Category: 655: Mac Treat #111: Use Stronger Passwords, Mac Maintenance Apps, Apple Event Predictions

I’ll be with three dogs for awhile as my friend Deborah Wachtel heads down to Haiti to help out with the team sponsored by the nurse’s union at Fletcher Allen Health Care. Roots, a bearded collie mix, will join my pack while she is putting in the long hours helping out with earthquake relief. When…

With recent reports of record Mac sales (and strong sales of computers in general, click here to read about this), you wouldn’t think we’d expend energy on bringing Macs to your attention. However, to us, it seems that people are only talking about it the iPhone and the rumored, so-called iSlate. This week, we’re back…

Apple’s upcoming event is shrouded in mystery (as per usual), but that doesn’t stop us from speculating about what they could unveil (in fact, it downright encourages us!). Next Wednesday, January 27, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10 a.m., we think Steve will announce: a revision to the…

Last week we asked readers to share the OS X maintenance applications they’re currently using for their Mac. Of all the other apps listed below, I’ve only tested “Cocktail”:http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php and “TechTool Pro.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/73130/micromat-techtool-pro-v-5-0 Indeed, I know many Mac users run Cocktail. MacLife says “We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Cocktail is simply one…

Here’s a disconcerting item: one out of five web users still use simple, easily guessed passwords like “1234567,” “abc123,” “iloveyou” and even “password.” The New York Times suggests that hackers could break into many accounts just by trying the most common passwords. “Because of the prevalence of fast computers and speedy networks, hackers can fire…

_Dear Friends,_ We are in the midst of a very mild spell of weather here in the Green Mountains. We have had very little snow, at least here in the Mad River Valley–Burlington got socked with three feet! The temperatures have been around freezing for the past week. While a January thaw is common, so…