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.

You have no doubt heard that you have an online presence that can be traced using your IP address and other tools. The DNS Stuff DNS tools, DNS hosting tests, WHOIS, trace-route, ping, and other network and domain name tools. site will give you access to the same tools used by professionals in their internet work, such as those listed in the site name. Have a look around and read up on what each one does. You never know - that type of info could come in handy at any time.

Did you know there is a new search facility on the block? It's called a MetaSearch engine in that it searches various other search engines at once and brings the results all back to you on one page. I tried it out and I have to say I'm impressed so far. Hop over to the CorrectSearch MetaSearch Engine, Fast Search Engine, Get Relevant Search Results site, put in a search term and watch the various links come pouring in. This would be a good one to add to those needing a good search facility with which to do their homework.

We all love good food but unfortunately in today's tough economic times, our food can sometimes take a back seat to other expenses. There is, however, no need for it to as long as there are sites like the Budget recipes Hearty Bean Hotpot site still going. It has this yummy sounding recipe for you to try and other budget recipes as well. Have a look.

If you've ever had the need to look up information about some health related issue online, you will know that you can use all the help you can find. Thus the Healthline - Connect to Better Health site, which is a health specific search engine, is worth a bookmark for future use. When you need this kind of help, this looks like it will do the trick admirably.

Speaking of health, when travelling, especially overseas, you should be aware of any health problems you might encounter in your country of destination. Thus the Travel Doctor - Staying Healthy site will be a boon to any international traveller. Simply put in the country you are travelling from, the one you are travelling to, and the dates, and it will show you any warnings you should be aware of. Now that has to be a help and well worth a bookmark. Enjoy your trip in good health.

Were you aware that Internet Explorer has its own blog? Neither was I until I stumbled across it at the IEBlog site. It appears to be written by folk at Microsoft who are in the know about this browser, so do have a look. You might well find it's worthwhile keeping up with the latest in IE news.

Young folk (and some of us oldies as well) are interested in how major projects were built. For instance, how do you build a sky scraper or a suspension bridge? The BUILDING BIG Home Page is there courtesy of the folk at the Public Broadcasting Service, and it will go into the thought, math, science, and work behind most large construction projects and will do it in understandable language as well. Great site.

We all like to save money. I don't think I've ever met anyone who simply had so much they squandered it needlessly. Therefore the Saving Money in Australia Cheap goods, bargains and budgets site will point you in the direction of less expensive products or simply great deals on the well known brands. The site doesn't sell anything itself. It simply acts as a kind of search portal that keeps track of the major players in most consumer goods markets. Have a look. You never know the next thing you simply "must have".

We all know that planes fly all around the globe daily. But do you really understand why they can stay in the air the way they do? What makes something that weighs tons travel so that it is able to gain altitude, and stay up, with sufficient safety that we travel in it? Hop over to the Virtual Skies Aeronautics Tutorial Introduction which is authored by the folk at NASA, and learn all you need to know about flight. Let's face it - if NASA doesn't know how it works, no one does. *smile*

Many folk, at work, integrate their calendar with other work colleagues so that each can schedule meetings and events when those they wish to participate are free. Well, maybe it's time we did that at home too with friends and family. The folk at Google have introduced the Welcome to Google Calendar site which is integrated with gmail (their free email account) so that you and I can do just that. And yes, finally Gmail itself is open to the general public. I've used it for a long time now, and it is certainly the best of the online email accounts I've come across. And, it keeps growing in size. Maybe it's time you took out a gmail account as well? After all, both it and the calendar are free applications and accessible online from any computer on the planet that is connected to the net. Have a look.

Does anyone not have a mobile or cell phone? Indeed, many folk have two or three. Thought you'd seen it all? How about The Disposable Cell Phone or Phone-Card-Phone? Yes, that's correct. Someone has invented a mobile phone that is so thin it is made of a kind of cardboard and once the time runs out you just throw it away and get a new one. How disposable can we get? *shakes head*

And finally for this week, hands up all those who remember typing on a typewriter? Wow... don't those days seem a long distant past? Well, the Welcome to the Virtual Antique Typewriter Museum site will no doubt have some memories for you to rekindle. Most of the typewriters I ever used are here and I feel most of them you may have used (and hated in many cases) are here as well. Have a look. A nice nostalgic trip down memory lane.

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. ;-)