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Best Mac Tax Programs

With millions of new Apple computer owners joining the Macintosh family there is more demand than ever for the tax software for Mac to help with filing Federal and State income taxes. Unless you are filling out a 1040EZ Federal form, you need all the help you can get to prep taxes on a Mac with accuracy and ease. The two main programs for Mac tax preparation are Intuit's long-standing TurboTax and H&R Block At Home - formerly named TaxCut. Both programs become available before year's end to get a jump start on your taxes.

 

After you've keyed in your Federal income and expenses, ran through your deductions, both programs can also assist with State taxes for those Mac owners who reside in states that require them. The critical portions of your Federal return get imported into the State portion to simplify the process. You can then optionally e-File (electronically file your returns) over the internet for speedier filing and convenience. After you've completed tax filing on a Mac, you'll want a hard copy of your return. Have plenty of paper at the ready in your Apple compatible printer and let it do it's thing. 

 

The IRS requires you keep your Federal income tax returns for a minimum of three - and up to 6 years depending on your business or filing and audit issues. TurboTax for Mac conveniently provides the ability to burn your tax data - and the TurboTax application itself to your Mac's DVD burner for a complete, recoverable backup. It's also wise to keep a copy of your Apple tax software and data file on an external backup drive for Mac as a secondary safeguard.

 

Wireless Speakers for iPad, iPhone and Mac

Many wireless speakers exist for handheld devices or laptop and desktop computers. A few use RF radio transmitters for long distance audio listening around the house. More popular are A2DP compatible stereo Bluetooth speakers for high fidelity listening in-room at a closer range, typically within 30 feet or less.

With AC wall power available, home Bluetooth speaker systems provide much more volume and greater frequency response. Many models are hands-free Bluetooth with built-in microphones, allowing you to manage incoming cell phone calls via their hands-free speaker-phone functions. A growing number of Apple friendly iPhone, iPod, and iPad compatible speakers now include a built-in dock connector for sync and charging as well.

For portable wireless stereo speakers ideal for travel, there are two main options: Rechargeable - or battery powered wireless speaker systems. Some Bluetooth speakers can be recharged via USB cable - from either a laptop computer, or USB wall charger. Whether at home or on the go, there's a wireless audio solution that can please both your ears and wallet.

No Sizzle! Apple - Intel ThunderBolt Fizzles With No Shipping Products

'Marketing Flop' are the only words to accurately describe the rollout of the jointly developed ThunderBolt high-speed computer I/O interface from Intel and Apple. Months and months after the first ThunderBolt enabled MacBooks shipped, weeks and weeks after the addition of ThunderBolt to the iMac desktop line -- consumers are STILL waiting for something real, anything to plug into their sparkly new ThunderBolt ports. (Well, besides their old DisplayPort monitor.)

With Intel as the sole supplier of ThunderBolt chipsets - few prospective computer peripheral makers have had easy access to the technology. And of those who have partnered with Intel, none have shipped any products as of yet. So the months roll by and the promise of ultra-high speed computer peripherals and ThunderBolt backup drives remains elusive.

Not that it matters much to the average consumer. Because the announced - but not yet shipping - ThunderBolt peripherals have all been rather high-end, Prosumer solutions: Multi-Drive RAID disk arrays from Promise Technologies, Dual SSD external ThunderBolt drives from LaCie and Sonnet, some T-Bolt enabled DAW - Digital Audio Workstation hardware... Announced but not shipping, and likely to be aimed - and priced beyond the wallet of the average Mac (or eventually PC) user wanting to backup data in seconds and not hours.

I blame Apple more than Intel. I blame Marketing more than Manufacturing. Apple really, Really, REALLY needed to introduce those T-Bolt port MacBook Pro's ALONG SIDE SOME SHIPPING ACCESSORIES - so that buyers IMMEDIATELY could experience the promise and immediate benefits that Dual-Channel 10Gbps computer peripherals will bring to our everyday computing experience.

The Mac Computer Universe - Unstoppable!

Whew! Some days I am just overwhelmed keeping up with the Macintosh scene. And I'm not even talking about the whole handheld Apple gadget realm which really isn't my technology forte' anyways. I try to stay focused on Mac gizmos and drown in that delicious soup of never ending changes.

