utilities

When troubleshooting OS X it helps to be prepared with an arsenal of tools that can help narrow down what exactly is contributing to the problems at hand. Having tools that help you investigate files, monitor system events and input or output, and control aspects of the hardware is very useful to have when trying to perform troubleshooting tasks.

If you want--or need--to troubleshoot a problem with your Mac, here are some recommended tools. You don't need to keep these on your system at all times, but knowing they're available makes them easy to access in the event … Read more

In October 2011, Apple won a patent detailing the method of sliding an onscreen mark to unlock the iOS operating system on a mobile device. Now, just four months later, Samsung's Galaxy Nexus is coming under fire for violating that patent.

As Samsung and Apple have been going head-to-head in court lately, this should come as little surprise. The latest battlefield was in Germany where Samsung was hoping to stop Apple from selling the iPhone, a fight that Samsung ultimately lost. In response, Apple broke out one of its biggest patent wins of 2011, the "slide to unlock&… Read more

To butcher an old saying, people don't plan to lose data, they lose data because they don't plan. In other words, many users don't bother to make regular backups, and often suffer the consequences when their hard drive dies or falls victim to a virus.

How can you avoid such consequences? Step one: buy an external hard drive. (If possible, go back in time a few months and buy one when they're significantly cheaper. Also: place a few strategic sports bets for me. Cool, thanks.)

Step two: get yourself a comprehensive, easy-to-use backup program--preferably one that … Read more

Junior Icon Editor is a free graphics drawing tool optimized for creating and editing icons to use in Windows. You can create icons in sizes up to 64x64 pixels and 32-bit True Color. It includes a variety of standard drawing tools like paint brushes and text tools, and its tabbed interface lets you create several icons at once. You can set transparency, enlarge or reduce images, and smooth edges, among other functions. Once you've created and saved your custom icons, you can use them to replace other icons in Windows.

Junior Icon Editor is basically a simplified, specialized image … Read more

A scratched DVD is a worthless DVD. I learned this the hard way after the kids destroyed half our Pixar movie collection. That's why I'm a strong believer in making backups.

Today only, Giveaway of the Day is giving away Digiarty's WinX DVD Copy Pro 3.4.3 for Windows. (I mention the version number because if you have an older freebie, here's your chance to upgrade.)

To get the program, click only the link marked Download WinX DVD Copy Pro 3.4.3 now. There's a lot of promotional clutter on that page, including … Read more

If somebody was nice enough to get you an iPad for the holidays, make them proud by decking it out with all the best apps.

We've rounded up our favorites so you don't have to wade through hundreds of thousands of apps in the iTunes App Store.

There's no question that the iPad is a great entertainment device, but there's more to it than just games if you know which apps to get. In this collection of Best apps for iPad, we've got several categories of apps to choose from, including productivity, entertainment, social networking, … Read more

This was an exciting/anxious year in the Internet security community, with big tech firms like Sony and RSA getting hacked, putting consumer data and corporate networks at risk, and with reports of attacks on utilities.

Scary things that go bump in the night are actually happening to computer systems that matter and it's only going to get worse. Here's what I think will happen in 2012.

Malicious Android apps will increase As a target for malicious software, Android is the Microsoft of the mobile platform. Android has more than 50 percent of the smartphone market, eclipsing all … Read more

LightScribe's technology burns customized labels directly onto specially treated DVDs and CDs. To use it, you must have a LightScribe-enabled disk burner. LightScribe Diagnostics Utility is a free tool that can check your system's LightScribe compatibility as well as its readiness to run the software without problems. It also scans for conflicts, suggesting changes that you can accept, reject, or modify. After you've checked out whether your system is ready to run LightScribe, you can uninstall the diagnostic tool or keep it in case you make any hardware or software changes. If you're not sure your … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions on using Disk Utility from a prior version of OS X, whether or not to repair a broken G5 or upgrade, how to recover a missing Downloads folder on the Dock, and the necessity of the Lion recovery partition. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

NOTE: The "contact us" box on the MacFixIt … Read more