac version isn't as seamless.… Read more

Have your news delivered

How do you get your news? While you can comb the news sites using your Web browser, there is a much easier way to have the news delivered to you all in one place. NetNewsWire offers a three-paned interface for tracking all the latest stories from your favorite sources and this latest update offers extras that make your news gathering even easier. If you're a news junkie like I am, you'll definitely appreciate this software.

Also this week we have EyeConnect, the software that lets you stream movies, photos, and video to your TV or stereo. Our game … Read more

Report: Apple paying 15 percent refund on broken 27-inch iMacs

For those who've had repeated problems with their 27-inch iMac, it appears Apple is ready to make it up to you, somewhat.

Gizmodo is reporting several readers who've been given a 15 percent cash refund for having to return a broken 27-inch iMac. It's been widely reported that customers have complained of receiving 27-inch iMacs with cracked, flickering, or yellow-tinted screens. But Apple has yet to comment on the record about the problem, so roughly $300 (assuming it's a $2,000 model) given to customers certainly comes across like an acknowledgment or even an apology for … Read more

Quick tip: Faster Time Machine backups

It may be that your Time Machine backups are being slowed down by Finder. It appears that for some users, Time Machine backups slow to unbearable speeds while attempting to back up. Here is a quick tip, courtesy of macosxhints.com, on how to speed them back up.… Read more

MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature from MacFixIt where our editors answer questions e-mailed to us by our readers. We have been getting regular contacts and questions from our readers, and hope to share our correspondences so everyone may benefit and contribute to them. This week we have questions about e-mail attachments not being recognized, troubles with OnyX, iPhoto e-mail attachments changing font size, and concerns about the latest iMac firmware updates.… Read more

Update: Official Denial: Apple may have stopped 27-inch iMac production

Update: Apple has now officially denied rumors that production of the 27-inch iMac had been halted due to screen-flickering and yellow tint on the displays. The Wall Street Journal, via an interview with an Apple spokesman, is reporting that production of the 27-inch iMac continues and that Apple is "working to increase supply to meet up with strong demand." Apple has also set a new shipping time of two weeks for the all-in-one computer and is "working hard to fulfill orders as quickly as possible."… Read more

Why some people are so angry about the iPad

Some people get angry about anything to do with Apple. It's not for me to suggest they should get a life, because I am sure they feel they already have one, thank you very much.

However, the launch of the iPad seems to have revealed a rather more base and extreme level of emotional outpouring, last seen, perhaps, when Sports Illustrated created its first swimsuit edition.

Engadget, for example, decided to shut down its comments for a while in order to let the bile float off down the Nile.

For those outside the Fanboy Funhouse, it all seems rather odd. Which is why I was moved to pay attention to an e-mail I received from Sandee Cohen, self-confessed angry person. Cohen is no ordinary angry person. For a start, she is running a two-day seminar at next week's MacWorld Expo. How many angry people could do that?

Cohen is a mistress of the Adobe Creative Suite, but, as an intelligent angry person she has some theories as to why she and others are experiencing their negative emotions.

"Mac users feel they have some sort of investment in Apple. The older ones kept with the Mac platform when it was in danger of dying out. They may feel that since they supported the Mac, they have a right to tell Apple how to make products, operating system, etc.," she told me.

And you more junior, unwashed enthusiasts, well, you have some issues too, apparently.… Read more