Hello and welcome to Mac's Picks of the Week. If you are interested in why this site exists, how it operates, and a little about Mac, then click on the Why and How Info link and see what is there. When you have finished please return to this Home page and see what sites I have chosen this week to receive a Mac's Picks of the Week award. Thank you for visiting and please share this site with friends, family, and colleagues who you feel will enjoy it.

This page is updated on a weekly basis, each Monday Australian (Queensland) time (GMT + 10 hours according to the world clock). Please come back and visit often.

It never ceases to amaze me how many good recipe sites there are online. I suppose it only goes to show how obsessed we have become with food. However, as long as one eats sensibly I am sure that the many recipes offered can only serve to bring us closer together and share the things we find that make us happy. Therefore, have a look at the Food Network - Cooking, Recipe Collections, Party Ideas, Quick & Easy Recipes, Cooking Videos site and see if it inspires you to try something new.

In the world of blogs and blogging there are gems among the flow that deserve being passed on to others to enjoy. One such blog is known as timbl's blog Decentralized Information Group (DIG) Breadcrumbs. Now I suppose that, seeing as blogs normally are simply folk speaking their mind, "breadcrumbs" are as good a metaphor for what they contain as any descriptive term. See what you think of this one.

If you have joined the digital revolution in photography you really should have a look at Megapixel.net as it contains tips, ideas, and virtual lessons on how to get the most out of your digital camera and the photos you produce. Look at the Articles and then at the dropdown menus in those. If you need help getting started or improving your photography, this is one of the places to find that help. Snap away.

Have you ever come across a household tip that you felt would be worth sharing with others you know? Well, Robbie, of Robbie's Handy Household Tips and Tricks not only found that he had, but decided to publish those he knows about on the web to help us all. Have a browse. You never know what you might learn.

Feel in the need for a bit of a break from your work online or other online activities? Hop over to the Play Games, Free Online Games at AddictingGames site and have a browse around. And yes, the site is aptly named. Some of these can become very addicting - so be careful. *smiles*

Our grandsons are still in the "colouring in" stages of their growth. Thus, I thought the Animal Pages to Color Online - A - AllAboutNature.com site might just be something I would bookmark for them so that when they visit Gamma and PomPom they can go online and download some nice animal pictures to colour in. Have a look. It might serve to keep some members of your household busy as well.

One of the more widely known and followed news sources, namely CNN.com International have, as you can readily see, their own website that might prove useful to bookmark in case you need to keep up with breaking news. They do seem good at reporting what is happening around the globe. Have a look.

There are many different ways of searching for information online and indeed, of displaying what the search facility has found for you. One interesting search facility is called KartOO visual meta search engine and I suggest it's a worthy addition to the search tools you presently use. I like the way they display the results, linking them together to ensure you see relationships (hover your mouse over anything that it returns and you'll see what I mean). Have a look at this meta-search engine and see what you think.

Here in Australia more and more folk are going to broadband for their internet connection. Thankfully there is the Broadband Choice site to look through as it's an independent site that simply keeps track of all the ISPs it knows about and shows their various plans, thus allowing you to make informed choices about the ISP you seek. So if you are an Australian viewer, and you need a new ISP, have a look here.

There are a few places online that will condense a longish URL (Universal Resource Locator) for you and turn it into a much smaller and more manageable one. The urlTea - smooth sips of decanted web addresses site does that admirably and appears to be relatively new to the web. For instance, I entered my URL for this page there, as www.upnrunning.com.au/picks/ and it turned out urltea.com/19t for me and sure enough, as you can see in the following, it works - Mac's Picks of the Week. If you have a web address yourself you might find this useful as well. Enjoy.

Most of us have visited a library at one time or another. With the web we tend to forget the usefulness of such institutions, but they indeed, still flourish. One fine example, which is a free online library, is located at the News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles and Classic Books site. Have a look and see what you think? I feel it's a great idea.

You may remember Techos talking a while back about a 'virtual' keyboard that would be projected onto a table top to give you ready access to a real looking but projected keyboard no matter where you were. Well, it's no longer just in the realm of the future. It's here now at the ThinkGeek Bluetooth Laser Virtual Keyboard site. No, I've not tried it personally but the theory certainly is good and looks interesting. You may, by going to this site, be viewing your next keyboard.

Rebecca Game of "Digital Women - Women with their modems running...", is my web designer and a graphic designer who is superb to say the least. Her site, dedicated to women on the net, is worth seeing and bookmarking for future reference. If you are looking for links of interest to women, please visit her site. And if you need the best graphic designer on the planet, I seriously can't recommend her more highly. Oh yes, and when you visit her site, tell her Mac sent you. Thank you Rebecca. I am eternally grateful for your assistance and expertise. ;-)