.mac

Just days after Mark Shuttleworth asked the Linux desktop community make pretty things, Make Tech Easier has come along and created a UI for Ubuntu that looks just like Mac OSX.

It's pretty astounding how quickly this was able to be done. Now if only someone could port all the necessary apps.

As a software reviewer, I download a lot of programs to test them out. Some are great programs deserving of a space on my hard drive while others just are not up to snuff. With all the available software here at CNET Download.com, you've probably found a few gems worth keeping, but you've inevitably also downloaded a few programs that just didn't work out. We understand.

On a Windows machine, you can go to the control panel and choose the Add/Remove programs tool to find and uninstall software you don't want. But on a … Read more

Sometimes the best interface is no interface at all. Compared to other Mac uninstall programs, AppTrap is simplicity itself--and it really does seem to provide the uninstall functionality that Apple "forgot" in OS X.

AppTrap is not actually an app but rather a System Preference pane, which you install and then it runs in the background (and you can set AppTrap to automatically start at login). Whenever you drag an application to the Trash, AppTrap will prompt you to delete all the application's related files, including any files installed in that application's cache, library, or application … Read more

You're on stage, in the middle of your first song. The band's tight. The sound's dialed in. The audience is grooving. But you--idiot guitarist--forgot to do the Stevie Ray Vaughan trick of tucking your cable up through your strap, so instead it's running straight down to the floor, next to your feet. Excited, you take a step forward to pose for your friends in the front row and step right on your cord. It comes out with an ear-splitting pop and buzz. The bass player rolls his eyes as you get down on the stage, pick … Read more

The VAR Guy was on location at the annual O'Reilly Open Source Convention. Despite it being an open-source conference for developers, the event was awash in a sea of (highly proprietary) Macs.

...Apple Corporate is nowhere to be seen at OSCON. Steve Jobs must be locked away, designing the next proprietary software platform tied to proprietary hardware and proprietary online Apple services. And yes, The VAR Guy will buy it.

Still, Apple is EVERYWHERE here at OSCON. The VAR Guy estimates that 20 percent to 35 percent of the crowd is carrying MacBooks or MacBook Pros....So here we … Read more

"Steve loves Apple. He serves at the pleasure of Apple's board. He has no plans to leave Apple. Steve's health is a private matter," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer on a conference call with investors on Monday.

Since then, investors have been calling for an update on their CEO's health -- to no avail.

"Every client call today I've had has brought up the health issue," said Charles Wolf, a securities analyst at Needham & Company to the New York Times. "I think the drop was based on the margin; that's when the stock really cratered."

Regardless, it brings up an interesting question: does Steve Jobs' health matter? Sure, he's a CEO of a public company and his decisions will have a major impact on shareholder value, but should his own health matters stay private? After all, I don't want my health records displayed in a public forum and it's not something that I enjoy talking about.

It makes sense for his health issues to be private, right?

Think again.… Read more

Let the guessing begin.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer's decision to warn financial analysts Monday that Apple's fourth-quarter gross margins will be negatively impacted by a "product transition" should be enough to get the rumor wheels turning: of course, it doesn't take all that much. The remark came within yet another Apple's earnings report that produced stellar numbers for the previous quarter but an outlook below what Wall Street had been expecting.

Oppenheimer deftly avoided several questions from analysts who tried to get a little more information on just what that "product … Read more

Updated 2pm PT with more details from the release.

Apple reported record Mac sales and one of its best third quarters ever, but its usual conservative guidance should set off the usual Wall Street craziness.

For the company's third fiscal quarter, which ended June 28, Apple reported $7.46 billion in revenue and net profit of $1.07 billion, equal to $1.19 per share. That far exceeds the company's own guidance for the quarter and also handily beats Wall Street's expectations of $7.37 billion and $1.08 per share.

Mac sales were about in line … Read more

The Mac will reclaim its rightful place as the most important story inside the Apple universe when the company reports its third-quarter earnings later on Monday.

One could be forgiven for overlooking the Mac coming off a month of iPhone 3G madness, but the iPhone will have played a tiny role in determining the strength of Apple's quarter, which came to a close in June. Analysts expect another strong quarter from the company's Mac division to lead Apple to revenue of $7.4 billion and earnings per share of $1.08.

But, as always seems to be the … Read more