Lately ThunderBolt peripherals loom large on the horizon. Especially as the new iMac now joins the MacBook Pro as ThunderBolt enabled. Still no shipping TBolt accessories or backup drives - so I have a bit of breathing room.

 

 

After the thunder-bolt truly hits - next will come SuperSpeed USB 3.0 for Mac  - which ultimately I think will become far more popular, affordable and delightfully backward compatible with everybody's legacy USB peripherals anyways.

Both, technologies ahead of the unstoppable steam-roller that is Apple computer. My life is staying two steps ahead of it, any way I can. I'm exhausted, but hey - I'm unstoppable too!

Best Printers For Apple iPad

Recently, updates to Apple's iOS4 operating system have enabled direct ipad wireless printing from iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch models. Wireless printing from the insanely popular Apple tablet is here thanks to the latest round of AirPrint compatible printers that are now available from
Hewlett-Packard. While initially a weak point of the Apple iPad, these HP printers are an important step to better print capabilities that will mature over time.

AirPrint printing is 100% wireless thanks to auto-discovery of available
print devices on the local network. Much like Bonjour enabled devices, the
iPad automatically locates, connects and prints to an AirPrint capable
printer of your choosing. AirPrint technology works with Safari, Mail,
Photos, iWork, PDFs in iBooks, and in third-party apps with built-in
printing needs.

Unfortunately -- control of orientation, layout, page range, and other Page
Setup functions of AirPrint are still very limited. Hopefully more 3rd-party
printer manufacturers will. support universal AirPrint technology in their
wireless printers for iPad and other iOS4 Apple handhelds. Until then,
currently only specific models of HP AirPrint capable printers are today's
best option for hassle-free iOS prints.

Sadly, Apple doesn't yet support AirPrint features in its PC and Mac
compatible wireless AirPort base stations. However some clever Mac programs
and iOS4 apps and software hacks can allow limited iPad printing by what they call "Bridging". These
apps allow your Apple gadget to bridge through a Mac computer that's live on
the network to any shared printer its set up to print to.

SEM - SEO Toolbar Extensions for Safari 5

Someone had to do it: Do more than just kick out a little blog post or two about the SEO potential of Apple's new Safari 5 and it's Extensions feature. Safari using web masters have been at a disadvantage when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)  Internet Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Social Media Optimization (SMO) tools on the most widely used Mac browser. Many of site owners were forced to use Mac FireFox on occasion to really get all the power and tools we needed.

Well, that's changing as Mac Gizmo Guy sets out to track all the new SEO related buttons, toolbars and Extensions for Safari 5 as new add-ons roll out. A dedicated page on www.seo-tools.com is in progress, tracking this new opportunity for Apple computer using website owners to leverage the power we've lacked until now.

Stay tuned as the Safari 5 SEO Extensions page get's fleshed-out and I dig in and unearth the best SEM - SMO - SEO Safari power tools we've longed for.

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Apple Mac Compatible Article Submission Program for OS X

For Mac website owners leveraging the power of Article Marketing - you know manual article submission is a slow, painful hell. And while outsourcing submissions can be fairly economical - you pretty much lose ALL control over the process once you submit your project - and may find yourself scrambling to modify and fix stuff when they're still in a 'Pending' status at one article directory after another before they go live.
I recently discovered a FREE app:
Article submission software for Mac OSX
that runs on Adobe's AIR cross-platform code. ArticleSubmissionHelper - ASH is a godsend, letting you register, import your articles, spin titles and content to your liking - then helps you either step-through submits - or autosubmits to the article directory list for you. Either way, ASH helps ease the pain of submission - while retaining control of the process. A good thing for all Mac article marketers!

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SEO On A Mac

Own 1 web site, run a single blog - or building an EMPIRE of websites? Building a blog or site is easy compared to what it takes to achieve high search engine rankings, visibility and traffic. For help getting both the On-Page and Off-Page factors to sucess - check out Apple Mac Compatible SEO Software and Tools for OSX webmasters - SEM marketing and ranking tips from a unique Macintosh perspective.