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.

This week I had a strange occurrence when I simply could not connect to the net. I rebooted my cable modem and the entire system, all to no avail. The problem ended up being the firewall I was using as it had gone rogue for some reason and now prevented anything connecting to the net. I uninstalled that one and downloaded and installed the Free Firewall Protection Software Best Firewall Computer Security Free Personal Firewall called Comodo and I must say, I'm impressed. If you wish to give it a try, download this one, go offline, uninstall your present firewall, reboot, then install Comodo. It will scan your system trying to learn what programs should be granted access to the net (which may take a while) and then you must go through the initial learning period of granting anything you use permission to access the net, but it seems to be very well written and is doing a fine job. Oh, and it's free to use for life as well.

If the firewall or Anti-Virus software you use doesn't do a very effective job of blocking popup ads, you might want to read the article from PC World magazine called PC World - 15 Downloads That Will Block Annoying Ads and Pop-Ups as it's full of great ideas to use. Have a look. I'm sure it will be of use to you as well.

I'm one of those strange fellows who likes watching cooking shows occasionally on television, depending on who the chef is and what part of the world they are from. I recently saw a show where the chef was making an Egyptian dish and thought we should have a look at Recipes From Egypt and thus present that link for you to see. It's an amazingly large group of recipes which may not suit everyone's taste, but they certainly sound interesting and might just be that new idea for your next dinner party. Have a look.

Speaking of Egypt, how much do you really know about that part of the world? The younger folk hopefully get taught where it is and some interesting facts about its background, but maybe, to brush up your own geographic knowledge and challenge your young folk to do the same, you might like to take the GeoBee Challenge - National Geographic with them. It's produced by National Geographic Magazine which is still one of the world's great magazines. Give it a try and help your young folk with their knowledge as well.

And speaking of the younger folk, you might like to visit Kids Net Australia with them, or visit it and pass it along to them to see. It has tabbed sections covering such headings as Web Sites, Encyclopaedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus and Toys. Psst - (whispers) don't tell anyone but there are some neat game sites under the Web Sites section. Enjoy. (ends whisper)

And of course, speaking of games - No, of course you never play games on your computer online *shakes head*. However, you no doubt know those who do, and you might want to pass on the Miniclip Games - Play Free Games site to them to enjoy. This is one of the first and best game sites around so it's worth a bookmark for when the grandchildren come to visit as well. Enjoy.

What's your favourite podcast? If you're looking for some interesting ones you might like to try The PodLounge Podcast Directory where you will find over 636,000 podcasts for you to listen to in 115 different categories. Now there is a challenge. Think of 115 different subjects for categories of things to listen to. *smile*

For many the gift giving time of year is at hand, and also there are those who may be convalescing or unable to get out and do a lot of shopping. Thus, places like the DIY Crafts - Scrapbooking, Knitting, Sewing & Jewellery Making, Craft Projects, and Videos - DIY Network site can be a real boon because they will help you learn how to do all of those things in the privacy of your own home, online. Now that has to be a bonus. Plus, think of the money you'll save, as well as how personal you can make that next gift. Got the idea? Have a look.

There may be a time when you need to write a document while online. It would be nice if you could access a word processor from your web browser to do that. Well, if you use Firefox as your web browser instead of Internet Explorer then have a look at the ajaxWrite - AJAX for Everyone site. This is indeed a Firefox operable document writer from inside your web browser. How clever is that?

If you, like me, are concerned that those who use your internet connection remain in the "family friendly" category of sites (no sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, racism, or hate of any kind) then you might want to bookmark, and even make as your homepage, the Family-friendly Reference, Information and Guides. Sites selected by a human and provided free by The Black Stump site. It is almost a search engine in its own right, but have a look and you'll see what I mean. Nice site to have handy when you need a good portal.

Need a to-do list? You might like to have a look at the GTDTiddlyWiki site, which bills itself as "your simple client side wiki". Download this free open source application for making a to-do list and use it to your heart's content, all free of charge. Nice idea.

Some folk collect coins, some collect paper money. Some collect stamps, others collect fine china or jewellery, while some simply collect antique furniture or artwork. However, a collection is a collection and still takes a lot of effort on someone's part. Therefore I suppose one could say that the Ray guns 01 - watergun museum site simply shows another giant collection of something that at least this person feels passionate enough about to spend the time, effort, and money to put this collection together. Hmm... with the drought in Australia I wonder if this collection is a good thing or a bad thing? Kind of depends on who is doing the collecting and the appreciating I suppose. It is, after all, a passion for this person and when you have a look at it (and you know you will) it will become at least an interest to you. 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. ;-)