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.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away… but I digress. There once lived a young man named Chris Prillo who was a dab hand at looking at new innovative software (much of it freeware and shareware), and who would then write about its usefulness (or lack thereof). This enterprising young man travelled the galaxy with such folk as Leo LaPorte (of Call For Help) fame, though young Chris grew his own organization known at LockerGnome, he being said gnome. Many folk online sought his advice (including yours truly) and thus he started a newsletter that one could subscribe to and which would arrive weekly with new goodies to explore. His organization grew and grew and grew, until one day (very recently in fact) Chris stopped - and thought of those 'good ol' days' when he had more personal contact with those who followed his exploits, and decided that his corporation could pretty much run itself, and that he wished to restart his original email, but this time on a daily, not weekly, basis. You KNOW that I immediately subscribed (it is and was good news that he was back in his former form) and I suggest you will also get a lot out of subscribing to his daily newsletter. You can do so by simply emailing [picks at lockergnome dot com](Note: that is the email address but it doesn't need scammer spiders feeding on it - simply add the @ sign for the term at, and a . for the term dot and do not include the brackets, and you have the right address). I suggest it's the best email you will send this year. Enjoy the information.

If you have photos you wish to share, you no doubt have heard of Flickr, the place online where you can store your photos and either make them entirely public or simply send the link to friends and family to use to see your latest snaps. But did you also know that Flickr has its own blog which might help you learn how to use it to its full potential? Hop over to the FlickrBlog and have a look. This is a great service and a fabulous place to store your photos.

Speaking of photos and working with them on your computer, you might want to have a look at the StudioLine - Digital Photo Album with Image Editing and Sharing, Web Publishing - Photo Basic software. It looks like a good photo manipulation facility and not as complex as PhotoShop or The Gimp to use. Give it a try. You certainly can't beat the price.

Back in the dark recesses of science fiction you will remember seeing computers that you talk to like another human. Think of HAL in 2001 - A Space Odyssey and you'll get the picture. Well, there have been attemptsto make that a reality and though some are better than others, you might want to have a look at Dimio's Tools - Dspeech which is a site that contains this new voice reader tool plus other freeware goodies for you to download and try. Maybe science fiction writers weren't all that far fetched after all. See for yourself.

Do you have Google Earth installed on your computer? If not you're missing one of the most impressive pieced of freeware software yet devised, and if you do already have it, version 4 has just been released and trust me, it's worth the download. Just hop over to the Google Earth 4 - Free Software Downloads and Software Reviews - Download.com site and download and install it and you will be amazed at what it can do now. If you already have a previous version just install this one over your old one and it will keep all of your settings and places on the planet you have already marked. The three dimensional aspect of this software is enough on it's own to download this and use it to visit places you may never get to in real life. Oh, and did I mention it's free to download and use? Enjoy.

Every once in a while someone sends me a site that is a joy to view. Such a site was sent to me last week by the author of the site called Chef George - FinestChef Recipes Home Page. Though Chef George would like to also sell you his cookbook (and it may well be worth having) he also publishes his own recipes online for you to try at home. If you are looking for something just that little bit different and well presented, hop over and have a look.

And another visitor sent me the site called BooksPrice - Book Price Comparison - Compare Prices Before You Buy to have a look at, and I must say I'm impressed. This site doesn't sell you the books; it just shows you folk that will so that you can compare prices. May as well get the best deal yes? I know I will, and thank you for the tip Lucy.

Have you ever had the misfortune to have to phone someone in a large corporation only to find you are speaking to a computer? Well, I personally don't think that is good enough. Thus, when I found the gethuman 500 database site I knew I simply had to pass it on to you. It is a site that lists hundreds of companies around the globe and gives you the phone number of someone there who not only is a real human being but also hopefully can help. Now they may not like the fact that they have been called, and would much rather you speak with their dumb computer but hang in there. This site has to be a keeper I feel. Don't you?

You will no doubt know that many sites around the globe offer space to start your own conversation group on almost any subject you wish. Well, I am pleased to announce that the Google Groups are now finally out of beta and ready to host your group. Have a look and start your own. Yet another great idea from those folks at Google.

When doing homework assignments, as well as doing that work you brought home from the office, having at hand a reference dictionary, encyclopaedia and thesaurus is a good thing. Thus the Reference Dictionary, Encyclopaedia, Thesaurus - Yahoo! Education site is one for you to bookmark for future use. Then when you need any one or all three of these, it's a short click away from your desktop. Enjoy.

You may have noticed, on your favourite news site (CNN, ABC, etc) a little sign that says RSS feed - click here. RSS (standing for Real Simple Syndication) is a way to have the latest news (or blog or almost anything) delivered to your desktop and updated throughout your day without you having to go to the news site to get it each time. However, to make use of an RSS feed, you need a RssReader and you can get a free one from download.com right here. I think it's a great idea but it's up to you to make your own decision.

Many folk online collect things and there are, indeed, some impressive collections to see. For instance, have a look at Barry S. Goldberg's Pocket Watch Collection and browse around it. It is a massive collection of well - pocket watches. Now that may not be the current fashion in timepieces but it was for many many years. This is a great collection to see and enjoy. Have a look.

The normal Australian sketch of the "true Aussie Bloke" would have you believe that the idea of male chivalry is dormant if not dead among the majority of the populous. Mind you, many other countries fare no better. However a local brewer recently presented us with an example of true manners when helping a lady in distress. Hop over to the Fosters Gentlemen and other videos on StupidVideos.com and have a look. You'll see that the men in your life may also end up being chivalrous. *chuckles* Done like a true Fosters man.

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