Reasons to install Google Desktop and thus Google Desktop search ...

Yahoo Desktop Search, when it doesn't crash and burn, is still the best full text indexing and search tool for XP (I so wish Microsoft hadn't bought and killed "Lookout for Outlook". Google Desktop, and thus Googe Desktop Search, however, is getting very, very interesting. The Plug-In modules are getting clever enough that they significantly increase the value of the product. Consider this one ...

Google Desktop Plug-in: HDDlife plug-in for Google Desktop

Worried about a hard drive failure? Get HDDlife - a real-time hard drive monitoring utility with malfunction protection and data loss prevention features. This hard drive inspector is an advanced proactive hard drive failure detection system that manages all of your hard drive risks. HDDlife runs in the background constantly monitoring your disks. It alerts you about possible hard disk problems before they happen and displays a disk health indicator in the Google Desktop Sidebar.

Iridient RAW Developer: OS X photo tool for $60

Since I've moved to a Canon DR XT dSLR, and learned more about the theoretical advantages of RAW images and the limitations of in-camera processing, I'm thinking of moving to RAW. I'll probably due this using Aperture 1.01 (when it's out), but in the meantime I'm going to play with: Iridient Digital - RAW Developer for OS X. It got at least one impressive review.

Mac Orchard: a place to look for Mac software, classic and OS X

via Macintouch:

Macintosh Internet Software at The Mac Orchard - Welcome!

[Drew Saur] The Mac Orchard always has (and always will) listed and linked any Macintosh Internet software (for *any* vintage of Mac OS) as long as there is an official download link left for it. On top of that, the Orchard also serves as an official (or as an "only remaining") download host for many older applications. As I announced on the Orchard's home page last Friday, I am trying to get permission from Microsoft to host the files for Mac IE after January 2006. So far, I have not received a response.

Content Management Systems: A Macintouch report

Macintouch has a new report on wcontent management systems (cms) . It feels to me as though the functionality of a product like FrontPage 98 is being divided between embedded browser editing and emerging CMS standards. A shame WebDav seems not to play any useful role.

Update 12/22/05: The Macintouch report is becoming a superb resource. Macintouch has always had an extraordinary group of contributing readers, and the combination of their editing and the readership is a magic combination. I'm surprised others haven't fully copied this model.

One of the postings references an article on why CMS solutions fail. That article really clarified for me why company's want CMS solutions, what they are now, and why they may fail. (Hint: you can't eliminate the Editor function.) Indirectly this all helps me understand how modern CMS solutions relate to FrontPage (Vermeer, the brilliant predecessor to FrontPage, was best understood as an kit for building a corporate version of what was then pre-Internet AOL).

Reading this I do wish their was a business model that would support expanding on the original Vermeer/FrontPage vision. Alas, Microsoft long ago took their product down a road that doesn't interest me.

SOHO Organizer: a Palm Desktop for OS X

Wow. I didn't think there was any life left in the Mac Organizer world, but the makers of StickyBrain have a Cocoa build desktop out: SOHO Organizer. It's new and hence likely treacherous, but there's a one month download trial. Costs $100. Hmmm. I'd like to see how well the task management works.

Aperture review: non-destructive editing for JPEG and TIFF

I was surprised to see that Aperture does non-destructive editing for JPEGs and TIFFs as well as RAW. Overall this is a very clear and valuable review:>

Art of RAW Conversion #022 @Digital Outback Photo

... Non-destructive editing Aperture does not modify master files but stores all modifications as a separate parameter set. Thus, you may have several versions of an image (master file). This is not new in RAW converters (e. g. RawShooter offers snapshots for this task), but Apple extends this concept from RAW files to JPEGs and TIFFs, as well ? it?s primarily intended to be used for files from your digital camera or scanner, but may be used for other files, as well.

I'm waiting for the promised patch release with some cautious optimism. I may even buy at that time.

Lock screen in OS X: Show keychain status in menu bar

MacDevCenter has written a brief tutorial on the OS X Keychain. It doesn't completely demystify the keychain (I'm still a bit unclear about what it means to unlock or lock an entire keychain), but it helps. I like the idea of showing the keychain status in the menu bar; as a side-effect I also get a convenient 'lock screen' shortcut.

MacDevCenter.com: A Look at Keychain Access (and Why You Should Care)

... If you choose to go down this route [lock keychain], you may quickly run into one of the disadvantages of being over-careful about security: websites and email clients and all sorts of other applications start pestering you with dialogs, asking you to enter your keychain password every single time something needs to be done. To avoid this, return to Keychain Access' preferences panel and check the "Show Status in Menu Bar" option.

Now you've got quick, easy access to your keychain controls from the menu bar, and you can lock and unlock whole keychains without having to mess around inside of Keychain Access itself.

Note that there's also a Lock Screen command, which may come in handy if you have to leave your machine unattended for short periods of time. It will ask for your username and password before letting you get back to work.

Another good policy is to create several keychains. One for boring day-to-day stuff--this might as well be your default login.keychain file, one for Secure Notes, and extras for any passwords and certificates that you need to keep extra secure.

Using the Keychain for secure notes is a bit silly. Much better to create an encrypted disk image to hold that sort of thing, and mount it as needed. Just be sure NOT to store the password for the disk image in the keychain!