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101 Reasons To Switch to the Mac Authors: McElroy M. Published year: 2007 Pages: 101-105/107 |
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94. MacFixIt.comTrouble downloading iTunes over a satellite-based Internet connection? Did your iPod arrive without an installation CD? Wondering what, exactly, the latest operating system update will do to your Mac? You can find out at MacFixit.com, the ultimate troubleshooting site for Mac hardware and software. In addition to encyclopedic coverage of breakdowns, freeze ups, and fixes, the site offers detailed articles for those who want a finer degree of control over every aspect of their Mac. Much of the content is free; a pro-level subscription (.95 per year) grants access to an exhaustive library of troubleshooting docs and strips away the ubiquitous ad content, to boot. 
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95. MacInTouch.comThough definitely not adorned in a shiny Web 2.0 interface, MacInTouch.com (the "original Mac news and information site" since 1994) remains the best place to drink directly from the firehose of Mac- related news. MacInTouch.com lacks the bubbly personality of sites like The Unofficial Apple Weblog, but its visitors appreciate the site's "nothing but the facts, ma'am" approach. Frequent daily updates provide a steady diet of densely linked articles pointing to Apple-related media coverage, hardware and software updates, and even the latest discounted prices offered by online vendors . Handy RSS feeds bring the content directly to your personal newsreader.
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96. MacMod.comNot for the faint of heart (or for those who prefer to keep their warranties valid), MacMod.com (shown in Figure 40) is the destination of choice for those who want their Macs to inspire gasps of shock and surprise. If you can't wait to pry apart your brand new MacBook Pro and change the light behind the Apple logo from white to red, MacMod.com is your Nirvana. Figure 40. Visitors to MacMod.com paint titanium laptops white, change the color of their keyboard backlighting, and perform other modifications guaranteed to make your Mac unique (and, likely, void the warranty).
User posts offer obsessive detail: brand names for the best primers to use when painting a Mac, tips for soldering extra LEDs to laptop circuit boards , and even instructions for fitting a Mac Mini into a model of a Millennium Falcon. Most articles are illustrated with photos, taking you through each mod step-by-step.
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97. MacOSXHints.comThe banner at MacOSXHints.com claims the site has served almost 10,000 hints: workarounds, tweaks, solutions, and insights from pros and everyday folks alike. Need to find out how to install Front Row on older Macs not designed to support it? Mac OSXHints.com knows all and tells all. Thanks to the site's online submission form, as soon as someone in the community invents a trick or finds a new feature, you'll read about it here. (Some hints are actually hacks; although generally dependable, be aware that they invalidate warranties and can be tough to reverse.) Post quandaries in the User Forums; in some cases, you'll get answers faster than Apple's tech support supplies them. |
98. MacRumors.com and ThinkSecret.comPerhaps because they're so passionate about their computers, Mac users are drawn to rumors like moths to flameno matter how fanciful or bizarre the rumors might be. At MacRumors.com, the headlines often come with question marks attached ("True Video iPods by Christmas?"). Don't miss the Buyer's Guide, offering buy/don't buy recommendations based on confirmed facts and wild speculation, and keep on eye on page 2 for the Mac community's least reliable but most delicious gossip. ThinkSecret.com serves up the requisite news and product reviews, but the (often fake) photos of unreleased products and the (often unreliable) "insider secrets" are the real attraction here. Take everything with a grain of salt!
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101 Reasons To Switch to the Mac Authors: McElroy M. Published year: 2007 Pages: 101-105/107 |
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