If you're using Microsoft Office 2008, run, don't walk, to download and install the 12.1.1 update, which fixes the problem with downloaded or attached Word and Excel documents not opening when double-clicked, along with other troublesome bugs in Word, Excel, and Entourage. Office 2004 also receives some important fixes for crashing bugs and interoperability with Office 2008 applications.
Joe Kissell has good backups of his data, but his backup plan had one crucial missing element: an adequately powerful second Mac to use when his main computer is on the fritz.
Buying AppleCare with a new Mac can seem like an unnecessary extra cost, but for Jeff, AppleCare's replacement of his MacBook Pro's weak battery made the service worthwhile.
Has a service ever taken over an essential keyboard shortcut from one of your apps? Or, for that matter, has your Services menu become unusable because of all the unwanted items in it? The solution to both of these problems is Service Scrubber.
By pressing a couple of keys, you can run your mouse pointer around the screen and see dictionary definitions of each word you point at. Try it, or watch Adam's screencast demoing the feature.
If you've been suffering from wonky issues in Mac OS X 10.5.2, check out the just-released 10.5.3, which resolves all sorts of problems. Be prepared for a big download!
Microsoft Office 2008 SP1 fixes over 150 bugs in the application suite, and Microsoft also announces that the next version will once again support Visual Basic for Applications.
If you're unhappy about being forced to move from the keyboard to the mouse just to move or resize a window, take a look at MercuryMover, which lets you move and resize windows from the keyboard. Be sure to check out Adam's screencast!
Mac OS X suffers from an architectural problem, that, when combined with less-than-ideal implementation of applications, can result in folder structures appearing in /Volumes and potentially filling up your hard disk.
This month's IT Architecture Forum, which Mark hosts as part of his job at Cornell, was a roundtable about supporting Macs in a Windows-heavy world. Check out the video and links to some useful tools.
A new Mac data recovery utility is actually not Mac software at all, but a bootable Linux CD. That's an odd concept for most Mac users, but even excusing the unfamiliar exterior, is this software a useful problem-solving tool?
Texting on the iPhone is fun and useful, but it also can be expensive and may not work all the time. Discover how to track and reduce your bill, and find tips on solving problems with the Text widget.
A pair of articles I wrote for Macworld provide several AppleScripts that address common complaints in Word 2008.
In this ebook, Macworld's Rob Griffiths, editor of MacOSXHints.com, presents a cornucopia of over 200 tips to help you maximize your mileage from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The book covers a wide range of topics and experience levels, from basic tips anyone can implement to power user tweaks employing Terminal, AppleScript, and Automator.
If you have a MacBook Air, or a recent MacBook, MacBook Pro, or iMac, Apple has a firmware update for you that supposedly improves stability. But that's all Apple's saying.