Mac's Picks is a collection of family friendly interesting and useful sites, updated weekly. These sites are family friendly, and cover subjects dealing with search, internet, internet radio, news, health, medical resources, household hints, education, educational resources, recipes, food, strange, different, help pages, homework, kids, diy, sites I call "head scratchers", and/or new sites dealing with all kinds of things of use to the general internet community. To find the criteria I use, simply click on the "Why How Info" link on the right side of this page.

This page is updated on a weekly basis, each Monday evening Australian (Queensland) time (GMT + 9 hours according to the world clock). Please come back and visit often.

Important Note: If you are returning to my page, welcome back! Please click your "Refresh" or "Reload" button on the top of your Internet browser to ensure you are seeing the current week's page of my "Picks of the Week". Also, I would love for you to make my site your home page. Simply click on Tools - Options in Explorer, or Edit - Preferences in Netscape, and click Use Current and it's done.

Please Note

If you look near the bottom of this page you will see a poll dealing with the categories of sites you would like to see more of. I don't collect personal data from you at any time, but ask that you take a moment and let me know, by clicking on your favourite category, what type of site you would like to see more of. If the category is not listed, then please email me with that information (see the right side of this page for the "Contact Me" link) and I will try to add that as well. You have, by your regular weekly visit to my family friendly category site, made this site into one that receives over 500 people per day at times, so why not have your input into what I show as well? Please also read the "Why How Info" link on the right side of this page to see the criteria I use. Thank you in advance for your help.

There are times when you are working that you really need to take a couple of moments, have a cup of your favourite brew, and make your mind concentrate on other things than the project you are engaged in so intently. Thus, it might be handy to keep the Coffee Break Arcade - Free Games site somewhere in your favourites so that you can occupy your mind for the few moments you take to drink your drink. Of course, getting up and walking around your office might help as well.

Did you know that there are almost as many women who have accomplished major tasks in the field of computing as there are men? Indeed, there is even the Association for Women in Computing (AWC) that they can join, and this is their site. Do you know anyone on their list? You should. This is one you might like to pass on to other women in the computing field.

You most likely use some particular Microsoft product at present (unless you are a dyed in the wool Mac user) but did you know that if you visit the Microsoft Download Centre you will also find a number of things that not only are useful but are free as well? Have a browse and see if there is anything there that you might use. If so, take it. It's free remember, and if Microsoft made it it's most likely pretty good.

Don't you love those individuals and groups who act as watchdogs of the media, news corporations, and the like? If, like me, you like hearing another side to the story, you might find the medialens site of interest. It says that it is "correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media" which sounds pretty impressive. Have a look. It might get you closer to the truth behind most stories you read or hear about.

Many folk use the Microsoft Media Player as their sound and video software. However, did you realise that it also has its own online radio listing? If you hop over to the My Radio - WindowsMedia.com Radio Tuner site you will find their selection of stations for you to listen to while you are online. Impressive list.

I found yet another large file sharing site on the net this week, titled SendSpace - The Best Free File Sharing Service. The idea is that you store that large file here for distribution, then notify those you want to download it what the URL is to click on. They, in turn, click on the link and download it at their leisure. Not a bad idea and doesn't clog up folks email accounts. Worth a bookmark.

If you are a regular visitor you will know I always show at least one site of recipes. The iChef.com Free Recipes - Online Cookbook site not only has recipes for you to try but also has a facility of having an online recipe book for you to use. Now that has to be helpful when deciding what to prepare to eat. Guess it's time to follow Bill Haley's advice and "Get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans."

One of the things that troubles many families with young children is their Internet access and what they may delve into online. I personally believe you are much better served to sit down with your young folk and simply rationally discuss the fact that inappropriate things are on the net but why they should not go there at their age. And yes, there are valid reasons they shouldn't, not the least of which is a biased view of relationships in general. However, some folk still want to have some software generated parental control over where their Internet connection is used, and thus the K9 Web Protection - Free Internet Filter and Parental Control Software site will allow you to download and install their own software for use on your system. Just remember though, not all parents have parental control software in their home, and thus your children may access things on their friends computers that you wish they would not. I certainly don't mean that this software isn't useful or that you are ill served to use it, but please understand, it isn't the entire answer either nor is it a way to shirk your own responsibility to discuss this with your children in a rational and helpful way. Good, honest, truthful communications with your children is still the most effective way to fight against pornography in your home and/or accessed inappropriately by young family memebers.

One of the things my grandsons enjoy is being read to. It is a challenge at times to find a book or story they will enjoy however, without going out and paying large sums of money to do it. The CLWG Children's Literature Web Guide site, run by one of the folk at the University of Calgary in Canada, is a wonderful resource for good stories and where to find them. Have you read any good books or stories to your young friends lately? It's still a lovely way to spend time together.

If you are a computer user who not only surfs the net but uses computers in your workplace as part of your job, you might be well served to have a look at the Little-Known Word Keyboard Tricks site. Indeed, all good keyboardists use most of these instead of the mouse as it is usually quicker to do so. Have a look. You might find some you don't know about here. I did.

You no doubt know the necessity of having passwords to protect your data, your files, and even your computer from those you don't wish to have access to them. You will no doubt have heard that some hackers and crackers are pretty good at discovering your passwords as well. So, the question is, how safe is your own password? Is it a combination of all the alpha-numeric keys on your keyboard? Do you use things like numbers (2 4 8) for words like to, for, and ate? Have you incorporated the trick of using the left bracket ( in place of the letter C, or possibly the $ for the letter S, etc. etc. etc. Your password should also be at minimum 6 characters long and maximum 10 characters. Now, seeing as you have your password sorted out how about testing it against the Password Recovery Speeds site to find out how secure you really are? If you use your former unscrambled password without those things mentioned above you might just get a shock. Go ahead - test your passwords and see how really strong or weak they are. It's better that you know, for your own protection.

I look around the Net for interesting sites to show each week as you will be aware. I also normally put something here that is either strange or even possibly silly for you to see and judge for yourself. Well, this week I've come across one of the strangest ideas I believe I've ever seen. I'm not saying it's wrong - it is indeed a commercial product, but I am saying it's certainly different. Hop over to the Welcome to the LifeGem Home site and have a look for yourself. Here you will find manmade memorial Diamonds created from cremated remains, ashes, and the result of the cremation process. Obviously this works for some, but not for me I'm afraid. What do you think?

Rebecca Game of "Digital Women - Women with their modems running...", is a graphic designer who is superb to say the least. Rebecca designed this "new look" web site specifically for me, and I can't praise her work enough. 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. ;-)