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.

As this festive season approaches one might want to find some nice stories to tell the young folk. However, after a while the same old stories seem to pale. Why not have a look at the Christmas Stories from around the World! site where you'll find some interesting ones from various parts of the globe. This might well make you the all time story teller in your family.

The country of Bhutan is nestled between India and China. It might pay to look it up and find out more about it. Why? Because this week's recipes come from there. Hop over to the Bhutan food recipes and Culture information site and see what you think. Under the meat recipe category the Tshoem sounds interesting but I might leave the chillies out I think. I know - dull and boring. *chuckles* Enjoy.

Some young folk will get their first personal computer this holiday season, and if you're looking for somewhere to take them to do things, you might like to take them to the KidSites.com - The Best Kid Sites on the Web site. And to be frank, making it their home page could also be a bonus. Keep them safe online.

One of the pieces of information every child who celebrates the Christmas season will want to know is "where is Santa now?" So you can tell, the folk at NORAD always put their hand up and show us where the Jolly Red Clothed Man is now. I'd bookmark the Norad Tracks Santa site to show the young folk in your house where he is. And remember, you have to be asleep before he gets to your place, so don't stay up too late.

Many folk still send snail mail Christmas cards and in some ways that is a more personal touch. However, there is always someone you think of close to the date that you really should send a greeting to and therefore the eCardica.com - Free eCards, Funny eCards, Birthday eCards, Love eCards, Holiday eCards & More! site, and other sites like it, come in handy. In fact, don't forget that you can send one from right here. Look on the right side of this page for My own Cyber Greeting Cards link as well. Enjoy the Season.

If you have the need to store things online, say large files for business purposes or things you wish others to be able to access (once you give them the rights to do so of course) then you might want to investigate the GMail Drive - Reviews and free Gmail Drive downloads site. It will show you the, if you already have a Gmail account, you also have 5 GB of space wrapped around your Gmail account to use in any way you wish. It's that simple.

History is one of those subjects that either grabs your interest or it doesn't. If the young folk in your home have history homework to do you could send them along to the BBC - History site where you'll find tons of information about almost everything. Have a look. It might help with that assignment. *smile*

If you're planning on making a trip over the holidays please, please obey the road rules. You know what they are as well as I do so please, no shortcuts to disaster. We need you back here in the New Year. To plan your trip you might want to look at the Google Maps site (including Australia and New Zealand) and plan your trip and print it out so everyone in your car can answer the question "Are we there yet?" *smile* Drive carefully. The life you save may be mine. *smile*

Want to put some video on your iPod? Don't have a converter for the file to make it available to play on your machine? Then you need to download and install the MediaCell iPod Video Converter from the good folk at Download.com. Have a read, then if it makes sense to you, download and install it. I have, and at least on my machine it works.

There are a lot of online folk who can be of inestimable value to you when dealing with electronic gear of any type. One such fellow is a man by the name of Yoshi. You may have seen him on one of the older episodes of Leo LaPort's show, but in any case, you should have a look at his forum. To say the least, Yoshi is one of those with an intelligent mind and good approach to electronics of all kind. Have a look at his forum at Yoshi's Forums - powered by vBulletin and join up. It's amazing how much useful information there is there.

Feel like doing some online study? What if I told you it's free as well? Then hop over to the comprehensive list of courses available at the Course catalogue, online courses, tech tutorials and expert how to CNET's Tips & Tricks - Course Catalogue site. Sift through them, find one that interests you, then sign up for it. Happy studying.

How about a new clock on your desktop? What about one made not only for, but out of people as well? Ok, so someone had a lot more time on their hands than they should have but the clock is at least working. Have a look at the clock - made from people site and you might be impressed as well. Enjoy.

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. ;-)